IT -403

Lecture #01
Computer Network
• It mean a collection of autonomous computers
interconnected by a single technology.
• Two computers are said to be interconnected if they
are able to exchange information.
• The connection may be via a cable, fiber optics,
microwaves, infrared and communication satellites.
• Networks may have many shapes, sizes and forms.
Distributed Systems Vs Computer Networks
 It may sound strange to some people that neither the
internet nor the World Wide Web is a computer
network.
 Internet is not a single network but a network of
networks and web is a distributed system that runs on
the top of the internet.
 The key distinction is that in a distributed system a
collection of independent computers appears to its
users as a single coherent system.
 It has a single model or paradigm that it presents to its
users.
Distributed Systems Vs Computer Networks
 A layer of software on the top of the operating system
called Middleware is responsible for implementing
this model.
 A well known example of a distributed system is www,
in which everything looks like a document(web page).
 In a computer network, this coherence, model and
software are absent.
 Users are exposed to the actual machines, without any
attempt by the system to make the machines look and
act in a coherent way.
Distributed Systems Vs Computer Networks
 If the machines have different H/W and different OS,
that is fully visible to the users like remote login.
 A distributed system is a software system built on top
of a network.
 The software gives it a high degree of cohesiveness and
transparency.
 So the distinction between a network and distributed
system lies with the software rather then hardware.
Uses of Computer Networks
 Business Applications
 Home Applications
 Mobile users
 Social Issues
Business Application
 Many companies have substantial number of
computers.
 A company have separate computer to monitor
production, keep track of inventories and do the
payroll.
 Initially each of these computers may have worked in
isolation from the others
 But at some point, management may have decided to
connect them to be able to extract and correlate
information about the entire company.
Business Application
 An important use of computer network is resource
sharing e.g. sharing of physical resources like printers,
scanners and CD burners etc.
 More important from resource sharing is information
sharing.
 Every large and medium sized company and many small
companies are vitally dependent on computerized
information.
 Most companies have customer records, inventories,
account receivable, financial statements, tax information
and much more online.
 If all of its computers went down, a bank could not last
more then five minutes.
Client Server Model
Client Server Model
 Servers are powerful computers that stores data.
 Clients are the simpler machines with which employee
access remote data.
 This model is applicable when client and server are both in
the same building or far apart.
 When a person at home accesses a page on www, the same
model is employed.
 Remote web server being the server and user’s PC being the
client.
 One server can handle a large number of clients.
 In this model two processes are involved, one on the client
machine and one on the server machine.
Client Server Model

The client-server model involves requests and replies.

Business Applications
 Computer Network can provide a powerful
communication medium among employee. e.g. e-mail
 Two workers can write a report together by sitting far away.
If any one make a change in online document, other can
immediately see the change.
 Employees at distant locations can conduct a meeting,
seeing, hearing each other by using video conferencing.
 Many companies are doing business electronically with
other companies especially suppliers and customers.
 Companies are doing business with consumers over the
internet. This e-commerce is possible only through
computer networks. E.g. online shopping, online ticketing
etc.
Home Applications
Some of the more popular uses of the internet for home
users are as follows
• Access to remote information
• Person-to-person communication
• Interactive entertainment
• Electronic commerce
Home Applications
 Access to remote information is surfing the world wide
web, this may be for information or just for fun.
 Many newspapers have gone online and can be
personalized.
 On-line digital library is very helpful for research
scholars. Many professional organizations like ACM,
IEEE have many journals and conference proceedings
on-line.
 All of the above applications involve interactions
between a person and a remote database full of
information.
 Peer-to-Peer communication

In peer-to-peer system there are no fixed clients and servers.

Home Applications
 Internet is used for telephone calls, video phone and
internet radio.
 Telelearning is used for distance education.
 Computer Networks is also used for entertainment e.g.
video on demand.
 Online shopping
 Many people already pay their bills, manage their bank
account and handle their investments electronically.
 E-flea, online auctions of second hand goods.
 Telemedicine e.g. remote patient monitoring.
Home Applications

Some forms of e-commerce.

Mobile Users
 Notebook computers and personal digital assistants
(PDAs) are fastest growing segment in computer industry.
 People on the road often want to use their electronic
equipment to send and receive telephone calls, faxes, e-
mails, surf the web, access to remote files and log on to
remote machines.
 Some universities have installed wireless networks on
campus.
 Wireless networks are of great value to fleets of trucks,
taxis, delivery vehicles, and repair persons for keeping in
contact with home.
Mobile Users
 Wireless networks are also important for military.
 Wireless parking meters have advantage for both users
and city government. The meters could accept credit
or debit cards with instant verification over the
wireless link.
 Wireless utility meter reading provide a report about
usage over a wireless network.
 Mobile maps are also used for route tracking.
 Wireless is also used for vehicle identification and
tracking.
Mobile Users

Combinations of wireless networks and mobile computing.

Social Issues
 The trouble comes when newsgroups are set up on topics
that people actually care about like politics, religion.
 Views posted to such groups may be deeply offensive to
some people.
 Some people take a live-and-let-live view, but others feel
that posting certain material(attack on particular country
or religion) is simply unaccepted and must be censored.
 Another fun area is employee rights versus employer rights.
 Identity theft.