What is Data Communication?

Data communication refers to the exchange of data

between a source and a receiver.
The meanings of source and receiver are very simple.
The device that transmits the data is known as source
and the device that receives the transmitted data is
known as receiver. Data communication aims at the
transfer of data and maintenance of the data during the
process but not the actual generation of the information
at the source and receiver. 

MESSAGE

SENDER RECEIVER
 Data Transfer Tate (DTR)
The data transfer rate ( DTR) is the
amount of digital data that is moved
from one place to another in a given
time. The data transfer rate can be
viewed as the speed of travel of a
given amount of data from one place
to another.
Data transfer is usually measured in
bits per second. For example, a
typical low-speed connection to the
Internet may be 33.6 kilobits per
second (Kbps). On Ethernet local area
networks, data transfer can be as fast
as 10 megabits per second.
 What is Computer Networking?
In the world of computers,
networking is the practice of
interfacing two or more computing
devices with each other for the
purpose of sharing data. Computer
networks are built with a combination
of hardware and software.
“Computer Networking is an
engineering discipline concerned with
communication between system or
devices”.
 Data Transmission Techniques
Telephone circuits are often used to transfer data.
Standard phone lines transmit data much more slowly
than network media. Devices such as modems make
phone lines practical for data transmission over long
distances. Most telephone lines are analog, not digital.
Modem converts it from analog format to digital format.
 Acoustic Coupler Modem
Popular in the 1970's the acoustic coupler
was a device that allowed a computer to
connect to other computers using a
telephone handset. The first acoustic
couplers used a telephone handset and
transmitted at speeds of up to 300 baud.
To transmit information the acoustic
coupler converts data into sound signals,
sends those signals over the phone line,
and then the receiving acoustic coupler
interpreted those signals.
 External Modem
External modems are the simplest type of the modem
to install this kind of modem you didn’t open the
computer. The telephone line plugs into a socket on
the rear panel of the modem. As external modems
have their own power supply you can turn off the
modem quickly to break the connection. The examples
of these modems are the DSL modems which are used
in the broadband connections.
 Internal Modem
An internal modem is a network device that is contained on an expansion
board that plugs into the motherboard. Unlike an external modem, an
internal modem contains no lights to inform the user of its current function
or changing modem states. Instead, the user must rely on the software that
came with the modem.

Internal modems are also known as on-board modems. Internal modems

come in two types: dial-up and wireless. Dial-up modems require a
connection with a telephone line, network access phone number and
username and login ID.
Types of Networks
 Local Area Networks (LANs)
 A LAN is a network that is used for
communicating among computer devices,
usually within an office building or home.
 LAN’s enable the sharing of resources such as
files or hardware devices that may be needed
by multiple users.
 Is limited in size, typically spanning a few
hundred meters, and no more than a mile.
 Is fast, with speeds from 10 M bps to 10
Gbps.
 Requires little wiring, typically a single cable
connecting to each device.
 Has lower cost compared to MAN’s or WAN’s.
 L AN’s can be either wired or wireless.
Twisted pair, coax or fiber optic cable can be
used in wired L AN’s.
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• A metropolitan area network(M AN)
is a large computer network that
usually spans a city or a large
campus.
• A MAN is optimized for a larger
geographical area than a LAN,
ranging from several blocks of
buildings to entire cities.
• A MAN might be owned and
operated by a single organization,
but it usually will be used by many
individuals and organizations.
• A MAN typically covers an area of
between 5 and 5 0 km diameter.
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
• WAN covers a large geographic area
such as country, continent or even
whole of the world.
• A WAN is two or more LANs connected
together. The LANs can be many miles
apart.
• To cover great distances, WANs may
transmit data over leased high- speed
phone lines or wireless links such as
satellites.
• Multiple LANs can be connected
together using devices such as bridges,
routers, or gateways, which enable
them to share data.
• The world's most popular WAN is the
Internet.
 Personal Area Network (PAN)
• A PAN is a network that is used for
communicating among computers and
computer devices (including telephones) in
close proximity of around a few meters within
a room.
• It can be used for communicating between
the devices themselves, or for connecting to a
larger network such as the internet.
• PAN’s can be wired or wireless.
In a very typical setup, a residence
will have a single wired Internet
connection connected to a modem.
This modem then provides both
wired and wireless connections for
multiple devices. The network is
typically managed from a single
computer but can be accessed from
any device. This type of network
provides great flexibility. For
example,
it allows you to:
•Send a document to the printer in
the office upstairs while you are
sitting on the couch with your laptop.
•Upload the photo from your cell
phone to your desktop computer.
•Watch movies from an online
streaming service to your TV.
 Wireless Network
A wireless network is any type of computer
network that uses wireless data connections for
connecting network nodes. Wireless networking
is a method by which homes,
telecommunications networks and enterprise
(business) installations avoid the costly process
of introducing cables into a building, or as a
connection between various equipment
locations. Wireless telecommunications
networks are generally implemented and
administered using radio communication. This
implementation takes place at the physical level
(layer) of the OS I model network structure.
 Network Structure or Topology
• Network Topology is the study of the arrangement or mapping of the
elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a network interconnection between the
nodes.
• Topologies can be physical or logical. Physical Topology means the
physical design of a network including the devices, location and cable
installation. Logical Topology refers to the fact that how data actually
transfers in a network as opposed to its design.
• Some of the most common network topologies are:
 Bus Topology
This structure is very popular for local area
networks. In this structure or topology, a single
network cable runs in the building or campus and all
nodes are linked along with this communication line
with two endpoints called the bus or backbone as in
shown figure.
By this type of topology,
if one node goes faulty
all nodes may be
affected as all nodes
share the same cable for
the sending and
receiving of information.
 Bus Topology
Advantages: Disadvantages:
1. Reliable in very small networks as 1.Heavy network traffic can slow a
well as easy to use and
bus considerably because any
understand.
2. Requires least amount of cable to computer can transmit at any time.
connect the computers (nodes) But networks do not Coordinate when
together and therefore is less
expensive than other cabling information is sent. Computer
arrangements. interrupting each other can use a lot
3. It's easy to extend, Two cables can
of bandwidth.
be easily joined with a connector,
making a longer cable for more 2.Each connection between two
computers to join the network.
cables weakens the electrical signal.
4. A repeater can also be used to
extend a bus configuration. 3.The bus configuration can be
. difficult to find and can cause the
whole networks to stop functioning
 Ring Topology
This is yet another structure for local area networks. In this topology, the
network cable passes from one node to another until all nodes are connected
in the form of a loop or ring. There is a direct point-to-point link between two
neighboring nodes (the Next and the Previous). These links are unidirectional
which ensures that transmission by a node traverses the whole ring and
comes back to the node, which made the transmission as shown in figure
Information travels around the ring from
one node to the next. Each packet of data
sent to the rink is prefixed by the address
of the station to which it is being sent.
When a packet of data arrives, the node
checks to see if the packet address is the
same as its own, if it is, it grabs the data in
the packet. If the packet does not belong
to it, it sends the packet to the next node
in the ring.
 Ring Topology
Advantages:
1.Ring networks offer high performance
for a small number of workstations or
for larger networks where each station
has a similar workload.
2.Ring networks can span longer
distances than other types of networks.
3.Ring networks are easily extendable.
4.Unlike Bus topology, there is no signal
loss in Ring topology because the
tokens are data packets that are re-
generated at each node.
Disadvantages:
1.Relatively expensive and difficult
to install
2. Failure of one computer on the
network can affect the whole
network.
3. It is difficult to find fault in a ring
network.
4. Adding or removing computers
can disrupt the network.
5. . It is much slower than an
Ethernet network under normal
load.
 Star Topology
• Star topology uses a central hub through which, all components are
connected. In a S tar topology, the central hub is the host
computer, and at the end of each connection is a terminal as shown
in Figure.
Each node communicate across the
network by passing data through the
hub. A star network uses a significant
amount of cable as each terminal is
wired back to the central hub, even if
two terminals are side by side but
several hundred meters away from the
host. The central hub makes all routing
decisions, and all other workstations
can be simple.
 Star Topology
Advantages: Disadvantages
1.It is more reliable (if one connection fails, it does
not affect others) 1.It is expensive to install as it requires
2.The center of a star network is a good place to more cable, it costs more to cable a
diagnose network faults and if one computer star network because all network
fails whole network is not disturbed. Hub detects
the fault and isolates the faulty computer.
cables must be pulled to one central
3.It is easy to replace, install or remove hosts or point, requiring more cable length than
other devices, the problem can be easily other networking topologies.
detected-It is easier to modify or add a new
computer without disturbing the rest of the 2. Central node dependency, if central
network by simply running a new line from the hub fails, the whole network fails to
computer to the central location and plugging it
to the hub.
operate.
4.Use of multiple cable types in a same network
with a hub.
5.It has good performance
 Mesh Topology
• Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between
network nodes. In a well-connected topology, every node has a
connection to every other node in the network. The cable requirements
are high, but there are redundant paths built in.
• Failure in one of the computers does not cause the network to break
down, as they have alternative paths to other computers.

Mesh topologies are used in critical

connection of host computers (typically
telephone exchanges). Alternate paths
allow each computer to balance the load
to other computer systems in the network
by using more than one of the connection
paths available.
 Mesh Topology
• Advantages
1. Yield the greatest amount of redundancy in the event that one
of the nodes fails where network traffic can be redirected to
another node.
2. Point-to-point link makes fault isolation easy.
3. Privacy between computers is maintained as messages travel
along dedicated path.
4. Network problems are easier to diagnose.
• Disadvantages
1. The amount of cabling required is high.
2. A large number of I/ O (input / output) ports are required.
 Tree Topology
• In telecommunication networks, a tree network is a
combination of two or more star networks connected
together. Each star network is a local area network (LAN) in
which there is a central computer or server to which all the
workstation nodes are directly linked. The central computers
of the star networks are connected to a main cable called the
bus. Thus, a tree network is a bus network of star networks.
The most common structure or topology known as Tree
topology, Tree topology is a LAN topology in which only one
route exists between any two nodes on the network. The
pattern of connection resembles a tree in which all branches
spring from one root.
 Tree Topology
• Advantages
– Installation and configuration of network are easy.
– The addition of the secondary hub allows more devices to be
attached to the central hub.
– Less expensive when compared to mesh topology.
– Faults in the network can be detected traces.
• Disadvantages
• Failure in the central hub brings the entire network to a halt.
• M ore cabling is required when compared to the bus
topology because each node is connected to the central hub.
 SIR NASEEM AHMED KHAN
DOW VOCATIONAL & TECHNICAL TRAINING CENTRE
naseemahmedkhan@hotmail.com