Data communications

ETT05203
Networking and Internetworking Devices

At the end of this lecture, you should be able

to understand
 Data communication software
 Data communication aims at enabling two or more
electronic devices to reach each other over the
network and exchange information
 For that to happen, there must be a program or
software responsible for the communication
 The software in this case is referred to as data
communication software
What is a data communication
software?
 It is the core of data communication – without it,
data communication is incomplete
 It is a software responsible for
 It is a software responsible for controlling data
formatting, data transmission, and total
communication control
 It is the software that may completely resides on
central PC or part of it may be located on the front
end communication PC, a concentrator, remote
concentrator or in intelligent terminals
 Significance of Data Communication Software
 Defines the communication parameters like
communication speed, error rate, bandwidth,
protocols, etc.
 Controls the user accessibility to information. Defines
how a user can access the information and how the
information shall be presented to user.
 It controls the optimal configuration of
communication hardware and makes the effective
utilization of network resources
 Function of Communication software
 Establish logical data paths.
 Check accuracy of each transmission, and arrange
retransmission if necessary (e.g. TCP/IP).
 Exercise flow control to avoid congestion and loss of
 data.
 Maintaining the statistics on traffic volumes and
network reliability over all links
 Transmission initiation and termination
 Message breakdown and Assembly
 Error Detection- It checks for lost bits and other
errors introduced during transmission
 Categories of Communication Software
 They can be grouped into two categories
 Application Software - Application software (an
app for short) is a program or group of programs
designed for end users
 Examples: email client, music player, simulators word
processor, file viewer etc.
 System Software – A type of computer program
that is designed to run a computer's hardware and
application programs. Provides the interface between
hardware and user program. Examples, OS, BIOS,
device drivers etc.
 Communication Protocol
 A protocol is a set of rules that govern data
communications.
 It repre­sents an agreement between the
communicating devices.
 Without a protocol, two devices may be connected
but not communicating, just as a person speaking
Chinese cannot be understood by a person who
speaks only French.
 A communication protocol is a description of the rules
that communication devices must follow to
communicate with each other
 It is another important component of the data
communication system
 Elements of a Protocol
 Syntax
 It is the structure or format of the data
 It is the arrangement of data in a particular order.
Semantics
 It gives the meaning of each section of bits and
indicates the interpretation of each section.
 It also tells what action/decision is to be taken based
on the interpretation.
Timing
 tells the sender about the readiness of the receiver to
receive the data
  It tells the sender at what rate the data should be
sent to the receiver to avoid overwhelming the
receiver

 In this module, the OSI model and TCP/IP are

the main protocols that will be covered
Computer Network Models
 Network models define a set of network layers
and how they interact
 Terminologies
 Network: A combination of Hardware and software
systems that send data from one location to another
 Hardware: Consists of the physical equipment that
carries signal from one point of the network to the
other
 Software: consists of instruction set that make
possible the services that we expect from a network
Layered task
 We use the concept of layers in our daily life.
 As an example, let us consider two friends who
communicate through postal mail.
 The process of sending a letter to a friend would
be complex if there were no services available
from the post office.
Layered task
 The process of sending a letter to a friend would
be complex if there were no services available
from the post office.
Layered task
 Hierarchy
 The order in which activities must be handled in a
layered structure
 Services
 Each layer at the sending site uses the services of
the layer immediately below it
Layered task
 The layered model that dominated data
communications and networking literature
before 1990 was the Open System
Interconnection (OSI) model
 However, TCP/IP model later became the
dominant commercial architecture because it
was used and tested extensively in the internet
 OSI model was never fully implemented
OSI Model
• An ISO standard that covers all aspects of
network communication is the Open System
Interconnection model of the 1970s.
• An open system: a set of protocols that allows
any two different systems