CHAPTER 15

Networks

Fundamentals of Computer Sciences- slide notes by Ms. Laila Khalid

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Chapter Goals
• Describe the core issues related to computer
networks
• List various types of networks and their
characteristics
• Explain various topologies of local-area networks
• Explain why network technologies are best
implemented as open systems
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Chapter Goals

• Compare and contrast various technologies

for home Internet connections
• Explain packet switching
• Describe the basic roles of various network
protocols
• Explain the role of a firewall
• Compare and contrast network hostnames and IP
addresses
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Chapter Goals
• Explain the domain name system
• Understand social networking as a model
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Networking
Computer network
A collection of computing devices connected in order to
communicate and share resources

Connections between computing devices can be

physical using wires or cables or wireless using radio
waves or infrared signals
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Networking
Node (host)
Any device on a network

Data transfer rate (bandwidth)

The speed with which data is moved from one place to another
on a network
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Networking
Computer networks have opened up an entire frontier in the
world of computing called the client/server model

Figure 15.1 Client/Server interaction

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Networking
Protocol
A set of rules that defines how data is formatted and processed
on a network; i.e., rules that allow client/server interaction

File server
A computer that stores and manages files for multiple users on a
network

Web server
A computer dedicated to responding to requests (from the
browser client) for web pages
Types of Networks
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Types of Networks
Local-area network (LAN)
A network that connects a relatively small number of
machines in a relatively close geographical area
Ring topology connects all nodes in a closed loop on which
messages travel in one direction

Star topology centers around one node to which all others

are connected and through which all messages are sent

Bus topology nodes are connected to a single

communication line that carries messages in both directions
 Types of Network Topologies

Ethernet
Figure 15.2 Various network topologies The industry standard bus technology for local-area networks
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Types of Networks
Wide-area network (WAN)
A network that connects local-area networks over a
potentially large geographic distance

Metropolitan-area network (MAN)

The communication infrastructures that have been
developed in and around large cities

Gateway
One particular set up to handle all communication going
between that LAN and other networks
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Types of Networks

Figure 15.1 Local-area networks connected across a

distance to create a wide-area network
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Types of Networks
Internet
A wide area network that spans the planet
So, who owns the Internet?

internet?
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Internet Connections
Internet backbone
A set of high-speed networks that carry Internet traffic, provided
by companies such as AT&T, Verizon, GTE, British Telecom, and
IBM

Internet service provider (ISP)

A company that provides other companies or individuals with
access to the Internet
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Internet Connections
Various technologies available to connect a home computer to the
Internet
Phone modem converts computer data into an analog audio signal
for transfer over a telephone line, and then a modem at the
destination converts it back again into data

Digital subscriber line (DSL) uses regular copper phone lines to

transfer digital data to and from the phone company’s central office

Cable modem uses the same line that your cable TV signals come in
on to transfer the data back and forth
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Internet Connections
Broadband
A connection in which transfer speeds are faster
than 768 kilobits per second
• DSL connections and cable modems are broadband
connections
• The speed for downloads (getting data from the
Internet to your home computer) may not be the same
as uploads (sending data from your home computer to
the Internet)
Packet Switching
Packet
A unit of data sent across a network
Router
A network device that directs a packet between networks
toward its final destination
Packet switching
Messages are divided into fixed-sized, numbered packets;
packets are individually routed to their destination, then
reassembled
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Packet Switching
Figure 15.4

Messages
sent by
packet
switching

Take a message, break it into three packets, and

simulate this process
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Open Systems
A logical progression...

Proprietary system
A system that uses technologies kept private by a
particular commercial vendor
Interoperability
The ability of software and hardware on multiple
machines and from multiple commercial vendors to
communicate
Open systems
Systems based on a common model of network
architecture and a suite of protocols used in its
implementation
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Open Systems
Open Systems
Interconnection Reference
Model
A seven-layer logical break
down of network interaction to
facilitate communication
standards
Each layer deals with a
particular aspect of network
communication
Figure 15.5 The layers of the OSI Reference Model
Network Devices
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Network Protocols
• Network protocols are layered such that each one relies
on the protocols that underlie it
• Sometimes referred to as a protocol stack

Figure 15.6 Layering of key network protocols

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TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
Software that breaks messages into packets,
hands them off to the IP software for delivery, and
then orders and reassembles the packets at their
destination
Internet Protocol (IP)
Software that deals with the routing of packets
through the maze of interconnected networks to
their final destination
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TCP/IP
User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
An alternative to TCP that is faster but less reliable
Ping
A program used to test whether a particular
network computer is active and reachable
Traceroute
A program that shows the route a packet takes
across the Internet
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High-Level Protocols
Other protocols build on TCP/IP protocol suite
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) used to specify
transfer of electronic mail
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows a user to transfer
files to and from another computer
Telnet used to log onto one computer from another
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http) allows exchange
of Web documents
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High-Level Protocols
Port
A numeric
designation
that
corresponds to
a particular
high-level
protocol

Figure 15.7
Some
protocols and
the ports they
use
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MIME Types
MIME type
A standard for defining the format of files that are included
as email attachments or on websites
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
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Firewalls
Firewall
A gateway machine and its software that protects
a network by filtering the traffic it allows
Access control policy
A set of rules established by an organization that
specify what types of network communication are
permitted and denied
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Firewalls

Figure 15.8 A firewall protecting a

LAN
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Network Addresses
Hostname
A name made up of words separated by dots that
uniquely identifies a computer on the Internet
IP address
An address made up of four one-byte numeric
values separated by dots that uniquely identifies a
computer on the Internet
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Network Addresses

Figure 15.9
An IP address
is stored in
four bytes

Class A: first byte for network address and three remaining bytes for
host number
Class B: first two bytes for network address and the last two bytes
for host number
Class C: first three bytes for network address and the last byte for
host number
Where does the host number
come from?
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Domain Name System

Host number
The part of the IP address that specifies a
particular host (machine) on the network
Domain name
The part of a hostname that specifies a specific
organization or group
Top-level domain (TLD)
The last section of a domain name that specifies
the type of organization or its country of origin
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Domain Name System

matisse.csc.villanova.edu

Computer
name

Domain name TLD

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Domain Name System

Figure 15.10 Top-level domains, including some relatively new

ones
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Domain Name System

Organizations based in countries other than the United
States use a top-level domain that corresponds to their
two-letter country codes

Figure 15.11
Some of the top-level domain
names based on country codes
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Domain Name System

Domain name system (DNS)
A distributed system for managing hostname
resolution

Domain name server

A computer that attempts to translate a hostname
into an IP address
 Social Networks

Social networks are a model (simulation) of how objects--

individuals and organizations--interact
• Internal: Participants are within a closed or private community
• External: No restrictions on membership

Functionality
Participants can
• describe themselves
• set privacy settings
• block unwanted members
• have personal pages of pictures/blogs
• form or be a member of a community within the larger community

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