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CH.4 Network Topologies & Network Devices.

Chapter 4 Marks 10

Network Topologies and Network Devices

4.1 Network Topology:

The term Network Topology defines the geographic arrangement of computer networking devices. The term
topology refers to the way in which the various nodes or computers of a network are linked together. It
describes the actual layout of the computer network hardware. Two or more devices connect to a link; two
or more links form a topology. Topology determines the data paths that may be used between any pair of
devices of the network.

The selection of a Network Topology for a network cannot be done in isolation as it affects the choice of
media and the access method used. Because it determines the strategy used in wiring a building for a
network and deserves some careful study.

Selection criteria for selecting network topology.

1. Size of the network & number of devices or nodes being connected.
2. Ease of configuration & installing.
3. The ease of adding new device in an existing network.
4. The ease of fault indication & reflection.
5. Number of physical links required to be used for connecting the devices.
6. Need of network connecting devices such as repeaters, switches, hubs etc.
7. Costs involved.
8. Need of security.
9. Need of network administration.

There are two ways of defining network geometry: the physical topology and the logical (or signal)
topology.

The physical topology of a network is the actual geometric layout of workstations. There are several
common physical topologies, as described below and as shown in the illustration.

Types of Topologies

Figure 4.1 Types of Topology

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Logical (or signal) topology refers to the nature of the paths the signals follow from node to node. In many
instances, the logical topology is the same as the physical topology. But this is not always the case. For
example, some networks are physically laid out in a star configuration, but they operate logically as bus or
ring networks.

1. Star Topology

The physical star Topology uses a central controlling hub with dedicated legs pointing in all directions – like
points of a star. Each network device has a dedicated point-to-point link to the central hub. There is no
direct link between these computers and the computers can communicate via central controller only. This
strategy prevents troublesome collisions and keeps the lines of communications open and free of traffic.

The routing function is performed by the central controller which centrally controls communication
between any two computers by establishing a logical path between them. It means that if one computer A
wants to send data to another computer B, Computer A sends the data to the controller & this controller
then sends the data to computer B

Figure 4.2 Simple star network

This Topology, obviously, require a great deal of cabling. This design provides an excellent platform for
reconfiguration and trouble-shooting. Changes to the network are as simple as plugging another segment
into the hub and a break in the LAN is easy to isolate and doesn't affect the rest of the network.

Advantages of Star Topology

The benefits of star topology are:

1. It is easier to add new node or modify any existing node without disturbing network i.e. expansion is
easier.
2. Addition of new node does not increase communication delay.
3. If any local computer or link fails, the entire system does not collapse. Only that link or computer is
affected.
4. It is easy to find device and cable problems i.e. fault identification and isolation is easier.
5. Media faults are automatically isolated to the failed segment.

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Disadvantages of Star Topology

The disadvantages are considered as follows:

1. If the central controller or hub fails, entire system collapses.

2. Cabling cost is more as each node is connected individually to the hub.
3. Requires more cable than most topologies
4. Moderately difficult to install

2. Bus Topology

The physical Bus Network Topology is the simplest and most widely used of the network designs. It
consists of one continuous length of cable (trunk) that is shared by all the nodes in the network and a
terminating resistor (terminator) at each end that absorbs the signal when it reaches the end of line.
Without a terminator the electrical signal would reach the end of copper wire and bounce back, causing
errors on the network.

Figure Bus Toplology

Communication on the Bus

Computers on a bus topology network communicate by addressing data to a particular computer and sending
out that data on the cable as electronic signals. To understand how computers communicate on a bus, you
need to be familiar with three concepts:

 Sending the signal

 Signal bounce
 Terminator

Sending the Signal

Network data in the form of electronic signals is sent to all the computers on the network. Only the computer
whose address matches the address encoded in the original signal accepts the information. All other
computers reject the data. Figure 4.3 shows a message being sent from 0020af151d8b to 02608c133456.
Only one computer at a time can send messages.

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Figure 4.3 Data is sent to all computers, but only the destination computer accepts it

Because only one computer at a time can send data on a bus network, the number of computers attached to
the bus will affect network performance. The more computers there are on a bus, the more computers will be
waiting to put data on the bus and, consequently, the slower the network will be.

There is no standard way to measure the impact of a given number of computers on the speed of any given
network. The effect on performance is not related solely to the number of computers. The following is a list
of factors that—in addition to the number of networked computers—will affect the performance of a
network:

 Hardware capabilities of computers on the network

 Total number of queued commands waiting to be executed
 Types of applications (client-server or file system sharing, for example) being run on the network
 Types of cable used on the network
 Distances between computers on the network

Computers on a bus either transmit data to other computers on the network or listen for data from other
computers on the network. They are not responsible for moving data from one computer to the next.
Consequently, if one computer fails, it does not affect the rest of the network.

Signal Bounce

Because the data, or electronic signal, is sent to the entire network, it travels from one end of the cable to the
other. If the signal is allowed to continue uninterrupted, it will keep bouncing back and forth along the cable
and prevent other computers from sending signals. Therefore, the signal must be stopped after it has had a
chance to reach the proper destination address.

Terminator

To stop the signal from bouncing, a component called a terminator is placed at each end of the cable to
absorb free signals. Absorbing the signal clears the cable so that other computers can send data.

Both ends of each cable segment on the network must be plugged into something. For example, a cable end
can be plugged into a computer or a connector to extend the cable length. Any open cable ends not plugged
into something must be terminated to prevent signal bounce. Figure 4.4 shows a properly terminated bus
topology network.

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Figure 4.4 Terminators absorb free signals

All nodes on the bus topology have equal access to the trunk. This is accomplished using short drop cables
or direct T-connectors. The number of devices and the length of the trunk can be easily expanded.

Advantages of Bus Topology

The advantages of physical bus topology are:

1. It uses established standards and it is relatively easy to install and the use for small networks.
2. It requires less media than other topologies.
3. Failure of one node does not affect the network functioning.
4. Cost is less as only one main cable is required and least amount of cable is required to connect
computers.
5. Expansion is easier. New node can be easily added by using a connector.

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

The disadvantages of bus Topology are:

1. If the main central line fails the entire network collapses.

2. The bus networks are difficult to reconfigure, especially when the acceptable number of
connections or maximum distances have been reached.
3. They are also difficult to troubleshoot because everything happens on a single media segment. This
can have dangerous consequences because any break in the cabling brings the network to its knee.
4. Sharing a single communication channel results in slower access time.

In this topology, higher network traffic slows down the bus speed. Only one device transmits at a time,
other devices wait for their turn. As a result there is no coordination between the devices for reservation of
transmission time slots, so data collisions are frequent.

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3. Ring Topology

The physical ring Topology is a circular loop of point-to-point links. Each device connects directly to the ring
or indirectly through and interface device or drop cable. Message travel around the ring from node to node
in a very organized manner. Each workstation checks the message for a matching destination address. If the
address doesn't match the node simply regenerates the message and sends it on its way. If the address
matches, the node accepts the message and sends a reply to the originating sender.

Figure 4.5 Ring Topology

In ring topology, the various nodes are connected in form of a ring or circle (physical ring), in which data
flows in a circle, from one station to another station. It has no beginning or end that needs to be
terminated. In this topology, each device or node has a dedicated point to point line configuration with only
two devices on either side of it. Signal is passed along the ring in one direction from one station to another
until it reaches destination. Each device in ring incorporates a repeater. When a device receives a signal
intended for another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along.

Token Passing

One method of transmitting data around a ring is called token passing. (A token is a special series of bits
that travels around a token-ring network. Each network has only one token.) The token is passed from
computer to computer until it gets to a computer that has data to send. Figure 4.6 shows a token ring
topology with the token. The sending computer modifies the token, puts an electronic address on the data,
and sends it around the ring.

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Figure 4.6 A computer grabs the token and passes it around the ring

• There are two kinds of ring topologies:

1. Single Ring

2. Dual Ring

1. Single ring - In single ring network, a single cable is shared by all the devices and data travel only in one
direction.

Each device waits for its turn and then transmits. When the data reaches its destination, another device can
transmit.

Advantages of Ring Topology

The advantages of Ring Topology are:

1. They are very easy to troubleshoot because each device incorporates a repeater.
2. A special internal feature called beaconing allows troubled workstations to identify themselves
quickly.
3. There is no master computer on controller. Every computer has equal chance to place the data and
access the token.
4. There are no collisions.
5. Data packets travel at greater speeds.

It is easier to locate the problems with device and cable i.e. fault isolation is simplified. If one device does
not receive a signal within a specified time, it can issue an alarm. This alarm alerts the network operator to
the problem and its location.

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Disadvantages of Ring Topology

The disadvantages of ring topologies are:

1. A ring network requires more cable than a bus network.

2. A break in cable ring brings down entire network (in case of single ring).
3. Adding or removing the node disturbs the network activity.
4. In ring network, communication delay is directly proportional to the number of nodes in the
network. Hence addition of new nodes in the network also increases communication delay.
5. It is considerably difficult to install and reconfigure ring Topology.
6. Media failure on unidirectional or single loop causes complete network failure.

2. Dual ring: This topology uses two rings to send the data, each in different direction. Thus, allowing more
packets to be sent over the network.

Dual-ring Topology : The type of Topology in which each of the nodes of the network is connected to two
other nodes in the network, with two connections to each of these nodes, and with the first and last nodes
being connected to each other with two connections, forming a double ring – the data flows in opposite
directions around the two rings, although, generally, only one of the rings carries data during normal
operation, and the two rings are independent unless there is a failure or break in one of the rings, at which
time the two rings are joined to enable the flow of data to continue using a segment of the second ring to
bypass the fault in the primary ring.

Advantages of Dual-ring Topology

1. Very orderly network where every device has access to the token and the opportunity to transmit.
2. Performs better than a star topology under heavy network load.
3. Does not require network server to manage the connectivity between the computers.

Disadvantages of Dual-ring Topology

1. One malfunctioning workstation or bad port can create problems for the entire network.
2. Moves, adds and changes of devices can affect the network.
3. Much slower than a bus network under normal load.
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4. Mesh Topology

In mesh topology, each node is connected to every other node in the network i.e. each node has a
dedicated point to point link to every other node as shown. Dedicated means that the link carries the traffic
only between two devices it connects.

In this way there exist multiple paths between two nodes of the network. In case of failure of one path, the
other one can be used.

Figure 4.7 In a mesh topology, all computers are connected to each other by separate cables

Advantages of Mesh Topology

1. It is robust as the failure of one node does not collapse the entire system. If one link fails, the entire system
continues to work.

2. There is no traffic congestion problem as dedicated links are being used.

3. Dedicated links ensure faster transmission without any delay.

4. Dedicated links also ensure data privacy and security.

5. Point to point links makes fault identification and isolation easier.

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

1. Connecting each device to every other device in the network makes installation and reconfiguration
difficult.

2. It has high cabling cost as n (n-1)/2 links are required to connect n nodes.

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5. Tree Topology:

A tree topology is variation of star. As in a star, nodes in a tree are linked to a central hub head end that
controls the traffic to a network. However, not every computer plugs into the central hub, majority of them
are connected to a secondary hub which in turn is connected to the central hub as shown in fig .4.8

Figure 4.8 a tree topology

The central hub in the tree is active hub which contains repeater. The repeater amplifies the signal &
increase the distance a signal can travel. The secondary hubs may be active or passive. A passive hub
provides a simple physical connection between the attached devices.

Advantages of Tree Topology

1. Supported by several hardware and software venders.

2. It allows more devices to be attached to a single central hub and can therefore increases the distance a
signal can travel between devices.
3. It allows the network to isolate and prioritize communication from different computers i.e. the
computers attached to one secondary hub can be given priority over the computers attached to another
secondary hub.

6. Variations on the Standard Topologies

Many working topologies are hybrid combinations of the bus, star, ring, and mesh topologies.

1. Star Bus
The star bus is a combination of the bus and star topologies. In a star-bus topology, several star topology
networks are linked together with linear bus trunks. Figure 4.9 shows a typical star-bus topology.

If one computer goes down, it will not affect the rest of the network. The other computers can continue to
communicate. If a hub goes down, all computers on that hub are unable to communicate. If a hub is linked
to other hubs, those connections will be broken as well.

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Figure 4.9 Star-bus network.

2. Star Ring
The star ring (sometimes called a star-wired ring) appears similar to the star bus. Both the star ring and the
star bus are centered in a hub that contains the actual ring or bus. Figure 4.10 shows a star-ring network.
Linear-bus trunks connect the hubs in a star bus, while the hubs in a star ring are connected in a star
pattern by the main hub.

Fig 4.10 Star-ring network.

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2.2 networking Devices:

1 Repeater:
Repeaters are used within network to extend the length of communication.

As signals travel along a network cable (or any other medium of transmission), they degrade and become
distorted in a process that is called attenuation. If a cable is long enough, the attenuation will finally make a
signal unrecognizable by the receiver.

A Repeater enables signals to travel longer distances over a network. Repeaters work at the OSI's Physical
layer. A repeater regenerates the received signals and then retransmits the regenerated (or conditioned)
signals on other segments.

Figure 4.11 Repeaters connect cables and amplify the signal

Repeaters are normally two ports boxes that connect two segments. As a signal comes in one port, it is
regenerated and sends out to the other port.

The signal is read as 1s and 0s. As 1s and 0s are transmitted, the noise can be cleaned out.

They do not have the intelligence to understand the signals they are transmitting. Repeaters merely amplify
the signal coming in either side and repeat it through their other side. Repeaters are used to connect only
the same type of media, such as 10Base-2 Thin Ethernet to 10Base-2 Thin Ethernet, or Token Ring twisted-
pair to Token Ring twisted-pair. In practice, repeaters are usually used with 10Base-2 networks (Thin
Ethernet).

Advantages of Repeater
 Repeaters easily extend the length of network.
 They require no processing overhead, so very little if any performance degradation occurs.
 It can connect signals from the same network type that use different types of cables.

Disadvantages of Repeaters
 Repeaters cannot be used to connect segments of different network types.

 They cannot be used to segment traffic on a network to reduce congestion.

 Many types of network have a limit on the number of network s that can be used at once.

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2 Hub:

A hub or concentrator is a device used to connect all of the computers on a star or ring network. From the
outside, a hub, as shown in figure 4.12, is nothing more than a box with a series of cable connectors in it.
Hubs are available in a variety of sizes, from four- and five-port devices designed for home and small
business networks to large rack-mounted units with 24 ports or more. Installing a single hub is simply a
matter of connecting it to a power source and plugging in cables connected to the network interface
adapters in your computers.

Figure 4.12 Hub

An Ethernet hub is also called a multiport repeater. When data enters the hub through any of its ports, the
hub amplifies the signal and transmits it out through all of the other ports. This enables a star network to
share a single medium, even though each computer has its own separate cable. The hub relays every packet
transmitted by any computer on the network to all of the other computers while amplifying the signals. The
maximum segment length for a UTP cable on an Ethernet network is 100 meters. A segment is defined as
the distance between two communicating computers. However, because the hub also functions as a
repeater, each of the cables connecting a computer to a hub port can be up to 100 meters long, allowing a
segment length of up to 200 meters on a one-hub network.

Regeneration of the signal aside, the basic function of a hub is to take data from one of the connected
devices and forward it to all the other ports on the hub. This method of operation is inefficient because, in
most cases, the data is intended for only one of the connected devices. You can see a representation of
how a hub works in figure 4.13

Figure 4.13 How Hub Works

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Due to the inefficiencies of the hub system and the constantly increasing demand for more bandwidth,
hubs are slowly but surely being replaced with switches. As you will see in the next section, switches offer
distinct advantages over hubs.

A Multistation Access Unit (MAU) is a special type of hub used for token ring networks. The word "hub" is
used most often in relation to Ethernet networks, and MAU only refers to token ring networks. On the
outside, the MAU looks like a hub. It connects to multiple network devices, each with a separate cable.

These are some hubs which are

I. Passive Hub

II. Active Hub

III. Switch/ Intelligent Hub

Passive Hub

It provides no signal regeneration. They are simply cables connected together so that the signal is broken
out to other nodes without regeneration. These are not used often today because of loss of cable length
that is allowed.

Active Hub

It acts as repeaters and regenerates the data signals to all ports. They have no real intelligence to tell
whether the signal needs to go to all ports that is blindly repeated.

Switch Hub (Intelligent Hub)

Switches are multi ports bridges. They filter traffic between the ports on the switch by using the address of
computers transmitting to them.

Switches can be used when data performance is needed or when collision need to be reduce.

Advantages of Hub
 Hubs need almost no configuration.
 Active hub can extend maximum network media distance.
 No processing is done at the hub to slow down performance

Disadvantages of Hub
 Passive hubs can greatly limit maximum media distance.
 Hubs have no intelligence to filter traffic so all data is send out on all ports whether it is need or not.

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Active Hub Passive Hub

1. They are like passive hubs but have 1. A passive hub simply combines the signals
electronic components for regeneration and of a network segments.
amplification of signals.
2. by using active hubs the distance between 2. A passive hub reduces the cabling distance
devices can be increased. by half because it does not boost the signals.
3. The main drawback of active hubs is that 3. Passive hubs do not amplify noise.
they amplify noise along with the signals.
4. They are much expensive than passive 4. They are not much expensive.
hubs.

3 Bridge:

Bridging is a technique used to connect networks at the data-link layer. As explained earlier, hubs connect
networks at the physical layer and are unaware of the data structures operating at the higher layers. When
you expand your network by adding another hub, the effect is no different than if you substituted a hub
with more ports for the old one; each packet generated by a computer on the network reaches every other
computer. A bridge, on the other hand, provides packet filtering at the data-link layer, meaning that it only
propagates the packets that are destined for the other side of the network. If you have a large LAN that is
experiencing excessive collisions or delays due to high traffic levels, you can reduce the traffic by splitting
the network in half with a bridge.

Bridges are used to connect similar network segments.

Figure 4.14 A Bridge filters the packets between two segments.

A bridge does not pass a signal it receives. When a bridge receives a signal, it determines its destination by
looking at its destination and it sends the signals towards it. For example in above figure, a bridge has been
used to join two network segments 1 and 2.

When the bridge receives the signals it read address of both sender and receiver. If the sender is a
computer in segment 1 and the receiver is also segment 1, it would not pass the signals to the segments 2.
It will however pass signals if the sender is in one segment and the receiver in other segment. Bridge works
at the data link layer of O.S.I model.

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Bridge Types
Local Bridge

The standard type of bridge used to connect network segments of the same type and the same location is
called a local bridge. This is the simplest type of bridge because it doesn't modify the data in the packets; it
simply reads the addresses in the data-link layer protocol header and passes the packet on or discards it.

Translation Bridge

A translation bridge, illustrated in Figure 4.15, is a data-link layer device that connects network segments
using different network media or different protocols. This bridge is more complicated than a local bridge
because, in addition to reading the headers in the packet, the bridge strips the data-link layer frame off the
packets to be relayed to other network segments and packages them in a new frame for transmission on
the other segment. The bridge can thus connect an Ethernet segment to a Fiber Distributed Data Interface
(FDDI) segment or connect two different types of Ethernet segments (such as 100Base-TX and 100Base-T4)
while retaining a single broadcast domain. Because of the additional packet manipulations, translation
bridging is slower than local bridging, and translation bridges are more expensive as well. Because there are
other types of devices that can connect different network types, such as routers, the use of translation
bridges is relatively rare.

Fig 4.15 Translational Bridge

Remote Bridge

A remote bridge is designed to connect two network segments at distant locations using some form of wide
area network (WAN) link. The link can be a modem connection, leased telephone line, or any other type of
WAN technology. The advantage of using a bridge in this manner is that you reduce the amount of traffic
passing over the WAN link, which is usually far slower and more expensive than the local network.

Advantages of Bridges
 Bridge extends network segments by connecting them together to make one logical network.
 They can affect the segment traffic between networks by filtering data if it does not need to pass.
 Like repeaters they can connect similar network types with different cabling.
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Disadvantages of Bridges
 Bridge possess information about the data they receive with can slow performance.

4 Switches:

There is another type of data-link layer connection device, called a switch, which has largely replaced the
bridge in the modern network. It is also replacing routers in many instances. A switch is a box with multiple
cable jacks, making it look similar to a hub. In fact, some manufacturers have hubs and switches of various
sizes that are identical in appearance, except for their markings. The difference between a hub and a switch
is that a hub forwards every incoming packet out through all of its ports, and a switch forwards each
incoming packet only to the port that provides access to the destination system

Figure 4.16 – A Sample Switch

As discussed earlier in the chapter, a hub forwards data to all ports, regardless of whether the data is
intended for the system connected to the port. This arrangement is inefficient; how-ever, it requires little
intelligence on the part of the hub, which is why hubs are inexpensive. Rather than forwarding data to all
the connected ports, a switch forwards data only to the port on which the destination system is connected.
It looks at the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the devices connected to it to determine the
correct port. A
MAC address is a unique number that is stamped into every NIC. By forwarding data only to the system to
which the data is addressed, the switch decreases the amount of traffic on each network link dramatically.
In effect, the switch literally channels (or switches, if you prefer) data between the ports. Figure 4.17
illustrates how a switch works.

Figure 4.17 – How Switch Works

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Switches can also further improve performance over the performance of hubs by using a mechanism called
full-duplex. In a half-duplex connection, data can be either sent or received on the wire but not at the same
time. Because switches manage the data flow on the connection, a switch can operate in full-duplex
mode—it can send and receive data on the connection at the same time. In a full-duplex connection, the
maximum data through-put is double that for a half-duplex connection.

Switching Types

There are two basic types of switching: cut-through and store-and-forward.

1. CUT-THROUGH SWITCHING:

Cut-through switch forwards packets immediately by reading the destination address from their data-link
layer protocol headers as soon as they're received and relaying the packets out through the appropriate
port with no additional processing. The switch doesn't even wait for the entire packet to arrive before it
begins forwarding it. In most cases, cut-through switches use a hardware-based mechanism that consists of
a grid of input/output (I/O) circuits that enable data to enter and leave the switch through any port. This is
called matrix switching or crossbar switching. This type of switch is relatively inexpensive and minimizes the
delay incurred during the processing of packets by the switch (which is called latency).

2. STORE-AND-FORWARD SWITCHING:

A store-and-forward switch waits until an entire packet arrives before forwarding it to its destination. This
type of unit can be a shared-memory switch, which has a common memory buffer that stores the incoming
data from all of the ports, or a bus architecture switch, with individual buffers for each port, connected by a
bus. While the packet is stored in the switch's memory buffers, the switch takes the opportunity to verify
the data by performing a cyclical redundancy check (CRC). This checking naturally introduces additional
latency into the packet forwarding process, and the additional functions make store-and-forward switches
more expensive than cut-through switches.

5. Router:

A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks. Routers perform
the "traffic directing" functions on the Internet. A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to
another through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it reaches its destination node.

A router is connected to two or more data lines from different networks (as opposed to a network switch,
which connects data lines from one single network). When a data packet comes in on one of the lines, the
router reads the address information in the packet to determine its ultimate destination. Then, using
information in its routing table or routing policy, it directs the packet to the next network on its journey.
This creates an overlay internetwork.

The most familiar type of routers are home and small office routers that simply pass data, such as web
pages, email, IM, and videos between the home computers and the Internet. An example of a router would
be the owner's cable or DSL router, which connects to the Internet through an ISP. More sophisticated
routers, such as enterprise routers, connect large business or ISP networks up to the powerful core routers

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CH.4 Network Topologies & Network Devices.

that forward data at high speed along the optical fiber lines of the Internet backbone. Though routers are
typically dedicated hardware devices, use of software-based routers has grown increasingly common.

Unlike bridges and switches, routers function at the network layer of the OSI reference model. This means
that a router can connect LANs that run completely different data-link layer protocols (such as Ethernet and
Token Ring), as long as all of the systems are running the same network layer protocol. Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the most popular protocol suite in use today, and IP is
TCP/IP's network layer protocol, so most of the router information you come across refers to IP routing.

Advantages of Router

 They use high level of intelligence to rout data.

 Routers can also act as a bridge to handle non rout able protocols such as NetBEUI (Network Bios
Extended User Interface).

Disadvantages of Router:

 High level of intelligence take more processing time which can effect performance
 Routers are very complicated which installation and maintenance difficult.
6. Gateways:

Gateways are very intelligent devices or else can be a computer running the appropriate software to
connect and translate data between networks with different protocols or architecture, so their work is
much more complex than a normal router. For instance, allowing communication between TCP/IP clients
and IPX/SPX or AppleTalk.

OSI: Gateways operate at the network layer and above, but most of them at the application layer.

Thus gateways make communication possible between different architectures and environments. They
repackage and convert data going from one environment to another so that each environment can
understand the other's environment data.

A gateway repackages information to match the requirements of the destination system. Gateways can
change the format of a message so that it will conform to the application program at the receiving end of
the transfer.

A gateway links two systems that do not use the same:

 Communication protocols
 Data formatting structures
 Languages
 Architecture

For example, electronic mail gateways, such as X.400 gateway, receive messages in one format, and then
translate it, and forward in X.400 format used by the receiver, and vice versa.

To process the data, the gateway decapsulates incoming data through the networks protocol stack and
encapsulates the outgoing data, in the protocol stack of the other networks to allow transmission.

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CH.4 Network Topologies & Network Devices.

7. MODEM :

The device that converts digital signals into analog signals and analog signals to digital signals is called
Modem. The word modem stands for modulation and demodulation. The process of converting digital
signals to analog signals is called modulation. The process of converting analog signals to digital signals is
called demodulation. Modems are used with computers to transfer data from one computer to another
computer through telephone lines.

Figure 4.18 Modem

Types of Modems

• Modems can be of several types and they can be categorized in a number of ways.

• Categorization is usually based on the following basic modem features:

1. Directional capacity: half duplex modem and full duplex modem.

2. Connection to the line: 2-wire modem and 4-wire modem.

3. Transmission mode: asynchronous modem and synchronous modem.

4. Internal and external modem

5. DSL and ADSL modem

INTERNAL MODEM

It fits into expansion slots inside the computer. It is directly linked to the telephone lines through the
telephone jack. It is normally less inexpensive than external modem. Its transmission speed is also less than
external modem.

EXTERNAL MODEM

It is the external unit of computer and is connected to the computer through serial port. It is also linked to
the telephone line through a telephone jack. External modems are expensive and have more operation
features and high transmission speed.

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CH.4 Network Topologies & Network Devices.

Advantages

 Inexpensive hardware and telephone lines.

 Easy to setup and maintain.

Disadvantages

 Very slow performance.

2.3 The Role of the Network Interface Card

Network interface cards, usually referred to as NICs, act as the physical interface or connection between
the computer and the network cable. It has a small CPU, memory and a limited instruction set required for
the network related functions. Each NIC has a unique hardware address or physical address to identify the
host uniquely, which ensures that it is unique all over world. Figure 4.19 shows a NIC with a coaxial-cable
connection. The cards are installed in an expansion slot in each computer and server on the network.

After the NIC has been installed, the network cable is attached to the card's port to make the actual
physical connection between the computer and the rest of the network.

Figure 4.19 A Sample NIC

The role of the NIC is to:

 Prepare data from the computer for the network cable.

 Send the data to another computer.
 Control the flow of data between the computer and the cabling system.
 Receive incoming data from the cable and translate it into bytes that can be understood by the
computer's central processing unit (CPU).
 It accepts instructions from host to transfer data to/ from cable.
 It checks the status of the bus with the help of the transceiver and waits till the bus is idle.
 It sends the data bit by bit once the bus is idle.
 It inserts the CRC in the header of the frame while transmitting.
 While accepting the data, NIC compares the destination address in the frame with its own hardware
address; If matches then only it is accepted otherwise rejected.
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CH.4 Network Topologies & Network Devices.

 Validating the input frame by checking its CRC to ensure that the data is error free.

The Role of Drivers

A driver (sometimes called a device driver) is software that enables a computer to work with a particular
device. Although a device might be installed on a computer, the computer's operating system cannot
communicate with the device until the driver for that device has been installed and configured. It is the
software driver that tells the computer how to work with the device so that the device can perform its job.

Drivers and the OSI Reference Model

NIC drivers reside in the Media Access Control sublayer of the data-link layer of the OSI Reference Model.
The Media Access Control sublayer is responsible for providing shared access for the computer's NICs to the
physical layer. In other words, the NIC drivers ensure direct communication between the computer and the
NIC. This, in turn, establishes a link between the computer and the rest of the network. Figure 4.20 shows
the relationship of a NIC to the network software.

Figure 4.20 Communication between the NIC and network software

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