Wollo University

Kombolcha Institute of Technology

College of Informatics
Information Technology Department
Unit Three
Data Communication & Computer Network
By
Abdu A. (MSc in IT)
[email protected]
 Outline
❑ Data communication (definition)

➢ Elements of communication

➢ Data transmission mode

➢ Types of transmission media

❑ Computer network

➢ Components of computer network

➢ Types of computer network

➢ Network topology
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 Data communication
• Data Communication is a process of exchanging data or
information.

• In case of computer networks this exchange is done between two

devices over a transmission medium.

• The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on

four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness,
and jitter.

1. Delivery: The data should be delivered to the correct destination

and correct user.

✓ data should be received by the intended device or user and

only by that device or user.
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 Data communication…
2. Accuracy: The system should deliver the data accurately,
without introducing any errors.
✓The data may get corrupted during transmission affecting the
accuracy of the delivered data.
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner.
✓Data delivered late are useless.
✓Audio and Video data has to be delivered in a timely manner
without any delay; such a data delivery is called real time
transmission of data.
4. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.
✓Uneven Jitter may affect the timeliness of data being
transmitted.
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 Components of Data communication
• A Data Communication system has five components as shown in
the diagram below:

Components of a Data Communication System

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 Components of Data communication…
1. Message: Message is the information to be communicated by the
sender to the receiver.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It
can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera,
and so on.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It
can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, television,
and so on.
4. Transmission Medium: It is the path by which the message
travels from sender to receiver.
✓It can be wired or wireless and many subtypes in both.
5. Protocol: is a set of rules that govern data communications.
✓It represents an agreement between the communicating devices.
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 Data Transmission Mode
• The two devices communicate with each other by sending and
receiving data. The data can flow between the two devices in the
following ways.
✓Simplex
✓Half Duplex
✓Full Duplex

❑Simplex:
• In Simplex, communication or the flow of data is unidirectional
• Only one of the devices sends the data and the other one only
receives the data.
Simplex
Sender Receiver

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 Data Transmission Mode…
❑Half Duplex:
• In half duplex both the stations can transmit as well as receive but
not at the same time.
• When one device is sending other can only receive and vice-versa.
Example: A walkie-talkie.
Half Duplex
Sender Receiver

❑Full Duplex:
• In Full duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive at the
same time.
• Example: Mobile phones
Full Duplex
Sender Receiver
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 Transmission Media
• Transmission medium refers to the physical path of data between
transmitter and receiver in data communication.
• It can be comes into two forms: guided (wired) or unguided
(wireless).
❑Guided Transmission Media
• Data transmission is through solid medium (wired system).
• All communication wires/cables are guided media.
• Different types of cables are used to connect devices, commonly
used cables are:
✓Twisted cable
✓Coaxial cable
✓Fiber optic cable
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 Transmission Media…
❑Unguided Transmission Media
• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a
physical conductor.
• This type of communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.
• Wireless or open air space communication involves no physical
link established between two or more devices, communicating
wirelessly.
• Wireless signals are spread over in the air and are received and
interpreted by appropriate antennas.
• There is no connectivity between the sender and receiver.
• Examples:
✓ Radio Transmission,
✓ Microwave Transmission,
✓ Infrared Transmission 10
 Computer Network
• A computer network can be defined as a collection of nodes, node
can be any device capable of transmitting or receiving data.
• The communicating nodes have to be connected by
communication links.
• The computers on a network may be linked through cables,
telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams.
❑Every network includes:
✓At least two computers, Server or Client workstation.
✓Networking Interface Card's (NIC)
✓A connection medium, usually a wire or cable, although wireless
communication between networked computers and peripherals is
also possible.
✓Network Operating system software, such as Microsoft Windows
NT or 2000,Windoows Server, Novell NetWare, Unix and Linux.
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 Types of Computer Network
• Depending upon the geographical area covered by a network, it is
classified as:
✓ Local Area Network (LAN)
✓ Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
✓ Wide Area Network (WAN)
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
• Local area networks, generally called LANs, are privately-owned
networks within a single building or campus of up to a few
kilometers in size.
• They are widely used to connect personal computers and
workstations in company offices and factories to share resources
(e.g., printers) and exchange information.
• LANs are distinguished from other kinds of networks by three characteristics:
✓ Their size,
✓ Their transmission technology, and
✓ Their topology. 12
 Types of Computer Network…
2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• A metropolitan area network, or MAN, covers a city.
• It is types of networks created by connecting two or more local
area network
• 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 50 km diameter.
3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
• A wide area network, or WAN, spans a large geographical area,
often a country, continent or even whole of the world..
• The Internet is a good example of a WAN.

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 Network topology
• Network Topology is the physical and logical arrangement of
nodes and connections in a network.
• Nodes usually includes devices such as computers, switches,
routers and software with switch and router features.
• Physical Topology is the physical layout of nodes, workstations
and cables in the network.
• Logical topology is the way information flows between different
components.
• There are four basic network topologies :
✓Bus Topology
✓Ring Topology
✓Star Topology
✓Mesh Topology
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 Network topology…
1. Bus Topology
• In bus topology, every computer and network device is connected
to single cable.
• This single cable is called backbone— connecting all nodes on a
network without intervening connectivity devices.
• Devices are connected to the backbone by drop lines and taps.
✓Drop line is the connection between devices and the cable.
✓Tap is the splitter that cut the main link.
• It transmits the data from one end to another in single direction.
No bi-directional feature is in bus topology.
• Terminators stop signals after reaching end of wire
✓Prevent signal bounce
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 Network topology…
Advantage:
• Ease of installation
• inexpensive to implement
• Less cabling
• Suitable for temporary and small networks.

Disadvantage:
• Backbone breaks, whole network down.
• Limited number of devices can be attached.
• Difficult to isolate problems
• Sharing of same cable slows response rate.

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 Network topology…
2. Ring Topology
• Every computer is connected to the next computer in the ring and
each transmits what it receives from the previous computer.
• The messages flow around the ring in one direction.
• Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. When a device
receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater
regenerates the bits and passes them along.

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 Network topology…
Advantages
• The overall cable length is short
• Network setup is relatively simple.
• Equal access for all nodes.
• No terminator required
• Cheap to install and expand.
Disadvantages
• Addition of stations in between or removal of stations can disturb
the whole topology.
• Troubleshooting is difficult in this topology
• Failure in one cable or device breaks the loop and can takedown
the entire network.
• Slow 18
 Network topology…
3. Star Topology
• Every node on the network is connected through a central device
called hub or switch.
• Any single cable connects only two devices
• Requires more cabling than ring or bus networks
• The star topology uses a separate cable for each work station.

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 Network topology…
Advantages
 Good option for modern networks
 Easy to setup
 Easy to manage
 Offers opportunities for expansion
 Most popular topology in use; wide variety of equipment
available
Disadvantages
• Hub is a single point of failure
• Requires more cable than the bus and ring topology.
• Cost of installation is high.

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 Network topology…
4. Mesh Topology
• In mesh topology, every device is connected to another device via
particular channel.
• A message is send directly from sender to receiver because each
one has individual and separate connection.
• Internet is a mesh network

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 Network topology…
Advantages
• Robust
• There is the advantage of privacy or security
• The network can be expanded without disruption to current uses
• Point to point links make fault identification and fault isolation
easy
Disadvantages
 Requires more cable than the other LAN topologies
 Complicated implementation
 Installation and reconnection are difficult.
 Expensive

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Questions

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