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COMPUTER NETWORKING CONCEPTS

2.1. What is Computer Network?
Computer network is interconnectivity of two or more computer system for purpose of sharing
data. A computer network is a communication system much like a telephone system, any
connected device can use the network to send and receive information. In essence a computer
network consists of two or more computers connected to each other so that they can share
resources.
Networking arose from the need to share resources in a timely fashion.
Sharing expensive peripherals is often promoted as the primary reason to network. But this is not
a sufficient reason. In considering the cost benefits of sharing, we find some impressive
arguments against networking. With today more affordable technology, we can easily dedicate
inexpensive peripherals and not bother with a network. Desktops and laptops are getting less
expensive as their capacities increase. As a result the local hard disk is becoming common place
and is frequently dedicated to a local desktop or laptop. Flash drives and external hard disks now
has enough storage for uses.

Network Topologies
The term topology in computer networking refers to the way in which a network is laid out
physically. Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology. The
topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all links and linking
devices (usually called nodes) to one another. The cost and flexibility of a network

OBJECTIVE:
After reading through this chapter, you will be able to –
 Understand concept of Internet and World Wide Web, their applications.
 List the services provided by Internet Service providers with examples.
 Define domain name server and list various domains.
 Understand the concept of Internet address.

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 Understand the function of a URL and web browsers.
 Use different web browsers.
 Use the search engines to search for required information over the internet.
 Understand the need and use of a web server and proxy server

INTRODUCTION TO NTERNET AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Internet is ---
 A computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computers that use the TCP/IP
network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange.
 The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard
Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide.
 The term Internet actually refers to the combined collection of academic, commercial, and
government networks connected over international telecommunication backbones and routed
using IP addressing. The internet has gained popularity rapidly as it is used for various
purposes. Few of the main applications of internet are listed below – Applications of Internet
---
E mail (Electronic mail)
 Electronic mail (also known as email or e-mail) is one of the most
commonly used services on the Internet, allowing people to send
messages to one or more recipients.
 Email was invented by Ray Tomlinson in 1972.
 Electronic mail is a method of exchanging digital messages from
an author to one or more recipients.
 Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer
networks. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward
model.
 Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Neither
the users nor their computers are required to be online
simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to an
email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages.

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  An email message consists of three components, the message
envelope, the message header, and the message body.
 Header contains information about who sent the message, the
recipient(s) and the route.
 Header also usually contains descriptive information, such as a
subject header field and a message submission date/time stamp.
 Email message body contains text (7bit ASCII) as well as
multimedia messages. These processes are declared in
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). MIME is set of
RFCs (Request for Comment)
 Network based emails are exchanged over the internet using the
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer protocol).
 In the process of transporting email messages between systems,
SMTP communicates delivery parameters using a message
envelope separate from the message (header and body) itself.
 Email addresses (both for senders and recipients) are two strings
separated by the character "@" (the "at sign"): such as
user@domain
 The right-hand part describes the domain name involved, and the
left-hand part refers to the user who belongs to that domain.
 An email address can be up to 255 characters long and can include
the following characters:
 Lowercase letters from a to z;
 Digits
 The characters ".","_" and "-" (full stop, underscore, and hyphen)
In practice, an email address often looks something like this:
[email protected]

 Telnet

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 Telnet is a network protocol used in any network (internet or LAN)
for bidirectional text oriented communication.
 telnet standard was defined in 1973, before which it was
considered as adhoc protocol.
 Original purpose of the telnet protocol was to login to the remote
computers on the network.  telnet protocol uses ‗virtual terminal‘
to connect to the remote hosts.
 Virtual terminal is a application service that allows host in a multi
terminal network to communicate with other hosts irrespective of
terminal type or characteristics.
 Telnet uses the TCP protocol for transmission of 8 byte data.
 Most network equipment and operating systems with a TCP/IP
stack support a Telnet service for remote configuration (including
systems based on Windows NT)
 The term telnet may also refer to the software that implements the
client part of the protocol.
 telnet is a client server protocol, which is based upon reliable
connection oriented communication transport and basic use of
telnet is to make a connection to the TCP protocol.
 Data transferred over telnet is vulnerable as telnet does not use any
encryption technique to mask or protect the data.
 Most implementations of Telnet have no authentication that would
ensure communication is carried out between the two desired hosts
and not intercepted in the middle.
 Commonly used Telnet daemons have several vulnerabilities
discovered over the years.
 Extensions to the Telnet protocol provide Transport Layer Security
(TLS) security and Simple Authentication and Security Layer
(SASL) authentication that address the above issues.
 Few applications of telnet include the ‗putty‘ TCP client which
can access a linux server using windows operating system,

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 Absolute telnet (windows client) and RUMBA (terminal emulator).
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 FTP
 File transfer protocol is a simple and standard network protocols
that transfers a file from one host to the other over a TCP network.
 Based on client server architecture.
 Utilizes separate control and data connection for client and server
to transmit and receive file(s) over the network.
 It is an application protocol that uses the internet‘s TCP/IP suite.
 Mainly used to transfer the web pages or related data from the
source or creator to a host that acts as a server to make the page or
file available to other hosts (uploading) or downloading programs
and other files from server to a host.
 FTP protocol can perform over a active or passive connection.
 When a connection is made from the client to server, it is called as
control connection and it remains open for duration of session.
This connection is responsible for establishing connectivity
between client and server.
 Other connection opened by client (passive) or server (active) is
called data connection and is used to transfer the data.
 As separate ports are used by client and server for these
connections, FTP becomes an put of band protocol.
 Data transfer can take place in following three modes
 Stream mode : data is sent in a continuous stream where FTP does
not do any formatting.
 Block mode: FTP breaks the data into several blocks (block
header, byte count, and data field) and then passes it on to TCP.
 Compressed mode: Data is compressed using a single algorithm.
 FTP is a old protocol and is basically low in security aspect. Data
transferred over FTP is not encrypted and is in clear text format.

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 Hence the data like usernames, passwords can be read by anyone
who can capture the FTPed package. Newer versions of the
protocol, however, apply secure shell protocol (SSH) and avoid all
the problems faced by FTP.
 Following are few types of FTP protocol with additional features
 Anonymous FTP : Users login using an ‗anonymous‘ account to
protect their confidential data.  Remote FTP: FTP commands
executed on a remote FTP server
 FTP with web browser and firewall support.
 Secure FTP (SFTP, FTPS)

 E Commerce
 Electronic commerce can be defined as use of electronic
communications, particularly via the internet, to facilitate the
purchase/sale of goods and services. E-commerce includes all 6
forms of electronic trading including electronic data interchange
(EDI), electronic banking, electronic mail and other online
services.
 E transactions are of two categories. – virtual products like policies
and actual retail products.  Most of e transactions of actual
products involve physical transportation of goods which are
purchased over the electronic media.
 Online retailing has gained a name of E tailing.
 Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect
of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate
the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.
 Originally, electronic commerce was identified as the facilitation
of commercial transactions electronically, using technology such
as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT).

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 Other forms of e commerce were established with the growth and
use of credit cards, and air line reservation system going online.
 Electronic commerce of the modern era (post 1990) includes
technologies like enterprise resource planning (ERP), data
warehousing and data mining.
 The electronic transactions between two businesses like dealer and
wholesaler or wholesaler and retailer come in the B2B (business to
business) E commerce category.
 Other popular E commerce categories would be business to
consumer (B2C) and business to government (B2G)
 Volume of B2B transaction is much higher as compared to the
volume of B2C transactions. Reason for this is, many transactions
at B2B level lead to finished good and this leads to just one B2C
transaction.
 In an example, if a customer buys a product, say a pen, that would
be a B2C transaction. But the transaction leading this one,
including purchase of plastic, ink, refill, moulds etc would be B2B
transaction. Also the sale of the pen to the retailer by the
manufacturing company, like cello, is B2B transaction.
 Other form of B2C transactions are business to individual, where
the record of an individual‘s transaction is maintained.
 C2C is consumer to consumer, or citizen to citizen E commerce.
Here customers can perform transaction via a third party. Like a
product can be posted on amazon.com and will be sold to another
consumer through amazon.
 C2B E commerce model is reverse of traditional business to
consumer approach. This can be explained by a internet blog or a
social networking site where author can have a link in his blog
article to online sale of a product (promoting the business). This
has become possible due to advancements in technology and
reduced costs of technology.

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  Unique attribute of e commerce is negotiation facility and its
immediate results. Also, in E commerce transactions, integration of
transactions is automated.

 Video Conferencing
 Video conferencing or video teleconference is a set of
telecommunication technologies which allow one or more
locations to transmit and receive video and audio signals
simultaneously.
 This is known as visual collaboration.
 Simple analog video conferencing is achieved by two closed
circuit television systems connected with coaxial cables or radio
waves.
 This type of communication was established from 1968.
 Modern video conferencing is IP based and through more efficient
video compression technologies, allowing desktop or PC based
video conferencing.
 Video telephony is now popular due to free internet services.
 Core technology used for this is compression of audio and video
signals. Hardware and software used for this task is called as codec
(coder/ decoder). Compression rate achieved is almost 1:500. The
resultant stream of binary data is sent in packet form through
digital networks.
 The components required for a videoconferencing system include:
o Video input : video camera or webcam o Video output: computer
monitor , television or projector o Audio input: microphones,
CD/DVD player, cassette player, or any other source of PreAmp
audio outlet. o Audio output: usually loudspeakers associated with
the display device or telephone o Data transfer: analog or digital
telephone network, LAN or Internet

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  There are basically two types of videoconferencing systems. 8 o
Dedicated systems: all required components (i.e. software and
hardware based codec, control computer and video camera,
electrical interfaces) packed in a single console application. They
include large group, small group, portable and non portable video
conferencing systems. o Desktop Systems: add ons to normal
computing systems transforming these systems to
videoconferencing devices.
 There are following layers in the videoconferencing technology – o
User interface o Conference control o Control or signal plane o
Media plane.
 Videoconferencing has following modes o Voice activated switch
o Continuous presense
 Problems faced by videoconferencing Echo:

 Echo is defined as reflected source wave interference with new wave created by the
source. i.e. signal coming out from the source interferes with newly coming source and
generating unwanted input signal. This may result into remote party receiving their own
sounds again. This can be avoided by using an algorithm called as AEC (Acoustic Echo
cancellation).

 E business
 E business is conduct of business over the internet, which includes
buying and selling of goods and even services.
 In other words it is application of information and communication
technologies in support of all activities in business.
 Applications of E business are divided into following categories –
o Internal business systems –
  Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

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  Human resource management system(HRMS) o Enterprise
Communication and collaboration
  Content management
  E- mails
  Voice mails
  Web conferencing
 Electronic commerce
  B2B (business to business)
  B2C (business to customer)
  B2E business-to-employee
  B2G business-to-government
  G2B government-to-business
  G2G (government-to-government)
  G2C (government-to-citizen )
  C2C (consumer-to-consumer )
  C2B (consumer-to-business)

 A business model is defined as the organization of product, service

and information flows, and the source of revenues and benefits for
suppliers and customers. The concept of e-business model is the
same but used in the online presence.
 Few e business models are –
 E-shops
 E-commerce
 E-procurement o
 E-malls
 E-auctions o
 Virtual Communities
 E business has more security risks as compared to a regular
business, as E business has many more users at a time. Keeping the
large information confidential is a difficult task. Also, data

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 integrity, authenticity and storage of data are some challenges
faced by E business.
 Some methods to provide security are physical security as well as
encryption in data storage, transmission, antivirus software and
firewalls. Digital signature is another way to confirm the
ownership of a document.

 1.2 INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

 An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that provides
access to the Internet, hosts data, or does both. ISP is also known
as IAP (internet access provider) Access ISPs connect customers
to the Internet using copper, wireless or fiber connections. Hosting
ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other
people servers (colocation). Transit ISPs provide large tubes for
connecting hosting ISPs to access ISPs.
 As internet gained popularity, it was essential to provide internet
access to many people or many hosts. Due to the increasing
demand to access internet, commercial ISP came into existence in
1990. Technologies used – For users and small business
applications –
 Dial up connection
 DSL (digital subscriber line)
 Broadband wireless connection
 Cable modem
 Fiber optical connection For medium to large businesses or for
other ISPs,  DSL  Ethernet
 Metro Ethernet
 Gigabyte Ethernet
 Frame relay  Satellite Ethernet
 ISP connections – ISPs which provide connections through phone
lines like dial ups, do not seek any information about the caller‘s

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 (user of the internet) physical location or address. So, caller from
any location which is in reach of the ISP, can use the services
provided. Other way of getting connected through ISP is using
cable or any other lines. Here, fixed registration of the user at the
ISP side is essential.
 Services provided – ISP host usually provide e mail, FTP and web
hosting services. Other services can be like virtual machines,
clouds or entire physical servers where clients can run their own
softwares. ISPs often take services from their upstream ISPs. i.e.
they work in hierarchy. The ISPs are divided into three categories
–
 DOMAIN NAME SERVERS
 Domain Name System is – DNS is part of a domain name system.
It is hierarchical naming system built on a distributed database for
resource connected to the internet or a private network. The main
purpose of this system is to translate domain names meaningful to
humans into names or rather numeric streams which help the
corresponding network devices to identify the resource or domain.
Domain name system makes it possible to give or allot names to
domains or group of networks irrespective of their physical
locations.
 Domain Name Server is –
 Domain name system assigns domain name servers for allotting names and mapping these
names to IP addresses. In other words domain name servers are nodes of the domain name
system which acts like a client server system. Each domain has at least one authoritative DNS
server that publishes information about that domain and the name servers of any domains
subordinate to it.
 To improve efficiency, reduce DNS traffic across the Internet, and increase performance in
end-user applications, the Domain Name System supports DNS cache servers which store DNS
query results for a period of time determined in the configuration (time-to-live) of the domain
name record in question.

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 The client-side of the DNS is called a DNS resolver. It is responsible for initiating and
sequencing the queries that ultimately lead to a full resolution (translation) of the resource
sought, e.g., translation of a domain name into an IP address.
 A DNS query may be either a non-recursive query or a recursive query
 The resolver, or another DNS server acting recursively on behalf of the resolver, egotists use of
recursive service using bits in the query headers.
 Resolving usually entails iterating through several name servers to find the needed
information. However, some resolvers function simplistically and can communicate only with a
single name server. These simple resolvers (called "stub resolvers") rely on a recursive name
server to perform the work of finding information for them.
 Operation of DNS –
 Domain name resolvers determine the appropriate domain name servers responsible for the
domain name in question by a sequence of queries starting with the right-most (top-level)
domain label.
 DNS recorsor consults three name servers to resolve one address. The process is as follows – o
A network host is configured with an initial cache (so called hints) of the known addresses of the
root nameservers. Such a hint file is updated periodically by an administrator from a reliable
source. o A query to one of the root servers to find the server authoritative for the top-level
domain. o A query to the obtained TLD server for the address of a DNS server authoritative for
the second-level domain. o Repetition of the previous step to process each domain name label in
sequence, until the final step which returns the IP address of the host sought.

INTERNET ADDRESS
 Internet address follows the TCP/IP suite hence, it is also known as the IP address.
 Internet address has a job of identifying a node on the network. In other words, it is a numeric
label attached to every system (computer or any other device). The basic function of IP address
is two –
 Identification of computer or node or device and location addressing.
 The designers of the Internet Protocol defined an IP address as a 32-bit number[1] and this
system, known as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), is still in use today. However, due to the
enormous growth of the Internet and the predicted depletion of available addresses, a new

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addressing system (IPv6), using 128 bits for the address, was developed in 1995,[3] standardized
as RFC 2460 in 1998,[4] and is being deployed worldwide since the mid-2000s. 13  IP
addresses are binary numbers, but they are usually stored in text files and displayed in human-
readable notations, such as 172.16.254.1 (for IPv4)
 IPV4 address is a 32 bit number, which uses the decimal doted notation consisting of 4 decimal
numbers each ranging from 0 to 255 separated by dots. Network administration divides the IP
address into two parts. – the most significant 8 bits are called network address portion the
remaining bits are known as rest bits or host bits or identifiers and they are used for host
numbering in a network.
 Although IPV4 provides 4.3 billion addresses, they are exhausted due to high demand and as a
result, insufficient addresses available with IANA (Internet assigned numbers authority). The
primary address pool of IANA is expected to get exhausted by mid 2011. To permanently
address the problem, new version of IP i.e. IPV6 was brought forward, this version moved the
size of IP address from 32 bit to 128 bits.
 Both IPV4 as well as IPV6 have reserved addresses for private or internal networks. This is
termed as private addressing.
 Both IPV4 and IPV6 have subnetting effect. That mean, IP networks can be divided into
smaller groups or subnets. IP addresses two constituents that is network address and host
identifier or interface identifier are used for this purpose.
 Internet Protocol addresses are assigned to a host either anew at the time of booting, or
permanently by fixed configuration of its hardware or software. Persistent configuration is also
known as using a static IP address. In contrast, in situations when the computer's IP address is
assigned newly each time, this is known as using a dynamic IP address

WORLD WIDE WEB AND ITS EVOLUTION

 The World Wide Web, abbreviated as WWW or W3 and commonly known as the Web, is a
system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.
 With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other
multimedia and navigate between them via hyperlinks.

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 The World-Wide Web was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human culture,
which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common
project. 14 Evolution of WWW
 In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee wrote a proposal that referenced ENQUIRE, a database and
software project he had built in 1980, and described a more elaborate information management
system.
 on November 12, 1990, with help from Robert Cailliau, Tim Berners-Lee published a more
formal proposal to build a "Hypertext project" called "Worldwide Web" (one word, also "W3")
as a "web" of "hypertext documents" to be viewed by "browsers" using a client– server
architecture.  This proposal estimated that a read-only web would be developed within three
months and that it would take six months to achieve "the creation of new links and new material
by readers, to achieve universal authorship" as well as "the automatic notification of a reader
when new material of interest to him/her has become available."
 A NeXT Computer was used by Berners-Lee as the world's first web server and also to write
the first web browser, Worldwide Web, in 1990.
 Tools needed were a working Web the first web browser (which was a web editor as well); the
first web server; and the first web pages, which described the project itself.
 On August 6, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project
on the alt. hypertext newsgroup.
 This date also marked the debut of the Web as a publicly available service on the Internet. The
first photo on the web was uploaded by Berners-Lee in 1992, an image of the CERN house band
Les Horribles Cernettes.
 The first server outside Europe was set up at SLAC to host the SPIRESHEP database in 91 –
92.  The concept of hypertext originated with older projects from the 1960s, such as the
Hypertext Editing System (HES) at Brown University by Ted Nelson and Douglas Engelbart.
 Tim Berners Lee introduced the concept of the Universal Document Identifier (UDI), later
known as Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and Uniform Resource Identifier (URI); the
publishing language Hypertext Markup Language (HTML); and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP). 15  In 1993, a graphical browser was developed by a team at the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (NCSA-UIUC),
led by Marc Andreessen. This was the first web browser ever. 1.6 URL

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 Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where
an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it.
 An example of the use of URLs is the addresses of web pages on the World Wide Web, such as
http://www.example.com/.
 The format is based on Unix file path syntax, where forward slashes are used to separate
directory or folder and file or resource names.
 Conventions already existed where server names could be prepended to complete file paths,
preceded by a double-slash
 Every URL consists of some of the following: o The scheme name (commonly called
protocol), followed by a colon. The scheme name defines the namespace, purpose, and the
syntax of the remaining part of the URL. o Domain Name depending upon scheme(alternatively,
IP address). The domain name or IP address gives the destination location for the URL. o An
optional port number; if omitted, the default for the scheme is used o Path of the resource to be
fetched or the program to be run. The path is used to specify and perhaps find the resource
requested. It may be case-sensitive for non window based servers. Eg:
http://www.mudlle.ac.in/news.html o A query string for scripts The query string contains data to
be passed to software running on the server. It may contain name/value pairs separated by
ampersands, for example ?first_ name=John& last name=Doe. o Optional fragment identifier
that specifies a part or a position within the overall resource or document. When used with
HTTP, it usually specifies a section or location within the page, and the browser may scroll to
display that part of the page.  When resources contain references to other resources, they can
use relative links to define the location of the second resource.
 relative URLs are dependent on the original URL containing a hierarchical structure against
which the relative link is based.
 the ftp, http, and file URL schemes are examples of some that can be considered hierarchical,
with the components of the hierarchy being separated by "/"
 A URL is a URI that, "in addition to identifying a resource, provides a means of locating the
resource by describing its primary access mechanism. 1.7 BROWSERS
 A web browser or Internet browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and
traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

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 Web browsers can also be used to access information provided by Web servers in private
networks or files in file systems. Some browsers can also be used to save information resources
to file systems.
 Primary function of a browser is to identify the URI and brings the information resource to
user.
 This process begins when user inputs the URI in the browser. Prefix of the URI describes how
to interpret the URI. Most URIs have resource retrieved over Hyper text Transfer Protocol. Some
web browsers also support prefixes like FTP.
 Once this is done, the HTML script is passed to the browser‘s layout engine. To make the
script interactive java script support is needed. With this, browser can interpret text, images,
video and interactive scripts.
 All major browsers allow users to access multiple information resources at the same time in
different windows or in tabs. Major browsers include pop up blockers to prevent windows to
open without users consent.
 Most major web browsers have these user interface elements in common: o Back and forward
buttons to go back to the previous resource and forward again.
A history list, showing resources previously visited in a list (typically, the list is not visible all
the time and has to be summoned)
A refresh or reload button to reload the current resource. o A stop button to cancel loading the
resource. In some browsers, the stop button is merged with the reload button. o A home button to
return to the user's home page
An address bar to input the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the desired resource and
display it.

A search bar to input terms into a search engine o A status bar to display progress in loading the
resource and also the URI of links when the cursor hovers over them, and page zooming
capability.
 The usage share of web browsers is as shown below. (Source: Median values )
 Internet Explorer (43.55%)  Mozilla Firefox (29.0%; Usage by version number)
 Google Chrome (13.89%)  Safari (6.18%)
 Opera (2.74%)  Mobile browsers (4.45%)

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  Some special web browsers are listed below –

INTERNET EXPLORER
 Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE
or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of
the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995.
 It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year. Later
versions were available as free downloads, or in service packs. It was part of later versions of
windows operating systems.
 The latest stable release is Internet Explorer 9, which is available as a free update for Windows
7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
 Internet Explorer uses a componentized architecture built on the Component Object Model
(COM) technology. It consists of several 18 major components, each of which is contained in a
separate Dynamic link library (DLL) and exposes a set of COM programming interfaces hosted
by the Internet Explorer main executable, ‗iexplore.exe‘
 Internet Explorer uses a zone-based security framework that groups sites based on certain
conditions, including whether it is an Internet- or intranet-based site as well as a user-editable
whitelist. Security restrictions are applied per zone; all the sites in a zone are subject to the
restrictions
.

NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR
 Netscape Navigator is a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the
most popular web browser till 2002, after which competitor browsers have taken over the market
of netscape.
 Netscape Navigator was based on the Mosaic web browser.
 Netscape announced in its first press release (October 13, 1994) that it would make Navigator
available without charge to all noncommercial users, and Beta versions of version 1.0 and 1.1

18
were indeed freely downloadable in November 1994 and March 1995, with the full version 1.0
available in December 1994.
 The first few releases of the product were made available in "commercial" and "evaluation"
versions.
 During development, the Netscape browser was known by the code name Mozilla. Mozilla is
now a generic name for matters related to the open source successor to Netscape Communicator.

OPERA
 Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software. The browser handles
common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail
messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via Bit Torrent, and reading
web feeds.
 Opera is offered free of charge for personal computers and mobile phones. This is the most
popular mobile phone browser and is not packages in desktop operating system.
 Features include tabbed browsing, page zooming, mouse gestures, and an integrated download
manager. Its security features include built-in phishing and malware protection, strong
encryption when browsing secure websites, and the ability to easily delete private data such as
HTTP cookies.
 Opera runs on a variety of personal computer operating systems, including Microsoft
Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD
 Opera includes built-in tabbed browsing, ad blocking, fraud protection, a download manager
and BitTorrent client, a search bar, and a web feed aggregator. Opera also comes with an e-mail
client called Opera Mail and an IRC chat client built in.
 Opera has several security features visible to the end user. One is the option to delete private
data, such as HTTP cookies, the browsing history, and the cache, with the click of a button. This
lets users erase personal data after browsing from a shared computer.
 Opera Mobile is an edition of Opera designed for smartphones and personal digital assistants
(PDAs)

MOZILLA FIREFOX

19
 Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application
Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. As of February 2011[update], Firefox is the second
most widely used browser with approximately 30% of worldwide usage share of web browsers.
 To display web pages, Firefox uses the Gecko layout engine, which implements most current
web standards.
 The latest Firefox features[15] include tabbed browsing, spell checking, incremental find, live
bookmarking, a download manager, private browsing, location-aware browsing (also known as
"geolocation") based exclusively on a Google service.
 Firefox runs on various operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X,
FreeBSD, and many other platforms.

CHROME
 Chrome, the web browser by Google, is rapidly becoming popular due to following feature so

SPEED: Chrome is designed to be fast in every possible way: It's quick in staring up from the
desktop, loading web pages and running complex web applications.

SIMPLICITY: Chrome's browser window is streamlined, clean and simple. Chrome also
includes features that are designed for efficiency and ease of use. For example, you can search
and navigate from the same box, and arrange tabs however you wish.

SECURITY: Chrome is designed to keep you safer and more secure on the web with built-in
malware and phishing protection, auto updates to make sure the browser is up-to-date with the
latest security updates, and more. Learn more about Chrome's security features.
 Chrome is the first browser to incorporate machine translation in the browser itself, without
requiring additional plugins or extensions.

SEARCH ENGINE
 A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP
servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results and are often called hits.

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The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some
search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories.
 The very first tool used for searching on the Internet was Archie.
 The first web robot, the Perl-based World Wide Web Wanderer was built and used by it to
generate an index called 'Wandex'. The purpose of the Wanderer was to measure the size of the
World Wide Web.
 Around 2000, Google's search engine rose to prominence. The company achieved better results
for many searches with an innovation called PageRank. This iterative algorithm ranks web pages
based on the number and PageRank of other web sites and pages that link there, on the premise
that good or desirable pages are linked to more than others.
 Web search engines work by storing information about many web pages, which they retrieve
from the html itself. These pages are retrieved by a Web crawler (sometimes also known as a
spider) — an automated Web browser which follows every link on the site.
 This information is then analyzed and indexed The contents of each page are then analyzed to
determine how it should be indexed . The purpose of an index is to allow information to be found
as quickly as possible.

WEB SERVER
APACHE  Apache HTTP Server is a free and open-source web server that delivers web
content through the internet. It is commonly referred to as Apache and after development; it
quickly became the most popular HTTP client on the web. 
The word, Apache, has been taken from the name of the Native American tribe ‗Apache‘,
famous for its skills in warfare and strategy making.  Apache is the most widely used Web
Server application in Unix-like operating systems but can be used on almost all platforms such as
Windows, OS X, OS/2, etc  It is a modular, process-based web server application that creates a
new thread with each simultaneous connection. It supports a number of features; many of them
are compiled as separate modules and extend its core functionality, and can provide everything
from server side programming language support to authentication mechanism.

Features of Apache:
 Handling of static files

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 Loadable dynamic modules
 Auto-indexing
 Compatible with IPv6
 Supports HTTP/2  FTP connections
 Bandwidth throttling
 Load balancing
 Session tracking
 URL rewriting
 Geolocation based on IP address and many more

IIS Internet Information Services

(IIS) is a flexible, general-purpose web server from Microsoft that runs on Windows systems to
serve requested HTML pages or files.
IIS works through a variety of standard languages and protocols  An IIS web server accepts
requests from remote client computers and returns the appropriate response. This basic
functionality allows web servers to share and deliver information across local area networks
(LAN), such as corporate intranets, and wide area networks (WAN), such as the internet.

 A web server can deliver information to users in several forms, such as static webpages coded
in HTML; through file exchanges as downloads and uploads; and text documents, image files
and more.

Features of IIS:
 IIS is used to host ASP.NET web applications and static websites
 It can also be used as an FTP server, host WCF services, and be extended to host web
applications. built on other platforms such as PHP
 An invaluable feature is remote management. IIS can also be managed via the CLI or using
PowerShell
 One of the key feature of IIS is application pool.

PROXY SERVER

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A proxy server provides a gateway between users and the internet. It is a server, referred to as an
―intermediary‖ because it goes between end-users and the web pages they visit online.  Proxies
provide a valuable layer of security for your computer. They can be set up as web filters or
firewalls, protecting your computer from internet threats like malware. 

Benefits of proxy server:

 Enhanced security
 Private browsing, watching, listening and shopping
 Access to location– specific content
 Prevent employees from browsing inappropriate or distracting sites

HTTP PROTOCOL  HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.

 It is a protocol used to access the data on the World Wide Web (www).  The HTTP protocol
can be used to transfer the data in the form of plain text, hypertext, audio, video, and so on. 
This protocol is known as HyperText Transfer Protocol because of its efficiency that allows us to
use in a hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps from one document to another
document. 
The HTTP protocol is a request/response protocol based on the client/server based architecture
where web browsers, robots and search engines, etc. act like HTTP clients, and the Web server
acts as a server. The following diagram shows a very basic architecture of a web application and
depicts where HTTP : The HTTP protocol is a request/response protocol based on the
client/server based architecture where web browsers, robots and search engines, etc. act like
HTTP clients, and the Web server acts as a server.

Basic Features:  HTTP is connectionless protocol  HTTP is media independent  HTTP is

stateless
1. Define the internet. What protocol suit does it follow?
2. What is email? How is it sent and received?
3. Describe the three components of email.
4. What is meant by email address? What are the required parts of email address?

23
5. Are following email addresses valid? a. [email protected] b. 11 [email protected] c.
Seema_Sathye@ server.co.in d. Piyush_mishra@myservices. k

24
multiple computer systems should network them for the following reasons:

1. Sharing of peripherals can be justified as a “shared resource”, with the result that speed and
quality are improved and Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is increased. Sharing in a
properly designed network improves the reliability of the entire system. When a device fails,
another one is ready to fill the void while repairs are being made.

2. Better response time can be achieved through networking. The speed with which a request is
answered is a crucial factor in computing. After all, most jobs performed by a computer can be
done with pencil and paper. When you buy a computer, you are buying speed more than
capability. Better response time through networking is in no way guarantee. In fact, inefficient
use of the network will quickly result in unacceptably poor response.

3. The peripherals attached to a network tend to be faster than those dedicated to stand-alone
computers. The bandwidth of all the local area network far exceeds the speed capability of a
stand-alone computer. For many applications the computer, not the network, is the bottleneck.
But since a local area network is by definition a multiple processor system, the possibility exists
for sharing the processing load across several microprocessors, which is similar to parallel
processing. You may not be able to speed up the computer itself, but you can speed up the
results.

4. Often overlooked in an evaluation of networking is its organization benefit. Departments,

companies, corporations, and institutions are all organizations, which imply interaction and team
work. Without networking, the personal computer has been a powerful but isolated device. Its
output has been difficult to integrate into the organization mainstream, so its value has been
limited. In some instances the isolated personal computer has even created serious threats of data
loss

Protocol and Standards in Networking

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In computer networks, communication occurs between entities in different systems. An entity is
anything capable of sending or receiving information. However, two entities cannot simply send
bit streams to each other and expect to be understood. For communication to occur, the entities
must agree on a protocol.
A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It defines what is communicated,
how it is communicated, and when it is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are
syntax, semantics, and timing.

Syntax. The term syntax refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning the order in which
they are presented. For example, a simple protocol might expect the first 8 bits of data to be the
address of the sender, the second 8 bits to be the address of the receiver, and the rest of the
stream to be the message itself

Semantics. The word semantics refers to the meaning of each section of bits. How is a particular
pattern to be interpreted, and what action is to be taken based on that interpretation? For
example, does an address identify the route to be taken or the final destination of the message?

Timing. The term timing refers to two characteristics: when data should be sent and how fast
they can be sent. For example, if a sender produces data at 100 Mbps but the receiver can process
data at only 1 Mbps, the transmission will overload the receiver and some data will be lost.

Standards are essential in creating and maintaining an open and competitive market for
equipment manufacturers and in guaranteeing national and international interoperability of data
and telecommunications technology and processes. Standards provide guidelines to
manufacturers, vendors, government agencies, and other service providers to ensure the kind of
interconnectivity necessary in today's marketplace and in international communications.
Data communication standards fall into two categories: de facto (meaning "by fact" or "by
convention") and de jure (meaning "by law" or "by regulation").

26
De facto. Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but have been adopted as
standards through widespread use are de facto standards. De facto standards are often established
originally by manufacturers who seek to define the functionality of a new product or technology.

27
De jure. Those standards that have been legislated by an officially recognized body are de jure
standards

Types of Network
There are several different types of computer networks. Computer networks can be characterized
by their size as well as their purpose. The size of a network can be expressed by the geographic
area they occupy and number of computers that are part of the network. Networks can cover
anything

Personal Area Network

A personal area network (PAN) is the interconnection of information technology devices within
the range of an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters. For example, a person
traveling with a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a portable printer could
interconnect them without having to plug anything in, using some form of wireless technology.
Typically, this kind of personal area network could also be interconnected without wires to the
Internet or other networks. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices
themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to a higher level network and the
Internet (an uplink). However, it is possible to have multiple individuals using this same network
within a residence. If this is the case we can refer to the network as Home Area network (HAN).
In this type of setup, all the devices are connected together using both wired and/or wireless. All
networked devices can be connected to a single modem as a gateway to the Internet.

28
Figure 5: Personal Area Network

29
Local Area Network
A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office,
building, or campus. Depending on the needs of an organization and type of technology used, a
LAN can be as simple as two desktops and a printer in someone’s home office; or it can extend
throughout a company and include audio and video peripherals. Currently, LAN size is limited to
a few kilometers. In addition to the size, LANs are distinguished from other types of networks by
their transmission media and topology. In general, a given LAN will use only one type of
transmission medium. LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal
computers or workstations. Early LANs had data rates in the 4 to 16 mega-bits-per-seconds
(Mbps). Today, however, speeds are normally 100Mbps or 1000Mbps. Wireless LANs (WLAN)
are the newest evolution in LAN technology. See figure 6.

Figure 6: Local Area Network

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The following are the salient features of LAN

 Multiple user computers connected together

 Machine are spread over a small geographic region
 Communication channel between the machines are usually private owned.
 Channel are relatively high capacity, (measuring through put in megabits per second
(Mbits/s)
 Channels are relatively error free (e.g. a bit error rate of I in 109 bits transmitted)

31
Metropolitan Area Network
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN and a WAN. It
normally covers the area inside a town or a city. It is designed for customers who need a high-
speed connectivity, normally to the internet, and have endpoints spread over a city or part of city.
A good example of a MAN is part of the telephone company network that can provide a high-
speed DSL line to the customer.

Figure 7: Metropolitan area Network

Wide Area Network

A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data, image, audio, and
video information over large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or even

32
the whole world. A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that connect the Internet or as
simple as a dial-up line that connects a home computer to the internet.

33
We normally refer to the first one as a switched WAN and to the second as a point-to-point
WAN.
The switched WAN connects the end systems, which usually comprise a router (internetworking
connecting device) that connects to another LAN or WAN. The point-to-point WAN is normally
a line leased from a telephone or cable TV provider that connects a home computer or a small
LAN to an internet service provider (ISP). A good example of a switched WAN is X.25, the
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. See figure 8.

Figure 8: Wide Area Network

The salient features of WAN are

 Multiple users computer connected together

 Machine spread over a wide geographic region
 Communication channels between the machine usually furnished by a third party (e.g. a
telephone company, a public data networks a satellite carrier)
 Channel are of relatively low capacity (measuring through put in kilobit per second Kbits)

34
 Channel are relatively error –prone (for example, a bit error rate of I in 105 bits transmitted)
Other are

MAN, VPN, CAN, AND GAN

DEFINE HUBS: - A hub is a networking device used to connect the drops in a physical star
topology network into a logical bus topology

TYPES OF HUBS ARE:

NOTE: hub is a simple device that interconnected groups of user hub forward any data packets
they receive over one port from one workstation including email word processing
document to all other remaining ports.

1. ACTIVE HUB
2. PASSIVE HUB

Hubs
Hubs are also called Multiport Repeaters or Concentrators. They are physical hardware devices.
Some Hubs are basic hubs with minimum intelligence no microprocessors. Intelligent Hubs can
perform basic diagnostics and test the nodes to see if they are operating correctly. If they are not,
the Smart Hubs or Intelligent Hubs will remove the node from the network. Some Smart Hubs
can be polled and managed remotely.

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Switching Hubs
Switching hubs are hubs that will directly switch ports to each other. They are similar to full
duplex hubs except that they allow dedicated 10Mbps channels between ports.

Define Switch:

A switch is a networking device used to connect the drops in a physical star topology
networking into a logical bus topology switch forward packets to the correct part based
on MAC address.

TYPES OF SWITCHES ARE:

 Cut through
 Fragment free
 Stores

Define OS I model

The open system interconnection (OSI) has been outlined by international organization for
standardization (IOS) to facilitate communication of heterogeneous hardware or software
platform with each other with the help of the seven layers

When network first came to being, computer could typically communicate only with
computer from the same manufacturer. For example companies ran either IBM or Cisco but will
not both work together. So in the cute 70’s the OSI reference model was formed by the
international organization for standardization (ISO) to break this barrier. This model describes
how data and network information are communicated from an application on one computer,
through the network media, to an application on another computer by breaking it into layers.

36
List the various layers of OSI models

State the various functions of OSI

37
Installation are partly affected by as is system reliability. Many network topologies are
commonly used, but they all have certain similarities. Information is carried either through space
(wireless) or cable. The cable must control the movement of information on the network so that
data can be transmitted in a reliable manner. There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star,
bus, and ring.
iv. Translation: Translate different Data Link protocols such as Token Ring to Ethernet
Network Topology categories
Network Topologies
The term topology in computer networking refers to the way in which a network is laid out
physically. Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology. The
topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all links and linking
devices (usually called nodes) to one another. The cost and flexibility of a network

OSI model Functions

Layer 7 Application It deals with uses interaction with the network by

interfacing with application layer protocol i.e HTTP,

38
 FTTP, DHCP

Layer 6 Presentation It is responsible for data translation

compression/decompression and encryption decryption

Layer 5 Session It deals with selling-up, managing and termination of

session between presentation layer and entities through
the provision of dialogue control between devices

Layer 4 Transport It provides end to end delivery of data by establishing a

logical link between the sending host and destination
host on the network

Layer 3 Network It provide a logical (software) addressing to the data on

a network which determine the best way to move the
data.

Layer 2 Data link It provide the physical (Hardware) transmission of data

which ensure that messages are delivered to the proper
device on the network

Layer 1s Physical It specifies the physical component on the network i.e

cables, connectors, interfaces, lines, voltage and
current.

Bus Topology
The Bus topology consists of a single cable that runs to every work-station. See figure 10. The
bus topology is also known as linear bus. In other words, all the nodes (computers and servers)
are connected to the single cable (called bus), by the help of interface connectors. This central
cable is the back bone of the network and every workstation communicates with the other device
through this bus.
Terminator Backbone

39
Bus Topology
Computers on a bus topology network communicate by addressing data to a particular computer
and putting that data on the cable in the form of electronic signals. To understand how computers
communicate on a bus you need to be familiar with three concepts:

 Sending the signal: Network data in the form of electronic signals is sent to all of the
computers on the network; however, the information is accepted only by the computer
whose address matches the address encoded in the original signal. Only one computer at
a time can send messages.

Because only one computer at a time can send data on a bus network, network performance is
affected by the number of computers attached to the bus. The more computers on a bus, the more
computers there will be waiting to put data on the bus, and the slower the network.
There is no standard measure for the impact of numbers of computers on any given network. The
amount the network slows down is not solely related to the number of computers on the network.
It depends on numerous factors including:

 Hardware capacities of computers on the network

 Number of times computers on the network transmit data
 Type of applications being run on the network
 Types of cable used on the network
 Distance between computers on the network

The bus is a passive topology. Computers on a bus only listen for data being sent on the network.
They are not responsible for moving data from one computer to the next. If one computer fails, it
does not affect the rest of the network. In active topology computers regenerate signals and move
data along the network.

 Signal Bounce: Because the data, or electronic signal, is sent to the entire network, it will
travel from one end of the cable to the other. If the signal were allowed to continue

40
 uninterrupted, it would keep bouncing back and forth along the cable and prevent other
computers from sending signals. Therefore, the signal must be stopped.

 The 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. Every cable end on the network must be
plugged into something. For example, a cable end could be plugged into a computer or a
connector to extend the cable length. Any open cable ends-ends not plugged into
something – must be terminated to prevent signal bounce.
In bus topology nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps. See figure 11. A
drop line is a connection running between the device and the main cable. A tap is a

41
connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a
contact with the metallic core. As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is
transformed into heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and farther.
For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can support and on the distance
between those taps.

Figure 11: Bus Topology with three stations

Advantages of Linear Bus Topology

 It is easy to set-up and extend bus network.
 Cable length required for this topology is the least compared to other
networks.
 Bus topology very cheap.
 Linear Bus network is mostly used in small networks.

Disadvantages of Linear Bus Topology

 There is a limit on central cable length and number of nodes that can be connected.
 Dependency on central cable in this topology has its disadvantages. If the main cable
(i.e. bus) encounters some problem, whole network breaks down.

42
  Proper termination is required to dump signals. Use of terminators is must.
 It is difficult to detect and troubleshoot fault at individual station.
 Maintenance costs can get higher with time.
 Efficiency of Bus network reduces, as the number of devices connected to it increases.
 It is not suitable for networks with heavy traffic.
 Security is very low because all the computers receive the sent signal from the source.

Ring Topology
The ring topology connects computers on a single circle of cable. There are no terminated ends.
A ring topology connects one host to the next and the last host to the first. The signal travels
around the loop in one direction and pass through each computer. Unlike the passive bus
topology, each computer acts like a repeater to boost the signal and send it on to the next
computer. Because the signal passes through each computer, the failure of one computer can
impact the entire network.

Ring Topology

43
44
One method of transmitting data around a ring is called token passing. The token is passed from
computer to computer until it gets to a computer that has data to send. The sending computer
modifies the token, puts an electronic address on the data, and sends it around the ring.

Advantages of Ring Topology

 This type of network topology is very organized. Each node gets to send the data
when it receives an empty token. This helps to reduces chances of collision. Also
in ring topology all the traffic flows in only one direction at very high speed.
 Even when the load on the network increases, its performance is better than that
of Bus topology.
 There is no need for network server to control the connectivity between
workstations.
 Additional components do not affect the performance of network.
 Each computer has equal access to resources.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

 Each packet of data must pass through all the computers between source
and destination. This makes it slower than Star topology.
 If one workstation or port goes down, the entire network gets affected.
 Network is highly dependent on the wire which connects different
components.
 MAU‟s and network cards are expensive as compared to Ethernet cards
and hubs.

Star Topology
In the star topology, computers are connected by cable segments to centralized component,
called a hub or switch.

45
Signals are transmitted from the sending computer through the hub or switch to all computers on
the network. This topology originated in the early days of computing with computers connected
to a centralized mainframe computer. It is now a common topology in microcomputer
networking. Each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller, usually
called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to one another. Unlike a mesh topology, a star
topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. The controller acts as an exchange: If one
device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which then relays the data
to the other connected device.

Star Topology
The star network offers centralized resources and management. However, because each
computer is connected to a central point, this topology requires a great deal of cable in a large
network installation. Also, if the central point fails, the entire network goes down.

46
Advantages of Star Topology
 As compared to Bus topology it gives far much better performance, signals don‟t
necessarily get transmitted to all the workstations. A sent signal reaches the intended
destination after passing through no more than 3-4 devices and 2-3 links. Performance of
the network is dependent on the capacity of central hub.
 Easy to connect new nodes or devices. In star topology new nodes can be added easily
without affecting rest of the network. Similarly components can also be removed easily.
 Centralized management. It helps in monitoring the network.
 Failure of one node or link doesn’t affect the rest of network. At the same time it is easy
to detect the failure and troubleshoot it.

Disadvantages of Star Topology

 Too much dependency on central device has its own drawbacks. If it fails whole network
goes down.
 The use of hub, a router or a switch as central device increases the overall cost of the
network.
 Performance and as well number of nodes which can be added in such topology is
depended on capacity of central device.

Mesh Topology
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The
term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. In a
mesh topology, Node1 must be connected to n-1 nodes, node2 must be connected to (n – 1)
nodes, and finally node n must be connected to (n – 1) nodes. We need n

47
(n - 1) physical links. In other words, we can say that in a mesh topology, we need. n (n-1) / 2

To accommodate many links, every device on the network must have (n – 1) Figure

Mesh topology
Input/output (I/O) ports to be connected to the (n – 1) stations as shown in Figure above. For
these reasons a mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion, as a backbone
connecting the main computers of a hybrid network that can include several other topologies.
One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone regional offices in
which each regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office.

Advantages of Mesh topology

 Data can be transmitted from different devices simultaneously. This topology can
withstand high traffic.
 Even if one of the components fails there is always an alternative present. So data
transfer doesn’t get affected.
 Expansion and modification in topology can be done without disrupting other nodes.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology

 There are high chances of redundancy in many of the network connections.
 Overall cost of this network is way too high as compared to other network topologies.
 Set-up and maintenance of this topology is very difficult. Even administration of the
network is tough.

Hybrid Topology
Before starting about Hybrid topology, we saw that a network topology is a connection of
various links and nodes, communicating with each other for transfer of data. We also saw
various advantages and disadvantages of Star, Bus, Ring, and Mesh. Hybrid, as the name
suggests, is mixture of two different things. Similarly in this type of topology we integrate two or
more different topologies to form a resultant topology which has good points (as well as
weaknesses) of all the constituent basic topologies rather than having characteristics of one

48
specific topology. This combination of topologies is done according to the requirements of the
organization.
For example, if there is an existing ring topology in one office department while a bus topology
in another department, connecting these two will result in Hybrid topology. Remember
connecting two similar topologies cannot be termed as Hybrid topology. Star-Ring and Star-Bus
networks

Advantages of Hybrid Network Topology

 Reliable: Unlike other networks, fault detection and troubleshooting is easy in this type
of topology. The part in which fault is detected can be isolated from the rest of network
and required corrective measures can be taken, WITHOUT affecting the functioning of
rest of the network.

 Scalable: It’s easy to increase the size of network by adding new components, without
disturbing existing architecture.

 Flexible: Hybrid Network can be designed according to the requirements of the

organization and by optimizing the available resources. Special care can be given to
nodes where traffic is high as well as where chances of fault are high.

 Effective: Hybrid topology is the combination of two or more topologies, so we can

design it in such a way that strengths of constituent topologies are maximized while there
weaknesses are neutralized. For example we saw Ring Topology has good data reliability
(achieved by use of tokens) and Star topology has high tolerance capability (as each node
is not directly connected to other but through central device), so these two can be used
effectively in hybrid star-ring topology.

Disadvantages of Hybrid Topology

 Complexity of Design: One of the biggest drawbacks of hybrid topology is its design. It
is not easy to design this type of architecture and it’s a tough job for designers.
Configuration and installation process needs to be very efficient.

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  Costly Hub: The hubs used to connect two distinct networks, are very expensive. These
hubs are different from usual hubs as they need to be intelligent enough to work with
different architectures and should be function even if a part of network is down.

 Costly Infrastructure: As hybrid architectures are usually larger in scale, they require a
lot of cables; cooling systems, sophisticate network devices, etc.

2.6. Review Questions

1. Enumerates five components of a data communications system.
2. Define key element of protocol.
3. Define two types of standards.
1) What are the three criteria necessary for an effective and efficient network
2) Categorize the four basic topologies in terms of line configuration.
3) Name the four basic network topologies, and cite an advantage of each type.
4) For n devices in a network, what is the number of cable links required for a mesh, ring, bus,
and star topology?
5) What are some of the factors that determine whether a communication system is a LAN or
WAN?
6) Assuming you get a job as a network engineer in a multinational company that has five (5)
regional station that must be interconnected with others for smooth operation of the organization.
The company is about to network the regional offices together. Each physical link must allow
communication in both directions. Use the knowledge acquired in this course to advice the
management of the company based on the following:
a) Recommend the most suitable Network topology for the organization.
b) Give detail explanation of the recommended Topology.
c) Illustrate the explanation in (b) with a diagram to show the interconnectivity of the five (5)
regional offices.
d) Explain four (4) major advantages of the topology named in (a) over other network topology.

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