Subject code : 18BCACC602

Subject Name : Network Administration

Unit - 2
Transmission media
Network sharing and Firewall
By : Falguni Barad
 Data is represented by computers and other
telecommunication devices using signals. Signals
are transmitted in the form of electromagnetic
energy from one device to another.
Electromagnetic signals travel through vacuum,
air or other transmission mediums to travel
between one point to another(from source to
receiver).
 Electromagnetic energy (includes electrical and
magnetic fields) includes power, voice, visible
light, radio waves, ultraviolet light, gamma rays
etc.
 Transmission medium is the means through
which we send our data from one place to
another. The first layer (physical layer) of
Communication Networks OSI Seven layer
model is dedicated to the transmission
media.
 Guided Media
 Coaxial Cable
 Twisted Pair Cable
 Crimping of Twisted Pair Cable
 Fiber Optic Cable
 Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial is called by this name because it contains
two conductors that are parallel to each other.
Copper is used in this as centre conductor which
can be a solid wire or a standard one. It is
surrounded by PVC installation, a sheath which is
encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, barid
or both.
 Outer metallic wrapping is used as a shield
against noise and as the second conductor which
completes the circuit. The outer conductor is also
encased in an insulating sheath. The outermost
part is the plastic cover which protects the whole
cable.
 Here the most common coaxial standards.
◦ 50-Ohm RG-7 or RG-11 : used with thick Ethernet.
◦ 50-Ohm RG-58 : used with thin Ethernet
◦ 75-Ohm RG-59 : used with cable television
◦ 93-Ohm RG-62 : used with ARCNET.
 There are two types of Coaxial cables :
◦ BaseBand
 This is a 50 ohm (Ω) coaxial cable which is used
for digital transmission. It is mostly used for
LAN’s. Baseband transmits a single signal at a
time with very high speed. The major drawback is
that it needs amplification after every 1000 feet.
◦ Broadband
 This uses analog transmission on standard
cable television cabling. It transmits several
simultaneous signal using different
frequencies. It covers large area when compared
with Baseband Coaxial Cable.
 Advantages :
 Bandwidth is high
 Used in long distance telephone lines.
 Transmits digital signals at a very high rate of
10Mbps.
 Much higher noise immunity
 Data transmission without distortion.
 The can span to longer distance at higher
speeds as they have better shielding when
compared to twisted pair cable
 Disadvantages :
 Single cable failure can fail the entire
network.
 Difficult to install and expensive when
compared with twisted pair.
 If the shield is imperfect, it can lead to
grounded loop.
 Twisted Pair Cable
 This cable is the most commonly used and is
cheaper than others. It is lightweight, cheap,
can be installed easily, and they support many
different types of network. Some important
points :
◦ Its frequency range is 0 to 3.5 kHz.
◦ Typical attenuation is 0.2 dB/Km @ 1kHz.
◦ Typical delay is 50 µs/km.
◦ Repeater spacing is 2km.
 Twisted Pair is of two types :
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
 Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable
 It is the most common type of
telecommunication when compared with
Shielded Twisted Pair Cable which consists of
two conductors usually copper, each with its
own color plastic insulator. Identification is
the reason behind colored plastic insulation.
 UTP cables consist of 2 or 4 pairs of twisted
cable. Cable with 2 pair use RJ-11 connector
and 4 pair cable use RJ-45 connector.
 Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable
 Advantages :
◦ Installation is easy
◦ Flexible
◦ Cheap
◦ It has high speed capacity,
◦ 100 meter limit
◦ Higher grades of UTP are used in LAN technologies
like Ethernet.
◦ It consists of two insulating copper wires (1mm
thick). The wires are twisted together in a helical
form to reduce electrical interference from similar
pair.
 Disadvantages :
◦ Bandwidth is low when compared with Coaxial
Cable
◦ Provides less protection from interference.
 Shielded Twisted Pair Cable
 This cable has a metal foil or braided-
mesh covering which encases each pair of
insulated conductors. Electromagnetic noise
penetration is prevented by metal casing.
Shielding also eliminates crosstalk (explained
in KEY TERMS Chapter).
 It has same attenuation as unshielded
twisted pair. It is faster the unshielded and
coaxial cable. It is more expensive than
coaxial and unshielded twisted pair.
 Fiber Optic Cable
 Fiber optic cable has better data security than twisted
pair or RG58. You can’t intercept the signals
without breaking the cable.
 Fiber optic cable is immune to electromagnetic
interference, something that can cause problems
for twisted pair or RG58.
 The disadvantages of fiber optic cable is that it is
very expensive and that it is not very flexible. Bend it
too far and it will break the core, rendering the cable
useless.
 Fiber optic cable is mostly use as a backbone to
connect LANs together, rather than connecting hosts
together on a LAN.
 Advantages :
◦ Provides high quality transmission of signals at very
high speed.
◦ These are not affected by electromagnetic
interference, so noise and distortion is very less.
◦ Used for both analog and digital signals.
 Disadvantages :
◦ It is expensive
◦ Difficult to install.
◦ Maintenance is expensive and difficult.
◦ Do not allow complete routing of light signals.
 Unguided media
 Unguided or wireless media sends the data
through air (or water), which is available to
anyone who has a device capable of receiving
them. Types of unguided/ unbounded media are
discussed below :
 Infrared
 Laser
 Radio
 Microwave
 Bluetooth
 Infrared
 Frequencies in the range from 300 GHz to 400
THz are the infrared waves. They are used for
short-range communications such as data
transfer between two cell phones in one room,
TV remote control operation and data transfer
between a computer and a cell phone that
resides in the same closed area. Line-of-sight
propagation mode is employed in all applications
of infrared waves. That means, transmitter and
receiver must be aligned with respect to each
other so that nothing obstructs the path of
infrared wave.
 Characteristics
 Potentially large bandwidth available (about 400 THz) and
hence data rate will be very high.
 Infrared waves cannot penetrate walls. Thus infrared
communication in one room is not affected by
communication in the nearby rooms.
 Infrared communication guarantees better security with
minimum interference.
 License from standard authorities is not required.
 Computers within a room or building can be configured to
communicate with each other using microwaves. Such an
arrangement is commonly known as indoor wireless LAN.
 Infrared waves are unreliable for communication outside a
building as the sun rays may interfere with the infrared
waves.
 Laser transmission
 The term “LASER” stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation. Lasers are a form of artificial light with a
uniform phase and wavelength.
 A core property of a laser is a low divergence angle that spreads
out very little as it projects out further from its source. Lasers are
also small enough to fit within compact instrumentation, which
makes them ideal for inter-orbit optical communication systems
and other systems for communicating over long distances. The
Laser-based SSPS (L-SSPS) uses these unique properties to send
solar-powered laser energy from space to Earth, where it is
converted into electricity.
 The transmittance of laser beams depends upon their
wavelength. The SSPS Research Team has been studying a laser
wireless power transmission technology operating at a
wavelength of about 1070 nm (near-infrared) and a continuous-
wave (CW).
 Characteristics
 Lasers can be fit within compact
instrumentation. (This allows us to develop a
small SSPS.)
 Lasers cannot penetrate clouds or rainfall.
 Lasers are susceptible to atmospheric
disturbances.
 Lasers require stringent safety requirements
to protect human eyesight. (Lasers are very
risky to the human eye.)
 Laser transmission
 ◦ Radio Transmission
 Its frequency is between 10 kHz to 1GHz. It is
simple to install and has high attenuation.
These waves are used for multicast
communications.
 Types of Propogation
 Radio Transmission utilizes different types
of propogation :
◦ Troposphere : The lowest portion of earth’s atmosphere
extending outward approximately 30 miles from the
earth’s surface. Clouds, jet planes, wind is found here.
◦ Ionosphere : The layer of the atmosphere above
troposphere, but below space. Contains electrically
charged particles.
 ◦ Microwave Transmission
 It travels at high frequency than the radio
waves. It requires the sender to be inside of
the receiver. It operates in a system with a
low gigahertz range. It is mostly used for
unicast communication.
 Advantages of Microwave Transmission
◦ Used for long distance telephone communication
◦ Carries 1000’s of voice channels at the same time
 Disadvantages of Microwave Transmission
◦ It is Very costly
 Application
 Television and radio transmission
 Air navigation
 Long-haul telephone transmission
 Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
 Video conferencing and multimedia
applications
 Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
 Very Small Aperture Terminal System (VSAT)
 Bluetooth
 Bluetooth networking transmits data via low-power
radio waves. It communicates on a frequency of 2.45
gigahertz (actually between 2.402 GHz and 2.480
GHz, to be exact). This frequency band has been set
aside by international agreement for the use of
industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).
 A number of devices that you may already use take
advantage of this same radio-frequency band. Baby
monitors, garage-door openers and the newest
generation of cordless phones all make use of
frequencies in the ISM band. Making sure that
Bluetooth and these other devices don't interfere with
one another has been a crucial part of the design
process.
 OSI Model
 OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference
model that describes how information from
a software application in one computer moves through a
physical medium to the software application in another
computer.
 OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a
particular network function.
 OSI model was developed by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984, and it is
now considered as an architectural model for the inter-
computer communications.
 OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and
manageable tasks. Each layer is assigned a particular task.
 Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each
layer can be performed independently.
 The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and
lower layers.
 The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the
application related issues, and they are implemented only
in the software. The application layer is closest to the end
user. Both the end user and the application layer interact
with the software applications. An upper layer refers to the
layer just above another layer.
 The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data
transport issues. The data link layer and the physical layer
are implemented in hardware and software. The physical
layer is the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest to
the physical medium. The physical layer is mainly
responsible for placing the information on the physical
medium.
 There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has
different functions. A list of seven layers are
given below:
 Physical Layer
 Data-Link Layer
 Network Layer
 Transport Layer
 Session Layer
 Presentation Layer
 Application Layer
 1) Physical layer
 The main functionality of the physical layer is
to transmit the individual bits from one node
to another node.
 It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
 It establishes, maintains and deactivates the
physical connection.
 It specifies the mechanical, electrical and
procedural network interface specifications.
 Functions of a Physical layer:
 Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or
more devices can be connected physically.
 Data Transmission: It defines the transmission
mode whether it is simplex, half-duplex or full-
duplex mode between the two devices on the
network.
 Topology: It defines the way how network devices
are arranged.
 Signals: It determines the type of the signal used
for transmitting the information
 2) Data-Link Layer
 This layer is responsible for the error-free
transfer of data frames.
 It defines the format of the data on the
network.
 It provides a reliable and efficient
communication between two or more devices.
 It is mainly responsible for the unique
identification of each device that resides on a
local network.
 It contains two sub-layers:
 Logical Link Control Layer
◦ It is responsible for transferring the packets to the
Network layer of the receiver that is receiving.
◦ It identifies the address of the network layer
protocol from the header.
◦ It also provides flow control.
 Media Access Control Layer
◦ A Media access control layer is a link between the
Logical Link Control layer and the network's
physical layer.
◦ It is used for transferring the packets over the
network.
 Functions of the Data-link layer
 Framing: The data link layer translates the
physical's raw bit stream into packets known
as Frames. The Data link layer adds the
header and trailer to the frame. The header
which is added to the frame contains the
hardware destination and source address.
 Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that
contains a destination address. The frame is transmitted to the
destination address mentioned in the header.
 Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link
layer. It is the technique through which the constant data rate is
maintained on both the sides so that no data get corrupted. It ensures
that the transmitting station such as a server with higher processing
speed does not exceed the receiving station, with lower processing
speed.
 Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC
(Cyclic Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer
which is added to the message frame before it is sent to the physical
layer. If any error seems to occurr, then the receiver sends the
acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
 Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same
communication channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to
determine which device has control over the link at a given time.
 3) Network Layer
 It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks
the location of devices on the network.
 It determines the best path to move data from source
to the destination based on the network conditions,
the priority of service, and other factors.
 The Data link layer is responsible for routing and
forwarding the packets.
 Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in
this layer and used to provide the routing services
within an internetwork.
 The protocols used to route the network traffic are
known as Network layer protocols. Examples of
protocols are IP and Ipv6.
 Functions of Network Layer:
 Internetworking: An internetworking is the main
responsibility of the network layer. It provides a logical
connection between different devices.
 Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and
destination address to the header of the frame.
Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
 Routing: Routing is the major component of the network
layer, and it determines the best optimal path out of the
multiple paths from source to the destination.
 Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the
upper layer and converts them into packets. This process
is known as Packetizing. It is achieved by internet protocol
(IP).
 4) Transport Layer
 The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that
messages are transmitted in the order in which
they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
 The main responsibility of the transport layer is
to transfer the data completely.
 It receives the data from the upper layer and
converts them into smaller units known as
segments.
 This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer
as it provides a point-to-point connection
between source and destination to deliver the
data reliably.
 The two protocols used in this layer are:
 Transmission Control Protocol
◦ It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate
over the internet.
◦ It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
◦ When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol
divides the data into smaller units known as segments. Each
segment travels over the internet using multiple routes, and they
arrive in different orders at the destination. The transmission
control protocol reorders the packets in the correct order at the
receiving end.
 User Datagram Protocol
◦ User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
◦ It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does
not send any acknowledgment when the packet is received, the
sender does not wait for any acknowledgment. Therefore, this
makes a protocol unreliable.
 Functions of Transport Layer:
 Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to
this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not only from
one computer to another computer but also from one process to another process.
The transport layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-
point address or port address. The responsibility of the network layer is to
transmit the data from one computer to another computer and the responsibility
of the transport layer is to transmit the message to the correct process.
 Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message
from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each
segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each
segment. When the message has arrived at the destination, then the transport
layer reassembles the message based on their sequence numbers.
 Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented
service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment
as an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the
destination. A connection-oriented service makes a connection with the transport
layer at the destination machine before delivering the packets. In connection-
oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
 Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
 Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error
control is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender
transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.
 5) Session Layer

 It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.

 The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and
synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices.
 Functions of Session layer:
 Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog
controller that creates a dialog between two
processes or we can say that it allows the
communication between two processes which can
be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
 Synchronization: Session layer adds some
checkpoints when transmitting the data in a
sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of
the transmission of data, then the transmission
will take place again from the checkpoint. This
process is known as Synchronization and
recovery.
 6) Presentation Layer
 A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with
the syntax and semantics of the information
exchanged between the two systems.
 It acts as a data translator for a network.
 This layer is a part of the operating system
that converts the data from one presentation
format to another format.
 The Presentation layer is also known as the
syntax layer.
 Functions of Presentation layer:
 Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the
information in the form of character strings, numbers and
so on. Different computers use different encoding
methods, the presentation layer handles the
interoperability between the different encoding methods.
It converts the data from sender-dependent format into a
common format and changes the common format into
receiver-dependent format at the receiving end.
 Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy.
Encryption is a process of converting the sender-
transmitted information into another form and sends the
resulting message over the network.
 Compression: Data compression is a process of
compressing the data, i.e., it reduces the number of bits to
be transmitted. Data compression is very important in
multimedia such as text, audio, video.
 7) Application Layer

 An application layer serves as a window for
users and application processes to access
network service.
 It handles issues such as network
transparency, resource allocation, etc.
 An application layer is not an application, but
it performs the application layer functions.
 This layer provides the network services to
the end-users.
 Functions of Application layer:
 File transfer, access, and management
(FTAM): An application layer allows a user to
access the files in a remote computer, to
retrieve the files from a computer and to
manage the files in a remote computer.
 Mail services: An application layer provides
the facility for email forwarding and storage.
 Directory services: An application provides
the distributed database sources and is used
to provide that global information about
various objects.
 What is TCP/IP?
 TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol and is a suite of
communication protocols used to interconnect
network devices on the internet. TCP/IP is also
used as a communications protocol in a private
computer network (an intranet or extranet).
 The entire IP suite -- a set of rules and
procedures -- is commonly referred to as
TCP/IP. TCP and IP are the two main protocols,
though others are included in the suite. The
TCP/IP protocol suite functions as an abstraction
layer between internet applications and the
routing and switching fabric.
 Like OSI reference model, TCP/IP protocol
suite also has a model. The TCP/IP model is
not same as OSI model. OSI is a seven-
layered model, but the original TCP/IP is a
four layered model.
 The OSI reference model has been very
influential in the growth and development of
TCP/IP standard, and that is why much OSI
terminology is applied to TCP/IP. The TCP/IP
model which we use today is slightly different
from the original TCP/IP model. The original
TCP/IP model had only four layers, but
the updated TCP/IP model has five layers.
 The four layers of original TCP/IP model are Application
Layer, Transport Layer, Internet Layer and Network Access
Layer.
 Following image shows the original four layered TCP/IP
model.
 Layer 1. Network Access Layer
 Network Access Layer is the first layer of the four-
layer TCP/IP model. Network Access Layer defines
details of how data is physically sent through the
network, including how bits are electrically or
optically signaled by hardware devices that interface
directly with a network medium, such as coaxial
cable, optical fiber, or twisted pair copper wire.
 The protocols/standards included in Network Access
Layer are Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, X.25, Frame
Relay etc.
 The most popular LAN architecture among those
listed above is Ethernet. Ethernet uses an Access
Method called CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple
Access/Collision Detection) to access the media,
when Ethernet operates in a shared media. An Access
Method determines how a host will place data on the
medium.
 Layer 2. Internet Layer
 Internet Layer is the second layer of the four-layer
TCP/IP model. The position of Internet layer is
between Network Access Layer and Transport layer.
Internet layer pack data into data packets known as IP
datagrams, which contain source and destination
address (logical address or IP address) information
that is used to forward the datagrams between hosts
and across networks. The Internet layer is also
responsible for routing of IP datagrams.
 Internet layer allow hosts to insert packets into
network and have them delivered to the destination,
on the same network or on another remote network.
At the destination side data packets may appear in a
different order than they were sent. It is the job of
the higher layers to rearrange them in order to
deliver them to proper network applications
operating at the Application layer.
 Layer 3. Transport Layer
 Transport Layer is the third layer of the four-
layer TCP/IP model. The position of the Transport
layer is between Application layer and Internet
layer. The purpose of Transport layer is to permit
devices on the source and destination hosts to
carry on a conversation. Transport layer defines
the level of service and status of the connection
used when transporting data.
 The main protocols included at Transport layer
are TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP
(User Datagram Protocol).
 Layer 4. Application Layer
 Application layer is the top-most layer of four-
layer TCP/IP model. Application layer is placed on
the top of the Transport layer. Application layer
defines TCP/IP application protocols and how
host programs interface with Transport
layer services to use the network.
 Application layer includes all the higher-level
protocols like DNS (Domain Naming
System), HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol),
Telnet, SSH, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), TFTP
(Trivial File Transfer Protocol), SNMP (Simple
Network Management Protocol), SMTP (Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol) , DHCP (Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol), X Windows, RDP (Remote
Desktop Protocol) etc.
 A Firewall is a hardware or software to
prevent a private computer or a network of
computers from unauthorized access, it acts
as a filter to avoid unauthorized users from
accessing private computers and networks. It
is a vital component of network security. It is
the first line of defense for network security.
 Firewall characteristics:

 · All traffic from inside to outside, and vice versa, must pass
through the firewall. This is achieved by physically blocking all access to
the local network except via the firewall.
 · Various configurations are possible.

 · Only authorized traffic, as defined by the local security policy, will

be allowed to pass.

 · Various types of firewalls are used, which implement various types

of security policies.

 · The firewall itself is immune to penetration. This implies that use

of a trusted system with a secure operating system. This implies that use
of a trusted system with a secure operating system.

 Four techniques that firewall use to control access and enforce the site‟s
security policy is as follows:
 Firewall characteristics:

 · All traffic from inside to outside, and vice versa, must pass
through the firewall. This is achieved by physically blocking all
access to the local network except via the firewall.
 · Various configurations are possible.

 · Only authorized traffic, as defined by the local security

policy, will be allowed to pass.

 · Various types of firewalls are used, which implement

various types of security policies.

 · The firewall itself is immune to penetration. This implies

that use of a trusted system with a secure operating system. This
implies that use of a trusted system with a secure operating
system.
 Four techniques that firewall use to control
access and enforce the site’s security policy is
as follows:
 1. Service control – determines the type of
internet services that can be accessed,
inbound or outbound. The firewall may filter
traffic on this basis of IP address and TCP
port number; may provide proxy software
that receives and interprets each service
request before passing it on; or may host the
server software itself, such as web or mail
service.
 2. Direction control – determines the
direction in which particular service request
may be initiated and allowed to flow through
the firewall.

 3. User control – controls access to a

service according to which user is attempting
to access it.

 4. Behavior control – controls how

particular services are used.
 packet-filtering router
 An IP packet-filtering router permits or
denies the packet to either enter or leave the
network through the interface (incoming and
outgoing) on the basis of the protocol, IP
address, and the port number. The protocol
may be TCP, UDP, HTTP, SMTP, or FTP.