Chapter Two

Fundamental Concept of network and

system administration
Computer Networks
 Network: Collection of computers and devices connected

together
 Used to transfer information or files, share resources, etc.

 Networks are categorized based on the following characteristics:

o Geographical Coverage: LAN, MAN, WAN

o Topologies: Bus, Star, Ring, Mesh, Hybrid

o Architecture : peer to peer or client server

o Technologies: wired (EtherNet, FDDI, etc.), wireless

(Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax Satellite, etc.)

 Network Architecture
 Refers to how the computer or devices work in a network

 Basic types:

 Peer-2-Peer:

 Each computer (peer) has equal responsibilities, capacities, sharing

hardware, data, with the other computers on the peer-to-peer network

 Good for small businesses and home networks

 Simple and inexpensive

 Client/Server:

 All clients must request service from the server

 The server is also called a host

 Different servers perform different tasks: File server, network server, etc
 Protocols and protocol layering (TCP/ IP)
A protocol is required when two entities need to
communicate. When communication is not simple, we may
divide the complex task of communication into several
layers. In this case, we may need several protocols, one for
each layer.
 Protocols mean set of rules.
 The key elements of a protocol are:_
Syntax
 Syntax refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning
the order in which they are presented.
Semantics
 Semantics refers to the meaning of each section of bits.
Timing
 Timing refers to when data should be sent and how fast it
can be sent.
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In computer networks, reference models
give a conceptual framework that
standardizes communication between
heterogeneous networks.
The two popular reference models are −
OSI Model
TCP/IP Protocol
The main benefits of the OSI model include the following:
Helps users understand the big picture of
networking
Helps users understand how hardware and
software elements function together
 Makes troubleshooting easier by separating
networks into manageable pieces
Defines terms that networking professionals
can use to compare basic functional
relationships on different networks
Helps users understand new technologies as
they are developed
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TCP/IP is a set of protocols developed to allow
cooperating computers to share resources across
a network.
TCP/IP combines the presentation and session
layer into its application layer.
TCP/IP combines the OSI data link and physical
layers into one layer
TCP/IP appears simpler because it has fewer
layers.
 TCP/IP transport layer using UDP does not always
guarantee reliable delivery of packets as the
transport layer in the OSI model does.
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TCP/IP carefully defines how information
moves from sender to receiver. First,
application programs send messages or
streams of data to one of the Internet
Transport Layer Protocols, either the User
Datagram Protocol (UDP) or
the Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP).
 TCP vs UDP
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
 TCP is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite
which are used in providing reliable delivery services.
 It is a connection-oriented protocol for communications that helps
in the exchange of messages between different devices over a
network. The Internet Protocol (IP), which establishes the
technique for sending data packets between computers, works
with TCP.
Step 1 (SYN): In the first step, the client wants to
establish a connection with a server, so it sends a segment
with SYN(Synchronize Sequence Number) which informs
the server that the client is likely to start communication
and with what sequence number it starts segments with
Step 2 (SYN + ACK): Server responds to the client
request with SYN-ACK signal bits set.
Acknowledgement(ACK) signifies the response of the
segment it received and SYN signifies with what sequence
number it is likely to start the segments with
Step 3 (ACK): In the final part client acknowledges the
response of the server and they both establish a reliable
connection with which they will start the actual data
transfer
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
 UDP is a Transport Layer protocol. UDP is a part of the Internet
Protocol suite, referred to as the UDP/IP suite. Unlike TCP, it is an
unreliable and connectionless protocol. So, there is no need to
establish a connection before data transfer.
 The UDP helps to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating
connections establish over the network. The UDP enables process-
to-process communication.
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Where TCP is Used?
Sending Emails
Transferring Files
Web Browsing
FTP,SMTP,HTTP

Where UDP is Used?

Gaming
Video Streaming
Online Video Chats
DNS, VoIP
 What is an IP packet?
In networking, a packet is a small segment of a larger
message
A packet with an IP header can be referred to as an "IP
packet."
An IP header contains important information about
where a packet is from (its source IP address), where it
is going (destination IP address), how large the packet
is, and how long network routers should continue to
forward the packet before dropping it
It may also indicate whether or not the packet can be
fragmented, and include information about
reassembling fragmented packets.
Packet headers go at the front of each packet.
Routers, switches, computers, and anything else that
processes or receives a packet will see the header first.
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 A packet can also have trailers and footers attached at the end.

Like headers, these contain additional information about the

packet.
 Only certain network protocols attach trailers or footers to

packets; most only attach headers. ESP (part of the IPsec suite)
is one example of a network layer protocol that attaches trailers
to packets
 Network device
 Network Interface Cards (NIC)
 Also called network adapter
Receive data and convert it into electrical signals
Receive electrical signals and convert them into
data
Determine if the data received is for a particular
computer
Control the flow of data through the cable
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Repeater - A repeater is a device which regenerates or amplifies
the data or signal so that it can be travel to the other segment of
cable.
It is use to connect two networks that uses same technology and
protocol.
It does not filter or translate any data.
Work in physical layer
Hub – A hub is a basically multi-port repeater. A hub connects
multiple wires coming from different branches, for example, the
connector in star topology which connects different stations.
It has direct connection to a node (point to point connection).
It suffers from high collision of data, results to data loss.
A hub takes data from input port and retransmits the input data on
output port.
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Bridge – It is used to connect two networks.
It divides the collision domain based on number of ports or interface
present in a bridge.
It uses the packet switches that forward and filter the frames using LAN
destination address.
Bridge examines the destination address of frame and forwards it to the
interface or port which leads to the destination.
It uses the routing table for routing frame from one node to other using
MAC address.
It works in Data Link Layer.
Switch – It is similar to bridge. It has more number of interfaces as
compared to bridge.
It allows direct communication between the nodes.
It works in Data Link Layer.
It uses MAC address for data transmission and communication.
 switch divides the collision domain of hosts, but the broadcast domain
remains the same
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Routers – It is used to connect different types of network (types-
architecture/ Protocol).
It work similar to bridge but it uses IP address for routing data.
Router can't be used for connecting Systems.
It works in Network Layer.
Gateway – A gateway is basically a device or a hardware which acts
like a “gate” among the networks.
 Gateways make communication possible between systems that use
different communication protocols, data formatting structures,
languages and architectures.
 Gateways repackage data going from one system to another.
Gateways are usually dedicated servers on a network and are task-
specific.
 Addressing
 Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing the
TCP/IP protocols: physical address, logical address, port address,
and application-specific address. Each address is related to a one
layer in the TCP/IP architecture
The physical address, also known as the link
address, is the address of a node as defined by
its LAN or WAN.
Logical addresses are used by networking
software to allow packets to be independent of
the physical connection of the network, that is,
to work with different network topologies and
types of media
 IP Addresses
An IP address is a unique address that identifies
a device on the internet or a local network.
At present the Internet protocol is at version 4
and this address consists of four bytes, or 32
bits.
In the future this will be extended, in a new
version of the Internet protocol IPv6, to allow
more IP addresses since we are rapidly using up
the available addresses.
The addresses will also be structured differently.
The form of an IP address in IPv4 is
aaa.bbb.ccc.mmm
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 There are two prevalent notations to show an IPv4 address:
 binary notation and dotted-decimal notation.
Binary Notation
 In binary notation, the IPv4 address is displayed as 32 bits.
 Each octet is often referred to as a byte.
 So it is common to hear an IPv4 address referred to as a 32-bit address or a 4-
byte address.
 Example: - 01110101 10010101 00011101 00000010

Dotted-Decimal Notation
 To make the IPv4 address more compact and easier to read,
 Internet addresses are usually written in decimal form with a decimal point
(dot) separating the bytes.
 The following is the dotted-decimal notation of the above address:
 117.149.29.2
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IPv4 addresses are divided into two
categories:
Public address: The public address is also
known as an external address as they are
grouped under the WAN addresses
Private address: A private address is also
known as an internal address, as it is grouped
under the LAN addresses
 10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (10/8 prefix)
 172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (172.16/12 prefix)
private address
 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)
 Port address

There are many application running on the

computer. Each application run with a port no.
(logically) on the computer
Application-Specific Addresses
Examples include the e-mail address (for
example, [email protected]) and the
Universal Resource Locator (URL) (for
example, www.mhhe.com). The first defines
the recipient of an e-mail; the second is used
to find a document on the World Wide Web
 Address resolution protocol (ARP)
 Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a communication protocol
used to find the MAC (Media Access Control) address of a device
from its IP address

 There are two different ways to map the IP address into the MAC
address, which are given below:
o Static Mapping
o Dynamic Mapping
 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a network layer protocol

used to diagnose communication errors by performing an error control

mechanism
 ICMP is used for reporting errors and management queries.

 It is a supporting protocol and is used by network devices like routers

for sending error messages and operations information.

 Another important use of ICMP protocol is used to perform network

diagnosis by making use of traceroute and ping utility

 For example, the requested service is not available or a host or router

could not be reached

 VLANs
 VLANs are used to divide a physical LAN into multiple broadcast
domains to isolate services with the aim of improving the security and
management of the network
Features of VLANs
 Using VLANs, network administrators can easily partition a single
switched network into multiple networks depending upon the functional
and security requirements of their systems.
 VLANs eliminate the requirement to run new cables or reconfiguring
physical connections in the present network infrastructure.
 VLANs help large organizations to re-partition devices aiming improved
traffic management.
 VLANs also provide better security management allowing partitioning of
devices according to their security criteria and also by ensuring a higher
degree of control connected devices.
 Types of VLANs
Protocol VLAN − Here, the traffic is handled
based on the protocol used. A switch or bridge
segregates, forwards or discards frames the
come to it based upon the traffics protocol.
Port-based VLAN − This is also called static
VLAN. Here, the network administrator assigns
the ports on the switch / bridge to form a
virtual network.
Dynamic VLAN − Here, the network
administrator simply defines network
membership according to device
characteristics
 Routing
Routing is the process of selecting path along
which the data can be transferred from source to
destination
The routing algorithms are used for routing the
packets.
Routing protocols are responsible for
determining the best path for data to travel
through a network, and they play a crucial role in
ensuring that data is delivered efficiently and
reliably
There are several different classes of routing
protocols, each with their own unique
characteristics and advantages
 Dynamic routing protocols
Dynamic routing protocols are the applications which
discover network destinations dynamically
Dynamic routing protocols are supported by software
applications running on the routing device (the router)
which dynamically learn network destinations and
how to get to them and also advertise those
destinations to other routers
The purpose of a dynamic routing protocol is to:
 Discover remote networks
 Maintaining up-to-date routing information
 Choosing the best path to destination networks
 Ability to find a new best path if the current path is no
longer available so optimized route is selected
automatically.
 Static routing protocol
 Static routing is simply the process of manually entering routes into a
device's routing table via a configuration file that is loaded when the
routing device starts up.
 As an alternative, these routes can be entered by a network
administrator who configures the routes manually.
 Static routing is the simplest form of routing, but it is a manual process.
Advantages of static routing
 It can backup multiple interfaces/networks on a router
 Easy to configure
 No extra resources are needed
 More secure
 Stable. No impact of traffic and transmission failures.
Disadvantages of static routing
 Network changes require manual reconfiguration
 Does not scale well in large topologies
 Types of routing protocols
 Depending on the manner they used in routing routing-protocol
can be classified as:
Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP) and
Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGP)
Interior Gateway Routing Protocols (IGP)
Used for routing inside an autonomous system
& used to route within the individual networks
themselves.
Route data within an Autonomous System
Examples: RIP, EIGRP, OSPF
 Exterior Routing Protocols (EGP)
Used for routing between autonomous systems
Route data between Autonomous Systems
Example: BGP(Border Gateway Protocol), Enhanced
Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP, Open Shortest
Path First (OSPF)
 Subnetting
 Subnetting is a method of dividing a single physical network into
numerous smaller logical sub-networks
 A subnet is created by accepting bits from the IP address host part and
is used to split the original network into smaller subnetworks.
 Supernetting is the inverse of subnetting, in which many networks are
combined into a single network
To create a subnet, follow these steps:
 Determine the number of required network IDs:
 Determine the number of required host IDs per subnet:
 Based on these requirements, create the following:
 One subnet mask for your entire network
 A unique subnet ID for each physical segment
 A range of host IDs for each sub

 There are two types of Subnetting; FLSM Subnetting and VLSM

Subletting.
Differences between FLSM Subnetting and VLSM Subnetting
FLSM Subnetting VLSM Subnetting
 Subnetting a Class C Address

 When you’ve chosen a possible subnet mask for your network

and need to determine the number of subnets, valid hosts, and
broadcast addresses of each subnet that the mask provides, all
you need to do is answer five simple questions.
 How many subnets does the chosen subnet mask produce?
 How many valid hosts per subnet are available?
 What are the valid subnets?
 What’s the broadcast address of each subnet?
 What are the valid hosts in each subnet?
 Example
Network address= 192.168.10.0 /25
Answer
192.168.10.0/27