Computer Networks/Communication

OR
Data Communication and Networking
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology
Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria.

2024/2025 Session
COURSE LECTURER: DR.(MRS) O.E. OJO
 INTRODUCTION

• Communication : When we communicate, we are sharing Information.

• This sharing can be local or remote
• Local Communication – Face to face
• Remote Communication- takes place over distance
• Telecommunication-means communication at a distance (tele is Greek for far)
• Data : refers to information presented in whatever form as agreed by the parties
creating and using the data. Data is all kinds of facts, including, pictures, letters,
numbers, and sounds.

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 DATA COMMUNICATION

• Data Communication is the exchange of data (in the form of O’s and 1’s)
between two devices via some form of transmission medium (such as a
wire cable).

• For data communication to occur, the communicating devices must be of

a communication system made up of combination of hardware (Physical
component) and software (programs).

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Data Communications
 Effectiveness of Data Communication

Depends on four fundamental characteristics

• Delivery : The system must deliver data to the correct destination . Data
must be received by the intended device or user and only by that device or
user.
• Accuracy: The system must deliver data to the correct destination . Data
that have been altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

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 Effectiveness of Data Communication

• Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. (video and
audio). This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.

• Jitter : refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. Uneven delay in the
delivery of audio and video packet.

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 Five components of data communication

• Message : information(data) to be communicated

• Sender : The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a
computer, work station, etc.
• Receiver: device that receive the message.
• Transmission medium: the physical path by which a message travels from
the sender to the receiver e.g. : twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fibre-optic
cable and radio waves.
• Protocol: set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two
devices may be connected but not communicating.

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 DATA COMMUNICATION
• The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is used to carry both
voice and data communication.
• The public switched telephone network started as an analog network
designed to handle analog voice signals but it has gradually been
converted from an analog to a digital network.

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 DATA FLOW
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half duplex or full
duplex
• Simplex : communication is unidirectional, only one of the two devices on
a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboards and traditional
monitors are example, keyboard can only introduce input; monitor can only
accept output.

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 DATA FLOW

• Half duplex: each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same
time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive and vice
versa.

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 DATA FLOW
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half duplex or full
duplex
• Full duplex : both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously e.g.
when two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and
listen at the same time.

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 NETWORK
• Network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)
connected by communication links.

• A node can be a computer, printer or any other device

capable of sending or receiving data generated .

• Most networks use distributed processing in which a task is

divided among multiple computers.

• A network must be able to meet certain criteria; the most

important of these are performance, reliability and security.

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 NETWORK
• For communication to occur on a network, two devices must be
connected in some way to the same link at the same time.

• There are two possible types of connections:

• point-to-point

• and multipoint.

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 POINT-TO-POINT CONNECTION

• A type of connection provides a dedicated link

between two devices .
• The entire capacity of the link is reserved for
transmission between those two devices.
• Most point-to point connection use an actual length of
wire or cable to connect two ends.

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 INTERCONNECTION OF NETWORKS:
INTERNET

• Network, an interconnection of computers, Information

and Communication Technologies (ICT) and their
peripherals makes resource and information sharing a
possibility.

• In recent years, network has grown vastly with an

interconnection of various networks spanning vast
geographical locations linking together over millions of
end-users known as the Internet.

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 INTERCONNECTION OF NETWORKS:
INTERNET

• As the Internet continue to grow, the number of users

increases explosively day to day, today, it is very rare
to see a LAN, a MAN or a WAN in isolation; they are
connected to one another.

• In recent years, network has grown vastly with an

interconnection of various networks spanning vast
geographical locations linking together over millions of
end-users known as the Internet.

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 INTERCONNECTION OF NETWORKS:
INTERNET

• When two or more networks are connected, they

become an internet or internetwork.

• Internet comprises of various network types such as

• LANs (Local Area Networks),
• PANs (Personal Area Networks),
• WANs (Wide Area Networks),
• MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks) etc.

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 LANs (Local Area Networks)
• A LAN is a network that is used for communicating among
computer devices, usually within an office building or home.

• LAN’s enable the sharing of resources such as files or hardware

devices that may be needed by multiple users .

• Is limited in size, typically spanning a few hundred meters, and

no more than a mile.

• Is fast, with speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps

• Requires little wiring, typically a single cable connecting to

each device
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 LANs (Local Area Networks)
• Has lower cost compared to MAN’s or WAN’s

• LAN’s can be either wired or wireless. Twisted pair, fibre optic

cable can be used in wired LAN’s.

• Every LAN uses a protocol – a set of rules that governs how

packets are configured and transmitted..

• Nodes in a LAN are linked together with a certain topology.

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LANs (Local Area Networks)

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LANs (Local Area Networks)
• Advantages
 Speed, Security, and Resource Sharing
• Disadvantages
 Expensive To Install
 Requires Administrative Time
 File Server May Fail
 Cables May Break

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 CANs (Campus Area
Networks)
• A Campus Area Network (CAN) is a computer network that
links the buildings and consists of two or more local area
networks (LANs) within the limited geographical area.

• It can be the college campus, enterprise campus, office

buildings, military base, industrial complex.

• CAN is one of the type of MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

on the area smaller than MAN. 23
CANs (Campus Area
Networks)

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 MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks)
• A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a large computer
network that usually spans a city or a large campus.

• A MAN is optimized for a larger geographical area than a

LAN, ranging from several blocks of buildings to entire
cities.

• A MAN might be owned and operated by a single

organization, but it usually will be used by many individuals
and organizations.

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 MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks)
• A MAN often acts as a high speed network to allow sharing
of regional resources.

• A MAN typically covers an area of between 5 and 50 km

diameter.

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MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks)

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MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks)

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 WANs (Wide Area Networks )
• WAN covers a large geographic area such as country,
continent or even whole of the world.

• To cover great distances, WANs may transmit data over

leased high-speed phone lines or wireless links such as
satellites.

• The world's most popular WAN is the Internet.

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WANs (Wide Area Networks )

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 Personal Area Network (PAN)
• A PAN is a network that is used for communicating among
computers and computer devices (including telephones) in
close proximity of around a few meters within a room.

• It can be used for communicating between the

devices themselves

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Personal Area Network (PAN)

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 INTERCONNECTION OF NETWORKS:
INTERNET

• Services are provided by hierarchical ISPs (Internet Service

Providers) who connects intending users.
• There are international service providers, national service
providers, regional service providers and local service
providers.
• The internet today is run by private companies, not
government.

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INTERCONNECTION OF NETWORKS:
INTERNET

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NETWORKING HARDWARE

• For effective communication of computers, some hardware

are required which helps in the transmission of data.
• NICs (Network Interface Cards)
Network interface cards (also called NICs, network adapters,
or network cards) are connectivity devices that enable a
workstation, server, printer, or other node to receive and
transmit data over the network media.

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NETWORKING HARDWARE

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 NETWORKING HARDWARE

• Hubs are devices that extend the range of a network by

receiving a signal on one port, then regenerating the signal and
sending it out to all other ports.
• This process means that all traffic from a device connected to
the hub is sent to all the other devices connected to the hub
every time the hub transmits data.
• This causes a great amount of network traffic.
• Hubs are also called concentrators, because they serve as a
central connection point for a LAN. 37
 NETWORKING HARDWARE

The following are some of the properties of the hub;

• Extend the range of a signal by receiving then regenerating it
and sending it out all other ports
• Traffic is sent out all ports of the hub
• Allow a lot of collisions on the network segment and are often
not a good solution
• Also called concentrators because they serve as a
central connection point for a LAN
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NETWORKING HARDWARE

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 NETWORKING HARDWARE

BRIDGES AND SWITCHES

• Files are broken up into small pieces of data, called packets,
before they are transmitted over a network.
• This allows for error checking and easier retransmission if
the packet is lost or corrupted.
• Address information is added to the beginning and to the end
of packets before they are transmitted over the network. The
packet, along with the address information, is called a frame.
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 NETWORKING HARDWARE

• LANs are often divided into sections called segments

bounded by bridges.
• A bridge has the intelligence to determine if an incoming
frame is to be sent to a different segment, or dropped.
• This improves traffic flow of data by keeping frames from
entering the wrong segment. A bridge has two ports.
• Switches are sometimes called multiport bridges. A typical
bridge may have just two ports, linking two segments of the
same network. A switch has several ports, depending on how
many network segments are to be linked.

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NETWORKING HARDWARE

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 NETWORKING HARDWARE

• Switches are sometimes called multiport bridges.

• A typical bridge may have just two ports, linking two segments of the
same network. A switch has several ports, depending on how many
network segments are to be linked.
• A switch is a more sophisticated device than a bridge. A switch
maintains a table of the media access control (MAC)
addresses for computers that are connected to each port.
• When a frame arrives at a port, the switch compares the address
information in the frame to its MAC address table.
• The switch then determines which port to use to forward the frame. 43
NETWORKING HARDWARE

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 NETWORKING HARDWARE

ROUTERS
• While a switch connects segments of a network, routers are devices that
connect entire networks to each other.
• Switches use MAC addresses to forward a frame within a single
network. Routers use IP addresses to forward frames to other networks.
• A router can be a computer with special network software installed, or a
router can be a device built by network equipment manufacturers.
• Routers contain tables of IP addresses along with optimal destination
routes to other networks.

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NETWORKING HARDWARE

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NETWORKING HARDWARE

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NETWORK PROTOCOL
• A network protocol is similar to a human protocol, except that the entities
exchanging messages and taking actions are hardware or software
components of a computer network.

• All activity in the Internet that involves two or more communicating remote
entities is governed by a protocol.

• Protocols in routers determine a packet's path from source to destination;

hardware-implemented protocols in the network interface cards of two
physically connected computers control the flow of bits on the "wire"
between the two computers; a congestion control protocol controls the rate
at which packets are transmitted between sender and receiver.
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NETWORK PROTOCOL

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Network Topology
Computer network topology is the way various
components of a network (like nodes, links,
peripherals, etc) are arranged. Network
topologies define the layout, virtual shape or
structure of network, not only physically but
also logically. The way in which different
systems and nodes are connected and
communicate with each other is determined
by topology of the network.
Topology can be physical or
logical
Physical Topology is the physical layout of
nodes, workstations and cables in the network.
Logical topology is the way information flows
between different components.
 Types of Physical Network
Topologies
Bus Topology
Star Topology
Ring Topology
Mesh Topology
Tree Topology
Hybrid Topology
Bus Topology
In the bus topology, the computers are
connected through a common communication
media. A special type of central wire is used as
communication media. This central wire is
called Bus. The computer are attached through
the bus the ends of the bus are closed with the
terminator .The terminators are used to absorb
signals.
Bus Topology
Advantages of Bus Topology
Easy to install and configure
Inexpensive
Easily extended
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
Performance decreases
Weak signals
Difficult troubleshooting
Star Topology
• The star topology uses a separate cable for
each work station as shown in fig.The cable
connects the work station to a central device
typically a HUB. The configuration provides a
more reliable network that is easily
expended. With star there is no central point
of failure in the cable .if there is a problem
with the cable only the station connected to
that cable is a effected .to add more work
stations simply connect another HUB
Star Topology
Advantages of Star Topology
Easily expended and modified
Easy to troubleshoot
Multiple cable types supported by hub
Disadvantages of Star Topology
If hub fails then entire network will fail
Require more cables
May require a device to rebroadcast signals
across the network
Ring Topology
• Every computer is connected to the next computer in the
ring and each transmits what it receives from the previous
computer. The messages flow around the ring in one
direction.
Some ring network do ring token passing. A short message
called token (memory area)is passed around a ring until a
computer wishes to send information to other computers.
That computer modifies token, adds an electronic address
and data and send it around the ring. Each computer in
sequence receives the token and next computer until either
the electronic address matches the address of a computer
Or the token return to its origin .The receiving computer
returns a message to the sender indicating that message
has been received.
Ring Topology
Advantages
It provides an orderly network in which every
device has access to the token and can
transmit.
It performs well under a heavy load.
Disadvantages
Failure of one computer can effect the whole
network .
Difficult to troubleshoot.
Change mode with adding or removing a
device effect the entire network.
Mesh Topology
A mesh network or mesh topology uses
separate cable to connect each device to every
other device on the network, providing a
straight communication path. For sending
messages, check the cable connected into two
devices. A message is send directly from
sender to receiver because each one has
individual and separate connection.
Mesh Topology
Advantages
Enhance for error tolerance provided by
redundant links.
Easy to troubleshoot.
Disadvantages
Difficult to install and maintain.
Expensive.
Tree Topology
• The type of network topology in which a central 'root' node
(the top level of the hierarchy) is connected to one or more
other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the
second level) with a point-to-point link between each of the
second level nodes and the top level central 'root' node, while
each of the second level nodes that are connected to the top
level central 'root' node will also have one or more other nodes
that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the third level)
connected to it, also with a point-to-point link, the top level
central 'root' node being the only node that has no other node
above it in the hierarchy (The hierarchy of the tree is
symmetrical.) Each node in the network having a specific fixed
number, of nodes connected to it at the next lower level in the
hierarchy, the number, being referred to as the 'branching
factor' of the hierarchical tree.
Tree Topology
Advantages
It is scalable.Secondary nodes allow more
devices to be connected to a central node.
Point to point connection of devices.
Having different levels of the network makes it
more manageable hence easier fault
identification and isolation.
Disadvantages
Maintenance of the network may be an issue
when the network spans a great area.
Since it is a variation of bus topology, if the
backbone fails, the entire network is crippled.
Hybrid Topology
• Hybrid networks use a combination of any
two or more topologies in such a way that the
resulting network does not exhibit one of the
standard topologies (e.g., bus, star, ring,
etc.). For example, a tree network connected
to a tree network is still a tree network
topology. A hybrid topology is always
produced when two different basic network
topologies are connected. Two common
examples for Hybrid network are: star ring
network and star bus network.
Hybrid Topology