EC3401 Networks and Security

Presented by
Mr. K. John Samuel Raj , AP/ECE
OVERVIEW OF NETWORKS
OVERVIEW OF NETWORKS AND ITS ATTRIBUTES
Introduction
A computer (or) communication network is defined as, "a set of
computers which are interconnected by a communication links for sharing
data or resources or exchanging messages. The best-known computer
network is the Internet".
A node can be a computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and receiving data generated by other nodes on the network. The term
communication means “sharing of information".
Data communication is defined as “the exchange of data between two
devices via wire (or) wireless transmission medium".
 Data communication is considered local if the communicating devices are in the
same building (or) in a restricted small geographical area, whereas remote
communication is only takes place over long distance.
Characteristics of Data Communication
 The effectiveness of data communication system depends on the following four
fundamental characteristics:
Correct Delivery
 When a sender transmits data, it must reach only the correct destination and not
somewhere.
Accuracy (Accurate Delivery)
 The system must deliver data accurately means that the data sent by the sender
must be received by the receiver in the same form as it was sent. Data may be
altered in transmission.
Timely Delivery (Timeliness)
 The system must deliver data in a timely manner, that is, without any delay.
Jitter
Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time, that is, uneven delay in the delivery of audio (or) video
packets.
Components of Data Communication
A general data communication system consists of various components as followe
(i) Message,
(ii) Sender,
(iii) Receiver,
(iv) Transmission medium, and
(v) Protocol.
Data Representation
Today information can be represented in a different forms:
(i) Text (ii)Numbers (iii) Images (iv) Audio, and (v) Video.
Text:
In data communications, the text is represented as a bit pattern which is a sequence of bits (0s or
ls). Different sets of bit patterns are designed to represent text symbols and each set is called as
code. The process of representing symbols is called coding.
Examples:
Unicode uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any language in the world.
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ANSI).

Numbers:
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. The number is directly converted to a binary number
to simply mathematical operations.
Images:
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a
matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot.
Example: An image can be divided into 1000 pixels (or) 10,000 pixels.
The size of the pixels depends on the resolution. Better resolution gives better representation
of an image, but it requires more memory to store. For a block-and white image, a 1-bit pattern
is enough to represent a pixel. 1-white dot & 0-black dot.
The block and white image can be increase the size of the bit pattern to include gray
 scale by using four levels:
 00 - Block pixel.
 01- Dark gray pixel.
 10- Light gray pixel.
 11- White pixel.
 Colour images are represented by several methods such as RGB in which each cl
is made of a combination of three primary colours: Red, Green, and Blue intensity
of each colour is measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it. In YGM
 colour is made of a combination of three other primary colours: Yellow, Cyan. And
Magenta.

(4) Audio:
 Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music which is continue
not discrete. Using microphone to change voice or music to an electrical signal
which is a continuous signal.

(5) Video:
 Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can
either be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a
combination of images.
Transmission Modes (or) Direction of Data Flow
The term transmission modes are defined as, "the direction of data flow from sender to the
receiver and vice versa" and it can be classified as
 Unidirectional, and
 Bidirectional.
Unidirectional: Simplex
Unidirectional is also called as simplex mode of transmission which means the "transfer of
data from source to destination only'" that is, no reverse direction transmission is permitted.

Examples:
Communication from CPU to monitor, keyboard to CPU and computer to printer are
unidirectional.
Bidirectional:
Bidirectional is a two-way transmission, that is, from source to the destination as well as from
destination to the source. It is classified into two types based on the way of transmission:
 (a) Half-Duplex mode, and
 (b) Full Duplex mode

Half-Duplex Mode
Each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time and it is more convenient
than simplex communication.
Examples: Walkie-talkies, CB (Citizen's Band) radios.
Full-Duplex (or) Duplex Mode
In full-duplex (or) duplex transmission, both the devices can transmit and receive the data at
the same time, that is, share the full capacity of the link.
Example: Telephone conversation, where both parties can talk to each other simultaneously.
Network :
A network is defined as, "the interconnection of a set of devices by a links which are capable
of communication".
A device is a host (node) which can be a large computer, cellular phone (or) any other device
capable of sending and receiving data generated by other nodes on the network The links
connecting the devices are often called communication channels.
A device can also be a connecting device such as, a router which connects the network to
other networks, a switch which connects devices together, a modem which can changes the
form of data and so on.
These devices in a network are connected using wireless (or) wired transmission media such
as air (or) cable.
Network Criteria
To be effective and efficient, a network must meet a certain number of criteria. They are,

Performance:
Performance Measurements:
Performance can be measured in following two way:
 Transit time, and
 Response time.
Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another
and response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.
Performance Factors:
Performance of a network depends on a number of factors and they are,
 (a) Number of users.
 (b) Type of transmission medium: The medium defines the speed of a data which can
travel through a connection.
Capabilities of the connected hardware: A high-speed computer with greater storage
capacity provides better performance.
Efficiency of software: The software used to process data at the sender, receiver, and
intermediate nodes also affects network performance.
Performance Evaluation:
The network performance can be evaluated by two networking metrics:
(a) Throughput: The number of bits that can pass through a point in one second.
(b) Delay.
Reliability
Network reliability is measured by the following factors:
(a) Frequency of failure: All networks fail occasionally.
(b) Recovery time of a network after a failure: A network that recovers
quickly is more useful.
(c) Catastrophe: Networks must be protected from catastrophic events such as
fire, earthquake, or theft. One such protection against unexpected damage in a
reliable system is to back up network software.
Security
Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access,
protecting data from damage and development, and implementing policies and
procedures for recovery from breaches and data losses.
Physical Structures
(1) Types of connection
In a network, two or more devices are connected to each other through connecting links.
There are two possible ways to connect the devices and they are
 Point to point connection.
 Multipoint connection.
Point-to -Point Connection:
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. Entire capacity of
the link is reserved for transmission between these two devices only.
It is possible to connect the two devices by a pair of wires (or) using a microwave (or)
satellite link.

Example: Connection between remote control and TV's control system. Link
Multipoint (multi drop) Connection:
In the multipoint connection, more than two specific devices are sharing a single link, that is,
the channel capacities are shared among the connected devices.
If many devices share the link simultaneously, it is called spatially shared connection, If
users share the link turn by turn then it is called time sharing connection.

Physical Topology
Topology is defined as a geometrical arrangement of nodes (or) computers in a network'".
Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology.
Mesh Topology (Complete Topology)
In mesh topology, each node is connected to every other node by dedicated point-to-point link. The
term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices when it connects.

For n' nodes, there would be n(n-1)/2 physical duplex-mode links. In the above fig, it is
clear that 4 nodes are connected with the use of 6 links.
Every device on the network must have (n -1) input/output ports, to be connected to the
other (n-1) stations.
For these reasons, a mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion.
Star Topology:
In a star topology, there is a dedicated point-to-point link from each device to a central
controller, usually called a hub. This topology does not allow direct traffic between devices as
they are not directly linked to each other.

The controller (or) hub acts as an exchange. If one device wants to send data to
another, it first sends the data to the controller, which then relays the data to the
appropriate receiver device.
Bus Topology
A bus topology provides multipoint communication, where as all other topologies provides point-point
communication. In this case, a long cable called bus forms the backbone to all the nodes.

When a node wants to send some data to some other node, it first pushes the data onto the bus, which
carries it to the respective destination node. This system is comparable to an analogy of passengers get
into the bus and get down at their respective destination. Hence this topology has the name bus.
Nodes are connected to thẹ bus cable by drop lines and taps. A drop line is a connection running
between the device and the main cable.
A tap is a connector that connects the node with the metallic core of the bus via a drop line.
As the signal traverses across the bus, some of the signal energy is converted into the heat energy, thus
weakening the signals. This puts the limit on the number of taps and distance between them.
Ring Topology
In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point line configuration only with the
two devices on either side of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device
to device.
If a node wants to send something to a distant node on a ring, it has to go through many
intermediate nodes, which acts like a repeaters, thus reproducing the incoming weak bit stream
into strengthen signals on the outgoing line.
Network Types
Generally, the network can be categorized based on its size, its ownership, the distance it
covers, and its physical architecture.

The network, which meant for only one person, is said to be Personal Area Networks (PAN).
Example, a wireless network connecting a computer with its mouse, keyboard, printer etc.
Local Area Networks (LAN)
LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers (or)
workstations
LAN is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office, building (or) campus
which is depending on the needs of an organization. LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
 Traditionally, LANs have data rates in the 4 to 16 Mbps range. Today, however speeds are
normally 100 (or) 1000 Mbps.
 Each host in a LAN has an identifier, which is an address that uniquely defines the host in
the LAN. A packet sent by a host to another host carries both the source host’s and the
destination host's addresses.
 A Switches Today, most of the LANS are using switch, which connects multiple
communication line together and it is able to recognize the destination address of the
packet and guide the packet to its destination without sending it to ll other hosts.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

 A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is designed to cover the area inside a town (or) a
city. It is a network with a size greater thana LAN and lesser than a WAN.
 Many telephone companies provide a popular MAN service called Switched Multi-
megabit Data Service (SMDS). MAN provides the transfer rates from 34 to 150 Mbps.
Wide Area Networks (WAN)
A WAN provides long distance transmission of data, voice, image and video information over
large geographical areas that may comprise a country, a continent (or) even the whole world.
WANs can also use satellite (or) ground radio system. A WAN that is fully owned and used by
a single company is often referred to as an enterprise network. The major types of WAN are
o (a) Point-to-point WAN.
o (b) Switched WAN.

A point-to-point WAN is a network that connects two communicating devices through a

transmission media like cable (or) air.
Switched WAN
A Switched WAN is a network which connects more than two networks and it is used as the
backbone of global communication today.
It is simply defined as a combination of several point-to-point WANs that are connected by
switches.
Internetworks (Inter Connection of Networks)
A collection of two (or) more networks that are connected is called an internetwork (or)
internet, Individual networks are joined into internetworks by the use of internetworking
devices such as routers and gateways.
The term internet (i) is different from that of Internet (I), where former refers to the
interconnection of networks and latter is the name of specific worldwide network.
Switching
An internet is a switched network in which a switch connects at least two links together. A
network is a set of connected devices. To make communication among multiple devices
efficiently, a process used is called switching.
 A Switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes called switches, which are the
devices capable of creating temporary connections between two (or) more devices linked
to the switch.
 The two most common types of switched networks are:
 (i) Circuit-switched networks.
 (ii) Packet-switched networks
Circuit-Switched Networks:
 Circuit switching creates a direct physical (dedicated) connection between two end
devices. A circuit-switched network is made up of a set of switches connected by physical
links, in which each link is divided into 'n' channels either by using FDM (or) TDM.
 Fig 1.19 shows the circuit-switched network, where the data is transferred from node-3 to
node-5. Here two switches are used and each link is divided into n (n=3) channels by using
FDM (or) TDM. In other ends, either computers or telephones are connected to a switch.
 The thick line connecting two switches is a high-capacity communication line that can
handle three voice communications at the same time that is, the capacity can be shared
between all pairs of telephone sets (or) computers.

Efficiency:
 Circuit switching is inefficient, because resources allocated during the entire duration of
the connection, even if no data are being transferred.

Application:
 Switching at the physical layer in the traditional telephone (voice traffic) network use the
circuit-switching approach.
Packet - Switched Networks:
In the packet-switched network, the sending message is divided into packets of fixed or
variable size. Here, there is no resource allocation for a packets. Resources are allocated based
on demand.
Each packet contains not only data but also a header with control information such as the
sender's address and destination's address. The packets are sent over the network from node to
node. At each node, the packet is stored briefly then routed according to the information in its
header.
 A small packet-switched network that connects four computers at one end to four
computers at the other end.

 A router has a queue that can store and forward the packet. For example, the capacity of
the thick line is only twice the capacity of the data line which is connecting the computers
and routers.

 lf two computers send data from one end, then there is no waiting for the packets. On the
other hand, when more packets are arrived than the packets should be stored and forwarded
in the order they arrived.

 lt is more efficient than a circuit-switched networks because the resources are allocated
only based on demand, but the packets may encounter some delay.
 Network Models and Addressing
NETWORK MODELS

Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so that these heterogeneous
networks can communicate with each other. The two best-known standards are,

(i) OSI model, and

(ii) Internet model.

ISO/OSI LAYER MODEL (OR) ARCHITECTURE

The International Standards Organization (ISO) is a multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement
on International standards. It created a model called the Open System Interconnection (OSI), which allows
different systems to communicate.

An open system is "a set of protocols that allows any two different systems to communicate regardless of
their underlying architecture".

OSI is a model for understanding and designing a network architecture that is flexible, robust, and
interoperable.
Layered Architecture

The OSI model consists of seven separate but related layers, each layer will perform a well-
defined functions. They are:

(i) Physical (ii) Data link (iii) Network (iv) Transport (v) Session (vi) Presentation

(vii) Application
 The seven layers are split into three subgroups:

 (i) Layers 1, 2 and 3 (physical, data link & network) are the network support layers; they
deal with the physical aspects of moving data from one device to another.

 (ii) Layers 5, 6 and 7 (session, presentation & application) are the user support layers; they
allow interoperability among unrelated software systems.

 (iii) Layer 4, the transport layer, ensures an end-to-end reliable data transmission while
layer 2 ensures reliable transmission on a single link.

 Consider L7 means the data unit at layer 7, hands over the entire data (L7) to the
presentation layer.

 After the presentation layer receives and processes this data, it adds its own header (H6) to
the original data and sends it to the immediate next layer. i.e., (L6 = L7+H6) in the
hierarchy (i.e. the session layer), and so on.

 At each layer, a header can be added to the received data unit, but the trailer (T2) can be
added only in the data link layer.