INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKS

PREPARED BY ARVIND SHARMA

What is internetworking?
Internetworking is the process and methodology used to connect multiple independent networks,
regardless of their distance.
Internetwork or Internet
Multiple independent networks that are connected and can share remote resources.
Networking
Networking is the process and methodology applied to connect multiple computers (or other devices),
so that they are able to exchange information.
Network: A set of interconnected computers (or other devices) sharing resources.
Middleware
Middleware is a layer of software between client and server processes. This software provides services
such as identification, authentication, authorization, directories, and security.
Software: A term used in computing to refer to programs or applications.
Hardware: A term used in computing to refer to physical parts or equipment.

Main Components Of The Computer

Motherboard or mainboard
CPU
Memory (RAM)
Case, power supply
Floppy disk drive (FDD)
Hard disk drive (HDD)
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW or DVD-ROM
Keyboard, mouse
Serial port, parallel port, USB port
Video card, monitor
Sound card, speakers
Network card
Modem

What Can A Computer Understand?

Computer cannot understand human language (English, French, German, Chinese, Arabic or Italian
etc).
Computer can only understand two things:
Voltage
(Current flowing through the wires -> 1)
No Voltage
(No current flowing through the wires -> 0)
Computer can only understand machine language i.e. combination of 0s and 1s. Human language is
coded into combination of 0s and 1s by the Keyboard, so computer can understand human
instructions. Most common coding scheme is called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information
Interchange).
Overview of Networks
A communication network is an interconnection of numerous network elements, which are required to
transfer voice, data, and video traffic between users. It is the network that connects the end user to
virtually anywhere in the world through the use of coaxial cable, copper twisted-pair cable, fibre-optic
cable, and through wireless technology such as microwave or satellite. Examples of communication
networks are telephone networks; telegraph networks, radio and television broadcast networks,
computer networks, cellular telephone networks and the Internet.

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Telecommunications and Information Technology have been converging for the past few years.
However, there is a much closer interrelationship between both at present than at any time in the past.
This convergence is changing the way; carriers will carry voice, data and video signal.
Information Technology has provided new networked applications and made extensive changes to
corporate needs, human life style and leisure. These networked applications are video conferencing, file
transfer, world wide web browsing, electronic mail, financial transactions, database access and voice
over the Internet protocol (VOIP).
This led to a massive growth of the Internet and huge bandwidth demand from customers. It resulted in
the need to re-architect the traditional and oldest communication network called Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN). Carriers are now using new technologies to carry voice, data, and
integrated services, which can also interoperate with the existing PSTN infrastructure.
Now days, communication networks enable organisations to build their networks on the basis of Local
Area Networks (LANs) or/and Wide Area Networks (WANs), to satisfy their communication demands. It
is arguable that the very terms Telecommunications and Information Technology are losing their
relevance as separate identities. It is expected that these fields will become virtually indistinguishable in
the near future.
History of Computer Networking
Earlier computers were Standalone devices i.e. each computer operated in isolation, independently from
other computers. In an office, only a very small number of computers had printers attached to them.
When employees who did not have printers attached locally and wanted to print documents, they had to
copy their files on their floppy disks, carry them over to a co-workers computer to print. The only way
to share or print files was to carry files on a floppy disk from office to office. This method of sharing and
printing files became known as Sneaker Net.
It soon realised that sneaker net was not a fast, efficient and economic way of sharing files or
resources. Thats why businesses or organisations wanted a solution to the following problems:
Increased cost due to duplication of Hardware & Software.
Slow and inefficient communication.
No network management.
The first solution to fix these problems was the creation of Local Area Networks, LANs.
LANs made it possible for businesses or organisations to efficiently share files and printers by
interconnecting workstations, peripherals, terminals and other devices in a single building.
As soon as the commercial use of computers grew, it was realised that in a LAN, it was not possible to
transfer information from one office to another in a different building. A network to move information
efficiently and quickly from one office to another was needed. This led to the creation of metropolitan
area networks, MANs and wide area networks, WANs.
Types of Networks
A network is an interconnection of computers, network devices, printers and software through a
transmission media. These networks are of different shapes and sizes. Network administrators usually
classify networks according to their geographical size. Networks are predominately classified as:
Local Area Networks (LANs)
Wide Area Networks (WANs)
Metropolitan area networks (MANs).
Local Area Networks (LANs)
A local area network (LAN) comprises a group of computers and network communication devices
interconnected within a limited geographically area, such as a building or a campus (neighbouring
buildings). LANs have the following characteristics:
They allow communication in a limited geographical area
They transfer data at faster speed (higher bandwidth)
Transmission media and resources are managed by the organisation running the LAN.
Wide Area Networks (WANs)
A wide area network (WAN) interconnects different LANs across the world. A WAN allows
communications within a state, a country, or anywhere else in the world.
WANs are characterized by the following:
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They allow communications in an unlimited geographical area.

They connect multiple LANs located in same or different cities.
They are usually slower than LANs.
Transmission media and connections are managed by a third-party carrier like a telephone
company Telstra or a cable company Optus.

WANs can be further classified into the following two categories:

Enterprise WANs: An enterprise WAN interconnects the widely separated communication resources of
a single organization. An organization with several offices at distant sites can setup an enterprise WAN
to interconnect these offices. An enterprise WAN comprises private and commercial network services,
but it is designed exclusively for communications within a particular organization.
Global WANs: A global WAN interconnects networks of various corporations or organizations across the
world.
Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
A Metropolitan area network (MAN) allows interconnection of LANs within boundaries of a Metropolitan.
MAN usually interconnects networks within an area of 50 Km. An example of a MAN is data backup or
data transfer between two campuses of a University through a telephone cable. These days MANs are
overshadowed by WANs.
An example of LAN and WAN interconnection is shown in the following figure:

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