Paper No: 05 ICT for Libraries

Principal Investigator
& Techniques, Media and Devices
Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director
Module : 09 Networking INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar
Subject Coordinator

Development Team
Principal Investigator
Paper Coordinator
Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director
&
INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar
Subject Coordinator
Content Writer

Dr Usha Mujoo Munshi, Librarian,

Paper Coordinator Indian Institute of Public Administration
Content Reviewer

Mr. Manoj Kumar, Scientist D

Content Writer INFLIBNET Centre

Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director

Content Reviewer INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar

Paper Coordinator
Content Reviewer

 Networking Techniques, Media and Devices

I. Objectives
To learn about the various aspects of networking technology i.e network
topologies, switching techniques, network devices and different type of network
connections.

II. Learning Outcomes

On completion of this lesson, learners will attain knowledge about switching
technologies such as circuit switching, packet switching, cell switching, network
media used for transmissions. They would learn about the topologies for
interconnection of computers such as Bus, Ring, Star, Mesh, Hybrid etc. Learner
would be able to understand network devices such as Hub, Switches, Gateway and
Routers, Modems are also introduced in this module.

III. Module Structure

1. Introduction
2. Network Topology
2.1 Bus Topology
2.2 Ring Topology
2.3 Star Topology
2.4 Mesh Topology
2.5 Hybrid and Wireless Topology
3. Switching Techniques
3.1 Circuit Switching
3.2 Packet Switching
3.3 Cell Switching
4. Network Media
5. Network Devices
5.1 Network Interface Card (NIC)
5.2 Hub
 5.3 Switch
5.4 Router/Gateway
6. Network Connection
6.1 Network Cabling
6.2 Wireless Network
7. Summary
8. References

1. Introduction

There is a saying in Hindi that " " i.e. "Unity is

strength and unity is power". When an individual or a device works independently,
the full potential of the entity is not utilized properly. While getting connected
each other, the network of such entities gives maximum utilization of resources
and power of sharing. In computers also, the interconnections of many computers
can be created which is called Networking of computers. The interconnections of
computers enable to share resources such as hardware, data and information with
high reliability and speed. Between the computers, the data is passed as signals
and the signal is interpreted as binary digits by the computers to enable the
transmission of data. Prowess technological implementation is required with
various networking techniques to create a dedicated and reliable network. Network
inherits the socializing nature of human quality to share its resources among other
connected computers. Since computer cannot move to make its own connection,
various technological solutions are required to transmit data from one computer to
another. It has to be connected each other with a media, switching of data or
signals are required along with proper design of connections. This section will
discuss about switching technologies such as Circuit Switching,
Packet Switching, Cell Switching, Network media used for transmissions, such as
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cables, Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cables, Fiber
cables and wireless media, Topologies for interconnection of computers such as
Bus, Ring, Star, Mesh, Hybrid etc. Network devices such as Hub, Switches,
Gateway and Routers, Modems, are also introduced in this module.

2. Network Topology
In order to interconnect computers, cable and other components, physical layout of
the devices involved is to be prepared in advance. Such a layout of computers,
cables, network device is called network topology and network may use one
topology for the entire network or it may be also built using multiple topologies.
Major topologies used in computer networking are Bus topology, Star Topology,
Mesh topology, ring topology, hybrid topology and recently added wireless
topology. Main computer which serves its resources to other computers is called
server and individual computer which accepts the services is called clients.
Servers and clients are commonly referred as Nodes. Topology is the design of
connecting nodes in the network. Nodes can be desktop, workstation, printers,
switches etc.

2.1 Bus Topology

This is the simple topology which uses a straight cable with terminator at both
ends. All the nodes are connected to this linear cable. The signal generally
originates from one node in bus topology and travels in both directions in the
cable from the same computer. When the signal reaches at the end, the terminator
observes the signal. Signals can also bounce back and return in the direction it
came from. Though, bus topology is a good solution for standalone network, the
signal bombs will create problems due to pollution of the signal traveling in both
directions. The major disadvantage is if there is a single break, the network breaks
down completely.

Fig.1: Bus Topology

2.2 Ring Topology

All nodes are connected by a ring cable which do not have any start or end in
termination as shown in the bus topology. Generally, ring topology is used as a
redundancy purpose in establishing WAN (Wide Area Network) or MAN
(Metropolitan Area Network). The Signal passes in one direction only in Ring
topology and each computer is supposed to regenerate the signal so that it can
travel in destination required. As seen in the bus topology, if one workstation fails,
entire network fails.

Fig.2: Ring Topology

2.3 Star Topology

Star topology is a robust technology where a central device is used for connecting
nodes to the center. The cable will connect the nodes directly to the switch. Such
connections of the nodes are central switch, which gives a design of a Star as
given in the picture.
Star topology is most popular and widely used topology in implicating local area
network using the Internet. Since each node is connected with the cable, it is easy
to identify faults in the network. Star Topology requires more cable links than the
bus topology and attributes more expenses than the bus topology. The
disadvantage is, if the central switch fails the entire network will fail.
 Fig.3: Star Topology

2.4 Mesh Topology

Mesh topology is an interconnection of all nodes in the network. Since one node is
connected to many other nodes, the reliability of the network is very high with
multiple paths to destination. Mesh topology is very expensive, hence not very
popular.

Fig.4: Mesh Topology

2.5 Hybrid and Wireless Topology

Tree topology use one switch and all equipments will be connected in hierarchical
structure. Hybrid Topology is a mixture of all the topologies. It can be Bus-Ring,
Star-Ring, Bus-Star or combination of all. Recently, WiFi technology has been
introduced for Wireless LAN and wireless topology is used to plan the layout of
Access Points (APs) and wireless controllers. Details will be discussed later in
Wireless network.

3. Switching Techniques
Once the network is created with many nodes, which are located in different places
by connecting to other networks, to transmit the data across the network dedicated
connections are required between end nodes. Generally, data is sent as packet or
frames through a physical connection between the end points. Transmitting data
across network is called switching technique. There are three types of switching
techniques popularly used in networks.

3.1 Circuit Switching

Circuit switching is a technology used in telecommunication network in which
two network nodes are connected by a dedicated communication Chanel called
circuit. Circuit is to be establishing before starting the communication of data. A
Circuit dedicates full bandwidth of Chanel for the entire duration of the
communication process. Once circuit is established between two nodes through
many intermediary nodes it will look like the nodes are physically connected.
Delay in transmission is always constant in circuit due to the dedicated Chanel.
The disadvantage of circuit switching is that the numbers of users are restricted to
use and circuit remains reserved. If it is not used by the reserved user the circuit
remains ideal. For example hot lines, analog telephone network etc. Since these
kind of circuits are giving low variance in latency, circuit switching is preferred
for video and audio transmissions. Extra overhead and delay is impertinent due to
the set up and tear down of the circuit.

Fig.5: Circuit Switching

3.2 Packet Switching

To overcome the limitation of circuit switching due to the low utilization of the
circuit, packet switching is introduced. All transmitted data are fragmented as
blocks called 'Packets'. All packets are sending across network with numbers
tagged to each packet. These fragmented packets are randomly sent across
network. On arrival of the packets at the destination, the fragmented packets get
reassembled to the original data. If any packet is lost in between, lost packets are
requested again by the destination node.
Packet switching is established by setting up a limited number of dedicated
connections of constant bit rate and constant delay between nodes. If traffic
increases the delay also increases. The packet switching can be connection
oriented or connectionless. The connectionless switching is called datagram
switching which is commonly used by Ethernet, IP and UDP. Connection oriented
switching used in X.25, frame relay, multi protocol label switching (MPLS used in
BSNL) and TCP.

Fig.5: Packet Switching

3.3 Cell Switching

Cell switching is high speed switching technology to overcome the speed problem
faced in circuit and packet switching. Cell switching uses a connection- oriented
packet switched network. Fixed sized cell (53 bytes in ATM) is used in cell
switching to while packet switching technology uses for variable linked packets.
This technique is also used in DSL and ISDN.
The disadvantage is, there is no flow control or error control. Cell switching can
handle multiple data types such as voice, video and data. Cell switching combines
the best features of circuit switching for guaranteed delivery and packet switching
for efficiency.
 Fig.6: Cell Switching

4. Network Media
Physically the network is established in general by interconnecting nodes by using
cables. Cable works as a media between two nodes. Light and air can also be used
as media for transmission of data over the network. When light is used in the
technology then it is called optical technology and when air is used it can be called
as wireless. Bluetooth, WiFi, Wimax, VSAT etc use air as a media for signals and
Infrared (IR), Radio Frequency (RF) and microwave signals are used for data
transmission. Two simple nodes can be connected by using a cable in local
network. A modem is used for connecting a computer with telephone, which can
remotely connect another computer in distance place. Modem stands for
MODulation and DEModulation which converts signal from analog to digital and
vice- versa so that data can be sent on telephone network.

5. Network Devices
Cables and network devices are required to make physical connection between
nodes. Nodes can be workstations, PCs, servers, laptops, printers or other
network devices. Various cabling scheme will be discussed later in this module.
Popular network devices used for building network are Network Interface Card
(NIC) hubs, unmanaged switches, managed switches, layer 3 switches, routers,
firewall appliances for security etc.

5.1 Network Interface Card (NIC)

All equipment which is expected to connect to a network requires a simple
connection device called NICs. Generally PC comes out with inbuilt NIC with a
RJ45 connector. Patch cord from a network device such as hub, switch etc., can be
plugged directly into the NIC port. All network equipment and NICs will have a
unique physical address globally called MAC (Media Access Control) address in
hexadecimal form which is basic for Ethernet frame to locate a physical address in
the segmented network.

5.2 Hub
Hubs are simple network device which work on broadcasting principle to connect
segments of a LAN. All nodes connected to a central hub which has multiple ports
will receive signals from all nodes and hub will then broadcast the signal to all
nodes. Targeted recipient will receive the packets and others will discard the
packets. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that
all segments of the LAN can see all packets. Each and every packet travels to all
nodes irrespective of its destination. This creates traffic as well as collision in the
network. Though it was that simple network can be created with hubs, reliability
and stability is very poor while using hubs.

Fig.7: Hub
5.3Switch
Switch is a more dedicated device for the transmission of packets which filters and
forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches are of two types based on its
working nature. Simple switch operate at the data link layer (layer 2) and
advanced one work on network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model. layer 3
switches are generally managed switches and a VLAN (Virtual LAN)
segmentation can be done for each network segment.

Fig.8: Switch

Though Hub and switch looks similar, the functionality is different while dealing
with packet transmission. Collision and heavy traffic can be managed with a
switch. Hub is broadcasting device and switch is unicasting device because
switches have memory element to store MAC address.
5.4 Router/Gateway
Router is an intelligent device that forwards data packets along the right network
path. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or
WANs or a LAN and its ISP.s network.

Fig.9: Router/Gateway

Routers are required to interconnect different LAN segments located at gateway

level. Routers use additional data like headers and a forwarding table to determine
the best path for forwarding the packets. Routers also use protocols such as ICMP
to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two
hosts.

6. Network Connection
6.1 Network Cabling
There are different types of cables to connect to nodes depending upon the
networking standards. The most popular one is twisted pair cables as used in
electrical connection. Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two
conductors of a single circuit are twisted for the purpose of nullifying Electro
Magnetic Interference (EMI) for better signal transmission. Twisted pair cables are
covered with a shield. UTP cables are made of 25 pairs with color codes which are
found in Ethernet. The cables are made of copper wires with colored insulation in
a polyethylene jacket. These cables are used in data network for short and medium
rage connections. Popular cable types are UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair), STP
(Shielded Twisted Pair) and S-FTP (Foil Shielded Twisted pair), S-STP (Braided
shielding). Depending upon the bandwidth UTP can be classified as CAT-5 (100
MHz) which are commonly used in old LANs, CAT-6 (250 MHz), CAT-7 (600
MHz). CAT 7 A (100 MHz) is the latest standard, which, supports applications of
telephone, CCTV, Gigabit Data in the same cable.

Fig,10: Natwork Cabling

For high speed and long distance network optical fiber cables are used which work
on light principle. Fiber optical cable is made from hundreds of hair -like strands
of glass to send pulses of light to carry data. An optical convertor at the end,
converts the light signals into the electrical signals. Optical fiber consists of a core
and a cladding layer for internal reflection of light. Fibers that support many
prorogation paths are called multi- mode fibers, while those that support a single
mode are called single- mode fibers. Multi mode fibers have a wider core diameter
and used for short distance communication. Single mode fibers are used for long
distance, transmission which is more than one kilometer. Two fiber cables are
cleaved and then carefully spliced together with the cores. Multi mode fibers are
identified by OM (Optical Mode) as out lines in ISO standards. OM 1 is having
bandwidth at 850/300nm with 200/500 MHz, and OM 2 with 500 Mhz. OM 3 is
having 2000 MHz designed for 10 GB/s transmission and OM 4 for 4700 MHz
designed for 40 GB/s, and 100 GB/s transmission. OS 1 is a single- mode fibers
designed for 1 to 10 GB at maximum distance of 2000 meters while OS 2 is
designed for 5000 to 10000 meters.

6.2 Wireless Network

As mentioned earlier, cables are used for connecting nodes in a network. Air can
be used as media instead of physical cables. Wireless equipment is used to get
connected to network devices for data transmission in wireless networks. It is
common to use a data card or USB modem to connect to the Internet. A USB
modem can be procured from any popular ISP (Internet Service Provider) and it
enables a PC or Laptop to communicate to their server for Internet services. For an
organisation, VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) antenna can be used to
communicate with ISP through satellite. ISP maintains Mother Earth Stations
(MES) to communicate with parabolic antenna receivers. VSAT is easy to install
in any location which is geographically difficult for terrestrial connection. VSAT
technology is very expensive and higher bandwidth cannot be achieved with low
cost.
Radio frequency signal can also be used to create a local area network (LAN) and
such a LAN is called Wireless LAN/WiFi network. An Access Point (AP) would
work as a transmitter with its antenna to co communicate with the wireless
receivers in PCs or Laptops. Now a days, laptop comes with default Wireless
Facility called 'WiFi' or IEEE 802.11 n/g/. WiFi can also be used to communicate
with mobile devices if WiFi is enabled in mobile device. Proper security like
WPA, WPA2 etc, should be enabled in WiFi networks.

7. Summary
A robust network design should have proper network topology, feasible media,
sophisticated and reliable network devices such as hub, switch, router, gateway
etc. Aesthetically designing the network is an art and structured cabling with data
centre aggregates in a common centre gives more flexibility in managing the
network. Adoption of old standards and technology based on new requirement can
levy upon market trends. Newer and newer technologies are introduced in market
for better speed and reliability. Different products are also available with
sophisticated and integrated solutions. Basic network for a simple organisation
can be planned in different ways based on the various technologies and equipment
discussed in this module. A well designed Tier-3/Tier2 Data centre can be built for
sophisticated integrated network solutions. Established IT companies are known
for creative design and implementation of Data Centre which holds all related
equipments with high reliability and redundancy including ISPs and power
requirements.

8. References
1. Building the State-of-the-Art IT Infrastructure for ICT enabled Higher
Educational Institutions, Manoj Kumar K, INFLIBNET News Letter, Vol
20. N0.2 (April to June 2013), ISSN : 0971-9849
2. URL accessed on 1st April 2014.
3. http://www.cs.cornell.edu/skeshav/book/slides/switching/switching.pdfURL
accessed on 15th Feb 2014.
4. http://www.cs.cornell.edu/skeshav/book/slides/switching/switching.pdfURL
accessed on 15th Feb 2014.
5. http://sadik.net/DIYProjects/category/cat5/ and http://www.automation-
drive.com/cable-ethernet