UNIT 4

NETWORK
Topics Covered
• Network
• Overview of Local Area Network
• Hardware and Software Requirement for Lan and Wan
• Modem
• Routers
• Hub
• Switches
• Network Topologies
• Reasons for implementing LAN Network
• Network Concerns

4.1 NETWORK

Starts with, word “NET”

A group of interconnected computers that share resources and information.
For example, some hardware resources typically shared on a network are
printers; fax modems and hard disks etc.

Role of Computers in a network

Three roles for computers in a network –

1. A client : A client is a workstation used only to request services from a

network service provider, such as a dedicated server or another workstation.

2. Server:
A Server provides services to service requesters. A dedicated server is
recommended for networks with more than clients.
For example, the server might provide file, print, message, database and
application services to the clients in the network.

3. Peer
A peer both requests & provides network services.

A network in which each computer is equal (peer) in the sharing of

resources. A peer-to-peer network does not have a dedicated server, and
there is no hierarchy among the computers. Each peer is responsible for its
own security.

4.2 Local Area Network

A LAN is a high speed; fault tolerant data network that covers relatively
small geographic area. It typically connects workstations, personal
computers printers and other devices. LANs offers computer users many
advantages including shared access to devices and applications, file
exchange between connected users, and communication between users via
electronic mail and other applications.
It connects computers and peripheral devices in a limited physical
area, such as a business office, laboratory, or college campus, by means of
permanent links (Wires, Cables, Fibre optics) that transmit data rapidly.
It consists of several workstations and servers. A typical LAN consist
two or more personal computers, printers, and high capacity disk storage
devices called file servers, which enables each computer on the network to
access a common set of files.

Characteristics of LANs
LANs are not rigidly defined but tend to share most of the following
characteristics:
• All the connected devices in the network share the transmission
media.
• Each device connected in the network can either operate standalone or
in the network.
• Area covered is small.
• Data transfer rates are high usually 1Mbps-100Mbps. (million of bits
per second)
• Each device connected in the network can communicate with any
other device in network.
• Cost of setting up the network is usually low.

1) Resource Sharing
Resource Sharing is perhaps the greatest advantage of LAN. LAN allows a
large number of intelligent devices to share resources, such as storage
devices, program files and even data files.

2) Area Covered
Areas covered by LANs are normally restricted to moderate size, such as an
office building, a factory, or a campus. The limiting factors are usually the
overall length of the cable used and any interdevice restrictions imposed. In
practice, the distances involved range from a few meters to a few kilometers.

3) Low Cost
Low Cost per connection is also an important characteristics of LANs. Many
application for LANs involved low-cost microprocessor system, so that the
connection of these systems to a LAN should also be inexpensive. LANs are
becoming more cost effective as technology expands.

4) High Channel Speed

 High channel speed is another quality of LANs. Most LANs transfer data at
rates between 1-10 million bits per second. This is equivalent to 200 pages
of the book you are presently reading.

5) Other Characteristics

Furthermore, flexibility in growth, low error rates, reliability of operation

and simple maintenance are all distinguishing features of LANs.

LAN Topologies

LAN Topologies define the manner in which network devices are organized,
four common LAN topologies exists:-
 Bus
 Ring
 Star
 Tree
The topology of a network is the shape of the communications link between
the stations that is how the stations on the network are arranged in relation to
each other.

4.3 Hardware and Software Requirement for LAN

4.3.1 Hardware Requirements For LAN

The following are major hardware components/devices
required for establishing LAN:
1) Transmission Channel
2) Network Interface Unit (NIU)
3) Cable Interface Unit

1) Transmission Channel For LAN

Generally four types of channels are used for data
transmission in a LAN. These are:

 Twisted Pair Cable: A twisted pair wire consists of two bunches of

thin copper wires, each bunch enclosed separately in a plastic insulation,
then twisted around each other to reduce interfaced by adjust wires. It is
also called unshielded twisted pair cable because other than the plastic
coating around the two individual bunches of copper wires, nothing
shieds it from outside interfaced.
 UTP cables are commonly used in local telephone communication and
short distance digital data transmission. They are normally used to
connect terminals to the main computer if they are placed at a short
distance from the main computer. data transmission speed of up to 9600
bits per seconds can be achieved, if the distance is not more than 100
meters. However, for longer distance data transmission, local telephones
are lines used. In this case, typical speed of digital signal transmission is
1200 bits per second.
UTP cables are an inexpensive medium of data transmission. They are
easy to install and use. However, their use is limited because they easily
pick up noise signals, which result in high errors rates when the line
length extends beyond 100 meters.

 Coaxial Cable: Coaxial cable is groups of specially wrapped and

insulated wire lines, which are able to transmit data at high rates. They
consist of a central copper wire surrounded by a PVC insulation over
which a sleeve of copper mesh is placed. The metal sleeve is again
shielded by an outer shield of thick PVC material. The signal is
transmitted by the inner copper wire, and is electricity shielded by the
outer metal sleeve.
Coaxial cable offer much higher bandwidths than UTP cables, and are so
capable of transmitting digital signal at rates of 10 mega bits per second.
They are extensively used in long distance telephone lines and as cables
for cable TV. They are used by telephone companies to transmit data. In
many cases, several coaxial cables are packaged in to a very lager
simultaneously. Further more, coaxial cable have much higher noise
immunity, and can offer cleaner and crisper data transmission without
distortion or loss of signal.
 Fibre-Optic Cables: Many people in the computer
industry take enormous pride in how fast computer
technology is improving. In the 1970s, a fast computer (e.g.,
CDC 6600) could execute an instruction in 100 nsec. Twenty
years later, a fast Cray computer could execute an
instruction in 1 nsec, a factor of 10 improvement per decade.
Not too bad.
In the same period, data communication went from 56 kbps
(the ARPANET) to 1 Gbps (modern optical communication), a
gain of more than a factor of 100 per decade, while at the
same time the error rate went from 10 s per bit to almost
zero.
Furthermore, single CPUs are beginning to approach physical
limits, such as speed of light and heat dissipation problems.
In contrast, with current fiber technology, the achievable
bandwidth is certainly in excess of 50,000 Gbps (50 Tbps)
and many people are looking very hard for better materials.
The current practical signaling limit of about 1 Gbps is due to
our inability to convert between electrical and optical signals
any faster. In the laboratory, 100 Gbps is feasible on short
runs. A speed of 1 terabit/sec is only a few years down the
road. Fully optical systems, including getting into and out of
the computer, are within reach.

 Radio Waves

2) Network Interface Unit

Network interface units connect each devices in the LAN network to shared
transmission device. It contain the rules or logic to access the LAN. NIU is
also used to implement LAN protocols and for device attachments. Its
function depends on the type of topology used in LAN
One of the major benefits of implementation of LAN is
sharing expensive resources such as storage devices,
printers etc. This is achieved through providing servers on
the LAN. It is dedicated computer that controls one or more
resources. This contains both hardware and software
interface for LAN. Three major categories of services used in
LANs are:
 File Server
 Printer Server
 Modem Server
In networking, file server is used to share storage space for
files. Besides providing storage space for files in a LAN
environment, it is used for taking periodical backup, and also
to provide gateway to other servers within and between
LANs.
Similarly printer server is used to handle printing works of all
workstation connected in the network.
In LAN environment also modem is required to get
connected to other network or simply to use a telephone. A
modem server is used to share this expensive resource by all
connected workstations in a network ring.

3) Cable Interface Unit (Hub)

The cable interface unit, sometime s called a hub, sends and receives signals
on the network cable. This unit is a box outside the computer.
Hub is a central point in a network. The term is most common used in two
contexts:
1.Cable Hub: in networks connected using the UTP ethernet system, cables
to a central hub connect all the computers. The hub is able to deal with a
cable being disconnected by re-routing the cable chain internally. This
makes the system more reliable and tidier then the earlier coaxial ethernet
system, which it has largely replaced.

2. Mail Hub: A central storage and distribution point for email.

A hub is a physical-layer device that connects multiple users stations, each
via a dedicated cable. Electrical interconnections are established inside the
hub. Hubs are used to create a physical star network while maintaining the
logical bus or ring configuration of the LAN. In some respects, a hub
functions as a multiport repeater.

4.3.2 LAN Software

LAN operating system is required to operate on the LAN
system. It has basically two aspects:
 Server Software
 Workstation Software
LAN operating system facilitates:
 Sharing of expensive resources e.g. printer, storage
space etc.
 Security for data
 Connection to other network.
There are various types of LAN operating system. Some
popular LAN operating system are:
 Novel Netware
 Ethernet
 Curves
  ArcNet
 LAN Server
LAN software

The primary s/w associated with LAN to the network operating system. The
set of programs usually resides on the line server & provides services for
adding new devices to the network , installing application s/w diagnosing
n/w problems, assembling n/w usage statistics, & routing messages.
It may also include programs for managing each of the dedicated servers in
the n/w, providing e- mail, services, allowing remote users to access LAN
recourses via dial -up lines.

Lending LAN OS venders:

Vender Leading products

NOVELL NETWORK
MICROSOFT LAN MANEGER
IBM LAN SERVER
APPLE APPLE SHARE

Data can be transmitted in two ways:

Methods of transmission

Asynchronous synchronous

Start character parity stop Start character character character parity stop
Character

Asynchronous transmission: ( bit by bit character )

1. In asynchronous transmission one character transmitted at a time.

2. character is in the form of 0’s & 1’.
3. this transmission has low speed.
4. it is also called as start & stop transmission.
5. error is almost negligible.

Synchronous transmission: ( more than one character )

 1. it involves blocking a group of character surrounded by
synchronization characters.
2. it is faster than asynchronous.
3. it ensures efficient utilization of transmission lines.
4. it requires buffer storage end for assembling and dissembling the data
bring transferred .
5. This is costly.
6. in this techniques once the start bit is detected by receiver it start
receiving the data string until and is encounter.
7. Parity is used for error detection.

Communication channel brand width:

Bandwidth of a communication channel decides the data volume as well
as data transmission rate.
This bandwidth may be used:
1. Narrow band: it handles low volume of data the transmission
rate in this data is low .it is approximately 40 to 300 band. Band
rate in the speed at which data transfers occurs and it is measured
in bits per second ( bps ).exm: examples of narrow band is
telegraph line.
2. Voiceband: it handles moderate volume of data transmission rate
very from 300 to 9600 band. examples are telephone lines, data
transfer from keyboard to CRT ( cathode ray tube ).
3. Broadband: it handles very large volume of data & handles
high transmission rate satellite communication is eg of broadband
channel. It transfers data at the speed of 10 to 5000 mbps.

Communication parameter:
Communication parameter of
a) Word length: it refers to no bits that make up a character. Word length
typically is of 8 bits per character (byte).
b) Parity bit :- parity is defined as single bit transmitted along with the
data for error detection.
c) Start & stop bit :-start indicates the beg of data and
stop indicates and of data.
4.3.3 Wide Area Network
Wide-area networks connect computers and smaller networks to larger
networks over greater geographic area, including different continents. They
may link the computers by means of cables, optical fibres, or satellites, but
their users commonly access the networks via a modem (a device that allows
computers to communicate over telephone lines). The largest wide-area
network is the internet, a collection of networks.
WAN (wide area network)
Point to point or broadcast type network.
In a point-to-point network and the destination machines are connected to
Router is a type of communication server. The function of the router is to
allow to or more dissimilar network to communicate as a single logical
entity.
The two machines that have to transfer data between themselves may
have different operating system or protocol and gateways helps in
connecting them. A point to point network may be separated in to two
parts:
 Host
 Subnet
The machine between which communication is to be established are called
host. The host are connected to each other by subnet. The subnet consists of
transmission lines such as coaxial cable, fiber, optics etc & intermediate
switching elements are called routers. The main functions of router is to
receive the transmitted data and then selected the appropriate channel then
forward it to the destination host or another router.
When the data type packet arrives at a router it is stored in it until the output
transmission line is free & then transmitted or forwarded to the destination
host.

WAN Hardware

Hosts

In a WAN, hosts are usually large mainframe computers. In very large wide
area networks, several mainframes or minicomputers serve as hosts. Hosts
typically provide WAN users with access to application programs and
database management systems.

Front-end Processors
1)
Input/output tasks are some of the most time-consuming chores that
computer perform; these include accepting data from terminals and
providing output to terminals, printers, and other output devices. These tasks
must be done constantly in data communication networks. In some
instances, a second computer, the front end processed (FEP), is placed
between terminals and the hosts, in order to perform most of the I/O
operations for the host. This enables the host to work almost exclusively on
data processing tasks. Front-end processors vary in sophistication and in the
variety of communications activities they perform.
3) Controllers

Controllers are specialized computers whose purpose is to relieve the host

CPU of the burden of communicating with a lot of low speed peripheral
devices. These are known by many names, including terminal controllers,
cluster controllers and communications controllers. Controllers enable
several terminals or peripheral devices to be connected to a single high-
speed line to the host. The controller collects the message destined to for the
host CPU from the terminals. Packages them appropriately, and sends them
on to the host for processing. As the host finishes processing messages, they
return to the controller; it is the controller’s task to make sure that the
returning messages are routed to the right input/output devices.

4) Multiplexers

A multiplexer is a hardware device that enables several low-speed devices to

share the same high-speed line. Multiplexers are useful in communications
networks because lines generally have greater capacity than a single terminal
can use. Thus, if a company is charged for time on line, its smart to pack as
much data as possible in the space available in the channels and to minimize
any idle time.
Multiplexer accepts data streams from several terminals (typically in powers
of two: 4,8,16,32) and transmit them over high-speed communications
channels connected to the host.

Gateways
2)
Workstations in one network often need access to computers resources in
another network or another part of a WAN. For example, an office manager
using a local area network might want to access an information service that
is offered by a VAN over the public phone system.

6) Bridges

Bridges have the same general characteristics as gateways, but connect

networks that employ similar protocols and topologies. Routers are similar
to bridges in that they connect two similar networks. However, unlike
bridges, this connection is done at level3 of the OSI model-the network
level.

WAN Software

Many types of communications devices require software to function. For

example, software enables controllers to poll (communicate in a round-robin
fashion) terminals. And most modems are used in conjunction with
communication software (such as Cross talk and ProComm), which enables
users to carry out functions such as developing personal phone directories
for accessing various computers and automatically logging into on-line
databases. In any large communications System, a variety of
communications software programs make it possible for users to carry out
their tasks and for managers to access the data and information that they
need in order to make decisions. While many types of WAN software exist-
such as teleprocessing monitor and network control programs-an in-depth
discussion of them is beyond the scope of this book.

Transmission Channel For WAN

Generally three types of channels are used for data
transmission in a WAN. These are:
 Radio Waves
 Microwaves: Another type of analog communication
channel is microwave. Microwave signals are transmitted
through the atmosphere as radio and television signals are
transmitted rather than through wire cables. A microwave
system consists of towers located at intervals of 25 to 30
miles on which dish-like antennas are mounted. Microwave
signals must be transmitted in a straight line, as they do not
bend around corners or around the curve of the earth.
Transmitter stations redirect and boost the signals. Satellites
are also used to direct microwaves over geographically
dispersed large areas.

 Communication Satellites:

Hardware Requirements For WAN

There are mainly four hardware devices which are required
to establish linkage between geographically separated
computers. These are
 Bridges
 Routers
 Gateways

Difference Between LAN & WAN

1. A LAN is restricted to a limited geographical coverage of a few

kilometers, but a WAN span greater distance and may operate nation
wide or even worldwide.
2. The cost to transmit data in a LAN is negligible since the transmission
medium is usually owned by user organization. However, in case of a
WAN, this cost may be very high because the transmission medium used
are leased lines or public system such as telephone lines, micro wave and
satellite links.
3. In a LAN, the computer, terminals and peripheral devices are usually
physically connected with wires and coaxial cables. Whereas, in a WAN
there may not be a direct physical connection between various
computers.
4. Data transmission speed is much higher in LAN than in a WAN.
Typically transmission speeds in LANS are 0.1 to 100 mega bits per
seconds. On the other hand, in a WAN the data transmission speed is
normally of the order of 1800 to 9600 bits per second.
Fewer data transmission errors occur in case of a LAN as
compared to a WAN. This is mainly, because in case of a
LAN, the distance covered by the data is negligible as
compared to a WAN

4.4MODEM

The process of converting a digital signal to analog signal is called

Modulation & from analog signal to digital signal is the Demodulation. The
device that accomplishes both is called “Modem”.

When all the telephone lines become digital carrier, the modem will no
longer be required. Till then we need Modem to connect to Internet, dial-in
to the bulletin board system (BBS), and other commercial on-line services
and to send / receive e-mail & fax messages.

The speed at which Modem can transfer data is bits per second (bps). The
modems that usually uses for connecting to the Internet have transfer rates in
the range of 14.4 kbps, 28.8 kbps, 33.6 kbps, 56.3 kbps, 64 kbps, 128 kbps
etc.

There are three types of modems used in all computers -

1. Acoustic Modem

2. Internal Direct-connect Modem

3. External Direct-connect Modem

Acoustic Modem: The acoustic modem has two cups into which the handset
of our telephone is placed. The acoustic modem sends data through the
mouthpiece and receives data through the ear-piece of the handset. The type
of modem is not used very often today.

Internal Direct-connect Modem: Modem, which would be plugged into, a

slot located within or on the computer. A separate communication board or
serial port with RS-232 interface is not needed.

External Direct-connect Modem: Modem, which is located within a box

and is hooked up externally to the computer generally VIA the serial port to
the telephone line with a modular phone jack. A popular external modem
have a variety of features not found on acoustic modems but have many
special features as the internal modem, including the ability to -

i) Check the operating system status lights & speakers.

ii) Change the speed at which data are transferred.
iii) Dial & answer the phone automatically.
iv) Response & commands from a communication program.
v) Self-test to verify the modem’s ability to correctly transmit data.

Internal Modem Vs External Modem:

Sr
Internal Modem External Modem
No
Very difficult to install Easy to install &
1
& configure. configure.
 Has its own built-in
It may a new serial port if
serial port and is thus
2 machine is old and the
unaffected by the chip
modem is faster.
problem.
It doesn't require a serial It doesn't require a serial
3 cable or any additional cable and an additional
power socket. power socket.
It doesn't require
4 It will need desk space.
additional desk space.
When modem gets stuck,
When modem gets stuck,
we need to turn off the
getting it back to work is
5 machine and then turn it
as easy as flipping a
on, which results in
switch.
wastage of time.
It hardly requires any
It may require changes
6 changes in hardware
in hardware setting.
setting.

How does a Modem work:

Digital Signal
modem
A 010101

Analog signal
Sender computer

Modem Receiver computer

Digital Signal
010101
B

Working:
1. A modem is feel digital info in the form of (0 & 1) from C.P.U.
2. The modem then analyze thin information & converts it to analog
signals, that can be sent over a phone line & this process of MODEM
is called MODULATION.
 3. Another modem receives the signals, converts them back into digital
data & send the data to receiving CPU. This process of MODEM is
called as DE-MODULATION.
4. MODEM verify the information sent to them by error-connection
method to check that the data has not been damaged during transfer.
5. Error-checking method break-up information into small packets called
frames. The sending modem attacks a check sum to each of these
frames. The receiving modem checks whether the check-sum matches
the information sent. If not, the entire is resent.

Routers

Routing is the process of sending msg’s through the switches such that they
reach their destinations in an efficient way. Routing is one of the major
design considerations in wide area switching networks. When a msg sets out
from, say, London to Glasgow, it should follow the shortest, fastest route
this will usually be the one that involves the fewest switching steps, unless it
is necessary to avoid congestion in some parts of the network.
Each msg that is delivered from node A to node B will always follows the
same route. In practice, networks change in structure and the loads at various
points, change from minute to minute. This means that adaptive routing if
often to be preferred. This mean that routing information is updated from
time to time to take account of changing conditions on the network.
Routers are used to connect LANs together that may be either the
same or a different type of LAN architecture like bridges they forward only
msg that need to go to other networks. But, unlike bridges, they performs
additional tasks, router may choose the best route to send an msg by when
several possible routes exists in a complex network topology. It does this by
maintaining a routing table to identify the optimal path to use in traversing
the interconnected network. The routing table contains addresses. These
addresses differ from the device addresses used by the bridges that hook
LANs together they are called internetwork addresses and are written
according to the protocol of the communication architecture such as TCP/IP,
the internet’s communication architecture.

Functions of router:

 Multiple access paths: routers are able to keep track active

path. This makes it more rigid towards fault tolerant against
bridge.
 Identified address: routers work at n/w layer 7& can access
more information than a bridge.
 Traffic management: Routers select the best route, which is based
on Traffic road, Time speed, no. of nodes.
  Sharing information: Routers can share routing information on with
other routers. By doing this, it can listing to network & can identify
which connection are busy & which are not.
 Filtering bad data: Routers doesn’t forward data & information that
doesn’t have a correct n\w address.
 Keep track of N\W Address: Protocol that are routable differ from
protocol that are not routable. Different protocol address use different
naming schemes.

4.6 Switches
Whenever we have multiple devices, we have the problem of
how to connect them to make one-on-one communication
possible. One solution is to install a point-to-point connection
between each pair of devices (a mesh topology) or between
a central device and every other device (a star topology).
These methods, however, are impractical and wasteful when
applied to very large networks. The number and length of
the links require too much infrastructure to be cost efficient,
and the majority of those links would be idle most of the
time. Imagine a network of six devices: A, B, C, D, and F,
then whenever only A and B are connected, the links
connecting A to each of the other devices are idle and
wasted.
Other topologies employing multipoint connections, such as
bus, are ruled out because the distances between devices
and the total number of devices increase beyond the
capacities of the media and equipment.
A better solution is switching. A switched network consists of
a series of interlinked nodes, called Switches. Switches are
hardware and/or software devices capable of creating
temporary connections between two or more devices linked
to the switch but not to each other. In a switched network,
some of these nodes are connected to the communicating
devices. Others are used only for routing.
 I

4.8 Network topology

The term network topology refers to the way in which the nodes of a
computer linked together.
The choice of network topology for installing a computer network
depends upon a combination of factors such as:
1. The desired performance of a system.
2. The desired reliability of a computer system.
3. Size of the system.
4. Expandability of the system.
5. Cost of the components and services required to implement the
network.
6. Availability of communication lines.
7. Delays involved in routing information from one node to another.

Star Network
Star arrangement of a computer network, in which multiple
computers are connected to a host computer. That is, the computers in
the network are not linked directly to each other and can
communicate only via the host computer.

Advantages
1. Star topology has minimal line cost because only n-1 lines are
required for connected n lines.
2. If any of the local computers fails, the remaining portion of the
network is unaffected.
3. Transmission delays between two nodes do not increase by
adding new nodes to the network, because any two nodes may
be connected via two links only.
Disadvantage
1. The system crucially depends on the central node. If the host
computer fails, the entire network fails.
 C1

File
C4 Server C2

C3

Ring Network

The circular or ring arrangement of a computer network, in which each

computer has communicating subordinates, but there is no master computer
for controlling other computers. A node receives data from one of its two
adjacent nodes. The only decisions a node has to take is whether the data is
for its own use.

Advantages
1. The ring network works well where there is no central-site computer
system.
2. It is more reliable than a star network because communication is not
depended on a single host computer. If a link between any two
computers breaks down, or if one of the computers break down,
alternate rout is possible.

Disadvantages

1. In a ring network, communication delay in directly proportional to

the number of nodes in the network. Hence, addition of new nodes in
the network increases the communication delay.
2. He ring network requires more complicated control software than
star network.

C1

C4 C2

C3
Completely connected network

A completely connected network has a separate physical link for

connecting each node to any other node. Hence each computer of such a
network has a direct dedicated link, called a point to point link.
Advantages

1. This type of network is very reliable, as any link between will affect
only communication between the connected computers.
2. Each node of network need not have individual routing capability.
3. Communication is very fast between any two nodes.

C1

C4 C2

C3

Multi-access Bus Network

A multi access bus network, in which a single transmission medium is

shared by all nodes. That is, all the computers are attached to the same
communication line. When a computer wants to send a message to
another computer, it appends the destination address to the message and
checks whether the communication line is free. As soon as the lines
becomes free. It broadcast the message on the line.
Advantages

1. It helps in reducing the numbers of physical line.

2. Addition of new computers to the network is easy.
3. The failure of computer does not affect the communication among
other computers in the network.

Disadvantages
 1. All computers in the network must have good communication and
decision making capability.
2. If the communication line fails, the entire system breakdown.
C3 C4

C1 C2

Hybrid network

Different network configurations have their own advantages and

limitations. Hence, in reality, a pure star or ring or complete connected
network is rarely used. Instead, an organization will used some short of
hybrid network, which is combination of two or more different network
topology, in some cases the hybrid network may have components of
star ring and completely connected networks.

Topology Advantages and Disadvantages

Selecting a Topology
There are many factors to consider when deciding which topology
best suits the needs of an organization. Following table provides
some guidelines for selecting a topology.

Topology Advantages Disadvantages

Use of cable is Network can slow down in
economical. heavy traffic.
Problems are difficult to
isolate.
Media is
Bus inexpensive and
easy to work with.
System is simple Cable break can affect many
and reliable. users.
Bus is easy to
extend.
 System provides Failure of one computer can
equal access for impact the rest of the
all computers. network.
Performance is Problems are hard to isolate.
Ring
even despite
many users.
Network reconfiguration
disrupts operation.
Modifying system If the centralized point fails,
and adding new the network fails.
computers is easy.
Centralized
monitoring and
Star management are
possible.
Failure of one
computer does not
affect the rest of
the network.
System provides System is expensive to
increased install because it uses a lot
redundancy and of cabling.
Mesh/ HYBRID
reliability as well
as ease of
troubleshooting.

4.9 Reasons for implementing Network

Networks are about sharing three things: files, resources and program

1) Sharing Files

Network Let you share information with other computers on the network.
Depending on how you set your network, you can do this in one of two
ways. The most direct way is to send the file from your computer directly to
your friend’s computer. The second way is to send your file to an
intermediate resting place, where your friend can pick it up later, kind of like
dropping a bag full of ransom money at phone booth. A third way is to
permanently store the file at the intermediate place, where both of you can
get at the file whenever you want.

2) Sharing Resources

This means that you can set up certain computer resources- like a disc drive
or a printer-so that all of the computers on the network can access them. For
example: the laser printer attach to server computer is a shared resource.
This means that anyone on the network can use it. Without the network
computer user no. 1 to 3 would have to buy their own laser printers.

3)Sharing Programs

Some times, it’s best to put programs that everyone uses on a shared disc,
rather than keep separate copy of the programs on each person’s computer.
For example, if you have ten computer users who all use Word Perfect, you
could store ten copies of Word Perfect-one on each computer or you could
store just one copy of Word Perfect on a shared disc.

4) Back-ups

As all data is stored on the server, baking up critical data becomes a simple
process.

5)Communication

The biggest benefit however, comes in the form of better communication-

electronic mail and groupware applications. Through electronic mail,
members of a network can send messages and ensure safe delivery of data to
other members, even when they are not there. Groupware applications allow
users to work collectively on the same document.

How will you connect home computer to internet.

ISP( Internet service provider) accompany that provides access to the
internet for a monthly fee the service provider gives you a S\W package,
username, password & access phone no. equipped with a modem, you can
log them on to the internet & browse the World Wide Web, Usenet & send
& receive E-mail.

Types of connection:

ISDN
Modem Cable Modem

Types
T1 to T3 line Other factors
Depends on factors

Connecting to Internet:
Step-1:Make sure that your modem & related driver is installed properly
for more details please refer manuals, user guide provided by the
MODEM manufacturer make sure that windows 2000 professional
installation media or installation files are available for copying the
necessary file while configuring.
Step-2:
 Click on start button on the taskbar.
 Move your mouse pointer on setting.
 Click on Network & Dial-up connection.
Step-3: Double click on make new connection icon.
Step-4: The N\W connection wizard will now start click next to
continue.
Step-5: Select Dial-up to the Internet & click Next.
Step-6: Select & to set up my internet connection manually
click on next button.
Step-7: Select & connect through a phone line and a modem click on
next button.
Step-8:
 Type 040 in Area code 172312 in telephone no. in text box.
 Select India(91) in country/region name & code .
 Click on advance button.
Step-9:
 Select the (PPP) protocol.
 Select the log on manually option.
 Click address lab.
Step-10:
 Select the internet service provider automatically provide one
option in IP address section.
 Select the my ISP automatically provides a Domain Name Server
(DNS) address option in DNS server address section.
 Click on ok button.
Step-11:
 Type your username & password.
 Click on next button.
Step-12: Type pointer online in connection name text box click on next
button.
Step-13:
 Select no for internet mail account setup in this moment, you can
set up your mail account later.
 Click on next button & finish to complete internet connection
wizard.
Step-14:
 Click on start button, select setting and select N/W & dial-up
connection.
 Double click on pointer online icon, connect pointer online
window will appear.
  Enter your username & password ( save pass word)
 Click Dial button to connect to internet.
Step-15:
 Now connecting provides online window.
Step-16: connection complete window will now appear if you are
connected.