EC 521

Communication Networks
Lecture 1
Introduction
 Text book

• Behrouz A. Forouzan “Data Communications

and Networking” 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill
Text

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Grading

Class Performance/Attendance: 10%

Midterm #1 (7th Week): 30%
Midterm #2 (12th Week): 20%
Final Exam: 40%
Outlines:
Introduction

 Data communications
 Introduction to Networks
 Network Categories
 Protocols and Layers
 Information, Data and Signals

 Data - A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a

formalized manner suitable for communication,
interpretation, or processing by human beings or by
automatic means
 Information - The meaning that is currently assigned to data
by means of the conventions applied to those data
 Signals are electric or electromagnetic encoding of data

7
Information, Data and Signals

8
 Data Communications

 Data communication
 Exchange of data between two devices
 Via some form of transmission medium
 Fundamental characteristics of data communication
 Delivery
 Accuracy
 Timeliness
 Jitter : Variation in the packet arrival time
 Telecommunication: communication at a distance
(‘tele’ in Greek=‘far”)
Data Communications 1-9
Five Components of Data Communication

 Message: Information(data) to be communicated

 Sender
 Receiver
 Transmission medium: Physical path by which a
message travels
 Protocol: A set of rules that govern data communication

Data Communications 1-10

 Direction of Data Flow

1.11
 Data Flow

 Simplex
 Unidirectional
 As on a one-way street
 Half-duplex
 Both transmit and receive possible, but not at the same time
 Like a one-lane road with two-directional traffic
 Walkie-talkie
 Full-duplex
 Transmit and receive simultaneously
 Like a two-way street, telephone network
 Channel capacity must be divided between two directions
Data Communications 1-12
 NETWORKS
 A network is the interconnection of a set of
devices capable of communication. In this
definition, a device can be a host such as a large
computer, desktop, laptop, workstation, cellular
phone, or security system. A device in this
definition can also be a connecting device such as
a router a switch, a modem that changes the form
of data, and so on.
 Network Criteria

 A network must be able to meet a certain number of

criteria. The most important of these are
performance, reliability, and security.
Types of connection
 Types of connection

 Point-to-point
 Dedicated link between two devices
 The entire capacity of the channel is reserved
 Ex) Microwave link, TV remote control
 Multipoint
 More than two devices share a single link
 There is a procedure to control the access to the medium
(Multiple Access Protocol) to prevent collision
 Capacity of the channel is either
 Spatially shared: Devices can use the link simultaneously
 Timeshare: Users take turns
Physical Topology
 Mesh Topology

 Dedicated point-to-point link

to every other nodes
 A mesh network with n nodes
has n(n-1)/2 links. A node has
n-1 I/O ports (links)
 Advantages:
 No traffic problems, robust,
security, easy fault identification
& isolation
 Failure of one link doesn’t affect
other communications
 Disadvantages: Excessive
number of links
 Star Topology

 Dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller,

called a hub
 Hub: broadcasts the received message to all destinations
 Hub acts as an exchange: No direct traffic between devices
 Advantages:
 Ease of installation
 Smaller number of links
 Less expensive

 Disadvantages:
 Dependency of the whole on one single point, the hub.
 Very limited Geographical area
 Bus Topology

 One long cable that links all nodes

 tap, drop line, cable end
 limit on the # of devices, distance between nodes
 Advantages: Easy installation, less cabling, and cheap
 Disadvantages: no fault isolation, a fault or break in the bus
stops all transmission
 Ring Topology

 Dedicated point-to-point link only with the two nodes on each sides
 One direction, repeater
 Advantages: less cabling
 Disadvantage: Unidirectional traffic, a break in the ring cab disable
the entire network
 Hybrid Topology

 Example: Main star topology with each branch connecting

several stations in a bus topology
 To share the advantages from various topologies
 NETWORKS TYPES

 After defining networks in the previous section and

discussing their physical structures, we need to
discuss different types of networks we encounter in
the world today.
 The criteria of distinguishing one type of network
from another is difficult and sometimes confusing. We
use a few criteria such as size, geographical coverage,
and ownership to make this distinction.
Categories of Networks
 Local Area Network (LAN)

 A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and

connects some hosts in a single office, building, or campus.
 Depending on the needs of an organization, a LAN can be as
simple as two PCs and a printer in someone’s home office, or it
can extend throughout a company and include audio and video
devices.
 Each host in a LAN has an identifier, 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.
An Isolated LAN in the past and today
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

 Designed to extend to an entire city

 Cable TV network, a company’s connected LANs
 Owned by a private or a public company
 Wide Area Network

 A wide area network (WAN) is also an connection of devices

capable of communication.
 However, there are some differences between a LAN and a WAN:

 A LAN is normally limited in size; a WAN has a wider

geographical span, spanning a town, a state, a country, or even
the world.
 A LAN interconnects hosts; a WAN interconnects connecting
devices such as switches, routers, or modems.
 A LAN is normally privately owned by the organization that
uses it; a WAN is normally created and run by communication
companies and leased by an organization that uses it.
A Point-to-Point WAN
A Switched WAN
An internetwork made of
two LANs and one WAN
A heterogeneous network made of WANs and LANs
 Protocols and Layers
 Protocol Layers (1)
Protocol layering is the main structuring method
used to divide up network functionality.
• Each protocol instance
talks virtually to its peer
• Each layer communicates
only by using the one
below
• Lower layer services are
accessed by an interface
• At bottom, messages are
carried by the medium
 Protocol Layers (2)
• Example: the philosopher-
translator-secretary
architecture
• Each protocol at different
layers serves a different
purpose
Protocols and Layers
What functionality should we
implement at which layers?

CN5E by Tanenbaum & Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall and D. Wetherall, 2011
 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

 A word we hear all the time when we talk

about the Internet is protocol. A protocol
defines the rules that both the sender and
receiver and all intermediate devices need to
follow to be able to communicate effectively.
 When communication is simple, we may
need only one simple protocol; when the
communication is complex, we need a
protocol at each layer, or protocol layering.
2.38
 Layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite

2.39
Layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite

CN5E by Tanenbaum & Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall and D. Wetherall, 2011
 Layered Architecture

To show how the layers in the TCP/IP

protocol suite are involved in
communication between two hosts, we
assume that we want to use the suite in a
small internet made up of three LANs
(links), each with a link-layer switch. We
also assume that the links are connected
by one router, as shown in the Figure:
2.41
Communication through an internet
 Layers in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite

After the above introduction, we briefly

discuss the functions and duties of layers in
the TCP/IP protocol suite. Each layer is
discussed in detail in the next five parts of the
book. To better understand the duties of each
layer, we need to think about the logical
connections between layers. The following
Figure shows logical connections in our
simple internet.
2.43
 Logical connections between layers in TCP/IP

Logical connections

2.44
 Identical objects in the TCP/IP protocol suite

Identical objects (messages)

Identical objects (segment or user datagram)

Identical objects (datagram) Identical objects (datagram)

Identical objects (frame) Identical objects (frame)

Identical objects (bits) Identical objects (bits)

2.45
 Encapsulation / Decapsulation

2.46
Questions