U3 Communication Technology Network A Level
U3 Communication Technology Network A Level
U3 Communication Technology Network A Level
2023-24 (9626)
Communication Technology
CONTENTS
➢ Can share data/file over the network in fastest rate with ease.
Purpose:
Note: The IP address is a 32-bit number that uniquely identifies a network interface on a machine. An IP
address is typically written in decimal digits, formatted as four 8-bit fields separated by periods. Each 8-bit field
represents a byte of the IP address.
An IP address serves two main functions: network interface identification, and location addressing.
❑ It identifies the host, or more specifically its network interface, and it provides the location of the host in
the network, and thus the capability of establishing a path to that host.
❑ Its role has been characterized as follows: "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it
is. A route indicates how to get there. "The header of each IP packet contains the IP address of the sending
host and that of the destination host.
MAC ADDRESS
The first 24 bits (or three octets) are used as the Organization Unique Identifier (OUI),
and 24 bits are vendor-specific and assigned to and burned into the NIC.
For instance, here are the OUIs from a couple of popular vendors:
Cisco: CC:46:D6
Google: 3C:5A:B4
Hewlett Packard: 3C:D9:2B
Data Packets
Data packets: In networking, a packet is a small segment of a larger message. Data sent over computer networks, such as
the Internet, is divided into packets. These packets are then recombined by the computer or device that receives them.
Internet is a "packet switching" network. Packet switching refers to the ability of networking equipment to process packets
independently from each other.
A packet header is a "label" of sorts, which provides information about the packet’s contents (payload), origin (host), and
destination IP (version) address (IP address is like computer’s mailing address).
What is an IP packet?
IP (Internet Protocol) is a network layer protocol that has to do with routing. It is used to make sure packets arrive at the
correct destination. A packet with an IP header can be referred to as an "IP packet." An IP header contains important
information about where a packet is from (its source IP address), where it is going (destination IP address), how large the
packet is, and how long network routers should continue to forward the packet before dropping it.
HUB DEVICE
Hub is a device in a network, that plays a vital role in data transmission, and
broadcasting. Hub is a hardware device used at the physical layer to connect multiple
devices in the network. Hubs are widely used to connect LANs. A hub has multiple
ports and it is a non-intelligent device. A hub cannot filter the data, i.e. it cannot
identify the destination of the packet, so it broadcasts or send the message to each
port. This is why it is known as a non-intelligent or dumb device. Hub does not have
any routing table to store the data of ports and map destination addresses., the
routing table is used to send/broadcast information across all the ports.
Types of Network Hubs: Networks hubs are of the following three types:
Active Hub:
Passive Hub
Intelligent Hub:
REPEATER
What Does Repeater Mean?
A repeater is a network device that retransmits a received signal with
more power and to an extended geographical or topological network
boundary than what would be capable with the original signal.
Repeaters were introduced in wired data communication networks
due to the limitation of a signal in propagating over a longer distance
and now are a common installation in wireless networks for
expanding cell size. Repeaters are also known as signal boosters.
Advantages of Hub
•It provides support for different types of Network Media.
•It can be used by anyone as it is very cheap.
•It can easily connect many different media types.
•The use of a hub does not impact on the network performance.
•Additionally, it can expand the total distance of the network.
Disadvantages of Hub
•It has no ability to choose the best path of the network.
•It does not include mechanisms such as collision detection.
•It does not operate in full-duplex mode and cannot be divided into the Segment.
•It cannot reduce the network traffic as it has no mechanism.
•It is not able to filter the information as it transmits packets to all the connected segments.
•Furthermore, it is not capable of connecting various network architectures like a ring, token, and ethernet, and
more
WAP (Wireless Access Point)
What is a router?
Advantages:
❑ Eases connections: Sharing a single network connection among numerous machines is the router’s main job.
❑ Security: Undoubtedly, installing a router is the first step in securing a network connection.
❑ Supports dynamic routing: The router employs dynamic routing strategies to aid in network communication.
❑ Filtering Of Packets: Switching between packets and filtering packets are two more router services.
❑ Integrations: Routers can be integrated with modems to create a wireless access point for multiple devices in a
micro-environment. You can also install a VPN on your router for a more secure and private internet connection.
❑ Offers good backup plan: If one of your external network components fails, routers will use replacement
components to avoid traffic flow problems. This works well for large businesses where constant traffic is essential
for operation.
Disadvantages of Router
•Slower: Routers analyze multiple layers of information, from the physical layer to the network layer, which slows down
connections.
•High Cost: They are more expensive than some other tools for systems administration.
•Need for configuration: The router must be properly configured to work properly.
•Bandwidth shortages: It consuming a lot of bandwidth. This leads to a bandwidth shortage that significantly slows down
•Frequent disconnections: A major problem that most router users face is frequent disconnections, To keep your router in
good working order, you also need to update its firmware and settings regularly.
Gateway
•A gateway is a network node that forms a passage between two networks operating with
different transmission protocols. Gateways The most common type of gateways, the
network gateway operates at layer 3, i.e. network layer of the OSI (open systems
interconnection) model. However, depending upon the functionality, a gateway can operate
at any of the seven layers of OSI model. It acts as the entry – exit point for a network since
all traffic that flows across the networks should pass through the gateway. Only the internal
traffic between the nodes of a LAN does not pass through the gateway.
Features of Gateway:
❖ Gateway is located at the boundary of a network and manages all data that inflows or
outflows from that network.
❖ It forms a passage between two different networks operating with different transmission
protocols.
❖ A gateway operates as a protocol converter, providing compatibility between the
different protocols used in the two different networks.
❖ It uses packet switching technique to transmit data across the networks.
Gateway
Difference Between Router and Gateway
The OSI model's layer 3 and layer 4 are used by routers. The OSI model's layer 5 is where a gateway functions.
A router's primary job is to transport traffic from one A gateway's primary role is to convert one protocol to
network to another. another.
Functions of Bridges
❖ Store MAC address in PC that is used in the network for reducing network traffic.
❖ Divide local area networks into multiple segments.
❖ Connects multiple networks to ensure communication between them.
❖ Connects LAN segments into a single network.
❖ Recognizes areas where data is to be sent and on which device it will be sent.
❖ Maintains MAC address table to discover new segments.
❖ Used in load filtering of network traffic by separating it into segments or packets.
Bridge
Advantages:
•Bridges can be used as a network extension like they can connect two network topologies together.
•It has a separate collision domain, which results in increased bandwidth.
•It can create a buffer when different MAC protocols are there for different segments.
•Highly reliable and maintainable. The network can be divided into multiple LAN segments.
•Simple installation, no requirement of any extra hardware or software except the bridge itself.
•Protocol transparency is higher as compared to other protocols.
Disadvantages:
•Expensive as compared to hubs and repeaters.
•Slow in speed.
•Poor performance as additional processing is required to view the MAC address of the device on the network.
•As the traffic received is in bulk or is broadcasted traffic, individual filtering of data is not possible.
•During the broadcasting of data, the network has high broadcast traffic and broadcast storms can be formed.
A bridge in a computer network is a device used to connect
multiple LANs together with a larger Local Area Network (LAN).
The mechanism of network aggregation is known as bridging.
The bridge is a physical or hardware device but operates at the
OSI model's data link layer and is also known as a layer of two
switches.
Firewall in Computer Network
A Firewall is a network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing
network traffic based on an organization's previously established security policies. At its most
basic, a firewall is essentially the barrier that sits between a private internal network and the
public Internet.
Firewall prevents external users gaining un authorized access to a computer system. Itis
usually positioned at the gateway to a network and will examine all incoming data to
determine if it should be allowed. Data that is not allowed will be prevented from gaining
access to the network. A firewall can also prevent certain types of data from exiting a
network. As well as preventing unauthorized users from gaining access, a firewall can
prevent malicious data packets from causing disruption to a computer system such as a
denial of service (DOS) attack A proxy server would sit between the gateway and the LAN so
that data cannot passthrough to the network without being examined by its firewall software.
Firewall software can also be installed on individual computers in order to prevent any
unauthorized access or malicious attack from within a network.
Note: Firewalls have existed since the late 1980’s and started out as packet filters, which were
networks set up to examine packets, or bytes, transferred between computers.
SERVER TYPES
❑ Circuit Switching is a connection-oriented service that uses a dedicated path from the
sender to the receiver. Before sending any data from the source to the destination, it
needs to set up an end-to-end path.
❑ Circuit switching has the minimum chance of data loss due to the dedicated circuit
path, but a lot of bandwidth is wasted as a path cannot be used by other senders
during a congestion.
❑ A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
❑ In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data, voice,
video, a request signal is sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the
acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the dedicated path. After receiving the
acknowledgment, dedicated path transfers the data.
❑ Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice transmission.
Terms: Dedicated connections, Contiguous flow, Out of Flow (in-order), No headers
Efficiency less (resources reserved), delay less
Not suitable for computer network like to work on sending email, data etc.
Telephone system network is one of the example of Circuit switching.
CIRCUIT SWITCHING
❑ Mail Server: A mail server receives and sends all emails for an organization. The mail
server can be part of a LAN or 2WAN. Incoming emails are checked for viruses, phishing a
spam and then sent to the user's mailbox. When a user sends an email the mail server
will either direct it to another user with in the organization or send it on to the internet
for delivery to another mail server.
❑ Application Server: An application server delivers software to client computers. This can
be done by the clients accessing the software direct from the server or by the server
managing the installation of the software onto each client computer
❑ Proxy Server: proxy server deals will all requests to the internet it sits between the LAN
and the gateway. It will check that each request is allowed and filter out any undesirable
requests such as unethical websites. It will also store web pages in a cache which will
speed up the time it takes for user to receive a web page. A proxy server often also
includes firewall software.
A Bit stream is a series of bits which represent a stream of data transmitted at one time. Although it
usually refers to communications, it can also apply to data in memory or storage. In networking, streaming
takes place when video or audio files are sent to a receiving device for viewing or listening to without
downloading a file to save in storage. With a video, the first few seconds consisting of several frames will be
sent to it a buffer (a temporary area of storage) which can then be watched at the receiving device. As the
frames within the buffer are viewed, they are removed so that more frames can be added to the buffer to
keep it full. A buffer is used to keep the video running smoothly. Without a buffer, any data congestion
would be noticed by the video pausing, missing out frames or pixelating until the full transmission rate was
available again, even if it was only for a split second. It's still possible that a buffer could be fully used during
data congestion but it is much less likely than if a buffer was not present. Data congestion can be caused by
devices on the same network using up so much bandwidth that there isn’t enough eft for the full video
transmission or a similar situation at the sending end of the transmission. The same situation regarding
buffering applies to audio streaming as t does to video streaming, This is not just used for video and audio
streamed on demand but also when streamed live, for example when watching a sporting event or live news.
This means that live events that are streamed are actually delayed by the size of the buffer. This is why you
could be watching a rugby match on television and see try being scored before you see it on a live stream
Optical Fibre Cable
A fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains strands of glass fibers inside an insulated
casing. They're designed for long-distance, high-performance data networking, and
telecommunications. Compared to wired cables, fiber optic cables provide higher bandwidth
and transmit data over longer distances. Fiber optic cables support much of the world's internet,
cable television, and telephone systems.
Because they suffer hardly any degradation of signal, they can be used over large distances,
including in LANs where copper cable limits are typically 100m. They are also used n aircraft
where weight is an important factor, because the yare lighter than copper cables. The lack of
degradation of signal means that they are suitable for passing data across the globe as well as
throughout towns and cities. ISPs often use a method called fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) to provide
internet connectivity to homes. With FTTC, fibre optics are used to connect a communications
exchange to a cabinet in the street and the last portion of the connection to the house is by
copper cable. In the UK in 2015, Virgin Media were able to offer bandwidths of200Mbps using this
method.
Note: Fiber optic cables carry communication signals using pulses of light generated by small
lasers or light-emitting diodes.
Infrared
Infrared is the communication method used by most remote control devices. It is cheap to produce and a well
recognized standard method of transmitting simple commands. It works by transmitting electromagnetic radiation
that is just past the red end of the visible light spectrum, so it cannot be seen by the human eye. It does not have a
very high bandwidth and so only suitable for transmitting small amounts of data. It can also be affected by sunlight,
meaning that the transmission of data is not always successful. Infrared requires line of sight between the sending
and receiving devices so it cannot bend around corners but it can reflect off light surfaces. Infrared will only work for
short distances. Infrared can also be used by mobile phone devices to act as a remote control and is used within
active sensors.
Laser
Laser is an intense beam of light that can be used to transmit data. Like infrared, line of sight is
necessary, but, unlike infrared, laser beams can cover large distances. Laser still travels at the speed
of light, built does not require a physical connection like fiber optics. Lasers can be used to connect
LAN between buildings. They are suitable for this because very few data packets are lost as there is
little interference in normal atmospheric conditions, although adverse condition scan cause some
interference. Laser communications are quick to set up and can be portable, making them suitable for
live events such as sports and music concerts, The military use lasers to transmit live video from aircraft
because the video feed will arrive n real time because itis travelling at the speed of light. Laser beams
tend to be secure because they are narrow and aimed directly from sender to receiver, meaning that to
intercept the transmission would mean interrupting it, which would alert the sender and receiver.
Wireless communication/transmission Methods
Bluetooth is a wireless communication method used for the transfer of data between devices. It uses wireless frequencies
between 2402 and 2480 MHz. Bluetooth splits transmission data into packets which can be transmitted on 1 of 79 channels, each
with a bandwidth of 1MHz. It is typically used within mobile phone devices to connect to a range of equipment including:
❑ Communicating with a Bluetooth enabled smart watches, so that some of the phone's features can be used on the watch
❑ Sending and receiving data to and from devices that measure biometric data, such as heart rates.
❑ Transferring files from one phone to another phone or other Bluetooth connected device.
Bluetooth can also be used to network devices together in a small area as long as a high bandwidth is not required.
Wireless communication/transmission Methods
Wi-Fi is a wireless communication method. It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz frequencies. There have been many Wi-Fi
standards that have evolved over the years and they are all referred to by the number 802.11 followed by a letter. These letters
have included a, b, n and, in 2015, ac was introduced. Devices supporting aversion are backwardly compatible with devices that
support previous versions, but the communication will be limited to the highest common version the two devices support. The
802.11ac standard supports speeds of up to 1.3Gbps,compared to just 450 Mbps (045 Gbps) on the previous802.11n standard,
These are theoretical maximums and don't reflect the actual maximum speeds that are experienced in practice, which were around
150 Mbps and 300 Mbps respectively. Another big advantage of 802.11 ac over 802.11n is that it uses the 5 GHz wireless spectrum
rather than the 2.4 GHz spectrum used by802.110. The 24 GHz spectrum was very crowded because in urban areas there can be
several wireless access points overlapping, as well as other wireless devices such as baby monitors, smart home equipment and even
microwaves which cause interference and therefore reduce the connection speed.
Wireless communication/transmission Methods