Data Communications and Networking

GTUC
By
Dr. Franklin Asamoa - Baah

Course outline:
Introduction
Data Communication
Networks
The Internet
Protocols & Standards
Network Models
Layered task
The OSI Model
Layers in the OSI Model
TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Addressing
Data and Signals
Analog & Digital
Transmission impairment
Data rate limits
Performance
Transmission Media
Guided Media
Unguided Media
Multiple Accesses
Random Access
Controlled Access
Channelization
Network Security
Security services
Message confidentiality
Message integrity
Message authentication
Entity authentication
Key Management
 Introduction

When distributed databases and processing was introduced in the 80s & 90s as a result of increased
computer processing power, interconnection of data system banks for sharing became a necessity.
Data communication - Is the exchange of data/information between two or more devices via a
transmission medium such as a cable.
For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a communication system
made up of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).

The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics:

1. Delivery-The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by the
intended device or user and only by that device or user.
2. Accuracy- The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness- The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless. In
the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the same
order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called real-time.
4. Jitter- Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the delivery
of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every 30ms. If some
of the packets arrive with 30-ms delay and others with 40-ms delay, an uneven quality in the video is
the result.

A. Message - The message is the

information (data) to be
communicated. Popular forms of
information include text, numbers,
pictures, audio, and video.
B. The sender is the device that sends
the data message. It can be a
computer, workstation, telephone
handset, video camera, etc.
C. The Receiver - The receiver is the
device that receives the message. It
can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset, television.
D. The Transmission medium - is the
physical path by which a message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission
media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
E. Protocol - A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an agreement
between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not
communicating.
Data Representation
Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and Video.
Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or Is). Different sets
of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a code, and the process
of representing symbols is called coding.
Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used to represent
numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify mathematical operations.
Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of
pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the pixel depends on the
resolution.
Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature different from text,
numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even when we use a microphone to change voice or
music to an electric signal, we create a continuous signal.
Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be produced as a
continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a discrete entity,
arranged to convey the idea of motion.

Data Transmission
A data channel, over which a signal is sent, can operate in one of three ways:
Simplex, half-duplex, full-duplex. Full-duplex is often just called duplex.
The distinction is in the way that the signal can travel.
Simplex - Simplex transmission is a single one-way base band transmission. Simplex transmission, as the
name implies, is simple. It is also called unidirectional because the signal travels in only one direction.
Example:
Signal sent from the TV station to the home TV
Keyboard – introduces input only
Monitor – receives output only
Half - duplex - Half-duplex transmission is an improvement over simplex because the traffic can travel in
both directions, but the channel is not wide enough to accommodate bidirectional signals
simultaneously. This means that only one side can transmit at a time. Example:
Two-way radios (walkie-talkie)
Full - duplex - Full-duplex transmission operates like a two-way, two-lane street. Traffic can travel in
both directions at the same time. Example:
Telephone network - Both parties can talk at the same time, and the person talking on the other end can
still be heard by the other party while they are talking.
Network Architecture
There are 2 fundamental network architectures;
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions
tasks or workloads between peers.
- Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application. They are said to form a peer-to-
peer network of nodes.

Advantages of Peer-to-peer architecture

Easy to deploy
Not expensive
Minimal security restrictions
Disadvantages of Peer-to-peer architecture
No centralized management of network-
user accounts & data stored on all machines
Loose security infrastructure
Over burdening of network nodes since they
have to work as servers when not intended
to be

Client/Server architecture
In Client-Server architecture, work is “contracted” from one program (client) to the other (server) using
agreed upon protocol:
¨ the client sends the request to the server
¨ the server executes and sends acknowledgment
Advantages
The server in a server-based network
may provide a number of different
services based on the roles serving:
- File and print servers
- Application servers
- Web servers
- Directory servers
- DHCP servers
The data files that will be used by all of
the users are stored on the one server.
Network server stores a list of users who
may use network resources and usually
holds the resources as well.
Disadvantages
ü It is expensive to deploy, i.e. hardware & software infrastructure.
ü It requires expect knowledge to setup.
ü When the server fails, access to resources fails.
 NETWORKING DEVICES
Equipment that connects directly to a network segment is referred to as a device. Two classifications of
devices:
- End-user devices - they include computers, printers, scanners, and other devices that provide services
directly to the user.
- Network devices – they include all the devices that connect the end-user devices together to allow
them to communicate.

Types
1. Network Interface Cards (NIC) -
A NIC is a printed circuit board that fits into the
expansion slot of a bus on a computer
motherboard. NICs are used to physically connect
host devices to the network media.

v It can also be a peripheral device. NICs are

sometimes called network adapters. Laptop or
notebook computer NICs are usually the size of
a PCMCIA card.

Each NIC is identified by a unique code called a Media

Access Control (MAC) address. This address is used to
control data communication for the host on the
network.
As the name implies, the NIC controls host access to the network.

2. REPEATER – It is a network device that receives a signal, cleans it from the unnecessary noise,
regenerates it and retransmits it
at a higher power level, or to the
other side of an obstruction, so
that the signal can cover longer
distances without degradation.
In most twisted pair Ethernet
configurations, repeaters are
required for cable which runs
longer than 100 meters.
A repeater does not make
intelligent decision concerning
forwarding packets like a router.
3. HUBS – they concentrate connections. In other words, they take a group of hosts and allow the
network to see them as a single unit. This is done passively, without any other effect on the data
transmission. Active hubs concentrate hosts and also regenerate signals.

4. BRIDGES – It is a network device that connects multiple network segments at the data link layer
(layer 2) of the OSI model. Bridges do not promiscuously copy traffic to all ports, as hubs do, but learn
which MAC addresses are
reachable through specific
ports. Once the bridge
associates a port and an
address, it will send traffic for
that address only to that port.
Bridges do send broadcasts to
all ports except the one on
which the broadcast was
received. Bridges learn the
association of ports and
addresses by examining the
source address of frames that
it sees on various ports. Once
a frame arrives through a port,
its source address is stored
and the bridge assumes that
MAC address is associated
with that port.
 5. SWITCHES add more
intelligence to data transfer
management. A network switch is
a device that forwards and filters
OSI layer 2 datagram’s (chunk of
data communication) between
ports (connected cables) based on
the MAC addresses in the packets.
This is distinct from a hub in that it
only forwards the frames to the
ports involved in the
communication rather than all
ports connected. A switch breaks
the collision domain but
represents itself a broadcast
domain.

6. ROUTERS have all the capabilities listed above. Routers can regenerate signals, concentrate
multiple connections, convert data transmission formats, and manage data transfers. They can also
connect to a WAN, which allows them to connect LANs that are separated by great distances. None of
the other devices can provide this type of connection.
6. A TRANSCEIVER is a device
that has both a transmitter and a
receiver, which are combined and
share common circuitry or a single
housing.
If no circuitry is common between
transmit and receive functions, the
device is a transmitter-receiver.
On a wired telephone, the handset
contains the transmitter and receiver
for the audio and in the 20th century
was usually wired to the base unit by
Tinsel wire. The whole unit is
colloquially referred to as a
"receiver." On a mobile telephone or
other radiotelephone, the entire unit
is a transceiver, for both audio and
radio.