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Connectivity – concept related to using computer networks to link people and resources
Wireless revolution – widespread use of mobile or wireless telephones; most dramatic change in
communication in last 5 years.
Whether wireless or wired, four basic elements:
sending and receiving devices
communication channels
connection devices
data transmission specifications (protocols)
Types and structure of networks

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Connectivity is the concept of connecting people and resources through computer networks.
Computer competence becomes a matter of knowing about connectivity as well as about larger
computer systems and information sources.
Connectivity can link a user to computers with special applications, large servers that store information.
By connecting to the Internet a user’s connectivity become global.

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Most dramatic change in communications and connectivity is due to the increase use of wireless
technology.
Allows users to stay connected regardless of location.
Although originally developed in voice communication area, it has spread to computer
communications.
Seen in PDAs and laptops.
Bluetooth is a recently released technology that allows a wide variety of nearby devices to
communicate with each other without any physical connection
Printers, hard drives, even keyboards and mouse.

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Communication devices enable computers and people to communicate from one location to another.
Sending/receiving devices
Often a computer or communication device that originate (send) and accept (receive) data.
Communication channel
Actual connecting medium that carries the data: wire, cable, or wireless (radio, microwave)
Connection device
Interface between sending and receiving devices and the comm channel. Convert messages into and
out of a form or format for travel across the channel. A modem is a connection device.
Data transmission specifications
Rules and procedure that coordinate sending and receiving devices
Define how the message will be sent across comm channel
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Channels carry the data from one device to another
Categories:
Physical: Phone lines, coaxial, fiber optic
Wireless: microwave, satellite

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Twisted pair
Slowest
Standard medium for years in both voice and data transmission
Being phased out by more advanced and reliable media
Coaxial cable
High frequency cable
Single solid copper core
80 times transmission of twisted pair
Used with television and computer networks
Fiber optic
26,000 times capacity of twisted pair
More secure and reliable because they are immune to electronic interference
Best over limited distances
Lighter and less expensive than coax
Rapidly replacing twisted pair

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Don’t use physical cables
Microwave
High frequency radio waves
Line-of-sight communication because the radio waves travel in a straight line
Short distance due to curvature of the earth so they must be relayed
Bluetooth technology uses microwave signals
Satellite
Used as microwave relay stations
Intelsat – International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium- owned by 114 governments forms
worldwide communication system
Satellites orbit at a precise point and speed above the Earth – appear stationary – known as
geostationary orbit
Can be used to transmit large volumes of data
Bad weather can interrupt flow of data

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Telephone lines originally designed for voice transmission, so send analog signals.
Computers send and receive digital signals, so there must be a conversion for computers to
communicate on phone lines.
Modulation
Process of converting from digital to analog
Demodulation
Process of converting from analog to digital
Modems speed is determined by number of bits per second it can send/receive.
Four types of modems
External : stands apart from computer
Internal : plug-in board inside the system unit
PC Card : size of credit card that is inserted into a portable computer
Wireless : Similar to external, but no wire communication channel. They usually are connected to the
serial port.

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Dial-up
Most popular
Very slow by today’s standards and quickly becoming inadequate for most communication needs of
the Web
T1, T2, T3, T4
Special high-speed lines leased by the phone companies to large corporations.
Support digital communication and do not require conventional modems
High capacity
Costs several thousands of dollars
DSL
Uses existing telephone lines
Becoming more widely available
Cable
Provide high speed access similar to T1 or DSL line
Not all cable companies support cable connections, but likely to change in the near future
Satellite/air connections
Communicate via satellites as the name suggests. Older satellite service did not have this capability,
but newer services do.
Slower than DSL, cable, or T1, but faster than traditional dialup
Available anywhere that line-of-site with satellite in the southern sky is available

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Technical matters that affect data communications
Bandwidth
Protocols

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How much data moves across the data channel in a given amount of time.
Voiceband
Also known as low bandwidth
Standard telephone lines with standard modems, dial-up services
Slow, adequate for documents, but not for high quality video
Speed typically 56 to 96 kbps
Medium band
Used with special leased line to connect minicompunters and mainframes
Can transmit across long distances
Not typically used by individuals
Broadband
High-capacity
Capable of transmitting high-quality video
Speeds typically 1.5 mbps

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Simplex: similar to serial – one direction only; Point-of-sales terminals
Half-duplex: in both directions – one direction at a time; very common; frequently used for linking micro
by telephone to other micros
Full-duplex: data transmitted back and forth at same time; fastest and most efficient; widely used for
mainframe; now becoming standard for microcomputer

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Rules for exchanging data between computers
TCP/IP is the standard protocol for the Internet. It consist of the 2 critical features
Identifying each sending and receiving devices
Every computer on the Internet has a unique numeric address – IP address
Similar to how post office delivers mail – each home has a unique address
Domain name system – system by which names are assigned to each IP address to make it easier for
users to remember.
Reformatting
Messages are broken into packets to transmit over Internet through various interconnected networks
Each packet may use a different route
The message is then reassembled at the destination computer

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A computer network can consist of as little as 2 computers.
A node on a network is any device connected to the network. It can be a computer, a printer, a
secondary storage device.
A client is a node that receives resources and data from other nodes.
A server is a node that shares resources and data to other nodes. Some examples are
File Server – shares a secondary storage device to store files.
Print server – shares a printer
Database server – shares a database
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NOS controls and coordinates the resources of the network.
For more network terms, see the O’Leary Expansion CD, or visit the Web at
http://www.mhhe.com/oleary

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The network architecture describes how the network is arranged and how the resources are
coordinated and shared
The networks configuration is called its topology.
There are four basic topologies used: Star, bus, ring, hierarchical

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Nodes are connected to a single computer called a host
Host computer - large centralized computer, usually a mainframe
All communications pass through this host
Can be used as a time sharing system where several users share resources on the central computer

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Bus network - each device handles its own communications control
No host computer
Common connecting cable called a bus
Data along the bus is examined by each node to see if it is intended for them.
Not as efficient as star, but it is low cost and widely used

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Ring network
Each device connected to two others forming a ring
No central files server or computer
Messages passed around ring until reach correct destination
Often used to link mainframes – especially over wide geographical areas
Useful in decentralized organization
Makes possible distributed data processing system
Computers can perform processing tasks on own
Can also share programs, data, and other resources

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Sometime called hybrid network
Consists of several computers linked to central host computer
All computers can server as hosts to other computers (unlike star network)
Allows computers to share databases, processing power, and output devices.
Host at top could be mainframe; computers below could be minis; then “down” to micros
Useful in centralized organization

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Strategy: ways of coordinating the sharing of information and resources in a network
Terminal network system
Centralized host, usually a mainframe
Nodes are usually terminals with little or no processing capabilities
Reservation systems
Peer-to-peer network system - nodes act as both servers and clients
A node could obtain files from another node, and provide files to another node
Bus topology best example Client/server network systems
Powerful computer coordinates services
This server provides access to centralized resources
Enterprise computing describes the trend toward integrating or connecting all of company’s computer
resources together

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Communications networks differ in geographical size. Three important types are:
LANs
MANs
WANs

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LANs allow users to share different equipment, such as printer, database servers.
This lowers the cost of equipment.
Used in offices and even homes.
Network gateway
Connects network to other networks, even those with different configurations.
Network bridge
Connects network to other networks with the same configuration.

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Toyota and Sony collaborating on the Pod.
It connects wirelessly to a portable terminal called the Mini Pod to share data - PDA like
Can download music, locate restaurants or gas stations using GPS coordinates
Can communicate with other cars using a horn messaging system.