Computer and Data Communication Networks

These are the telecommunication networks used for information and data exchange in
the form of text, multimedia.
These networks interconnect intelligent machines like computers, teletype-writers over
physical media like twisted wire pair, coaxial cable, optical fiber, microwave links etc.
Each system is equipment with a trans-receiver for transmitting and receiving of
information. The complete system at each site is called a station or node. In the network
each station is assigned a unique address for accessing. The distance among stations
ranges from few meters to thousands of kilometers.

   S   S
S

   S
     Physical Network 
S 

 S
  S 
  S

Fig 1: Data and Computer Communication Network

Depending on the geographical distance the networks are classified as

(1) Local area networks: Maximum distance is few kilometers.

(2) Metropolitan networks: The distance ranges from few kilometers to few hundred
kilometers.
(3) Wide Area Networks: The distance is in thousands of kilometers and the network
is spread over number of cities and even countries.
Applications of Data Communication Networks:
These networks have numerous applications. Some of them are listed below:
(1) Distributed Computing
(2) e-mail
(3) e-governance
(4) e-commerce
(5) Net banking
(6) On-line education
(7) Tele-Education
(8) Tele-medicine
(9) on-line shairing of information and multi media contant.
(10) Video on demand, Voice over Internet (VOI)
(11) Telecommuting which allows the employees to perform office work at home by
remote login.
(12) On-line collaboration on projects.
(13) Teleconferencing which allows people to share information without meeting at
common place.
(14) Disaster warning and management.
(15) Data base management system.

Protocol Architecture of Data communication networks

To facilate the efficient data and information exchange the communicating stations have
to follow a well defined set of rules, which constitute a protocols. It is a layered structure
of hardware and software that supports the exchange of data. At each layer a set of
rules are provided for exchange of data among stations. Typical tasks to be performed
by a protocol include:
(i) The source station must activate the direct communication path or it must inform
the network of the address of the destination station.
(ii) Before commencing the transfer of data the source station must ascertaion that
the destination is ready to accept the information.
(iii) The file transfer application on the source station must see that the destination
station is ready to accept and store the file.
(iv) Formatn translation has to be done either by source or destination if the same is
not compatible.
The exchange of information between source and destination occurs by means of
formatted data blocks. The a protocol must have following features

Syntax: which takes care of formatting of data blocks

Semantics: It takes care of coordination and error handling
Timing and Synchronization: It takes care of speed matching and data
Sequencing.
OS (Open System Interconnection) Refrence model
To remote the operational compatibility among the vendor equipment and to encourage
the competition well defined standards are needed. For communication task no single
standard can work efficiently as it is a complex task. The entire task is divided into sub
tasks which are more manageable and together organize a communication-architecture.
International Organization of Standardization (ISO) proposed an OSI standard model. In
this model the communication functions are partitioned into a hierarchical set of
layers.Each layer performs a subset of functions needed for communication with other
stations. The upper layer depends on lower layer to perform more primitive functions
and conceals the details of these functions.
The OSI model has seven layers. These are Application, Presentation, Session,
Transport, network, Data link and physical layers.Each station incorporates all the
seven layers. Communication between two stations takes place at application layer. If a
station A wishes to send file to station B, it invokes application layer of station A.
However the application layer of station a requires the services of the all the sixes
layers from presentation layer down to physical layer. The physical layer transmits bits
over the transmission medium.
No direct transmission between the corresponding layers of the two stations takes place
except at physical layers.
At station A application layers appends a header to the file as per the set of rules and
functions and passes it on to next layer. The next layer does the same and forwards it to
next lower layer. In this way the file reaches to physical layer where it is transmitter to
the physical layer of the station B.
After receiving the entire file the physical layer of B passes the file to its upper layer and
so on. Each layer at B removes the overhead information before sendin it to next higher
layer.

                  Application Layer

                 Presentation Layer   

                    Session Layer   

                   Transport Layer   

                    Network Layer   

                    Data link Layer   

                     Physical Layer   
       Application Layer  …………………………………….        Application Layer 

      Presentation Layer              ……………………………………        Presentation Layer   

          Session Layer  …………………………………….             Session Layer 

…………………………………….
        Transport Layer             Transport Layer 

          Network Layer  ……………………………………..            Network Layer 

          Data link Layer  ………………………………………           Data link Layer 

         Physical  Layer  .          Physical  Layer 

Station A Station B
Fig. 3: Information Flow Path between Layers
 Physical Layer

The physical layer is concerned with the transmission and reception of unstructured
binary bit stream over physical medium. It covers the physical interface between the
devices and rules by which data are passed from one station to another. The layer has
following four important properties:

• Mechanical: It specifies the physical properties of the interface i.e. the pluggable
connector to a transmission medium. The connector joins number of signals
wires, called circuits.
• Electrical: It specifies the electrical characterstics by which data bits are
represented such as voltage levels, circuit impedances, signal format and also
the transmission bit rate.
• Functional: It specifies the different functions which are performed by individual
circuits of the physical interface between a system and the transmission medium.
• Procedural: It elaborates sequence of events by which data bits are exchanged
between two communicating stations over the physical medium.
Examples of physical standards at this layer are EIA-232F, wireless standards
and LAN standards.

A basic data communication link between two stations is shown in following fig.

Data Transmission Channel

Data  Data  Data  Data 

Terminal  Communicating       Transmission Medium  Communicating  Terminal 
Equipment  Equipment  Equipment  Equipment 

Station A Station B

Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) is the user equipment which is connected to data
communication network. It may be a simple PC to a large computer system.

Data Communication Equipment (DCE) is the interface that provides a network

attachment point for user equipment. DCE provides the functions required to establish,
maintain and terminate a connection. It also performs the signal conversion and coding
required for the interface.
Data Link Layer

In physical layer the main concern is about transmission of raw data bits on a physical
link. In actual systems much more is needed to control and manage the information
exchange over the physical medium. A layer of logic is required over the physical
interface to achieve the necessary control. This logic has been given the name Data link
control protocol and the transmission medium between systems is called as Data Link.
Various requirements for effective data communication between two stations are;
Frame Synchronization: A station sends data in block or frames. The frame boundries
must be marked for proper identification.
Flow Control: The sending station must transmit frames at the rate which is either
equal or less than the rate the receiving station can sink them.
Error Control: When data bit stream are transmitted over a physical medium,
discrepancies occur in the data bits called errors. These errors have to be controlled or
corrected.
Addresssing: On a multipoint link the identity of the two communication stations
involved on information exchange must be specified.
Control and Data on Same Link: control information and data is sent on the same
physical link. Accordingly the receiver must be able to distinguish between the two types
of informations.
Link management: The initiation, maintenance and termination of a connection
requires a good amount of co-ordination and co-operation among communication
stations. Well defined procedures for management of this are required.
The above requirements are not met by physical layer. All these requirements are
incorporated in the data link layer.

Network Layer:
The basic function of network layer is to provide the transfer of information between the
stations across some type of communication network such as circuit switched, packet
switched network.
The higher layers are not involved in this task.
This layer specifies the destination address of the other system and also requests for
certain network facilities like priority.
There are three possible connections
Case I: Two stations are connected by direct point-to point communication link. The
network layer has minimal job in this case.
Case II: Two communicating stations are connected to same network.The lower three
layers are responsible for communicating with the network. The messages or packets
may pass through number of intermediate stations called network nodes before being
delivered to the destination station. The network nodes implement the lower three layers
of the architecture for the purpose. At each intermediate node there are two data link
layers and two physical layers. Each data link and Physical layer operates
independently to provise service to network layer.

A B
Application  Application 
Layer  Layer 

Presentation  Presentation 
Layer  Layer 

Session  Session 
Layer  Layer 

Transport  Transport 
Layer  Layer 

Network  Network                   Network 

Layer  Layer  Layer 

Data Link  Data Link       Data Link 

Layer  Layer  Layer 

Physical  Physical        Physical 

Layer  Layer  Layer 

Case III: The two stations may be connected o different networks, which are connected
directly or indirectly. In this case network layer has to implement internetworking
facilities to establish connection and reliable information exchange.
Transport Layer:

• The transport layer provides a mechanism for the exchange of data between two
end users.
• The transport layer is also concerned with optimizing the use of network
resources and services.
• The objective of the transport layer is to provide all the functiond and protocols
needed to satisfy a quality of service requested by user application. The
parameters used to express quality of service are throughput, delay, residual
error rate, delay time in establishing a connection, cost, security and priority.
• Following five protocol options exist at the transport layer
(i) Routing information protocol:
This is used to update the routing information at each station. This
information is needed to facilitate the communication with other stations.
(ii) Error protocol:
This protocol is used to report the errors by sending standard error
messages to the information source.
(iii) Echo protocol:
Special packets are transmitted over the network, which are echoed by
other stations.
These verify that the other nodes are operating correctly.
This feature is useful for performing network diagnostics.
(iv) Packet exchange protocol:
This protocol is used for a simple request/reply transactions.
(v) Sequenced-packet protocol:
This protocol allows the users to transmit many packets in sequential
order before requesting for a response. This facilities high speed data
transfer.

Session Layer:
The lowest four layers of OSI model provide the means for reliable communication and
also provide various options for quality of service.
The session layer is the user interface with the network.
The session layer allows the two presentation entities to establish, use and terminate
the connection, which is called session. It includes following functions
(i) Manages the dialog in an orderly manner and decides whose turn it is to
transmit and for how much time a user can have line.
(ii) Determines whether the communication in full duplex, half-duplex or simplex.
(iii) It establishes data synchronization checkpoints in the data flow to permit
backup and recovery from errors and failures. When ever a transport layer
connection is broken, the session layer automatically sets up a new
 connection, resynchronizes both end of the connection and resumes dialog
from the last valid check point.
(iv) It provides functions for address mapping. This helps the remote users to
identify themselves.
(v) The session layer can also provide for ordering of message packets when the
transport layer does not.

Presentation Layer:

This layer performs functions of general nature which give the user a variety of services,
User has the choice of either using these services or not. These functions are
performed by user by calling library routines. Some important functions of presentation
layer are

(i) Data encryption for information security.

(ii) Data compression fo conserving bandwidth.
(iii) Terminal handling which facilitates the communication between
incompatible terminals.
(iv) File transfer from one user to another.

Application Layer:

This is the top layer which contains application protocols with which user gains access
to the network.

An application is a set of information processing requirements desired by the user e.g.

air line control, e-mail processing, credit card checking and train reservation etc.
An application process is a logical element with in a system that carries out the
information processing required for a specific application.
Sometimes an application is distributed over several systems and in such cases each
distributed application portion is an application process.
To exchange meaningful information, the two application processes must agree on the
semantics of all aspects concerned with the intended
exchange.
  

Application                                                       Application  

process 1                                                           process 2 

Some of the tasks performed by the application processes are

(i) Allow users to acess the network resources and associate them with the
right application.
(ii) Transfer files, messages and documents electronically.
(iii) Standardize database and operating system command language.
(iv) Ensures that users transmit functions like carriage return, line feeds, tabs
and subscripts in a commonly understood format.