(P1) Explain how networks communicate

Personal Area Network (PAN)

A personal area network - PAN - is a computer network organized around an individual
person. Personal area networks typically involve a mobile computer, a cell phone and/or a
handheld computing device such as a PDA. You can use these networks to transfer files
including email and calendar appointments, digital photos and music.
Local Area Network (LAN)
A LAN is a series of computers connected together under a singular control group that
define the protocols and access control. For example computers and mobile devices connect
to a wireless access point at home.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A WAN is comprised of multiple LANs that can be geographically situated in different
locations. These LANs are interconnected to communicate with each other. The largest
WAN at present in the Internet.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A MAN (metropolitan area network) is a network spanning a physical area larger than that
of a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city. A MAN is typically owned and operated by a
single entity such as a government body or large corporation. This type of solution often
relies on fibre-optic solutions.
Wireless Network
A Wireless network is a network that utilises radio signals to communicate over a network,
amongst computers and other networking devices. Sometimes its also referred to as a Wi-Fi
network or WLAN. This network is getting very popular, because its easy to setup and no
cabling involved. You can connect computers anywhere in your home or business without
the need for any wires or cabling.

Network Topologies
Networks are laid out in several different ways. The five main types of network
arrangements are bus, ring, star, cloud and mesh. A topology is essentially the virtual
structure of a network. The layout does not always correspond to the physical layout.
Bus

Bus network topology diagram

A bus network uses a singular backbone if you will to connect all devices on a network
together. The cable is the method of transmission all devices to communicate with each
other. The devices, traditionally desktop computers, will connect to the network using a
singular interface connector. When a device on the network wishes to communicate with
another it broadcasts a message onto the network. This message can be seen by all devices
on the network but is only opened and actually processed by the intended recipient device.
The advantages to this kind of topology are that it is quite simple and straightforward to
install. It also requires minimal cabling. The drawback to this kind of network is that if
several dozen devices are connected to the network the network can become unstable and
signal degradation can occur, or even failure.
Ring

Ring network topology diagram

A ring network operates in a closed loop system. Each device on the network has two
neighbouring devices to communicate with. Any communication that is sent or received in a
ring network can only travel in one direction, the same direction. e.g. clockwise.
Since all the devices are on a loop, one small cable failure can break the loop and bring the
network down entirely.
To deploy a ring network, you normally use a data link technology called Token Ring
technology. Token ring technology operates at layer 2 of the OSI model. Ring topologies,
whilst not all that common are sometimes found in school campuses or office buildings. An
advantage to this type of network is that data does not have to be transmitted via a central
server rather the data passes through all the nodes until it reaches its destination. A major
disadvantage to this kind of network is that if one end device or node fails, it can bring the
entire network down.

Star

Star network topology diagram

A star network topology is commonly found in the home environment and LANs.
Computers are also referred to as nodes. In a star network the nodes establish a
connection with a centralised connection point known as the hub node. The hub node is
normally a wireless router or a network hub or switch.
Star networks have a central point of contact called a "hub node" this node can come in the
form of a router, a switch or a network hub. All host devices are usually connected to the
hub with Ethernet cabling. In comparison to a bus topology, a star network in most
instances requires more cabling, which can be considered a drawback. But on a positive
note a star network has more tolerance for redundancies, so if any host or cable was to

undergo damage and cease to work it wont bring the rest of the LAN network down. But if
the central hub fails then the network will stop working altogether.

Mesh

Mesh network topology diagram

Mesh topologies are based around the concept of multiple pathways. Data that is sent on a
mesh topology does not have to take one pre-determined route. Rather it has the option of
several different routes to get from the source to the destination. In a number of WANs,
the mesh model is one that is the most commonly used. The best example of this is the
Internet.
The advantage of a mesh topology is that in times of high volumes of traffic, the network
wont slow down because data has numerous pathways to travel along. Even if different
components fail the network wont go down. A disadvantage of such a topology is that the
set up cost and overall general maintenance is expensive and rather difficult.

Broadband is a high bandwidth connection to the internet and is much faster to use than
the traditional telephone and modem, as information can be sent and received at a much
faster rate. Broadband is provided over a phone line, it involves large volumes of
information being carried at high speeds to a modem and to a pc. This therefore allows text,
graphical websites and videos to be experienced in real time. A user with a broadband
Internet connection will have a much faster and more enjoyable experience while on the
Internet when compared to someone with a dial-up connection.
The phone line is unaffected this means that you can make telephone calls while the
Internet is on and you are using it
You can take advantage of instant messaging and online high speed interactive games.
It is convenient because the internet connection is always on.
Network operating systems (NOS) provide controlled access to services on a network. When
you use NOS, you would normally pair it with a high specification computer that has
adequate storage, memory and sufficient processing capabilities to handle the tasks it needs
to carry out. This software also allows multiple computers to communicate with each other
and share files and with one another. Some examples of networking operating systems are
Widows server 2008/2010, Sun Solaris, Linux, etc...
Network Connection Software
Network connection software is a type of software that checks for connectivity in a network.
It monitors your bandwidth and ensures that you are always online. Examples of this
software are SNMP, this stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. This is a tool for
designed for network administrators. They use this to monitor the networks and also to
check their map of their network availability and performance.
Broadband
Network Access Methods
Token Passing is a communications network access method that makes use of a constantly
repeating packet of data (the token). This token is relayed onto the network by the
computer that wishes to send a message. The computer that wants to send the message will
have to wait for an empty token. Once the empty token is acquired, it is filled with the
address of the destination computer and some or all of its message contents. Every
computer or device on the network will constantly check the tokens that pass through to
ascertain as to whether it is a recipient of the message. If it is, the computer will grab the
message contents and the token will be reset to an empty status. Token passing is found
mainly in ring topologies.
Carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) is a network access method protocol which outlines
how network devices should react when two pcs or devices try to use a single data channel,
such as Ethernet, simultaneously.

Ethernet networks use CSMA/collision detection (CD) to constantly monitor the traffic that
passes through the line. If there is no data transmission occurring at the time, a particular
node can transmit its data. If two nodes try to send data at the same time, this causes a
collision. This collision is detected by all nodes on the network. CSMA/CA acts to prevent
collisions before they happen.