Networking Basics

What is a network?
A network is simply a group of two or more Personal
Computers linked together. Many types of networks
exist, but the most common types of networks are Local-
Area Networks (LANs), and Wide-Area Networks
(WANs).
In a LAN, computers are connected together within a
"local" area (for example, an office or home). In a WAN,
computers are further apart and are connected via
telephone/communication lines, radio waves or other
means of connection.
Classification of networks
Based on

1. TOPOLOGY

2. Protocol

3. Architecture

Types of topology
Physical
Logical


Physical based on the layout of cables,computers and
other

Logical based on information transfer between the
computer
Physical bus topology
Old version
Small network of 2-5 computers
High traffic and decrease in bandwidth

Physical hub or star topology

Low cost
Ease of troubleshooting
Single point of failure(switch)

The physical Ring topology
No terminating ends
Token passing method
The physical mesh topology
Redundant paths
Good backup capabilities

Hybrid star topology
Hybrid star ring topology
Data transmission

Routable protocols enable the transmission of data
The amount of network traffic generated varies with the 3
types of data transmissions:

Broadcast

Multicast

Unicast
Media access control MAC addresses
To get identified in the datalink layer

Analysing the MAC address
Unicast Model
Simple and less traffic

Multi cast Model
Directed to a group of hosts.
Broadcast Model
One copy of a packet to each destination
Protocol
Set of rules for transmitting or receiving data

Fitting TCP in OSI model

Features of TCP
Here are the main features of the TCP

Reliable Transport
Connection-Oriented
Flow Control
Windowing
Acknowledgements
More overhead

Connection oriented
Three way handshake to establish connection
Flow control


Acknowledgments

UDP
Thin protocol

Connection-less oriented

Doesnot create virtual circuit

No 3-way handshake

No reliable delivery


The DNS(domain name system) protocol
Small overhead
Uses port 53

DNS hierarchy

FTP -File transfer protocol

FTP session

FTP commands
below are the most commonly used FTP commands:

ABOR: abort previous FTP command
LIST and NLST: list file and directories
DELE: delete a file
RMD: remove a directory
MKD: create a directory
PWD: print current working directory ( show you which dir. your at)
PASS: send password
PORT: request open port number on specific IP address/port number
QUIT: log off from server
RETR: retrieve file
STOR: send or put file
SYST: identity system type
TYPE: specify type (A for ASCII, I for binary)
USER: send username
Routing
Routing is used for taking a packet (data) from one device and sending
it through the network to another device on a different network.

To be able to route packets, a router must know the following :

Destination address
Neighbor routers from which it can lean about remote networks
Possible routes to all remote networks
The best route to each remote network
How to maintain and verify routing information
Types of Routing
Two main types

1.Static routing( administrator manualy enters the routes in
the routers table)

2.Dynamic routing (happens automatically using routing
protocols)


STATIC ROUTING

Specifies how to reach the
destination network

Route that is manually
configured on a router.

Typically used in small
networks


DYNAMIC ROUTING


Dynamically advertise and learn
routes, determine which routes
are available and which are the
most efficient routes to a
destination.


Dynamic routing
Only Dynamic routing uses routing protocols, which
enable routers to:
Dynamically discover and maintain routes
Calculate routes
Distribute routing updates to other routers
Reach agreement with other routers about the network
topology

Dynamic routing protocols
There are 3 types of Dynamic routing protocols, these differ
mainly in the way that they discover and make
calculations about routes:

1) Distance Vector(compute the best path from
information passed to them from neighbors)
2) Link State(each have a copy of the entire network
map)
3) Hybrid(inbetween distance and link state)
HUBS and REPEATERS
Cheapest way

Works on the first layer of OSI

They dont read data frames (as in switches and routers)

They just transmit to each port
Hubs work?

switches
All switches regardless of the brand and various
enhancements they carry, have something in common,
it's the three stages (sometimes 2 stages) they go
through when powered up and during operation. These
are as follows:

Address Learning
Forward/Filter decisions
Loop Avoidance (Optional)
Loop avoidance

Switching modes

Bridges
Bridges are really just like switches, but there are a few
differences which we will mention. These are the
following:
Bridges are software based, while switches are
hardware based because they use an ASICs chip to help
them make filtering decisions.
Bridges can only have one spanning-tree instance per
bridge, while switches can have many.
Bridges can only have upto 16 ports, while a switch can
have hundreds !