Data Communication

and
Computer Networks
Windhya Rankothge

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People Communication
People use voice as the main communication method to
exchange information.
If two people are close each other, the voice transmission
is done through air. (air is the transmission media)

If the two people are far away they cannot talk each other
in natural voice through air.
The sound signal should be converted to an electric signal
and send through a transmission media. (Normally the
transmission media is two copper wires)
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Computer Communication
Computer can communicate each other by using an
electrical signals only.
Normally this is called data.
In order to send the data, a transmission media is needed.

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Types of Signals
The signals can be mainly categorized as,
Analog Signals
Digital Signals
When a natural signal converts to an electrical signal it
does not have a definite pattern. Such signals are called
analog signals. (e.g. voice to electrical).
The computers are communicating by using digital signals
where it has a definite number of voltage or current levels.
Analog signals are measured with frequency and frequency
bandwidth and digital signals are measured with bits and bit
rates.

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Modern Communication Methods

Telephone
Radio / TV
Satellite
PSTN (Dial UP)
ISDN
ADSL
CDMA
GPRS
GSM

011-2583868

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PSTN Dial Up Connections

Requires a modem and a phone line to dial into a service

Requires
a modem
and
phone
line to dial into a
providers node,
in order
to aget
the connection

service providers node, in order to get the

connection

Leased Line

AApermanent
telephone
connection
permanent telephone
connection
between two devices
between two devices

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

ISDN cont.

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)

ADSL cont.

Communication Model

DTE / DCE

Transmission Modes
Asynchronous Transmission
Data is not transmitted continuously. A character can be
represented by a group of bits. (E.g. 8 bits) Each set is sent
with a start bit and a stop bit.

Transmission Modes cont.

Synchronous Transmission

Transmission Techniques
Simplex

Transmission Techniques cont.

Half Duplex

Transmission Techniques cont.

Full Duplex

Base Band
Bandwidth of the cable is occupied by one signal

Broad Band
Bandwidth of the cable is occupied by more than one
signal

Convert an analog signal to a digital signal

The most commonly used method is the Pulse Code
Modulation (PCM).
Normally all voice telephone channels use this method.
Voice telephone channel frequency band is
0.3 kHz to 3.4 kHz.
The process can be described as follows.
(i) Sampling
(ii) Quantizing
(iii) Encoding

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Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

The samples of an analog signal are taken.
The sampled signal is called a pulse amplitude modulated
signal.
It can be shown that the original signal can be constructed
at the receive end using these samples.

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Sampling Theorem ( Nyquists Theorem)

In order to completely reconstruct the original signal from the
samples, the sample rate should be at least twice its highest
frequency.
i.e. sampling rate 2 X highest frequency
The highest frequency of telephone voice channel is 3.4 kHz.
Hence sampling rate 2 X 3.4
6.8 kHz
Hence a sample rate of 8 kHz is selected.
An analog signal is sampled at a rate of 8000 samples per
second.

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Quantizing
The samples are divided into many discrete levels. Then
each sample is numbered according to their corresponding
level.
There is no exact level for the above sample. The
approximate level of the above sample is 50. Therefore the
level of the sample is considered as 50
52
51
50
3
2
1
0

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Encoding
After quantizing the corresponding level it is to be
represented in some manner.
E.g. If the level is 50, it can be represented as,
Decimal - 50
Hexa - 32
Octal - 62
Binary - 110010

110010

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Modulation
Modulation is a technique used to send information by
modifying the characteristics of a basic electromagnetic
signal.
The basic signal is called the carrier signal.
The characteristics of a signal are amplitude, frequency and
phase.

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Modulation Cont.
Modulation can be used to convert a low frequency analog
signal to a high frequency analog signal
Analog
Modem

Or a digital signal to an analog signal.

Ex : MODEM

Digital
Modem

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Modulation Process

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Modulation Process Cont.

Modulating Signal
This is the useful signal. This can be an analog signal or a
digital signal. If the modulating signal is analog it is called
analog modulation. If the modulating signal is digital, it is
called digital modulation.
Carrier Signal
This is a high frequency analog signal.
Modulated Signal
The three characteristics of any signal are amplitude,
frequency and phase. One of these characteristics is
changed according to the shape of the input analog signal
or the bit pattern of the input digital signal.

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Modulation Methods
If the modulating signal is an analog signal, the three
modulation methods are called,
Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Frequency Modulation (FM)
Phase Modulation (PM)
If the modulating signal is a digital signal, the three
modulation methods are called,
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

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Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Amplitude of carrier signal varies according to the amplitude
of modulating signal.
Please note that the frequency or phase of the carrier signal
is not changed.

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Frequency Modulation (FM)

The carrier signal frequency changes according to the
amplitude of the modulating signal.

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Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

The two states are,
0 amplitude 1 (a1)
1 amplitude 2 (a2)

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Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

The two states are,
0 - frequency 1 (f1)
1 - frequency 2 (f2)

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Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

The carrier signal phase is shifted according to the input
digital signal.
PSK versions
BPSK
QPSK
8PSK
16PSK

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Bipolar Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

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Multiplexing
Suppose we need to transmit 4 64 kb/s signals from A to B.
For this purpose, it is required to have four channels. Each
channel needs at least 2 wires.
If the length from A to B is 100m, we need 4 X 2 X 100 =
800m Copper Cable.
If we can combine all four channels together without any
mixing, a single pair of cable is sufficient.
This type of combination (packing) of signal is called
Multiplexing.
There are mainly two types of Multiplexing.
Frequency Division Multiplexing (for Analog Signals)
Time Division Multiplexing (for Digital Signals)

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Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)

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Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

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What is a computer network?

A collection of computers and other associated devices
(printers, fax machines, or any devices capable of
sending/receiving data) interconnected by intermediate
networking devices (hubs, routers and switches) using
some transmission media (copper, fiber, free space)

Network Advantages

Resource sharing
- printers, databases, applications, files
Remote information access
- web and ftp
User communications (email)

Direct Connectivity
Point-to-Point (p-to-p)
Provides a dedicated link between two devices
Multipoint
There is a single link shared among several devices

Classification of Networks

Based on the covered geographical distance (size or scale)

Local-Area Networks (LANs)

Connects a set of devices in a relatively small geographical
area to exchange information and share resources

Metropolitan-Area Network (MANs)

Extend over an entire city

Wide-Area Networks (WANs)

WANs provide connectivity for LANs that are dispersed
over a large geographic area

LANs
Features
Smaller Scope (Building or Small Campus)
Usually owned by same organization
Data rates are much higher
Usually broadcast systems
Easy to manage
Technologies
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Token Ring
LAN devices
Repeaters, hubs, bridges, LAN switches

Network Topology

The way in which a network is physically laid out

(physical structure)

Mesh Topology
Every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every
other device

Star Topology

Bus Topology

Share a common media

Ring Topology

Share a common media

Tree Topology
A combination of star and bus topologies

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Hybrid Topology
A combination of different topologies such as star,
Ring, Mesh, Bus etc.

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ISO OSI Seven Layers

Why ISO-OSI Seven Layers ?

Inter operatability
Market for different manufacturers
Reduce cost
High maintainability

Physical Layer

Defines the DTE/DCE interface standards

Mechanical , Electrical ,Functional Characteristics
Interface with the communications hardware and
transmission medium.
Transmission of an unstructured stream of data bits.

Data Link Layer

Transmission of frames containing data and/or control

information.
Provides error control and flow control over the data
link.

Network Layer
Transfer data from a source to a destination via one or
more networks
Performs routing functions

Transport Layer
Establish connection between processes
Segmentation and reassembly of data
Flow control & Error control

Session Layer
Manages the session
Dialog Control
- Allows communication between two processes to be half
duplex / full duplex
Synchronization
- Adds checkpoints into a stream of data
Ex : Total Number of pages 2000
Insert check points after every 100 pages

Presentation Layer
Translation
At Tx : Changes information from sender-dependent format
into common format
At Rx : Changes information from common format into
receiver-dependent format
Encryption
Sender transforms original information to another format
Provides security
Compression
Reduce number of bits contain information
Important for transmission of multimedia

Application Layer
Provides user interfaces
Supports for services
- e mail
- Remote file access and share
- Shared database management

Addresses
Port Address Port number
Identifies the process (Transport Layer)
Logical Address IP address
Identifies the computer (Network Layer)
Physical Address MAC address
Identifies computers at two ends of a link (Data Link Layer)

Networking Devices

Repeater
Hub
Bridge
L2 Switch
L3 Switch
Routers

Repeater

Operates in Physical Layer

Hub

Operates in physical layer

Bridge

Connects two or more similar types of LANs

More performances and security
Operates at data link layer (intelligent device)

Switch

An intelligent device
Operates in layer 2 layer2 switch
Operates in layer 3 layer3 switch
Operates in half duplex / full duplex mode
Supports 10Mb/s and 100 Mb/s

Router

Routers can be used to connect dissimilar types of LANs

Operates in Layer 3

Gateway

Can operates in higher layers

(Transport / Application layer)

ISO/OSI Model and TCP/IP Model

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Protocol
A set of rules agreed by both transmit and receive ends
Defines
- What are the frames
- Frame structure
- Order of the frames

Protocols

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IEEE 802.3 - Ethernet

The station senses the link before start to transmit the
signal ( Carrier Sense CS )
So, multiple computers access media at different
times ( Multiple Access MA )
Once the station starts to transmit, it monitors the
medium to see if transmission is successful
( Collision Detection CD )
If collision detected, the station stops the transmission
immediately
It will retransmit the signal, when medium is free

IEEE 802.5 - Token Ring

Transport layer protocol - TCP

Transport Control Protocol
Connection Oriented : Connection is establish between
client and server
Then only data is transferred
An acknowledgement is received for each data segment
Error control and flow control can be done
After data transfer, the connection is terminated
Data transfer is reliable

Transport layer protocol - UDP

User Datagram Protocol

Connectionless : No connection is established prior to
sending data
Data will go through the network and reach server
Server does not send any acknowledgement

Data transfer is unreliable

Network layer protocol - IP

Internet Protocol
IP protocol is unreliable
connectionless
No error control and flow
TCP and IP together - reliable
UDP and IP together - not reliable

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

IP address is known, Wants to find the MAC address

Application Layer Protocols

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Domain Name System (DNS)
TELNET
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP is used to send e-mails.
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

(DHCP)

Domain Name System (DNS)

192.168.10.1

TELNET
Telnet
Server
Network

Used to access a server located in a remote location in the

network

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)

Simple Network Management Protocol

(SNMP)

 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

- used to send e-mails
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- used for web applications

Addressing with TCP/IP

MAC Address

Identify a
Computer

IP Address

Port Address

Identify a Process

Logical Address
Address scheme depends on the protocol used
Widely used protocol is TCP/IP and the logical address is
called IP Address
Logical address operates in the Network Layer (Layer 3)

IP Address

IP Version 4 (IPV4)
32 bit scheme

IP Version 4 (IPV4)
The 32 bits are represented in following manner.
Byte 1. Byte 2. Byte 3. Byte 4
(one byte is 8 bits)

IP Version 4 (IPV4) cont.

IP Version 4 (IPV4) cont.

The minimum value of a byte
00000000=0
The maximum value of a byte
11111111=255
The minimum IP Address
0.0.0.0
The maximum IP Address
255.255.255.255

Network ID and Host ID

Telephone number - Area Code + Telephone Number

IP Addresses - Network ID + Host ID
Part of the IP Address is allocated to Network ID
Remaining part is allocated to Host ID (Computer ID)

Class A
Network ID

Host ID

Subnet Mask

Net ID part : All 1s

Host ID part : All 0s

Transmission Media

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Guided Media
It is a point-to-point communication.
The signal can be transmitted without changing the
frequencies.
These signals normally cannot be interfered with other
signals.

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Unguided Media
The signal is transmitted into free space.
Therefore, each signal should operate with a unique
frequency.
If two signals have the same frequency, then those two
signals can interfere.

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Copper Cables
Copper cables are used for different purposes.
For voice communication in telecommunication systems.
(Exchange to Distribution Point (DP) and DP to home). The
DP to home copper cables is called Aerial Cable.
For multichannel (high bandwidth) signal transmission.
These are called, Coaxial Cables.
For data transmission, Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) is used.

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Types of Copper Cables

Twisted Pair Cable
A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires. These
wires are twisted together in a helical form

Coaxial Cable
In between the cables, there is an insulator.
Since both cables have the same axis, this is called a
Coaxial Cable.

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Twisted Pair

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Twisted Pair cont.

Twisted-pair cable is a type of cabling that is used for
telephone communications and most modern Ethernet
networks.
A pair of wires forms a circuit that can transmit data.
The pairs are twisted to provide protection against
crosstalk, the noise generated by adjacent pairs.
TPs small size can be advantageous during installation.
TP cable is more prone to electrical noise and interference
than other types of networking media
Distance between signal boosts is shorter for TP

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Coaxial Cables
There are two types of Coaxial cables.
Thin Coaxial Cable
Thick Coaxial Cable

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Coaxial Cables cont.

Coaxial cable is still the most common means of data
transmission over short distances
Coaxial cables were designed to transmit of highfrequency radio signals efficiently to any location possible
Limitations :
- Along the length of the coaxial cable, part of the transmitted
signal will be lost or attenuated
- Coaxial cable efficiency partly depends on keeping the
physical dimensions of the cable uniform

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Fiber Optics
Fiber Optics are cables made of optical fibers
and can transmit large amounts of information at
the speed of light

Fiber Optics cont.

Fiber optics cont.

Advantages
Less expensive
Thinner
Higher carrying capacity
Less signal degradation
No interference
Low power
Digital signals
Non-flammable
Lightweight
Flexible

Fiber optics cont.

Disadvantages
Installation and Maintenance
Cost
Unidirectional light propagation
Applications
Backbone networks
Cable TV networks
100Base-FX , 1000Base-FX LANs

Radio Transmission
A radio signal is an electromagnetic wave, which travels
through free space (unguided media).

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Problems in transmission media

o

Noise
Noise is an unwanted electrical signal (voltage or
current). This mainly occurs due to random
movement of electrons

Attenuation
Signal strength reduces when it ravel through the
media

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Problems in transmission media cont.

o

Distortion
The velocity of an electromagnetic signal travelling
through a transmission media depends on the
frequency of the signal.
Any signal is a combination of many sinusoidal waves,
which have different frequencies.
Therefore, the signal wave components travel with
different velocities and reach the destination at different
times.

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The Internet
The Internet is the global network connecting thousands of
network spanned across the globe.
It is a Network of Networks
Internet is opened to anyone who has a need to connect to
it
Internet is regulated by the Internet Society

Information Security
Any information system is secure if it confirms three things:
o Availability
o Integrity
o Confidentiality
This is often called the CIA triad

Information Security
Availability
o Legitimate users should have timely and efficient access
to information and systems
Integrity
o Any unauthorized modifications should be prevented
Confidentiality
o There should be a necessary level of secrecy for
information and unauthorized disclosure of information
should be provided

In the early days.

Mainframe systems contained dumb terminals with limited
functionality and processing
Few individuals had knowledge and access to computer
systems
Companies did not depend heavily on computer systems
for their business functions

Nowadays
With the introduction of PC computer systems became
popular and majority started using them
Companies depend heavily on data processing and storage
capability of computers
Many individuals have knowledge on computer system
operations and how they can be used in destructive ways
(Specially with the popularity of the Internet)

The Closed Network

The Network Today

Who are your Enemies?

Hackers
o Access systems in an unauthorized manner.
However, hackers have no malicious intent (i.e., they do
not intend to cause harm).
They are only motivated by curiosity, personal
satisfaction, or gaining reputation etc
Crackers
o Individuals who cause damages to
information systems with a malicious
intent often for financial gains

Who are your Enemies? Cont.

Malicious Software
o These are software that can cause harm to your data
and information systems (e.g., Viruses, Worms, Trojan
Horses, Spyware etc)

Encryption
Encryption makes your data unreadable to others
Encryption takes your normal messages (called clear text)
and changes it to an unreadable format called cipher text
Example:
Take the word Hello and replace
each letter by three letters ahead
in the alphabet. You end up
with Khoor which is
unreadable

Strong Passwords
Passwords are not stored in clear-text (i.e., readable)
format in your computer
However, it is possible for someone to find out your
password either by guessing it or by carrying out a
password attack
Strong passwords cannot be easily guessed by others or
cracked by password cracking programs
Strong passwords are essential to protect your information

Attacks on Passwords
Brute force attacks
o Here the attacker tries all possible combinations for a
password until he gets the correct one
o There are programs written to do this task
Dictionary attacks
o The attacker tries all the words in a
dictionary with the hope of
discovering the password
(including names, places, etc..)
o There are dictionaries of frequently
used passwords that can be used
for this purpose

Attacks on Passwords cont.

Keystroke Monitoring
o Attacker tries to obtain a password by looking at your key
strokes while you enter your password
Dumpster diving
o Attacker searches through trash bins with the hope of
finding written down passwords or other confidential
information

Attacks on Passwords cont.

Key loggers
o These are programs planted in
your Computer by an attacker
to record every keystroke you
type in to a file. The attacker
can later analyze the file to
obtain your password
Social Engineering
o Attacker tries to trick you into
revealing your password.

Password Best Practices

Always use a password of a minimum of eight characters
Do not use your name, birthday, name of a close relative as
your password since these can be easily guessed
Use non-dictionary words for your password
Always use a combination of uppercase/
lowercase characters, numbers.
Use at least one special
character in your password
(e.g., !,#,$,@)

Password Best Practices cont.

Change your password at least twice every month
Never write down your password in books, pieces of paper,
diary etc.
Never send your password via email or disclose it to
someone even if you trust that person

Malicious Software
Viruses
o A Virus is a piece of malicious code which attaches to
another program to spread and cause harm to your
information
Worms
o A worm is a self-contained program which can spread
and cause damage on its own without attaching to
another program

Malicious Software cont.

Trojan Horses
o A Trojan Horse is a harmful program
which disguises it self as some other
useful program
Spyware
o These are malicious software
installed in your computer without
you Knowing about them. They may
provide others access to your system,
display unwanted banner ads,
or steal your confidential information

Preventing Malicious Software cont.

Always use a virus scanner and keep it up to date with latest
updates
Enable auto-protect features of your virus scanner
Use a spyware scanner to scan and remove spyware and
update it regularly
Never download content from unknown web sites
Never open email attachments coming from unknown
sources
sources

Preventing Malicious Software cont.

Use a personal firewall
Keep your operating system
updated with latest updates
and patches
Never click yes in unknown
popup ads that appear.
Always close them using x
on the upper right hand corner

Identity Theft
In the Internet sometimes you have to disclose your
personal information such as name, telephone numbers
and email addresses
To make online purchases you
need a to give your credit
card number
However, you got to be careful
when you disclose your personal
information over the Internet

Identity Theft cont.

Identity theft is the act of using someones Identity and good
reputation by another individual for financial gains
One of the fastest growing crimes in United States
A popular way to obtain private information is by using
phishing scams
In phishing scams attacker sends an
email to the victim which looks like
a legitimate request for victims
personal information

Preventing Identity Theft

Do not disclose your private information over emails
Always check whether a website is a trusted one before you
enter any sensitive information
Always check whether the website supports secure
transactions (others cannot see the information you send to
secure sites)
Always read privacy policies given on websites

Identifying Secure Websites

Secure websites have a URL starting with https://

There is a closed padlock icon at the bottom of the

browser status bar