Fundamentals of Data Communication Networks

Oliver C. Ibe

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781119436256
• eBook ISBN: 9781119436270
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Computer Networking
• Index: Technology & Engineering

What every electrical engineering student and technical professional needs to know about data exchange across networks

While most electrical engineering students learn how the individual components that make up data communication technologies work, they rarely learn how the parts work together in complete data communication networks. In part, this is due to the fact that until now there have been no texts on data communication networking written for undergraduate electrical engineering students. Based on the author's years of classroom experience, Fundamentals of Data Communication Networks fills that gap in the pedagogical literature, providing readers with a much-needed overview of all relevant aspects of data communication networking, addressed from the perspective of the various technologies involved.

The demand for information exchange in networks continues to grow at a staggering rate, and that demand will continue to mount exponentially as the number of interconnected IoT-enabled devices grows to an expected twenty-six billion by the year 2020. Never has it been more urgent for engineering students to understand the fundamental science and technology behind data communication, and this book, the first of its kind, gives them that understanding. To achieve this goal, the book:

• Combines signal theory, data protocols, and wireless networking concepts into one text
• Explores the full range of issues that affect common processes such as media downloads and online games
• Addresses services for the network layer, the transport layer, and the application layer
• Investigates multiple access schemes and local area networks with coverage of services for the physical layer and the data link layer
• Describes mobile communication networks and critical issues in network security
• Includes problem sets in each chapter to test and fine-tune readers' understanding

Fundamentals of Data Communication Networks is a must-read for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in electrical and computer engineering. It is also a valuable working resource for researchers, electrical engineers, and technical professionals.

Chapter 1
Overview of Data Communication Networks

1.1 Introduction

In a very broad sense, a network is any interconnected group of people or devices that are capable of sharing meaningful information with one another. In the telecommunication sense, a data communication network is a collection of two or more computing devices that are interconnected to enable them to share data. Data communication networking arose in response to the need to share data in a timely manner. Data sharing and information dissemination are critical to the success of any business. Thus, data communication networks are important to all contemporary organizations.

As discussed earlier, data communication networks deal with the transfer of data between two points. Data originates at the source and is finally delivered to the destination, which is also called a sink. Sometimes, the source and destination are interconnected by one link; at other times, the data must traverse multiple links to reach the destination. A typical communication environment includes multiple sources and sinks that are interconnected by communication links to build a network. Thus, a communication network is essentially an arrangement of hardware and software that allows users to exchange information.

1.2 Data Communication Network Model

A communication model is necessary to enable us to introduce the main elements of a communication system as well as to define some of the terminology used in the remainder of this book. A communication system consists of the following:

• A source that generates the information.
• A source encoder that converts the information into an electrical form called message signal m(t).
• A transmitter that is used to convert the message signal into a form acceptable to the channel.
• The channel is the path or link that connects the transmitter and the receiver; it can be metallic, optical fiber, or air.
• A receiver performs an inverse function of that of the transmitter to recover the message signal.
• A source decoder converts the electrical signal back to a form acceptable to the receiver.
• A sink is the user of the information generated by the source.

The model is illustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 A Data Communication Network Model.

Note that information flow can be bidirectional because what is a source at one time can be a sink at another time. Thus, Figure 1.1 shows the basic blocks used to process information as it flows in one direction.

The simplest data communication network consists of a source that is directly connected to a sink, as shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 A Simple Data Communication Network.

In a more complex network, the two communicating nodes are interconnected by a complex structure, which is usually represented by a cloud as shown in Figure 1.3.

Figure 1.3 Representation of a Complex Network Structure.

1.3 Classification of Data Communication Networks

There are different ways to classify a data communication network, which are as follows:

• Transmission method
• Data flow direction
• Network topology
• Geographical coverage
• Transmission medium
• Data transfer technique
• Network access technique
• Media sharing technique.

In this section, we describe each of these methods.

1.3.1 Transmission Method

Data transmission method can be classified in two fundamental ways: asynchronous and synchronous transmissions. Asynchronous transmission is used when data is transmitted as individual characters. In this method, each character is preceded by one start bit and one or two stop bits that are used by the receiver for synchronization purposes. The need for synchronization arises from the fact that the interval between characters is random, which means the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: Overview of Data Communication Networks
• Chapter 2: Physical Layer
• Chapter 3: Data Link Layer Protocols
• Chapter 4: Multiple Access Schemes
• Chapter 5: Local Area Networks
• Chapter 6: Network Layer Part I – IP Addressing
• Chapter 7: Network Layer Part II – Routing
• Chapter 8: Transport Layer – TCP and UDP
• Chapter 9: Transport Layer – SCTP and DCCP
• Chapter 10: Application Layer Services
• Chapter 11: Introduction to Mobile Communication Networks
• Chapter 12: Introduction to Network Security
• Bibliography
• Index
• End User License Agreement