Networking in Telecommunication Field - Term Paper Example

College: Networking in the Telecommunications field A telecommunications network is a group of terminals, nodes and linkswhich join together to facilitate telecommunication amid users of the terminals. This type of network has five basic segments. They include terminals, processors, channels, computers and control software. The opening and ending point of the networks is called a network terminal. Many input and output devices are often placed below the heading of terminals. Telecommunication processors are helpful in transfer of data between the terminals. They also provide a range of control and support functions. The channels are the reception and transmission points for the messages and data. The network computers are set so that they ascertain a network connection by use of different media. The network software administers the control and functional activities, assisted by the software in a network. The configuration of telecommunication network has three main components; the user plane, the control plane and the management plane. The control plane carries control data and information, the data plane checks the user traffic in the network and the management plane carries the administration and operation traffic over the network (Gnanasivam, 2006). Telecommunication networks are of three types, these are wide area network, metropolitan area network and local area network. The network that is stretched over a large geographic is known as wide area network (WAN). Metropolitan area network (MAN) covers the area of almost one city or county. The communication of computers in an extremely small area is known as local area network (LAN) (Gnanasivam, 2006). Networks are categorized by the following: Topology - bus, star, ring, hybrid, wireless Architecture - peer-to-peer, client/server Protocols - Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Media - coaxial, twisted-pair, fiber-optic Topology Network topology is the geometric arrangement of the real physical organization of the computers and other additional network devices in a network. The network topologies are of five types: Bus, Star, Ring, wireless and Hybrid. The Bus topology has an arrangement where all devices are linked to a central cable, called the bus or backbone. These networks types are relatively inexpensive and easy to install for small networks. In the Star Topology all devices are connected to a middle device, called a hub. The Star networks are comparatively easy to install & run, but blockage can occur since all data must go through the hub. The ring topology links computers on a distinct circle of cable. Signals travel around the loop in one way and pass through every computer which acts like a repeater to boost up the signal and propel it on to the subsequent computer. The Hybrid Topology Groups of star- organized workstations are linked to a linear bus backbone cable that combines the characteristics of bus and star topologies Wireless Devices are linked by a receiver/transmitter to a unique network interface card that conveys signals between a computer and a server. This transmittance happens with an acceptable transmission range (Mehdi, 2006). Architecture Two primary types of architectures exist; Peer-to-peer (P2P) network Client/server network The peer-to-peer is the simplest type of network. It’s characterized by every computer communicating directly with all other computers. The Client/Server Networks make use of a central computer, known as a Server. The server facilitates communication and resource sharing among other computers on the network. These other computers are known as Clients. The client server network can be compared to a public library in terms of resource sharing. The librarian manages the use of books by patrons; a server manages the use of common resources by clients (Mehdi, 2006). Protocols A protocol is a standard that identifies the layout of data in addition to the rules to be followed during transmission. In simple terms, a computer talks to another computer only is they speak the same language. The committee that tackles LAN standards is known as the IEEE 802 Committee. Thus, IEEE LAN protocols constantly start with the 802. Currently, the world’s most fashionable protocol for LAN is the IEEE 802.3 protocol (Mehdi, 2006). This protocol standard is also called Ethernet. It specifies characteristics of hardware such as which wire is to carry which signals. This standard also describes how messages are to be processed and packaged for broadcast over the LAN. Many personal computers presently are set with an onboard NIC that gives support to what is called 10/100/1000 Ethernet. These products match to the 802.3 requirement and allow for broadcast at a rate of 10, 100, or 1,000 Mbps. Speeds of communications are expressed in bits, while memory sizes are articulated in bytes. Ethernet Packets Security perspective is a system in which each machine is allowed to decide which packets to process does not offer any security. Bearing in mind that any device that connects to the network cable can possibly capture any data packet sent out across the wire. Most network problem-solving programs commonly referred to as packet sniffers, can inform a NIC to run in promiscuous mode. This allows the computer process all packets visible on the cable, in spite of of the specific MAC addresses. The Packet sniffers can be important troubleshooting tools when in the right hands, but Ethernet provides no protection against unprincipled use. Installation of additional encryption software to protect the data should be done if security of the data is important (Mehdi, 2006). Media In order for the signal to move from one computer to the next, a network media is involved. Network transmission media are of two types; Wire media (guided) Wireless media (unguided) The wire media uses a transmission material man-made so that signals are restricted to a narrow path. This enables the signals to behave predictably. The three most commonly used types are: Twisted-pair wiring Coaxial cable Fiber optic (or optical fiber) In the wireless Media, natural parts of the environment of the Earth are used as physical paths to transmit electrical signals. Examples include the atmosphere and outer space which are commonly used to carry signals. Data is transmitted in networks in two primary ways- circuit switching and packet switching (Izhak and University of California, Los Angeles. University Extension. Dept. of Engineering, Information Systems, and Technical Management. Short Course Program, 1998). The circuit Switched Network is the type that establishes a channel or connection between the communicating nodes as though they were physically linked with an electrical circuit. This type of transfer mode is mostly used in telephone connections. In this type of network, the dedicated connection offers no loss of data since network resources like bandwidth are unavailable. It also has a constant delay present at data transfer since the data travels along the same path at all times. In addition to this, any disruption in the channel causes an end to communication since there is no other alternative path (Gnanasivam, 2006). In the packet switching, the data is broken down into pieces which are then wrapped into structures known as packets. Every packet has the data, the information of the address of the source as well as the destination nodes, sequence numbers in addition to other control information. A packet is also called a segment or data gram. Therefore the packet switched networks can be depicted as the networks in which communication is done through packets of data that do not flow via dedicated channels. They are routed in any succession, through any available route between the two nodes. As a result if no data is accessible at the sender during a communication, then no packet is sent out over the network. A major strength of the packet switched network is that if one route is blocked, the packets can still arrive at their destination by selecting an alternate route (Gnanasivam, 2006). Networking hardware Computer networks utilize hubs, routers, switches, adapters, cables and other several types of hardware. A router is a little hardware gadget that links multiple networks together. A hub is a much uncomplicated hardware device that supports essential file sharing between computers linked with network cables. A network switches is a small hardware device that connects many computers together at a low-level network protocol layer. Switches vary in capability from both hubs and routers. A network adapter offers the interface amid a computer and a network connection (Mehdi, 2006). References Gnanasivam. telecommunication switching and networks edition2. New York: new age international, 2006. Izhak r, and university of california, los angeles. university extension. dept. of engineering, information systems, and technical management. short course program. Telecommunication networking: local, metropolitan, wide-area networks : august 27, 28-september 3, 10-11, 1998, hughes communications, engineering 840.38: university of california, los angeles, university extension, dept. of engineering, information systems, and technical management, short course program, California, 1998. Mehdi k. Cases on telecommunications and networking: cases on information technology series : idea group inc (igi), 2006. Read More