Introduction to Computer Networks

Sharing Resources Interconnections Protocols Infrastructure

Sharing Resources
The fundamental purpose of computer networks is to provide access to shared resources, most notably printers and data storage (both disk drives and tape drives). Local Area Networks (LANs) involve several primary components:

Network interconnection (for example, copper wire, fiber optic cable, infrared, or radio). Network Interface Circuitry (NIC) in the individual personal computers, connected to the network. This circuitry may be part of the system motherboard or it may be on a separate plug-in card. The shared resources themselves, each with their own NIC connected to the network. Software on the individual personal computers that uses the NIC to access the shared resources. This software is typically arranged to present the appearance to the rest of the operating system that these resources are directly connected. In the jargon, "emulating local disks and printers." Software on the shared resource that coordinates with the software on the individual machines to provide access to the shared resources for the users of the multiple individual personal computers. This software is typically running on a computer system ("the server") to which the shared resources are directly attached, and is a multi-user operating system. The most common case is for the server to be the same sort of personal computer hardware as the individual personal computers on the network (Intel or Macintosh). In this case, the operating system is called a "network operating system" to emphasize the difference from the single-user operating system of the personal computer. Novell is perhaps the most striking example of this approach. Alternatives include a laser printer with a microprocessor-controlled NIC that runs software to manage the printer as a shared resource (e.g., the JetDirect cards for HP laser printers), and using a full-blown general-purpose multi-user server, with an operating system like VMS or unix. Windows NT Server is perhaps more accurately described as an example of this latter class.

Network Interconnections
The network interconnection can be described in several ways:

Speed: how many bits/sec can be transmitted through the network. Topology: bus, ring, or star. Some networks provide a logical bus or ring topology with a physical star topology (Token Ring is, as you might suspect, a logical ring, but is a physical star; twisted-pair ("10baseT") ethernet is logically a bus, but is usually a physical star, although Farallon "etherwave" devices permit daisychaining). Arbitration mechanism: token-passing, collision-detection, guaranteed data rate, etc.

Network Protocols
The software on the individual personal computers and the software on the server have to cooperate with each other to provide access to the shared resources. This is done by designing the software to use an agreed set of conventions (a "protocol") that is standardized so that multiple vendors can provide interoperable systems. There are several different network protocols in use, and they can co-exist on the same network interconnection if they are properly designed. For example, an ethernet network can simultaneously support general-purpose protocols, such as LAN Manager, DECnet, TCP/IP, AppleTalk, Novell, and at the same time special-purpose protocols, such as LAT and XNS. Protocols specify, for example, that each data packet will have a header that includes agreed numbers of bits specifying

the sender's address the intended recipient's address the type of packet the length of the data segment in the packet

and so on. The protocols also specify the circumstances, if any, under which the recipient is to send an acknowledgment of receipt of the data packet. Some protocols include a sequence number that permits the recipient to re-assemble a longer message that has been split into parts, even if those parts are not delivered in the same order that they were sent. (This can easily happen in an overloaded local-area network, or in a complex wide-area network that includes alternative pathways connecting the two machines.)

Network Infrastructure
In addition to the servers and their clients, a network will usually include other electronic devices connected to the network signal cabling.

Some of this infrastructure is concerned with moving the data through the network, from the source machine to its destination. o Hubs o Routers o Gateways o Bridges o Switches o Terminal Servers

Network administrators are professionals who are charged with the responsibility of maintaining a computer network. The administrator will oversee the installation and updates to any software as well as install and maintain any hardware needed to operate the network. It is not unusual for a network administrator to be consulted when upgrades in hardware or software are required to create a new network or enhance an existing one. The typical computer network administrator will possess some type of higher degree connected with Information Systems and Computer Science. In addition, the administrator is often trained on the function of specific hardware or software that is included as part of the network. This makes it possible for the network admin to quickly master any new additions to the network or even build a network from scratch. In order to carry out his or her responsibilities, the network administrator will have master access credentials that allow the admin to interact with any function within the system. This means network admins can handle processes such as the creation of network addresses, the assignment of routing protocols, configure routing tables, and establish any type of security measures necessary to protect the network. Typically, the credentials of the network administrator override all other access privileges enjoyed by others in the organization, allowing the admin to troubleshoot when there is a need to monitor activity of a specific user or change access protocols for any reason.

Domain Name System

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"DNS" redirects here. For other uses, see DNS (disambiguation).

Internet protocol suite

Application layer

DHCP DHCPv6

DNS FTP HTTP IMAP IRC LDAP MGCP NNTP BGP NTP POP RPC RTP RTSP RIP SIP SMTP SNMP SOCKS SSH Telnet TLS/SSL XMPP more...

Transport layer

TCP UDP DCCP SCTP RSVP more...

Internet layer

IP IPv4

IPv6 ICMP ICMPv6 ECN IGMP IPsec more... Link layer

ARP/InARP NDP OSPF Tunnels L2TP PTPP

Media access control Ethernet DSL ISDN FDDI DOCSIS more...

V T E

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Most prominently, it translates easily memorized domain names to the numerical IP addresses needed for the purpose of locating computer services and devices worldwide. The Domain Name System is an essential component of the functionality of the Internet. An often-used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it serves as the phone book for the Internet by translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example, the domain name www.example.com translates to the addresses 93.184.216.119 (IPv4) and 2606:2800:220:6d:26bf:1447:1097:aa7 (IPv6). Unlike a phone book, the DNS can be quickly updated, allowing

a service's location on the network to change without affecting the end users, who continue to use the same host name. Users take advantage of this when they use meaningful Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), and email addresses without having to know how the computer actually locates the services. The Domain Name System distributes the responsibility of assigning domain names and mapping those names to IP addresses by designating authoritative name servers for each domain. Authoritative name servers are assigned to be responsible for their supported domains, and may delegate authority over subdomains to other name servers. This mechanism provides distributed and fault tolerant service and was designed to avoid the need for a single central database. The Domain Name System also specifies the technical functionality of this database service. It defines the DNS protocol, a detailed specification of the data structures and data communication exchanges used in DNS, as part of the Internet Protocol Suite. The Internet maintains two principal namespaces, the domain name hierarchy[1] and the Internet Protocol (IP) address spaces.[2] The Domain Name System maintains the domain name hierarchy and provides translation services between it and the address spaces. Internet name servers and a communication protocol implement the Domain Name System.[3] A DNS name server is a server that stores the DNS records for a domain name, such as address (A or AAAA) records, name server (NS) records, and mail exchanger (MX) records (see also list of DNS record types); a DNS name server responds with answers to queries against its database.