Networking Essentials free essay sample

A brief description the features of telecommunications networks, including key networking technologies. Cover the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, including each logical layer A telecommunications network includes the following features: 1. Terminals for accessing the network 2. Computers that process information and are interconnected by the network 3. Telecommunications links that form a channel through which information is transmitted from a sending device to a receiving device. 4. Telecommunications equipment that facilitates the transmission of information. . Telecommunications software that controls message transmission over the network. (1) Key networking technologies includes the traditional telephone system, mobile cellular communication, wireless local-area networks, videoconferencing systems, a corporate Website, intranets, extranets, and an array of local and wide-area networks, including the Internet (2) The ISO/OSI model was designed to formulate a standard for allowing different types and brands of computers to communicate with one another. It’s a conceptual model for the communication process that has seven discrete layers each with a specific responsibility or function: Physical-defines the electrical, mechanical, procedural, and functional specifications for activating and maintaining the physical link (such as the cable) between end systems; Data Link-provides reliable transit of data across the physical link and is responsible for the physical addressing, data error notification, ordered delivery of frames and flow control; Network-provides connectivity and path selection between two end systems This layer uses routing protocols to select optimal paths to a series of interconnected subnetworks and is responsible for assigning addresses to messages; Transport-responsible for guaranteed delivery of data It uses data units called datagrams, it is also responsible for fault detection, error recovery, and flow control, this layer manages virtual circuits by setting them up, maintaining them and shutting them down; Session –responsible for establishing, maintaining and terminating the communication session between applications; Presentations-responsible for formatting data so that it’s ready for presentation to an application this layer is also responsible for character format translation, such as from ASCII to Unicode, and for syntax selection; Application-this layer is responsible for giving application access to the network; (3) Discuss whether telephone networks and computer networks will remain distinct in the future. We will write a custom essay sample on Networking Essentials or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Two months ago, ATamp;T petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to plan for the retirement of traditional phone networks and transition to what ATamp;T sees as inevitability: the all-IP telco. ATamp;T had been discussing the transition internally, spurred on by the FCCs own suggestion that the Public Switched Telephone Network might be ripe for death somewhere around 2018. This telephone network weve grown up with is now an obsolete platform, or at least a rapidly obsolescing platform. It will not be sustainable for the indefinite future. Nobodys making this network technology anymore. Its become more and more difficult to find spare parts for it. And its becoming more and more difficult to find trained technicians and engineers to work on it. As you can see, the largest company of the telecom industry is opening the dialogue of ending the traditional telephone network. Many may not agree with thus but I think we should be ready if it happens. More and more people are opting out of landlines and opting in wireless/voice of IP. (4) Description of the various network media and how they are changing Telecommunications links may be implemented with various communication media, with a corresponding variety of characteristics. The main feature of a medium is its potential transmission speed, also known as channel capacity, which for data transmission purposes is expressed in bits per second (bps). An alternative measure of transmission channel capacity is bandwidth the range of signal frequencies that can be transmitted over the channel. Six potential media are employed to implement telecommunication links: 1. Twisted pair 2. Coaxial cable 3. Fiber Optics cable 4. Terrestrial Microwave 5. Satellite Transmission 6. Radio Transmission How they are changing Transmission speeds keep on rising, particularly in the fiber optics area. We are now moving toward a global infrastructure of gigabit-speed fiber optic links relying on digital transmission. In this multimedia environment, data, text, voice, images, and video will travel at speeds of billions of bits per second. (5) A brief explanation of the differences among LANS, WANS, CANS, and MANS; There are several types of computer network designs- you are more than likely familiar with the LAN, or local area network. But the fun doesn’t stop there- we have MANs, SANs, CANs, and more â€Å"ANs† than you can shake a stick at. But don’t worry- if you can remember what the first letter in each acronym means, you’re set! And that much more prepared for your networking exams! ) What is a LAN? If you aren’t already familiar with a LAN, it is defined as a local area network. From the term local, you’d probably guess that LAN network designs don’t span a large region (and you’d be correct). The basic LAN is just a sim ple network of computers, although LANs can often span multiple buildings. In the example below, you can see a network divided by a router, which is being used to connect the network to the internet. In general there are three things to remember about a LAN: Three Things to Remember about LANs * 1. They operate within a limited geographical area * 2. They allow a large amount of users to access media with high-bandwidth capability * 3. They prove full-time connectivity with local services A LAN is a fairly easy concept to grasp- perhaps the simplest of all networks. In fact, computer networking started out with a simple LAN connection. Since the birth of the LAN, we have been graced with even more advanced technologies- such as the WAN. The Difference between a LAN and a WAN WANs are networks that interconnect LANs. You can think of it as a company who has offices in three separate states. If the company wishes to have each office on the same network, they would need to somehow connect the LANs together. Whereas a WAN enables you to send an instant message to someone around the world, a LAN would be limited to a much smaller geographical location. You are actually more familiar with WANs than you think- you’re using one right now! The internet is biggest WAN on Earth. Looking at it from a global perspective, you can see a WAN as a collective of networks run by many people- whereas a LAN is often ran by a specific organization (and thus usually only has one administrator). In general, there are three things to remember about WANs: Three Things to Remember about WANs * 1. They operate using serial interfaces * 2. They generally provide lower bandwidth compared to LANs * 3. They provide full-time remote resources that are connected to local services Generally speaking, we could stop there. But we can further classify network designs even further with MANs and CANs. What are MANs and CANs? A MAN is short for metropolitan area network. As the name implies, it covers a metropolitan area- such as a city or the suburbs of a city. You can think f them as between what a LAN and WAN would be. They span a much larger geographical area than LANs, but do not often surpass the limits of a metropolitan area. MANs are generally good for businesses and organizations that have multiple locations around a city. A bank may also take advantage of a MAN. So, far so good, right? Well now we’ll introduce the CAN- the campus area network. You’ve probably guessed it- this type of network design spans a university or campus. It acts a lot like a MAN would in some cases, although it obviously has a much more specific purpose. 6) Describe three (3) ways in which businesses use Internet services and protocols. (For example, what is VoIP and how is it used? Businesses are increasingly using the internet services as a means to conduct business. Here a just a few: The internet VoIP phone has taken over the market by force. If you do not know what a internet VoIP phone is then you can research information on the Vonage phone company. Basically, it is a phone that is connected through the internet instead of the phone socket in the wall. That are some good things and bad things about an internet VoIP phone but the good seems to outweigh bad.