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Introduction. Computer Networks Fall 2005. Computer Networks. Network : system for connecting computers using a single transmission technology An internet : set of networks connected by routers that are configured to pass traffic among any computers attached to networks in the set
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Introduction Computer Networks Fall 2005
Computer Networks • Network: system for connecting computers using a single transmission technology • An internet: set of networks connected by routers that are configured to pass traffic among any computers attached to networks in the set • Data transmission - media, data encoding • Packet transmission - data exchange over a network • Internetworking - universal service over a collection of networks • Network applications - programs that use an internet
Networking Growth • New phenomenon - now, networks are an important part of everyday activities • Business • Home • Government • Education • Global Internet growing exponentially • Initially (2 decades ago) a research project with a few dozen sites • Today, millions of computers and hundreds of thousands of networks world-wide
Huge Impact • Societal • apparent in TV and Magazine advertisement • Economic • telecommuting, new large industry segments • Computer Science • Distributed computing • Data storage and computer architecture
Some History • Advanced Research Projects Agency initiated project to connect researchers with computers • Motivated by the need for remote access to expensive resources • Adopted new technology: • Packet switching • Data transmitted in small, independent pieces • Source divides outgoing messages into packets -- Destination recovers original data • Each packet travels independently • Includes enough information for delivery -- May follow different paths -- Can be retransmitted if lost • Internetworking • Internetworking glues together networks of dissimilar technologies with routers -- Result is virtual network whose details are invisible
Internet History • ARPANET began in late 1960s (not using TCP/IP) • TCP/IP developed in late 1970s • ARPANET switched to TCP/IP in early 80s • Start of public Internet (early 1990’s) • Few hundred computers • Few tens of networks
Internet Growth(Number of Computers Attached to the Internet)
Internet Growth (log scale) Number of connected hosts is approximately doubling every 18 months
Topic Complexity • Computer networking is complex • Many different hardware technologies • Ethernet, Token ring, ATM, Fibre Channel, etc. • Many different software technologies • TCP/IP, Apple talk, etc. • All can be interconnected in an internet • Terminology can be confusing • Abbreviations are very common • Industry redefines or changes terminology • New terms invented all the time • To unravel complexity, in the course, we will concentrate on concepts rather than details of specifics mechanisms
Simple Tools • Ping • Traceroute
Course Website/Syllabus http://myqu.qu.edu.qa/courses/Networks