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This chapter appears in the book, Tools for Teaching Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts
edited by Nurul Sarkar 2006, Idea Group Inc.
Chapter I
Introduction to
Computer Networking
and Hardware Concepts
Nurul I. Sarkar, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Abstract
This chapter provides an introduction to computer networking and hardware
concepts and highlights the use of software and hardware tools as an aid
to enhance teaching and learning computer networking and hardware
fundamentals. A basic knowledge of network topology, channel access
protocol, network traffic, and networking devices is needed when designing
and implementing a LAN. The term computer hardware refers to the
physical components of a computer system those that one can see and
touch. The CPU, memory, and input and output devices are the main
components of a computer. To understand the operation of a modern
processor, it is important that the student grasp the basic concepts of
computer hardware.
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Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 3
Channel
Topology/Architecture Device Cable
Access Method
Physical Bus Logical Bus Ethernet CSMA/CD ------- Coaxial
Physical Star Logical Bus Ethernet CSMA/CD Ethernet Hub UTP
Physical Star Logical Star Ethernet CSMA/CD Ethernet Switch UTP
Physical Star Logical Ring Token Passing Token Ring Hub UTP/Optical Fibre
Physical Ring Logical Ring Token Passing ------ UTP/Optical Fibre
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4 Sarkar
Server
Switch: some of the switching fabric
Memory
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 5
Components of CU
PC
CU = Control Unit
IR PC = Program Counter
IR = Instruction Register
MAR MAR = Memory Address Register
MDR = Memory Data Register
SR = Status Register
MDR
SR
internal data from one part of the CPU to another. Arithmetic operations include
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Logical operations include
AND, OR, NOT, and Compare. The ALU contains a set of general-purpose
registers called the accumulator. An accumulator is a temporary storage used to
hold data that is used for arithmetic and logical operations. It is also used to hold
results of arithmetic and logical operations. More details about CPUs and
memory can be found in many textbooks (Englander, 2000; Shelly, Cashman, &
Vermaat, 2003).
The CU has several special-purpose registers and their functions are briefly
described below:
Program counter (PC): The PC holds the address of the next instruction
to be executed.
Instruction register (IR): The IR holds the actual instruction being
executed currently by the computer.
Memory address register (MAR): The MAR holds the address of a
memory location.
Memory data register (MDR): The MDR holds a data value that is being
stored to or retrieved from the memory location currently addressed by the
memory address register.
Status register (SR): The SR indicates the results of an arithmetic and
logic unit operation. For example: carry, overflow, negative.
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6 Sarkar
Address Bus
Control Bus
A computer processes and stores data as a series of binary digits called bits. A
bus is a collection of wires or lines used for transferring data and instructions
between the CPU and the main memory; one line for each bit (data and address).
There are three types of CPU buses: (1) address bus, (2) data bus, and (3) control
bus. The address bus is used to select a memory address or location and can be
8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit. The data bus is used to carry data or the address of the
data between the CPU and main memory and vice versa. The data bus can be
8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit. The control bus is used to carry control signals (e.g.,
READ, WRITE, HALT) to perform specific operations. For example, when the
READ signal is activated (i.e., R/W line is high or 1), the memory performs the
READ operation. Figure 4 illustrates the CPU-memory interaction.
Depending on the complexity of each operation (i.e., task), the computer may
take two or more machine cycles in order to complete the task. A machine cycle
consists of both fetch and execution cycles. In the fetch cycle, the CU brings the
program instruction from the memory, decodes it (i.e., translates the instruction
into commands), and then sends the data to the ALU for execution. In the
execution cycle, the ALU performs an operation and then sends the result to the
memory for temporary storage. Figure 5 illustrates the basic concept of the
fetch-execution cycle.
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 7
1. Fetch instruction
4. Perform operation
Primary Memory/RAM
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8 Sarkar
Both open source and commercial tools are available for building a variety of
network models and visualization of network topologies. We briefly highlight
some of the tools reported in the computer-networking literature that are suitable
for classroom use.
ns-2 (Fall & Varadhan, 2003): The network simulator ns-2 is a powerful,
text-based simulation software package suitable for performance analysis
and evaluation of computer networks. It is a discrete event simulator
originally developed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at the University of
California, Berkeley, as part of the Virtual InterNetwork Testbed (VINT)
project. The Monarch project at Carnegie Mellon University (Monarch,
2004) has extended the ns-2 by adding support for IEEE 802.11 wireless
LANs.
OPNET (2004): OPNET is a popular commercial software package
commonly used by researchers and practitioners for modeling and simula-
tion of computer networks. Unlike ns-2, OPNET is menu-driven with an
easy-to-use graphical user interface for rapid model construction, data
collection, and other simulation tasks. As working with the simulator
involves setting up complex experiments, it might be suitable as a learning
environment in advanced networking classes.
cnet (McDonald, 2004): The cnet network simulator enables experimen-
tation with protocols at the data link, routing, and transport layers in
networks consisting of any combination of WANs and LANs. Although
cnet is being used worldwide in undergraduate networking courses, the
need to prepare a network topology file as the basis of topology visualization
might be a challenging task for beginners.
JASPER (Turner & Robin, 2001): JASPER (Java Simulation of Proto-
cols for Education and Research) is a protocol simulator that can be used
as an aid to enhance teaching and learning communication protocols. It is
an extensible tool in which students can readily add new protocols.
WebLan-Designer (Sarkar & Petrova, 2005a): WebLan-Designer is a
Web-based tool for interactive teaching and learning both wired and
wireless LAN design. Using the modeling page, students can experiment
with a variety of LAN topologies and channel access protocols. Students
can also test their knowledge of various aspects of LAN design by using
two interactive quizzes. Each quiz consists of a set of more than 25 multiple-
choice questions, each with four possible answers. At the end of each quiz
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 9
session, the system displays the total score, which allows students to assess
their prior knowledge about LAN design. The system provides a friendly
environment for interactive quiz management. This is particularly useful for
the teacher to update quizzes on a regular basis.
DlpSim (King, 2004): DlpSim (data link protocol simulator) may be
suitable for classroom use to enhance teaching protocols through simula-
tion. However, its emphasis is exclusively on data link layer protocols.
WebTrafMon (Hong, Kwon, & Kim, 1999): The WebTrafMon is a
Web-based system for network analysis and traffic monitoring. However,
the system focuses exclusively on network analysis and traffic monitoring,
and the system needs to be configured and set up for use in a teaching
environment.
NetMod (Bachmann, Segal, Srinivasan, & Teorey, 1991): The NetMod
is a network modeling tool which uses some simple analytical models,
providing designers of large, interconnected local area networks with an in-
depth analysis of the potential performance of such systems. The tool can
be used in university, industrial, or governmental campus networking
environments and might serve as a useful demonstration in the classroom.
iNetwork (see Chapter III): iNetwork is an interactive software tool for
teaching and learning data communication networks. iNetwork allows
students to assemble and build customised networks using networking
devices such as workstations, switches, routers, DNS servers, and DHCP
servers. Students can simulate data communication between networking
devices and identify and troubleshoot problems in their custom-built net-
works. Through experimenting with key parameters, students gain insights
into the key concepts of communication network design and analysis.
A number of open source tools exist for modeling and simulation of computer
hardware and processors. We briefly review some existing tools, suitable for
classroom use, that have been reported in the literature.
Logisim (Burch, 2002): Logisim is a software tool for logic circuit design
and simulation which is suitable for classroom use. It has a graphical user
interface, which helps students to gain a better understanding of the design
and simulation of logic circuits. Logisim is a Java application and can be run
on both Windows and UNIX workstations.
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10 Sarkar
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 11
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12 Sarkar
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 13
impacts. According to the CSI/FBI report, losses from security breaches have
risen rapidly in recent years and exceeded $200 million in 2003. The information
security field is very diverse and combines disciplines such as computer science,
business, information science, engineering, education, psychology, criminal
justice, public administration, law, and accounting. The broad interdisciplinary
nature of information security requires several specialists to collaboratively
teach the curriculum and integrate different perspectives and teaching styles into
a cohesive delivery. Chapter X presents a pedagogical model based on a
teaching hospital concept that addresses the issues introduced above. By using
a specific information risk analysis case, the chapter highlights the basic concept
of the teaching hospital and its application in teaching and learning contexts.
Chapter XI. It is important that students grasp the basic concepts of commu-
nication between a processor and external devices, and become familiar with
tools that are available to implement such systems. Chapter XI describes the
operation of the processor bus and explains how I/O devices are connected to
it. It also discusses advanced I/O techniques and how the operating systems use
I/O to access a computers resources.
Chapter XII. Computer hardware, number systems, CPU, memory, and I/O
(input/output) ports are topics often included in computer science, electronics,
and engineering courses as fundamental concepts involved in computer hard-
ware. We believe that students learn computer hardware fundamentals better if
they are given practical learning exercises that illustrate theoretical concepts.
However, only a limited range of material designed specifically to supplement the
teaching of computer hardware concepts is publicly available. Chapter XII
describes a set of PIC-based projects that give students a hands-on introduction
to computer hardware concepts and are suitable for classroom use in under-
graduate computer hardware courses.
Chapter XIII. Students often get a good score in written exams but fail to apply
their knowledge when trying to solve real-world problems. This applies particu-
larly to computer hardware courses in which students are required to learn and
memorize many key terms and definitions. Also, teachers often find it difficult
to gauge students progress when teaching computer hardware fundamentals
courses. These problems are related to the learning process, so it is necessary
to find an appropriate instructional model to overcome these problems. Chapter
XIII describes a Web-based tool called an assistant tool based on problem-based
learning (PBL) theory that not only assists instructors in teaching computer
hardware fundamentals but also overcomes the above-mentioned problems.
Chapter XIV. Computer architecture educators are constantly looking for
modular tools that allow processors to be configured in a transparent way; the
visualization enables rapid verification that modules have been connected in the
desired manner. Thus, simple experiments which demonstrate, for example, the
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14 Sarkar
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Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 15
three computers with each computer capable of running three operating systems,
such as UNIX, Linux, and Windows Server 2003. This requires a large computer
laboratory with 60 computers in total. In addition, it is difficult to manage the
laboratory to accommodate students from other classes. For example, once one
class leaves the laboratory, another class of 20 students needs to start immedi-
ately, with each person configuring Windows Server 2003 Active Directory on
four computers. This requires another large computer laboratory with eighty
computers. Chapter XVIII presents VMware as a teaching and learning tool to
overcome the problems mentioned above. Under the VMware system, students
do not require administrative privileges on physical machines. Consequently,
they have complete freedom to experiment within their own virtualised environ-
ments.
Conclusion
Because of the high demand for people with computer networking and hardware
skills worldwide, computer networking and hardware courses are becoming
increasingly popular in both tertiary and private training institutions. Unfortunately,
motivating students to learn computer networking and hardware concepts is often
difficult because students appear to find the subject technical and rather dry.
Interactive teaching and learning using software/hardware tools is an attractive
solution to the problem of motivating students to learn computer networking and
hardware fundamentals. This chapter describes the basic concepts of computer
networking and hardware fundamentals and highlights various tools for interac-
tive teaching and learning computer networking and hardware concepts. It also
provides an outline of the remainder of the book.
Summary
Computer networks can be classified as local area networks, metropolitan area
networks, and wide area networks. Each class of network has certain charac-
teristics that make it suitable for certain networking applications. A basic
knowledge of network topology, channel access protocol, network traffic, and
networking devices is needed when designing and implementing a LAN.
The term computer hardware refers to the physical components of a computer
system those that one can see and touch. The CPU, memory, and input and
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permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
16 Sarkar
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permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
Introduction to Computer Networking and Hardware Concepts 17
Review Questions
1. What is a network? Discuss the basic difference between a local area
network and a wide area network.
2. List and describe three important components of a communication system.
3. Define the following networking terms: LAN, MAN, WAN, protocol, peer-
to-peer network, and server-based network.
4. You are given the following components: one server, 10 PCs, and one
printer. Draw a diagram to show how the above components can be
connected to construct a LAN using: (a) bus topology, (b) ring topology, and
(c) star topology. Use a hub/switch when appropriate.
5. Discuss the importance of interactive teaching in introductory computer
networking and hardware courses.
6. List and describe four main components of a computer system.
7. List and describe two main components of a central processing unit.
8. Describe the function of address, data, and control buses.
9. Draw a diagram to illustrate the interaction between a CPU and the main
memory.
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18 Sarkar
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20 Sarkar
Section II
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