Broadcast Networks In computer networking, you will come across terms such as broadcasting and broadcast network. This article aims at providing you information such as what a broadcast network is, how it’s done and a brief introduction to multicasting.
What is A Broadcast Network? Have you ever heard of TV broadcasting? What does that mean? A TV program is broadcasted which means it's sent to everyone who has permission to receive and watch the program. Similarly, in a broadcast network, messages are sent and those messages are received by all computers in the network. How A Broadcast Network Works? The messages, termed as packets according to networking terminology, travel across the single shared medium for communication and are received by all computers. These messages will have address information regarding the intended recipient. Each computer, as it receives these packets, will analyze them and find out if it’s meant for them. If not, they simply ignore these packets. If they are the intended recipient, the packet is processed. This method can be applied in the following ways A packet sent to a single computer A packet sent to all computers in the network A packet sent to a select subgroup computer in a network We discussed how the broadcast network works for a single computer. For all computers in the network, the only difference is that, instead of one computer processing the packet, all computers will process the packet. This method is called broadcasting. The third method is sending the packet to a subgroup in a network. The subgroup can have 2 or more computers and each computer may be part of any number of subgroups. This is called multicasting. The first bit is reserved to indicate multicasting in a packet and the remaining n-1 bit in the address field is used to indicate the group to which the packet is to be sent. Point-To-Point Network A point-to-point network, compared to a broadcast network has many connections between computers. Often times, for a message to reach its destination, it has to traverse a number of intermediate computers. It’s kind of like a hierarchy like if you need to reach the president, you have to go through a number of other officials. We use broadcast networks for geographically small networks and point-to-point networks for larger networks.
In the case of point-to-point networks, routing algorithms play a major role in deciding the routes that the packet must take in order to reach the destination in the minimum amount of time. LAN - Local Area Network A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet. In addition to operating in a limited space, LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring. WAN - Wide Area Network As the term implies, a WAN spans a large physical distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth. A WAN is a geographically-dispersed collection of LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a LAN address and a WAN address. A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management. WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for connectivity over the longer distances. LAN, WAN and Home Networking Residences typically employ one LAN and connect to the Internet WAN via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a broadband modem. The ISP provides a WAN IP address to the modem, and all of the computers on the home network use LAN (so-called private ) IP addresses. All computers on the home LAN can communicate directly with each other but must go through a central gateway, typically a broadband router, to reach the ISP. Other Types of Area Networks While LAN and WAN are by far the most popular network types mentioned, you may also commonly see references to these others: Wireless Local Area Network - a LAN based on WiFi wireless network technology Metropolitan Area Network - a network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city. A MAN is typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation. Campus Area Network - a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus. Storage Area Network - connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel. System Area Network - links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area Network.
What is A Broadcast Network? Have you ever heard of TV broadcasting? What does that mean? A TV program is broadcasted which means it's sent to everyone who has permission to receive and watch the program. Similarly, in a broadcast network, messages are sent and those messages are received by all computers in the network. How A Broadcast Network Works? The messages, termed as packets according to networking terminology, travel across the single shared medium for communication and are received by all computers. These messages will have address information regarding the intended recipient. Each computer, as it receives these packets, will analyze them and find out if it’s meant for them. If not, they simply ignore these packets. If they are the intended recipient, the packet is processed. This method can be applied in the following ways A packet sent to a single computer A packet sent to all computers in the network A packet sent to a select subgroup computer in a network We discussed how the broadcast network works for a single computer. For all computers in the network, the only difference is that, instead of one computer processing the packet, all computers will process the packet. This method is called broadcasting. The third method is sending the packet to a subgroup in a network. The subgroup can have 2 or more computers and each computer may be part of any number of subgroups. This is called multicasting. The first bit is reserved to indicate multicasting in a packet and the remaining n-1 bit in the address field is used to indicate the group to which the packet is to be sent. Point-To-Point Network A point-to-point network, compared to a broadcast network has many connections between computers. Often times, for a message to reach its destination, it has to traverse a number of intermediate computers. It’s kind of like a hierarchy like if you need to reach the president, you have to go through a number of other officials. We use broadcast networks for geographically small networks and point-to-point networks for larger networks.
In the case of point-to-point networks, routing algorithms play a major role in deciding the routes that the packet must take in order to reach the destination in the minimum amount of time. LAN - Local Area Network A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet. In addition to operating in a limited space, LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring. WAN - Wide Area Network As the term implies, a WAN spans a large physical distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the Earth. A WAN is a geographically-dispersed collection of LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a LAN address and a WAN address. A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management. WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for connectivity over the longer distances. LAN, WAN and Home Networking Residences typically employ one LAN and connect to the Internet WAN via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a broadband modem. The ISP provides a WAN IP address to the modem, and all of the computers on the home network use LAN (so-called private ) IP addresses. All computers on the home LAN can communicate directly with each other but must go through a central gateway, typically a broadband router, to reach the ISP. Other Types of Area Networks While LAN and WAN are by far the most popular network types mentioned, you may also commonly see references to these others: Wireless Local Area Network - a LAN based on WiFi wireless network technology Metropolitan Area Network - a network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city. A MAN is typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or large corporation. Campus Area Network - a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus. Storage Area Network - connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel. System Area Network - links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area Network.
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