Chapter 1: Introduction
Business Data Communications, 5e
Information & Communication
• Networking is critical to the new corporate
structures emerging in today’s businesses
• Benefits of good networks
– make geographically dispersed companies
more manageable
– help top-heavy companies trim down middle
management
– help companies break down barriers between
divisions.
Trends Driving
Data Communication
• Traffic growth
– Voice & data; local and long distance
• Development of new services
– In turn drives increased traffic
• Advances in technology
– Encourage and support increased growth and
development
Key Technology Trends
• Faster and cheaper computing and
communications
• Increasingly “intelligent” networks
• Growing importance of Internet, intranet
and extranet applications
• Increasing use of and dependence on
mobile technology
Business Drivers
Convergence
•
•
•
•
Applications
Services
Management
Infrastructure
Business Information
Requirements
•
•
•
•
Voice communications
Data communications
Image communications
Video communications
The Internet &
Distributed Applications
• Key infrastructure for supporting
distributed applications
• Internet, including intranets and extranets
• TCP/IP protocol suite
• Distributed applications
• Client-Server Architectures and Intranets
Network Types
• Wide Area Networks
–
–
–
–
Circuit Switched
Packet Switched
Frame Relay
ATM
• Local Area Networks (LANs)
• Wireless Networks
• Metropolitan Area Networks
Transmission of Information
• Transmission and transmission media
– e.g. twisted pair, fiber, wireless, coax
• Communication Techniques
– encoding, interface, protocols
• Transmission efficiency
– multiplexing, compression
Management Issues
• Network Security
• Network Management
Communications Standards
• Importance
• Process
• Organizations
Resources
• Web Sites
• Usenet Newsgroups
• Journals
– Business-oriented
– Technical
Telecommunication
• Uses electricity to transmit messages
• Speed of electricity dramatically extends
reach
– Sound waves: ~670 mph
– Electricity: ~186,000 (speed of light)
• Bandwidth= information-carrying capacity
of a channel