Data Communications Industry

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Chapter 1

• Data Communications Industry

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Objectives of Chapter 1

• To understand the meaning of data communications
• To study the basic components of data
  communications as an industry
• To understand standards and regulations
• To have a general idea of the data communications
  industry challenges and solutions.
• GOAL introduce you to the industry of data
  communications.

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What is Data Communication

• Subset of Telecommunications.
• It is the encoded transmission of data via
  electrical, optical or wireless means between
  computer or network processors.

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You will never know all there is to know about
data communications
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Data Communications Industry

• Forces that derive the data communication as an
  industry
• The Regulatory Process
• The Standards Process
• Manufacturing, Research and Technology

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Data Communications Industry

• Interacting components in data communication
  industry

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Figure 1-1 The Data Communications Industry A
Series of Interacting Components
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The Regulatory Process
Figure 1-2 Systems Relationship of Regulatory
Agencies and Carriers
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The Regulatory Process

• We must understand first the basic
  telecommunications infrastructure and the
  components of PSTN (Public Switched Telephone
  Network)
• LATA (Local access transport areas) established
  as a result of the breakup of ATT to segment
  long-distance traffic
• LEC (local exchange carrier) traffic within a
  LATA is reserved for the local phone company,
  i.e, the LEC
• Local loops phones connected to the PSTN via
  circuits
• CO (central office) a facility belonging to
  local phone company which switches calls to
  proper destination
• IXC (inter-exchange carrier) Phone traffic for
  locations outside of local LATA must be handed
  off to the long-distance (ICS) of the customer
  choice.
• POP (point of presence) competing long-distance
  carriers wishing to do business in given LATA
  maintain a switching office called POP

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Figure 1-3 Basic Telecommunications
Infrastructure
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Figure 1-4 Area Codes vs. LATAs
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The Standards Process

• A Standard is an agreed upon protocol
• Thanks to standards users can be confident that
  devices will operate as specified and will
  interoperate successfully

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Standardization Process

• 7 Steps to make standards
• Recognize the need for a standard
• Formation of a committee
• Information gathering
• Tentative standards issues
• Feedback on tentative standards is gathered
• Final standards issued
• Compliance with final standards

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Organizations

• Standard making organizations are two categories
• Officially-sanctioned
• Ad-Hoc (task force, user group, interest
  groupetc.)

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Organizations

• Usually vendor-initiated ad-hoc standard making
  organizations are organized into opposing camps
  with users left as victims between multiple
  standards for a single operation.
• Most often the development of a new technology
  precedes its standardization. Standardization
  process can be very political

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Figure 1-8 Technology Development and Standards
Creation
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Confusion in standards

• Two issues can lead to confusion and might cause
  bad purchase decisions
• Standards Extension
• The Jargon Jungle.
• There is no data communications police

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Manufacturing, Research and Technology

• Supply and demand as driving forces of data
  communications.
• Technology push / Demand pull

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Manufacturing, Research and Technology

• Technology should tie business demand for network
  services to carriers supply of these services
• Business demand available technology emerging
  network services

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Challenges and Solutions

• In the business of data communications there are
  lots of challenges.
• Network analyst must identify key challenges to
  success in data communication field
• We will address two challenges
• Investment Vs. Productivity (Productivity
  Paradox)
• Data Compatibility

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Investment Vs. Productivity

• Something is wrong with an analysis and design
  process which recommends technology
  implementation that fails to meet the strategic
  business objective of increased productivity.
• We need a structured methodology to insure that
  the network implemented actually meets the
  business objectives
• For this we introduce The Top-Down Approach

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Figure 1-10 The Top-Down Model
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Benchmarking

• How can we measure the impact of the implemented
  network on the business process, in other words,
  how can we be sure that eventually the
  implemented network really meets the business
  requirements.
• We use Benchmarking tying network cost to
  business value

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Benchmarking

• Examine and document quantifiable improvements to
  business process
• Measure customer satisfaction, maybe by surveys
• Compare actual implementation cost with the cost
  of purchasing similar services from outside
  vendor (outsourcing), or examine other companies
  in the same market to compare cost.

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Connectivity and Compatibility

• Compatibility Bridging the communications gap
  between two or more technology components (HW or
  SW)
• This gap is referred to as Interface, it can be
  HW-to-HW or SW-to-SW or HW-to-SW.

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Figure 1-12 Interfaces, Protocols, and
Compatibility
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Compatibility

• Compatibility is possible because we have
  Protocols
• A Protocol is a set of rules about how
  communicating components can talk to each other.

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Protocols

• Protocols can be proprietary or open
• They can also be officially sanctioned or market
  driven (de facto)
• The sum of all protocols employed in a particular
  computer is referred to as protocol stack

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Protocols

• The problem with protocols is that they are too
  many.
• How can a network analyst keep track of all the
  potential interfaces and their associated
  protocols.
• So, protocols must be organized in some kind of
  framework or most likely known as communications
  architecture
• Two of the most popular communications
  architecture are the 7-layer OSI model and the
  4-layer Internet Suite of Protocols (or TCP/IP)
  model

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The OSI model

• Open Systems Interconnection
• It is neither a protocol nor a group of
  protocols.
• It is a standardized empty framework into which
  protocols can be listed to perform effective
  network analysis and design
• Each layer depends on previous layer to perform
  some function (transparency)
• Protocol Conversion

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Internet Suite of Protocols

• Known as TCP/IP protocol suite or TCP/IP
  architecture
• TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol / Internet
  Protocol
• Like the OSI model but it has 4 layers

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Figure 1-14 Internet Suite of Protocols vs. OSI
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I-P-O Model

• Input Processing Output
• Ex. Connecting the computer (serial port) to the
  printer (parallel port)
• Identify and document the process you want to
  make on the input and what kind of output it
  should provide.

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The Data Communications Profession Professional
Development

• What critical skills are required for data
  communications professionals. To know the skills
  you must know the environment in which they will
  work, which is a knowledge-based economy.
• Data Communications professionals are thought of
  today more as partners or change agents rather
  than consultants.

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Required Skills

• Speak the language of Business
• Demonstrate the ability to solve business
  problems in a partnership role
• Demonstrate the ability to look outside their own
  expertise for solutions
• Understand the need for lifelong learning
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate technology as
  to cost/benefit
• Understand comparative value and proper
  applications of available network services
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and
  orally, with both technology oriented people and
  business management personnel

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Figure 1-16 Critical Skills for Data
Communications Professionals
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Professional Certification

• Why seek certification?
• It is an indication of mastery of a particular
  vendors technology, that may be important in
  some employment situations
• The problem with certification
• The amount of material required to earn a
  certificate
• The amount of continuing education and experience
  required to retain this certificate
• Vendor-specific certifications do not provide the
  broad background required for todays multivendor
  internetworks