Telecommunications and Networks

1. 4 TelecommunicationsandNetworks

2. Learning Objectives 4 • Identify major developments and trends in the industries, technologies, and business applications of telecommunications and Internet technologies. • Provide examples of the business value of Internet, intranet, and extranet applications.

3. Learning Objectives (continued) 4 • Identify the basic components, functions, and types of telecommunications networks used in business. • Explain the functions of major types of telecommunications network hardware, software, media, and services.

4. Section I 4 • The Networked Enterprise

5. Networking the Enterprise 4 • Networking business and employees • Connecting them to customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

6. Trends in Telecommunications 4

7. Trends in Telecommunications (continued) 4 • Industry • More competitive • More options for the firm • Technology • Unrestricted connectivity • Easy access for end users • Open systems • Use common standards for hardware, software, applications, & networking.

8. Trends in Telecommunications (continued) 4 • Technology (continued) • High degree of interoperability • Digital networks • Higher transmission speeds • Moves larger amounts of information • Greater economy • Lower error rates • Multiple types of communications on the same circuits

9. 4 Trends in Telecommunications (continued) • Technology (continued) • Fiber-optic lines & cellular, PCS, satellite & other wireless technologies • Faster transmission speeds

10. 4 Trends in Telecommunications (continued) • Business applications • Dramatic increase in the number of feasible telecommunication applications. • Cut costs, reduce lead times, shorten response times, support e-commerce, improve collaboration, share resources, lock in customers & suppliers, & develop new products & services

11. Business Value of TelecommunicationsNetworks 4

12. The Internet 4 • A network of networks • Popular uses • E-mail • Instant messaging • Browsing the World Wide Web • Newsgroups and chat rooms

13. The Internet (continued) 4 • The business value of the Internet

14. Intranets 4 • Within an organization • Uses Internet technologies • Business value of Intranets • Used for information sharing, communication, collaboration, & support of business processes. • Web publishing • Comparatively easy, attractive, & lower cost alternative for publishing & accessing multimedia business information

15. Intranets (continued) 4 • Business Operations & Management • Used for developing & deploying critical business applications • Supports operations and managerial decision making

16. Extranets 4 • Network links that use Internet technologies to interconnect the firm’s intranet with the intranets of customers, suppliers, or other business partners • Consultants, subcontractors, business prospects, & others

17. Extranets (continued) 4 • Business value • Improve communication with customers and business partners • Gain competitive advantage in • Product development • Cost savings • Marketing • Distribution • Leveraging their partnerships

18. Section II 4 • Telecommunications Network Alternatives

19. Telecommunications Network Alternatives 4

20. A Telecommunications Network Model 4

21. A Telecommunications Network Model (continued) 4 • Consists of five basic components • Terminals • Any input/output device that uses telecommunication networks to transmit or receive data • Telecommunication processors • Support data transmission and reception between terminals and computers

22. A Telecommunications Network Model (continued) 4 • Telecommunications channels • The medium over which data are transmitted and received • Computers • Interconnected by telecommunications networks • Telecommunications control software • Control telecommunications activities & manage the functions of telecommunications networks

23. Types of Telecommunications Networks 4 • Wide Area Networks (WAN) • Cover a large geographic area. • Local Area Networks (LAN) • Connect computers & other information processing devices within a limited physical area. • Connected via ordinary telephone wiring, coaxial cable, or wireless radio & infrared systems

24. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4 • Virtual Private Networks • A secure network that uses the Internet as its main backbone network, but relies on fire walls and other security features

25. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4

26. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4 • Client/Server Networks • Clients – end user PCs or NCs • Server – helps with application processing and also manages the network

27. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4

28. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4 • Network computing • “the network is the computer” • Thin clients process small application programs called “applets.”

29. Types of Telecommunications Networks (continued) 4 • Peer-to-Peer (P2P) • Two major models • Central server architecture • Pure peer-to-peer

30. Telecommunications Media 4 • Twisted-pair wire • Coaxial cable • Minimizes interference and distortion • Allows high-speed data transmission • Fiber optics • Glass fiber that conducts pulses of light generated by lasers • Size and weight reduction • Increased speed and carrying capacity

31. Telecommunications Media (continued) 4

32. Wireless Technologies 4 • Terrestrial Microwave • Line-of-sight path between relay stations spaced approximately 30 miles apart. • Communications Satellites • Geosynchronous orbits • Serve as relay stations for communications signals transmitted from earth stations

33. Wireless Technologies (continued) 4 • Cellular & PCS Systems • Each cell is typically from one to several square miles in area. • Each cell has its own low-power transmitter or radio relay antenna. • Computers & other communications processors coordinate & control the transmissions to/from mobile users as they move from one cell to another

34. Wireless Technologies (continued) 4 • Wireless LANs • Spread spectrum • Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) • Wireless Web • Uses Web-enabled information appliances • Very thin clients

35. Telecommunications Processors 4 • Modems (modulation/demodulation) • Changes signals from analog to digital and back to analog • Multiplexers • Allows a single communication channel to carry simultaneous data transmissions from many terminals

36. Telecommunications Processors (continued) 4 • Internetwork Processors • Switches • Makes connections between telecomm circuits so a message can reach its intended destination • Router • Interconnects networks based on different rules or protocols

37. Telecommunications Processors (continued) 4 • Hub • Port switching communications processor • Gateway • A processor that interconnects networks that use different communications architecture

38. Telecommunications Software 4 • Provides a variety of communications support services including connecting & disconnecting communications links & establishing communications parameters such as transmission speed, mode, and direction.

39. Telecommunications Software (continued) 4 • Network Management • Traffic management • Security • Network monitoring • Capacity planning

40. Network Topologies 4 • Star • Ties end user computers to a central computer • Considered the least reliable • Ring (sometimes called Token Ring) • Ties local computer processors together in a ring on a more equal basis. • Considered more reliable & less costly

41. Network Topologies (continued) 4 • Bus • Local processors share the same bus, or communications channel • Tree is a variation which ties several bus networks together

42. Network Topologies (continued) 4

43. Network Architectures & Protocols 4 • Protocols • A standard set of rules & procedures for the control of communications in a network • Standards for the physical characteristics of cables and connectors • Network Architecture • Goal is to promote an open, simple, flexible, efficient telecommunications environment

44. Network Architectures and Protocols (continued) 4 • OSI Model • TCP/IP • Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol • Used by the Internet and all intranets and extranets

45. Bandwidth Alternatives 4 • Bandwidth is the frequency range of a telecommunications network • Determines the channel’s maximum transmission rate • Measured in bits per second (bps) or baud • Narrow-band • Low-speed transmission • Broadband • High-speed transmission

46. Switching Alternatives 4 • Circuit switching • Packet switching • Cell switching

47. Discussion Questions 4 • The Internet is the driving force behind developments in telecommunications, networks, and other information technologies. Do you agree or disagree? • How is the trend toward open systems, connectivity, and interoperability related to business use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets?

48. Discussion Questions (continued) 4 • How will wireless information appliances and services affect the business use of the Internet and the Web? • What are some of the business benefits and management challenges of client/server networks? Network computing? Peer-to-peer networks?

49. Discussion Questions (continued) 4 • What is the business value driving so many companies to rapidly install and extend intranets throughout their organizations? • What strategic competitive benefits do you see in a company’s use of extranets?

50. Discussion Questions (continued) 4 • Do you think that business use of the Internet, intranets, and extranets has changed what businesspeople expect from information technology in their jobs? • Do you believe that the insatiable demand for everything wireless, video, and Web-enabled will be the driving force behind developments in telecommunications, networking, and computing technologies for the foreseeable future?