In Computer Networks, the term unicast and multicast are the information transmission methods. In unicast, one station transfers the information to only one receiver station. In multicast, the sender transfers the information to a group of interested receiver stations. The fundamental difference between unicast and multicast is that unicast is one-to-one communication and multicast is a one-to-many communication process. Let us study in brief the difference between unicast and multicast … [Read more...]

Bridge and gateway, are the backbone devices of the networking. A "bridge" operates on two layers, a physical layer, and a data link layer. A "gateway" operates on all the seven layers of the OSI model. The primary difference between a bridge and a gateway is that a "bridge is used only to transfer the frame to the expected destination, in a most efficient path". A gateway "converts the format of the packet in one protocol to the format of the packet in another protocol". Let study, the … [Read more...]

"Go-Back-N Protocol and "Selective Repeat Protocol" are the sliding window protocols. The sliding window protocol is primarily an error control protocol, i.e. it is a method of error detection and error correction. The basic difference between go-back-n protocol and selective repeat protocol is that the "go-back-n protocol" retransmits all the frames that lie after the frame which is damaged or lost. The "selective repeat protocol" retransmits only that frame which is damaged or … [Read more...]

In the previous article, we have discussed Serial and Parallel Transmission. As we know in Serial Transmission data is sent bit by bit, in such a way that each bit follows another. It is of two types namely, Synchronous and Asynchronous Transmission. One of the major differences is that in Synchronous Transmission, the sender and receiver should have synchronized clocks before data transmission. Whereas Asynchronous Transmission does not require a clock, but it adds a parity bit to the data … [Read more...]

TCP and UDP are the transport layer protocols that are responsible to provide end-to-end communication. However, TCP is a connection-oriented protocol whereas, UDP is a connection-less protocol. Do you know why we require these protocols? Well, the layer 3 protocol that works on the IP is usually connectionless, unacknowledgeable and unreliable. Thus, these protocols don't provide the guaranteed delivery of data. So, there was a need for a protocol that would resolve the problems like … [Read more...]

For transferring data between computers, laptops, two methods are used, namely, Serial Transmission and Parallel Transmission. There are some similarities and dissimilarities between them. One of the primary difference is that; in Serial Transmission, data is sent bit by bit whereas, in Parallel Transmission a byte (8 bits) or character is sent at a time. The similarity is that both are used to connect and communicate with peripheral devices. Furthermore, the parallel transmission is … [Read more...]

Most of us get confused between the terms Internet and Intranet. Although there is a lot of disparity between them, one of the differences is that the Internet is open to all and is accessible by everyone. Intranet requires authenticated login as an organization privately owns it. As the internet is open for all, there was a need to develop a network that would specifically work for a certain range like within an organization or private community, school, college, university, etc. This is the … [Read more...]

The “Antivirus” and “Internet Security” are the software that protects the user from malicious programs by blocking and removing them. There are some similarities and dissimilarities between them. One of the major differences is that Antivirus protects the computer from viruses whereas, Internet Security provides protection from spyware, viruses, phishing, spam, and email attachments. Internet security is considered as an umbrella term for the division of computer security that handles the … [Read more...]

Virus and Worms are malware that is usually created to steal crucial information from the victim's computer. These are the malicious programs, which enter our computers through CDs, Pen drives, email attachments and the files we download from the Internet. The major difference between the virus and worms is that a virus spreads only when the user opens the infected program whereas the worms spread by replicating themselves to the computers connected to the network. A class of software that we … [Read more...]

The Network allows computers to connect and communicate with different computers via any medium. LAN, MAN, and WAN are the three types of the network designed to operate over the area they cover. There are some similarities and dissimilarities between them. One of the significant differences is in the geographical area they cover, i.e. LAN covers the smallest area; MAN covers an area larger than LAN and WAN comprises the largest of all. Furthermore, LAN networks rely on the hardware and … [Read more...]