Computer Network : Difference between Hardware, Software and Firmware

 Agenda

1. Difference between Hardware, Software, and Firmware 

What is Hardware 

• It is a physical component of the system/it's the physical part of the computer

• It can be touched by us.

Examples- 

• Keyboard, mouse, cabinet, monitor, printer 

What is Firmware 

• It is a kind of software that is associated with your hardware.

• It is installed at the time of manufacturing of hardware such as keyboards, hard drives, BIOS, graphic cards, and printers.

• It performs the basic functions of any hardware.

• You can update.

Firmware is the foundation of the software stack that computer hardware uses for basic operations and to run applications.

Types of Firmware:

1. Low-level firmware 
2. High-level firmware 
3. Subsystem firmware 

Examples in detail

• If the user is pressing any of the keys on the keyboard, then the system will know what to display or what to perform right!!

• On your keyboard there is a start button/power button, now when you press the start button/power button then how system identified that it's time to reboot /restart/shutdown?

• In your washing machine, When you go to wash the clothes then you set a time 5minute by the timer button (that is hardware) now think, how at the preset time timer started to notify you by alarming, how the system identified that after 5 min I have to give the alarm.

well, these all basic functions happened because of firmware that is associated with your hardware.

What is Software 

• A collection of instructions that tells the computer how to perform a particular task.

• It is generally stored in user-accessible memory. 

• Software is changed constantly.

• Software can be very big while the firmware is very small.

It can be of three types :

1. System software
2. Utility software 
3. Application software  

Computer Network : Transmission Modes

Agenda

1. What is Computer Networking
2. Types of Transmission Modes in Computer Networks

Computer Networking

• It is an interconnected computing device that can exchange data and share resources with each other. 

• These networked devices use a system of rules, called communications protocols, to transmit information over physical or wireless technologies.

Types of Transmission Modes in Computer networks 

There are three types of Transmission modes in computer networks:

Simplex Mode:

• This is unidirectional.

• Sender can only send the data and re can only receive the data.

• Direction of message transmission: sender to receiver.

Examples -

• Mouse/keyboard/joystick to the computer
• Fire alarm system
• Loudspeaker

Half Duplex Mode:

• Both communication points communicate to each other or we can say the sender can send the message to receiver and vice versa but not at the same time.

• This means that while one device is sending, the other device can only receive, and vice versa.

Examples -

• A walkie-talkie
• A two-way radio that has a push-to-talk button
• Browsing the internet (requests, responses)
• Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Full Duplex Mode:

• It is approx the same as Half duplex mode.

• The only difference is that-Sender can send the message and the receiver  can receive the message and vice versa at the same time

Examples -

• Video calls/video conferencing
• Audio calls
• Live chats