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NETWORK SOFTWARE
 Differences between Apps and Software :
APPS SOFTWARE
 Application software is a
package to perform a specific
task .
 Software is a set of
instructions or data that
operates the hardware.
 Application is a type of
software that does a certain
task .
 Software is an
encompassing term for
computer data .
 Application software os
always executable .
 Software may executable
or may not be .
 Application software is
operation system based
 Software is not often
operating system based.
 Application software need
user interaction for
functioning.
 Software does not need
user interaction for
functioning
 Application software is used
only by end users.
 Software is used as
mediator between user
and hardware .

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 Difference between hardware , firmware and software
HARDWARE FIRMWARE SOFTWARE
Physical elements
of a computer or
electronic system
Firmware is a special form
of software that enables a
device to perform
functions without the
need of installing
additional software.
A collection of
instructions that
tells the computer
how to perform a
task.
Has four main
categories : input
devices, output
devices , secondary
storage devices and
Internal
components.
Firmware is a program
code stored in hardware
devices , typically in non
volatile memory such as
read only memory or flash
memory.
Mainly divided into
system software
and application
software .
Developed using
electronics and
other materials.
Firmware gives life to the
hardware devices,
programming it to give
instructions in order to
communicate with other
devices and perform basic
input/output task.
Developed by
writing instructions
using a programing
language.
Ex : keyboard
mouse, monitor,
printer, hard disk,
CPU, RAM, ROM
A basic input/ output
system (BIOS) chip is a
common example of a
firmware.
Ex : Ms word,
Excel, MSSQL,
MySQL , photoshop

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 Difference between System Software and Application Software
SYSTEM SOFTWARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Computer software designed to
provide a platform to other
software.
Software designed to perform a
group of coordinated functions or
task for benifit.
Manages resources and helps to
run hardware and application
software.
perform a specific task according
to their type
Runs when the system starts and
runs till the end.
Runs when the user required
Developed using languages like
C++ , C, Assembly.
Developed using languages like C,
C++, Visual Basic
Essential for the proper
functioning of a system.
Not extremely important for the
functioning of the system.
Ex : operating system , language
processor, etc.
Ex: word processor, spreadsheet,
web browsers, etc
ADDRESSING : To uniquely identity each host or computer or device
participating in network. This is called addressing . Network
addresses are designed to be unique identifiers across the network .

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There are two types of addressing :
 Physical addressing : MAC addressing
 Logical addressing : IP addressing
MAC ADDRESS : A MAC address is a hardware identification number
that uniquely identity each device on a network . The MAC address is
manufactured into every network card , such as an Ethernet card or
WiFi card and therefore cant be changed.
IP ADDRESS : An internet protocol address is a numerical label
assigned to each device connected to computer network that uses the
internet protocol for communication . An IP address serves two main
functions :
 Host or netowk interface identifier
 Location addressing
There are two version of IP addressing :
 IPv4 : Internet protocol version 4 defines an IP address as a 32
bit number.
 IPv6 : A new version of IP (IPv6), using 128 bits of IP address.
CLASSES OF IPv4 :
 CLASS A : The first bit of the first octel is always set 0 (zero).
Thus the first octel ranges from 1 - 127,
Class A address only include IP starting 1 to 126 only. The IP range
127 is reserved for loopback IP address.

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Class A IP address format is thus : N HHH
 Loopback IP address : An address that sends outgoing signals
back to the same computer for testing. The loopback address
allows a network administrator to treat the local machine as if it
were a remote machine.
 CLASS B : An IP address which belongs to class B has the first
two bits in the first octel set to 10 ,
Class B IP Address range from 128 to 191.
Class B address format is : NN HH
 CLASS C : The first octel class C IP address has its first 3 bits to
110.
Class C IP address range is from 192 to 223.
Class C IP address format is : NNN H
 CLASS D : Very first four bits of the first octel in Class D IP
address are set to 1110,
Class D IP address range from 224 to 239. Class D is reserved for
multicasting. In multicasting data is not destined for particular host.
 CLASS E : This IP address is reserved for experimental purpose
only for R&D or study. IP addresses in this class range from 240
to 255.

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PRIVATE IP ADDRESS : Private IP address is used with a local network.
For class A the range of private IP address is 10. For class B the range
of private IP address is 172. For class C the range of private IP address
is 192.
PUBLIC IP ADDRESS : Public IP address is used to identity a machine
on the internet . Public IP address is used to communicate outside
the network.
HOST : A host is a computer or other device that communicates with
other hosts on a network . Host on a network include clients and
servers - that send or receive data , services or applications. Hosts
typically do not include intermediary network devices like switches
and routers , which are instead often categorized as nodes.

Network software