COMPUTER NETWORK-1

Part A
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable. For data communications to occur, the
communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a combination of
hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics:
1.delivery 2. Accuracy 3.timeliness 4. jitter.
1. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be
received by the intended device or user and only by that device or user.
2. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been
altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the
same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission.
4. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that
video packets are sent every 30 ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30-ms delay and others
with 40-ms delay, an uneven quality in the video is the result.
1.1.1 Components
A data communications system has five components (see Figure 1.1).

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1. Message.: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular

forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4. Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,
coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
5. Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by a
person who speaks only Japanese.

1.1.2 Data Representation

Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and
video.

1. Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (0s or1s).
Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a
code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding. Today, the prevalent coding
system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any
language in the world.
“The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)”
2.Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used
to represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify
mathematical operations.

3.Images

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Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of
a matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the pixel
depends on the resolution.
For example, an image can be divided into 1000 pixels or 10,000 pixels. In the second case,
there is a better representation of the image (better resolution), but more memory is needed to
store the image.
• After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size and the
value of the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of only black and-white
dots (e.g., a chessboard), a 1-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel.
• There are several methods to represent color images. One method is called RGB, so
called because each color is made of a combination of three primary colors: red, green,
and blue.
• The intensity of each color is measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it. Another
method is called YCM, in which a color is made of a combination of three other primary
colors: yellow, cyan, and magenta.
4.Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature
different from text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even when we use a
microphone to change voice or music to an electric signal, we create a continuous signal.
5.Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be produced
as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a
discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion.
1.1.2 Data Flow
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex as shown
in Figure 1.2

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• Simplex
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one
of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive (see Figure 1.2a).
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can
only introduce input; the monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire
capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.
• Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same
time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa (see Figure 1.2b).
The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars
are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission,
the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at
the time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems.
The half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both
directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.
• Full-Duplex
In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive
simultaneously (see Figure 1.2c)

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The full-duplex mode is like a two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same
time. In full-duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link with
signals going in the other direction.
This sharing can occur in two ways:
• Either the link must contain two physically separate transmission paths, one
for sending and the other for receiving;
• The capacity of the channel is divided between signals traveling in both directions.
eg: One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network.
When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same
time.
1.2 NETWORKS
A network is the interconnection of a set of devices capable of communication. In this
definition, a device can be a host (or an end system as it is sometimes called) such as a large
computer, desktop, laptop, workstation, cellular phone, or security system.
A device in this definition can also be a connecting device such as a router, which connects
the network to other networks, a switch, which connects devices together, a modem (modulator-
demodulator), which changes the form of data, and so on.
1.2.1 Network Criteria
A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these
are performance, reliability and security.
• Performance
Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and response
time. Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one
device to another. Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.
The performance of a network depends on a number of factors (features),
including the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the capabilities of the
connected hardware, and the efficiency of the software.
Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics: Throughput and
Delay. We often need more throughput and less delay.
These two criteria are often contradictory. If we try to send more data to the
network, we may increase throughput but we increase the delay because of traffic
congestion in the network.

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• Reliability: Network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure that is the time it
takes a link to recover from a failure.

• Security: Network security deals with protecting data from unauthorized access.
Protecting data from damage and development, and implementing policies and
procedures for recover from breaches and data loses.
1.2.2 Physical Structures
We need to define some network attributes.
• Type of Connection
A network is two or more devices connected through links. A link is a communications
pathway that transfer data from one device to another. There are two possible types of
connections: Point-to-Point connection and Multipoint connection.
• Point-to-Point
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire
capacity of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices. Most point-to-point
connections use an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends, but other options, such
as microwave or satellite links, are also possible (see Figure 1.3a).
Example: When we change television channels by infrared remote control, we are
establishing a point-to-point connection between the remote control and the television’s control
system.
• Multipoint: A multipoint connection (also called multidrop) is one in which more
than two specific devices share a single link.
In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the channel is shared, either spatially or
temporally. If several devices can use the link simultaneously, it is a spatially shared
connection. If users must take turns, it is a timeshared connection.

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Physical Topology: The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out
physically. Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology.

Definition: The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all
the links and linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another.

Categories of Topology: There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus and ring as
shown in below figure (a)

Fig(a):Categories of Topology.

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Mesh Topology:

Figure 1.4: A fully Connected Mesh Topology (Five Devices)

• In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other
device. The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two
devices it connects.

• To find the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes, we
first consider that each node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must be
connected to n - 1 nodes, Node 2 must be connected to n – 1 nodes, and finally Node n
must be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n (n - 1) physical links.

• However, if each physical link allows communication in both directions (duplex mode),
we can divide the number of links by 2. In other words, we can say that in a mesh
topology, we need n (n -1) /2 duplex-mode links.
Advantages:
▪ The use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load,
thus eliminating the traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by
multiple devices.
▪ A mesh topology is robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the
entire system.
▪ There is the advantage of privacy or security. When every message travels along a
dedicated line, only the intended recipient sees it. Physical boundaries prevent other users
from gaining access to messages.
▪ Fault identification and fault isolation easy.

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Disadvantages:
▪ The main disadvantages of a mesh are related to the amount of cabling and the number of
I/O ports required.
▪ Every device must be connected to every other device, installation and reconnection are
difficult.
▪ The sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (in walls, ceilings, or
floors) can accommodate.
▪ Finally, the hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be
prohibitively expensive.

Star Topology:

Figure 1.5 A Star Topology Connecting Four Stations.

• In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central
controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to one another.

• The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to send data to another, it sends
the data to the controller, which then relays the data to the other connected devices.

• A star topology does not allow direct traffic between devices.

Advantages:
▪ A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only
one link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of others. This factor also makes it
easy to install and reconfigure.
▪ Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions involve only one
connection: between that device and the hub.
▪ If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other links remain active.

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▪ Fault identification and fault isolation easy.

Disadvantage:
▪ One big disadvantage of a star topology is the dependency of the whole topology on one
single point, the hub. If the hub goes down, the whole system is dead.

Bus Topology:

Figure 1.6: A Bus Topology Connecting Three Stations.

• A bus topology, on the other hand, is multipoint connection.

• One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a network.

• Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.

• A drop line is a connection running between the device and the main cable. A tap is a
connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the sheathing of a cable to create
a contact with the metallic core.

• As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is transformed into heat. Therefore,
it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and farther. For this reason there is a limit
on the number of taps a bus can support and on the distance between those taps.

Advantages:
▪ Ease of installation. Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path, and then
connected to the nodes by drop lines of various lengths.
▪ A bus uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.
▪ Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each drop line has to reach only
as far as the nearest point on the backbone.
▪

Disadvantages:

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▪ Difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient
at installation. It can therefore be difficult to add new devices.
▪ Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality.
▪ Adding new devices may therefore require modification or replacement of the backbone.
▪ A fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission.
Ring Topology:

Figure 1.7: A Ring Topology Connecting Six Stations.

• In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only the
two devices on either side of it.

• A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to device, until it reaches
its destination.

• Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. When a device receives a signal intended
for another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along.

Advantages:
▪ A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is linked to only its
immediate neighbours.
▪ To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections.
▪ Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times. If one device does not receive a
signal within a specified period, it can issue an alarm. The alarm alerts the network
operator to the problem and its location.

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Disadvantages:
▪ Unidirectional traffic can be a disadvantage. In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as
a disabled station) can disable the entire network. This weakness can be solved by using a
dual ring or a switch capable of closing off the break.

Hybrid Topology: It is a combination of two or more topologies. For example, we can have a
main star topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus topology as shown in
Figure (b).

Figure (b): A Hybrid Topology: A Star Backbone with Three Bus Networks.

Network Models: Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so
that these heterogeneous networks can communicate with one another. The two best-known
standards are the OSI model and the Internet (TCP/IP) model.
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model defines a seven layer network. The
Internet (TCP/IP) model defines a five layer network.

1.3 NETWORK TYPES

Discuss different types of networks we encounter in the world today. The criteria of
distinguishing one type of network from another is done on criteria such as size, geographical
coverage, and ownership to make this distinction.

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1.3.1 Local Area Network

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and connects some hosts in a
single office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of organization. Each host in a LAN
has an identifier, an address, that uniquely defines the host in the LAN. A packet sent by a host
to another host carries both the source host’s and the destination host’s addresses.
In the past, all hosts in a network were connected through a common cable, which meant
that a packet sent from one host to another was received by all hosts. The intended recipient kept
the packet; the others dropped the packet.
Today, most LANs use a smart connecting switch, which is able to recognize the
destination address of the packet and guide the packet to its destination without sending it to all
other hosts.
The switch manages the traffic in the LAN and allows more than one pair to communicate
with each other at the same time if there is no common source and destination among them.
Figure 1.8 shows a LAN using either a common cable or a switch.

1.3.2 Wide Area Network

A wide area network (WAN) is also an interconnection of devices capable of

communication. LAN is normally limited in size, spanning an office, a building, or a campus. A
WAN has a wider geographical span, spanning a town, a state, a country, or even the world. A
LAN interconnects hosts;

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AWAN interconnects connecting devices such as switches, routers, or modems. A LAN

is normally privately owned by the organization that uses it; a WAN is normally created and run
by communication companies and leased by an organization that uses it. We see two distinct
examples of WANs today: point-to-point WANs and switched WANs.

Point-to-Point WAN

A point-to-point WAN is a network that connects two communicating devices through a

transmission media (cable or air). Figure 1.9 shows an example of a point-to-point WAN.

Switched WAN

A switched WAN is a network with more than two ends and is used as the backbone of
global communication today. We can say that a switched WAN is a combination of several
point-to-point WANs that are connected by switches. Figure 1.10 shows an example of a
switched WAN.

Internetwork

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It is very rare to see a LAN or a WAN in isolation; they are connected to one another.
When two or more networks are connected, they make an internetwork, or internet.
As an example, assume that an organization has two offices, one on the east coast and the
other on the west coast. Each office has a LAN that allows all employees in the office to
communicate with each other. To make the communication between employees at different
offices possible, the management leases a point-to-point dedicated WAN from a service
provider, such as a telephone company, and connects the two LANs. Now the company has an
internetwork, or a private internet (with lowercase i). Communication between offices is now
possible. Figure 1.11 shows this internet.

When a host in the west coast office sends a message to another host in the same office,
the router blocks the message, but the switch directs the message to the destination. On the other
hand, when a host on the west coast sends a message to a host on the east coast, router R1 routes
the packet to router R2, and the packet reaches the destination.
Figure 1.12 (see next page) shows another internet with several LANs and WANs
connected. One of the WANs is a switched WAN with four switches.

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1.3.3 Switching
An internet is a switched network in which a switch connects at least two links together. A
switch needs to forward data from a network to another network when required.
The two most common types of switched networks are circuit-switched and packet-
switched networks.
Circuit-Switched Network
In a circuit-switched network, a dedicated connection, called a circuit, is always available
between the two end systems; the switch can only make it active or inactive.
Figure 1.13 shows a very simple switched network that connects four telephones to each end. We
have used telephone sets instead of computers as an end system because circuit switching was
very common in telephone networks in the past, although part of the telephone network today is
a packet-switched network.

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In Figure 1.13, the four telephones at each side are connected to a switch. The switch
connects a telephone set at one side to a telephone set at the other side. The thick line connecting
two switches is a high-capacity communication line that can handle four voice communications
at the same time; the capacity can be shared between all pairs of telephone sets. The switches
used in this example have forwarding tasks but no storing capability.
first case, all telephone sets are busy; four people at one site are talking with four people at the
other site; the capacity of the thick line is fully used.
second case, only one telephone set at one side is connected to a telephone set at the other side;
only one-fourth of the capacity of the thick line is used. This means that a circuit-switched
network is efficient only when it is working at its full capacity; most of the time, it is inefficient
because it is working at partial capacity.
Packet-Switched Network
In a computer network, the communication between the two ends is done in blocks of data
called packets. In other words, instead of the continuous communication we see between two
telephone sets when they are being used, we see the exchange of individual data packets between
the two computers.
This allows us to make the switches function for both storing and forwarding because a
packet is an independent entity that can be stored and sent later. Figure 1.14 shows a small
packet-switched network that connects four computers at one site to four computers at the other
site.

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A router in a packet-switched network has a queue that can store and forward the packet.
Now assume that the capacity of the thick line is only twice the capacity of the data line
connecting the computers to the routers.
If only two computers (one at each site) need to communicate with each other, there is no
waiting for the packets. However, if packets arrive at one router when the thick line is already
working at its full capacity, the packets should be stored and forwarded in the order they arrived.
The two simple examples show that a packet-switched network is more efficient than a circuit
switched network, but the packets may encounter some delays.

1.3.4 The Internet

An internet (note the lowercase i) is two or more networks that can communicate with
each other. The most notable internet is called the Internet (uppercase I ), and is composed of
thousands of interconnected networks. Figure 1.15 shows a conceptual (not geographical) view
of the Internet.
The figure shows the Internet as several backbones, provider networks, and customer
networks. At the top level, the backbones are large networks owned by some communication
companies such as BSNL, Airtel etc…
The backbone networks are connected through some complex switching systems, called
peering points. At the second level, there are smaller networks, called provider networks, that
use the services of the backbones for a fee. The provider networks are connected to backbones
and sometimes to other provider networks.
The customer networks are networks at the edge of the Internet that actually use the
services provided by the Internet. They pay fees to provider networks for receiving services.

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Backbones and provider networks are also called Internet Service Provider(ISPs). The
backbones are often referred to as international ISPs; the provider networks are often referred to
as national or regional ISPs.

1.3.5 Accessing the Internet

The Internet today is an internetwork that allows any user to become part of it. The user,
however, needs to be physically connected to an ISP. The physical connection is normally done
through a point-to-point WAN.
Using Telephone Networks: Today most residences and small businesses have telephone
service, which means they are connected to a telephone network. Since most telephone networks
have already connected themselves to the Internet, one option for residences and small
businesses to connect to the Internet is to change the voice line between the residence or business
and the telephone center to a point-to-point WAN. This can be done in two ways.
Dial-up service: The first solution is to add to the telephone line a modem that converts data to
voice. The software installed on the computer dials the ISP and imitates making a telephone

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connection. Unfortunately, the dial-up service is very slow, and when the line is used for Internet
connection, it cannot be used for telephone (voice) connection.
DSL Service: Since the advent of the Internet, some telephone companies have upgraded their
telephone lines to provide higher speed Internet services to residences or small businesses. The
DSL service also allows the line to be used simultaneously for voice and data communication.
Using Cable Networks: More and more residents over the last two decades have begun using
cable TV services instead of antennas to receive TV broadcasting. The cable companies have
been upgrading their cable networks and connecting to the Internet. A residence or a small
business can be connected to the Internet by using this service. It provides a higher speed
connection, but the speed varies depending on the number of neighbors that use the same cable.
Using Wireless Networks: Wireless connectivity has recently become increasingly popular. A
household or a small business can use a combination of wireless and wired connections to access
the Internet. With the growing wireless WAN access, a household or a small business can be
connected to the Internet through a wireless WAN
Direct Connection to the Internet: large organization or a large corporation can itself become a
local ISP and be connected to the Internet. This can be done if the organization or the corporation
leases a high-speed WAN from a carrier provider and connects itself to a regional ISP. For
example, a large university with several campuses can create an internetwork and then connect
the internetwork to the Internet.
1.4 INTERNET HISTORY

2.1 PROTOCOL LAYERING

In data communication and networking, a protocol defines the rules that both the sender
and receiver and all intermediate devices need to follow to be able to communicate effectively.

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When communication is simple, we may need only one simple protocol; when the
communication is complex, we may need to divide the task between different layers, in which
case we need a protocol at each layer, or protocol layering.
2.1.1 Scenarios
Two simple scenarios to better understand the need for protocol layering.
First Scenario
In the first scenario, communication is so simple that it can occur in only one layer. Assume
Maria and Ann are neighbors with a lot of common ideas. Communication between Maria and
Ann takes place in one layer, face to face, in the same language, as shown in Figure 2.1.

Even in this simple scenario, we can see that a set of rules needs to be followed.
First, Maria and Ann know that they should greet each other when they meet.
Second, they know that they should confine their vocabulary to the level of their friendship.
Third, each party knows that she should refrain from speaking when the other party is speaking.
Fourth, each party knows that the conversation should be a dialog, not a monolog: both should
have the opportunity to talk about the issue.
Fifth, they should exchange some nice words when they leave.

Second Scenario
In the second scenario, we assume that Ann is offered a higher-level position in her company,
but needs to move to another branch located in a city very far from Maria. The two friends still
want to continue their communication and exchange ideas because they have come up with an
innovative project to start a new business when they both retire. They decide to continue their
conversation using regular mail through the post office. However, they do not want their ideas to
be revealed by other people if the letters are intercepted. They agree on an encryption/decryption
technique. The sender of the letter encrypts it to make it unreadable by an intruder; the receiver

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of the letter decrypts it to get the original letter. But for the moment we assume that Maria and
Ann use one technique that makes it hard to decrypt the letter if one does not have the key for
doing so. Now we can say that the communication between Maria and Ann takes place in three
layers, as shown in Figure 2.2.

Let us assume that Maria sends the first letter to Ann. Maria talks to the machine at the third
layer as though the machine is Ann and is listening to her. The third layer machine listens to
what Maria says and creates the plaintext (a letter in English), which is passed to the second
layer machine.

The second layer machine takes the plaintext, encrypts it, and creates the cipher text, which is
passed to the first layer machine. The first layer machine, presumably a robot, takes the cipher
text, puts it in an envelope, adds the sender and receiver addresses, and mails it.
At Ann’s side, the first layer machine picks up the letter from Ann’s mail box,
recognizing the letter from Maria by the sender address. The machine takes out the cipher text
from the envelope and delivers it to the second layer machine.

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The second layer machine decrypts the message, creates the plaintext, and passes the
plaintext to the third-layer machine. The third layer machine takes the plaintext and reads it as
though Maria is speaking.
If Maria and Ann decide that the encryption/ decryption done by the machine is not
enough to protect their secrecy, they would have to change the whole machine. In the present
situation, they need to change only the second layer machine; the other two can remain the same.
This is referred to as modularity.
Modularity in this case means independent layers. A layer (module) can be defined as a
black box with inputs and outputs, without concern about how inputs are changed to outputs. If
two machines provide the same outputs when given the same inputs, they can replace each other.
For example, Ann and Maria can buy the second layer machine
from two different manufacturers. As long as the two machines create the same cipher text from
the same plaintext and vice versa, they do the job.

Advantages of protocol layering

• It allows us to separate the services from the implementation.
• A layer needs to be able to receive a set of services from the lower layer and to give the
services to the upper layer. we don’t care about how the layer is implemented.
For example, Maria may decide not to buy the machine (robot) for the first layer; she can
do the job herself. As long as Maria can do the tasks provided by the first layer, in both
directions, the communication system works.
• Communication does not always use only two end systems; there are intermediate
systems that need only some layers, but not all layers. If we did not use protocol layering,
we would have to make each intermediate system as complex as the end systems, which
makes the whole system more expensive.

Disadvantage to protocol layering

A single layer makes the job easier. There is no need for each layer to provide a service
to the upper layer and give service to the lower layer.

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For example, Ann and Maria could find or build one machine that could do all three tasks.
However, as mentioned above, if one day they found that their code was broken, each would
have to replace the whole machine with a new one instead of just changing the machine in the
second layer.
2.1.2 Principles of Protocol Layering
Let us discuss two principles of protocol layering.
First Principle
The first principle dictates that if we want bidirectional communication, we need to make each
layer so that it is able to perform two opposite tasks, one in each direction.
For example, the third layer task is to listen (in one direction) and talk (in the other direction).
The second layer needs to be able to encrypt and decrypt. The first layer needs to send and
receive mail.
Second Principle
The second principle that we need to follow in protocol layering is that the two objects under
each layer at both sites should be identical.
For example, the object under layer 3 at both sites should be a plaintext letter. The object under
layer 2 at both sites should be a cipher text letter. The object under layer 1 at both sites should be
a piece of mail.

2.1.3 Logical Connections

Logical connection between each layer as shown in Figure 2.3. This means that we have layer-
to-layer communication. Maria and Ann can think that there is a logical (imaginary) connection
at each layer through which they can send the object created from that layer.

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2.2 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

TCP/IP is a protocol suite (a set of protocols organized in different layers) used in the Internet
today. It is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, each of which provides a
specific functionality. The term hierarchical means that each upper level protocol is supported
by the services provided by one or more lower level protocols. The original TCP/IP protocol
suite was defined as four software layers built upon the hardware. Today, however, TCP/IP is
thought of as a five-layer model. Figure 2.4 shows both configurations.

2.2.1 Layered Architecture

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To show how the layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite are involved in communication between
two hosts, we assume that we want to use the suite in a small internet made up of three LANs
(links), each with a link-layer switch. We also assume that the links are connected by one router,
as shown in Figure 2.5.

Let us assume that computer A communicates with computer B. As the figure shows, we have
five communicating devices in this communication: source host (computer A), the link-layer
switch in link 1, the router, the link-layer switch in link 2, and the destination host (computer B).

Each device is involved with a set of layers depending on the role of the device in the internet.
The two hosts are involved in all five layers; the source host needs to create a message in the
application layer and send it down the layers so that it is physically sent to the destination host.
The destination host needs to receive the communication at the physical layer and then deliver it
through the other layers to the application layer.

The router is involved in only three layers; there is no transport or application layer in a router as
long as the router is used only for routing. Although a router is always involved in one network
layer, it is involved in n combinations of link and physical layers in which n is the number of
links the router is connected to. The reason is that each link may use its own data-link or physical

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protocol. For example, in the above figure, the router is involved in three links, but the message
sent from source A to destination B is involved in two links. Each link may be using different
link-layer and physical-layer protocols; the router needs to receive a packet from link 1 based on
one pair of protocols and deliver it to link 2 based on another pair of protocols.

A link-layer switch in a link, however, is involved only in two layers, data-link and physical.
Although each switch in the above figure has two different connections, the connections are in
the same link, which uses only one set of protocols. This means that, unlike a router, a link-layer
switch is involved only in one data-link and one physical layer.

2.2.2 Layers in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite

The functions and duties of layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite. Figure 2.6 shows logical
connections in our simple internet.

Using logical connections makes it easier for us to think about the duty of each layer. As the
figure shows, the duty of the application, transport, and network layers is end-to-end.
The duty of the data-link and physical layers is hop-to-hop, in which a hop is a host or router. In
other words, the domain of duty of the top three layers is the internet, and the domain of duty of
the two lower layers is the link. Another way of thinking of the logical connections is to think
about the data unit created from each layer. In the top three layers, the data unit (packets) should
not be changed by any router or link-layer switch. In the bottom two layers, the packet created

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by the host is changed only by the routers, not by the link-layer switches. Figure 2.7 shows the
second principle discussed previously for protocol layering. We show the identical objects below
each layer related to each device. Although the logical connection at the network layer is
between the two hosts, we can only say that identical objects exist between two hops in this case
because a router may fragment the packet at the network layer and send more packets than
received.

2.2.3 Description of Each Layer

After understanding the concept of logical communication, we are ready to briefly discuss
the duty of each layer.
Physical Layer
We can say that the physical layer is responsible for carrying individual bits in a frame across the
link. Although the physical layer is the lowest level in the TCP/IP protocol suite, the
communication between two devices at the physical layer is still a logical communication
because there is another, hidden layer, the transmission media, under the physical layer. Two
devices are connected by a transmission medium (cable or air).We need to know that the
transmission medium does not carry bits; it carries electrical or optical signals. So the bits
received in a frame from the data-link layer are transformed and sent through the transmission
media, but we can think that the logical unit between two physical layers in two devices is a bit.
There are several protocols that transform a bit to a signal.

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Data-link Layer
We have seen that an internet is made up of several links (LANs and WANs) connected by
routers. There may be several overlapping sets of links that a datagram can travel from the host
to the destination. The routers are responsible for choosing the best links. However, when the
next link to travel is determined by the router, the data-link layer is responsible for taking the
datagram and moving it across the link.
The link can be a wired LAN with a link-layer switch, a wireless LAN, a wired WAN, or a
wireless WAN. We can also have different protocols used with any link type. In each case, the
data-link layer is responsible for moving the packet through the link.
TCP/IP does not define any specific protocol for the data-link layer. It supports all the standard
and proprietary protocols. Any protocol that can take the datagram and carry it through the link
suffices for the network layer. The data-link layer takes a datagram and encapsulates it in a
packet called a frame. Each link-layer protocol may provide a different service. Some link-layer
protocols provide complete error detection and correction,
Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for creating a connection between the source computer and the
destination computer. The communication at the network layer is host-to-host. However, since
there can be several routers from the source to the destination, the routers in the path are
responsible for choosing the best route for each packet. We can say that the network layer is
responsible for host-to-host communication and routing the packet through possible routes.
Internet Protocol(IP), that defines the format of the packet, called a datagram at the network
layer. IP also defines the format and the structure of addresses used in this layer. IP is also
responsible for routing a packet from its source to its destination, which is achieved by each
router forwarding the datagram to the next router in its path
IP is a connectionless protocol that provides no flow control, no error control, and no congestion
control services. This means that if any of theses services is required for an application, the
application should rely only on the transport-layer protocol. The network layer also includes
unicast (one-to-one) and multicast (one-to-many) routing protocols. A routing protocol does not
take part in routing (it is the responsibility of IP), but it creates forwarding tables for routers to
help them in the routing process. The network layer also has some auxiliary protocols that help
IP in its delivery and routing tasks. The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) helps IP to
report some problems when routing a packet. The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)
is another protocol that helps IP in multitasking .The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

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(DHCP) helps IP to get the network-layer address for a host. The Address Resolution Protocol
(ARP) is a protocol that helps IP to find the link-layer address of a host or a router when its
network-layer address is given
Transport Layer
The logical connection at the transport layer is also end-to-end. The transport layer at the source
host gets the message from the application layer, encapsulates it in a transport layer packet
(called a segment or a user datagram in different protocols) and sends it, through the logical
(imaginary) connection, to the transport layer at the destination host
The transport layer is responsible for giving services to the application layer: to get a message
from an application program running on the source host and deliver it to the corresponding
application program on the destination host. We may ask why we need an end-to-end transport
layer when we already have an end-to-end application layer. The reason is the separation of tasks
and duties,
There are a few transport-layer protocols in the Internet, each designed for some specific task.
The main protocol, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), is a connection-oriented protocol that
first establishes a logical connection between transport layers at two hosts before transferring
data. It creates a logical pipe between two TCPs for transferring a stream of bytes. TCP provides
flow control (matching the sending data rate of the source host with the receiving data rate of the
destination host to prevent overwhelming the destination), error control (to guarantee that the
segments arrive at the destination without error and resending the corrupted ones), and
congestion control to reduce the loss of segments due to congestion in the network.
The other common protocol, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), is a connectionless protocol that
transmits user datagram without first creating a logical connection. In UDP, each user datagram
is an independent entity without being related to the previous or the next one (the meaning of the
term connectionless). UDP is a simple protocol that does not provide flow, error, or congestion
control. Its simplicity, which means small overhead, is attractive to an application program that
needs to send short messages and cannot afford the retransmission of the packets involved in
TCP, when a packet is corrupted or lost. Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is
designed to respond to new applications that are emerging in the multimedia.

Application Layer

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The logical connection between the two application layers is end -to- end. The two application
layers exchange messages between each other as though there were a bridge between the two
layers.
Communication at the application layer is between two processes (two programs running at this
layer). To communicate, a process sends a request to the other process and receives a response.
Process-to-process communication is the duty of the application layer. The application layer in
the Internet includes many predefined protocols, but a user can also create a pair of processes to
be run at the two hosts.
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a vehicle for accessing the World Wide Web
(WWW). The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the main protocol used in electronic
mail (e-mail) service. The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for transferring files from one
host to another. The Terminal Network (TELNET) and Secure Shell (SSH) are used for
accessing a site remotely. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used by an
administrator to manage the Internet at global and local levels. The Domain Name System
(DNS) is used by other protocols to find the network-layer address of a computer. The Internet
Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used to collect membership in a group.

2.2.4 Encapsulation and Decapsulation

One of the important concepts in protocol layering in the Internet is encapsulation/
decapsulation. Figure 2.8 shows this concept for the small internet in Figure 2.5.

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We have not shown the layers for the link-layer switches because no encapsulation/
decapsulation occurs in this device. In Figure 2.8, we show the encapsulation in the source host,
decapsulation in the destination host, and encapsulation and decapsulation in the router.
Encapsulation at the Source Host
At the source, we have only encapsulation.
1. At the application layer, the data to be exchanged is referred to as a message. A message
normally does not contain any header or trailer, but if it does, we refer to the whole as the
message. The message is passed to the transport layer.
2. The transport layer takes the message as the payload, the load that the transport layer should
take care of. It adds the transport layer header to the payload, which contains the identifiers of
the source and destination application programs that want to communicate plus some more
information that is needed for the end-to-end delivery of the message, such as information
needed for flow, error control, or congestion control. The result is the transport-layer packet,
which is called the segment (in TCP) and the user datagram (in UDP). The transport layer then
passes the packet to the network layer.
3. The network layer takes the transport-layer packet as data or payload and adds its own header
to the payload. The header contains the addresses of the source and destination hosts and some
more information used for error checking of the header, fragmentation information, and so on.
The result is the network-layer packet, called a datagram. The network layer then passes the
packet to the data-link layer.
4. The data-link layer takes the network-layer packet as data or payload and adds its own header,
which contains the link-layer addresses of the host or the next hop (the router). The result is the
link-layer packet, which is called a frame. The frame is passed to the physical layer for
transmission.
Decapsulation and Encapsulation at the Router
At the router, we have both decapsulation and encapsulation because the router is connected
to two or more links.
1. After the set of bits are delivered to the data-link layer, this layer decapsulates the datagram
from the frame and passes it to the network layer.
2. The network layer only inspects the source and destination addresses in the datagram header
and consults its forwarding table to find the next hop to which the datagram is to be delivered.
The contents of the datagram should not be changed by the network layer in the router unless

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there is a need to fragment the datagram if it is too big to be passed through the next link. The
datagram is then passed to the data-link layer of the next link.
3. The data-link layer of the next link encapsulates the datagram in a frame and passes it to the
physical layer for transmission.
Decapsulation at the Destination Host
At the destination host, each layer only decapsulates the packet received, removes the payload,
and delivers the payload to the next-higher layer protocol until the message reaches the
application layer. It is necessary to say that decapsulation in the host involves error checking.
2.2.5 Addressing
It is worth mentioning another concept related to protocol layering in the Internet, addressing.
we have logical communication between pairs of layers in this model. Any communication that
involves two parties needs two addresses: source address and destination address. Although it
looks as if we need five pairs ofaddresses, one pair per layer, we normally have only four
because the physical layer does not need addresses; the unit of data exchange at the physical
layer is a bit, which definitely cannot have an address. Figure 2.9 shows the addressing at each
layer As the figure shows, there is a relationship between the layer, the address used in that layer,
and the packet name at that layer. At the application layer, we normally use names to define the
site that provides services, such as someorg.com, or the e-mail address, such as
somebody@coldmail.com.
At the transport layer, addresses are called port numbers, and these define the application-layer
programs at the source and destination. Port numbers are local addresses that distinguish between
several programs running at the same time.

At the network-layer, the addresses are global, with the whole Internet as the scope. A network-
layer address uniquely defines the connection of a device to the Internet.

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The link-layer addresses, sometimes called MAC addresses, are locally defined addresses, each
of which defines a specific host or router in a network (LAN or WAN).
2.2.6 Multiplexing and Demultiplexing
Since the TCP/IP protocol suite uses several protocols at some layers, we can say that we have
multiplexing at the source and demultiplexing at the destination. Multiplexing in this case means
that a protocol at a layer can encapsulate a packet from several next-higher layer protocols (one
at a time); demultiplexing means that a protocol can decapsulate and deliver a packet to several
next-higher layer protocols (one at a time). Figure 2.10 shows the concept of multiplexing and
demultiplexing at the three upper layers.

To be able to multiplex and demultiplex, a protocol needs to have a field in its header to identify
to which protocol the encapsulated packets belong. At the transport layer, either UDP or TCP
can accept a message from several application-layer protocols.
At the network layer, IP can accept a segment from TCP or a user datagram from UDP. IP can
also accept a packet from other protocols such as ICMP, IGMP, and so on.
At the network layer, IP can accept a segment from TCP or a user datagram from UDP. IP can
also accept a packet from other protocols such as ICMP, IGMP, and so on.
2.3 THE OSI MODEL
Established in 1947, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a
multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on international standards. Almost three-
fourths of the countries in the world are represented in the ISO. An ISO standard that covers all
aspects of network communications is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. It was
first introduced in the late 1970s.

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An open system is a set of protocols that allows any two different systems to communicate
regardless of their underlying architecture. The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to
facilitate communication between different systems without requiring changes to the logic of the
underlying hardware and software. The OSI model is not a protocol; it is a model for
understanding and designing a network architecture that is flexible, robust, and interoperable.
The OSI model was intended to be the basis for the creation of the protocols in the OSI stack.
The OSI model is a layered framework for the design of network systems that allows
communication between all types of computer systems. It consists of seven separate but related
layers, each of which defines a part of the process of moving information across a network (see
Figure 2.11).

2.3.1 OSI versus TCP/IP

When we compare the two models, we find that two layers, session and presentation, are missing
from the TCP/IP protocol suite. These two layers were not added to the TCP/IP protocol suite
after the publication of the OSI model. The application layer in the suite is usually considered to
be the combination of three layers in the OSI model, as shown in Figure 2.12.

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Two reasons were mentioned for this decision. First, TCP/IP has more than one transport-layer
protocol. Some of the functionalities of the session layer are available in some of the transport-
layer protocols.
Second, the application layer is not only one piece of software. Many applications can be
developed at this layer. If some of the functionalities mentioned in the session and presentation
layers are needed for a particular application, they can be included in the development of that
piece of software.
2.3.2 Lack of OSI Model’s Success
we describe only three, which are agreed upon by all experts in the field.
First, OSI was completed when TCP/IP was fully in place and a lot of time and money had been
spent on the suite; changing it would cost a lot.
Second, some layers in the OSI model were never fully defined. For example, although the
services provided by the presentation and the session layers were listed in the document, actual
protocols for these two layers were not fully defined, nor were they fully described, and the
corresponding software was not fully developed.
Third, when OSI was implemented by an organization in a different application, it did not show
a high enough level of performance to entice the Internet authority to switch from the TCP/IP
protocol suite to the OSI model.

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Session Layer

The session layer resides above the transport layer, and provides “value added” services to the
underlying transport layer services. The session layer (along with the presentation layer) add
services to the transport layer that are likely to be of use to applications, so that each application
doesn’t have to provide its own implementation. It is the thinnest layer in the OSI model. At the
time the model was formulated, it was not clear that a session layer was needed.

The session layer provides the following services: Dialog management: Deciding whose turn it is
to talk. Some applications operate in half-duplex mode, whereby the two sides alternate between
sending and receiving messages, and never send data simultaneously. In the ISO protocols,
dialog management is implemented through the use of a data token. The token is sent back and
forth, and a user may transmit only when it possesses the token.

Presentation Layer

The primary goal of this layer is to take care of the syntax and semantics of the information
exchanged between two communicating systems. Presentation layer takes care that the data is
sent in such a way that the receiver will understand the information (data) and will be able to use
the data. Languages (syntax) can be different of the two communicating systems. Under this
condition presentation layer plays a role translator.

FUNCTIONS OF PRESENTATION LAYER:

1. Translation : Before being transmitted, information in the form of characters and numbers
should be changed to bit streams. The presentation layer is responsible for interoperability
between encoding methods as different computers use different encoding methods. It
translates data between the formats the network requires and the format the computer.
2. Encryption : It carries out encryption at the transmitter and decryption at the receiver.
3. Compression : It carries out data compression to reduce the bandwidth of the data to be
transmitted. The primary role of Data compression is to reduce the number of bits to be
0transmitted. It is important in transmitting multimedia such as audio, video, text etc.

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