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TCOM 370 NOTES 99-1

NETWORKING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Communication Networks
Allow Exchange of I nformation between Users
telephone network for voice communication
interconnected computers and peripherals, a computer network
User:
Human, application program in a PC, printer, file server
Network:
A network of interconnected nodes for information exchange
Network consists of point-to-point links between certain nodes.
All node pairs not connected with dedicated point-to-point links; links can be shared
Nodes are terminal (user) nodes or communication (network) nodes
Hub
switch (bridge)
PC
PC
server
PC
PC
printer
Hub
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Information:
Voice, Audio, Image (picture), Video, Text, Data
I nformation Format:
Binary sequence of binary digits
00110110101000011110100.
1 byte = 8 bits
Information Transmission Rate in bits per second (bps) and Bit Error Rate
(BER), or bit error probability, characterize the performance of a link or
connection through a network.
Non-binary message, e.g. text or voice, may be converted to a binary
representation.
Text: "alphabet" is finite; assign unique binary pattern to each symbol or letter.
The ASCII code assigns a 7-bit sequence to each of 128 symbols
(upper/lower case letters, numerals, punctuation marks, special (control)
symbols.)
Voice: samplethe time-waveform at uniform rate, convert (quantize) each sample
to a finite-precision binary number. Approximation represented as binary
sequence.
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In telephony, a sampling rate of 8 kHz (80000 samples per sec) is used with 8 bits for
each numerical sample value, giving a bit rateof 64 kbps
General Result:
Sampling Theorem: If waveform does not have frequencies beyond a maximum
frequency of F Hz., then samples at a minimum sampling rate of 2F samples/sec contain
all the information in the original waveform
011
110
111
100
101
000
000
000
100
011
011
001
101
001
011
001
110
011
010
001
010
101
000
010
001
000
100
101
Time between samples = T
Example of Sampling/Quantization,
Sampling rate 1/T, 3-bit or 8-Level Quantization
time
signal amplitude
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Connectivity Between Terminal Nodes
Circuit Switching:
Common example: Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Dedicated communication path established between two terminal nodes (e.g telephones)
through set of network nodes, during call set-up. Resources are reserved for signaling (at
64 kbps in telephony) between the terminal nodes through this path.
There is a call set-up delay overhead.
Store and Forward Transmission of Packets:
Packet: Group of bits, typically several hundred to several thousand long.
Terminal node transmits its message as a sequence of individual packets through
other network nodes to terminal node.
Packet forwarded from node to node within network; short packets reduce
forwarding delay (complete packet received before forwarding).
Header Bits Trailer Bits User Data Bits
Source address
Destination Address
Sequence Number
Error Control
Possible Packet Structure
Network Node
Terminal Node
Circuit Switching
= dedicated path
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Numerical Example of Store-and-Forward Switching
4 hops (point-to-point links) between two terminal nodes; 3200 Message Bits;
Transmission rate 9600 bps on all links; 24 overhead bits [Header + Trailer] for each
packet; 1024-bit fixed packet size; 1 ms. (0.001 sec) per-hop signal propagation delay.
1 sec. call set-up time for circuit switched connection across 4 hops.
What is total time to send the complete message using circuit switching and packet
switching? What is the transmission delay for each bit between the terminal nodes?
Circuit Switching:
3200 bits at 9600 bps 0.333 sec. message duration.
total propagation delay 0.004 sec.,
Total time for message is 0.333+0.004 +1 = 1.337 sec.
Transmission delay is 0.004 sec., since bits are not transmitted during call set-up.
Packet Switching:
Number of packets = 4 (1024-24 = 1000 bits of message data for first three
packets, fourth packet has 200 bits of message data and 800 dummy bits)
Packet duration = 1024/9600 = 0.107 sec.
Hop 4
time
Node 2
Node 3
Node 4
Terminal
Node
Hop 2
Hop 1
Hop 3
Terminal
Node
Packet
Duration
0.108 s
Propagation
Time per Hop
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Entire 1024-bit packet received by each node from preceding node in
1024/9600 + 0.001 = 0.108 s.
Total message time is therefore 4 x 0.108 + 3 x 0.107 = 0.753 sec.
(because there are 4 hops, and 3 packets in succession after the first complete
packet is received at terminal node)
Transmission delay is 4(0.001) + 3(0.107) = 0.325 sec.
Note: Short packets reduce transmission delay due to store/forward nodes.
There may also be processing delays at nodes. Shorter packets inefficient due to
overhead bits. For circuit switching, set-up time can be a major contribution to
message delay.
Datagram Packet Switching:
Different packets of a message may take different paths. Packets routed from node to
node independently of other packets, based on destination address and conditions in the
network.
(Analogy: U.S. Post Office mail transport!)
Used in Wide Area Networks and in The I nternet.
More efficient use of links (different user packets at different times on same link;
statistical multiplexing gain)
Data rate conversions possible
other considerations: no call set-up needed, packet delay vs. call blocking in
congested conditions, packet prioritization possible, out-of sequence packets,
Virtual Circuit Packet Switching:
Message sent in the form of short fixed length packets (to minimize transmission delay);
but a virtual circuit is established over some fixed path between terminal nodes during
call initialization. Links forming this path may, however be shared by other user packets;
the path is fixed for the whole message, but need not be used exclusively by it.
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Networks: 53 byte packets)
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The Internet
World-wide interconnection of individual networks.
Each host computer name(e.g. seas.upenn.edu) has unique corresponding 4-byte or
32-bit internet address (e.g. 130.91.5.147).
Logical organization for Internet names and addresses. First one to three bytes of
internet address is network identifier, rest form the specific host address on this
network.
Domain Name System (DNS) allows name servers to provide addresses
corresponding to names, to requesting hosts.
I nternet Protocol or IP refers to network protocol that allows end-to-end delivery of
packets between terminal nodes or hosts on the Internet. IP packets may be up to 64
kbytes long.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) supervises packet transport.
Allows error-free packet delivery in sequence for a given connection, by using error
detection with re-transmission requests.
Provides for congestion control by implementing flow-control procedures at the end-
nodes.
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Shared Ethernet - A Local Area Network (LAN)
Concept: A packet communication scheme with the following features:
Shared communication medium to which a number of computers (nodes) are
connected.
Medium may be a passive cable to which nodes are connected, or electronic "hub" to
which nodes are connected by wire pairs. (e.g. 10Base-2 or 10Base-T ethernets).
The network extends over a small geographical area (e.g. within a building).
The medium allows a high bit transmission rate, say 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps.
All nodes have equal access to the medium. Node can send packet successfully
across medium to another node if medium is not carrying any other packet at the
same time (i.e. no packet collision)
Packet put out by any node
on cable seen by all nodes
Hub broadcasts any packet it receives to
all nodes connected to it.
Coaxi al Cabl e
PC
printer
PC
Hub
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Medium Access Control: Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)
If packet sent by node "collides" with another, result is garbled electrical signal.
Nodes detect "collision" by monitoring nature of electrical activity on cable;
or, electronic hub sees packet arrivals on more than one port, and sends
out a "collision" signal that all nodes detect.
Thus node knows when its packet has collided with another.
It then backs off for a random time duration, and attempts to re-transmit.
Before any packet transmission, node also senses for ongoing packet transmission to
avoid colliding with it
Collision detection is still necessary because a node may start its transmission just
after another node has started, without knowing about that node's transmission
because of propagation delay.
If maximum transmission rate is R bps on medium, there are many nodes, and all nodes
have messages to transmit (heavily loaded network), under optimum conditions on
average a fraction of R is the actual throughput in bps on the medium because of
collision losses. The fraction is called the efficiency, its value depends on the
maximum propagation delay on the medium and on the packet length.
Other LANs:
Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), etc.
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Ethernet Address: A unique 48-bit sequence for each ethernet device. Ethernet
packets contain source and destination ethernet adresses. Ethernet address of a node is
not related to its network address.
Address Resolution Protocol:
An ethernet node A can discover the ethernet address of another node B with network
address "N" on the same network by sending a "broadcast" ethernet packet that is read
by all other nodes. The packet message is "Node of network address N, please respond".
The response is an ethernet packet and carries the ethernet address "Y" of the responding
node B. Node A adds the information "Network Address N = Ethernet Address Y" to its
own directory.
Interconnected Ethernets:
Switch or Bridge: Device with two or more ports, each connected to an ethernet.
Forms a bigger ethernet.
Each port sees an ethernet connection.
Packet incoming on a port is examined and may be copied out on another port.
Switch can read ethernet addresses of packets but does not modify them.
Switch has ethernet address lists associated with its ports
(list of addresses each port has connection to.)
Switch copies packet to another port if incoming packet addressed to node on that
port. Copies to all ports (save the incoming) if address not in its lists.
Updates lists as it learns who is connected where.
LAN 1
LAN 2
Switch
Ethernet
Address a
a: 1
c: 1
--
--
b:2
f: 2
--
--
Ethernet
Address b
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Routers:
More sophisticated device with multiple ports each connected to a network.
Assume the local networks are ethernets.
Each router port has an ethernet address.
Router forwards incoming ethernet packets based on network address of destination.
Router modifies ethernet addresses in forwarded packet.
Router makes decision on best outgoing path for packet when destination is not on
an adjacent network connected to a port.
Router S
LAN
P sends ethernet packet
[a,r1; X,Y; data]
P
LAN
[X,Y; data]
[s2,b; X,Y; data]
s2
[X,Y; data]
r3
Router R
Network Address X
Ethernet address a
r1 r2
Q
Network Address Y
Ethernet address b
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Protocol Architecture
TCP/I P Protocol Architecture
Application Layer (e.g. FTP, SMTP)
Transport Layer (TCP)
Internet Layer (IP)
LAN/Link
Physical Layer
OSI (Open System I nterconnection) Reference Model
Application Layer
Presentation
Session
Transport Layer
Network Layer
Data Link Layer
Physical Layer