Computer Networks

VR-10, CS6004

Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

UNIT I
Introduction: Uses of Computer Networks, Network Hardware, LANs, MANs, WANs, Network
Software.
Reference Models: The OSI Reference Model, TCP/IP Reference Model, the comparison of OSI,
and TCP/IP reference models.
The Physical Layer: Guided transmission media: Magnetic Media, Twisted Pair, Coaxial
Cable, and Fiber Optics.
A computer network is an interconnected collection of autonomous computers able to
exchange information. A computer network usually require users to explicitly login onto one
machine, explicitly submit jobs remotely,explicitly move files/data around the network.
In a Distributed system, the existence of multiple autonomous computers in a computer
network is transparent to the user. The operating system automatically allocates jobs to
processors, moves files among various computers without explicit user intervention.
Def: A network is simply a collection of computers or other hardware devices that are
connected together, either physically or logically, using special hardware and software, to allow
them to exchange information and cooperate. Networking is the term that describes the
processes involved in designing, implementing, upgrading, managing and otherwise working
with networks and network technologies.

Networking has become an indispensable part of modern society in every aspect of life.

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Computer Networks
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Some of the important properties of the networks are:

Scope: A network should provide services to several applications
Scalability: A network should operate efficiently when deployed on a small-scale as well
as on a large-scale
Robustness: A network should operate in spite of failures or lost data
Self-Stabilization: A network, after a failure or other problem, should return to normal
(or near normal) without human intervention
Autoconfigurability: A network should optimize its own parameters in order to achieve
better performance
Safety: A network should prevent failures as well as prevent failures from affecting
other areas of the network
Configurability:

A networks parameters should be configurable to improve

performance
Determinism: Two networks with identical conditions should yield identical results
Migration: It should be possible to add new features to a network without disruption of
network service

Applications of Computer Networks

Business network applications
Resource sharing: Data, programs, equipment are available to users regardless of their
physical location.
High reliability: Files and databases could be duplicated on multiple machines. Multiple
CPUs prevent total system loss.
Economically sound: Networked micro computers using the client-server model offer better
price/performance ratio than mainframes.
Communication Medium: Networks provide powerful, effiencient and fast communication
among the employees via electronic mail (email), IP telephony or VOIP, Desktop sharing etc.
Home (personal) network applications
Access to remote information: Financial information, database access, the Web,
newsgroups, Wikipedia etc.
Person to person communication: Email, voice, videoconferencing, instant messaging, social
networking etc.
Interactive entertainment: Video on demand, interactive TV (IPTV), networked games.

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Computer Networks
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Electronic commerce (e-commerce): Many forms such as home shopping, finance and bills
management are getting common. Some common forms of e-commerce are given below:

Mobile Users
Connectivity to the internet: Smart phones and other mobile devices are dependent on
internet for providing advacned services like GPS etc to the users. Wireless Hotspots are
found everywhere now-a-days which enable people to connect to the internet on their
devices
M-commerce: Short text messages from the mobile are used to authorize payments for
food in vending machines, movie tickets, and other small items instead of cash and credit
cards.
NFC (Near Field Communication): Mobile can act as an RFID smartcard and interact with a
nearby reader for payment.

Network Hardware
Computer Networks can be categorized based on many dimensions, but two dimensions
standout namely as transmission technology and scale.
Data communications networks can be generally categorized as either point-to-point or
multipoint. A point-to-point configuration involves only two locations or stations, whereas a
multipoint configuration involves three or more stations.

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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

A two-point circuit involves the transfer of digital information between a mainframe computer
and a personal computer, two mainframe computers or two data communications networks. A
multi-point network is generally used to interconnect a single mainframe computer (host) to
many personal computers or to interconnect many personal computers and capacity of the
channel is either Spatially shared: Devices can use the link simultaneously or Timeshared: Users
take turns
Transmission Modes
There are four modes of transmission for data communications circuits:

In simplex mode(SX), 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. Commercial radio
broadcasting is an example. Simplex lines are also called receive-only, transmit-only or oneway-only lines.
In half-duplex(HDX) 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. The halfduplex 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. Citizens
band (CB) radio is an example where push to talk (PTT) is to be pressed or depressed while
sending and transmitting.
In full-duplex mode(FDX) (called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive
simultaneously. One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network.
The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time.
The capacity of the channel must be divided between the two directions.

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Computer Networks
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Based on the mode of transmission, computer networks are divided into point-to-point
networks or broadcast networks.
Broadcast networks use a single communication channel shared by all computers in the
network. Short messages (packets) are sent by any machine and received by all other
computers on the network. An address field within the packet specifies the intended recipient.
Others receiving this packet simply ignore it. Broadcast systems generally also allow the
possibility of addressing a packet to all destinations by using a special code in the address field.
Most localized networks are broadcast networks. A variant of broadcasting called multicasting
in which transmission is done to a subset of machines. One possible scheme is to reserve one
bit to indicate multicasting. The remaining n - 1 address bits can hold a group number. Each
machine can ''subscribe'' to any or all of the groups. When a packet is sent to a certain group, it
is delivered to all machines subscribing to that group.
In contrast, point-to-point networks consist of many connections between individual
pairs of machines. To go from the source to the destination, a packet on this type of network
may have to first visit one or more intermediate machines. Point-to-point transmission with
one sender and one receiver is sometimes called unicasting. Generally, smaller, geographically
localized networks tend to use broadcasting, whereas larger networks usually are point-topoint.
Networks are also classified according to their scale. Distance is an important metric for
classification because different techniques are used at different scales. Three main categories
of networks are LAN{Local Area Networks}, MAN{Metropolitan Area Networks} and
WAN{Wide Area Networks}.

Other categories

of networks are SAN{storage area network or sever area network},

PAN{Personal Area Network}, CAN{Cluster Area Networks or Campus area networks} etc

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Computer Networks
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

LAN {Local Area Networks}

A local area network (LAN) is a network that connects computers and devices in a limited
geographical area such as home, school, computer laboratory, office building, or closely
positioned group of buildings. LANs use a network operating system to provide two-way
communications at bit rates in the range of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps. In addition to operating in a
limited space, LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or
organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and
Token Ring.

LANs are distinguished from other kinds of networks by three characteristics: (1) their size, (2)
their transmission technology, and (3) their topology.
LANs are restricted in size, which means that the worst-case transmission time is bounded and
known in advance, which simplifies network management. LANs often use a transmission
technology consisting of a single cable to which all the machines are attached. Traditional LANs
run at speeds of 10 to 100 Mbps, have very low delay and make few transmission errors. {A
megabit is 1,000,000 bits and Mbps means Megabits per second. Megabytes mean 1,048,076
bits}.
Network topology refers to the way a network is laid out either physically or logically. A
topology describes the configuration of a network and influences the networks cost and
performance. Various topologies are possible for broadcast LANs.
Five basic topologies are bus, ring, star, tree and mesh.

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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Star topology: A star topology is designed with each node (file server, workstations, and

peripherals) connected directly to a central network hub, switch, or concentrator. Data on a

star network passes through the hub, switch, or concentrator before continuing to its
destination. The hub, switch, or concentrator manages and controls all functions of the
network. It also acts as a repeater for the data flow.

Bus topology: Bus networks use a common backbone to connect all devices. A single cable,

(the backbone) functions as a shared communication medium that devices attach or tap into
with an interface connector. A device wanting to communicate with another device on the
network sends a broadcast message onto the wire that all other devices see, but only the
intended recipient actually accepts and processes the message. The bus topology is the
simplest and most common method of interconnecting computers. The two ends of the
transmission line never touch to form a complete loop. A bus topology is also known as
multidrop or linear bus or a horizontal bus.

Ring topology: In a ring network (sometimes called a loop), every device has exactly two

neighbours for communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in the same
direction (either "clockwise" or "counter clockwise"). All the stations are interconnected in
tandem (series) to form a closed loop or circle. Transmissions are unidirectional and must
propagate through all the stations in the loop. Each computer acts like a repeater and the ring
topology is similar to bus or star topologies.
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Mesh topology: The mesh topology incorporates a unique network design in which each

computer on the network connects to every other, creating a point-to-point connection

between every device on the network. Unlike each of the previous topologies, messages sent
on a mesh network can take any of several possible paths from source to destination. A mesh
network in which every device connects to every other is called a full mesh. A disadvantage is
that, a mesh network with n nodes must have n(n-1)/2 links and each node must have n-1 I/O
ports (links).

Hybrid topology: This topology (sometimes called mixed topology) is simply combining two or

more of the traditional topologies to form a larger, more complex topology. Main aim is being
able to share the advantages of different topologies.

Mukesh Chinta
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Computer Networks
VR-10, CS6004

Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

MAN {Metropolitan Area Network}

A MAN is optimized for a larger geographical area than a LAN, ranging from several blocks of
buildings to entire cities. Its geographic scope falls between a WAN and LAN. A MAN might be a
single network like the cable television network or it usually interconnects a number of local
area networks (LANs) using a high-capacity backbone technology, such as fiber-optical links,
and provides up-link services to wide area networks and the Internet.

A metropolitan area network based on cable TV

MANs typically operate at speeds of 1.5 Mbps to 10 Mbps and range from five miles to a few
hundred miles in length. A MAN (like a WAN) is not generally owned by a single organization.
The MAN, its communications links and equipment are generally owned by either a consortium
of users or by a single network provider who sells the service to the users. DQDB {Distributed
Queue Dual Bus}, is the metropolitan area network standard for data communication. It is
specified in the IEEE 802.6 standard. Using DQDB, networks can be up to 20 miles (30 km) long
and operate at speeds of 34 to 155 Mbit/s.

It consits of two unidirectional buses (cables) to which all the computers are connected. Each
bus has a head-end, which initiates transmission activity. Traffic destined for a computer to the
right of the sender uses the upper bus and to the left uses the lower one.
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

WAN {Wide Area Networks}

Wide area networks are the oldest type of data communications network that provide
relatively slow-speed, long-distance transmission of data, voice and video information over
relatively large and widely dispersed geographical areas, such as country or entire continent.
WAN contains a collection of machines (hosts) intended for running user (i.e.,
application) programs. The hosts are connected by a communication subnet, or just subnet. The
hosts are owned by the customers, whereas the communication subnet is typically owned and
operated by a telephone company or Internet service provider. The job of the subnet is to carry
messages from host to host. In most wide area networks, the subnet consists of two distinct
components: transmission lines and switching elements. Transmission lines move bits between
machines. They can be made of copper wire, optical fiber, or even radio links. Switching
elements are specialized computers that connect three or more transmission lines. When data
arrive on an incoming line, the switching element must choose an outgoing line on which to
forward them. Router is the common name given for a switching element.

If two routers that do not share a transmission line wish to communicate, they must do this
indirectly, via other routers. When a packet is sent from one router to another via one or more
intermediate routers, the packet is received at each intermediate router in its entirety, stored
there until the required output line is free, and then forwarded. A subnet organized according
to this principle is called a store-and-forward or packet-switched subnet. When a process on
some host has a message to be sent to a process on some other host, the sending host first cuts
the message into packets, each one bearing its number in the sequence. These packets are then
injected into the network one at a time in quick succession. The packets are transported
individually over the network and deposited at the receiving host, where they are reassembled
into the original message and delivered to the receiving process. Routing decisions are made
locally according to a routing algorithm.
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The Physical Layer

Two types of WANs are VPN {Virtual Private Network} and ISP {Internet Service Provider}
network. Compared to the dedi-cated arrangement, a VPN has the usual advantage of
virtualization, which is that it provides flexible reuse of aresource (Internetconnectivity). Some
WANs use wireless technologies and examples are satellite systems and cellular telephone
network.

PAN {Personal Area Networks}

PANs(Personal Area Networks) let devices communicate over the range of a person. A common
example is awireless network thatconnects a computer with its peripherals. companies got
together to design a short-range wireless
network called Bluetooth to connect
these

components

without

wires.

Bluetooth networks use the master-slave

paradigm. The system unit (the PC) is
normally the master, talking to the
mouse,

keyboard,

Themaster

tells

etc.,
the

as
slaves

slaves.
what

addresses to use, when they can

broadcast, how long they can transmit,
what frequencies they can use, and so
on. Bluetooth can be used inother
settings like connecting a headset to a
mobile phone, linking up a digital music
player or mobile phone to a car stereo etc. PANs can also be built with othertechnologies that
communicate over short ranges, such as RFID on smartcards and library books.

Internetworks
People on one network want to communicate with other networks necessiating the need for
connection of different and probably incompatible networks. A collection of inter connected
networks is called an internetwork or internet. The Internet uses ISP networksto connect
enterprise networks, home networks, and many other networks. A network is formed by the
combination of a subnet and its hosts. Gateway is the common name given to the machine that
makes a connection between two or more networks and provides the necessary translation,
both in terms of hardware and software. Gateways are distinguished by the layer at which they
operate in the protocol hierarchy

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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Circuit Switched vs Packet switched networks

In ciruit switched netwroks, a dedicated circuit is established across a set of links. Example is
the telephone network. An end-to-end permanent connection is maintained. Once the
communication is complete, the connection is ended and the links are released.
Advantages: Guaranteed bandwidth, reliable communication, simple data routing, low perpacket overhead.
Disadvantages: wasted bandwidth, blocked connections, connection set-up delay.

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The Physical Layer

In packet switched networks, data is split into blcoks called packets and each packet contains
indentification information. Packets traverrse the network individually. Destination address is
used to forward packets.
Advantages: Multiplexing, service, adaption to congestion and failures
Disadvantages: No guaranteed bandwidth, per packet overhead, complex end-to-end control,
delay and congestion.
An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of
many interlinked local area networks and also use leased lines in the wide area network. An
intranet uses TCP/IP, HTTP, and other Internet protocols and in general looks like a private
version of the Internet. With tunneling, companies can send private messages through the
public network, using the public network with special encryption/decryption and other security
safeguards to connect.

Network Software
Protocol Hierarchies
To reduce their design complexity, most networks are organized as a stack of layers or levels,
each one built upon the one below it. The purpose of each layer is to offer certain services to
the higher layers, shielding those layers from the details of how the offered services are actually
implemented. Layer n on one machine carries on a conversation with layer n on another
machine. The rules and conventions used in this conversation are collectively known as the
layer n protocol. A protocol is an agreement between the communicating parties on how
communication is to proceed. A five layer network model is shown below.

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The Physical Layer

A communication protocol is a set of rules allowing end users (computers) and network devices
to send and receive data in an orderly and structured manner. A protocol consists of three key
rules: syntax (format of the data), semantics (interpretation of data), and timing (when to send
and when to respond, with what speed).
The entities comprising the corresponding layers on different machines are called peers.
The peers may be processes, hardware devices, or even human beings. Peers communicate
using the protocols. No data are directly transferred from layer n on one machine to layer n on
another machine. Instead, each layer passes data and control information to the layer
immediately below it, until the lowest layer is reached. Below layer 1 is the physical medium
through which actual communication occurs. Between each pair of adjacent layers is an
interface. The interface defines which primitive operations and services the lower layer makes
available to the upper one. A set of layers and protocols is called a network architecture. A list
of protocols used by a certain system, one protocol per layer, is called a protocol stack.
A message, M, is produced by an application process running in layer 5 and given to
layer 4 for transmission. Layer 4 puts a header in front of the message to identify the message
and passes the result to layer 3.

Information flow in a five layer model

As layer 3 imposes a limit on the size of the message transmitted, it must break up incoming
messages into smaller units, packets, prepending a layer 3 header to each packet. In this
example, M is split into two parts, M1 and M2. Layer 3 decides which of the outgoing lines to
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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

use and passes the packets to layer 2. Layer 2 adds not only a header to each piece, but also a
trailer, and gives the resulting unit to layer 1 for physical transmission. At the receiving machine
the message moves upward, from layer to layer, with headers being stripped off as it
progresses. None of the headers for layers below n are passed up to layer n.
Advantages of Layering architecture
Interoperability - Layering promotes greater interoperability between devices from
different manufacturers and even between different generations of the same type of device
from the same manufacturer.
Reduction of the Domino Effect - Another very important advantage of a layered protocol
system is that it helps to prevent changes in one layer from affecting other layers. This helps
to expedite technology development.
Modularity
Task Segmentation - Breaking a large complex system into smaller more manageable
subcomponents allows for easier development and implementation of new technologies; as
well as facilitating human comprehension of what may be very diverse and complex
systems.
Enhanced Troubleshooting and Fault Identification - Troubleshooting and fault
identification are made considerably easier thus resolution times are greatly reduced.
Layering allows for examination in isolation of subcomponents as well as the whole.
Rapid Application Development (RAD) - Work loads can be evenly distributed which means
that multiple activities can be conducted in parallel thereby reducing the time taken to
develop, debug, optimize and package new technologies ready for production
implementation.
Promotion of Multi-Vendor Development - Layering promotes multi-vendor development
through the standardization of networking components at both the hardware and software
levels because of the clear and precise delineation of responsibilities that layering brings to
the developers' table.
Standardization and Certification - The layered approach to networking protocol
specifications facilitates a more streamlined and simplified standardization and certification
process.
Portability - Layered networking protocols are much easier to port from one system or
architecture to another

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Introduction, Reference Models

The Physical Layer

Design Issues for the Layers

1. Addressing: Mechanism for identifying senders and receivers, on the network need
some form of addressing. There are multiple processes running on one machine. Some
means is needed for a process on one machine to specify with whom it wants to
communicate.
2. Error Control: There may be erroneous transmission due to several problems during
communication. These are due to problem in communication circuits, physical medium,
due to thermal noise and interference. Many error detecting and error correcting codes
are known, but both ends of the connection must agree on which one being used. In
addition, the receiver must have some mechanism of telling the sender which messages
have been received correctly and which has not.
3. Flow control: If there is a fast sender at one end sending data to a slow receiver, then
there must be flow control mechanism to control the loss of data by slow receivers.
There are several mechanisms used for flow control such as increasing buffer size at
receivers, slow down the fast sender, and so on. Some process will not be in position to
accept arbitrarily long messages. Then, there must be some mechanism
to disassembling, transmitting and then reassembling messages.
4. Multiplexing / demultiplexing: If the data has to be transmitted on transmission media
separately, it is inconvenient or expensive to setup separate connection for each pair of
communicating processes. So, multiplexing is needed in the physical layer at sender end
and demultiplexing is need at the receiver end.
5. Routing: When data has to be transmitted from source to destination, there may be
multiple paths between them. An optimized (shortest) route must be chosen. This
decision is made on the basis of several routing algorithms, which chooses optimized
route to the destination.
Layers can offer two types of services namely connection oriented service and connectionless
service.
Connection oriented service:
The service user first establishes a connection, uses the connection and then releases the
connection. Once the connection is established between source and destination, the path is
fixed. The data transmission takes place through this path established. The order of the
messages sent will be same at the receiver end. Services are reliable and there is no loss of
data. Most of the time, reliable service provides acknowledgement is an overhead and adds
delay.

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Connectionless Services:
In this type of services, no connection is established between source and destination. Here
there is no fixed path. Therefore, the messages must carry full destination address and each
one of these messages are sent independent of each other. Messages sent will not be delivered
at the destination in the same order. Thus, grouping and ordering is required at the receiver
end, and the services are not reliable.
There is no acknowledgement confirmation from the receiver. Unreliable connectionless
service is often called datagram service, which does not return an acknowledgement to the
sender. In some cases, establishing a connection to send one short messages is needed. But
reliability is required, and then acknowledgement datagram service can be used for these
applications.

Another service is the request-reply service. In this type of service, the sender transmits a
single datagram containing a request from the client side. Then at the other end, server reply
will contain the answer. Request-reply is commonly used to implement communication in the
client-server model.
Service Primitives
A service is formally specified by a set of primitives (operations) available to a user process to
access the service. These primitives tell the service to perform some action or report on an
action taken by a peer entity.

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The set of primitives available depends on the nature of the service being provided. The
primitives for connection-oriented service are different from those of connectionless service.
The Relationship of Services to Protocols
A service is a set of primitives (operations) that a layer provides to the layer above it. The
service defines what operations the layer is prepared to perform on behalf of its users, but it
says nothing at all about how these operations are implemented. A service relates to an
interface between two layers, with the
lower layer being the service provider
and the upper layer being the service
user.
A protocol, in contrast, is a set of rules
governing the format and meaning of the
packets, or messages that are exchanged by the peer entities within a layer. Entities use
protocols to implement their service definitions. They are free to change their protocols at will,
provided they do not change the service visible to their users. Services relate to the interfaces
between layers, whereas protocols relate to the packets sent between peer entities on
different machines.
The active elements in each layer are often called entities, which can either be a software entity
or hardware entity. Entities in the same layer on different machines are called peer entities.

Services are available at SAPs which have an unique address for identification. Layer n SAPs
are the places where layer N+1 can access the services offered.

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Reference Model
A reference model is a conceptual layout that describes how communication between devices
should occur. A reference model has many advantages such as it defines standards for building
network components thereby permitting multiple-vendor development and also defines which
functions should be performed at each layer of the model thereby promoting the
standardization of network.

The OSI Reference Model

International standard organization (ISO) established a committee in 1977 to develop
architecture for computer communication and the OSI model is the result of this effort. In 1983,
ISO published a document called The Basic Reference Model for Open Systems
Interconnection, which visualizes network protocols as a seven-layered model. In 1984, the
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model was approved as an international
standard for communications architecture.
OSI is a standard reference model for communication between end users in a network. The
term Open system means a set of protocols using which a system can communicate with any
other system irrespective of the differences in their underlying hardware and software. The OSI
reference model divides the problem of moving information between computers over a
network medium into SEVEN smaller and more manageable problems
In 1983, Day and Zimmerman laid down certain principles that were applied to arrive at the
seven layers can be briefly summarized as follows:
1. A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
2. Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
3. The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining internationally
standardized protocols.
4. The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across the
interfaces.
5. The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be thrown
together in the same layer out of necessity and small enough that the architecture does not
become unwieldy

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. OSI model consists of a seven separate but related layers namely, physical, data link,
network, transport, session, presentation and application layers.

The lower 4 layers (transport, network, data link and physical Layers 4, 3, 2, and 1) are
concerned with the flow of data from end to end through the network. The upper four layers of
the OSI model (application, presentation and sessionLayers 7, 6 and 5) are orientated more
toward services to the applications. Data is encapsulated with the necessary protocol
information as it moves down the layers before network transit.
Physical Layer {the physical layer is responsible for transmitting individual bits from one node to the next}
The physical layer is the lowest layer of the OSI hierarchy and coordinates the functions
required to transmit a bit stream over a physical medium. It also defines the procedures and
functions that physical devices and interfaces have to perform for transmission occur. The
physical layer specifies the type of transmission medium and the transmission mode (simplex,
half duplex or full duplex) and the physical, electrical, functional and procedural standards for
accessing data communication networks.

Transmission media defined by the physical layer include metallic cable, optical fiber cable or
wireless radio-wave propagation. The physical layer also includes the carrier system used to
propagate the data signals between points in the network. The carrier systems are simply
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The Physical Layer

communication systems that carry data through a system using either metallic or optical fiber
cables or wireless arrangements such as microwave, satellites and cellular radio systems.
Data-link Layer {the data link layer is responsible for transmitting frames from one node to the next}
The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable
link and is responsible for node-to-node delivery. It makes the physical layer appear error free
to the upper layer (network layer).

The data link layer packages data from the physical layer into groups called blocks, frames or
packets. If frames are to be distributed to different systems on the network, the data link layer
adds a header to the frame to define the physical address of the sender (source address) and/or
receiver (destination address) of the frame. The data-link layer provides flow-control, accesscontrol, and error-control.
Network Layer {is responsible for the delivery of individual packets from the source host to the destination host}
The network layer provides details that enable data to be routed between devices in an
environment using multiple networks, subnetworks or both. This is responsible for addressing
messages and data so they are sent to the correct destination, and for translating logical
addresses and names (like a machine name FLAME) into physical addresses. This layer is also
responsible for finding a path through the network to the destination computer.

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The network layer provides the upper layers of the hierarchy with independence from the data
transmission and switching technologies used to interconnect systems. Networking
components that operate at the network layer include routers and their software.
Transport Layer {is responsible for delivery of a message from one process to another}
The transport layer controls and ensures the end-to-end integrity of the data message
propagated through the network between two devices, providing the reliable, transparent
transfer of data between two endpoints.

Transport layer responsibilites includes message routing, segmenting, error recovery

and two types of basic services to an upper-layer protocol: connection oriented and
connectionless. The transport layer is the highest layer in the OSI hierarchy in terms of
communicatons and may provide data tracking, connection flow control, sequencing of data,
error checking, and application addressing and identification.
Session Layer {responsible for dialog control and synchronization}
Session layer, some times called the dialog controller provides mechanism for
controlling the dialogue between the two end systems. It defines how to start, control and end
conversations (called sessions) between applications.

Session layer protocols provide the logical connection entities at the application layer. These
applications include file transfer protocols and sending email. Session responsibilities include
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network log-on and log-off procedures and user authentication. Session layer characteristics
include virtual connections between applications, entities, synchronization of data flow for
recovery purposes, creation of dialogue units and activity units, connection parameter
negotiation, and partitioning services into functional groups.
Presentation Layer {responsible for translation, compression, and encryption }
The presentation layer provides independence to the application processes by
addressing any code or syntax conversion necessary to present the data to the network in a
common communications format. It specifies how end-user applications should format the
data.

The presentation layer translated between different data formats and protocols. Presentation
functions include data file formatting, encoding, encryption and decryption of data messages,
dialogue procedures, data compression algorithms, synchronization, interruption, and
termination.
Application Layer {responsible for providing services to the user}
The application layer is the highest layer in the hierarchy and is analogous to the general
manager of the network by providing access to the OSI environment.

The applications layer provides distributed information services and controls the sequence of
activities within and application and also the sequence of events between the computer
application and the user of another application. The application layer communicates directly
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with the users application program. User application processes require application layer
service elements to access the networking environment. The service elements are of two types:
CASEs (common application service elements) satisfying particular needs of application
processes like association control, concurrence and recovery. The second type is SASE (specific
application service elements) which include TCP/IP stack, FTP, SNMP, Telnet and SMTP.

OSI Model Data Flow

The sending process passes data to the application layer. The application layer attaches
an application header and then passes the frame to the presentation layer.

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The presentation layer can transform data in various ways, if necessary, such as by translating it
and adding a header. It gives the result to the session layer. The presentation layer is not aware
of which portion (if any) of the data received from the application layer is the application
header and which portion is actually user data, because that information is irrelevant to the
presentation layer's role.
The process of adding headers is repeated from layer to layer until the frame reaches
the data link layer. There, in addition to a data-link header, a data-link trailer is added. The
data-link trailer contains a checksum and padding if needed. This aids in frame synchronization.
The frame is passed down to the physical layer, where it is transmitted to the receiving
computer. On the receiving computer, the various headers and the data trailer are stripped off
one by one as the frame ascends the layers and finally reaches the receiving process. Although
the actual data transmission is vertical, each layer is programmed as if the transmission were
horizontal. For example, when a sending transport layer gets a message from the session layer,
it attaches a transport header and sends it to the receiving transport layer. The fact that the
message actually passes through the network layer on its own computer is unimportant.

The TCP/IP Reference Model

The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and
similar networks, and generally the most popular protocol stack for wide area networks. It is
commonly known as TCP/IP, because of its most important protocols: Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), which were the first networking protocols defined in
this standard. It is occasionally known as the DoD model. TCP/IP provides end-to-end
connectivity specifying how data should be formatted, addressed, transmitted, routed and
received at the destination. It has four abstraction layers which are used to sort all Internet
protocols according to the scope of networking involved.

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TCP/IP model has four different layers.

1. Internet Layer:
The internet layer is the linchpin that holds the whole architecture together. Its job is to permit
hosts to inject packets into any network and have them travel independently to the destination
(potentially on a different network). They may even arrive in a completely different order than
they were sent, in which case it is the job of higher layers to rearrange them, if in-order delivery
is desired. Internet Protocol (IP) is the most important protocol in this layer. It is a
connectionless protocol and does not provide reliability, flow control, or error recovery. P
provides a routing function that attempts to deliver transmitted messages to their destination.
A message unit in an IP network is called an IP datagram. This is the basic unit of information
transmitted across TCP/IP networks. Other internetwork-layer protocols are IP, ICMP {Internet
Control Message Protocol}, IGMP {Internet Group Management Protocol}, ARP {Address
Resolution Protocol}, and RARP {Reverse ARP}.

2. Transport Layer
The layer above the internet layer in the TCP/IP model is the transport layer and its designed to
allow peer entities on the source and destination hosts to carry on a conversation, just as in the
OSI transport layer. Two end-to-end transport protocols namely TCP {Transmission Control
Protocol} and UDP {User Datagram Protocol} have been defined.
TCP is a reliable connection-oriented protocol that permits a byte stream originating on one
machine to be transported without error on any machine in the internet. It divides the
incoming byte stream into discrete message and passes each one onto the internet layer. At the
destination, the receiving TCP process collects the received message into the output stream.
TCP deals with flow control to make sure a fast sender cannot swamp a slow receiver with more
message than it can handle.
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3. Application Layer
In TCP/IP model, session or presentation layer are not present. Application layer is present on
the top of the Transport layer. It includes all the higher-level protocols which are virtual
terminal (TELNET), file transfer (FTP) and electronic mail (SMTP). The virtual terminal protocol
permits a user on one machine to log into a distant machine and work there. The file transfer
protocol offers a way to move data efficiently from one machine to another. Electronic mail
was used for file transfer purpose but later a specialized protocol SMTP, was developed for it.
FTP was designed to permit reliable transfer of files over different platforms and it uses TCP to
ensure reliability. HTTP permits applications such as browsers to upload and download web
pages. It makes use of TCP at the transport layer again to check reliability. HTTP (Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol) is a connectionless protocol that sends a request, receives a response and
then disconnects the connection. HTTP delivers HTML documents plus all the other
components supported within HTML such as JavaScript, Visual script and applets. By using TCP,
SMTP sends email to other computers that support the TCP/IP protocol suite. SMTP (Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol) provides an extension to the local mail services that existed in the early
years of LANs. It supervises the email sending from the local mail host to a remote mail host. It
is not reliable for accepting mail from local users or distributing received mail to recipients this
is the responsibility of the local mail system. For the transport of network management
information, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is used as standardized protocol.
Managed network devices can be cross-examined by a computer running to return details
about their status and level of activity. To reduce the overhead of network traffic, SNMP uses
UDP at the transport layer.
4. Host to Network Layer
The network interface layer, also called the link layer or the data-link layer, is the interface to
the actual network hardware. This interface may or may not provide reliable delivery, and may
be packet or stream oriented. In fact, TCP/IP does not specify any protocol here, but can use
almost any network interface available, which illustrates the flexibility of the IP layer. Examples
are IEEE 802.2, X.25,ATM, FDDI, and even SNA.TCP/IP specifications do not describe or
standardize any network-layer protocols, they only standardize ways of accessing those
protocols from the internetwork layer.

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A Comparison of the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models

OSI and TCP/IP models are based on the concept of a stack of independent protocols. Functions
of the layers are more or less similar.
Three concepts are central to OSI Model: Services, Interfaces, and Protocols.
Services: This definition tells what the layer does. It defines the layers semantics.
Interface: It tells the process above it how to access it.
Peer Protocols: Protocols used in a layer are the layers own business.
TCP/IP model did not clearly distinguish between service, interface and protocol. The protocols
in the OSI model are better hidden than in the TCP/IP model and can be replaced relatively
easily as the technology changes. It is learnt that the OSI model was devised before the
protocols were invented. This ordering means that the model was not biased toward one
particular set of protocols. Downside of this ordering is that the designers did not have much
experience with the subject and did not have good idea of which functionality to put in which
layer. The committee originally expected that each country would have one network ,run by the
government and using the OSI Protocols, so no thought was given to internetworking.
With TCP/IP, the protocols came first and the model was really just a description of existing
protocols. Protocols fit the model perfectly. The only trouble was that the model did not fit any
other protocols stacks. The difference between two models is the number of layers: the OSI
model has seven layers and the TCP/IP has four layers .Both have (inter)network, transport and
Application layers, but the other layers are different.
Another difference is in the area of connectionless and connection oriented communication.
OSI Model supports connection oriented communication in transport layer, whereas in network
layer it supports both connectionless and connection oriented. The TCP/IP model has only one
mode in the network layer but supports both modes in transport layer.

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Physical Layer
The physical layer is the first layer of the Open System Interconnection Model (OSI Model). The
physical layer deals with bit-level transmission between different devices and supports
electrical or mechanical interfaces connecting to the physical medium for synchronized
communication.
Analog data is defined as the data having continuous states and digital data is defined as the
data having discrete states. Analog signal is a signal that passes through and includes a wide
range of varying values of intensity over a period of time, whereas a signal that has only a finite
range of values is called as a digital signal.

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Periodic signal exhibits a specific signal pattern that repeats over time, whereas non-periodic
(aperiodic) does not repeat any specific signal pattern. A composite signal is a collection of one
or more signals having different frequencies, amplitude and phases. It can be periodic or
aperiodic signal.
The time required to transmit a character depends on both the encoding method and the
signaling speed (i.e., the modulation rate - the number of times/sec the signal changes its
voltage)

Baud (D) - the number of changes per second

Bandwidth (H) - the range of frequencies that is passed by a channel. The transmitted
signal is constrained by the transmitter and the nature of the transmission medium in
cycles/sec (hertz)

Channel capacity (C) the rate at which data can be transmitted over a given channel
under given conditions.{This is also referred to as data rate (R)}

Nyquist theorem: To transmit at a transmission rate of fb Hz requires a minimum bandwidth of

Hmin = fb/2 Hz This specifies the maximum data rate for the noiseless case as:

Shannons theorem: If information rate does not exceed channel capacity, there exists a
coding technique such that information can be transmitted over a noisy channel, error free. The
channel capacity provides the maximum possible data rate for the general noisy case as:

Network data rate is limited by the choice of medium and communication technology
Some of the advantages of digital transmission are:
1. Repeaters are used for long distance communication does not induce noise as with the
case of amplifiers in analog transmission.
2. Digital data & digitalized analog data can be easily encrypted and decrypted.
3. With LSI & VLSI, size and cost of digital equipment has been significantly reduced.
4. Multiplexing can be done easily in order to increase the channel capacity.

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Transmission Media
The transmission medium is the physical path between transmitter and receiver in a data
transmission system. It is included in the physical layer of the OSI protocol hierarchy. The
transmission medium is usually free space, metallic cable, or fiber-optic cable. The information
is usually a signal that is the result of a conversion of data from another form.
Transmission media can be generally categorized as either unguided or guided. Guided
Transmission Media uses a "cabling" system (or some sort of conductor) that guides the data
signals along a specific path. The data signals are bound by the "cabling" system. Guided Media
is also known as Bound Media. The conductor directs the signal propagating down it. Only
devices physically connected to the medium can receive signals propagating down a guided
transmission medium. Examples of guided transmission media are copper wire and optical
fiber.

Unguided Transmission Media consists of a means for the data signals to travel but
nothing to guide them along a specific path. The data signals are not bound to a cabling media
and as such are often called Unbound Media. Unguided transmission media are wireless
systems. Signals propagating down an unguided transmission medium are available to anyone
who has a device capable of receiving them.
A physical facility is one that occupies space and has weight as opposed to wireless
media such as earths atmosphere or a vacuum and includes metallic cables and optical cables.
Metallic transmission lines includes open-wire, twin-lead, and twisted-pair copper wire as well
as coaxial cable, and optical fibers include plastic- and glass-core fibers encapsulated in various
kinds of cladding materials.

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Guided Media
Various types of physical medium exist and each one has its own niche in terms of bandwidth,
delay, cost, ease of installation and maintenance. For guided transmission media, the
transmission capacity, in terms of either data rate or bandwidth, depends critically on the
distance and on whether the medium is point-to-point or multipoint.
Magnetic Media
One of the most common ways to transport data from one computer to another is to write
them onto magnetic tape or removable media (e.g., recordable DVDs), physically transport the
tape or disks to the destination machine, and read them back in again. Though this is more cost
effective, especially for applications in which high bandwidth or cost per bit transported is the
key factor, the delay characteristics are very poor.
Twisted pair
Twisted pair is the simplest, oldest and low priced cable medium. It is made up of two insulated
copper wires about 1mm thick, twisted around each other in a continuous spiral. The purpose
of twisting the wires is to reduce electrical interference (or noise) from similar pairs close by.
The most common application of the twisted pair is the telephone system. Twisted pairs can
run several kilometers without amplification, but for longer distances, repeaters are needed.

Twisted pairs can be used for transmitting either analog or digital signals. The bandwidth
depends on the thickness of the wire and the distance traveled, but several megabits/sec can
be achieved for a few kilometers in many cases. Two basic types of twisted-pair cable exist:
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted pair (STP).
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
An UTP cable (category 5) is one of the most popular LAN cables. This cable consists of 4
twisted pairs of metal wires (that means there are 8 wires in the cable). Each pair is twisted
with a different number of twists per inch to help eliminate interference from adjacent pairs
and other electrical devices. Each twisted pair consists of two metal conductors that are
insulated separately with their own coloured plastic insulation.

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UTP cable relies solely on the cancellation effect produced by twisted wire pairs to limit the
signal degradation caused by electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference.
To further reduce crosstalk, the number of twists in the wire pairs varies. UTP cable is often
installed using a Registered Jack 45 (RJ-45) connector. The RJ-45 is an eight-wire connector used
commonly to connect computers onto a local area network (LAN), especially Ethernet. UTP
cables are suited for both data and voice transmissions; hence are commonly used in telephone
systems. They are also widely used in DSL lines, 10Base-T and 100Base-T local area networks.
UTP has several advantages as it is the cheapest media, easy to install and maintain. It also
occupies less space. It is the fastest copper-based medium today. Different categories of UTP
are:

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Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

This cable has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering that covers each pair of insulated
conductors. The metal foil is used to prevent infiltration of electromagnetic noise. This shield
also helps to eliminate crosstalk.

STP reduces electrical noise both within the cable and from outside the cable. STP is suited for
environments with electrical interference and also provides better performance at higher data
rates. But the extra shielding makes the STP cables quite bulky and more expensive that UTP
cables. Also, the metallic shielding must be ground at both ends. Or else it acts as an antenna
picking up unwanted signals.
Coaxial cable
It is also one of the common transmission medium (called as coax) in current day data
communications. They are also relatively inexpensive, but
most costly than UTP on a per-unit length.
A coaxial cable consists of a stiff central conductor (copper
wire) as the core, surrounded by an insulating material. The
insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor, often as a
closely-woven braided mesh. The outer conductor is covered
in a protective plastic sheath known as jacket.

Although

coaxial cabling is difficult to install, it is highly resistant to

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signal interference. It can support greater cable lengths between network devices and greater
bandwidth than twisted-pair cable. Coaxial cables are capable of transmitting data at a fast rate
of 10Mbps.
Thicknet and Thinnet are two varieties of coaxial cable, but rarely used. Ethernet can run
approx 100mts (328 feet) with UTP, while coaxial cable increases this distance to 500mts (1640
feet). The RG numbering system used with coaxial cables refers to cables approved by U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD).

Categories of coaxial cables

To connect coaxial cable to devices, it is necessary to use coaxial connectors. The most
common type of connector is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman, or BNC, connectors. BNC connectors
are sometimes referred to as bayonet mount, as they can be easily twisted on or off.

There are three types: the BNC connector, the BNC T connector, the BNC terminator. Coaxial
cable applications include analog and digital telephone networks, cable TV networks, Ethernet
LANs and short range connections.
Fiber-optic Cable
Fiber-optic cable or optical fiber consists of thin glass fibers that can carry information in the
form of visible light. The typical optical fiber consists of a very narrow strand of glass or plastic
called the core. Around the core is a concentric layer of less dense glass or plastic called the
cladding, whose refractive index is less than that of the core. The outer most layer of the cable
is known as the jacket, which shields the cladding and the core from moisture, crushing and
abrasion. Optical fibers transmit a beam of light by means of total internal reflection. When a
light beam from a source enters the core, the core refracts the light and guides the light along

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its path. The cladding reflects the light back into the core and prevents it from escaping through
the medium.

Fiber optic cables support two modes of propagating light, which are multimode and single
mode. In multimode, many beams from a light source traverse along multiple paths and at
multiple angles. In single mode, the beams propagate almost horizontally.

LED or LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) acts as the source
converting electric pulse to light pulses and photodiode acts as receiver doing viceversa. Fiber
optic cables uses 3 types of connectors, which are :
SC (Subscriber Connector)- used to connect cable TV
ST (Straight Tip)- to connect network devices
MT-RJ (Mechanical Transfer-Registered Jack)- for network applications.

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