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Chapter 1 - Introduction
1.1 Data Communication
The term telecommunication means communication at a distance. The word data
refers to information presented in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties
creating and using the data. Data communications are the exchange of data
between two devices via some form of transmission medium such as a wire cable.
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: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
 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.
 Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been
altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
 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.
 Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven
delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.

1.1.1 Components of a Data Communication System

 Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated.

Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and
video.
 Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a
computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
 Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a
computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
 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.
 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.

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1.1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

 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
 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. 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. The full-duplex mode is used when communication
in both directions is required all the time. The capacity of the channel, however,
must be divided between the two directions.

1.2 NETWORKS
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by
communication links. A node can be a computer, printer, or any other device
capable of sending and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the network.
A link can be a cable, air, optical fiber, or any medium which can transport a signal,
carrying information.

1.2.1 Network Criteria

 Performance
 Depends on Network Elements
 Measured in terms of Delay and Throughput
 Reliability
 Failure rate of network components
 Measured in terms of availability/robustness
 Security
 Data protection against corruption/loss of data due to:
 Errors

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 Malicious users

1.2.2 Physical Structures: Type of 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. When you change television channels by
infrared remote control, you are establishing a point-to-point connection
between the remote control and the television's control system.
 Multipoint: A multipoint (also called multi-drop) connection 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.

1.2.3 Physical Topology

 Connection of devices
 Type of transmission -
unicast, mulitcast,
broadcast

A fully connected mesh

topology (five devices)

Mesh: 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

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A star topology connecting four

stations

Star Topology: 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. Unlike a mesh topology,
a star topology does not allow direct
traffic between devices. 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 device.

A bus topology connecting three stations

Bus Topology: The preceding examples all describe point-to-point connections. A

bus topology, on the other hand, is multipoint. 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

A ring topology connecting six stations

Ring Topology: 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.

Hybrid Topology: A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star
topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus topology.

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A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

1.2.4 Categories of Networks

 Local Area Networks (LANs)
 Short distances
 Designed to provide local interconnectivity
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 Long distances
 Provide connectivity over large areas
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
 Provide connectivity over areas such as a city, a campus

An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

Local Area Network: A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and
links the devices in a single office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of
an organization and the type of technology used, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs
and a printer in someone's home office; or it can extend throughout a company and
include audio and video peripherals. Currently, LAN size is limited to a few
kilometers.

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WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

Wide Area Network: A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance

transmission of data, image, audio, and video information over large geographic
areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world. A WAN
can be as complex as the backbones that connect the Internet or as simple as a
dial-up line that connects a home computer to the Internet. We normally refer to the
first as a switched WAN and to the second as a point-to-point WAN.
The switched WAN connects the end systems, which usually comprise a router
(internet-working connecting device) that connects to another LAN or WAN.
The point-to-point WAN is normally a line leased from a telephone or cable TV
provider that connects a home computer or a small LAN to an Internet service
provider (lSP). This type of WAN is often used to provide Internet access.

1.2.4 The internetworking:

When two or more networks are connected, they become 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. The established office on the west coast has
a bus topology LAN; the newly opened office on the east coast has a star topology
LAN. The president of the company lives somewhere in the middle, and needs to
have control over the company from home.
To create a backbone WAN for connecting these three entities (two LANs and the
president's computer), a switched WAN (operated by a service provider such as a
telecom company) has been leased. To connect the LANs to this switched WAN,
however, three point-to-point WANs are required. These point-to-point WANs can be
a high-speed DSL line offered by a telephone company or a cable modern line
offered by a cable TV provider.

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A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

1.3 The
Internet
The Internet has
revolutionized many
aspects of our daily
lives. It has affected the
way we do business as
well as the way we
spend our leisure time.
The Internet is a
communication system
that has brought a
wealth of information to
our fingertips and
organized it for our use.

Hierarchical
organization of the
Internet

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1.4 Protocols
A protocol is synonymous with rule. It consists of a set of rules that govern data
communications. It determines what is communicated, how it is communicated and
when it is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics and
timing

1.4.1 Elements of a Protocol

 Syntax
 Structure or format of the data
 Indicates how to read the bits - field delineation
 Semantics
 Interprets the meaning of the bits
 Knows which fields define what action
 Timing
 When data should be sent and what
 Speed at which data should be sent or speed at which it is being received.

1.5 Standards
Standards are essential in creating and maintaining an open and competitive
market for equipment manufacturers and in guaranteeing national and international
operational ability of data and telecommunication technology and processes.
Data communication standards fall into two categories: de facto (meaning "by
fact" or "by convention") and de jure (meaning "by law" or "by regulation").

 De facto. Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but
have been adopted as standards through widespread use are de facto standards.
De facto standards are often established originally by manufacturers who seek to
define the functionality of a new product or technology.

 De jure. Those standards that have been legislated by an officially recognized

body are de jure standards.

1.5.1 Standards Organizations

Standards are developed through the cooperation of standards creation
committees, forums, and government regulatory agencies.

1. The International Standards Organization (ISO)

2. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T)
3. ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
4. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE)
5. The Electronic Industries Association (EIA)

1.5.2 Internet Standards

An Internet standard is a thoroughly tested specification that is useful to and
adhered to by those who work with the Internet. It is a formalized regulation that
must be followed. There is a strict procedure by which a specification attains
Internet standard status. A specification begins as an Internet draft. An Internet
draft is a working document (a work in progress) with no official status and a 6-
month lifetime. Upon recommendation from the Internet authorities, a draft may be
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published as a Request for Comment (RFC). Each RFC is edited, assigned a number,
and made available to all interested parties. RFCs go through maturity levels and
are categorized according to their requirement level.
Chapter 2 - Network Models

2-1 LAYERED TASKS

We use the concept of layers in our daily life. As an example, let us
consider two friends who communicate through postal mail. The process of
sending a letter to a friend would be complex if there were no services
available from the post office.

Tasks involved in sending a letter

2.1.1 Sender, Receiver, and Carrier

At the Sender Site
Higher layer: The sender writes the letter, inserts the letter in an envelope, writes
the sender and receiver addresses, and drops the letter in a mailbox.
Middle layer: The letter is picked up by a letter carrier and delivered to the post
office.
Lower layer: The letter is sorted at the post office; a carrier transports the letter

On the Way
The letter is then on its way to the recipient. On the way to the recipient's local post
office, the letter may actually go through a central office. In addition, it may be
transported by truck, train, airplane, boat, or a combination of these.

At the Receiver Site

Lower layer: The carrier transports the letter to the post office.
Middle layer: The letter is sorted and delivered to the recipient's mailbox.
Higher layer: The receiver picks up the letter, opens the envelope, and reads it.

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2.2 The OSI Model

Established in 1947, the International Standards Organization (ISO) is a
multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on international standards.
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.
ISO is the organization.OSI is the model.

2.2.1 OSI Reference Layers

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. An
understanding of the fundamentals of the
OSI model provides a solid basis for
exploring data communications.
The OSI model is composed of seven
ordered layers:
1. Physical (layer 1),
2. Data link (layer 2),
3. Network (layer 3),
4. Transport (layer 4),
5. Session (layer 5),
6. Presentation (layer 6),
7. Application (layer 7).

2.2.2 Layered Architecture

The interaction between layers in the OSI model

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Figure shows the layers involved when a message is sent from device A to device
B. As the message travels from A to B, it may pass through many intermediate
nodes. These intermediate nodes usually involve only the first three layers of the
OSI model.
Between machines, layer x on one machine communicates with layer x on
another machine. This communication is governed by an agreed-upon series of rules
and conventions called protocols. The processes on each machine that
communicate at a given layer are called peer-to-peer processes. Communication
between machines is therefore a peer-to-peer process using the protocols
appropriate to a given layer.

Peer-to-Peer Processes
At the physical layer, communication is direct: In Figure, device A sends a stream
of bits to device B (through intermediate nodes). At the higher layers, however,
communication must move down through the layers on device A, over to device B,
and then back up through the layers. Each layer in the sending device adds its own
information to the message it receives from the layer just above it and passes the
whole package to the layer just below it.

Interfaces between Layers

The passing of the data and network information down through the layers of the
sending device and back up through the layers of the receiving device is made
possible by an interface between each pair of adjacent layers. Each interface
defines the information and services a layer must provide for the layer above it.
Well-defined interfaces and layer functions provide modularity to a network. As long
as a layer provides the expected services to the layer above it, the specific
implementation of its functions can be modified or replaced without requiring
changes to the surrounding layers.

Organization of the Layers

The seven layers can be thought of as belonging to three subgroups.
 Layers I, 2, and 3-physical, data link, and network-are the network support
layers; they deal with the physical aspects of moving data from one device to
another (such as electrical specifications, physical connections, physical
addressing, and transport timing and reliability).
 Layers 5, 6, and 7-session, presentation, and application-can be thought of as
the user support layers; they allow interoperability among unrelated software
systems.
 Layer 4, the transport layer, links the two subgroups and ensures that what
the lower layers have transmitted is in a form that the upper layers can use.
The upper OSI layers are almost always implemented in software; lower layers
are a combination of hardware and software, except for the physical layer, which is
mostly hardware.

An exchange using the OSI model

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In Figure, which gives an overall view of the OSI layers, D7 means the data unit
at layer 7, D6 means the data unit at layer 6, and so on. The process starts at layer
7 (the application layer), then moves from layer to layer in descending, sequential
order. At each layer, a header, or possibly a trailer, can be added to the data unit.
Commonly, the trailer is added only at layer 2. When the formatted data unit passes
through the physical layer (layer 1), it is changed into an electromagnetic signal and
transported along a physical link.

Encapsulation
Figure reveals another aspect of data communications in the OSI model:
encapsulation. A packet (header and data) at level 7 is encapsulated in a packet at
level 6. The whole packet at level 6 is encapsulated in a packet at level 5, and so on.
In other words, the data portion of a packet at level N - 1 carries the whole packet
(data and header and maybe trailer) from level N. The concept is called
encapsulation; level N - 1 is not aware of which part of the encapsulated packet is
data and which part is the header or trailer. For level N - 1, the whole packet coming
from level N is treated as one integral unit.

2.3 Layers in OSI Model

2.3.1 Physical Layer

The physical layer is responsible for movements of individual bits from one
hop (node) to the next.

The physical layer is also concerned with the following:

 Physical characteristics of interfaces and medium: The physical layer
defines the characteristics of the interface between the devices and the
transmission medium.
 Representation of bits: The physical layer data consists of a stream of bits
(sequence of 0’s or 1’s) with no interpretation. To be transmitted, bits must
be encoded into signals--electrical or optical. The physical layer defines the
type of encoding (how 0’s and 1’s are changed to signals).
 Data rate: The transmission rate-the number of bits sent each second-is also
defined by the physical layer.
 Synchronization of bits: The sender and receiver not only must use the
same bit rate but also must be synchronized at the bit level.
 Line configuration: The physical layer is concerned with the 2-type
connection of devices to the media, a point-to-point and, multipoint
configuration.
 Physical topology: The physical topology defines how devices are
connected to make a network.
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 Transmission mode: The physical layer also defines the direction of

transmission between two devices simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex.

2.3.2 Data Link Layer

The data link layer is responsible for moving frames from one hop (node)
to the next.

Other responsibilities of the data link layer include the following:

 Framing: The data link layer divides the stream of bits received from the
network layer into manageable data units called frames.
 Physical addressing: 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
sender and/or receiver of the frame. If the frame is intended for a system
outside the sender's network, the receiver address is the address of the
device that connects the network to the next one.
 Flow control: If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is
less than the rate at which data are produced in the sender, the data link
layer imposes a flow control mechanism to avoid overwhelming the receiver.
 Error control: The data link layer adds reliability to the physical layer by
adding mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames. It also
uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate frames. Error control is normally
achieved through a trailer added to the end of the frame.
 Access control: When two or more devices are connected to the same link,
data link layer protocols are necessary to determine which device has control
over the link at any given time.

Hop-to-hop delivery

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2.3.3 Network Layer

The network layer is responsible for the delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.

Other responsibilities of the network layer include the following:

 Logical addressing: The physical addressing implemented by the data link
layer handles the addressing problem locally. If a packet passes the network
boundary, we need another addressing system to help distinguish the source
and destination systems. The network layer adds a header to the packet
coming from the upper layer that, among other things, includes the logical
addresses of the sender and receiver. We discuss logical addresses later in
this chapter.
 Routing: When independent networks or links are connected to create
internetworks (network of networks) or a large network, the connecting
devices (called routers or switches) route or switch the packets to their final
destination. One of the functions of the network layer is to provide this
mechanism.

Source-to-destination delivery

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2.3.4 Transport Layer

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery of a message from one
process to another.

Other responsibilities of the transport layer include the following:

 Service-point addressing: Computers often run several programs at the
same time. For this reason, source-to-destination delivery means delivery not
only from one computer to the next but also from a specific process (running
program) on one computer to a specific process (running program) on the
other.
 Segmentation and reassembly: A message is divided into transmittable
segments, with each segment containing a sequence number. These numbers
enable the transport layer to reassemble the message correctly upon arriving
at the destination and to identify and replace packets that were lost in
transmission.
 Connection control: The transport layer can be either connection-less or
connection-oriented. A connectionless transport layer treats each segment as
an independent packet and delivers it to the transport layer at the destination
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machine. A connection-oriented transport layer makes a connection with the

transport layer at the destination machine first before delivering the packets.
After all the data are transferred, the connection is terminated.
 Flow control: Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for
flow control. However, flow control at this layer is performed end to end
rather than across a single link.
 Error control: Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for
error control. However, error control at this layer is performed process-to-
process rather than across a single link. The sending transport layer makes
sure that the entire message arrives at the receiving transport layer without
error (damage, loss, or duplication). Error correction is usually achieved
through retransmission.

Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message

2.3.5 Session Layer

The session layer is responsible for dialog control and synchronization.

Specific responsibilities of the session layer include the following:

 Dialog control: The session layer allows two systems to enter into a dialog.
It allows the communication between two processes to take place in either
half-duplex (one way at a time) or full-duplex (two ways at a time) mode.
 Synchronization: The session layer allows a process to add checkpoints, or
synchronization points, to a stream of data.

2.3.6 Presentation Layer

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The presentation layer is responsible for translation, compression, and

encryption.

Specific responsibilities of the presentation layer include the following:

 Translation: The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually
exchanging information in the form of character strings, numbers, and so on.
The information must be changed to bit streams before being transmitted.
 Encryption: To carry sensitive information, a system must be able to ensure
privacy. Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information
to another form and sends the resulting message out over the network.
Decryption reverses the original process to transform the message back to its
original form.
 Compression: Data compression reduces the number of bits contained in
the information. Data compression becomes particularly important in the
transmission of multimedia such as text, audio, and video.

2.3.7 Application Layer

The application layer is responsible for providing services to the user.

Specific services provided by the application layer include the following:

 Network virtual terminal: A network virtual terminal is a software version
of a physical terminal, and it allows a user to log on to a remote host. To do
so, the application creates a software emulation of a terminal at the remote
host. The user's computer talks to the software terminal which, in turn, talks
to the host, and vice versa. The remote host believes it is communicating
with one of its own terminals and allows the user to log on.
 File transfer, access, and management: This application allows a user to
access files in a remote host (to make changes or read data), to retrieve files

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from a remote computer for use in the local computer, and to manage or
control files in a remote computer locally.
 Mail services: This application provides the basis for e-mail forwarding and
storage.
 Directory services: This application provides distributed database sources
and access for global information about various objects and services.

Summary of layers

2.4 TCP/IP Protocol Suites

The layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not exactly match those in the OSI
model. The original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as having four layers: host-to-
network, internet, transport, and application. However, when TCP/IP is compared to
OSI, we can say that the TCP/IP protocol suite is made of five layers: physical, data
link, network, transport, and application.

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2.4.1 Physical and Data Link Layers

At the physical and data link layers, TCP/P does not define any specific protocol.
It supports all the standard and proprietary protocols. A network in a TCPIIP
internetwork can be a local-area network or a wide-area network.

2.4.2 Network Layer

At the network layer (or, more accurately, the internetwork layer), TCP/IP
supports the Internetworking Protocol. IP, in turn, uses four supporting protocols:
ARP, RARP, ICMP, and IGMP
Internetworking Protocol (IP)

The Internetworking Protocol (IP)

IP is the transmission mechanism used by the TCP/IP protocols. It is an unreliable
and connectionless protocol-a best-effort delivery service. The term best effort
means that IP provides no error checking or tracking. IP assumes the unreliability of
the underlying layers and does its best to get a transmission through to its
destination, but with no guarantees.
IP transports data in packets called datagram’s, each of which is transported
separately. Datagram’s can travel along different routes and can arrive out of
sequence or be duplicated. IP does not keep track of the routes and has no facility
for reordering datagram’s once they arrive at their destination.

Address Resolution Protocol

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to associate a logical address with
a physical address. On a typical physical network, such as a LAN, each device on a
link is identified by a physical or station address, usually imprinted on the network
interface card (NIC). ARP is used to find the physical address of the node when its
Internet address is known.

Reverse Address Resolution Protocol

The Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) allows a host to discover its
Internet address when it knows only its physical address. It is used when a computer
is connected to a network for the first time or when a diskless computer is booted.

Internet Control Message Protocol

The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a mechanism used by hosts and
gateways to send notification of datagram problems back to the sender. ICMP sends
query and error reporting messages.

Internet Group Message Protocol

The Internet Group Message Protocol (IGMP) is used to facilitate the
simultaneous transmission of a message to a group of recipients.

2.4.3 Transport Layer

Traditionally the transport layer was represented in TCP/IP by two protocols: TCP
and UDP. IP is a host-to-host protocol, meaning that it can deliver a packet from one
physical device to another. UDP and TCP are transport level protocols responsible
for delivery of a message from a process (running program) to another process. A
new transport layer protocol, SCTP, has been devised to meet the needs of some
newer applications.

User Datagram Protocol

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The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is the simpler of the two standard TCP/IP
trans-protocols. It is a process-to-process protocol that adds only port addresses,
check error control, and length information to the data from the upper layer.

Transmission Control Protocol

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) provides full transport-layer service
applications. TCP is a reliable stream transport protocol. The term stream, in this
text, means connection-oriented: A connection must be established between both of
a transmission before either can transmit data.
At the sending end of each transmission, TCP divides a stream of data into
smaller units called segments. Each segment includes a sequence number for
reordering receipt, together with an acknowledgment number for the segments
received. Segments carried across the internet inside of IP datagram’s. At the
receiving end, TCP collects each datagram as it comes in and reorders the
transmission based on sequence numbers.

Stream Control Transmission Protocol

The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) provides support for newer
applications such as voice over the Internet. It is a transport layer protocol that
combines the best features of UDP and TCP.

2.4.4 Application Layer

The application layer in TCP/IP is equivalent to the combined session, presentation,
and application layers in the OSI model. Many protocols are defined at this layer.

2.5 Addressing
Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing the TCP/IP protocols:
physical, logical, port, and specific.
Addresses in TCP/IP

Relationship of layers and addresses in TCP/IP

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2.5.1 Physical Addresses

The physical address, also known as the link address, is the address of a node as
defined by its LAN or WAN. It is included in the frame used by the data link layer. It
is the lowest-level address.
In Figure a node with physical address 10 sends a frame to a node with physical
address 87. The two nodes are connected by a link (bus topology LAN). As the figure
shows, the computer with physical address 10 is the sender, and the computer with
physical address 87 is the receiver.

Most local-area networks use a 48-bit (6-byte) physical address written as 12

hexadecimal digits; every byte (2 hexadecimal digits) is separated by a colon, as
shown below:
07:01:02:01:2C:4B
A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical address.

2.5.2 Logical Addresses

Logical addresses are necessary for universal communications that are
independent of underlying physical networks. Physical addresses are not adequate
in an internetwork environment where different networks can have different address
formats. A universal addressing system is needed in which each host can be
identified uniquely, regardless of the underlying physical network.
The logical addresses are designed for this purpose. A logical address in the
Internet is currently a 32-bit address that can uniquely define a host connected to
the Internet. No two publicly addressed and visible hosts on the Internet can have
the same IP address
Figure shows a part of an internet with two routers connecting three LANs. Each
device (computer or router) has a pair of addresses (logical and physical) for each
connection. In this case, each computer is connected to only one link and therefore
has only one pair of addresses. Each router, however, is connected to three

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networks (only two are shown in the figure). So each router has three pairs of
addresses, one for each connection.

The physical addresses will change from hop to hop, but the logical
addresses usually remain the same.

192.168.1.1
A 32-bit logical address represented as Dotted Decimal format

2.5.3 Port Addresses

The IP address and the physical address are necessary for a quantity of data to
travel from a source to the destination host. However, arrival at the destination host
is not the final objective of data communications on the Internet. A system that
sends nothing but data from one computer to another is not complete. A port
address is a 16-bit address represented by one decimal number.
Figure shows two computers communicating via the Internet. The sending
computer is running three processes at this time with port addresses a, b, and c.
The receiving computer is running two processes at this time with port addresses j
and k. Process a in the sending computer needs to communicate with process j in
the receiving computer. Note that although physical addresses change from hop to
hop, logical and port addresses remain the same from the source to destination.

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The physical addresses change from hop to hop, but the logical and port
addresses usually remain the same.

753
A 16-bit port address represented as one single number.

2.5.4 Specific Addresses

Some applications have user-friendly addresses that are designed for that
specific address. Examples include the e-mail address (for example,
[email protected]) and the Universal Resource Locator (URL) (for example,
www.mhhe.com). The first defines the recipient of an e-mail (see Chapter 26); the
second is used to find a document on the World Wide Web. These addresses,
however, get changed to the corresponding port and logical addresses by the
sending computer.

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