Chapter 1 Part A

Data Communications
and
Networks Overview

1.1
 Syllabus

Chapter 1: Data Communications and Networking

Overview
Chapter 2: Data Communications Fundamental

Chapter 3: Characteristics of Data Communication

Networks
Chapter 4: Reliable Data Communications

Chapter 5: Multiple Access Networks

Chapter 6: Internetworking Protocols

1.2
 1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
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.

1.3
 Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication

What is data communications?

Exchange of data between two devices via a transmission
medium
Any transfer of data within a computer, between computer and
any other devices
Exchange of digitally encoded information between two Sides

1.4
 Data Representation

 Text – represented as a bit pattern; codes often

used: ASCII; Extended ASCII; Unicode; ISO
 Numbers – represented by binary equivalent
 Images – bit patterns representing pixels
 Audio
 Video

1.5
 Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

1.6
 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.

1.7
 Categories of Network

Based on size, ownership, distance covered, and

physical architecture:
 Local Area Network (LAN) – smaller
geographical area
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) – network
extended over an entire city
 Wide Area Network (WAN) – large

geographical area

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 Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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 Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

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 Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

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 Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

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 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

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 Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

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 Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

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 Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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 Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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 Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

1.18
 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.

1.19
 Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the Internet

1.20
 1-4 PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS

In this section, we define two widely used terms: protocols

and standards. First, we define protocol, which is
synonymous with rule. Then we discuss standards, which
are agreed-upon rules.

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 Protocols and Standards

Why do we need Protocol and Standard?

Protocol – set of rules that govern data

communication; defines what, how, and when
(Key elements – syntax, semantics, timing)

Standard – provides a model for development;

allows for interoperability

1.22
 Protocols
 When two computers across a network exchange data, procedures
involved can be quite complex.
 These computers cannot simply send bit streams to each other and
expect to be understood.
 There must be a high degree of cooperation between the two
computer systems.
 For communication to occur, the entities must agree on a protocol,
what is communicated, how it is communicated, and when it is
communicated

1.23
 Key Elements of a Protocol
 Syntax
 Format of the data blocks
f1 f2 f3
 e.g. What are the fields, how many bits per field, etc.
 Semantics
 Control information for coordination & operation
 Defines functions of the fields, what does each field do?
 This include error handling information
 Timing
 Speed matching/synchronizing so that packets can be received properly
(especially to know where the protocol frame starts and ends)
 Sequencing so that frames or packets can be received in order
(especially for packet-based switching)

1.24
 Basic Protocol Architecture
 Application Layer
 Support for different user applications
 e.g. e-mail, file transfer
 Transport Layer
 Reliable data exchange
 Independent of network being used
 Independent of application
 Network Access Layer
 Exchange of data between the computer and the network
 Sending computer provides address of destination so that data
can be routed
 May invoke levels of service e.g. priority
 Dependent on type of network used (Ethernet LAN, ATM,
WLAN)
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 Standards
 A set of agreed-upon rules/protocols which are essential in creating
and maintaining an open and competitive market for equipment
manufacturers and other service providers, also in guaranteeing
international interoperatibility of data and telecommunications
technology and processes
 Standard Organization:
 CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative
Committee in Europe [now ITU-T (International
Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication standardization
sector)]
 ISO – International Standards Organization

1.26
 Standards
 Advantages
 Ensures a large market for equipment and software
 Allows products from different vendors to communicate
 Disadvantages
 Freeze technology
 May be multiple standards for the same thing

1.27
 Chapter 1 Part B

Data Communications
and
Networks Overview

2.28
 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.

2.29
 Figure 2.1 Tasks involved in sending a letter

2.30
 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.

2.31
 Motivation of OSI Model
 Provides a common set of convention, to make
communication among heterogeneous machines
possible.
 If functions of each layer are well-defined, standards can
be developed independently and simultaneously for each
layer – that means faster standardization process.
 If the boundaries between layers are well-defined,
changes in standards in one layer need not affect
another layer – easier to introduce new standards
 the task of communication between applications on
different computer is too complex to be handle as a unit.
Problem can be decomposed into manageable parts

2.32
 Note

ISO is the organization.

OSI is the model.

2.33
 Figure 2.2 Seven layers of the OSI model

2.34
 Figure 2.3 The interaction between layers in the OSI model
the same set of
layered functions must
exist in 2 systems
(transmitting and
receiving sides)
communication is
achieved by having
The corresponding
(peer) layers in 2
Systems
communicate

telecom
networks mainly
concern the
lowest 3 layers

2.35
 Figure 2.4 An exchange using the OSI model

2.36
 2-3 LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL

In this section we briefly describe the functions

of each layer in the OSI model.

2.37
 Figure 2.5 Physical layer

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 Note

The physical layer is responsible for movements of

individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.

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 Figure 2.6 Data link layer

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 Note

The data link layer is responsible for moving

frames from one hop (node) to the next.

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 Figure 2.7 Hop-to-hop delivery

2.42
 Figure 2.8 Network layer

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 Note

The network layer is responsible for the

delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.

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 Figure 2.9 Source-to-destination delivery

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 Figure 2.10 Transport layer

2.46
 Note

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery

of a message from one process to another.

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 Figure 2.11 Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message

2.48
Figure 2.12 Session layer

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 Note

The session layer is responsible for dialog

control and synchronization.

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 Figure 2.13 Presentation layer

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 Note

The presentation layer is responsible for translation,

compression, and encryption.

2.52
 Figure 2.14 Application layer

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 Note

The application layer is responsible for

providing services to the user.

2.54
 Figure 2.15 Summary of layers

2.55
 Functions of Layer 7

Each Layer
(Sum)

Layer 1
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 The basic functions of each layer are
summarized below:
1. Physical- Concerned with transmission of raw bit stream over
physical medium; deals with mechanical, electrical, functional and
procedural properties of interfaces and physical medium
2. Link- Responsible for node-to-node validity and integrity of the
transmissions; send blocks of data [frames] with synchronization
3. Network- Provide upper layers with data transmission and
switching technologies used to connect systems; establishes the
route between sender and receiver
4. Transport- Provide end-to-end error recovery and flow control
5. Session- Provide coordination for communication between
applications; establishes, manages and terminates connections
between cooperating applications
6. Presentation- Manages the way data is represented to the
application processes from difference in data representation
7. Application- Defines the rules for applications to gain entrance
into the communication system

2.57
 2-4 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
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.

2.58
 TCP/IP Model
 Everyone believed that the OSI model would become the
ultimate standard for computer communication before
1990, but this did not happen
 TCP/IP protocol suite became the dominant commercial
architecture because it was used and tested extensively
in the Internet, while the OSI model was never fully
implemented
 As TCP/IP was developed concurrently with the OSI
model, it does not contain specific protocols relating to
all the OSI layers
 The TCP/IP suite is made of five layers
 The three top-most layers in the OSI model are
represented by the applications layer
 The OSI model specifies functions associated with each
layer, whereas TCP/IP layers contain relatively
independent protocols that can be mixed and matched

2.59
 Figure 2.16 TCP/IP and OSI model

2.60
 TCP/IP Model

2.61
 TCP/IP Model

2.62
 TCP/IP Model
 Application Layer - contains a selection of application
protocols [e.g. FTP, SMTP, HTTP, SNMP and TELNET]

 Transport Layer - represented by 2 transport protocols:

i. TCP [Transmission Control Protocol]
ii. UDP [User Datagram Protocol]
- these are process-to-process protocols responsible for
delivery of a message from a process [running program]
to another process
- TCP provides a reliable connection-oriented service
- UDP provides an unrealiable connectionless service by
delivering the UDP datagrams on a best-effort basis
[when error correction is not needed or for a single short
request/response message exchange between two
application protocols]

2.63
 TCP/IP Model
 Network Layer
- The main protocol is IP [Internet Protocol] and other
supporting protocols: ARP, ICMP and IGMP
- IP is an unreliable and connectionless protocol - a best-
effort delivery service, it does its best to get a
transmission through to its destination
- IP transport data in packets called datagrams [each=IP
header + TCP or UDP packet] which travel along
different routes to destination
- IP is a host-to-host protocol, meaning that it can only
deliver a packet from one device to another by routing
across multiple networks

2.64
 TCP/IP Model
 Data Link Layer
- also known as network access layer, and is concerned
with the exchange of data between an end system and a
network
- main functions are:
i. Framing IP datagrams into a stream of bits
ii. Specifying the MAC [Medium Access Control]
methods to the networks
iii. Specifying MAC [hardware] and CRC in the frame
- HDLC [High-level Data Link Control] and ARQ
[Automatic Repeat Request] are the two important
protocols at this layer

2.65
 TCP/IP Model
 Physical Layer
- defines the interface between devices and transmission
media [type of connectors], type of media, transmission
rate, type of encoding for representing data bits in
electrical or optical signals, network topology,
communication mode [e.g. fullduplex service] and etc

 There are no specific protocols defined for the lowest

two layers
 Hence, they support all of the standard and proprietary
LAN or WAN protocols or technologies

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 2-5 ADDRESSING
Four levels of addresses are used in an internet
employing the TCP/IP protocols: physical, logical,
port, and specific.

2.67
 Figure 2.17 Addresses in TCP/IP

2.68
 Figure 2.18 Relationship of layers and addresses in TCP/IP

2.69
 Example 2.1

In Figure 2.19 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.

2.70
 Figure 2.19 Physical addresses

2.71
 Example 2.2

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.

2.72
 Example 2.3

Figure 2.20 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 networks (only two are shown in the
figure). So each router has three pairs of
addresses, one for each connection.

2.73
 Figure 2.20 IP addresses

2.74
 Example 2.4

Figure 2.21 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.

2.75
 Figure 2.21 Port addresses

2.76
 Note

The physical addresses will change from hop to hop,

but the logical addresses usually remain the same.

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 Example 2.5

A port address is a 16-bit address represented

by one decimal number as shown.

753

A 16-bit port address represented

as one single number.

2.78
 Note

The physical addresses change from hop to hop,

but the logical and port addresses usually remain the
same.

2.79