Computer networks

Transport layer
 Introduction to
Transport Layer
• The transport layer is located
between the network layer
and the application layer
• The transport layer provides
a process to process
communication between two
application layers
• Communication is provided
using a logical connection
• The transport layer is
responsible for providing
services to the application
layer
 Process to Process
Communication (1#3)
• A network-layer protocol can deliver the message
only to the destination computer
• A transport-layer protocol is responsible for
delivery of the message to the appropriate
process
 Process to Process
Communication (2#3)
• For communication, we must define the local host, local process,
remote host, and remote process
• The local host and the remote host are defined using IP addresses
• To define the processes, we need second identifiers, called port
numbers.
• In the TCP/IP protocol suite, the port numbers are integers between 0
and 65,535 (16 bits)
 Process to Process
Communication (3#3)
• The destination IP address defines the host among the different hosts
in the world
• The port number defines one of the processes on this particular host
 ICANN Port Ranges
(1#2)
• Well-known ports. The ports ranging from 0 to 1023 are assigned
and controlled by ICANN. These are the well-known ports.
• Registered ports. The ports ranging from 1024 to 49,151 are not
assigned or controlled by ICANN. They can only be registered with
ICANN to prevent duplication.
• Dynamic ports. The ports ranging from 49,152 to 65,535 are neither
controlled nor registered. They can be used as temporary or private
port numbers
 ICANN Port Ranges
(2#2)
• A transport layer protocol in the TCP suite needs both the IP address
and the port number, at each end, to make a connection
• The combination of an IP address and a port number is called a
socket address
• To use the services of the transport layer in the Internet, we need a
pair of socket addresses: the client socket address and the server
socket address
•
 Encapsulation and
Decapsulation
• To send a message from one process to another, the transport layer
protocol encapsulates and decapsulates messages
• The transport layer receives the data and adds the transport-layer
header
• The packets at the transport layer in the Internet are called user
datagrams, segments, or packets, depending on what transport-layer
protocol we use
• Decapsulation happens at the receiver site
 Multiplexing and
Demultiplexing
• Whenever an entity
accepts items from more
than one source, this is
referred to as multiplexing
(many to one)
• Whenever an entity delivers
items to more than one
source, this is referred to as
demultiplexing (one to
many)
• The transport layer at the
source performs multiplexing
• the transport layer at the
destination performs
demultiplexing
 Flow Control
• Delivery of items from a producer to a consumer can
occur in one of two ways: pushing or pulling
 Flow Control at
Transport Layer
• In communication at the transport layer, we are dealing with four
entities: sender process, sender transport layer, receiver transport
layer, and receiver process
• Although flow control can be implemented in several ways, one of the
solutions is normally to use two buffers: one at the sending transport
layer and the other at the receiving transport layer
 Error Control (1#2)
• Reliability can be achieved to add error control services to
the transport layer
• Error control at the transport layer is responsible for
– Detecting and discarding corrupted packets
– Keeping track of lost and discarded packets and resending them
– Recognizing duplicate packets and discarding them
– Buffering out of order packets until the missing packets arrive
 Error Control (2#2)
• Error control requires that the sending transport
layer knows which packet is to be resent and the
receiving transport layer knows which packet is a
duplicate, or which packet has arrived out of
order
• We can add a field to the transport-layer packet
to hold the sequence number of the packet
• Packets are numbered sequentially
• The out-of-order packets can be recognized by
observing gaps in the sequence numbers
 Combination of Flow
and Error Control
• Flow control requires the use of two buffers, one
at the sender site and the other at the receiver
site
• The buffer is represented as a set of slices, called the
sliding window, that occupies part of the circle at any
time
 Congestion Control
• An important issue in a packet-switched network,
such as the Internet, is congestion
• Congestion control refers to the mechanisms
and techniques that control the congestion and
keep the load below the capacity
• Congestion in a network or internetwork occurs
because routers and switches have queues —
buffers that hold the packets before and after
processing
 Connectionless and Connection
Oriented Protocols (1#2)
• A transport-layer protocol, like a network-layer protocol,
can provide two types of services:
– Connectionless
– Connection oriented
 Connectionless and Connection
Oriented Protocols (2#2)

• Connection Oriented Service

 Transport layer
protocols (1#10)
• Simple Protocol
– Have no flow nor error control
– The receiver can never be overwhelmed with incoming
packets
 Transport layer
protocols (2#10)
• Stop and Wait Protocol
– Uses both flow and error control
– Both the sender and the receiver use a sliding window
of size 1
– It is a connection oriented protocol that provides flow
and error control
 Transport layer
protocols (3#10)
• Stop and Wait Protocol
 Transport layer
protocols (4#10)
• Go Back N Protocol (GBN)
– Can be send several packets before receiving
acknowledgments
– An acknowledgment number in this protocol is
cumulative
 Transport layer
protocols (5#10)
• Go Back N Protocol (GBN)
– The send window is an imaginary box covering the sequence
numbers of the data packets that can be in transit or can be sent
– The receive window makes sure that the correct data packets are
received and that the correct acknowledgments are sent
 Transport layer
protocols (6#10)
• Go Back N Protocol (GBN)
– The size of the receive window is always 1
– Any packet arriving out of order is discarded and needs to be
resent
– When a correct packet is received, the window slides
 Transport layer
protocols (7#10)
• Go Back N Protocol (GBN)
 Transport layer
protocols (8#10)
• Selective Repeat Protocol
– Resends only selective packets, those that are actually
lost
 Transport layer
protocols (9#10)
• Selective Repeat Protocol
– Send and receive windows
 Transport layer
protocols (10#10)
• Bidirectional Protocols: Piggybacking
 Services
• UDP, TCP, SCTP
Well known ports used
with UDP and TCP
 User Datagram
Protocol (1#3)
• The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a
connectionless, unreliable transport protocol
• UDP packets, called user datagrams, have a
fixed-size header of 8 bytes made of four fields,
each of 2 bytes (16 bits)
 User Datagram
Protocol (2#3)
• Connectionless services
– No relationship between the different user datagrams
– No connection establishment and no connection
termination
• No flow control
• No error control, except for the checksum
– If the receiver detects an error through the checksum,
the user datagram is silently discarded
• Does not provide congestion control
 User Datagram
Protocol (3#3)
• Queues are associated with ports
• UDP multiplexes and demultiplexes
• Typical Applications
– Suitable for a process that requires simple request response
communication with little concern for flow and error control
– Suitable for a process with internal flow and error control
mechanisms (TFTP)
– Suitable for multicasting
– Used for management processes (SNMP)
– Used for some route updating protocols (RIP)
– Normally used for interactive real time applications that cannot
tolerate uneven delay between sections of a received message
 Transmission Control
Protocol (1#13)
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a connection-
oriented, reliable protocol
• Explicitly defines connection establishment, data transfer,
and connection teardown phases to provide a connection
oriented service
• The most common transport-layer protocol in the Internet
• Provides process to process communication
• Stream-oriented protocol
 Transmission Control
Protocol (2#13)
• Sending and Receiving Buffers
• Buffers are also necessary for flow and error
control mechanisms used by TCP
 Transmission Control
Protocol (3#13)
• TCP groups a number of bytes together into a packet
called a segment
• TCP adds a header to each segment (for control
purposes) and delivers the segment to the network layer
for transmission
 Transmission Control
Protocol (4#13)
• TCP offers full duplex service
• TCP performs multiplexing at the sender and
demultiplexing at the receiver
• TCP is a connection oriented protocol
• Three phases occur to establish communication:
– The two TCP’s establish a logical connection between them
– Data are exchanged in both directions
– The connection is terminated
• TCP is a reliable transport protocol
 Transmission Control
Protocol (5#13)
• TCP Numbering System
– There is no field for a segment number value in the segment
header. Instead, there are two fields, called the sequence number
and the acknowledgment number
– TCP numbers all data bytes (octets) that are transmitted in a
connection
– After the bytes have been numbered, TCP assigns a sequence
number to each segment that is being sent
– Each party also uses an acknowledgment number to confirm the
bytes it has received
– The acknowledgment number defines the number of the next byte
that the party expects to receive
 Transmission Control
Protocol (6#13)
• TCP Segment format
 Transmission Control
Protocol (7#13)
• TCP connection is logical, not physical
• The connection establishment in TCP is called three-way
handshaking
 Transmission Control
Protocol (8#13)
• Data transfer
 Transmission Control
Protocol (9#13)
• Connection termination: three-way handshaking
 Transmission Control
Protocol (10#13)
• Connection termination: four-way handshaking with a half-close
option
 Transmission Control
Protocol (11#13)
• Send window
 Transmission Control
Protocol (12#13)
• Receive window
 Transmission Control
Protocol (13#13)
• Flow control balances the rate a producer creates data with the rate a
consumer can use the data
• TCP separates flow control from error control
 Stream Control
Transmission Protocol
• Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
is a new transport-layer protocol designed to
combine some features of UDP and TCP in an
effort to create a better protocol for multimedia
communication
•
 Literature
• B. A. Forouzan. Data Communications and
Networking (5th edition). Mc Graw Hill, 2013.
689–814 p.