Network Fundamentals

Review

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Content

 Introduction to Networks
 Communicating over the Network
 Network Devices
 Addressing
 Routing

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 Network Fundamentals
Review

Introduction to Networks

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Introduction To Networking

 Describes the connection of two of more computers by

some type of medium
– Example: A computer connected to the internet over the public
telephone system
– Two computer connected by a wire cable

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Origins Of Networking

 Difficult to actually place the origin of networking

 Many devices have been networked throughout
history
– Example: 1930s electrical engineers used a Network
Analyzer for simulating electrical power grids
 The earliest mainframe computers were placed into
networks
 Networks today include a wide variety of computers
and peripheral components

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Why Do We Use Networks?
 Efficiency
 Convenience
 Networks allow the transfer of
–Files
–Data
–Shared applications
 Networks allow computers and users to share
– Printers
– Scanners
– Fax Machines
– Processors
– Disk drives
– Many other resources

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 Communicating over the
Network

Communicating over the Network

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Network Structure
 Communication begins with a message, or information, that
must be sent from one individual or device to another.
 People exchange ideas using many different communication
methods. All of these methods have three elements in
common
• Message source
• The channel
• Message destination

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Network Structure
 A better approach is to divide the data into smaller,
more manageable pieces to send over the network.
This division of the data stream into smaller pieces is
called segmentation.

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Network Structure
 Network components
– Hardware: Devices and media
– Software: Services and processes

 Devices: physical elements

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Network Structure
 The network devices that people are most familiar with are called end devices.
These devices form the interface between the human network and the
underlying communication network. Some examples of end devices are:
– Computers (work stations, laptops, file servers, web servers)
– Network printers
– VoIP phones
– Security cameras
– Mobile handheld devices (such as wireless barcode scanners, PDAs)

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Network Structure
 Intermediary devices to provide connectivity and to
work behind the scenes to ensure that data flows
across the network.
 These devices connect the individual hosts to the
network and can connect multiple individual networks to
form an internetwork.

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 Network Structure
 Communication across a network is carried on a
medium. The medium provides the channel over which
the message travels from source to destination
 These media are:
– Metallic wires within cables
– Glass or plastic fibers
–Wireless transmission

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Network Types
 Local Area Network (LAN): An individual network
usually spans a single geographical area, providing
services and applications to people within a common
organizational structure, such as a single business,
campus or region

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Network Types
 LANs separated by geographic distance are connected
by a network known as a Wide Area Network (WAN)
 WANs use specifically designed network devices to
make the interconnections between LANs.

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Network Types
 The internet is defined as a global mesh of
interconnected networks

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Network Types
 Describe network representations

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Function of Protocol in Network Communication
 A protocol is a set of predetermined rules
 The protocols are viewed as a layered hierarchy, with
each higher level services depending on the
functionality defined by the protocols shown in the
lower levels

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Function of Protocol in Network Communication
 Network protocols are used to allow devices to
communicate successfully

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Function of Protocol in Network Communication
 A standard is a process or protocol that has been
endorsed by the networking industry and ratified by a
standards organization
 The use of standards in developing and implementing
protocols ensures that products from different
manufacturers can work together for efficient
communications.

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Function of Protocol in Network Communication
 An example of the use of a protocol suite in network
communications is the interaction between a web
server and a web browser.
 This interaction uses a number of protocols and
standards in the process of exchanging information
between them.

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Function of Protocol in Network Communication
 Technology independent Protocols
– Many diverse types of devices can communicate using the
same sets of protocols
– This is because protocols specify network functionality, not the
underlying technology to support this functionality

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 Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 Benefits of using a layered model to describe network
protocols and operations. Using a layered model:
– Assists in protocol design.
– Fosters competition because products from different vendors can
work together.
– Changes in one layer do not affect other layer.
– Provides a common language

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 The first layered protocol model for internetwork
communications was created in the early 1970s and is
referred to as the Internet model

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 The TCP/IP model describes the functionality of the
protocols that make up the TCP/IP protocol suite.
These protocols, which are implemented on both the
sending and receiving hosts, interact to provide end-to-
end delivery of applications over a network

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 Encapsulation process: application data is passed down the
protocol stack on its way to be transmitted across the network
media, various protocols add information to it at each level
 The form that a piece of data takes at any layer is called a Protocol
Data Unit (PDU).

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 Describe the process of sending and receiving
messages

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 A protocol model provides a model that closely matches
the structure of a particular protocol suite
 A reference model provides a common reference for
maintaining consistency within all types of network
protocols and services

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 Initially the OSI model was designed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to
provide a framework on which to build a suite of open
systems protocols.

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Layers with TCP/IP and OSI Model
 Compare OSI and TCP/IP model

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 Network Fundamentals
Review

Network Devices

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Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of frame-based computer networking technologies for
local area networks (LAN). It defines a number of wiring and signaling
standards for the Physical Layer of the OSI networking model as well as a
common addressing format and a variety of Medium Access Control
procedures at the lower part of the Data Link Layer

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Characteristics of Network Media used in Ethernet
 Identify several characteristics of Ethernet in its early
years

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Ethernet Collision

 In 10BASE-T networks, typically using a hub. This

created a shared media. Only one station could
successfully transmit at a time: half-duplex
 More devices, more collisions.
 Using CSMA/CD to manage collisions, with little or no
impact on performance. As the number of devices and
subsequent data traffic increase, however, the rise in
collisions can have a significant impact on the user's
experience communication
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Characteristics of Network Media used in Ethernet

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Characteristics of Network Media used in Ethernet
 The increased cabling distances enabled by the use of fiber-
optic cable in Ethernet-based networks has resulted in a
blurring of the distinction between LANs and WANs.
Ethernet was initially limited to LAN cable systems within
single buildings, and then extended to between buildings. It
can now be applied across a city in what is known as a
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN).

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Physical and Data Link Features of Ethernet
 Media Access Control (MAC)

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Physical and Data Link Features of Ethernet
 Physical Implementations of the Ethernet

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Function and Characteristics of the Media Access
Control Method
 MAC in Ethernet

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Layer 2 Addressing and Its Impact on Network
Operation and Performance
 The Ethernet MAC Address

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Layer 2 Addressing and Its Impact on Network
Operation and Performance
 Another Layer of Addressing

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Layer 2 Addressing and Its Impact on Network
Operation and Performance
 Ethernet Unicast, Multicast and Broadcast

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Compare and Contrast the Use of Ethernet Switches
versus Hubs in a LAN
 Legacy Ethernet – Using Hubs

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Compare and Contrast the Use of Ethernet Switches
versus Hubs in a LAN
 Ethernet – Using Switches

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Router as a Computer
 Describe the basic purpose of a router
– Computers that specialize in sending packets over the data
network
– They are responsible for interconnecting networks by selecting
the best path for a packet to travel and forwarding packets to
their destination
 Routers are the network center
– Routers generally have 2 connections:
• WAN connection (Connection to ISP)
• LAN connection

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Router as a Computer
 Data is sent in form of packets between 2 end devices
 Routers are used to direct packet to its destination

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Router as a Computer
 Router components and their functions:
– CPU - Executes operating system instructions
– Random access memory (RAM) - Contains the running copy of
configuration file. Stores routing table. RAM contents lost
when power is off.
– Read-only memory (ROM) - Holds diagnostic software used
when router is powered up. Stores the router’s bootstrap
program.
– Non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) - Stores startup configuration.
This may include IP addresses (Routing protocol, Hostname of
router).
– Flash memory - Contains the operating system (Cisco IOS).
– Interfaces - There exist multiple physical interfaces that are
used to connect network. Examples of interface types:
• Ethernet / fast Ethernet interfaces
• Serial interfaces
• Management interfaces
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Router as a Computer
 Router Interface is a physical connector that enables a
router to send or receive packets
 Each interface connects to a separate network
 Consist of socket or jack found on the outside of a
router
 Types of router interfaces:
– Ethernet
– Fastethernet
– Serial
– DSL
– ISDN
– Cable

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Router as a Computer
 Two major groups of Router Interfaces
– LAN Interfaces
• Are used to connect router to LAN network
• Has a layer 2 MAC address
• Can be assigned a Layer 3 IP address
• Usually consist of an RJ-45 jack
– WAN Interfaces
• Are used to connect routers to external networks that interconnect
LANs
• Depending on the WAN technology, a layer 2 address may be used
• Uses a layer 3 IP address

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Router as a Computer
 Routers and the Network Layer
– Routers use destination IP address to forward packets
• The path a packet takes is determined after a router
consults information in the routing table
• After router determines the best path
• Packet is encapsulated into a frame
• Frame is then placed on network medium in form of Bits

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Router as a Computer
 Routers Operate at Layers 1, 2 & 3
– Router receives a stream of encoded bits
– Bits are decoded and passed to layer 2
– Router de-encapsulates the frame
– Remaining packet passed up to layer 3
• Routing decision made at this layer by examining
destination IP address
– Packet is then re-encapsulated & sent out outbound interface

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 Network Fundamentals
Review

Addressing

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Three types of addresses:
– Network address: The address by which we refer to the
network. All hosts in a network will have the same network bits.
– Broadcast address: A special address used to send data to all
hosts in the network. The broadcast address uses the highest
address in the network range. This is the address in which the
bits in the host portionare all 1s. This address is also referred to
as the directed broadcast.
– Host addresses: The addresses assigned to the end devices in
the network

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Determine the network, broadcast and host addresses
for a given address and prefix combination

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Determine the network, broadcast and host addresses
for a given address and prefix combination

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Three types of communication in the Network Layer:
Unicast, Broadcast, Multicast

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Unicast:
– Is used for the normal host-to-host communication in both a client/server and a
peer-to-peer network.
– Uses the host address of the destination device as the destination address and
can be routed through an internetwork.
 Broadcast:
– The process of sending a packet from one host to all hosts in the network
– Host processes a broadcast address destination packet like unicast address.
– A directed broadcast is sent to all hosts on a specific network.
– The limited broadcast is used for communication that is limited to the hosts on
the local network.
 Multicast:
– The process of sending a packet from one host to a selected group of hosts.
– Multicast transmission is designed to conserve the bandwidth of the IPv4
network.
– The multicast clients use services initiated by a client program to subscribe to
the multicast group.

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Define public address and private address

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Public and Private addresses

 Private Addresses:are set aside for use in private

networks.
– 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 (10.0.0.0 /8)
– 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 (172.16.0.0 /12)
– 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 (192.168.0.0 /16)

 Public Addresses:are designed to be used in the hosts

that are publicly accessible from the Internet.
 Network Address Translation (NAT):is used to translate
private addresses to public addresses, be implemented
on a device at the edge of the private network.

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses - Legacy
IPv4 Addressing

 Classful addressing: A company or organization was

assigned an entire class A, class B, or class C address
block.
 Limits to the Class-based System
– Classful allocation of address space often wasted many
addresses, which exhausted the availability of IPv4 addresses
 Classless Addressing
– Address blocks appropriate to the number of hosts are
assigned to companies or organizations without regard to the
unicast class

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Classify and Define IPv4 Addresses
 Identify the historic method for assigning addresses
and the issues associated with the method

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Assigning Addresses
 The allocation of these addresses inside the networks
should be planned and documented for the purpose of
– Preventing duplication of addresses
– Providing and controlling access
– Monitoring security and performance

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Assigning Addresses
 How end user devices can obtain addresses either
statically through an administrator or dynamically
through DHCP

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Assigning Addresses
 which types of addresses should be assigned to
devices other than end user devices

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Assigning Addresses
 Describe the process for requesting IPv4 public
addresses, the role ISPs play in the process, and the
role of the regional agencies that manage IP address
registries

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Determine the network portion of the host address and
the role of the subnet mask
 Use the subnet mask and ANDing process to extract
the network address from the IP address

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Determine the network portion of the host address and
the role of the subnet mask
 Use ANDing logic to determine an outcome

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Determine the network portion of the host address and
the role of the subnet mask
 Observe the steps in the ANDing of an IPv4 host
address and subnet mask

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Calculating Addresses
 Use the subnet mask to divide a network into smaller
networks and describe the implications of dividing
networks for network planners

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Calculating Addresses
 Extract network addresses from host addresses using
the subnet mask

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Calculating Addresses
 Calculate the number of hosts in a network range given
an address and subnet mask

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Calculating Addresses
 Given a subnet address and subnet mask, calculate the
network address, host addresses and broadcast
address

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Calculating Addresses
 Given a pool of addresses and masks, assign a host
parameter with address, mask and gateway

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Calculating Addresses
 Given a diagram of a multi-layered network, address
range, number of hosts in each network and the ranges
for each network, create a network scheme that
assigns addressing ranges to each network

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Testing the Network Layer
 Describe the general purpose of the ping command,
trace the steps of its operation in a network, and use
the ping command to determine if the IP protocol is
operational on a local host

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Testing the Network Layer
 Use ping to verify that a local host can communicate
with a gateway across a local area network

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Testing the Network Layer
 Use ping to verify that a local host can communicate via
a gateway to a device in remote network

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Testing the Network Layer
 Use tracert/traceroute to observe the path between two
devices as they communicate and trace the steps of
tracert/traceroute's operation

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Testing the Network Layer
 Describe the role of ICMP in the TCP/IP suite and its
impact on the IP protocol

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 Network Fundamentals
Review

Routing

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Routing Table Structure
 Routing Table is stored in ram and contains information
about:
– Directly connected networks - this occurs when a device is
connected to another router interface
– Remotely connected networks - this is a network that is not
directly connected to a particular router
– Detailed information about the networks include source of
information, network address & subnet mask, and Ip address
of next-hop router

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Routing Table Structure
 Adding a connected network to the routing table
– Router interfaces
• Each router interface is a member of a different network
• In order for static and dynamic routes to exist in routing
table you must have directly connected networks

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Routing Table Structure
 Static routes in the routing table
– Includes: network address and subnet mask and IP address of
next hop router or exit interface
– Denoted with the code S in the routing table
– Routing tables must contain directly connected networks used
to connect remote networks before static or dynamic routing
can be used

 When to use static routes

– When network only consists of a few routers
– Network is connected to internet only through one ISP
– Hub & spoke topology is used on a large network

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Routing Table Structure
 Connected and Static routes

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Routing Table Structure
 Dynamic routing protocols
– Used to add remote networks to a routing table
– Are used to discover networks
– Are used to update and maintain routing tables

 Automatic network discovery

– Routers are able discover new networks by sharing routing
table information

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Routing Table Structure
 Maintaining routing tables
– Dynamic routing protocols are used to share routing
information with other router & to maintain and up date their
own routing table
 IP routing protocols - example of routing protocols
include:
• RIP
• IGRP
• EIGRP
• OSPF

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Routing Table Structure
 Routing Table Principles
– 3 principles regarding routing tables:
• Every router makes its decisions alone, based on the
information it has in its routing table
• Different routing table may contain different information
• A routing table can tell how to get to a destination but not
how to get back

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Routing Table Structure
 Effects of the 3 Routing Table Principles
– Packets are forwarded through the network from one router to
another, on a hop by hop basis
– Packets can take path “X” to a destination but return via path
“Y” (Asymmetric routing)

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Internet Protocol (IP) packet format contains fields that
provide information about the packet and the sending
and receiving hosts
 Fields that are importance for CCNA students:
– Destination IP address
– Source IP address
– Version & TTL
– IP header length
– Precedence & type of service
– Packet length

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 MAC Layer Frame Format
 MAC Frames are also divided into fields - they include:
– Preamble
– Start of frame delimiter
– Destination MAC address
– Source MAC address
– Type/length
– Data and pad
– Frame check sequence

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 A Metric is a numerical value used by routing protocols
help determine the best path to a destination
– The smaller the metric value the better the path
 2 types of metrics used by routing protocols are:
– Hop count - this is the number of routers a packet must travel
through to get to its destination
– Bandwidth - this is the “speed” of a link also known as the data
capacity of a link

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Equal cost metric is a condition where a router has
multiple paths to the same destination that all have the
same metric
 To solve this dilemma, a router will use Equal Cost
Load Balancing - this means the router sends packets
over the multiple exit interfaces listed in the routing
table.

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Path determination is a process used by a router to
pick the best path to a destination
 One of 3 path determinations results from searching for
the best path
– Directly connected network
– Remote network
– No route determined

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Switching Function of Router is the process used by a
router to switch a packet from an incoming interface to
an outgoing interface on the same router
– A packet received by a router will do the following:
• Strips off layer 2 headers
• Examines destination IP address located in Layer 3 header
to find best route to destination
• Re-encapsulates layer 3 packet into layer 2 frame
• Forwards frame out exit interface

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 As a packet travels from one networking device to another
– The Source and Destination IP addresses NEVER change
– The Source & Destination MAC addresses CHANGE as
packet is forwarded from one router to the next
– TTL field decrement by one until a value of zero is reached at
which point router discards packet (prevents packets from
endlessly traversing the network)

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Path determination and switching function details. PC1
wants to send something to PC 2.
– Step 1 - PC1 encapsulates packet into a frame - frame
contains R1’s destination MAC address

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Router Paths and Packet Switching
 Step 2 - R1 receives Ethernet frame
– R1 sees that destination MAC address matches its own MAC
– R1 then strips off Ethernet frame
– R1 Examines destination IP
– R1 consults routing table looking for destination IP
– After finding destination IP in routing table, R1 now looks up
next hop IP address
– R1 re-encapsulates IP packet with a new Ethernet frame
– R1 forwards Ethernet packet out Fa0/1 interface

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Router Paths and Packet Switching

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