LO1

Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and individuals to post a

website or web page onto the Internet. A web host, or web hosting service
provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for
the website or webpage to be viewed in the Internet. Websites are hosted, or
stored, on special computers called servers. When Internet users want to
view your website, all they need to do is type your website address or
domain into their browser. Their computer will then connect to your server
and your webpages will be delivered to them through the browser.

Most hosting companies require that you own your domain in order to host
with them. If you do not have a domain, the hosting companies will help you
purchase one.

Email As mentioned earlier, most hosting providers require users to

Accounts have their own domain name. With a domain name (e.g.
www.yourwebsite.com) and email account features provided
by your hosting company, you can create domain email
accounts([email protected]).

FTP Access The use of FTP lets you upload files from your local
computer to your web server. If you build your website using
your own HTML files, you can transfer the files from your
computer to the web server through FTP, allowing your
website to be accessed through the internet.

WordPress WordPress is an online website creation tool. It is a powerful

Support blogging and website content management system, which is
 a convenient way to create and manage website. WordPress
powers over 25% of websites on the internet. Most hosting
providers will tell you right away if their plans are
WordPress-compatible or not. The simple requirements for
hosting your WordPress websites include: PHP version 7 or
greater; MySQL version 5.6 or greater.

DNS – Domain Name System is an amazing technology. It helps us open

internet addresses without a hustle. We easily write the domain name and the
DNS has the job to find the IP of the domain we wrote. Just like the phone book
on your mobile phone, you need to find Mike, so you write “Mike”, and you
don’t need to remember his actual number, great isn’t it?

DNS is an essential part of the Internet. It manages to translate all the inquiries
into IP addresses, and like this, it can identify different devices that are
connected to the network.

1.Information request
You want to visit our website and you know the domain name. You write it in
your browser, and the first thing it does is to check for local cache if you have
visited it before, if not it will do a DNS query to find the answer.

2. Recursive DNS servers

3. Top-Level Domain (TLD) name servers
The name servers will read from right to left and direct you to the Top Top-
Level Domain (TLD) name servers for the extension (.com or another). These
TLD servers will lead you finally to the servers which have the right
information.

4. Authoritative DNS servers

These DNS servers check the DNS records for the information. There are
different records, for example, we want to know the IP address for a website, so
our request is Address Record (A).

5. Retrieve the record

The recursive server gets the A record for the website we want from the
authoritative name servers and stores it on its local cache. If somebody else
needs the host record for the same site, the information will be already there,
and it won’t need to pass through all these steps. All this data has an expiration
date. This way, the users will get up to date information.

The Domain Name System is a hierarchical system, and at the top of the
hierarchy is the DNS root zone. IANA manages the DNS root zone - with
oversight provided by ICANN - by administrating the data (root zone file) in the
root name servers. Alongside maintaining the Root Zone File, ICANN also
maintains the Root Zone Database (information published in the WHOIS
service) and manages the Key Signing Key (KSK): which provides DNS
security using DNSSEC. ICANN creates policy for root zone management
through advice provided by two technical bodies: Root Server System Advisory
Committee (RSSAC) and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee
(SSAC).

ICANN assigns organisations to manage Top Level Domains (such as the com
domain) and accredits registrars who buy and manage namespace - on behalf of
companies and individuals - within these Top Level Domains. There are
currently in the region of 1000 accredited registrars (such as GoDaddy); some
of who assign third party registrars. Global policy for Top Level Domains is
developed by two ICANN organisations: Generic Names Supporting
Organization (GNSO) and Country Code Names Supporting Organization
(ccNSO).

ICANN also delegates responsibility for IP number assignment, and some DNS
functions, to five regional Internet registries; who comprise the Number
Resource Organization. While ICANN is the ultimate authority for managing
the Domain Name System (DNS), it does so be delegating administrative
responsibility to a range of organisations and also sets policy by taking advice
from a range of committees; some of which are comprised of representatives
from national governments and super-national bodies.

Domain Structure and Syntax

The Domain Name System is structured in hierarchical zones, which are:

1. DNS root zone

2. Top level domain (includes gTLD and ccTLD)
3. Second level domain
 4. Third level domain

The DNS root zone is the highest zone within the Domain Name System, and is
name-less.

When examining the domain name google.com, it is fairly obvious it consists of

two labels; which are separated by dots (.). Labels are limited to sixty-three
characters and the characters allowed in the label are from a ASCII character
set. The importance of the label - in terms of its hierarchy - moves from right to
left. Each label, which is to the left, can be described as a subdomain of the
label to it's right. The amount of subdomains is restricted to one hundred and
twenty-seven. For the domain google.com the com label is the Top Level
Domain and google label is the Second Level Domain. In theory, there is
virtually no end (127) to the amount of domain name subdomains, but most
domain names do not exceed the following: example.co.ss.co.com. The full
domain name is limited to two hundred and fifty-three characters.

DNS Name Servers

There are two kinds of name servers: authoritative name servers and cache
name servers.
The purpose of authoritative name servers is to store DNS records for domain
zones and to respond to queries. DNS resource records have different record
types, such as 'AAAA', which is a 128-bit IPv6 address. Authoritative name
servers are structured in a hierarchy, with the highest level being the root name
servers; listed below. The root name servers store data - in a root zone file -
about the Top level domains; this data is provided to the root name servers by
the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Therefore, the root name
servers are an authoritative source for any query related to a Top Level Domain.
The operators of Top Level Domains - assigned by ICANN - run authoritative
name servers for their zone and also creates and publish a zone file for all the
active domain names in their zone. Therefore, the DNS zone descends like a
tree structure with individual organisations and authoritative name servers
responsible for each zone.

(Pictured: DNS servers come in different varities, such as root servers and dns
resolvers.

The DNS root zone is currently served by thirteen authoritative root name
servers, which are: a.root-servers.net VeriSign, Inc.; b.root-servers.net
University of Southern California (ISI); c.root-servers.net Cogent
Communications; d.root-servers.net University of Maryland; e.root-
servers.net NASA (Ames Research Center); f.root-servers.net Internet
Systems Consortium, Inc.; g.root-servers.net US Department of Defense
(NIC); h.root-servers.net US Army (Research Lab); i.root-servers.net
Netnod; j.root-servers.net VeriSign, Inc.; k.root-servers.net RIPE NCC;
l.root-servers.net ICANN; and m.root-servers.net WIDE Project. There is no
single server for each root name server, the burden is spread across multiple
locations; for example, the LINX (London Internet Exchange) provides services
for the k.root-servers.net RIPE NCC root nameserver.

The other type of name server is a cache name server: these are operated by
DNS resolvers - DNS resolvers are typically operated by Internet Service
Providers. Cache name servers store DNS lookup queries from its users to
improve performance and lessen the burden on the authoritative name servers.

DNS Resolvers

The Domain Name System (DNS) is run on a client-server model, with end-
users using a client to query authoritative name servers that store data records
for domain names. The client side of the DNS process is referred to as a DNS
resolver or a DNS lookup. The purpose of the resolver is to initiate and finish a
DNS query, and does so by translating a domain name (inserted into the client)
into an IP address (stored on a name server). DNS resolvers can resolve a query
by using one of three query processes: non-recursive, recursive, or iterative
queries. Non-recursive queries will only query a single name server, recursive
queries will be passed to more than one name server if they receive an
inadequate response from the first name server, and iterative queries will query
name servers in a chain process. DNS resolvers typically cache their queries
locally in a cache name server. A reverse DNS lookup can also be performed:
this is when a IP address is known but not the domain name(s) operating on it.
DNS queries use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP) to serve their request.

The DNS resolver is not directly interacted with by users; their web client
(browser) will handle the process in combination with their local operating
system. Most modern operating systems include networking software; such as
Windows 10. Typically, the networking software of an operating system can be
manually configured. Generally speaking, the network settings will be set to use
the DNS server of the users Internet Service Provider, but it can be manually
changed to a third party DNS server. What are the reasons for doing so? To
improve performance, improve security, bypass censorship, protect against
phishing, and to implement parental controls. Not all Internet Service Providers
provide good DNS resolvers and caching services.

The question may arise, why aren't all domain queries routed through the root
nameservers: for performance, the root nameservers could not handle billions of
requests, and, therefore, the burden is spread amongst a hierarchy of name
servers that store DNS records and respond to queries. Therefore, the Domain
Name System is often described as a distributed database. Name servers
typically use the BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) DNS software to
handle DNS queries.

Registering and Managing Domain Names

Top Level Domains (TLDs) are managed by an organisation assigned by

ICANN; these organisations do not own the Top Level Domain, they are under
contract from ICANN to manage the domain for a specified amount of time.
The com Top Level Domain has been managed by more than one organisation
in its history (Network Solutions (NSI) and Versign). Organisations who
operate a Top Level Domain are responsible for the following: publishing a
zone file; operating a authoritative nameserver; and maintaining a registry
database; amongst other requirements outlined in ICANN's registry agreement.

Companies, organisations, and individuals can register a namespace within a

Top Level Domain, which is called a Second Level Domain (such as the
namespace google within the com domain). However, some Top Level Domain
managers (like Nominet for the uk ccTLD) have previously imposed Third
Level Domains, for example: co.uk, ac.uk. This meant that a registrant could
not register a Second Level Domain within the uk Country Code Top Level
Domain (recently changed with the introduction of the uk Top Level Domain).

The registration of a Second Level Domain - by the general public - is

conducted via registrars; who are accredited by ICANN. Registrars register
Second Level Domains on behalf of registrants. Registrars have to pay a fee to
the organisation who manages a Top Level Domain; for example, the registrar
GoDaddy has to pay a fee to Nominet to register a namespace within the uk
Top Level Domain. ICANN also receive a small fee from every TLD
registration. The process of registering a Second Level Domain is as follows:

A registrant will visit the website of an accredited registrar or a reseller of

the registrar.

1. If a Second Level Domain is available the registrant provides his payment

details, personal / company and contact details, and nameserver
information.
 2. The registrar will then process the registration and provide the registry
operator with the registrant information.
3. The registry operator will then add the registrant's information to its
registry database.
4. The information held in a registry database differs for each registry:
1. thin registry databases hold basic information (nameserver,
registrant name), and the registrar holds the full record for the
domain name.
2. thick registry databases hold the full record for the domain name.
5. Registrars in a thin registry model (they store the full record) have to
provide a WHOIS service on Port 43.
6. The WHOIS protocol is used to query a thin and thick registry model that
stores DNS records.

There are currently over 1000 Top Level Domains and over 900 accredited
ICANN registrars who can facilitate the registration process.

Abuse and Disputes

Abuse of domain names and the Domain Name System does occurred. Cyber
squatting is usually viewed as one such abuse: where end-users buy a domain
name just so that another interested "party" cannot, and then, either extorts a fee
to sell it, or hold onto it out of spite (the ethical version of cyber squatting is
DNS parking: registering a domain name with the intention of using it in the
future).

Domain name disputes occur for a multitude of reasons: when a registrar goes
out of business, cannot be contacted, or purposely/mistakenly registers a domain
names in their own name instead of the registrant's. ICANN publish guidelines
for registrar's, and they accredit registrar's; therefore, ICANN is the ultimate
authority for resolving disputes for gTLD's. For ccTLD's (like the uk domain
administered by Nominet) guidelines and disputes are resolved by the country
code manager.
Transfer a Domain Name

As previously discussed, end-users have to register domain names through

accredited registrars. The registrar is a 'middle man' who contacts the manager
(registry) of a domain to purchase a namespace - at that domain - on behalf of
the end-user. Registrars also manage the domain name on behalf of the end-
user; renewing the domain and alteration to the DNS record. Some registrars
allow full DNS control of a domain name, while others do not. ICANN - who
accredit registrars - allow end-users (registrants) to switch registrars; which is
outlined in their 'The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy'. The current manager
(registrar) of a domain name can charge a fee for transferring a domain name to
another registrar, but, the process for transferring domain names does vary
slightly for each type of domain. The 'Initial Authorization for Registrar
Transfer form' is used for transferring a range of gTLD's (not mil and gov
domains), but, the IPS TAG is used by Nominet to switch uk ccTLD's.

The purpose of network hardware and protocols

  Layered network protocols

 Network communication relies upon the interaction of many different

protocols, which implement the rules and conventions governing how
devices in a network communicate. These protocols are designed and
implemented through a layered approach, which allows us to modify
individual protocols to accommodate technological changes without
impacting the operation of protocols in the layers above and below.
 Using a layered network protocol reference model also makes it much
easier to understand the underlying function of the individual protocols, and
how they relate to protocols in other layers.
 Remember that a reference model is a way of understanding the
interrelation between protocols, and cannot support network communication.
Network communication is supported by protocols that are compliant with
the reference model – these are referred to as a suite of protocols. When an
operating system is installed on a computing device, it will install a variety
of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
protocols that are capable of supporting network communications.
 You have seen in previous work that the programs on a computing device
pass data to the TCP/IP protocols when the data needs to be transmitted
across a network connection. The data is accepted by the application layer,
before being passed to the transport, Internet and network access layers.
Each layer adds additional information called a header in a process called
encapsulation. The header provides additional information that allows the
encapsulating protocol to perform its required functions. The addition of
header information creates a Protocol Data Unit (PDU), and each layer has
an identifiable PDU:
o transport (TCP): segment
 o transport (UDP): datagram
o Internet: packet
o network access: frame.
 Note that the two transport layer protocols have different names for their
PDUs, indicating the slight differences in function between them.
 Data that is received from the network media is passed back up through
the TCP/IP layers. Each layer interprets the header information in the PDU
that it is interested in, before passing the data to the layer above. Once the
information within a header has been interpreted, the header is discarded,
revealing the PDU for the next layer. This process is referred to as de-
encapsulation.

  

Transport layer – TCP

 TCP is a reliable transport protocol, and performs processes to ensure

reliable delivery of data between applications using acknowledged delivery.
An analogy for the operation would be ordering some items online for
delivery to your home. You will be able to track the progress of the packages
while they are in transit, and you may be required to sign for them, which
provides acknowledgement of their delivery. You will also be able to contact
the seller of the items if any are not delivered to arrange for re-delivery.
 The four basic functions of TCP are:
1. Ensuring data segments are delivered in the correct sequence to the
correct application layer protocol.
2. Providing flow control, so segments are delivered at a rate the
receiving device can handle.
3. Multiplexing of multiple user applications, allowing them to
simultaneously access the transmission network.
 4. Error checking received segments, and requesting retransmission if
segments have been corrupted.
 TCP breaks up data received from the application layer into small pieces
known as segments. To provide reliable transmission, the segments are
numbered before being passed to the IP process, which encapsulates them
into packets. TCP tracks the number of segments that are sent to a specific
destination device from a specific application layer protocol. If it does not
receive acknowledgement within a certain period of time, TCP assumes that
the segments have been lost and will retransmit them.
 TCP also checks each segment to ensure that the contents have not been
changed during transmission across the network media. This process is
referred to as error checking, and is possible because each segment header
includes a check-sum, which is a mathematical signature generated by
feeding the data in the segment through a cyclical redundancy algorithm.
This is placed in the TCP header by the sender, and the receiving device will
carry out the same calculation on the data in the received segment. If the
signatures match, TCP will consider the data within the segment as not
damaged. If the signatures do not match, TCP will arrange for the data to be
retransmitted.
 TCP can serve multiple application layer protocols simultaneously,
processing their data into segments and feeding them to the Internet layer in
a process called multiplexing. To allow TCP to deliver received segments to
the correct application layer protocol, port numbers are used.
 Because TCP may receive a significant number of segments, which need
to be error-checked, sequenced and delivered to the correct application layer
protocol, it needs to be able to control the amount of segments it receives to
allow it to operate effectively. A TCP receiving process will agree a window
size with a TCP sender, which dictates the amounts of segments that can be
sent before a TCP acknowledgment is sent by the receiver. The TCP receiver
 can thus control the amount of segments it is sent, a process called flow
control.

 The diagram above is a graphical representation of a TCP header, which

is divided into a series of areas called fields. The numbers across the top
indicate the length of each field in bits. The total size of the header is 20
bytes. This header is added to the segment of application data, shown as the
orange data field at the bottom. This is referred to as the payload of the
segment, and can be a maximum of 1460 bytes.

Activity: Fields in a TCP header

In the diagram above showing the representation of a TCP header, identify the
fields that allow TCP to carry out its main function:

sequencing

multiplexing

error detection

flow control

sequence number

window/acknowledgement
source/destination port

check-sum/acknowledgement

Drag each answer (above) into the correct slot (below).

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

1. sequencing

2. flow control

3. multiplexing

4. error detection

 a.check-sum/acknowledgement

 b.sequence number

 c.window/acknowledgement

 d.source/destination port

The correct answers are:

 1=b
 2=c
 3=d
 4=a

 TCP three-way handshake

 Because of the complexity of TCP operation, it needs to perform a three-

way handshake to exchange sequence numbers prior to sending any data
segments:
 The diagram shows the timeline of TCP information exchanged between
a client device and a web server within a three-way handshake. The client
selects a random number that represents its initial sequence number. (In the
example above this is ‘1’, but in reality the number would be very large.)
The client subtracts 1 from the initial sequence number (making it 0) and
sets the SYN (synchronise) flag to ‘1’. You can see the SYN field in the
TCP header diagram above: it is 1 bit in size. This information is sent to the
web server in a short segment, without any application layer data.
 The server accepts the segment, noting the sequence number is ‘0’. The
server recognises that this less than the client’s initial sequence number by 1,
so it sets the sequence number for the client to ‘1’. It returns an
acknowledgement number of ‘1’ back to the client in a short segment, with
both the SYN and ACK (acknowledge) flags set to ‘1’. Note that the server
has also picked an initial sequence number of 5000, which it reduced by 1
and sent within the ACK segment.
 The client receives the ACK segment and recognises that the server chose
an initial sequence number of 5000. The server acknowledges this with an
acknowledgement number of 5000 and sets the ACK flag to ‘1’. Both
 devices now know the initial sequence numbers each will use as part of their
TCP exchange.

  TCP windowing and flow control

 Although not shown in the figure describing a TCP three-way handshake,

both the client and the server will also have exchanged window size
information during this process to set the maximum amount of data that can
be sent without acknowledgement.
 A simplified windowing process is illustrated in the figure below. In a
real TCP exchange, both the client and server would send data and
windowing information, but for clarity only the server window size is
shown.

TCP windowing and flow control process

 In the figure above, the TCP three-way handshake has been completed
and the server has informed the client that it will only accept 2000 bytes of
data prior to sending an acknowledgement.
 The client sets its initial sequence number to ‘1’ and starts to send data
segments to the server. The first segment contains 1000 bytes and is sent
with a sequence number of ‘1’. This is received by the server, which
examines the check-sum to ensure that the segment is error-free. If it is the
server will accept the segment.
 For the next segment, the client increases the sequence number to ‘1001’
by adding the number of bytes in the previous segment (1000). The client
sends this to the server, which again ensures that it is error-free. Because the
server has set a window size of 2000, the client cannot send anymore
segments without the server acknowledging those it has received.
 The server sends a segment with the ACK flag set and the next expected
sequence number (2001) as the acknowledgement number. This is
interpreted by the client as confirmation that the two segments it sent have
been successfully received, and it is now free to send more segments up to
the limit of 2000 bytes.
 The windowing process allows the server to control the flow of segments
it receives during a TCP transaction. If the server had been overwhelmed
with segments from other clients, then it could have delayed sending
acknowledgements, thus preventing the clients from sending more segments.

  TCP reliability

 Sequence numbers are also used by TCP to ensure that data is delivered
reliably. The diagram below shows the same client and server exchange with
a window size of 2000. However, the second segment, sequence number
1001, is lost during transmission and is not received by the server:
 The server will send an ACK segment to the client, with a sequence
number of 1001. The client will interpret this to mean only the first segment,
with sequence number 1, has been successfully received by the server. The
client will now wait a short timeout interval, in the hope a delayed ACK will
be received from the server confirming the receipt of 1001. If this is not
received, the client will retransmit segment 1001, and await the ACK with
sequence number 2001 from the server, confirming its receipt. The same
procedure is followed for segments that are received with checksums
indicating the presence of errors.

  Transport layer – UDP

 UDP is a lightweight transport layer protocol that offers the same data
segmentation and reassembly services as TCP, but without TCP’s reliability
and flow control mechanisms. The advantage of using UDP is that it can
rapidly send data through the transport layer without the delays that are
introduced by TCP’s reliability mechanisms. This is important for real-time
 programs, such as voice and video services, which work best with minimal
delay between communicating devices.
 UDP does not use sequence numbers or windowing, so there is no need
for a three-way handshake to set initial values. If a device using UDP
becomes swamped by an excessive number of datagrams, it will simply drop
those that it cannot process.
 Because UDP does not use sequence numbers, it is unable to re-order
datagrams that it receives in the wrong order.

 Although we talk about UDP segmenting data, the PDUs it creates are
referred to as datagrams to differentiate them from TCP segments:

 The image above illustrates a UDP datagram header, which is very simple
when compared to the TCP segment header shown earlier. It is also much
 smaller, containing only 8 bytes of data. This is a factor in reducing the
delay of processing UDP datagrams. The only field it shares with TCP
headers are the source and destination port fields, which are used to identify
the application layer protocol being supported, and a check-sum field for
detecting data errors in received datagrams.

  Transport layer – ports

 The transport layer must be able to separate and manage multiple

application layer protocols, which may themselves open many individual
sessions. For example, when you open multiple tabs in a web browser to
view multiple webpages, the application layer protocol HTTP creates a
separate session for each tab.
 At the same time as viewing multiple tabs you may also send email,
instant messages and download files. Each of these activities requires an
application layer protocol to establish simultaneous access to the network via
the transport layer protocols TCP and UDP. The transport layer protocols
need to track this activity and ensure that received data is directed to the
correct application layer protocol otherwise, for example, webpage data may
be directed towards an email application.
 TCP and UDP manage these multiple processes by using unique port
numbers contained within the header field. They add the unique port
numbers to the PDU created when encapsulating application layer data into
segments and datagrams, respectively.
 Application layer protocols have different requirements from the
transport layer. Some require reliable delivery of data (e.g. HTTP, FTP),
whereas other require a low-delay service (e.g. DNS). Different application
layer protocols are designed to operate with either TCP or UDP based on
these requirements.
 This link between the application and transport layer protocols is based
on the ports selected to support the individual sessions supported by the
transport layer. There are 65,535 port numbers available, and these are
divided into three ranges:
o Well-known ports (0 to 1023). These are reserved, and are
commonly used by HTTP, SMTP, POP3, FTP, DNS, etc. Because they
are reserved, client applications can be programmed to request a
connection to a specific port and its associated transport layer service
(TCP or UDP).
o Registered ports (1024 to 49151). These are assigned to user
processes or applications, typically programs that you have chosen to
install on your computer that require network connectivity (e.g. games
and messaging services). When not assigned to a particular installed
program, they can be used in the same manner as dynamic ports.
o Dynamic or private ports (49152 to 65535). These are assigned
dynamically to client applications when the client initiates a connection
to a service.
 You can find a current list of port numbers and the associated
applications on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) website.
This organisation is responsible for managing a variety of Internet related
matters, including ports and IP addresses.

Source and destination ports in transmitting data

 In the diagram above, client device PC1 initiates a connection to the
WWW using HTTP. HTTP selects a source port of 1025 from the registered
range, which it uses to send and receive data to and from the transport layer.
It also chooses a destination port of 80 from the well-known range, which
the web server will be monitoring by default for incoming HTTP requests.
 Because HTTP requires reliable delivery of data, TCP on PC1 is chosen
to support the connection, as it is coded to relate destination port 80 with
HTTP. TCP encapsulates the HTTP request with a header containing
sequencing, acknowledgment and windowing information, and performs a
three-way handshake with the WWW server. The segment is encapsulated in
an IP packet for forwarding across the network. In the diagram below note
the destination and source addresses that are used.
 The WWW server establishes a TCP connection to the client and
communicates with the local HTTP process to send the webpage the client
has requested. It uses a source port of 80 (because it is a server), and a
destination port of 1025, which it now knows PC1 is using to support HTTP.
Once again, it is the well-known port of 80 that links HTTP to TCP, and the
reliable transport service that it provides.
 You can see the same exchange in the diagram below, which shows the
TCP/IP protocol stack for client PC1 and the WWW server devices:
 HTTP on PC1 accesses the transport layer via registered range port 1025.
Because port 80 has been chosen as a destination port, TCP is used to
segment and encapsulate the HTTP data before passing it to the Internet
layer protocol IP. The IP protocol encapsulates the TCP segment, adding
source and destination IP addresses to create a packet, which is passed to the
network access layer. If we assume the client is using an Ethernet network
interface card (NIC), the Ethernet protocol will encapsulate the packet,
adding source and destination media access control (MAC) addresses to
create a frame.
 The resulting frame is sent to the WWW server, where the reverse
process, or de-encapsulation, takes place. The frame is received by the NIC,
which recovers the packet it contains and hands it to the IP. The IP recovers
the segment from the packet and passes it to TCP, which uses the destination
port to deliver it to HTTP.

 In the description above, you can see that PC1 is also sending an email to
the WWW server. Note that it selects another registered range port, 1041, as
 a source for the local SMTP process, and well-known port 25 as its
destination.
 The WWW server is also running an email server process, which by
default monitors well-known port 25 for incoming email requests. Because
of the way TCP is coded, it will accept this connection based on the well-
known port being used.
 Because PC1 is running web browser and email software, every time you
open a new browser tab or send an email it selects different registered range
source ports. This allows the local TCP process to track the multiple
application layer services it is supporting.
 As the WWW server is a server, it will always associate application layer
protocols with the well-known ports assigned to them by IANA. Thus, the
WWW server can support multiple client PCs via a single well-known port.
 You may be wondering why the WWW server is able to communicate
with multiple devices via a single port. This is because all clients have a
unique IP source address, which can be combined with the source port they
have chosen to form a socket. In our example, PC1 has an IP address of
211.14.16.99, and is using source port 1025. This results in a socket of
211.14.16.99:1025, which will uniquely identify PC1 to the WWW server.

 Internet layer – IPv4

 The Internet layer is responsible for exchanging packets over a network

between identified end devices. The two most common protocols within the
Internet layer are IPv4 and IPv6.
 Both protocols provide devices with a unique IP address to allow for
packet delivery. You have seen previously that the growth of the Internet
means that IPv4 can no longer support unique addresses for every device
 that requires Internet access, so Network Address Translation (NAT) is used
to ‘hide’ non-unique private IP addresses behind unique public IP addresses.
 Both IPv4 and IPv6 provide a protocol with an independent means of
transferring packets across networks. This means that neither is interested in
the contents of data it receives from the transport layer (TCP or UDP) for
encapsulation within IP packets. Nor are they interested in the network
access protocol used within a local network segment – they will work
equally well over wired Ethernet or wireless WiFi.
 IPv4 can receive either TCP segments or UDP datagrams from the
transport layer, which it encapsulates within packets. The encapsulation
process adds a header containing various fields required for the operation of
IP:

 The image above shows the many fields that make up an IPv4 header.
The important fields to note are:
o Source address: the 32-bit address assigned to the NIC of the host
that created a packet.
o Destination address: the 32-bit address of the device to which the
packet is sent. This field is used by routers when they make a packet
forwarding decision.
 o Data: this is the payload that an IP carries, typically a segment or
datagram from the transport layer. The payload can vary in size, but
should not exceed 1480 bytes.
o Protocol: this is the identity of the transport layer protocol
encapsulated within the packet. Protocols are identified using a service
access point (SAP) number, which is 06 for TCP and 17 for UDP.
Because the SAP of the transport layer protocol is identified in each
packet, IP can deliver segments to the correct transport layer protocol on
the receiving device.
o Header check-sum: this allows IPv4 to determine if the header has
been damaged during transmission. If IPv4 discovers a damaged header,
the entire packet is dropped. Because IPv4 does not guarantee reliable
delivery of packets, it relies on TCP to arrange for retransmission of the
segment encapsulated within the dropped packet.
o Time to live (TTL): provides a lifetime for each packet, which if
exceeded will cause the packet to be dropped. The actual value initially
placed in the TTL field depends on a computer’s operating system, but
the maximum value is 255. Each router that receives a packet as it is
forwarded towards its destination will reduce the value of the TTL field
by ‘1’. If a router receives a packet with a TTL value of ‘1’, it will
discard the packet. This protects the Internet from endlessly forwarding
packets that have become stuck in a loop.
 Encapsulating a segment or datagram within an IPv4 header adds an
additional 20 bytes of data, and this can sometimes be exceeded if some of
the optional fields are used.

 Internet layer – IPv6

 Work on replacing IPv4 began in the early 1990s when the organisation
tasked with its development (the Internet Engineering Task Force or IETF)
realised that IPv4 did not have enough addresses to support the growth they
expected in the Internet.
 IPv6 overcomes the limitations of IPv4 and includes new features that
allow it to support the operation of both existing and foreseeable future
networks.
 The improvements included in IPv6 include:
o Increased address space: it uses a 128-bit addressing, which
provides a phenomenal number of address (3.4×1038), making it able to
support further growth in the Internet. Although the address is still
binary, it is represented using hexadecimal for ease of use, e.g.
2001:db8:acad:1:1:1:1/64.
o Packet handling: it uses a simplified header with fewer fields than
IPv4, making it easier for routers to process. For example, as there is no
longer a header check-sum, routers do not need to perform the error
checking function and can rely entirely on TCP.
o Eliminates NAT: it provides a large address space, so it is possible
to use IPv6 public addresses on all networks, thus making NAT
redundant. This also makes the operation of routers more straightforward.
 The 40-byte IPv6 header shown above is larger than an IPv4 header, but
contains far fewer fields that need to be interpreted by the routers involved
in packet switching. This leads to an improvement in the performance of
IPv6 packet switching devices, and less overall delay in delivering packets
across a network.
 The important fields to note are:
o Source address: the 128-bit address assigned to the NIC of the host
that created a packet.
o Destination address: the 128-bit address of the device to which the
packet is sent. This field is used by routers when they make a packet
forwarding decision.
o Data: this is the payload that an IP carries, typically a segment or
datagram from the transport layer.
o Next header: this identifies the transport layer protocol
encapsulated within a packet, using SAP 06 for TCP and 17 for UDP.
Because IPv6 and IPv4 use the same SAPs to communicate with the
 transport layer, TCP and UDP are unaware which Internet layer protocol
is in use. The next header field can also be used to identify optional
extension headers.
o Hop limit: this performs the same function as the TTL field in the
IPv4 header, but with a more descriptive name.

  Network access layer – Ethernet

 Within Local Area Networks (LANs), Ethernet has become the most
common network access technology. Ethernet is a family of related
protocols standardised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) in the IEEE 802.2 and 802.3 standards.
 Ethernet standards define the protocols and technology used within the
network access layer. The network access layer accepts packets from the
Internet layer and prepares them for transmission over a wide range of
physical transmission media.
 Unlike the other layers of the TCP/IP protocol model, which are software
based, network access is implemented in both hardware and software. When
you install an Ethernet NIC, it provides appropriate hardware for physical
connectivity and signalling for a particular type of transmission media, and
provides software for framing and media access control services.
 Ethernet has evolved to support the demands of modern networks, and
can operate over a wide range of speeds. Originally designed to operate at 10
Mbps over coaxial cable, it now supports both unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
and fibre optic media, and commonly supported data rates within LANs are
100 Mbps, 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps, although it can support much greater speeds
in specialised environments such as data centres.
 One function of Ethernet is to encapsulate Internet layer packets into
PDUs called frames. The frame format remains consistent across all the
 popular Ethernet speeds, allowing older Ethernet systems to operate
alongside newer variants:

 The important fields to note are:

o Destination address: the 48-bit MAC address assigned to the NIC.
Unlike IP, this address is assigned permanently to the NIC during
manufacture.
o Source address: the 48-bit MAC address of the device to which the
frame is sent.
o Type: the SAP identifying the Internet layer protocol packet
encapsulated within the frame. A SAP of 0x800 is used for IPv4, and
0x86DD for IPv6.
o Data: the payload carried by the frame, typically a packet from
either IPv4 or IPv6. The maximum size of a packet that a frame can carry
is 1500 bytes.
o Frame check sequence (FCS): a mathematically generated code
used to check that the frame has not been damaged during transmission –
similar in function to the check-sum used by TCP. Unlike TCP, if
Ethernet determines that a frame has been damaged, it drops it and relies
on TCP to arrange for retransmission of the segment the frame contained.
 Network access protocols control when and how frames are transmitted
over a particular transmission media, a technique referred to as media access
control (MAC). The addresses used by Ethernet are named after this
technique.
 Ethernet was originally designed to work on networks implemented as
bus topologies, where all the devices were connected together using a single
coaxial cable.

 The bus topology required the connected devices to take it in turn to send
frames. This was because multiple frames travelling across the coaxial cable
simultaneously would cause a collision, and this would prevent them being
delivered to their destinations.
 To manage this process, Ethernet implements a media access control
technique called carrier sense multiple access with collision detection
(CSMA/CD). This forces devices to monitor the coaxial cable for the
presence of frames (carrier sensing), and to wait until the cable is clear prior
to transmitting their own. It also provides a mechanism for recovering from
collisions in case the carrier sensing fails to prevent multiple frame
transmission.
 Bus topology systems using coaxial cables have been superseded by star
topology networks that use UTP cabling.
 Because UTP contains separate wires that support transmission and
reception of frames, a star topology network connected by an Ethernet
switch allows all devices to send and receive frames simultaneously without
the risk of causing frame collisions. This means that CSMA/CD is not
typically utilised in a modern network, although it is still available to
provide compatibility with older systems.
 Ethernet is capable of connecting to coaxial, fibre optic and UTP
transmission media, each of which requires a particular type of physical
interface. The physical interface provides a suitable socket allowing the
connection of a particular type of transmission media. It also contains
hardware capable of converting the Ethernet frame into a signal suitable for
transmission over the media. For example, Ethernet UTP connections use
electrical signals for frame transmission, whereas fibre optic uses pulses of
light.
 Ethernet NICs typically only support one type of physical interface, so it
is important to select the correct card based on the transmission media in
use.
 Ethernet UTP NICs are the most common, and most cards can support a
range of Ethernet speeds. For example, a 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet) NIC will
also be able to support 10 Mbps (Ethernet) and 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet)
operation. When you connect an NIC to an Ethernet switch, the two devices
will negotiate the data rate and adopt the highest rate supported by both.
 Note that although the frame used by Ethernet is currently the same for
most common varieties of the protocol, the actual physical signalling
requirements are dependent on the data rates used. For example, 100 Mbps
(Fast Ethernet) utilises four of the wires in a UTP cable, whereas 1 Gbps
(Gigabit Ethernet) utilises all eight wires. Ethernet frames use a unique
identifier called a MAC address to identify source and destination devices
within an Ethernet network. An Ethernet MAC address is a 48-bit binary
value, written as 12 hexadecimal digits, and every NIC card has a MAC
address assigned to it during the manufacturing process.
 MAC addresses are globally unique. They are controlled by the IEEE,
who allocate addresses to vendors. Vendors must register with the IEEE,
who assign them unique a 24-bit (3-byte) code called an organizationally
unique identifier (OUI).
 All MAC addresses assigned to an NIC or other Ethernet device must use
that vendor’s assigned OUI as the first 3 bytes. The remaining 3 bytes are
assigned a unique vendor code (serial number):
 Ethernet uses MAC addresses to manage the delivery of frames locally
with a LAN, as opposed to IP addresses, which are used to provide end-to-
end connectivity across multiple networks.

The role of MAC addresses in retrieving a webpage

 The diagram above shows the PC1 accessing a webpage from a WWW
server, which you saw previously when you examined the role of transport
layer ports. In this version the diagram shows the MAC addresses assigned
to the Ethernet NICs of PC1 and the server.
 In the diagram, PC1 creates a segment containing the HTTP GET request,
and selects appropriate source and destination ports. The segment is passed
 to IPv4, which encapsulates it within a packet containing the source IP
address of PC1 and the destination IP address of the server.
 The packet is passed to the NIC, which encapsulates it within a frame
containing the source MAC address of PC1’s NIC and the destination MAC
address of the server NIC. The frame is converted to an appropriate signal
for the transmission media and transmitted into the network.
 Network Ethernet switches use the destination MAC address within the
frame to forward it towards the server. When the frame arrives at the server,
it is accepted because the destination address it contains matches the MAC
address of the server’s NIC.
 The server performs de-encapsulation to recover the packet and checks it
to ensure that the destination IP address matches that assigned to the server.
If it does, then the frame is again de-encapsulated and the segment is passed
to the transport layer.

 Because MAC and IP addresses uniquely identify two devices, it is

considered to be a unicast transmission. However, some network protocols
need to communicate with all the devices in a local IP network
simultaneously, which requires a broadcast transmission.

Broadcast transmission
 The diagram above shows PC1 sending the same information to three
different PCs in the same IP network. It is using the Address Resolution
Protocol (ARP), which operates as a broadcast within an IP network. (Note
that you will explore ARP further in the next course.)
 ARP creates a segment, which is encapsulated within a packet address,
using the source IP address of PC1. However, the destination IP address is
the ‘255.255.255.255’ address reserved by IPv4 for broadcasting to all
devices within an IP subnet.
 The broadcast packet is encapsulated by the NIC into a frame, again
using the source IP address of PC1. The destination MAC address is
FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF, which is reserved by Ethernet for broadcasts to all
devices within the local network.
 Network Ethernet switches forward the broadcast frame to all devices
within the IP network, so client devices PC2, PC3 and PC4 all receive copies
of the frame. Each device examines the frame, and although the broadcast
 destination address does not match the MAC address of their NIC, they de-
encapsulate it and pass the packet to IPv4.
 IPv4 also accepts the packet because it recognises and accepts the
broadcast IP address, and passes the segment to ARP.

Activity: ARP

Read the description of broadcast transmission in the box above. Can ARP use a
broadcast to return information to PC1?

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ARP could use a broadcast, but it will be able to identify PC1 using the source
MAC address it finds in the frame carrying the ARP request, so it will use this
instead.

 Ethernet switch operation

 Modern Ethernet LANs are typically laid out in star and extended star
topologies using Ethernet switches:

 Ethernet switches forward frames using the destination address within

each frame it receives in order to make a switching decision. Ethernet
 switches automatically learn the MAC addresses of the device NICs
connected to their ports, and store these in a MAC address table:

 The diagram above shows an Ethernet switch with four ports that is
connected to four PCs. Each PC has an Ethernet NIC with a unique MAC
address which, in the diagram, is simplified for clarity. (Although each PC is
also assigned a unique IP address, they are not relevant to how the switch
operates so are not shown.) The switch contains a MAC address table. In the
diagram above it is empty as the PCs have not sent any frames.

 PC1 transmits a frame towards PC3, including its own MAC address as
the source and PC3’s MAC address as the destination. The frame is received
by the port 1 of the switch, which examines the frame and records the source
address against the port it was received at within the MAC address table.
However, the switch makes its frame forwarding decisions based on
 destination addresses, and as it does not have an entry for 33:33:33:33:33:33,
it is unable to select an exit port.
 Ethernet switches cannot drop frames if they cannot find an exit port, and
so it forwards frames with unknown destinations out of all ports (flooding),
in the hope that the frame will be delivered. In the example above, the frame
is forwarded from ports 2, 3 and 4. Note that the switches do not send the
frame out of port 1, as it has an entry in its MAC address table for MAC
11:11:11:11:11:11 and knows that this is the source of the frame.
 PC2 and PC4 ignore the frame as the destination MAC address it contains
does not correspond to the MAC address of their NIC cards.
 The destination address of the frame matches the MAC address of PC3’s
NIC, and the frame is accepted, de-encapsulated and processed by the
relevant protocols. If a response is required, PC3 will generate a frame to
carry the response back to PC1:

 The frame from PC3 arrives at port 3 of the switch, which records the
source MAC address against the entry for port 3 in the MAC address table.
The switch makes a switching decision based on the destination MAC
address of the frame, which corresponds to the port 1 entry in the MAC
address table. This time the switch knows where the destination MAC
address is located, so it only forwards the frame to PC1.
 The switch will add MAC addresses to its table as frames arrive
containing new source addresses, and if all the PCs are exchanging frames,
the MAC table will quickly learn the MAC addresses of all connected PCs:

 This will ensure every received frame is delivered to the correct port,
with the exception of frames that have a broadcast MAC destination address.
The broadcast address cannot be associated with a port, so the switch
behaves as it would for any destination address that doesn’t have an entry in
the table – it floods the frame from all ports, except the one through which
the frame was received.
 Ethernet switches learn MAC addresses in the same way as described
above when connected via an extended star topology:
 In the diagram above the topology includes a second Ethernet switch,
which is connected to the existing switch via port 3. Devices PC3 and PC4
have been moved to switch 2, and their MAC addresses have been added
dynamically (or automatically) to the MAC address table against the new
ports to which they are connected.
 Because switch 1 connects to switch 2 via port 3, the MAC addresses for
PC3 and PC4 are listed against port 3 on switch 1 – this is the path switch 1
will use to forward frames destined for either of these PCs. Similarly, the
MAC addresses of PC1 and PC2 are listed against port 3 on switch 2.
 Because switches dynamically add source MAC addresses to their MAC
address tables, the switches have a mechanism for dynamically unlearning
them. This prevents the table being filled with MAC address entries for
devices that have been disconnected from the network. Thus most switches
only maintain entries that are currently being used for frame forwarding.
 Once frame forwarding finishes, switches delete MAC address entries after a
short delay of typically 5 minutes.

12  Router operation

 Because switches forward frames using frame MAC address information,

they are unaware of the IP addresses within the packet they are carrying.
Thus, if you need to connect together two or more IP networks, you need to
use a router.
 Routers can access IP packets carried to them in frames, so they can make
forwarding decisions based on the IP destination address they find. The
forwarding of packets by routers is referred to as packet switching.

Packet switching

 Remember, when the host field of an IP address is all zeroes when read in
binary, it identifies the particular IP network to which individual devices
may be assigned:
o PC1a has IP address 192.168.10.1/24, so it is within IP network
192.168.10.0/24.
 o PC2 has IP address 192.168.2.2/24, so it is within IP network
192.168.2.0/24.
 Router R1 connects the two IP networks, allowing packets to be
forwarded between them. The router needs to have interfaces that have IP
addresses within the IP network to which it is directly connected:
o R1 Gigabit Ethernet 0/1 interface has IP address
192.168.10.254/24, so it is in the same IP network as PC1.
o R1 Gigabit Ethernet 0/0 interface has IP address 192.168.2.254/24,
so it is in the same IP network as PC2.
 PC1a and PC2 use R1 as their default gateways (DG) to reach other IP
networks. This means that each PC must know the IP address of the router
interface that is within its IP network:
o PC1a uses R1 G0/1 as its default gateway.
o PC2 uses R1 G0/0 as its default gateway.
 Note that the PCs are connected to the router via Ethernet switches, so all
the packets are transported across the network using Ethernet frames.
However, the switches are not required to have IP addresses to do this.
 You may have noticed that PC1b is also connected to the same switch as
PC1a, and is configured with an IP address and DG indicating it is in the
same IP subnet. It does not need to go to R1 to exchange packets with PC1a
because they are both in the same subnet – PC1a and PC1b can exchange
packets in frames via the switch without using a default gateway.
 However, when PC1a and PC1b send packets to PC2, they will realise
that the destination IP address is in another IP network, and will encapsulate
their packets in frames that the switch will send towards R1 G0/1. You will
investigate how this is achieved in more detail in the next module.
 Routing table

 Routers record all IP networks that they are aware of within an IP routing
table. This is an important difference between switches and routers. A switch
needs to learn which ports individual devices are connected to within the
local network, whereas a router is only concerned with locating the IP
networks connected to its interfaces.

 The entries in a routing table provide information about how a router

learnt about each network, and which interface it should forward packets to
that are destined for a particular network. In the diagram above, R1 learnt
that network 192.168.10.0/24 exists because it was configured with an IP
address (192.168.10.254/24) which falls within that network. Because this
address was configured on G0/1, R1 will forward packets destined for
network 192.168.10.0/24 towards that interface.
 You can see that the same is true for network 192.168.2.0/24, which is
connected to R1 G0/0 interface. R1 thus considers these networks to be
directly connected and it states this explicitly within each routing table entry.
 Packet forwarding by a router is similar to how an Ethernet switch
forwards frames, but unlike in frame forwarding the router does not need to
learn the IP addresses of individual devices.

Packet forwarding by a router

 Note that because the router is using Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, they are
assigned MAC addresses. These are shown below the IP addresses of each
interface and have been simplified for clarity. The IP, MAC and default
gateway of PC1a and PC3 are also shown.
 In the diagram above, PC1a creates a packet destined for PC2. It uses its
own IP (192.168.10.1) as the source, and PC2’s IP (192.168.2.1) as the
destination. PC1 recognises that PC2 is on a different IP network, so it
encapsulates the packet in a frame with the destination MAC address of its
default gateway, R1 G0/1 (00:00:00:11:11:11).
 The packet is forwarded across the local network by S1 to R1 G0/1. R1
de-encapsulates the frame, and examines the packet’s destination IP address
and compares it with the entries in its routing table. R1 has an entry for the
IP network 192.168.2.0/24 which PC2 is within, which allows it to identify
the exit interface for the network as G0/0.
 R1 switches the packet to interface G0/0, which encapsulates it within a
frame using PC2’s MAC address as its destination:
 The frame is forwarded to S2, which will deliver it to PC2 based on the
destination MAC address it finds in the frame.

Activity: Source MAC address

In the previous example, the source address used in the frame identified R1
G0/0 as the source of the frame. Can you work out which source MAC address
will be used when PC3 replies to PC1a?

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PC3 will need to direct the frame to its default gateway using the MAC address
of R1 G0/0 – 00:00:00:00:00:00.

 The example above illustrates the following points:

o The source and destination IP addresses are not changed when a
packet is forwarded.
 o A packet is encapsulated in two different frames during its
transmission.
o The MAC addresses used within frames are all different.
 These points show that IP provides end-to-end delivery of packets across
multiple IP networks using globally unique addresses. The source and
destination addresses within a packet must remain the same to allow end
devices to be identified.
 Ethernet frames are used for the delivery of data across local networks,
using locally significant MAC addresses.
 There is one final difference in the way that routers and switches behave
when they forward packets and frames (respectively).
o You saw previously that when a switch receives a frame which has
a destination MAC address that is not currently in the MAC address
table, the switch will flood the frame out of all ports, apart from the port
that received the frame. Put simply, a switch cannot drop frames.
o However, a router will only forward a packet if it can find an entry
in the routing table matching the destination IP address. If there is no
matching entry, then the packet will be dropped.

  Network address translation

 You have already come across NAT while learning about IP packet
forwarding. Here you will learn about it in more detail to see how a router
can provide NAT for multiple devices within the LAN.
 Home routers use a private IPv4 address range for devices within the
home network. A private address cannot be routed over the Internet as it is
used in millions of other networks across the world, and is therefore not
unique.
 However, you will have a unique, public IP address assigned to your
home router on the interface that connects to the Internet service provider.
This is shown as 82.10.250.19 in the diagram below:

 The idea of NAT is to convert the source address from all outgoing LAN
packets into the unique public address assigned to the home router, and vice
versa for incoming packets from the Internet. You learnt about this
previously in the context of a home network with only one PC. Here you
will learn how NAT operates when there are multiple devices using a single
public IP address as their source address.
 The image below shows packets transmitted from PC1 and PC2 towards a
web server, which need to be routed towards the Internet by the home router:
 Note that both packets have private IP source addresses, which cannot be
routed towards the public IP address of the web server. The packet
encapsulates a TCP segment, which uses port numbers to identify the
application layer protocols carried in the segment.
 PC1 selects a random source port (2000), and a well-known destination
port (DP) of 80, as it is communicating via HTTP with a web server.
 PC2 selects a random source port (3000), and a well-known destination
port of 80, as it is also communicating via HTTP with the same web server.
 The packets are received by the home router, which performs NAT,
converting the source addresses to its own Wide Area Network (WAN)
interface public IP address (82.10.250.19). It also notes the source ports used
in both packets and records them in its NAT table:
 The publicly addressed packets are forwarded through the Internet to the
destination web server, which establishes two TCP connections with what it
believes is the same device using two different source ports. It returns the
requested webpage in a series of packets to the two different TCP destination
ports:
 The returned IP packets are addressed with the web server as the source
and the public address of the home router WAN interface as the destination.
The TCP port numbers have also been reversed, with port 80 indicating the
segment is from a web server, and port 2000 and 3000 identifying the ports
used by PC1 and PC2 respectively.
 The home router accepts the incoming packets. It examines the
destination ports and tries to match them with the source ports it has
recorded in its NAT table in order to replace the public source address with
the correct, private IP address for PC1 or PC2:

 Because NAT mapped source port 2000 to IP address 192.168.0.101, the

packet with destination port 2000 will have its destination IP address
changed to 192.168.0.101 and will be forwarded to PC1.
 Because NAT mapped source port 3000 to IP address 192.168.0.102, the
packet with destination port 3000 will have its destination address changed
to 192.168.0.102, and will be forwarded to PC2.
 Using port numbers within the home router NAT process is essential, as it
allows translation to occur for multiple devices.

  Activities

Activity: Error detection

TCP/IP protocols use check-sums to detect errors in the data they are
responsible for transmitting. But how do errors occur and can we do anything
about them?

Errors can creep into to an electrical signal at many points in a communication.

They are caused by electrical interference and create electrical noise on the line,
which can corrupt data. A digital ‘1’ may become a ‘0’, or a ‘0’ may become a
‘1’.

We have several techniques for detecting when an error occurred, and some
techniques can say where the error occurred in the data. If we know where it
occurred, we can simply ‘flip’ the bit back over.

Play CS Unplugged’s activity to learn more about one such technique.

Activity: Frame check sequence

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Activity: Protocol stacks (Packet Tracer)

Complete the activities in the Black Lab Book to put into practice what you
have learned in this course about the complex interaction between the TCP/IP
suite protocols.

You will need:

 Lab Book: Purpose of Hardware and Protocols Associated with
Networking Computer Systems
 Packet Tracer
 CASBIT.pkz
 CASWANT.pkz