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May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses
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Computer Networking
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Computer Networking

Shriram K. Vasudevan
Subashri V.
D. P. Kothari
Palanisamy Thangaraj
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

a
Alpha Science International Ltd.
Oxford, U.K.

Computer Networking
352 pgs. | 283 figs. | 43 tbls.

Shriram K. Vasudevan
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Amrita University, Coimbatore
Subashri V.
Programmer Analyst, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Chennai
D. P. Kothari
Director – Research, MVSR Engineering College, Hyderabad
Palanisamy Thangaraj
Senior Engineer – Testing, Aricent Technologies, Chennai

ALPHA SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL LTD.

7200 The Quorum, Oxford Business Park North

Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2JZ, U.K.

www.alphasci.com

ISBN 978-1-84265-919-9
E-ISBN 978-1-78332-099-8

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written
permission of the publisher.

Dedication
Sunandhini, Saihari and Smt. Jayalakshmi
Shriram K. Vasudevan
Smt. Revathy and Sri. Vasudevan
Subashri V.
Daughters and Son-in-laws
D.P. Kothari
Mekala and Amirthavarshini
Palanisamy Thangaraj
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Preface

Without Computer Networks, nothing in this world could proceed. From Facebook to bank
transactions everything is based on computers which are networked. This book will give the reader
an idea on what is networking? How it is done? What are protocols supporting the networks? How
is Layering followed? etc., most importantly this book talks everything practically, with relevant
examples and results obtained through testing. Every chapter has Quiz which will help the students
to get noticed in their interviews. All the most frequently used protocols are described with fullest
attention.
The book starts with basics of networking covered in Chapter 1 followed by detailed analysis
on open system interconnection layers in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 has been framed with attention
being paid for the physical media, switching, encoding, decoding etc. Chapter 4 covers complete
data link layer concepts. Spanning tree protocols, VLAN concepts are covered with examples which
would make readers cherish the learning. Chapter 5 has been focussed on network layer and the
protocols that support the network layer. This chapter has been framed with a lot of examples and
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screenshots of commands which will make reader understand the concepts with ease. Transport
layer and the application layer protocols are covered in the successive chapters. Network security
has been thoroughly discussed in Chapter 8 followed by simulation of networking scenarios using
NS2 in Chapter 9. Last but not the least; three case studies have been added which makes the
book unique.
Readers can get in touch with the authors with constructive criticism at [email protected]
and [email protected].

Acknowledgement
First of all we thank Narosa Publishing House for accepting the proposal and giving us an
opportunity to write this book. We thank Ms. Sandhya Subramanian for her help in this attempt,

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without which it would have been a daunting task for us to complete the book. We also thank Ms.
Sunandhini, Mr. Sundar, Mr. Naveen, Mr. Srivathsan, Mr. Shivajegan, Ms. Chandni, Ms. Janani
and Ms. Abarna for helping us review the contents. Shriram wishes to thank Prof. Prakash, Prof.
Pradeep Kumar, Prof. Baskar and Prof. Gowtham for their constructive inputs and support at all
times! Last but not the least; we thank our respective organizations for providing us motivation
for writing the book.
Shriram K. Vasudevan
Subashri V.
D. P. Kothari
Palanisamy Thangaraj
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Contents

Preface vii

1. Introduction to Networking 1.1

1.1 Introduction 1.1
1.1.1 What is a Network and why is Networking Needed? 1.1
1.1.2 Topology – What is it? 1.2
1.1.3 Types of Topology 1.2
1.2 Components of a Typical Network (A Brief Introduction) 1.5
1.3 Types of Networks 1.9
1.3.1 Local Area Network 1.10
1.3.2 Wide Area Network (WAN) 1.10
1.3.3 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) 1.10
1.3.4 Personal Area Network (PAN) 1.11
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1.3.5 Wired Vs Wireless Networks 1.11

1.3.6 Intranet Vs Extranet 1.12
1.4 OSI Layering (Open System Interconnection) 1.12
1.4.1 Physical Layer 1.13
1.4.2 Data Link Layer 1.14
1.4.3 Network layer 1.14
1.4.4 Transport Layer 1.14
1.4.5 Session Layer 1.16
1.4.6 Presentation Layer 1.16
1.4.7 Application Layer 1.16

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1.5 OSI Model Vs TCP-IP Model 1.17

Points to Remember 1.18
Quiz 1.19
Answers 1.20
2. OSI Layer and Network Components 2.1
2.1 OSI Layering (Open System Interconnection) Introduction 2.1
2.2 Physical Layer and Physical Layer Components 2.3
2.2.1 Signals – Analog and Digital 2.3
2.2.2 Network Adapters 2.4
2.2.3 Repeaters 2.4
2.2.4 Hubs 2.6
2.2.5 RS-232 (Recommended Standard 232) 2.7
2.2.6 RS 232 Terminologies 2.7
2.2.7 EIA-449 2.11
2.2.8 Modems 2.13
2.2.9 X.25 2.16
2.3 Data Link Layer 2.20
2.3.1 Ethernet – An Analysis 2.21
2.3.2 Ethernet Frame 2.21
2.3.3 CSMA/CD 2.22
2.3.4 Bridges 2.26
2.3.5 Switches 2.28
2.4 Network Layer 2.29
2.4.1 Router 2.29
2.5 Transport Layer 2.31
2.5.1 TCP 2.31
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2.5.2 UDP 2.31

2.6 Session Layer 2.32
2.7 Presentation Layer 2.32
2.8 Application Layer 2.32
2.8.1 FTP (File Transfer Protocol) 2.33
2.8.2 Telnet 2.33
2.8.3 DNS (Domain Naming Server) 2.33
2.8.4 SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) 2.33
2.8.5 SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) 2.34

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Points to Remember 2.35

Quiz 2.36
Answers 2.37
3. Physical Layer 3.1
3.1 Introduction 3.1
3.1.1 Physical Layer Functions 3.1
3.2 Guided Media 3.2
3.2.1 Open Wire 3.3
3.2.2 Twisted-Pair (TP) Cable 3.3
3.2.3 Coaxial cable 3.4
3.2.4 Fiber-Optic Cable 3.4
3.3 Unguided Media 3.5
3.3.1 RF Propagation 3.5
3.3.2 Microwave 3.7
3.3.3 Satellite 3.7
3.3.4 Iridium Telecom System 3.8
3.4 Switching 3.9
3.4.1 Circuit Switching 3.10
3.4.2 Packet Switching 3.11
3.5 Datagram Networks Vs Virtual Circuit Networks 3.11
3.5.1 Datagram Approach 3.11
3.5.2 Virtual Circuit Approach 3.12
3.6 Modems 3.13
3.7 Encoding and Decoding Mechanisms 3.13
3.7.1 Digital to Digital Conversion 3.15
3.7.2 Digital to Analog Conversion 3.18
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Points to Remember 3.23

Quiz 3.25
Answers 3.26
4. Data Link Layer 4.1
4.1 Introduction 4.1
4.2 LLC and MAC Sub Layers 4.2
4.2.1 Media Access Control Layer 4.2
4.2.2 Link Logic Control Layer 4.2
4.3 Detection and Correction 4.2
4.3.1 Error Detection Mechanisms 4.2

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4.3.2 Error Correction Methods 4.8

4.4 Error Control 4.12
4.4.1 Flow Control Methods 4.12
4.4.2 Error Control Mechanisms 4.14
4.5 Data Link Layer Services 4.15
4.5.1 VLAN Switching and VLAN Protocols 4.15
4.5.2 Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) – An In depth Analysis 4.20
4.5.3 High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) Protocol 4.37
4.5.4 Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) 4.40
4.5.5 SONET – An Introduction 4.42
4.5.6 Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Switching 4.46
4.5.7 Frame Relay Introduction 4.50
4.6 Bluetooth – An Introduction 4.52
4.6.1 What is Bluetooth? 4.52
4.6.2 How Bluetooth Operates? 4.53
4.6.3 Bluetooth Connection Establishment 4.54
4.6.4 Bluetooth – What are the Threats? 4.55
4.7 WIFI 4.56
4.8 Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) 4.60
Point to Remember 4.65
Quiz 4.66
5. Internet Protocol 5.1
5.1 IP Addressing (Internet Protocol) 5.1
5.1.1 IP Subnetting 5.3
5.1.2 IP Version 4 – Protocol Format 5.4
5.2 IP Version 6 5.8
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5.3 Mobile IP 5.10

5.3.1 Brief Overview of Terminologies 5.11
5.3.2 Agent Discovery 5.13
5.3.3 Registration Request 5.15
5.3.4 Registration Reply 5.16
5.4 Routing Algorithms 5.17
5.4.1 Shortest Path Algorithms 5.17
5.4.2 Dijkstra’s Algorithm 5.19
5.4.3 Distance Vector (DV) Routing 5.22
5.4.4 Link State (LS) Algorithm 5.27

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5.4.5 Hierarchical Routing 5.28

5.5 Routing Protocols 5.30
5.5.1 OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) 5.30
5.5.2 BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) 5.35
5.5.3 Routing Information Protocol (RIP) 5.37
5.6 Important Layer 3 Protocols 5.41
5.6.1 ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) 5.41
5.6.2 RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol) 5.43
5.6.3 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) 5.46
5.6.4 Internet Control Protocols (ICMP) 5.50
5.6.5 IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) 5.54
Points to Remember 5.58
Quiz 5.59
Answers 5.60
6. Transport Layer 6.1
6.1 Introduction 6.1
6.2 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) 6.1
6.2.1 TCP Frame Format 6.2
6.2.2 TCP Connection Establishment 6.3
6.2.3 TCP Connection Termination 6.4
6.3 User Datagram Protocol (UDP) 6.5
6.3.1 Frame Format 6.5
6.3.2 Programming Model 6.6
6.4 Quality of Service (QOS) 6.9
6.4.1 Over Provisioning 6.9
6.4.2 Buffering 6.9
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6.4.3 Congestion Control Mechanisms 6.10

Points to Remember 6.15
Quiz 6.15
Answers 6.16
7. Application Layer: An In-depth Analysis 7.1
7.1 FTP (File Transfer Protocol) 7.1
7.1.1 FTP - Basic Client - Server Operation 7.1
7.1.2 FTP - Commonly used Commands 7.2
7.1.3 How FTP Works? 7.3

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7.2 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) 7.4

7.2.1 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol 7.5
7.2.2 How SMTP Works?? 7.5
7.2.3 What SMTP can do??? 7.7
7.3 MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) 7.8
7.4 POP3 (Post Office Protocol) 7.10
7.4.1 POP 7.10
7.4.2 How POP3 Works?? 7.11
7.4.3 Commands and Responses 7.11
7.4.4 When to use POP3? 7.13
7.5 World Wide Web (WWW) 7.13
7.6 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 7.16
7.6.1 HTTP Request Message 7.17
7.6.2 HTTP Response Format 7.18
7.7 Domain Naming System (DNS) 7.21
7.7.1 Domain Naming Space 7.21
7.8 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 7.22
7.8.1 SNMP Components 7.23
7.8.2 Management Information Bases 7.23
7.8.3 SNMP Commands 7.24
7.8.4 SNMP Versions 7.25
7.9 TELNET 7.25
7.9.1 Network Virtual Terminal (NVT) 7.26
7.9.2 The Negotiations 7.27
7.9.3 How to Login to a Remote System with TELNET? 7.29
Points to Remember 7.29
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Quiz 7.30
8. Network Security 8.1
8.1 Threats to Data Communication 8.1
8.1.1 Active Attacks 8.2
8.1.2 Passive Attacks 8.4
8.2 Security Concepts 8.4
8.2.1 Encryption/Decryption 8.4
8.2.2 Authentication and Authorization 8.11
8.2.3 Authentication Techniques 8.12

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8.3 Security Protocols 8.18

8.3.1 TLS/SSL 8.21
8.3.2 PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) 8.24
8.4 Ethical Hacking 8.28
8.5 Interesting Cyber Crimes 8.30
8.6 Firewalls 8.31
8.6.1 IP Packet Filtering Firewall 8.32
8.6.2 Circuit Level Gateway 8.33
8.6.3 Application Level Gateway (ALG) 8.34
Points to Remember 8.34
Quiz 8.35
Answers 8.35
9. Network Simulation 9.1
9.1 Introduction 9.1
9.1.1 Simulation Objects 9.2
9.1.2 Popular Network Simulators 9.2
9.2 NS2 Introduction 9.3
9.2.1 NS2 Characteristics 9.3
9.2.2 What can be done with NS2? 9.3
9.2.3 Elements and Notations 9.3
9.3 Languages used in Simulation 9.6
9.4 Installation of NS2 9.7
9.5 Programming Concepts 9.7
9.5.1 Simple Scripting Program 9.7
9.5.2 AWK Programming 9.10
Case Study C.1
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Index I.1

1
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Introduction to
Networking

Learning Objectives

 To get the basic understanding of what a network is all about.
 After reading, the reader will get a clear understanding on what topologies are all about and what are the
different types of topologies available.
 Also coverage on types of networks are given.
 Finally, introduction in a brief on OSI (open system interconnection) is given and it will be the foundation for
all the future chapters.
 Lastly, Quiz questions are given and reader can test their understanding by answering them.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
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To put it in simple words, to start with, a group of people connected together can be a network.
But the intention of the book is to deal with computer networks. So putting the definition with
respect to computers as follows.

1.1.1 What is a Network and why is Networking Needed?

A Network is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication

channels that allow sharing of information and resources. A network can have any of the following
components interconnected. Personal computer, Mobile phones, Personal digital assistant, Printers,
Hubs, routers etc., a sample network is shown below in the Fig. 1.1.

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1.2 Computer Networking
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Fig. 1.1 A sample network

And why is networking needed or why is computer networking important? Simple, to

communicate and to transfer information across two different destinations, to get a speedy data
transfer and many more. Because of effective networking the globe has become smaller.
From here on the reader would be taken through this network in a smooth way. It will be a
good learning experience for the reader.

1.1.2 Topology – What is it?

A topology is nothing but a network’s virtual shape or structure. In other words it is a schematic
description of an arrangement of the network, including its nodes and connecting lines. The
topology can be either physical or logical. Physical topology is the actual geometric representation
of the nodes connected. First the reader will be taken through physical topology and then Logical
topology will be discussed.
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1.1.3 Types of Topology

1.1.3.1 Physical Topology

Physically nodes can be connected in lot of ways, predominantly following are termed.
a. Bus topology
b. Ring topology
c. Star topology
d. Tree topology and
e. Mesh topology.
Readers will be given details about all of the above in the forth coming pages.

a. Bus topology
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In this topology as shown in Fig. 1.2, every node (system) is connected to a common main cable
called bus. In other words, as all the nodes are connected though a common cable, the bus
forms the backbone of the network. The backbone here serves as the shared communication
medium. If any node connected to the network desires to communicate with another node
connected to the same network, it has to broadcast the message. The intended recipient will
receive that message and process the same. The biggest advantage of this topology lies in its
simplicity. That is, it is very easy to install and use. Also, the failure of any of the devices will
not affect the functioning of others. Coming to the negative end of it couple of main problems
can be cited. One, when the number of nodes connected to the bus is increased; say more
than a dozen, the performance may go down. Two, if the bus fails, the entire network will be
down and this is a real nightmare.

Fig. 1.2 Bus topology

Example: - Let us say that five nodes are connected to a network which follows the bus topology
as shown in Fig. 1.2. The first two nodes are desktops, the third a laptop, the fourth a printer and
the fifth an internet modem. The desktops can communicate with each other and the laptop. All
the three computers can also access the printer and avail internet service using the modem. If the
second desktop fails, the other desktop, laptop, printer and modem can function. But, failure of
the bus will render the entire network useless. This setup can be seen in internet cafes.
b. Ring topology
The next one in queue to be discussed is Ring way of making the topology. Every device has
two neighbours for communication. One important thing to remember is, messages can travel
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only in one direction. That is, either clockwise or anticlockwise. The same problem as with
bus topology is faced here as well. If the loop gets cut, the entire network will get affected.
The diagrammatic representation is shown in Fig. 1.3.

Fig. 1.3 Ring topology

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1.4 Computer Networking
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Example: Let us assume four devices connected in ring topology in Desktop – Desktop – Laptop
– Printer sequence. The first desktop can communicate with the second desktop alone if the
communication is in the clockwise direction. In the anti-clockwise direction, it can communicate
only with the printer. If the printer or any other device malfunctions, then the entire network
will get affected.
c. Star topology
This is the next simple topology to be discussed. There is a central server or a computer
or a hub to which all the computers are directly connected in this topology. Every node is
connected to other node through the central computer/server. Advantage when comparing
with the bus topology is that, failure of one cable will not affect all the nodes in the network.
Failure will affect only that node and will not disrupt other nodes connected. On the other
side, looking at the negatives, this topology requires more cables, increasing the cost factor.
Figure 1.3 shows this topology schematic.

Fig. 1.4 Star topology

Example: The example used for bus topology applies here too. However, the devices will be
connected to a central computer instead of a common cable. If the laptop wants to access the
printer, the communication will be via the main computer. Any device can be removed from the
network upon failure and restored after repair. But, the central computer cannot fail as it is the
gateway for communication between the devices.
d. Tree topology
It is a mixture or combination
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Introduction to Networking 1.5
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xample: Let us consider a case in which the network in the first two examples is placed in a
E
particular room in an administrative block and where similar networks are installed in other rooms.
Communication can be realised between these rooms by connecting the various networks in bus
topology.
e. Mesh topology
Two schemes are used for mesh topology: - full mesh and partial mesh. In the full mesh, each
node is directly connected to the other node of the network. Refer Fig. 1.6 for schematic
representation. In the partial mesh, a few nodes are connected to all the nodes and the rest
are connected only to those nodes with which they desire to communicate. Coming to the
advantage, if a link fails, it will affect only that connection and not the whole set. Disadvantage,
to mention, it is a little complex to set up in case of full mesh.

Fig. 1.6 Mesh topology [full mesh]

1.1.3.2 Logical Topology

A Logical topology refers to the nature of the paths the signal flow from node to node. It can be
at times same as the physical topology. In short, it is the signal flow path.

1.2 COMPONENTS OF A TYPICAL NETWORK (A BRIEF INTRODUCTION)

There are numerous components used to form a network. Here the reader will be introduced to
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few of the most important and frequently used components of a network. The basics are listed
below and discussed in order in brief.
a. Network adapters
b. Repeater
c. Bridge
d. Hub
e. Switch
f. Router and
g. Gateway
The reader will now be taken through a safari in all the above mentioned topics.

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1.6 Computer Networking
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a. Network adapters
Whenever a machine needs to be connected to the network, there comes the necessity of
network adapters. I.e. it acts as an interface between a computer or device and a network.
There are many types of network adapters available in the market based on the network the
node is connected to. A very simple adapter that someone easily recognizes is Ethernet or
Wi-Fi. The adapter converts the signals from computer to electrical signal to transmit it and
does vice versa. A network adapter is identified with its MAC (Media Access Control) address
and it is unique. A sample network adapter is shown below in the Fig. 1.7.

Fig. 1.7 A network interface card

A MAC address is of 6 byte (48 bits) length and that is physically hard-coded to the network
adapter by its manufacturer. It is always unique as mentioned already. If someone is using a
windows PC, MAC address can be found by getting into command prompt and typing getmac
command. It will fetch the MAC address of the Network card and it will be somewhat similar to
00-01-AB-01-D1-01. How this address is framed? This question can be answered by taking the
following Fig. 1.8 as reference.
In the six bytes, the first three bytes are representation of the vendor details. That is they are
issued by manufacturer. These three bytes are called as OUI, Organizationally Unique Identifier. The
next three bytes are called as UAA, Universally Administered Address. Since all cards from a given
manufacturer have the same first 3 bytes, these three bytes are useful in making the MAC unique.
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Fig. 1.8 MAC address

b. Repeaters
Repeaters are like re-generators, means amplifiers. It receives a signal from a transmitter,
amplifies it and then will re-transmit with better strength. When the signal has to be sent for a

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longer distance, the repeater will play a role

there to send the data without distortion
or loss. There can be more than one
repeater between source and destination.
But it cannot be unlimited, as additional
repeaters may introduce noise. A simple
diagrammatic representation is presented
in Fig. 1.9.
Here in the above figure it is clearly shown
that, if the data has to be transmitted to a Fig. 1.9 Repeater’s work
longer distance, data will be weakened due to
distortion. So in this event, a repeater will be helpful. It will strengthen the signal and transmit
it to its destination.
c. Bridge
A bridge is seen as a very vital component in the networking world. A bridge is used to
connect two different networks. Also it is used to split a network into separate segments. Thus
bridge can be used to filter traffic and create a better/efficient network. A simple schematic
representation is shown below in Fig. 1.10 in which a bridge is used to connect two entirely
different networks.

Fig. 1.10 A bridge-connects two networks

d. Hub
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Hub basically is deployed to make the sharing of data between computers easier within
a network. Whenever star topology is used, hub becomes inevitable. A transmitter, i.e.
the computer which sends the information, will send the signal to the hub and then hub
retransmits the signal to the destination computer. A hub can remain active or passive. If a
hub is passive it will just be relaying the signal. An active hub is repeater, which can regenerate
the signal.
A question may rise in the mind of the readers, how will the bandwidth be shared by all
available computers connected to the hub? Simple, each computer will be given a portion
of the bandwidth. If there are lot of computers connected to the hub, bandwidth available
for every one of the machine will be lesser and would be problem with the performance. So
hubs can be deployed in the place where number of computers connected to it are limited.
Figure 1.11 stands a support for making the reader understand the concept.

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Fig. 1.11 How hub can be deployed?

e. Switch
Switch is an improved hub; it can be seen as a better version of hub. It is again a central point
of a network. It is an intelligent device. When switch receives a packet from the sender, it
will examine the destination address (MAC address) from the packet header and will redirect
the packet to the destination alone. This has become possible as switch will maintain a table
which has details of all ports and corresponding device’s MAC addresses. Here when switch
is used the bandwidth utilization becomes effective and will be more efficiently managed.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 1.12 Switch’s working

From the above Fig. 1.12 it is clear that when a packet has to be sent from A to C, the signal
will be transmitted from A to C alone, it will not be shared with B, hence sharing the bandwidth
is efficient. And hence switch is deployed in all the big networks.
f. Routers
A router is basically used to communicate between network to network in an efficient and
intelligent way. Router will transfer the packet from source to destination in the best and short

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route. The routing table will have the IP addresses of other router in the network. Routing
table is configured manually and also dynamically.
When a data packet is received, router does the following,
a. Will read the destination address (IP) of the received packet.
b. Looks at the path to reach the destination address.
c. Sends the packet to the destination through the shortest path.

Fig. 1.13 Router

A diagrammatic representation is presented above in Fig. 1.13 where a packet from network
1 is sent to network 2 via routers at both the networks.
g. Gateway
Gateway is used to connect two different networks. It is actually a converter. Here in this Fig.
1.14 a gateway is useful to communicate between VoIP and PSTN networks.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 1.14 Router

1.3 TYPES OF NETWORKS

There are categories of networks based on the geography the network can cover. They are broadly
classified as follows:
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
2. Wide Area Network (WAN)
3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
4. Personal Area Network (PAN)
Each of the above networks is briefed here with diagrammatic representations.

1.3.1 Local Area Network

A LAN (Local Area Network) connects devices

over a shorter proximity, i.e. a shorter span
of distance. A building, a school, a college
building, internet cafes, home comes in this
category. Since the operational area is very
short it can be maintained and controlled by
single person. LAN can have group of LANs in
it. For example, if a home is networked, every
room can be a LAN and many such rooms will
form a network of small LANs. Ethernet is the
most commonly used technology for LANs and
occasionally Token Rings are also used. The
following Fig. 1.15 diagrammatically represents Fig. 1.15 LAN – Schematic Representation
how a LAN can look like.

1.3.2 Wide Area Network (WAN)

Wide Area Network, as the name implies it

can cover larger area. A WAN is formed by
joining many LANs. A best and simple example
for WAN would be the internet which covers
the entire globe. When an organization has
branches all over the world, the WAN will comes
into play and LANs of the offices at different
geographical region will be connected together
to get the WAN formed. Since WAN has to cover
a larger span of distance optical fibers, ATM,
Frame relays are often used for establishing long
distance connectivity. The following Fig. 1.16
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is showing a WAN for reader’s understanding.

Fig. 1.16 WAN

1.3.3 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

This kind of network is not mostly used but it has its own importance for some government bodies
and organizations on larger scale. MAN, metropolitan area network falls in middle of LAN and WAN,
It covers large span of physical area than LAN but smaller than WAN, such as a city. The following
Fig. 1.17 stands as a support for the understanding MAN, where in three different buildings in
Newyork city are connected with MAN.

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Fig. 1.17 Metropolitan Area Network

1.3.4 Personal Area Network (PAN)

To get rid of the need of cables for all short range communications like computer to printer or
computer to mobile phone Bluetooth can be used and it is named as Personal Area Network. It can
cover only few meters and it is a short range network. Simple example for the PAN is transferring
songs or data from one mobile phone to other through Bluetooth. It needs communication to be
established between the two devices. It is called as Pairing. The following Fig. 1.18 represents a PAN.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 1.18 Personal Area Network

1.3.5 Wired Vs Wireless Networks

Computer networks for the home and small business can be built using either wired or wireless
technology. Wired Ethernet has been the traditional choice in homes, but Wi-Fi wireless
technologies are gaining ground fast. Both wired and wireless can claim advantages over the other;
both represent viable options for home and other local area networks (LANs).
Computer Networks can be built with wired or wireless technology. Mostly and traditionally
wired Ethernet has been preferred for many reasons.

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Although wireless technologies are growing very fast, wired networking still has a strong place
in the field. Before jumping in depth to the analysis of pros and cons, one should understand
what would be the basic difference between wired and wireless networks. In a wired network,
an Ethernet cable will be used between the computer and router where in case of the wireless
networks it would not be the case. The pros and cons are analysed for wired and wireless networks
considering few aspects and are summarized below:
1. Ease of setup - Wired networks is very easier to set up. With the modern computers it is just
pluged and get in to the net. Wireless configurations are little tougher in this aspect. One
disadvantage associated with wired networks is wires may be running across the floors and can
look clumsy when there are lot of wires being used, which is not in the case of wireless networks.
2. Reliability and Speed - Ethernet cables are extremely reliable as they are in the market for
years and they are well improved. Loose cabling is the only major source of failure in the wired
network. Wireless devices are still improving and they are not as reliable as wired networks.
Coming to speed part of it, wired networks are always faster comparing wireless networks.
3. Convenience - Needless to say wireless networks once set up, are very convenient. Internet
can be accessed from any computer which is networked to the computer easily with wireless
networks. A clumsy look will be there if the network is too big, in case of a wired network.
4. Security - A wired network is highly contained. Wired network needs physical access to the
router whereas in wireless networks it is not the case. Anybody can try to intrude and gain
access.

1.3.6 Intranet Vs Extranet

An intranet is a personalized version of internet. For an example every organization will have its own
intranet. This intranet network is not available to the world outside of it. If intranet is connected
to internet, then the intranet will reside behind the firewall and if access is permitted from the
internet it is named as Extranet. The firewall helps to control access between the Intranet and
Internet to permit access to the Intranet only to people who are members of the same company
or organization.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

An Extranet is actually an Intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. The

actual server (the computer that serves up the web pages) will reside behind a firewall. The firewall
helps to control access between the Intranet and Internet permitting access to the Intranet only to
people who have access permissions. The level of access can be set to different levels for individuals
or groups of outside users. The access can be based on a username and password or an IP address.

1.4 OSI LAYERING (OPEN SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION)

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divide and conquer approach wherein one big problem is spilt and seen as seven different layers.
Dividing the problem to layers makes the task look simpler and in case of a problem with one of
the layers, it can be easily isolated and identified which makes the fixing easier. Lower layers are
generally combination of hardware and software and the upper layers are predominantly software.
The seven layers are depicted in the following Fig. 1.19.

Data Application
Network Process to application

Presentation
Data Data representation
Data representation && Encryption
Encryption

Session
Data Interhost communication

Transport
Segments Interhost Communication
and Reliability

Network
Packets Path Determination &
Logical Addressing (IP)
Data link
Frames Physical addressing
(MAC & LLC)

Physical
Bits Media, Signal
and Binary Transmission

Fig. 1.19 OSI Layers

All these seven layers are in brief discussed in this chapter and the book will be fully meant
for discussion of Layer-2 concepts in depth.
There are lot of benefits in following layered approach. They are listed as follows:
a. Reduced complexity – divided and conquered.
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b. Easy to learn with this standard approach and

c. Very much modular
The seven layers can be remembered with simple term “Please Do Not Touch Steve’s Pet
Alligator”. The first and foremost layer is Physical layer.

1.4.1 Physical Layer

1.4.2 Data Link Layer

This layer is responsible for node to node validity and integrity of transmission. The bits received
from physical layer which are raw, will be divided into frames here using the available protocols for
this layer. This layer is basically concerned with physical addressing (Bridges and Switches), flow
control, error notification and topology. It acts as a mediator between the network and physical
layers. This layer is further broken into two sub layers. Media Access Control layer (MAC) and Link
Logic Control layer (LLC).

1.4.1.1 Media Access Control Layer

The MAC layer provides regulated access to the network medium. If there are lot of stations
connected to a same medium (channel), identification of the stations are still done successfully.
This identification goes easier due to the MAC address which the user had been given a description
in the early pages of this chapter. Since the MAC address is burnt into the ROM of interface cards
it is not changeable and it remains unique. In short this layer controls how a computer on the
network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it.

1.4.1.2 Link Logic Control Layer

LLC provides enormous support for the flow control and error checking. Also this sequences the
control bits. LLC sits over the MAC layer.
The devices that operate on layer -2 are very important for a network to be up and active.
Bridges, Switches operate in this layer and they make sure that communication is uplifted.
Reader will be fully introduced to the operations at Layer -2. All these will be covered in the
fore coming chapters.

1.4.3 Network Layer

Network layer is the third layer of OSI layers. This is used to send the packets from source to
destination network. Routing and addressing are the most important functionalities of this layer.
Finding the best possible and shortest path for reaching the destination and delivering the data
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

to right destination are carried out here with high importance. Also this layer is responsible for
managing network problems as congestion and packet switching. If the data received from the
source is so large that it can’t be properly delivered. So this layer will breaks the data into smaller
units called as packets. And at the receiving end it can be reassembled. Internet Protocol (IP) is the
most obvious example for this layer. Router is the commonly referred layer -3 device. To be precise
and short this layer is the god of addressing and routing the data to destination. The following
Fig. 1.20 depicts which devices and its mapping with corresponding layers.

1.4.4 Transport Layer

This layer provides transparent transfer of data between source and destination. I.e. it is responsible
for end to end data transfer. The lower layers may drop packets, but transport layer will perform a

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sequence check on the data. If say, 10MB of data is transferred, it will make sure 10MB is received.
Transport layer makes sure that it establishes, maintains and terminates the connections after
transfer of data is complete. Two common protocols are deployed in this layer. Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

Fig. 1.20 OSI Layers-Devices mapping

TCP
TCP is the most commonly used protocol on the globe of internet. Excellent error correction is
offered in TCP and “guaranteed delivery” is possible with TCP. Flow control is provided with
TCP which ensures if the data is being sent correctly, if needs a retransfer or have to wait until
the congestion gets cleared. Where ever quality/guaranteed delivery is needed, TCP is the choice.
A diagrammatic representation is shown below in Fig. 1.21.
TCP- Reliable data transfer

Getting all of No, Slow down

So I can save
this? accurately!
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 1.21 TCP works this way

UDP
UDP is used for the speedy delivery. There is no guarantee that the data will be delivered in full
to the destination. But it does it so fast. Where ever speed is the need, there UDP can get in.
The reason for the speed is, there is no flow control or error correction. UDP is deployed widely
in streaming applications. A dramatic picture (Fig. 1.22) is given below which make the reader
understand the concept easily.

1.4.5 Session Layer

This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. Also at each
end, session layer sets up and terminates conversations and exchanges between the applications.
This layer provides coordination of the communication in a orderly way. It will make sure that
new requests are not sent before previous one is answered. Remote procedure call is the widely
used session layer protocol.

Fig. 1.22 UDP works this way

1.4.6 Presentation Layer

It ensures that information sent by the application layer of one of the systems from other network
is made readable by the application layer of the destination system. It makes sure that data is made
understood regardless of the types of machines used in the network. All encrypting devices fall
in the layer.

1.4.7 Application Layer

This is the layer which is near to the end user. It will not let the user know on the complications
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

of the below layers and it will just present the smooth applications to the user which would be
very comfortable for the end user. Very common application layer applications that readers are
familiar with are
a. Browsers
b. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
c. SSH (Secure Shell)
d. SFTP (Secure FTP)
e. Telnet etc.,
Now to summarize all the seven layers, the (below) picture can help. (Fig. 1.23)

1.5 OSI MODEL VS TCP-IP MODEL

The five layers of the TCP/IP architecture can be compared to certain levels of the Seven layer OSI
model. It is important to know on the functionalities of each of the layer in TCP/IP architecture
and how the layers can be mapped to the commonly used OSI model. As one can see from the
diagram the top three layers from OSI model are clubbed as one single layer here in TCP/IP
model as application layer.
The Application Layer of the TCP/IP model performs much the same tasks as the Application,
Presentation, and Session layers of the OSI model.
The Transport layer in the TCP/IP architecture is similar to the Transport layer in the OSI
model. This layer can use TCP or UDP as well.

Network
user

OSI MODEL
Application Layer
7 Type of communication
E-mail, le transfer,
client/server
Presentation Layer
6 Encryption data conversion:
Upper Layers

Ascft to EBCDIC.
DCD to binary, eto.
Application Layer
5 Type of communication
E-mail, le transfer,
client/ server
Transport Layer
4 Ensures delivery of entire
le or message.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Network Layer
3 Routes data to different
LANs and WANs based
on network address.
Lower Layers

Data Link (MAC) Layer

2 Transmits packets from
node to node based on
stations address.

1 Physical Layer
Electrical signals and cabling

Fig. 1.23 OSI Layers summary

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The network layer in the TCP/IP architecture uses IP addresses as in OSI layer to determine how
packets should be routed. This layer is also referred to in the TCP/IP model as the Internet layer.
Data link and Physical layers do similar sort of functionality as in OSI layers. There is no
major difference in the functionalities of these two layers of the TCP/IP and OSI model. Fig.
1.24 represents the comparison.

Fig. 1.24 OSI Vs TCP/IP model

POINTS TO REMEMBER

 Group of computers/hardware components connected together to have an information
sharing is called a network.


Topology is the way computers are connected in a network.

 The available topologies are
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l Bus topology
l Ring topology
l Star topology
l Tree topology and
l Mesh topology.

 Network adapter acts as an interface for the machine to be connected to the network.

 The devices used in the networking are Repeaters, Bridges, Switches, Hubs etc.,

 Repeater is a re-generator which amplifies the signal and enables the health transformation of
data.


A bridge is used to connect two different networks.


OSI is open system interconnect which is a standard for networking by ISO.


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OSI has 7 layers starting with physical layer and ends up with application layer.


TCP and UDP are the two common protocols followed at the transport layer and TCP is
used for reliable and error free transfer, where UDP helps in faster transmission. It has no
reliability.

 Application layer is one which interacts with the user and gives all comfort. It actually hides
the internal complications and gives good feel for the user.


Ethernet is a LAN protocol used for short range communication normally.


Ethernet deploys CSMA/CD which is a collision detection protocol.

QUIZ
1. Which organization defined the OSI Model?
a. IEEE
b. ISO
c. IEC
d. ITU-T
2. List the OSI layers in order from Layer 1.
3. In the OSI Model, data is encapsulated with additional header when travelling from a lower
layer to the next upper layer.
a. True b. False.
4. Which layer in the OSI Model that interfaces a user with the network?
5. Hub is an intelligent device – True or False?
6. Which can someone map Hub to?
7. TCP or UDP, which one is reliable?
8. Is MAC address unique? How many bytes are available in MAC address?
9. FTP/SFTP, which layer of accommodates these services?
10. Expand OSI, ISO, TCP and UDP.
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11. Encryption and decryption happens in 7th layer of OSI – True or False.
12. Which layer takes care of frames to packets conversion?
13. What is the basic and most commonly used element in Layer 3?
14. Which layer is responsible for linking the network support layers and user support layers?
15. What are the main responsibilities of Network Layer?
16. What are the functionalities of Session Layer?
17. Application Layer is vital, what does it do?
18. Ethernet belongs to layer -3. True or False?
19. What is a network?
20. Define topology and explain different types of topology
21. What is disadvantage in bus topology?

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22. Why star topology superior over bus topology?

23. Why tree topology is suitable for multiple networks?
24. Explain the types of mesh topology
25. What is logical topology?
26. What are the basic components of a typical network?
27. What is simple network adapter?
28. What are different types of network?
29. List the differences between wired and wireless network
30. What are the advantages of wireless network?
31. What are the advantages of wired network?
32. Why is the firewall needed?
33. Mention the seven layers of OSI model
34. Which layer talks about the hardware?
35. What are the two sub layers of data link layer?
36. Why is MAC address unique?
37. What are the duties of link logic control layer?
38. What are the most important functions of network layer?
39. What are the two common protocols in transport layer?
40. Why UDP is faster?
41. What are the duties of session layer?
42. Which layer deals with encryption?
43. State some common application layer protocols used.

ANSWERS
1. ISO.
2. Physical, Data link, Networking, Transport, Session, Presentation and application layer.
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3. True.
4. Application layer.
5. False.
6. Physical layer.
7. TCP.
8. Yes, It is. 6 bytes.
9. Application layer.
10. Open System Interconnect, International Standard Organization, Transmission Control
Protocol, User Datagram Protocol.
11. False.

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12. Network.
13. Router.
14. The Transport layer is responsible for linking the network support layers (lower layers 1-3)
and user support layers.
15. The Network Layer is taking care of the source-to-destination delivery of packet possibly
across multiple networks (links).
a. Logical Addressing
b. Routing.
16. Session layer basically establishes, maintains and synchronizes the interaction between the
communicating systems.
a. Dialog control
b. Synchronization.
17. The Application Layer enables the user to freely access the network. It provides user interfaces
and support for applications such as e-mail, shared database management and other types of
distributed information services.
18. False. It is in Layer –1.
19. A Network is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by
communication channels that allow sharing of information and resources
20. It is a schematic description of the arrangement of a network, including its nodes and
connecting lines.
21. One, when the number of nodes connected the bus is increased; say more than a dozen, the
performance may go down. Secondly, if the bus fails, total network will be down and this is
a real panic.
22. Advantage when comparing with the bus topology is that, failure of one cable will not affect
all the nodes in the network.
23. It is a mixture or combination of two or three start networks. Central hub/servers of the
star networks are connected to a main bus. So in short tree network is a bus network of star
networks. This is a better topology for having better expandability.
24. Full mesh and partial mesh.
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25. A Logical topology refers to the nature of the paths the signal flow from node to node.
26. Network adapters, Repeater, Bridge, Hub, Switch, Router and Gateway.
27. Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
28. Local area network, wide area network, metropolitan area network, personal area network.
29. In a wired network, an Ethernet cable will be used between the computer and router where
in case of the wireless networks it would not be the case.
30. Ease of setup, convenience.
31. Reliability and speed, security.
32. The firewall helps to control access between the Intranet and Internet permitting access to
the Intranet only to people who are have access permissions.

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33. Physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, application

34. Physical layer.
35. Media access control layer and link logic layer.
36. Since the MAC address is burnt into the ROM of interface cards it is not changeable and it
remains unique.
37. Link Logic Control layer provides enormous support for the flow control and error checking.
38. Routing and addressing.
39. Transmission control protocol and user datagram protocol.
40. The reason for the speed is, there is no flow control or error correction.
41. Session layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications.
42. Presentation layer.
43. Browsers, FTP, SSH, SFTP, Telnet.
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2
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OSI Layer and Network

Components

Learning Objectives

 Complete understanding on OSI layers can be obtained after reading through this chapter.
 All the physical layer components and the way they work are clearly presented in the chapter.
 A detailed discussion on what Ethernet is and how they work is discussed.
 Collision detection and CSMA/CD is discussed along with examples, in detail.
 Then attention is paid on Network layer, Transport layer, Session layer, presentation layer and ends up with
application layer.
 Finally, Quiz questions are given and reader can test their understanding by answering them.

2.1 OSI LAYERING (OPEN SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION) INTRODUCTION

permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

When the computers were connected first in a networked way to transfer info between them, moving
info was not in an ordered way and there were lot of confusions in the same. So International
Standards Organization (ISO) recognized the need for a standard pattern of networking. Thus
OSI was created in early 1980s and it is being followed today. OSI layering basically uses divide
and conquer approach wherein one big problem is spilt and seen as 7 different layers. Dividing
the problem to layers makes the task look simpler and in case of a problem with one of the layers,
it can be easily isolated and identified which makes the fixing easier. Lower layers are generally
combination of hardware and software. The upper layers are predominantly software. The seven
layers are depicted in the following Fig. 2.1.
There are lot of benefits in following layered approach. They are listed as follows:
a. Reduced complexity – divided and conquered.

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Data Application
Network Process to application

Presentation
Data Data representation
Data representation && Encryption
Encryption

Session
Data Interhost communication

Transport
Segments Interhost Communication
and Reliability

Network
Packets Path Determination &
Logical Addressing (IP)
Data link
Frames Physical addressing
(MAC & LLC)

Physical
Bits Media, Signal
and Binary Transmission

Fig. 2.1 OSI Layers

b. Easy to learn with this standard approach and

c. Very much modular
The seven layers can be remembered with simple term “Please Do Not Touch Steve’s Pet
Alligator”. The first and foremost layer is Physical layer.
Every layer has got components working for it. Figure 2.2 is revealing the same and all the
components are touched in the subsequent topics.

7 - application

6 - presentation
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

5 - session

4 - transport gateway

3 - network
Switch
2 - data link
router
bridge
1 - physical repeater

Fig. 2.2 OSI Layer and components

2.2 PHYSICAL LAYER AND PHYSICAL L AYER COMPONENTS

The physical layer is actually talking about the hardware. In fact it defines the physical characteristics
of the network. This physical layer defines the electrical, mechanical and functional specifications
of the hardware. This layer basically puts the raw bit stream on the medium (0s and 1s on the
cable) and also receives the bits from the medium. This layer will have no understanding of the bits
received or transmitted. The devices repeater and hub will fall in this layer and they are labelled
layer1 devices.
Reader would now be introduced with the network components that are working for/from
physical layer of OSI model. Before jumping to the components of physical layer, it will be better
if there is an introduction to signals.

2.2.1 Signals – Analog and Digital

A Signal is anything that conveys information.

Human speech is certainly a signal which conveys the
30
thoughts of one person to another. Gestures made
by hand are signals as well. But for the purpose of
understanding and relevance, signal is referred with 20 20.0°C
respect to electrical quantity. Next, what are Analog
and Digital signals? 10

Before moving further, Fig. 2.3 will help the Fig. 2.3 Analog and Digital thermometer
reader to relate the analog and digital signals that are
dealt in day to day life.
Analog phone lines, digital security, Analog to digital Converter, Digital to analog, etc. What
are these terms? First, analog is discussed in brief. It is a process where the audio/video signals are
converted to electronic pulses and represented as sine waves (which are continuously varying signals).
A digital signal is a discrete signal. Here, the audio or video is broken into the binary form –
where it is represented as a series of 0’s and 1’s – and transmitted to the other end where another
device – possibly a modem – can reassemble the bit streams to the original signal. The beauty of
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

a digital signal lies in the fact

that it knows what it should be
when it reaches the end of the
transmission. That way, it can
correct any errors that might
have crept in during the data
transfer. So the end user will get
a better clarity and better quality
of service. Both analog and
digital signals are represented
in Fig. 2.4. Fig. 2.4 Analog and digital signals

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In a nutshell, the digital domain is preferred over analog in many systems and is more popular.
The simple reason being digital signals can be more reliably transmitted over long distances because
of their inherent immunity to noise. Also digital equipment used for processing and storage of
these signals are much cheaper, powerful and effective than their analog counterparts.

2.2.2 Network Adapters

Whenever a machine needs to be connected to

the network, there comes the necessity of network
adapters. I.e. it acts as an interface between a computer
or device and a network. There are so many types of
network adapters available in the market based on the
network the node is being in. A very simple adapter
that someone easily recognizes is Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
The adapter converts the signals from computer to
electrical signal to transmit it and does vice versa. A Fig. 2.5 A network interface card
network adapter is identified with its MAC (Media
Access Control) address and it is unique. A sample network adapter is shown below in the Fig. 2.5.
A MAC address is of 6 byte (48 bits) length and that is physically hard-coded to the network
adapter by its manufacturer. It is always unique as mentioned already. If someone is using a
windows PC, MAC address can be found by getting into command prompt and typing getmac
command. It will fetch the MAC
MAC ADDRESS
address of Network card and it will
be somewhat similar to 00-01-AB- 00 A0 CC 23 AF A4
01-D1-01. How this address is
framed? This question can be Vendor Area
answered by taking the following
Fig. 2.6 as reference. OUI UAA
In the six bytes, the first Organizationally unique identier Universally Administered Address
three bytes are representation of
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 2.6 MAC address

the vendor details. That is they are
issued by manufacturer. These three bytes are called as OUI, Organizationally Unique Identifier. The
next three bytes are called as UAA, Universally Administered Address. Since all cards from a given
manufacturer have the same first 3 bytes, these three bytes are useful in making the MAC unique.

2.2.3 Repeaters

Repeaters are re-generators. They receive a signal from a transmitter, amplify it and then re-transmit
with better strength. When the signal has to be sent for a longer distance, the repeater will plays a
role in sending the data without distortion or loss. There can be more than one repeater between
source and destination. A single Ethernet segment can have a maximum length of 500 meters

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with a maximum of 100 stations (in a cheapernet segment it is 185m). To extend the length of the
network, a repeater may be used as shown in Fig. 2.7. Functionally, a repeater can be considered as
two transceivers joined together and connected to two different segments of a coaxial cable. The
repeater passes the digital signal bit-by-bit in both directions between the two segments. As the
signal passes through a repeater, it is regenerated at the other end. The repeater does not isolate
one segment from the other. If there is a collision on one segment, it is regenerated on the other
segment. Therefore, the two segments form a single LAN and are transparent to the rest of the
system. A repeater simply repeats, retransmits and amplifies the bits it receives. The repeater is
merely used to extend the span of a single LAN. Important features of a repeater are as follows:
• A repeater connects different segments of a LAN
• A repeater forwards every frame it receives
• A repeater is a regenerator, not an amplifier (Why?)
• It can be used to create a single extended LAN

Repeater

Fig. 2.7 A repeater’s deployment

The important point to note here is that a repeater is only a regenerator, not an amplifier.
The reason lies within, because an amplifier cannot discriminate between the desired signal and
noise; it amplifies everything equally fed into it. A repeater does not amplify the signal as it is,
rather it regenerates it. When it receives a weakened or corrupted signal, it creates a copy bit for
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

it, at the original strength.

Clean Signal Distorted Signal

Lengthy Ethernet Cable

Clean Signal Clean Signal

Repeater

Fig. 2.8 Repeater’s work

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Here the above Fig. 2.8 clearly explains the work of a repeater in a nutshell, if the data has
to be transmitted to a longer distance, data will be weakened due to distortion. So in this event,
a repeater will be helpful. It will get the signal strengthened in order to reach the destination.

2.2.4 Hubs
Hub basically is deployed to make the sharing of data between computers easier within a network.
Whenever star topology is used, the presence of hub becomes inevitable. A transmitter, i.e. the
computer which sends the information, will send a signal to the hub. The hub then retransmits
the signal to the destination computer.
Hubs do not read any of the data passing through them and are not aware of their source or
destination. Essentially, a hub simply receives incoming packets, possibly amplifies the electrical
signal, and broadcasts these packets out to all ports or devices on the network -including the one
that originally sent the packet
A hub can remain active or passive. If a hub is passive it will just be relaying the signal, meaning
it will just pass on the incoming signal as it is and does not care if it is distorted by any means. But
an active hub is nothing but a repeater (not exactly a repeater, the reader will be given an insight
on it in further sections) which can regenerate the signal. That is, it improves the signal quality
and then passes it to the respective devices.
A question may rise in the mind of the readers – how will the bandwidth be shared by all
available computers connected to the hub? The answer is pretty simple. Each computer will be given
a portion of the bandwidth. If there are lot of computers connected to the hub, lesser bandwidth
will be available per computer thereby slowing down the performance. So hubs can be deployed
in the place where limited numbers of computers are connected. Figure 2.9 stands a support for
making the reader understand the concept.
Client/
Image Server
Scanner

File Server

Tape Client/Gateway
Backup
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Modem

Hub

Network cable

Ink Jet Printer

Client
Client/
Print Server
Laser Printer

Fig. 2.9 How hub can be deployed?

2.2.5 RS-232 (Recommended Standard 232)

RS-232C, EIA RS-232, or simply RS-232, refers to the same standard defined by the Electronic
Industries Association in 1969 for serial communication.
The RS-232 serial interface was developed for connecting a computer to common peripherals
such as modems, overhead projectors, and the sensors and actuators used for industrial automation
applications. Despites its limited 15 m transmission distance, RS-232 is low cost and easy-to-wire,
making it the first choice for many applications.
RS-232 C is a serial interface standard defined by Electronic Industries Association in 1969.
RS stands for recommended standard, C stands for version. To project in simple terms, RS232
is used to connect a computer to peripheral devices as Mice, Projectors, actuators and sensors.
Most important benefit is, it is a low cost, easy to wire interface. So it is being selected as the first
choice amongst other interfaces. Only thing that can pull RS-232’s image down is, it can support
only 15 meters. Other than this, there is no big flaw with it.

2.2.6 RS 232 Terminologies

To get a better understanding of RS-232, one should first know on few terminologies. They are
1. DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) and
2. DCE (Data Communication Equipment)
So what is what is the next question. Assume a computer connected to a Modem. There
Computer is referred as DTE which transmits and receives the data. Modem is the DCE, which
facilitates the data transfer. A simple diagrammatic representation is shown in Fig. 2.10 which
depicts how DTE and DCE are connected. As shown in Fig. 2.10 DTE will have male connector
and DCE will have female connector (True for most of the cases).
Computer Telephone
Line
Male DB25 Female DB25
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Interface
Cable Modem

DTE DCE

Fig. 2.10 DTE and DCE

RS-232 Signalling
Originally or traditionally there were 25 Pins in the RS 232 and currently only 9 pins are used.
Former is named as DB-25 connector and the latter is called as DB-9 connector. Since DB-25
is almost obsolete, DB 9 signalling is explained in detail. But for an understanding both DB 25
and DB-9 connectors are represented in the following Figs. 2.11 and 2.12.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

141516 171819 20212223 2425

Pin Description 14 Secondary Transmitted Data

1 Frame Ground 15 Transmitter Sig. Element Timing
2 Transmitted Data 16 Secondary Received Data
3 Received Data 17 Receiver Sig. Element Timing
4 Request to Send 18 Undefined
5 Clear to Send 19 Secondary Request to Send
6 Data Set Ready 20 Data Terminal Ready
7 Signal Gad/common Return 21 Sig. Quality Detector
8 Rcvd. Line Signal Detector 22 Ring Indicator
11 Undefined 23 Data Sig. Rate Selector (DCE)
12 Secondary Rcvd. Line Sig. Detector 24 Data Sig. Rate Selector (DCE)
13 Secondary clear to send 25 Undefined

Fig. 2.11 DB-25 Pin layout and signal details

DB-9 connector is the most commonly used and it has only 9 pins out of 25 pins from DB-25
connector. In short it can be called as simplified version of DB-25 connector. The pin out and
signal details are presented in Fig. 2.12.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 2.12 DB-9 Pin layout and signal details

And to get a better understanding, the representation of which pins from DB-25 are used for
DB-9 is represented in Fig. 2.13.

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DB-25 DB-9
8 1
3 2
2 3
20 4
7 5
6 6
4 7
5 8
22 9

Fig. 2.13 DB 25 – DB 9 conversion

And coming to the DTE and DCE pin details, it is mandatory for someone to select the pin
details for DTE side RS-232 and DCE side RS-232 interface. The same is shown in Fig. 2.14.

DTE Pin Assigment (DB-9) DCE Pin Assigment (DB-9)

1 DCD Data Carrier Detect 1 DCD Data Carrier Detect

2 RXD Receive Data 2 TXD Data Transmit

3 TXD Transmit Data 3 RXD Receive Data

4 DTR Data Terminal Ready 4 DST Data Set Ready

5 GND Ground (Signal) 5 GND Ground (Signal)

6 DSR Data set Ready 6 DTR Data Terminal Ready

7 RTS Request to send 7 CTS Clear to Send

8 CTS Clear to Send 8 RTS Request to Send

9 RI Ring Indicator 9 IR Ring Indicator

Fig. 2.14 DTE and DCE comparison

Signal details
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Signals for DB9 have to be learnt in clear in order to understand the interface.
1. DCD – Data Carrier Detect – It is a signal triggered by Modem (DCE) to PC (DTE), stating
that the connection has been established between the DCE and DTE.
2. R×D – Receive Data – Transmission of data will happen with this signal.
3. T×D – Transmit Data – As name indicated, receive action will happen with this signal.
4. DTR – Data Terminal Ready – When the DTE is turned on, it has to indicate that it is ready
for the communication. DTR is the signal to indicate that the DTE is on and it is ready of
the communication. This will be acting as intimation for the DCE. And in case of a problem
with the DTE this signal would not be triggered and it can act as an alarm and the problem
can be found out.
5. Ground – The common ground for establishing proper grounding.

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6. DSR – Data Set Ready – And it is just like DTR. But this signal is triggered from DCE. As
mentioned already it is nothing other than modem. It is fed to DTE and it will inform DTE
that DCE is ready for communication.
7. RTS – Request to Send – When some data has to be sent from DTE to DCE, RTS will be sent
and it will inform DCE that some data is about to be sent and it has to be ready to receive
the same. DTE here raises a request to the DCE to be prepared to receive the data.
8. CTS – Clear to Send – When the RTS is received, if the DCE has got enough space to have
the data received from DTE and to store it. it will send CTS (Clear to send) to make DTE
understand that, data transmission can be started. It will serve as an input to DTE from DCE.
It says that it is ready to accept the data.
9. RI – Ring Indicator – It is an output from modem and it serves as an input to the PC which
serves as an indication for telephone ring. It will go on and off with ringing sound accordingly.
A simple diagrammatic representation is presented in Fig. 2.15 to get a clear understanding
of the flow.
DTE DCE

CD (I am here!)

DTR (I am ready to start operations)

DTR (I am ready as well)

RTS (I am ready to send Data)

CTS (I am ready to receive)

TxD (Data)

Fig. 2.15 RS-232 Signals

RS-232 Flow control (Handshaking)

When some data is being sent it should be made sure that the receiver is ready to receive the same
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

and receiver has got a room to store the data which is being received as well. This is referred to be
as flow control and if the receiver is not ready, then it may ask the sender to stop the flow. It is a
kind of intimation for the sender to take a break in sending process.
The signals as discussed already will help in this flow control. RTS and CTS are the signals
that will indicate when to pause the data transfer or to re-start.

Voltage Levels RS-232

RS 232 was invented well before TTL (Transistor to Transistor Logic). So it is not compatible with
TTL. It supports a voltage level of –3V to –25V for logic one and +3V to +25V for logic zero.
Since this is not in sync with the TTL logic. So for making RS232 compatible with TTL devices a
converter is needed and MAX-232 is a common converter that supports the purpose.

Null Modem Configuration

The purpose of a null-modem cable is to permit two RS-232 “DTE” devices to communicate
with each other without modems or other communication devices (i.e., “DCE”s) between them.
To achieve this, the most obvious connection is that the TD signal of one device must be
connected to the RD input of the other device (and vice versa).
The following Fig. 2.16 is representing how to configure a Null Modem with two DTEs.

Fig. 2.16 Null Modem

As shown above, Receiver of DTE1 is connected to Transmitter of DTE2 and vice versa.
Ground of DTE1 is connected to DTE2’s ground. This now accomplishes the task. Null modem
set up is ready with just two DTEs connecting this way.

2.2.7 EIA-449
RS-449 or EIA-449 is an enhancement of RS-232 that has been dealt earlier. Speed of up to 2
Mbps can be achieved with RS-449 interface. RS-449 is still maintaining some touch of RS-232
with some additions. RS-449 has been withdrawn and it is superseded by the next better versions.
Better speeds have been achieved without noise with usage of differential form of signaling. RS-
232 used signaling that was referenced to Earth. It was much comfortable and easier with low cost
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

factors, but it again introduces limitations.

Since the twisted wire pairs are used in RS-232 for the data lines, even noise will be picked
up by both the wires all together. But here in RS-449 it is not so. Differential input is being
used and they are not referenced to earth, so noise picked up would not affect the input. So
this tolerates even higher levels of noise without any degradation to the performance to the data
communications system.
RS-449 has 37 pins and the pin out has been diagrammatically referred in Fig. 2.17.
The reader can see a label as A or B in the pin out diagram. When setting up a connection it is
most important to use correct polarities, there should not be any mix up in this and if it happens
there can be erroneous behaviour. A table with Pin details and signal names are presented as follows;
Reader can use it for reference. Also this table 2.1 has details on if it is DTE signal or DCE signal.

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1 Sheild
Receive Common 20
2 Signalling Rate Indicator
21
3
Send Data (B) 22
4 Send Data (A)
Send Timing (B) 23
5 Send Timing (A)
Receive Data (B) 24
6 Receive Data (A)
Request to Send (B) 25
7 Request To Send (A)
Receive Timing (B) 26
8 Recieve Timing (A)
Clear to Send (B) 27
9 Clear To Send (A)
Terminal in Service 28
10 Local Loopback
Data Mode (B) 29
11 Data Mode (A)
Terminal Ready (B) 30
12 Terminal Ready (A)
Receiver Ready (B) 31
13 Receiver Ready (A)
Select Standby 32
14 Remote Loopback
Signal Quality 33
15 Incoming Call
New Signal 34
16 Select Frequency
Terminal Timing (B) 35
17 Terminal Timing (A)
Standby/indicator 36
18 Test Mode
Send Common 37
19 Signal Ground

Fig. 2.17 Interface connection details

Table 2.1 DTE signal details

Pin Number DTE/DCE

1 Shield
2 Signal rate indicator DTE
3 Unassigned Unassigned
4 Send data DTE
5 Send timing DCE
6 Received data DCE
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

7 Request to send DTE

8 Receive timing DCE
9 Clear to send DCE
10 Local loopback DTE
11 Data mode DCE
12 Terminal ready DTE
13 Receiver ready DCE
14 Remote loopback DTE
15 Incoming call DCE
16 Select frequency DTE
17 Terminal timing DTE

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18 Test mode DCE

19 Signal ground Common
20 Receive common Common
21 Unassigned Unassigned
22 Send data Return
23 Send timing Return
24 Receive data Return
25 Request to send Return
26 Receive timing Return
27 Clear to send Return
28 Terminal in service DTE
29 Data mode Return
30 Terminal ready Return
31 Receiver ready Return
32 Select standby DTE
33 Signal quality DCE
34 New signal DTE
35 Terminal timing Return
36 Standby indicator DCE
37 Send common Common

With this information one can move to EIA–530.

2.2.8 Modems

The modem is a device that converts digital information to analog by Modulating it on the
transmitting end and Demodulating the analog information into digital information at the
receiving end.
he need to communicate between distant computers led to the use of the existing phone
T
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

network for data transmission. Most phone lines were designed to transmit analog information -
voices, while the computers and their devices work in digital form - pulses. So, in order to use an
analog medium, a converter between the two systems is needed. This converter is the MODEM
which performs Modulation and Demodulation of transmitted data. It accepts serial binary pulses
from a device, modulates some property (amplitude, frequency, or phase) of an analog signal
in order to send the signal in an analog medium, and performs the opposite process, enabling
the analog information to arrive as digital pulses at the computer or device on the other side of
connection.
I n simple words, for the readers understanding of role played by a modem taking a simple
analogy will help. Suppose you need to pass a paper containing some message to your friend who
is sitting next to you, you would give it to him by hand .Now let us say your friend is not sitting

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next to you but ten feet away from you. You both are in a situation where neither can’t move or
talk and nobody is around to pass your paper. What do you do now? The only way is to crush
the paper to a ball or make a rocket out of it and pass the message. Let us toughen the situation
little more where your friend is much farther away from you such that your paper ball or rocket
could not reach him. With all common sense we figure out that the only way to pass the paper is
to tie it with a heavier object, say a stone and then throw it. Hence your friend gets your message
successfully and reads it by unfolding the paper or untying the stone from the paper depending
upon how he got it. This is precisely what happens in the case of modems. In the above situation,
you are the modulating part and your friend is the demodulating part. Thus in a network, every
message (data) requires modulation while transmission and demodulation while reception for
effective communication.

PC PC
110011 Modem Modem
110011

Fig. 2.18 How modem can be deployed

Classification

Modems can be classified according to their characteristics:

Operation Mode
a. Half duplex
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Half duplex means that signals can be passed in either direction, but not in both simultaneously.
It is like the dreaded one lane road you may have run into construction sites. Only one direction
will be allowed through at a time.
b. Full duplex
Full duplex means that signals can be passed in either direction, simultaneously. Full duplex
operation on a two-wire line requires the ability to separate a receive signal from the reflection
of a transmitted signal. It is like a ordinary two-lane highway. In some cases, where traffic
is heavy enough, a railroad will decide to lay a double track to allow trains to pass in both
directions. In communications, this is most common with networking. Our fiber optic hubs
have two connectors on each port, one for each lane of a two-lane roadway. Full-Duplex fiber
is two cables bundled or tied together to form a two-lane roadway.

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c. Simplex
Simplex is uni-directional. A good example would be your keyboard to your CPU. The CPU
never needs to send characters to the keyboard but the keyboard always send characters to
the CPU. In many cases, Computers almost always send characters to printers, but printers
usually never send characters to computers. Simplex requires only one lane.

Synchronization

a. Asynchronous
A B
Most of the modems that operate in slow and Simplex A to B only
moderate rates, up to 1800 bps, are asynchronous.
Asynchronous data is not accompanied by any
A B
clock, and the transmitting and receiving modems
Half-Duplex A to B or B to A
know only the nominal data rate. To prevent
slipping of the data relative to the modem’s clocks,
this data is always grouped in very short blocks A
Full-Duplex A to B and B to A
B
(characters) with framing bits (start and stop bits).
The most common code used for this is the seven- Fig. 2.19 Operation mode example
bit ASCII code with even parity.
Asynchronous modems come in three different physical configuration or setup, namely:
l Using 2 or 4 wire cable interface
l Switched or leased line interface
l Automatic answer unit when dialing-up.
Let us take two wire line where full duplex operation can be achieved by splitting into two
sub channels. The following diagram depicts its asynchronous operation.

Frequency band Frequency band

for for
forward signals reverse signals
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

f[Hz]
500 1800 2000 3300

forward

Terminal Modem

Modem Terminal
A B
Reverse

Fig. 2.20 Operating asynchronous modem in a two wire line

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b. Synchronous
Synchronous modems operate in the audio domain, at rates up to 28800 bps in audio
lines, used in telephones systems. Synchronous modems operate in the same manner as
asynchronous modems. However, synchronous modems operate at higher rates and since the
requirements to transmit at these rates are increasing, most of the innovations are implemented
for synchronous modems. Synchronous data is accompanied by a clock signal, which is the
most basic thing that makes us to call them synchronous. Also, synchronous data always come
in blocks and the main reason of grouping them is to identify the specific set of signals by
the user. These blocks are framed and added with error check bits for secure transmission, by
the data source The data source and destination expect the modem to be transparent to this
type of data, and from the other side the modem can even ignore the blocking of the data.
When channels are split for multiple users, their respective speeds can be different, so that
unnecessary usage of the modem is avoided. Such a type of modem is called Split System
Modem (SSM).
Today in addition to external modems, there are internal modems which are included as an
additional board within the computer. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type
depending on the requirement of the user.

2.2.9 X.25
packet switched protocol which is meant for transferring data from one network element (referred
A
to as Data Terminal Equipment (DTE)) to another DTE via a network interface named Data
Circuit-terminating equipment. By packet switched, we mean that, the data are broken down into
packets before transmitted into the network. Switching technique is used to forward the packets
to the destination just like telephone circuits.
So, it is like any other protocol for example, TCP/IP. But the difference lies in the way packets
are transmitted. In the former case, a connection less approach will be used. In the latter case, a
Virtual Circuit approach will be followed. Packets are transmitted via those virtual paths to the
destination. Destination information is attached only to the connection (the virtual circuit) setup
messages. Once virtual circuit is established, destination information is not needed since all the
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packets follow the same path. The path is not dedicated; but the virtual circuit will be formed as
and when required. It is beneficial as compared to ‘circuit switched’ networks where the paths
are permanent for the entire session. It offers significant cost savings since the connection is not
dedicated in packet switched networks. It is because, in circuit switched networks, the connection
will remain even if there are no packets to be transmitted thereby wasting the bandwidth.

Basic Terminologies
DTE–Can be a terminal or any other host like device. Has a unique network address like IP addresses.
DCE- A switch like device which inserts the packets emanating from the DTE to which it is
attached, to the X.25 network.
A sample network is shown in next page.

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x.25 Network

DTE DCE DCE DTE

Fig. 2.21 A sample network

X.25 Protocol Architecture

Like any other protocol architecture x.25 has a physical layer, a data link layer and network layer.
But the responsibilities of the some layers differ from the other protocols.

Physical layer
This layer deals with electrical and mechanical aspects of communication. Also, it deals the medium
of communication, wired or wireless. Refer to chapter 1 for more information about the physical
layer. With respect to x.25, physical layer talks about the ways to connect the DTEs with DCEs.

Data link layer

This layer takes care of connection establishments, disconnections, error-free transfer of packets
between a DTE and DCE.

Network layer
While the data link layer takes care of communications between DTE and DCE, this layer is
responsible for establishing virtual circuits, transferring packets, clearing the connections across
DTEs (i.e.) between two DTEs.

Types of Virtual circuits (VCs)

1. SVC (Switched Virtual Circuits)
2. PVC (Permanent Virtual Circuits)
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SVC is similar to telephone conversations. The caller has to dial the number of the callee, the
callee will respond then. Similarly, in x.25 SVC, the calling party initiates the connection and the
other one responds by receiving the connection. But in PVC, there is no call setup phase. Data
can be directly sent to a pre defined destination. There is a problem with PVC when the receiver
is not willing to receive any information but the sender keeps on sending data.

Multiplexing VCs
x .25 allows a DTE to be connected to many DTEs simultaneously. The VCs to each DTE can be
multiplexed. Each VC will be having unique characteristics. VCs are identified by a unique 12 digit
number called logical channel. This unique ID assigned may either be static or assigned on demand.
X.25 protocol stack

Physical Layer
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The physical layer describes how the DTE is physically connected to DCE. The medium between
them (DTE and DCE) should be able to transmit data in both the directions. (i.e.) duplex
transmission. the following protocols are specifically defined for x.25 physical layer.
• x.21-defines the physical characteristics of interface between an x.25 DTE and DCE on public
data network.
• x.21 bis-defines the characteristics for the interface between a DTE and a V series type DCE
on public data network. (Note: V series DCE is for analog data communications).
• x.31– for x.25 over ISDNs.

Data link Layer

The data link layers among the x.25 peers share the data in the form of “Frames” called high-
level data link control (HDLC) frames. This layer is guided by the link access protocol-balanced
(LAPB) protocol. For using x.25 over ISDN, link access procedure-D-channel (LAPD) protocol
will be followed.

Frame Format
Frames are of three types.
1. I frames – carries user data
2. S frames – for flow and error control.
3. U frames – carries network management data
The frame format is shown below.

Flag Addr Control Information FCS Flag

Fig. 2.22 Frame format

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FLAG – 8 bit sequence with a bit pattern 01111110 which identifies both the beginning and
end of the frames. It is mainly for synchronization purpose.
Addr – the Address field, which identifies the end point of the communication.
Control – has the control information for controlling the flow of data. Has sequence numbers
of the frames sent and expected, and a slot for Unnumbered Acknowledgement (discussed shortly).
Information – based on the type of the frame, it carries either user data or control information.
FCS- error detection field. Contains 2/4 byte CRC.
As we have learnt the communications in x.25 are of two types.
1. Between DTEs
2. Between a DTE and a DCE.

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In the latter case, if the communication has to happen, there are some steps to be followed.
The phases involved in the DTE-DCE communication are as follows,
1. Connection setup
DTE DCE
2. Data transfer
3. Connection termination SABM

This is achieved using three control packets. UA

1. SABM – Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode
2. UA - unnumbered acknowledgement DATA TRANSFER

3. DISC- for disconnection DISC

Message Flow
UA
The following diagram shows the way the messages
flow while data transfer takes place. Either side Fig. 2.23 Phases of frame layer data transfer
of the communication scenario can initiate the
message transfer by sending a SABM message. The other party replies with an Unnumbered
Acknowledgement. Then the sender can start sending data packets. After the data transfer is over,
the initiator can send DISC message to the other party.

Network Layer
This layer looks after the communication between DTEs which are far apart.
Following table shows some of the messages used in x.25 networks.

Packet Type from DCE to DTE Packet Type form DTE to ECE
Incoming Call Call Request
Call Connected Call Accepted
Clear Indication Clear Request
ECE Clear Confirmation DTE Clear Confirmation
DCE Clear Confirmation DTE Clear Confirmation
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DCE Data DTE Data

DCE Interrupt DTE Interrupt
DCE Interrupt Confirmation DTE Interrupt Conformation
DCE RR DTE RR
DCE RNR DTE RNR
Rester Indication DTE Rej
Reset Indication Reset Request
DCE Reset Confirmation DTE Reset Confirmation
Restart Indication Restart Request
DCE Restart Confirmation DTE Restart Confirmation
Diagnostic –
Registration Confirmation Registration Request

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Hence, we have seen the basics of x.25 networks with the protocols followed in each layer.
Now, let’s quickly go through the advantages of such networks.

Advantages of x.25 networks

• Standardization – Unless other proprietary protocols, x.25 is an ITU-T standard. Hence, any
DTE conforming to x.25 norms can very well communicate with the other DTEs which also
conform to x.25 norms without making any internal change in the protocol.
• Multiplexing ability – Since x.25 bundles the VCs together, it reduces equipment costs to
a great extent.
• Integrity – x.25 data link layer ensures 100% integrity over transmitted data thereby reducing
the upper layer’s responsibilities.

Disadvantage
x.25 behaves very well as compared to TCP/IP when the error rates are so high, but fails in the
fact that it will not be able to transmit a packet until it is fully arrived at the buffer. This property
eventually increases the transit delays.

2.3 DATA LINK LAYER

Media Access Control Layer

The MAC layer provides regulated access to the network medium. If there are lot of stations
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connected to a same medium (channel), identification of the stations are still done successfully.
This identification goes easier due to the MAC address which the user had been given a description
in the early pages of this chapter. Since the MAC address is burnt into the ROM of interface cards
it is not changeable and it remains unique. In short this layer controls how a computer on the
network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it.

Link Logic Control Layer

LLC provides enormous support for the flow control and error checking. Also this sequences the
control bits. LLC sits over the MAC layer.
The devices that operate on layer 2 are very important for a network to be up and active.
Bridges, Switches operate in this layer and they make sure that communication is uplifted.

2.3.1 Ethernet – An analysis

nderstanding Ethernet is the most important thing that someone needs to do. Ethernet is a local
U
area network protocol introduced by Xerox Corporation in early 1970s and ever since it is ruling
the networking world. It is being followed all over the globe. Understanding Ethernet becomes
so inevitable for someone who is ambitious on learning networking.
Ethernet is basically a standard that talks on communication over a single cable, which is shared
by all devices (computers/nodes) on the network. Once any device gets attached to this cable it
then gains access to communicate to the other elements attached to the same cable. So there is a
greater flexibility here in adding computers to the same network without having necessity to alter
the existing network.
he only disadvantage of having Ethernet is, it cannot be used over geographically spread area.
T
It can be used in few kilo meters span alone. Ethernet is deployed mostly in the LAN, particularly
in a single building it can be deployed.
Reader is aware of what a protocol means, it is a defined set of rules, if followed will get a
successful and efficient communication.
Ethernet follows some terminologies, first the reader needs to understand the terminologies.
a. Medium - The signals/data travel from source to destination in the communication channel,
that channel is referred to be as medium and it can be of copper or optical fibres.
b. Stations – The components or computers attached to the medium of communication is called
as station, it can also be referred as nodes.
c. Frame – The stations communicate within each others in a medium in a common format
that everyone can understand. That format of communication is called as frame. A frame
will have both the source and destination and the reader will be presented with the frame
details in the next paragraph.

2.3.2 Ethernet Frame

Figure 2.20 is the diagrammatic representation of Ethernet frame.

permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 2.24 Ethernet Frame

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All the fields of Ethernet frame are discussed in brief as follows:

Preamble
This is the first portion of the Ethernet frame. It consists of seven bytes which is all are of the form
10101010. It is used by the receiver to get the bit level synchronization done.

Start Frame Delimiter (SFD)

SFD is used to indicate the start of a frame. Normally it is of one byte which has been composed
with the following bits, 10101011.

Destination Address (DA)

Destination address refers to the MAC address of the destination system. As already discussed,
it is of 6 bytes. There is an important thing to be noted here. The left most bit in the DA is an
indication if the address is an individual address or a group address. Had it been a 0 then it is
a individual address, if 1 it is a group address. And the next bit indicates if the DA is globally
administered or locally administered. Former goes with a 0 and latter with a 1. The rest of the
46 bits are uniquely assigned value that identifies single station or group of stations or all the
stations on that network.

Source addresses (SA)

This is also a 6 byte field and it is an identifier to represent the sender (sending station). Always
sender can be an individual. So the left most bit of SA remains to be a 0.

Length/Type
The field is of 2 bytes. It is an indication of number of bytes of data in the frame.

Data
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

It is sequence of bytes which can be up to 1500 bytes. Data field should be at the minimum at
least 46 bytes. If it is lesser than 46 bytes, then filler (padding) has to be added to make the data
length to be at least 46 bytes.

FCS (Frame Check Sequence)

This is a 4 byte field, where 32 bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) value is contained and it is
generated by the sender and will be re-checked by the receiver to find out the damaged frames.

2.3.3 CSMA/CD

What if multiple nodes try to access the medium for sending data?

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I f in a network, only one of the connected stations wants to transfer data, there would not be
any problem at all. But in the event of two stations in the network wishing to transfer data on the
same time, there comes the trouble. Means, there will be a collision. When the signals get collided,
both of them become unusable. So why a need for a set of rules came and that’s why Carrier Sense
Multiple Access with Collision Detection, referred to as CSMA/CD has been introduced. If a
network has got 3 stations and 2 of them wants to send information at the same time, a collision
can be felt. To get out of this collision and to avoid this CSMA/CD is deployed.
CSMA/CD forces the stations in the network to listen to the medium (Ethernet) before
sending the data. By this way, it can be ensured that no other station is sending the information.
If the medium is found free then the station which wishes to transfer data can do so. The sender
will then continue to listen, to make sure that sending the data didn’t cause a collision.
In the event of a collision is heard, both the senders will send a signal over ethernet. It is
normally referred to be a jamming signal. This signal will indicate to all other devices on the
network that there is a collision and so no other station should send data on the wire. Thus the
collision is not aggravated.
After sending the jam signal both of the senders will wait a random amount of time before
beginning the transfer again. The random time helps to ensure that the two devices don’t transmit
simultaneously again. If another collision occurs, the time intervals from which the random
waiting time is selected are increased step by step. This is known as exponential back off. A simple
diagrammatic representation would help the reader in understanding the concept.
Case: 1 (No collision – So any station can transfer freely)
Here station A listens to the ethernet and it has found that there are no other data transfers and
hence it can transfer now.
Should transfer data now. There
is no other data on the ethernet,
so there will be no collision

A B
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Ethernet - Data to
be sent over
this medium

Fig. 2.25 CSMA/CD – case 1

Case: 2 (Listening has detected active data flow)

Here station A listens to the ethernet and it has found some data is flowing on the same. So it
will wait for some time and will not try to send data. So collision has been avoided here.

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Fig. 2.26 CSMA/CD – case 2

Case: 3 (in case of a collision)
Unfortunately if there is a collision between station A and B as shown in Fig. 2.26, then the jam
signal will be sent which will make the stations to wait for a random amount of time as explained.
Figure 2.27 will help the reader in understanding the concept.
Sending a Jam Sending a Jam
Signal...... Signal......

A B

Ethernet - Data to
Data Collision Data be sent over
this medium
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 2.27 CSMA/CD–case 3

The next thing to know is types of available ethernet standards in the market. They are
1. Traditional Ethernet
2. Fast Ethernet and
3. Gigabit Ethernet
Reader will be presented with explanation on all the three types as follows:
1. Traditional Ethernet
Traditional Ethernet basically supports the data transfers at the rate of 10 Mbps (Mega
bits per second). Traditional Ethernet has been the base for the development of much

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appreciable Fast Ethernet Will wait for 140 seconds... Will wait for 200 seconds...
and Gigabit Ethernet, where
Fast Ethernet supports up
to 100 Mbps and Gigabit A B
Ethernet supports up to
Ethernet - Data to
1000 Mbps speeds. First one Data Collision Data be sent over
should know on Traditional this medium
Ethernet types and then
Fast and Gigabit Ethernet
can be discussed in brief.
Talking on traditional
C
Ethernet, 10 Base-T is the
one that will be remembered. Fig. 2.28 CSMA/CD – Waiting for collision clearance
It has got better electrical
properties since unshielded twisted pair wiring is used instead of a coaxial cable. Economically
also it is better choice comparing other cabling techniques.
When Ethernet is used, Segment is another important aspect to be noted. A segment has to
be defined first. It is a single unbroken cable which helps in making a network connection.
Ethernet cables/segments will span for a limited distance only. From one type to another, the
distance may increase. But it will fail after a certain specified physical distance. The failure
might be because of reduced signal strength or noise. A set of specifications are presented
below in the Table 2.2 with the span of distance that the Ethernet types can cover.

Table 2.2 Traditional Ethernet – types and speed

Ethernet 802.3 Speed supported Segment (in metres) Cable used

10 Base5 10 Mbps 500 Co-Axial
10Base2 10Mbps 185 Co-Axial
10Baset 10Mbps 90 Twisted pair

Note: BASE is baseband which is used for the data transmission in the cable.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

T is representing twisted pair cable.

2. Fast Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 u)
The design goal of Fast Ethernet is to increase the speed as the name suggests comparing
to Traditional Ethernet. It addresses increased performance and provides better bandwidth
with increased speed. Traditional Ethernet can be replaced with Fast Ethernet by replacing
the traditional NIC to Fast Ethernet card. It is cheap and easy to implement as well.
There are two famous types of Fast Ethernet available in the market. They are
1. 100Base-T
2. 100Base-FX
The speed, segment and cabling details are presented in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3 Fast Ethernet – types and speed

Ethernet 802.3 Speed supported Segment (in metres) Cable used

100 Base-T 10 Mbps 90 Twisted pair

100 BASE-face 100 Mbps Few Kilo Meters Optical fiber

3. Gigabit Ethernet
Fast Ethernet is faster than the Traditional one, but it is not as faster to meet the requirements.
So came the adventure of Gigabit ethernet where the speed is 1000 Mbps to 10 Gbps. IEEE
802.3az, 802.3ab, 802.3ae, 802.3an are the Gigabit Ethernet standards are used as backbone
in many networks. Predominantly optical fiber is used for Gigabit Ethernet and some cases
copper is used where copper supports a shorter distance. Existing Ethernet LANs with 10 and
100 Mbps cards can feed into a Gigabit Ethernet backbone. Following Table 2.4 summarizes
the speed, segment and cable details for the Gigabit Ethernet standard.

Table 2.4 Gigabit Ethernet–types and speed

Ethernet Standard Speed Segment (in metres) Cable Used

1000 BASE-LX/ 1000 Mbps 550 M for short range Oprical Fiber
1000BASE-SX (IEEE 802.3 Z) 5 Km for long range
1000BASE-SX (IEEE 802.3 Z) 1000 Mbps 100 M Copper
10GBASE-SR/10BASELR 200 M for short range,
10 Gbps Optical fiber
(IEEE802.3 ae) 25 kMs for long range
10GBASE-T(IEEE802.3 an) 10 Gbps 100 M Copper

Components of Data Link Layer

Bridges and Switches are the most vital components of Layer–2. They are to be discussed in the
following paragraphs.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

2.3.4 Bridges

bridge is seen as a very vital component in the networking world. A bridge is used to connect
A
two different networks. Also it is used to split a network into separate segments. Thus bridge can
be used to filter traffic and create a better/efficient network.
A bridge operates in layer–2, that is data-link layer and that is why it is called level-2 relay
with reference to the OSI model. It links similar or dissimilar networks, designed to store and
forward frames, it is protocol independent and transparent to the end stations. A simple schematic
representation is shown below in Fig. 2.29 in which a bridge is used to connect two entirely different
networks.

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Fig. 2.29 A bridge – connects two networks

Use of bridges offers a number of advantages, such as higher reliability, performance, security,
convenience and larger geographic coverage. But, it is desirable that the quality of service (QOS)
offered by a bridge should match that of a single LAN. The parameters that define the QOS
include availability, frame mishaps, transit delay, frame lifetime, undetected bit errors, frame size
and priority. Key features of a bridge are mentioned below:
• A bridge operates both in physical and data-link layer
• A bridge uses a table for filtering/routing
• A bridge does not change the physical (MAC) addresses in a frame

Types of bridges
• Transparent Bridges:
The transparent bridge uses two processes known as bridge forwarding and bridge learning.
If the destination address is present in the forwarding database already created, the packet is
forwarded to the port number to which the destination host is attached. If it is not present,
forwarding is done on all parts (flooding). This process is known as bridge forwarding.
Moreover, as each frame arrives, its source address indicates where a particular host is situated,
so that the bridge learns which way to forward frames to that address. This process is known
as bridge learning.
Key features of a transparent bridge are:
1. The stations are unaware of the presence of a transparent bridge
2. Reconfiguration of the bridge is not necessary; it can be added/removed whenever needed
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It basically performs two functions:

1. Forwarding frames
2. Learning to create forwarding table.
• Source Routing Bridges:
The second approach known as source routing, where the routing operation is performed
by the source host and the frame specifies which route the frame is to follow. A host can
discover a route by sending a discovery frame, which spreads through the entire network
using all possible paths to the destination. Each frame gradually gathers addresses as it goes.
The destination responds to each frame and the source host chooses an appropriate route
from these responses. Source routing approach provides a shortest path at the cost of rapid
increase of discovery frames, which can put a serious extra burden on the network.

2.3.5 Switches
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witch is an improved hub; it can be seen as a better version of hub. It is again a central point of a
S
network. It is an intelligent device. When switch receives a packet from the sender, it will examine
the destination address (MAC address) from the packet header and will redirect the packet to the
destination alone. This has become possible as switch will maintain a table which has details of
all ports and corresponding device’s MAC addresses. Here when switch is used the bandwidth
utilization becomes effective and will be more efficiently managed.

Fig. 2.30 Switch’s working

From the above Fig. 2.30 it is clear that when a packet has to be sent from A to C, the signal
will be transmitted from A to C alone, it will not be shared with B, hence sharing the bandwidth
is efficient. And hence switch is deployed in all the big networks.
It would be very much meaningful for the reader to now compare the Hub with the Switch.
The comparison is done and is presented in the following Table 2.5.

Table 2.5 Comparison between switch and hub

Switch Hub
They operate at layer 2 as per the OSI model Hub is a physical layer device, i.e. it operates at layer 1
A switch is more sophisticated and more A hub is a very primitive device and much cheaper
expensive than a hub
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It is intelligent it transmits the data packets It’s got no intelligence as it transmits the data packets to
from the source computer to only those each and every networked computer, not just the target
networks to which the data packets are computer of set of computer to which the data packets
originally intended. were originally intended to be sent.
There is optimum utilisation of network Due to their approach of transmission much of the
bandwidth in case of switches, hence bandwidth is wasted which results in slow rate of
wastage is minimal operation
Switches are full-duplex devices, i.e. both Hubs are half duplex devices, i.e. both data transmission
data transmission and reception can take and reception cannot take place simultaneously
place simultaneously
Network security is much better when Thanks to its transmission mechanism, network security
compared to hub becomes a big issue in case of hubs.

2.4 NETWORK LAYER

etwork layer is the third layer of OSI layers. This is used to send the packets from source to
N
destination network. Routing and addressing are the most important functionalities of this layer.
Finding the best possible and shortest path for reaching the destination and delivering the data
to right destination are carried out here with high importance. Also this layer is responsible for
managing network problems as congestion and packet switching. If the data received from the
source is so large that it can’t be properly delivered. So this layer will breaks the data into smaller
units called as packets. And at the receiving end it can be reassembled. Internet Protocol (IP) is
the most obvious example for this layer. Router is the commonly referred layer 3 device. To be
precise and short this layer is the god of addressing and routing the data to destination.

Components of Network Layer

The main component of Network layer is Router.

2.4.1 Router
router is basically used to communicate between network to network in an efficient and intelligent
A
way. Router will transfer the packet from source to destination in the best and short route. The
routing table will have the IP addresses of other router in the network. Routing table is configured
manually and also dynamically. Unlike bridges it is not transparent to end stations.
When a data packet is received, router does the following,
• Will read the destination address (IP) of the received packet.
• Looks at the path to reach the destination address.
• Sends the packet to the destination through the shortest path.
A diagrammatic representation is presented above in Fig. 2.31 where a packet from network
1 is sent to network-2 via routers at both the networks.
A router has four basic components: Input ports, output ports, the routing processor and the
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switching fabric Fig. 2.32. The functions of the four components are briefly mentioned below.

Fig. 2.31 Router

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• Input port performs physical and data-link layer functions of the router. As shown in Fig. 2.33,
the ports are also provided with buffer to hold the packet before forwarding to the switching
fabric.

Routing
Input Ports Processor Output Ports
Port n Port n
. .
. .
. .
Port 1 Switching Fabric Port 1

Port 2 Port 2

Fig. 2.32 Router – Components

Physical layer Data link layer

processor processor
Queue
Input Port

Fig. 2.33 Router – Input Port

• Output ports, as shown

in Fig. 2.34, performs the Data link layer Physical layer
processor processor
same functions as the input Queue
ports, but in the reverse Output Port
order.
Fig. 2.34 Router – Output Port
• The routing processor
performs the function of the network layer. The process involves table lookup.
The switching fabric, shown in Fig. 2.35, moves the packet from the input queue to the output
queue by using specialized mechanisms. The switching fabric is realized with the help of multistage
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interconnection networks.
Left bit Middle bit Right bit

0 0 0 0 0
A-1 B-1 C-1
1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 2
2 A-2 B-2 C-2
3 1 1 1 3
4 0 0 0 4
5 A-3 B-3 C-3
1 1 1 5
6 0
0 0 6
A-4 B-4 C-4
7 1 1 1 7

Fig. 2.35 Switching fabric of a router

2.5 TRANSPORT LAYER

his layer provides transparent transfer of data between source and destination. i.e. it is responsible
T
for end to end data transfer. The lower layers may drop packets, but transport layer will perform a
sequence check on the data. If say, 10MB of data is transferred, it will make sure 10MB is received.
Transport layer makes sure that it establishes, maintains and terminates the connections after
transfer of data is complete. Two common protocols are deployed in this layer. Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

2.5.1 TCP TCP- Reliable data transfer

TCP is the most commonly used No, Slow down

Getting all of
protocol on the globe of internet. this?
So I can save
accurately!
Excellent error correction is
offered in TCP and “guaranteed
delivery” is possible with TCP.
Flow control is provided with
TCP which ensures if the data
is being sent correctly, if needs
a retransfer or have to wait until
the congestion gets cleared.
Where ever quality/guaranteed Fig. 2.36 TCP works this way
delivery is needed, TCP is the
choice. A diagrammatic representation is shown below in Fig. 2.36.

2.5.2 UDP

UDP is used for the speedy delivery. There is no guarantee that the data will be delivered in full
to the destination. But it does it so fast. Where ever speed is the need, there UDP can get in.
The reason for the speed is, there is no flow control or error correction. UDP is deployed widely
in streaming applications. A dramatic picture (Fig. 2.37) is given below which make the reader
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understand the concept easily.

Fig. 2.37 UDP works this way

2.6 SESSION LAYER

his layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. Also at each
T
end, session layer sets up and terminates conversations and exchanges between the applications.
This layer provides coordination of the communication in a orderly way. It will make sure that
new requests are not sent before previous one is answered. Remote procedure call is the widely
used session layer protocol.

2.7 PRESENTATION LAYER

I t ensures that information sent by the application layer of one of the systems from other network
is made readable by the application layer of the destination system. It makes sure that data is made
understood regardless of the types of machines used in the network. All encrypting devices fall in
the layer.

2.8 APPLICATION LAYER

pplication Layer is the seventh layer in the OSI model which is standing very close to the end
A
user. It will not let the user know on the complications of the below layers and it will just present
the smooth applications to the user which would be very comfortable for the end user. It takes the
responsibility for displaying the images and data to the user in the readable / human understandable
format. Also it stands as the interface with the layer below it, I.e. presentation layer.
Very simple and common application layer protocols and applications that everyone is familiar
with are listed below:
 Browsers (Google chrome, Internet explorer and Mozilla Firefox)
 FTP / SFTP (File transfer protocols)
 Telnet
 Network gaming applications
 DNS (Domain Naming Server)
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 Instant message software applications (GTalk, Yahoo messenger etc.,)

There are a lot of protocols and applications that support the network and end-user staying
from the application layer.
Application layer, to put in simple words provides services for the application program to
ensure effective and successful communication with another application program in the network.
Application layer performs many tasks, out of which few are summarized below:
 Ensures authentication of sender/receiver.
 Helps in privacy, data integrity and error recovery.
 Supports application layer protocols and helps in accomplishing the tasks meant for it.
 Helps in getting good quality of service.

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As already quoted there are so many protocols work in application layer. Few are briefed here
and they are explained in detail in the descriptive chapter which deals on application layer protocols.

2.8.1 FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

I t is a file transfer protocol which is useful for exchanging information/files over the network.
FTP is very commonly and frequently used for downloading a file from a server or internet or to
upload a file to a server. It follows client server architecture.

2.8.2 Telnet

elnet is a protocol used to control / access remote computer from the user’s PC. It is a kind of
T
remote login one can say. It is a terminal emulator. The reason of arrival of telnet is, in earlier days
where the hard drives were all costing more and there were no personal computers for every one
as today, one should get some part of the hard drive partition (from server) for usage and can use
it through telnet terminals. What needed to accomplish this are a server and some connections.
To start a Telnet session, user must log in to a server by entering a valid username and password.
It is assigned with the port number 23. One good thing is it supports many text editors, different
font options and special characters as well.

2.8.3 DNS (Domain Naming Server)

he DNS translates Internet domain and host names to IP addresses. DNS automatically converts
T
the website name that is typed in Web browser address bar to the IP addresses of Web servers
hosting those sites. For an example, when www.yahoo.com is typed, automatically the IP address
corresponding to yahoo.com is fetched from the database that is being maintained in the DNS
server. A complete description on DNS is presented in detail in chapter on Application layer.

2.8.4 SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

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NMP is Simple Network Management Protocol defined by IETF (Internet Engineering Task
S
Force). It is used to manage devices on IP networks. It can run on routers, hubs, bridges, printers,
servers, modems and many more. It is used to monitor the conditions of the attached devices in the
network. It helps the administrator to monitor the network remotely. It helps in knowing amount
of traffic flowing through a device. Also it can help in getting the details of CPU usage. Other
than traffic and CPU usage details, one can also know the voltage and environmental details. One
instance where the temperature monitoring is useful is with router chassis. If the temperature of
the router chassis goes very high, the device may get damaged. In short it helps in managing the
network to identify and to isolate the network problems, to plan the network growth and so the
performance.

2.8.5 SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

MTP, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is used for sending and receiving mail. Port 25 is used for the
S
protocol. As a limitation in this protocol, it has very limited ability to queue the messages at the
receiving end. And so it needs the protocols like POP3 or IMAP to help the user at the receiving
end. So SMTP is predominantly used for sending messages from mail client to mail server. And
so why the mail admin uses the POP or IMAP server in addition to SMTP while configuring the
email application.
A small diagrammatic representation of the OSI layers is given below in Fig. 2.38. It will help
reader with better understanding.

Network
user

OSI MODEL
Application Layer
7 Type of communication
E-mail, le transfer,
client/server
Presentation Layer
6 Encryption data conversion:
Ascft to EBCDIC. Upper Layers
DCD to binary, eto.
Application Layer
5 Type of communication
E-mail, le transfer,
client/ server
Transport Layer
4 Ensures delivery of entire
le or message.

Network Layer
Routes data to different
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3
LANs and WANs based
on network address.
Lower Layers

Data Link (MAC) Layer

2 Transmits packets from
node to node based on
stations address.

1 Physical Layer
Electrical signals and cabling

Fig. 2.38 OSI Layers summary

Now to summarize all the seven layers, the above picture can help. (Fig. 2.37)

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Gateways–Operates in all the layers:

gateway is normally a computer that operates in all five layers of the Internet (TCP/IP) or seven
A
layers of OSI model. A gateway takes an application message, reads it, and interprets it. This means
that it can be used as a connecting device between two internetworks that use different models.
For example, a network designed to use the OSI model can be connected to another network
using the Internet model. The gateway connecting the two systems can take a frame as it arrives
from the first system, move it up to the OSI application layer, and remove the message. Gateways
can provide security.
Here in this Fig. 2.39 a gateway is useful to communicate between VoIP and PSTN networks.

Fig. 2.39 Gateway

POINTS TO REMEMBER

 OSI layering approach is followed for the following reasons:

o Reduced complexity – divided and conquered.
o Easy to learn with this standard approach and
o Very much modular
 Seven layers of OSI are Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation and
Application layers.
 Each layer will have a corresponding device meant for it. Example, Repeater works for physical
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layer.
 Two kinds of signals are there. Analog and digital.
 A MAC address is of 6 byte (48 bits) length and that is physically hard-coded to the network
adapter by its manufacturer.
 Repeaters are re-generators. It receives a signal from a transmitter, amplifies it and then will
re-transmit with better strength
 Hub basically is deployed to get the sharing of data between computers easier within a network.
Whenever star topology is used, Hub becomes inevitable there.
 DTE and DCE are the most important terminologies with respect to RS232. There Computer
is referred as DTE which transmits and receives the data. Modem is the DCE, which facilitates
that data transfer.

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 The purpose of a null-modem cable is to permit two RS-232 “DTE” devices to communicate
with each other without modems or other communication devices (i.e., “DCE”s) between
them.
 Data link layer is responsible for node to node validity and integrity of transmission.
 Three Ethernet standards are available in the market.
o Traditional Ethernet
o Fast Ethernet and
o Gigabit Ethernet

QUIZ
1. What is the device that can work in all the 7 layers?
2. TELNET is a protocol used in one of the seven layers. Which is that layer?
3. What is the use of FTP?
4. Layer is responsible for node to node validity and integrity of transmission.
5. What is the length of the MAC address? How many bytes are assigned by the manufacturer?
6. Expand – SMTP.
7. What is the use of SNMP?
8. What are the tasks accomplished by session layer?
9. How is presentation layer useful?
10. Can UDP be used for a guaranteed delivery?
11. Where can the Router be deployed?
12. What are the available standards for Traditional Ethernet and what are the corresponding
speeds?
13. What are the available standards for Fast Ethernet and what are the corresponding speeds?
14. What is the purpose of FCS in the Ethernet Frame?
15. What is a NULL Modem configuration?
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16. What is RS in RS232?

17. Why digital domain is most widely preferred over analog domain?
18. How MAC address can be found in command prompt?
19. Why repeater is called regenerator?
20. What is the maximum range of RS 232?
21. What is modem?
22. What are the modes of operation in modem?
23. What are the two types of synchronization?
24. What is split system modem?
25. Mention the types of virtual circuits in network layer in x.25?
26. What are the protocols used for duplex transmission in x25 physical layer?

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27. What are the three types of frame format in x25 data link layer?
28. What are 3 control packets used in DTE-DCE communication?
29. Mention the disadvantage of Ethernet
30. What is a node?
31. What is cyclic redundancy check?
32. What is the need for CSMA/CD?
33. What are the available Ethernet standards in the market?
34. What is the protocol of fast Ethernet?
35. What are the components of data link layer?
36. What is a bridge meant for?
37. What are the parameters that define excellent QoS in a bridge?
38. What are the key features in bridge?
39. What are the types of bridges?
40. Which is referred to be as an improved hub?
41. Which is commonly used device in layer 3?
42. What router will do when data packets are received?
43. What are the four basic components of router?
44. What is use of File Transfer Protocol?
45. What is use of Telnet?
46. What is DNS?
47. What is role of SNMP?
48. What is use of SMTP?

ANSWERS
1. Gateway.
2. Application layer.
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3. It is used for the file transfer between the terminals with the get and put commands.
4. Data link layer
5. 6 Bytes. 3 Bytes are allotted by manufacturer.
6. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
7. Simple Network Management Protocol, which is used to manage devices on IP
networks.
8. This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications.
9. It ensures that information sent by the application layer of one of the systems from other
network is made readable by the application layer of the destination system
10. No. Can’t be used. It can be used for speedy delivery of data.

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11. A router is basically used to communicate between network to network in an efficient and
intelligent way.
12.
Ethernet 802.3 Speed supported Segment (in metres) Cable used
10 BASE5 10 Mbps 500 Co-Axial
10BASE2 10Mbps 185 Co-Axial
10BASET 10Mbps 90 Twisted pair

13. Ethernet 802.3 Speed supported Segment (in metres) Cable used
100 BASE-T 10 Mbps 90 Twisted pair
100 BASE-FX 100 Mbps Few Kilo Meters Optical fiber

14. This is a 4 byte field, where 32 bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) value is contained and
it is generated by the sender and will be re-checked by the receiver to find out the damaged
frames.
15. The purpose of a null-modem cable is to permit two RS-232 “DTE” devices to communicate
with each other without modems or other communication devices (i.e., “DCE”s) between
them. To achieve this, the most obvious connection is that the TD signal of one device must
be connected to the RD input of the other device (and vice versa).
16. Recommended Standard.
17. The reason being digital signals can be more reliably transmitted over long distances because
of their inherent immunity to noise. Also digital equipment used for processing and storage of
these signals are much cheaper, powerful and effective than their analog counterparts.
18. Getmac.
19. When it receives a weakened or corrupted signal, it creates a copy bit for bit, at the original
strength.
20. 15 meters.
21. The modem is a device that converts digital information to analog by modulating it on the
transmitting end, and DEModulating the analog information into digital information at the
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

receiving end.
22. Half duplex, full duplex, simplex.
23. Asynchronous and synchronous.
24. When channels are split for multiple users, their respective speeds can be different, so that
unnecessary usage of the modem is avoided. Such a type of modem is called Split System
Modem.
25. SVC (Switched Virtual Circuits) and PVC (Permanent Virtual Circuits)
26. X21, x21 bis, x31
27. I frames – carries user data
S frames – for flow and error control.
U frames - carries network management data

SABM - Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode

28.
UA - unnumbered acknowledgement
DISC - for disconnection
29. The only disadvantage of having Ethernet is, it cannot be used over geographically spread
area. It can be used in few kilo meters span alone.
30. The components or computers attached to the medium of communication is called
nodes.
31. Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) value is contained and it is generated by the sender and
will be re-checked by the receiver to find out the damaged frames.
32. To avoid collision between the packets CSMA/CD is introduced
33. Traditional Ethernet (support 10 Mbps), Fast Ethernet (support 100 Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet
(support 1000 Mbps to 10Gbps)
34. IEEE 802.3 u
35. Bridges and switches
36. A bridge is seen as a very vital component in the networking world. A bridge is used to connect
two different networks. Also it is used to split a network into separate segments. Thus bridge
can be used to filter traffic and create a better/efficient network
37. The parameters that define the QOS include availability, frame mishaps, transit delay, frame
lifetime, undetected bit errors, frame size and priority
38. A bridge operates both in physical and data-link layer
A bridge uses a table for filtering/routing
A bridge does not change the physical (MAC) addresses in a frame
39. Transparent bridges and source routing bridges
40. Switches
41. Router
42. a. Will read the destination address (IP) of the received packet.
b. Looks at the path to reach the destination address.
c. Sends the packet to the destination through the shortest path.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

43. Input ports, output ports, the routing processor and the switching fabric
44. FTP is very commonly and frequently used for downloading a file from a server or internet
or to upload a file to a server. It follows client server architecture
45. Telnet is a protocol used to control/access remote computer from the user’s PC
46. The DNS translates Internet domain and host names to IP addresses
47. It helps in managing the network, to identify and to isolate the network problems, to plan
the network growth and so the performance
48. SMTP, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is used for sending and receiving mail.

Physical Layer

Learning Objectives

 This chapter is completely dedicated for understanding of Physical layer and related stuff.
 A detailed analysis of Guided and unguided media is presented with clear descriptions.
 Switching methods, Circuit and Packet are discussed in detail.
 Then the attention is paid towards datagram and Virtual circuit networks.
 Light is then thrown on Modems followed by Analog to digital conversion and vice-versa.
 Finally, Quiz questions are given and reader can test their understanding by answering them.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

he Physical Layer is the lowest layer in the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Model of
T
computer networking and is used to transfer electrical signals that represent data from one place
to another. While the Physical Layer does not represent data itself, it does provide a mean for that
data to move. Essentially, the Physical Layer represents the hardware of a computer network and
consists of everything from the circuit boards and wires to the storage devices and media readers.

3.1.1 Physical Layer Functions

The following are the main responsibilities of the physical layer in the OSI Reference Model:
l Definition of Hardware Specifications: The details of operation of cables, connectors, wireless
radio transceivers, network interface cards and other hardware devices are generally a function
of the physical layer (although part of them are the functions of data link layer also; see below).

Encoding and Signalling: The physical layer is responsible for various encoding and signalling
functions that transforms the data from bits that reside within a computer or other device
into signals that can be sent over the network.
l Data Transmission and Reception: After encoding the data appropriately, the physical layer
actually transmits the data, and of course receives it. Note that this applies equally to wired
and wireless networks, where there is no tangible cable present!
l Topology and Physical Network Design: The physical layer is also considered the domain
of many hardware-related network design issues such as LAN and WAN topology.
In general, the physical layer technologies are ones that are at the very lowest level and deal
with the actual zeroes and ones that are sent over the network. For example, when considering
network interconnection devices, the simplest ones operate at the physical layer: repeaters,
conventional hubs and transceivers. These devices have absolutely no knowledge of the contents
of a message. They just take input bits and send them as output. But devices like switches
and routers operate at higher
The bit stream arriving Will now go to the data
layers of the OSI model and from data link layer link layer
interpret the data they receive
not just merely as voltage or
Bit stream Medium/channel Bit stream
light pulses that represent one
or zero but as information
content and addresses related Fig. 3.1 Data Link Layer- an example
to it.

3.2 GUIDED MEDIA

Guided Transmission Media makes use of cables that helps in guiding the data flow through a
specific path. Guided Media is also called as Bound Media. Cables are not only made of copper
alone but other conducting materials too ( fiber optic). Cable serves as a medium through which
information moves from one network device to another.
There are four types of Guided media namely,
1. Open Wire
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

2. Twisted Pair
3. Optical Fiber
4. Coaxial Cable
Guided Medium
Among these, twisted pair
cable and coaxial cable use
metallic conductors that
accept and transport signals
Open wire Twisted-pair Coaxial Optical
in the form of electric
current. Optical fiber is a
Fig. 3.2 Types of Guided Media
glass or plastic cable that
accepts and transports signals in the form of light (photons).

3.2.1 Open Wire

Open Wire is usually used to describe the electrical wire strung along power poles. There is only
a single wire strung between poles all the way. No shielding or protection from noise interference
is present. We would like to expand the definition of open wires to carry any data signal without
implementing any shielding or protection from noise interference. This kind of media is prone
to a large degree of noise and interference and hence not acceptable for data transmission except
for short distances say, less than 20 ft.

Open Wire

Fig. 3.3 Open wire transmission

3.2.2 Twisted-Pair (TP) Cable

his cable is the least expensive and most widely used cable of all. Basically, the wires in twisted
T
pair cabling are twisted together in pairs hence the name. Each pair consists of a wire used for
the positive data signal and another used for the negative data signal. We know that noise that
appears on one wire affects the other wire of the pair as well. But the good thing is, since the wires
are of opposite polarities, they are 180 degrees out of phase; hence when the noise occurs on both
wires, it gets cancelled or becomes null at the receiving end of the cable. Twisted Pair cables are
most effective when used in systems that has a balanced line method of transmitting data..
Twisted pair cable can take both analog and digital signals as input. TP cable can be either
unshielded TP (UTP) cable or shielded TP (STP) cable. Cables with a shield are called Shielded
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Twisted Pair and abbreviated as STP. Cables without a shield are called Unshielded Twisted Pair or
UTP. Shielding means metallic material added to cabling to reduce noise due to electromagnetic
interference.

Applications of TP cable
l Supports both digital and analog signals.
l TP cables are used in telephone lines to establish voice and data. UTP cable connects
subscribers to the central telephone office.
l The DSL lines used by the telephone companies to provide high data rate connections also
make use of high bandwidth capability UTP cable.
l Local Area Networks (LAN) which run on low budget use twisted-pair cable.

3.2.3 Coaxial cable

his is a kind of network cable used in older Ethernet networks and in electrically noisy
T
environments. The name “coax” means it has two conductors which are constructed concentrically
with each other along the axis of the cable. Coaxial cables are being extensively replaced by twisted-
pair cables for local area network (LAN) within buildings, and by fiber-optic cables for high-speed
network zones. Coaxial cable supports both analog and digital signals.

Application of Coaxial cable

l The use of coaxial cable started in analog telephone networks where a single coaxial network
could carry 10,000 voice signals.
l Later it was used in digital telephone networks where a single coaxial cable could carry digital
data up to 600 Mbps. (However, fiber optics have taken over coaxial cables now)
l Its famous use is in cable TV.
l Coaxial cabling is often used in places where slow data rates are needed such as in large
industrial environments where motors and generators are prone to lot of electromagnetic
interference (EMI), and where more expensive fiber-optic cables are not required.
l Also, coaxial cable finds its place in traditional Ethernet LANs. Because of high bandwidth,
and consequently high data rate, coaxial cable was chosen for digital transmission in early
Ethernet LANs.

3.2.4 Fiber-Optic Cable

iber-optic media uses cables made of glass material that sends network signals in the form of
F
photons or light energy. Fiber-optic cables boast higher bandwidth capacity than normal copper
cables, and is used effectively for high-speed networks such
as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) or Fiber Distributed Buffer
Data Interface (FDDI) backbones, long cable runs, and Core
connections to high-performance workstations Lets recall
light fundamentals a bit. Light is a form of electromagnetic
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

energy. It travels at its fastest in vacuum medium at 3 × 105 Cladding

km/s. The speed of light depends on the density of the
medium through which it is travelling .For example, it is Fig. 3.4 Fiber optic cable
much faster at lower density medium.
Light travels through the length of fiber without any loss, by the principle of Total Internal
Reflection. This principle of total internal reflection states that when the angle of incidence exceeds
a critical value, light cannot get out of the glass, instead, the light bounces back into the same
medium. When this principle is applied on the fiber-optic strand, it is possible to transmit light
pulses via the fiber lines without any loss. The light is guided down to the centre of fiber called
the core. The core is surrounded by an optical material called the cladding that traps the light in
the core using the optical technique total internal reflection. The core and cladding are usually

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made of cent-pure glass, though some are available as all plastic or a glass core and plastic cladding
in the market depending on the cost of manufacture. The fiber is coated with a protective plastic
(insulation purpose) covering called the primary buffer coating that protects it from moisture and
other external factors.

Applications of fiber-optic cable

l SONET network is a common type of fiber optics that serves as backbone for many networks
because its wide bandwidth is cost-effective.
l Fiber optics is combined with coaxial cabling system by few cable TV’s.
l Telephone companies extensively use fiber optic cable for high speed connection.
l In Local Area Networks (LANs), Fast Ethernet system makes use of fiber optic cables to fulfil
user demands.

3.3 UNGUIDED MEDIA

Unguided transmission media is a media where data signals flow through the air. They are not
guided or bound to a channel to follow. They are classified by the type of wave propagation.

3.3.1 RF Propagation

There are three types of RF (radio frequency) propagation:

l Ground Wave
l Ionosphere
l Line of Sight (LOS)
Ground wave propagation follows the curvature of the Earth. Ground waves have carrier
frequencies up to 2 MHz. AM radio is an example of ground wave propagation.

Atmosphere
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Radio
Tower
Earth
Ground Wave Propagation

Fig. 3.5 Ground wave propagation

Ionospheric propagation bounces off to the Earth’s Ionospheric layer in the upper atmosphere.
It is sometimes called double hop propagation. It operates in the frequency range of 30 - 85 MHz.
Because it depends on the Earth’s ionosphere, it changes with the weather and time of the day. The
signal bounces off to the ionosphere and comes back to earth. AM radios operate in this range.

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Ionosphere

Radio
Tower Home
Earth

Fig. 3.6 Ionospheric propagation

Line of sight propagation transmits exactly in the line of sight. The receiver must be in the view
of the transmitter. It is sometimes called space waves or tropospheric propagation. It is limited by the
curvature of the Earth for ground-based stations (100 km, from horizon to horizon). Reflected waves
can cause problems. Examples of line of sight propagation are: FM radio, microwave and satellite.

Atmosphere

Radio
Tower Home
Earth

Fig. 3.7 Line of sight propagation

Radio Frequencies
The frequency spectrum operates from 0 Hz (DC) to gamma rays (1019 Hz).
Table 3.1 Radio Frequencies Range
Name Frequency (Hertz) Examples
Gamma Rays 1019+ Radiotherapy
X-Rays 1017 Medical diagnostics
Ultra-Violet Light 7.5 x 1015 Astronomy
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Visible Light 4.3 x 1014 Colour distinction

Infrared Light 3 x 1011 Remote control
EHF - Extremely High Frequencies 30 GHz (Giga = 109) Radar
SHF - Super High Frequencies 3 GHz Satellite & Microwaves
UHF - Ultra High Frequencies 300 MHz (Mega = 106) UHF TV (Ch. 14-83)
VHF - Very High Frequencies 30 MHz FM & TV (Ch2 - 13)
HF - High Frequencies 3 MHz2 Short Wave Radio
MF - Medium Frequencies 300 kHz (kilo = 103) AM Radio
LF - Low Frequencies 30 kHz Navigation
VLF - Very Low Frequencies 3 kHz Submarine Communications
VF - Voice Frequencies 300 Hz Audio
ELF - Extremely Low Frequencies 30 Hz Power Transmission

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Radio frequencies are in the range of 300 kHz to 10 GHz. We are seeing an emerging technology
called wireless LANs. Some use radio frequencies to connect the workstations together, some use
infrared technology.

3.3.2 Microwave

icrowave transmission is line of sight transmission. The transmitter must be in line of sight with
M
the receiver. This sets a limit on the distance between stations depending on the local geography.
Typically the line of sight due to the Earth’s curvature is only 50 km to the horizon. Repeater
must be placed so the data signal can
hop, skip and jump across the country. Repeater

Microwaves operate at high operating Transmitter

frequencies of 3 to 10 GHz. This allows
them to carry large quantities of data
Receiver
due to their large bandwidth.
Advantages: Fig. 3.8 Microwave transmission

a. They employ random routes of communication between towers.

b. Since towers occupy a low space area, the cost for land reduces.
c. By the concept of antenna theory, a small antenna would suffice for a short wavelength and
high frequency signal.
d. Due to their high operating frequencies, they are capable of carrying high quantities of
information.
Disadvantages:
a. Attenuation occurs due to solid objects in between the towers or even birds, rain, snow and
fog.
b. At edges or corners of a solid object, diffraction is more likely to occur.
c. Atmospheric refraction takes places making the wave distorted at receiving end.
d. Microwaves gets reflected back from surfaces like metal or water.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

3.3.3 Satellite

atellites are transponders (units that receive

S North
on one frequency and retransmit on another) Pole
that are set in geostationary orbits directly over
the equator. These geostationary orbits are Equator
located at 36,000 km from the Earth’s surface. Satellite
36,000 km
This point is where the system is in equilibrium orbit
as the gravitational pull of the Earth and the
centrifugal force of Earth’s rotation are balanced
and resultant force is a null vector.
Fig. 3.9 Satellite communication

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Transponders Satellite

36,000 km
Orbit Solar
Panel

Antenna

Downlink
Uplink Earth Stations Downlink

Footprint

Fig. 3.10 Satellite communication

The uplink is the frequency at which the transmitter uploads data to the satellite. The downlink
is the frequency at which the receiver downloads the data from the satellite. The footprint is the
“shadow” up to which the satellite can transmit to.

3.3.4 Iridium Telecom System

he Iridium Telecom System is a new satellite system that will be the largest private aerospace
T
project. It is a mobile telecom system intended to compete with cellular phones. It relies on
satellites in lower Earth orbit (LEO). The satellites will orbit at an altitude of 900 - 10,000 km in
a polar, non-stationary orbit. Sixty-six satellites are planned. The user’s handset will require less
power and will be cheaper than cellular phones. There will be 100% coverage of the Earth.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.11 Iridium telecom system

When there are many devices, it is necessary to develop suitable mechanism for communication
between any two devices. One possible way is to establish point-to-point communication between
each pair of devices using mesh topology. However, mesh topology is impractical for large number
of devices, because the number of links increases exponentially (n(n-1)/2, where n is the number of
devices) with the number of devices. A better alternative is to use switching techniques leading to a
switched communication network. In the switched network methodology, the network consists of
a set of interconnected nodes, among which information is transmitted from source to destination
via different routes, which is controlled by the switching mechanism.

A 1
End station 2 E

Communication
4
Network node 6 D
B 3

5
C

Fig. 3.12 Switching example

The end devices that wish to communicate with each other are called stations. The switching
devices are called nodes. Some nodes are connected to other nodes and some are connected to
stations. Key features of a switched communication network are given below:
l Network Topology is not regular.
l Uses frequency division modulation or time division modulation for node-to-node
communication.
l There exist multiple paths between a source-destination pair for better network reliability.
l The switching nodes are not concerned with the contents of data.
l Their purpose is to provide a switching facility that will move data from node to node until
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

they reach the destination.

Switched
Networks

Circuit switched Packet-switched Massage-switched

Network networks networks

Datagram Virtual-circuit
Networks Networks

Fig. 3.13 Taxonomy of switched networks

3.4.1 Circuit Switching

ommunication via circuit switching implies that there is a dedicated communication path between
C
the two stations. The path is connected through a sequence of links between network nodes. On
each physical link, a logical channel is dedicated to the connection. Circuit switching is commonly
used technique in telephony, where the caller sends a special message with the address of the callee
(i.e. by dialling a number) to state its destination. It involves the following three distinct steps,

Circuit Establishment
o establish an end-to-end connection before any transfer of data. Some segments of the circuit
T
may be a dedicated link, while some other segments may be shared.
Data transfer:
l Transfer data from the source to the destination.
l The data may be analog or digital, depending on the nature of the network.
l The connection is generally full-duplex.
Circuit disconnect:
l Terminate connection at the end of data transfer.
l Signals must be propagated to deallocate the dedicated resources.
Call-request Time
Signal
Node 1

Node 2 Acknowledgment
Message Signal
Node 3

Node 4
Call-accept
Signal
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.14 Circuit switching

Thus the actual physical electrical path or circuit between the source and destination host
must be established before the message is transmitted. This connection, once established, remains
exclusive and continuous for the complete
duration of information exchange and the
circuit becomes disconnected only when the
source wants to do so.
The disadvantage of circuit switching is
that bandwidth is wasted as the traffic keeps the
connection idle during silent period. Fig. 3.15 Packet switching

3.4.2 Packet Switching

This type of switching is based on the ‘store-and-forward’ approach. However, to overcome the
limitations of circuit switching, messages are divided into subsets of equal length called packets.
This approach was developed for long-distance data communication (in 1970) and it has evolved
over time. In packet switching approach, data are transmitted in short packets (few Kbytes). A long
message is broken up into a series of packets shown in figure. Every packet contains some control
information in its header, which is required for routing and other purposes.
Now for simple understanding of the basic differences between circuit switching and Packet
switching, we summarize the following.
Table 3.2 Circuit Switching Vs Packet Switching

Circuit Switching Packet Switching

1. In circuit switching, there are various nodes 1. In packet switching, the data is sent over the
used in the network through which the signals network in the form of packets i.e. a large unit of
are passed from one system to another. data items wrapped into a single bigger unit.
2. This concept is mainly used in telephony 2. It can be used for telephony, DSL services and other
systems. data transmission services.
3. This is best suited for transmission of audio 3. It is best suited for sending data over the network
signals and not suitable for data transmission. and audio and video signals can also be sent over
the network in the form of packets.
4. This type of switching is connection oriented 4. It is usually a connection less service.
and may be connection less also.
5. As this is an old technique, this technique is 5. It is a new technology and economic than the circuit
less popular and more expensive. switching approach.

3.5 DATAGRAM NETWORKS VS VIRTUAL CIRCUIT NETWORKS

3.5.1 Datagram Approach

This approach uses a different, more dynamic scheme, to determine the route through the network
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

links. Each packet is treated as an independent entity, and its header contains full information
about the destination of the packet. The intermediate nodes examine the header of the packet,
and decide to which node to send
the packet so that it will reach its
destination. In the decision two
factors are taken into account:
l The shortest way to pass the
packet to its destination using
protocols such as RIP/OSPF
to determine the shortest
path to the destination.
Figure 3.16 Datagram Packet Switching Technique

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l Finding a free node to pass the packet to - in this way, bottlenecks are eliminated, since
packets can reach the destination in alternate routes. Thus, in this method, the packets
don’t follow a pre-established route, and the intermediate nodes (the routers) don’t have
pre-defined knowledge of the routes that the packets should be passed through. Packets can
follow different routes to the destination, and delivery is not guaranteed (although packets
usually do follow the same route, and are reliably sent). Due to the nature of this method,
the packets can reach the destination in a different order than they were sent, thus they must
be sorted at the destination to form the original message. This approach is time consuming
since every router has to decide where to send each packet. The main implementation of
Datagram Switching network is the Internet, which uses the IP network protocol.

3.5.2 Virtual Circuit Approach

In this approach, an initial setup phase is implemented in order to set up a route between the
intermediate nodes. All the packets passed during the session between the two end nodes undergo
this phase. In each intermediate node, an entry is registered in a table to indicate the route for
the connection that has been already set up. Thus, packets passed through this route, can have
short headers, containing only a virtual circuit identifier (VCI), and not their destination. Each
intermediate node passes the packets according to the information that was stored in it, in the setup
phase. In this way, packets arrive at the destination in the correct sequence, and it is guaranteed
that essentially there will not be errors. This approach is slower than Circuit Switching, since
different virtual circuits may compete over the same resources, and an initial setup phase is needed
to initiate the circuit. As in Circuit Switching, if an intermediate node fails, all virtual circuits
that pass through it are lost. The most common forms of Virtual Circuit networks are X.25 and
Frame Relay, which are commonly used for public data networks (PDN).
Packets
Node 1
1 2 3
Node 2
1 2 3
Node 3
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Call-Request Call accept Call-acknowledgment

1 2 3
packet packet packet
Node 4

Fig. 3.17 Virtual circuit packet switching technique

Table 3.3 Comparison of the three switching techniques

Circuit Switching Datagram Packet Virtual Circuit Packet
Dedicated path No dedicated path No dedicated path
Path established for entire Route established for each Route established for entire conversation
conversation packet
Call set up delay Packet transmission delay Call set up delay, packet transmission delay
Overload may block call set up Overload increases packet Overload may block call set up and
delay increases packet delay
Contd...

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No speed or code conversion Speed or code conversion Speed or code conversion

Fixed bandwidth Dynamic bandwidth Dynamic bandwidth
No overhead bits after call set up Overhead bits in each packet Overhead bits in each packet

3.6 MODEMS
odem is a computer device that modulates and demodulates data signals. It enables the computer
M
to transmit the data over the phone line. The data over the telephone line is transmitted in the
analog form and when it reaches at the computer at other end it must be presented in the digital
form so that computer can understand it. The modem takes the data and converts it in the readable
form for your computer i.e. digital form.
Modem can be inserted in the computer in the PCI slot or it can be used as an external
modem. Once a telephone line is plugged in the modem, it dials the number of the local ISP to
connect to the internet. Once the connection is established, user can browse the web, chat, listen
to the songs and download games etc. Many types of the conventional dial up modems now have
been replaced by the DSL and cable modems.
A DSL (Digital Subscribers Lines) modem is a communication device that provides high speed
communication over the regular telephone lines. DSL modem is also known as a broadband
modem. DSL modems now have been used in home and office networks to provide the high
speed internet connection by using the single telephone line.
lmost all modems support the TCP/IP and other communication protocols. The Ethernet
A
DSL modem can be used to provide the internet connection either to one computer or to the
computer network. DSL modem is usually provided free by the Internet Service Providers.
Additionally, you can also purchase the DSL modem of your required features at any computer
shop or directly through the manufacturer’s website. In the recent years, the broadband technology
has evolved so the significance of the DSL internet connection is increased. Many broadband
modems now comes with the built-in Ethernet and Wi-Fi ports also they have the features of
DHCP and NAT (Network Address Translation).
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

roadband modem is capable of handling the hundreds of data signals at the same time.
B
Another notable advantage of the DSL modem is that you can use your telephone while using
the Internet at the same time. With high speed internet connectivity you can download long files,
software, movies, play online games and browse the internet at very high speed.
The following Table 3.4 summarizes the differences between dial-up and dsl services.

3.7 ENCODING AND DECODING MECHANISMS

The channel bridging the transmitter and the receiver may be a guided transmission medium such
as a wire or a wave-guide or it can be an unguided atmospheric or space channel. But, irrespective
of the medium, the signal traversing the channel becomes attenuated and distorted with increasing
distance. Hence a process is adopted to match the properties of the transmitted signal to the

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channel characteristics so as to efficiently communicate over the transmission media. There are
two alternatives; the data can be either converted to digital or analog signal. Both the approaches
have pros or cons. What to be used depends on the situation and the available bandwidth.
Table 3.4 Dialup Vs DSL

MODEMS DSL
Occupy a phone line Phone line is not affected by internet
Phone line is used for either voice service or connection
internet connection Simultaneous transmission of data (DSL) and
voice or fax services
Connection speed: < 56 Kbps 256 Kbps to 20 Mbps
Have to dial an access number to connect to the Always on
internet
Connected using a computer modem Connected through a DSL modem
Unique IP address for each connection Static IP address (higher security risk)
Low monthly fee Higher monthly fee
Easy setup, no setup fee Self installation is usually free. A setup fee is
needed if installed by a technician.
Available to everyone with a phone line Not every phone line is equipped for DSL
service. May not be available in some
remote/rural areas.

Now, either form of data can be encoded into either form of signal. For digital signaling, the
data source can be either analog or digital, which is encoded into digital signal, using different
encoding techniques.
The basis of analog signaling is a constant frequency signal known as a carrier signal, which
is chosen to be compatible with the transmission media being used, so that it can traverse a long
distance with minimum of attenuation and distortion. Data can be transmitted using these
carrier signals by a process called modulation, where one or more fundamental parameters of
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

the carrier wave, i.e. amplitude, frequency and phase are being modulated. The resulting signal,
called modulated signal traverses the media, which is demodulated at the receiving end and the
original signal is extracted.
The four approaches are summarized below in the Table 3.5 as follows:
Table 3.5 Encoding and Decoding for Signals

Data Signal Approach

Digital Digital Encoding
Analog Digital Encoding
Digital Analog Modulation
Analog Analog Modulation

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In this chapter attention will be paid on Digital to Digital conversion and Digital to analog
conversion methods alone.

3.7.1 Digital to Digital Conversion

There are numerous methods used to encode digital data directly in digital signals. First, it is
important to distinguish digital signals from analog ones. An analog signal is a continuously varying
wave. Digital signals simply represent ones or zeros, so they are much less variable than analog.
Since digital signals generally only represent one of two values, they are much easier to decode
than multi-value analog waves. Additionally the lack of multiple values makes digital signals easier
to decode even after they have been affected by interference.
Digital signals are used internally in computer devices as well as externally in networks. Earlier,
there was a brief discussion on modem concepts dealt in this chapter. Dial up or DSL networks
typically use analog signals for transmission, while baseband networks generally use digital signals.
The current focus is on encoding these baseband signals before transmitting them.
Digital signals rely on having a reference point on which to build a signal representing a binary
digit (1 or 0). If the reference point changes, then distinguishing ones and zeros can be difficult.
The reference point is created by grounding. If a network is properly grounded, then data errors are
much fewer due to lack of reference voltage problems. Grounding is typically achieved by driving
a metal rod several feet into the earth or by attaching the ground wiring to metal piping that is
buried in the ground. All excess voltage drains off into the ground leaving a voltage considered to
be a zero voltage or ground reference voltage. The encoding technique employed here is commonly
called Line coding which is described by the following diagram.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.19 Line coding

A crucial element for digital signals are timing. Timing (or clocking) is used for synchronization
so that the communications between two devices can be coordinated. The clocking may be
controlled locally on each device after the devices synchronize with one another, or be assisted by
clocking bits, which are special bits used to help synchronize communications. The clocking bits
are actually encoded in the information being sent from sender to receiver.
When clocking and synchronization is not used, the communication between sender and
receiver is said to be asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communications are slower due
to the overhead involved in grouping data together. There must be a logical grouping to separate
one byte from another since this is not accomplished via timing.
The various digital encoding (Line coding) methods vary from one another in the manner in

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which they carry binary data, susceptibility to interference and clocking information. What follow
are a few examples of digital encoding methods with descriptions of each:

3.7.1.1 Polar Encoding

This method uses a positive and negative voltage to represent 1s and 0s. A separate clock signal
is used to keep sender and receiver synchronized. Fairly resistant to interference, because of the
great voltage distance between 1 and 0 signals. Figure 3.20 stands as a support for this.

+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.20 Polar Encoding

3.7.1.2 Unipolar Encoding

Unipolar encoding uses positive voltage but no negative voltage to represent 1s and 0s. Because of
low voltage variance, Unipolar systems are more prone to interference problems. Most use separate
clocking signals as polar systems because long streams of 0s and 1s may be confusing if clocks are
not exactly synchronized at sender and receiver. Figure 3.21 represents unipolar encoding.

+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.21 Unipolar Encoding

3.7.1.3 Bipolar Encoding

Similar to the other polar methods except that a positive, negative and zero voltage are utilized.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Whenever a 1 is encountered, the voltage jumps alternately to the positive voltage or the negative
voltage. 0 is always represented by zero voltage. This type of encoding is very resistant to interference.
Figure 3.22 represents this type of encoding.

+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.22 Bipolar Encoding

3.7.1.4 Manchester Encoding

This coding scheme involves voltage changes midway through the item of digital data being
encoded. This serves the dual purpose of providing the type of bit being represented plus providing
a synchronization cue for clocking purposes. In this encoding scheme a positive to negative mid-
bit voltage transition denotes 0 and a negative to positive transition denotes 1. The Manchester
coding scheme is known as biphase encoding as well which is represented in Fig. 3.23.

+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.23 Manchester Encoding

3.7.1.5 Differential Encoding

Similar to the Manchester scheme, this method is also a Manchester biphase encoding scheme.
The mid-bit transition from a positive to negative voltage (or vice versa) takes place to offer
synchronization (clocking). A 0 is represented by a voltage transition at the beginning of a bit and
a 1 is represented by no change in the voltage at the beginning of a bit. This type of coding scheme
is implemented in local area networking for token ring systems, while the standard Manchester
method is utilized for another popular LAN type called Ethernet. Figure 3.24 stands as a support
for this concept.
+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.24 Differential Encoding

3.7.1.6 RZ (Return to Zero)

permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

RZ (Return to Zero) encoding is a variation on bipolar coding. As in bipolar methods, 1 is

represented by a negative voltage while 0 is represented by a positive voltage. However, RZ involves
switching mid-bit to zero. This provides clocking information for synchronization and better
resistance to interference as it is easy to detect a voltage change mid-bit. Figure 3.25 represents
the same.
+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.25 RZ

3.7.1.7 NRZ (Non return to zero)

NRZ (or Non-Return to Zero) encoding utilizes transitions between positive and negative
voltages to denote 1s and 0s. Transitions are relied on rather than specific voltage levels. A 1 is
represented by a transition where 0 is represented by no transition. This method is not self-clocking.
Figure 3.26 is representing the concept.

+ Voltage
0 Voltage
– Voltage
0 1 1 0 1

Fig. 3.26 NRZ

I t should be plainly evident now that there is a big difference between digital and analog signal
types. The method for encoding signals is also radically different. Each has its own advantages
and disadvantages so it is not likely that either is going to completely go away. In real life we often
have to convert signals from analog to digital or digital to analog several times before a piece of
data reaches its destination. In the next section reader will be introduced with what is involved
to perform conversion from one type of signal to another.

3.7.2 Digital to Analog Conversion

Quite often sending digital data through analog transmission media such as a telephone network
is required. In such situations it is essential to convert digital data to analog signal. This conversion
is accomplished with the help of special devices such as modem (modulator-demodulator) that
converts digital data to analog signal and vice versa.
ince modulation involves operations on one or more of the three characteristics of the carrier
S
signal, namely amplitude, frequency and phase, three basic encoding or modulation techniques
are available for conversion of digital data to analog signals. The three techniques are referred to
as amplitude shift keying(ASK),frequency shift keying(FSK)and phase shift keying(PSK).There are
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

many situations where ASK and PSK techniques are combined together leading to a modulation
technique known as Quadrature Amplitude Modulation(QAM). The basic approach employed
by this type of conversion is briefly described by the following Fig. 3.27.

Digital-to-
10101100 analog
conversion

Fig. 3.27 Digital to Analog conversion

3.7.2.1 Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK)

In ASK, two binary values are represented by two different amplitudes of the carrier frequency as
shown in the Fig. 3.28. The un-modulated carrier can be represented by

Vd(t)

Vc(t)

VASK(t)

Signal
power

Frequency
fc – 3f0 fc – f0 fc fc + f0 fc + 3f0
Frequency spectrum

Fig. 3.28 Amplitude Shift Keying

ec(t)
= Ec cos 2πfct
The modulated signal can be written as
s(t) = k em cos 2πfct
s(t) = A1 cos 2πfct for 1
s(t) = A2 cos 2πfct for 0
Special case: On/off Keying (OOK), the amplitude A2 = 0. ASK is susceptible to sudden gain
changes and OOK is commonly used to transmit digital data over optical fibres.
Frequency Spectrum: If Bm is the overall bandwidth of the binary signal, the bandwidth
of the modulated signal is BT = Nb, where Nb is the baud rate. This is depicted in the following
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.29.

fc – nb/2 fc fc + nb/2

Fig. 3.29 Frequency Spectrum

This method is very much susceptible to noise and sudden gain changes and hence it is
considered as an inefficient modulation technique.

3.7.2.2 Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK)

In this case two binary values are represented by two different frequencies near the carrier frequency
as shown in the following Fig. 3.30.

Data signal Vd (t)

Carrier 1 V1 (t)

Carrier 2 V2 (t)

VFSK (t)

Signal
power

Frequency
f1 f2
Frequency spectrum

Fig. 3.30 Frequency Shift Keying

In FSK two carrier frequencies f1 and f2 are used to represent 1 and 0 as shown in the above
Fig. 3.30.
Here s(t) = A cos 2 πfc1t (for binary 1) and s(t) = A cos 2 πfc2t (for binary 0)
This method is less susceptible to errors than ASK. It is mainly used in higher frequency
radio transmission.
Frequency spectrum: FSK may be considered as a combination of two ASK spectra centred
around fc1 and fc2,which requires higher bandwidth. The bandwidth = (fc2 – fc1) + Nb as shown in
the following frequency spectrum.
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.31 Frequency spectrum

3.7.2.3 Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

In this method, the phase of the carrier signal is shifted by the modulating signal with the phase
measured relative to the previous bit interval. The binary 0 is represented by sending a signal of
the same phase as the preceding one and 1 is represented by sending the signal with an opposite
phase to the previous one as shown in the following Fig. 3.32.

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A 0 1 1 1

Fig. 3.32 Phase Shift Keying

In 2-PSK the carrier is used to represent either 0 or 1.

s(t) = A cos (2πfct + π) for binary 1
s(t) = A cos (2πf ct) for binary 0
The signal set can be shown geometrically in the following Fig. 3.33. This representation
is called a constellation diagram, which provides a graphical representation of the complex
envelope of each possible symbol state. The x-axis of a constellation diagram represents the in-
phase component of the complex envelope, and the y-axis represents the quadrature component
of the complex envelope. The distance between signals on a constellation diagram indicates how
different the modulation waveforms are, and how well a receiver can differentiate between all
possible symbols in presence of noise.

1 0

Constellation diagram for 2 – PSK signal

Fig. 3.33 Constellation diagram

3.7.2.4 M-ary Modulation

permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

I nstead of just varying phase, frequency or amplitude of the RF signal, modern modulation
techniques allow both envelope (amplitude) and phase (or frequency) of the RF carrier to vary.
Because the envelope and phase provide two degrees of freedom, such modulation techniques
map baseband data into four or more possible RF carrier signals. Such modulation techniques are
known as M-ary modulation. In M-ary modulation scheme, two or more bits are grouped together
to form symbols and one of possible signal S1(t), S2(t),…,Sm(t) is transmitted during each symbol
period Ts. Normally, the number of possible signals are M = 2n, where n is an integer. Depending
on whether the amplitude, phase or frequency is varied, the modulation is referred to as M-ary
ASK, M-ary PSK or M-ary FSK, respectively. M-ary modulation technique is attractive for use in
band limited channels, because these techniques achieve better bandwidth efficiency at the expense
of power efficiency. For example, an 8-PSK technique requires a bandwidth that is log28 = 3 times

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smaller than 2-PSK (also known as BPSK) system. However, M-ary signalling results in poorer error
performance because of smaller distances between signals in the constellation diagram. Several
commonly used M-ary signalling schemes are discussed below.

3.7.2.5 Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

For more efficient use of bandwidth Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (QPSK) can be used where,
s(t) = A cos (2πfct) for 00
= A cos (2πfct + 90) for 01
= A cos2πfct + 180) for 10
= A cos (2πfct + 270) for 11
Here phase shift occurs in multiple of 90° as shown in the following constellation Fig. 3.34.
01
Bits Phase
000
00 0
01 90 10 00
10 180
11 220
11

Fig. 3.34 Constellation diagram

1. 8-PSK: The idea can be extended to have 8-PSK. Here the phase is shifted by 45°
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Fig. 3.35 Phase shift by 45°

3.7.2.6 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)

Ability of equipment to distinguish small differences in phase limits the potential bit rate. This
can be improved by combining ASK and PSK. This combined modulation technique is known
Quardrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). It is possible to obtain higher data rate using QAM.
The constellation diagram of a QAM signal with two amplitude levels and four phases is shown in
the Fig. 3.36 below. It may be noted that M-ary QAM does not have constant energy per symbol,
nor does it have constant distance between possible symbol values.

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010

100
101 000 001

110

111

Fig. 3.36 Phase shift by 45°

2. Bit rate and Baud rate: Use of different modulation techniques lead to different baud rates
(number of signal elements per second) for different values of bit rates,which represents the
numbers of data bits per second. The Table 3.6, given below shows how the same baud rate
allows different bit rates for different modulation techniques. The baud rate, in turn, implies
the bandwidth requirement of the medium used for transmission of the analog signal.
Table 3.6 Summary

Modulation Technique Baud rate Bit rate

ASK, FSK, 2-PSK N N
4 PSK N 2N
8 PSK N 3N
16 QAM N 4N
32 QAM N 5N
64 QAM N 6N
128 QAM N 7N
256 QAM N 8N

POINTS TO REMEMBER
permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

 A guided medium provides a physical interface from one device to another.

 Twisted-pair cable consists of two insulated copper wires twisted together. Twisting enables
in nullifying the effect of noise in the cable.
 Twisted-pair cable is used in telephone lines for voice and data communications.
 Coaxial cable has the following layers (starting from the centre): a metallic rod-shaped inner
conductor, an insulator covering the rod, a metallic outer conductor (shield), an insulator
covering the shield, and a plastic cover.
 Coaxial cable can carry signals of higher frequency ranges than that of twisted-pair cable.
 Coaxial cable is used in cable TV networks and traditional Ethernet LANs.

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1. Introduction to Networking 1.1

1.3.5 Wired Vs Wireless Networks 1.11

1.5 OSI Model Vs TCP-IP Model 1.17

2.5.2 UDP 2.31

Points to Remember 2.35

Points to Remember 3.23

4.3.2 Error Correction Methods 4.8

5.3 Mobile IP 5.10

5.4.5 Hierarchical Routing 5.28

6.4.3 Congestion Control Mechanisms 6.10

7.2 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) 7.4

8.3 Security Protocols 8.18

Learning Objectives

1.1.1 What is a Network and why is Networking Needed?

A Network is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication

Fig. 1.1 A sample network

And why is networking needed or why is computer networking important? Simple, to

1.1.2 Topology – What is it?

1.1.3 Types of Topology

1.1.3.1 Physical Topology

Fig. 1.2 Bus topology

Fig. 1.3 Ring topology

Fig. 1.4 Star topology

of two or three star networks.

Fig. 1.6 Mesh topology [full mesh]

1.1.3.2 Logical Topology

1.2 COMPONENTS OF A TYPICAL NETWORK (A BRIEF INTRODUCTION)

Fig. 1.7 A network interface card

Fig. 1.8 MAC address

longer distance, the repeater will play a role

Fig. 1.10 A bridge-connects two networks

Fig. 1.11 How hub can be deployed?

Fig. 1.12 Switch’s working

Fig. 1.13 Router

Fig. 1.14 Router

1.3 TYPES OF NETWORKS

1.3.1 Local Area Network

A LAN (Local Area Network) connects devices

1.3.2 Wide Area Network (WAN)

Wide Area Network, as the name implies it

is showing a WAN for reader’s understanding.

1.3.3 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Fig. 1.17 Metropolitan Area Network

1.3.4 Personal Area Network (PAN)

Fig. 1.18 Personal Area Network

1.3.5 Wired Vs Wireless Networks

1.3.6 Intranet Vs Extranet

An Extranet is actually an Intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. The

1.4 OSI LAYERING (OPEN SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION)

Fig. 1.19 OSI Layers

b. Easy to learn with this standard approach and

1.4.1 Physical Layer

1.4.2 Data Link Layer

1.4.1.1 Media Access Control Layer

1.4.1.2 Link Logic Control Layer

1.4.3 Network Layer

1.4.4 Transport Layer

Fig. 1.20 OSI Layers-Devices mapping

Getting all of No, Slow down

Fig. 1.21 TCP works this way

1.4.5 Session Layer

Fig. 1.22 UDP works this way

1.4.6 Presentation Layer

1.4.7 Application Layer

1.5 OSI MODEL VS TCP-IP MODEL

Data Link (MAC) Layer

Fig. 1.23 OSI Layers summary

Fig. 1.24 OSI Vs TCP/IP model

22. Why star topology superior over bus topology?

33. Physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, application

OSI Layer and Network

Learning Objectives

2.2 PHYSICAL LAYER AND PHYSICAL L AYER COMPONENTS