The Data Link Layer

Reading: Ch. 2.2, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2

Goals for Today’s Class

• Multiple-Access (Broadcast) Networks

– Ethernet

• Network Connecting Devices

– Repeaters and hubs
– Bridges / LAN switches
– Routers

• Network Categories
– DAN, LAN, MAN, WAN

2
Message, Segment, Packet, and Frame
host host

HTTP message
HTTP HTTP

TCP segment
TCP TCP

router router

IP packet IP packet IP packet

IP IP IP IP

Ethernet Ethernet SONET SONET Ethernet Ethernet

interface interface interface interface interface interface

Ethernet frame SONET frame Ethernet frame 3

Context

Application OSI

TCP/IP Presentation Link Sublayers

Application Session Logical Link

Media Access
Transport Transport Control (MAC)

Network Network

Data Link (Data) Link Ethernet

Interface
Physical

4
The Link Layer

Packet Network
host-to-host

Frame
Link
node-to-node
frame-by-frame

Physical
101101001000100101010 node-to-node
bit-by-bit

The link layer is responsible for frame-level node-to-node

communication. Datagram from network layer is encapsulated
into a link-layer frame for transmission over physical medium.
5
Simple Network: 2 Nodes and a Link

Link
Node Node
• Link: physical medium connecting nodes
– Twisted pair: the wire that connects to telephones
– Coaxial cable: the wire that connects to TV sets
– Optical fiber: high-bandwidth long-distance links
– Space: propagation of radio waves, microwaves, …

6
Links: Delay and Bandwidth

• Delay
– Latency for propagating data along the link
– Corresponds to the “length” of the link
– Typically measured in seconds

• Bandwidth
– Amount of data sent (or received) per unit time
– Corresponds to the “width” of the link
– Typically measured in bits per second

bandwidth delay x bandwidth

delay
7
Connecting More Than Two Nodes

• Multi-access link: Ethernet

– Single physical link, shared by multiple nodes

• Point-to-point links: fiber-optic cable

– Separate link per pair of nodes
– Limitations on the number of adapters per node

Workstation Workstation

Workstation Workstation

Workstation Workstation

multi-access link point-to-point links

(broadcast network)
8
Broadcast Networks (1)

• Bus topology
. . .
• Ethernet cable:
10 Base 5
Baseband Cable no longer
10Mbps
(digital signalling) than 500 m

• All nodes share use of link, compete for access

9
Broadcast Networks (2)

• Star topology
Hub

• Ethernet cable:
100 Base T
Baseband Twisted Pairs
100Mbps
(digital signalling)

• The hub replicates the signal along all links, except

the one the signal comes from
10
Broadcast Networks (2)
Sender Receiver

Signal propagates along the entire cable

• Broadcast medium
– All stations receive a copy of the message sent
– But most communication is intended to be only between
two computers on a network

• To allow sender to specify destination, each station

is assigned a hardware address (MAC address)
11
Broadcast Networks (3)

• Example: Ethernet Addressing

– Unique 48-bit MAC address
– First 24 bits is manufacturer code - assigned by IEEE
– Second 24 bits are sequentially assigned and UNIQUE

• MAC address must be unique

12
Broadcast Networks (4)

• Where is the MAC address stored ?

– On the Network Interface Card (NIC)
– When NIC is manufactured
• What is NIC ?
– Special-purpose hardware that handles all the details
of packet transmission and reception
– It operates independently of the CPU
– Compares the destination MAC address on each
incoming packet to the MAC address of its own station
and discards frames not destined for the station
• Interface hardware, not software, checks address
13
NIC

• Also called link-layer adapter

• The link layer is implemented in hardware in the form

of an adapter. The adapter can decide to discard
frames in error without notifying the OS.
14
Ethernet (802.3)
Ethernet

• Is the dominating LAN technology

• IEEE 802.3 defines Ethernet
• Layers specified by 802.3:
– Ethernet Physical Layer
– Ethernet Medium Access (MAC) Sublayer

16
Ethernet Physical Layer

• Minimal Bus Configuration

Coaxial Cable
Transceiver

Terminator
Transceiver
Cable
Host 4 Twisted Pairs
15 Pin Connectors
Channel Logic
Manchester Phase Encoding
17
Star Topology

• Physically star, logically bus

Hub

18
Ethernet Physical Layer

• Typical Large-Scale Configuration

Repeater

Host

Ethernet
segment
19
Ethernet Physical Restrictions

• For thick coaxial cable (10Base 5)

– Segments of 500 meters maximum
– Maximum of 4 repeaters in any path
– Maximum of 100 transceivers per segment
– Transceivers placed only at 2.5 meter marks on cable

20
Manchester Encoding

Data stream 1 0 1 1 0 0

Encoded
bit pattern

• 1 bit = high/low voltage signal

• 0 bit = low/high voltage signal

21
Ethernet: MAC Layer

• Data encapsulation
– Frame Format
– Addressing
– Error Detection
• Access to the medium
– CSMA/CD
– Backoff Algorithm

22
Ethernet: Frame Format

Destination Source
Preamble MAC MAC Type Data CRC
address address

Preamble: 8 bytes used to synchronize the adapter

MAC address: 6 bytes (90:AF:F4:CA:BA:03)
Type: 2 bytes
CRC: 4 bytes
(Cyclic Redundancy Check)

Ethernet frames must carry at least 46 bytes and at most 1500

bytes of data (not including the 18 bytes of header & trailer).

23
Ethernet – Questions:

Q1: An Ethernet MAC sublayer receives 42 bytes of data from

the LLC sublayer. How many bytes of padding must be
added to the data?

Q2: An Ethernet MAC sublayer receives 1510 bytes of data from

the LLC sublayer. Can the data be encapsulated in one
frame? If not, how many frames need to be sent ? What is the
size of the data in each frame ?

24
Ethernet: MAC Layer

• Data encapsulation
– Frame Format
– Addressing
– Error Detection
• Access to the medium
– CSMA/CD
– Backoff Algorithm

25
Ethernet Addressing

• Broadcast address:

FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF

26
Question

• MAC addresses only have significance within the

context of a local-area network. So, why are MAC
addresses globally unique?

27
Ethernet: MAC Layer

• Data encapsulation
– Frame Format
– Addressing
– Error Detection
• Access to the medium
– CSMA/CD
– Backoff Algorithm

28
Ethernet: Medium Access

• When more than one nodes share a medium, we

need a protocol to coordinate access to the medium.
• Ethernet uses CSMA/CD.
CS Æ Carrier Sense
MA Æ Multiple Access
CD Æ Collision Detection

29
Medium Access Protocols

• CSMA
– 1-Persistent CSMA
– Non-Persistent CSMA
– p-Persistent CSMA
• CSMA/CD

• Idea:
– Listen to the channel before transmitting a packet.

30
1-Persistent CSMA

• Sense the channel.

– If busy, keep listening to the channel and transmit
immediately when the channel becomes idle.
– If idle, transmit a packet immediately.
• If collision occurs,
– Wait a random amount of time and start over again.

The protocol is called 1-persistent because the host

transmits with a probability of 1 whenever it finds the
channel idle.
31
The Effect of Propagation Delay on CSMA

packet

A B C

carrier sense = idle

Transmit a packet

Collision

32
1-Persistent CSMA (cont’d)

• Even if prop. delay is zero, there could be collisions

packet

A B C
• Example:
– If stations B and C become ready in the middle of A’s
transmission, B and C will wait until the end of A’s
transmission and then both will begin transmitted
simultaneously, resulting in a collision.

• If B and C were not so greedy, there would be fewer

collisions
33
Non-Persistent CSMA

• Sense the channel.

– If busy, wait a random amount of time and sense
the channel again
– If idle, transmit a packet immediately
• If collision occurs
– wait a random amount of time and start over again

34
1- Persistent vs. Non-Persistent CSMA
packet

A B C

• If B and C become ready in the middle of A’s

transmission,
– 1-Persistent: B and C collide
– Non-Persistent: B and C probably do not collide
• If only B becomes ready in the middle of A’s
transmission,
– 1-Persistent: B succeeds as soon as A ends
– Non-Persistent: B may have to wait
35
Optimal Strategy: p-Persistent CSMA

1. Sense the channel

– If channel is idle, transmit a packet with probability p
• if a packet was transmitted, go to step 2
• if a packet was not transmitted, wait one slot and go to step 1
– If channel is busy, wait one slot and go to step 1.
2. Detect collisions
– If a collision occurs, wait a random amount of time and go
to step 1

One slot = contention period

(i.e., one round trip propagation delay)
36
p-Persistent CSMA (cont’d)

• Consider p-persistent CSMA with p=0.5

– When a host senses an idle channel, it will only send a
packet with 50% probability
– If it does not send, it tries again in the next slot.

37
CSMA/CD

• In CSMA protocols
– If two stations begin transmitting at the same time, each
will transmit its complete packet, thus wasting the channel
for an entire packet time
• In CSMA/CD protocols
– The transmission is terminated immediately upon the
detection of a collision
– CD = Collision Detect

38
CSMA/CD

• Sense the channel

– If idle, transmit immediately
– If busy, wait until the channel becomes idle
• Collision detection
– Abort a transmission immediately if a collision is detected
– Try again later according to a backoff algorithm

39
Collision detection time
How long does it take to realize there has been a collision?

Time=0

A B
T = end-to-end
Time=T-ε
propagation
delay
A B

Time=2T

A B

Worst case: 2 x T
To detect the collision, A must transmit for at least 2xT time.
40
Ethernet: MAC Layer

• Data encapsulation
– Frame Format
– Addressing
– Error Detection
• Access to the medium
– CSMA/CD
– Backoff Algorithm

41
Ethernet Backoff Algorithm

• Binary Exponential Backoff:

– If collision choose one slot randomly from 2k slots, where k
is the number of collisions the frame has suffered.

slot length = 2 x end-to-end delay

A B

– This algorithm can adapt to changes in network load.

42
Binary Exponential Backoff

slot length = 2 x end-to-end delay = 50 μs

A B

t=0μs: Assume A and B collide (kA = kB = 1)

A, B choose randomly from 21 slots: [0,1]
Assume A chooses 1, B chooses 1
t=100μs: A and B collide (kA = kB = 2)
A, B choose randomly from 22 slots: [0,3]
Assume A chooses 2, B chooses 0
t=150μs: B transmits successfully
t=250μs: A transmits successfully
43
Binary Exponential Backoff

• Binary exponential backoff will allow a maximum of

15 retransmission attempts

• If 16 backoffs occur, the transmission of the frame is

considered a failure.

44
State Diagram for CSMA/CD

Packet?
No

Sense Send Detect

Carrier Collision

Yes
Discard
Packet Jam channel
attempts < 16 b=CalcBackoff()
wait(b);
attempts++;
attempts == 16

45
Ethernet – Collision Detection

• IEEE 802.3 specifies max value of 2T to be 51.2μs

– This relates to maximum distance of 2500m between hosts
– At 10Mbps it takes 0.1μs to transmit one bit so 512 bits
(64B) take 51.2μs to send
• Condition for CSMA/CD to work:
Transmission Time > 2T
– So, Ethernet frames must be at least 64B long
• 14B header, 46B data, 4B CRC
• Padding is used if data is less than 46B

46
CSMA/CD – Question 1

Consider a 10Mb/s CSMA/CD network as shown below:

H1

H2
H10 100

100
100 Hub

100 H3

Calculate the length of the shortest packet that the network

above can support so that the CSMA/CD protocol will
function correctly. Assume that bits travel on the wire at the
speed c = 2 * 108 m/s.
47
CSMA/CD – Question 2

The hub is now removed, but the computers remain in the

same locations. A single cable is strung between the
computers as shown below.

H1
H2
100 100
H10
100 100

100
H9 100
100 H3

What is the length of a shortest packet in this case?

48
CSMA/CD – Question 3

• Why do Ethernet adaptors select a random back-off

time before trying to transmit a frame following a
collision? Why do they pick the random back-off
time from a larger range after each collision?

49
Extending Networks with

Interconnecting Devices
Goals for Today’s Class

• Multiple-Access (Broadcast) Networks

– Ethernet

• Network Connecting Devices

– Repeaters and hubs
– Bridges / LAN switches
– Routers

• Network Categories
– DAN, LAN, MAN, WAN

51
Interconnecting Devices

• There are many different interconnecting devices.

Ethernet Ethernet

Repeater Ethernet

Bridge
Router

Token- X.25
ring Network
Gateway

52
TCP/IP Suite and OSI Reference Model

• The TCP/IP protocol stack does Application

Layer
not define the lower layers of a Application Presentation
complete protocol stack Layer Layer
Session
Layer
• The TCP/IP protocol stacks Transport Transport
Layer Layer
interfaces with the data link layer
Network Network
and the MAC sublayer Layer Layer
(Data) Link (Data) Link
Layer Layer
Physical
Layer

OSI
TCP/IP Suite Reference
Model

53
Shuttling Data at Different Layers

• Different devices switch different things

– Network layer: packets (routers)
– Link layer: frames (bridges and switches)
– Physical layer: electrical signals (repeaters and hubs)

Application gateway

Transport gateway
Frame Packet TCP User
Router header header header data

Bridge, switch

Repeater, hub
54
Physical Layer: Repeaters

• Copy / Amplify signals between the two segments

• Propagate valid signals as well as collisions
• Do not have hardware (MAC) addresses

Repeater

IP IP

LLC LLC

802.3 MAC Repeater 802.3 MAC

• Ethernet networks allow at most 4 repeaters between any 2

machines
55
Physical Layer: Hubs

• Joins multiple input lines electrically

– Designed to hold multiple line cards

4, 5, 8, 9, 16,
32, 64 Ports

• Very similar to repeaters

– Also operates at the physical layer
– Passive hubs may simply forward signals
– Active hubs may also amplify or refresh signals
56
Limitations of Repeaters and Hubs

• One large shared link

– Each bit is sent everywhere
– E.g., three departments each get 10 Mbps independently
– … and then connect via a hub and must share 10 Mbps
• Cannot support multiple LAN technologies
– Does not buffer or interpret frames
– So, can’t interconnect between different rates or formats
– E.g., 10 Mbps Ethernet and 100 Mbps Ethernet
• Limitations on maximum nodes and distances
– Shared medium imposes length limits
– E.g., cannot go beyond 2500 meters on Ethernet
57
Goals for Today’s Class

• Multiple-Access (Broadcast) Networks

– Ethernet

• Network Connecting Devices

– Repeaters and hubs
– Bridges / LAN switches
– Routers

• Network Categories
– DAN, LAN, MAN, WAN

58
Link Layer: Bridges/LAN Switches

• Interconnect multiple LANs, possibly of different types.

• Operate on packets, not signals.
• Have one or more NICs

Token-ring

Bridge

IP IP
Bridge
LLC LLC LLC

802.3 MAC LAN 802.3 MAC 802.5 MAC LAN 802.5 MAC

59
Bridges vs. LAN Switches

• A network switch is a computer networking device

that connects network segments. The term
commonly refers to a network bridge that processes
and routes data at the Data link layer (layer 2) of the
OSI model. One way to think of a layer 2 switch is as
a multiport bridge.

• Switches that additionally process data at the

Network layer (layer 3 and above) are often referred
to as Layer 3 switches.
[Wikipedia]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_switch

60
Bridges vs. LAN Switches

• Layer 2 switching is highly efficient because there

is no modification to the data packet, only to the
frame encapsulation of the packet, and only when
the data packet is passing through dissimilar media
(such as from Ethernet to FDDI).
[Wikipedia]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAN_switching

61
LAN Switches: Store and Forward

• Several packets may arrive for the same output link at

the same time, therefore a switch must have buffers

• Uses a strategy called Store and Forward

– At each switch the entire packet is received, stored briefly,
and then forwarded to the next node

incoming links Switch outgoing links

Memory

62
Hubs vs. LAN Switches

• With a hub, the bandwidth is shared among all workstations.

• When the hub is replaced with a switch, each sender and
receiver pair has the full wire speed. Buffering of frames
prevents collisions.

CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD

CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD

HighSpeed
Backplane
CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD

CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD CSMA/CD

Input Output
Buffers Buffers

Hub Switch

63
Link Layer: LAN Switches

• Network switches are increasingly replacing shared

media hubs in order to increase bandwidth. For
example, a 16-port 100BaseT hub shares the total
100 Mbps bandwidth with all 16 attached nodes. By
replacing the hub with a switch, each sender/receiver
pair has the full 100 Mbps capacity. Each port on the
switch can give full bandwidth to a single server or
client station or it can be connected to a hub with
several stations.
[TechWeb Encyclopedia]

64
Hubs and Switches Used Together

• Hubs are used in combination with switches,

because not all users may need the speed of an
individual switching port.

65
Bridge/LAN Switch Filtering

• Bridges learn from experience and build and

maintain address tables of the nodes on the network.
– Extract destination address from the frame
– Look up the destination in a table
– Forward the frame to the appropriate LAN segment

• More about this later …

66
Advantages Over Hubs/Repeaters

• Only forwards frames as needed

– Filters frames to avoid unnecessary load on segments
– Sends frames only to segments that need to see them
• Extends the geographic span of the network
– Separate segments allow longer distances
• Improves privacy by limiting scope of frames
– Hosts can “snoop” the traffic traversing their segment
– … but not all the rest of the traffic
• Can join segments using different technologies

67
Disadvantages Over Hubs/Repeaters

• Delay in forwarding frames

– Bridge/switch must receive and parse the frame
– … and perform a look-up to decide where to forward
– Storing and forwarding the packet introduces delay
– Solution: cut-through switching
• Need to learn where to forward frames
– Bridge/switch needs to construct a forwarding table
– Ideally, without intervention from network administrators
– Solution: self-learning
• Higher cost
– More complicated devices that cost more money
68
Motivation For Cut-Through Switching

• Buffering a frame takes time

– Suppose L is the length of the frame
– And R is the transmission rate of the links
– Then, receiving the frame takes L/R time units
• Buffering delay can be a high fraction of total delay
– Propagation delay is small over short distances
– Buffering delay may become a large fraction of total

A B

switches

69
Cut-Through Switching

• Start transmitting as soon as possible

– Inspect the frame header and do the look-up
– If outgoing link is idle, start forwarding the frame
• Overlapping transmissions
– Transmit the head of the packet via the outgoing link
– … while still receiving the tail via the incoming link

A B

switches

70
Goals for Today’s Class

• Multiple-Access (Broadcast) Networks

– Ethernet

• Network Connecting Devices

– Repeaters and hubs
– Bridges / LAN switches
– Routers

• Network Categories
– DAN, LAN, MAN, WAN

71
Network Layer: Routers

• Router – A device that forwards data packets from

one local area network (LAN) or wide area network
(WAN) to another. Based on routing tables and
routing protocols, routers read the network address
in each transmitted frame and make a decision on
how to send it based on the most expedient route
(traffic load, line costs, speed, bad lines, etc.).
[TechWeb Encyclopedia]

72
Network Layer: Routers

Subnet- Subnet- Subnet-

work work work
Router Router

Application Application

TCP TCP

IP IP protocol IP IP protocol IP IP protocol IP

Network Data Network Network Data Network Network Data Network

Access Link Access Access Link Access Access Link Access

Host Router Router Host

73
Bridges vs. Routers (1)

• Bridges work at the data link layer, whereas routers

work at the network layer.

• Bridges are protocol independent; routers are

protocol dependent.

• Bridges are faster than routers because they do not

have to read the protocol to get routing information.

74
Bridges vs. Routers (2)

• An enterprise network (e.g., university network) with a large

number of local area networks (LANs) can use routers or
bridges
• Until early 1990s: most LANs connected by routers
• Since mid1990s: LAN switches replace most routers

75
A Routed Enterprise Network

Router
Internet

Hub

FDDI

FDDI

76
A Switched Enterprise Network

Router
Internet

Switch

77
Bridges vs. Routers (3)

Routers Bridges

• Each host’s IP address must • MAC addresses are

be configured hardwired
• If network is reconfigured, IP • No network configuration
addresses may need to be needed
reassigned
• No routing protocol needed
• Routing done via protocols (sort of)
(RIP or OSPF)
– learning bridge algorithm
• Each router manipulates – spanning tree algorithm
packet IP header (e.g.,
reduces TTL field) • Bridges look up, but do not
manipulate frames

78
Need for Routing

• What do bridges do if LAN 2

some LANs are d

reachable only in Bridge 3 Bridge 4

multiple hops ?
Bridge 1 LAN 5
• What do bridges do if Bridge 5
the path between two
LANs is not unique ? LAN 1

Bridge 2

LAN 3 LAN 4
79
Transparent Bridges

• Not visible to end hosts LAN 2

• Execute a spanning tree
algorithm Bridge Bridge

• Two parts to
Bridge LAN 5
transparent bridges:
1. Learning & Forwarding Bridge
2. Spanning Tree Algorithm
LAN 1

Bridge

LAN 3 LAN 4
80
Transparent Bridges: Learning & Forwarding

• Switches forward frames selectively

– Forward frames only on segments that need them
• Switch table
– Maps destination MAC address to outgoing interface
– Goal: construct the switch table automatically
B

A C

switch

D
81
Transparent Bridges: Learning

• When a frame arrives

– Inspect the source MAC address
– Associate the address with the incoming interface
– Store the mapping in the switch table
– Use a time-to-live field to refresh the mapping (default 15s)
B
Switch learns
how to reach A.

A C

D
82
Transparent Bridges: Forwarding (Miss)

• When frame arrives with unfamiliar destination

– Forward the frame out all of the interfaces
– … except for the one where the frame arrived
– Hopefully, this case won’t happen very often

When in B
doubt,
shout!
A C

D
83
Transparent Bridges: Learning & Forwarding

When switch receives a frame:

Index switch table using MAC dest address
if entry found for destination then
{
if dest on segment from which frame arrived then
drop the frame
else
forward the frame on interface indicated
}
else flood forward on all but the interface
on which the frame arrived

84
Example

• Consider the following packets:

(Src=A, Dest=F), (Src=C, Dest=A), (Src=E, Dest=C)
• What have the bridges learned?

Bridge 1 Bridge 2

Port1 Port2 Port1 Port2

LAN 1 LAN 2 LAN 3

A B C D E F

85
Danger of Loops

• Switches sometimes need to broadcast frames

– Upon receiving a frame with an unfamiliar destination
– Upon receiving a frame sent to the broadcast address
• Broadcasting is implemented by flooding
– Transmitting frame out every interface
– … except the one where the frame arrived
• Flooding can lead to forwarding loops
– E.g., if the network contains a cycle of switches (reliability)

86
Solution: Spanning Trees

• Ensure the topology has no loops

– Avoid using some of the links when flooding
– … to avoid forming a loop
• Spanning tree
– Sub-graph that covers all vertices but contains no cycles
– Links not in the spanning tree do not forward frames

87
Constructing a Spanning Tree

• Need a distributed algorithm

root
– Switches cooperate to build the spanning tree
– … and adapt automatically when failures occur
• Key ingredients of the algorithm
– Switches need to elect a “root” (smallest ID)
– Each switch identifies if its interface
is on the shortest path from the root
• And it exclude from the tree if not one hop
– Messages (Y, d, X) three hops
• From node X
• Claiming Y is the root
• And the distance to root is d BPDU (Bridge Protocol Data Unit)
88
Steps in Spanning Tree Algorithm

• Initially, each switch thinks it is the root

– Switch sends a message out every interface
– … identifying itself as the root with distance 0
– Example: switch X announces (X, 0, X)
• Switches update their view of the root
– Upon receiving a message, check the root id
– If the new id is smaller, start viewing that switch as root
• Switches compute their distance from the root
– Add 1 to the distance received from a neighbor
– Identify interfaces not on a shortest path to the root
– … and exclude them from the spanning tree
89
Example From Switch #4’s Viewpoint

• Switch #4 thinks it is the root

– Sends (4, 0, 4) message to 2 and 7
• Then, switch #4 hears from #2 1
– Receives (2, 0, 2) message from 2
– … and thinks that #2 is the root 3 5
– Stops generating BPDUs (forwards only) 2
• Then, switch #4 hears from #7 4
6
– Receives (2, 1, 7) from 7 7
– And realizes this is a longer path
– So, prefers its own one-hop path
– And removes 4-7 Iink from the tree (temporary view)
90
Example From Switch #4’s Viewpoint

• Switch #2 hears about switch #1

– Switch 2 hears (1, 1, 3) from 3
– Switch 2 starts treating 1 as root 1
– And sends (1, 2, 2) to neighbors
• Switch #4 hears from switch #2 3 5
– Switch 4 starts treating 1 as root
2
– And sends (1, 3, 4) to neighbors 4
• Switch #4 hears from switch #7 6
7
– Switch 4 receives (1, 3, 7) from 7
– And realizes this is a longer path
– So, prefers its own three-hop path
91
Robust Spanning Tree Algorithm
• Algorithm must react to failures
– Failure of the root node
• Need to elect a new root, with the next lowest identifier
– Failure of other switches and links
• Need to recompute the spanning tree
• Root switch continues sending messages
– Periodically reannouncing itself as the root (1, 0, 1)
• every 2s by default
– Other switches continue forwarding messages
• Detecting failures through timeout (soft state!)
– Switch waits to hear from others
– Eventually times out and claims to be the root
See Section 3.2.2 in the textbook for details and another example
92
Comparing Hubs, Switches, Routers

Hub/ Bridge/ Router

Repeater Switch
Traffic isolation no yes yes

Plug and Play yes yes no

Efficient routing no no yes

Cut through yes yes no

93
Transport Layer: Gateways

• Gateway – (1) A computer that performs protocol

conversion between different types of networks or
applications. For example, a gateway can convert a
TCP/IP packet to a NetWare IPX packet and vice
versa, or from AppleTalk to DECnet, from SNA to
AppleTalk and so on.
[TechWeb Encyclopedia]

94
Network Categories
Network Categories

DAN LAN MAN WAN

1. DAN – Desk Area Network (DeskTop)

2. LAN – Local Area Network (Room, Building, Campus)
3. MAN – Metropolitan Area Network (City)
4. WAN – Wide Area Network (Country, Continent)

96
DAN – Desk Area Network

• Privately owned
• Small distance (desk, 1-4 meters)
• Share printers, files, Internet connections, etc.
• Speeds generally 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps
– Mbps – megabits/sec – 1,000,000 bits per second
– compare to MB/sec – megabytes/sec
• Star topology
• Low delay
• Very few errors

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LAN – Local Area Network

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LAN – Local Area Network

• Privately owned
• Distance
– Room [Meters]
– Building [100 Meters]
– Campus [Kilometers]
• Share printers, files, Internet connections, etc.
• May include hubs & switches
• Low Delay
• Very Few Errors

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LAN Topologies (1)

• Star

• Tree

• Bus – Ethernet IEEE 802.3

– speed 10Mbsp- Gbps

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LAN Topologies (2)

• Ring – IBM IEEE 802.5

– speed 4 – 26 Mbps

• Mesh (fully connected)

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MAN – Metropolitan Area Network

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MAN – Metropolitan Area Network

• Distance
– city (~ 10 Kilometers)
• One or two cables
• No switching elements
• Topology
– DQDB – Distributed Queue Dual Bus for 2 cable
configuration
– DQDB is the standard for data communication (IEEE
802.6); network extends up to 20 miles (30km) long and
operate at speeds of 34 to 155 Mbit/s.
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MAN Topology

• DBDQ: IEEE 802.6 – two one-way buses

– Packets travel from the Head and fall off
– Travel Bus A if Computer to Right
– Travel Bus B if Computer to Left
– Optimize delivery

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WAN – Wide Area Network

105
WAN – Wide Area Network

• Also called an end system

• Distance: country (~ 100 Km), continent (~ 1,000 Km)
• Routers: forward data from one LAN or WAN to another.
Source

Router
Destination

Subnet

Collection of routers and communication

Transmission Line, Trunk, lines that move packets from the source to
Circuit, Channel the destination
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WAN Topologies

• Bus
• Star
• Tree
• Mesh
• Hybrid

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Summary

• Ethernet technology
• Shuttling data from one link to another
– Bits, frames, packets, …
– Repeaters/hubs, bridges/switches, routers, …

• Key ideas in switches

– Cut-through switching
– Self learning of the switch table
– Spanning trees

• Network Categories
– DAN, LAN, MAN, WAN
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