Chapter 4: Network Access

Physical Layer Protocols

OSI MODEL

 Application
 Presentation Layer
 Session Layer
 Transport Layer
 Network
 Data Link Layer
 Physical Layer

Physical Layer Connection

TYPES OF CONNECTION

 Physical Connection – Can be wired connection using a cable or a wireless connection using
radio waves
 Network Interface cards (NIC) – connect a device to a network, used for wired connection
 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) NICs – are used for wireless connections

Purpose Of Physical Layer

Physical Layer

 Provides means to transport bits

that make up a date link layer frame
across the network media

 Accepts a complete frame from the

date link layer and encodes it as a
series of signals that are transmitted
onto the local media

 Encoded bits that comprise a frame

are received by either an end device
or an intermediate device
Physical Layer Media [Three basic forms of media]

 Electric signals (copper cable)

 Light pulse (optic cable)
 Microwave signals (wireless)

Purpose of the physical Layer

Physical Layer standards

 Internationals Organization for

Standardization (IOS)
 Telecommunications Industry
Association/Electronic Industries
Association (TIA/EIA)
 International Telecommunication
Union (ITU)
 American National Standards
Institute (ANSI)
 Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE)

Physical Layer Characteristics

Transition – Occurs at the middle of each bit period

Modulation – Is the process by which characteristics of one wave modifies another wave

Function
Encoding

 Converts a stream of data bits into a predefined code

Signaling method

 Method of representing the bits

 Physical Layer standards must define what type of signal represents an “1” and what type of
signal represents “0”
 Long pulse might represent a 1 whereas a short pulse represents a 0
Bandwidth
 Capacity of a medium to carry data
 Measures the amount of data that can flow from one place to another in a given amount of time
 The speed that bit travel, the number of bits that are transmitted per second

Throughput
 Measure of the transfer of bits
across the media over a given
period of time

 Usually does not match the

specified bandwidth in physical
layer implementations due to
many factors.

Amount of traffic

Type of traffic

Latency created by network

devices encountered between
source and destination

Goodput
Is throughput minus traffic overhead for establishing sessions, acknowledgments, and encapsulation.

Different types of interfaces available in 1941 Router

 Fast ethernet switch ports
 SHDSL interface
 Management ports
 Gigabit Ethernet Interfaces
 USB Type A connector
Data Link Layer Protocols
Purpose of Physical Layer

Data link Layer – layer prepares network data The Data Link Layer (CONT)
for the physical network
Layer 2 Link Addresses

L2

Destination NIC Source NIC

L3

Source IP Destination NIC

Data Link Sublayers

Data link layer is divided into two sublayers:

Logical Link Control (LLC)

 Communicates with the network layer.

 Identifies which network layer protocol is being used for the frame.
 Allows multiple Layer 3 protocols, such as IPv4 and IPv6, to utilize the same network interface
and media.

Media Access Control (MAC)

 Defines the media access processes performed by the hardware.

 Provides data link layer addressing and access to various network technologies.
 Communicates with Ethernet to send and receive frames over copper or fiber-optic cable.
  Communicates with wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Media Access Control

Date link layer Protocols

 Govern how to format frame for use on different Media

 Different protocols may be in use for different media
 Each hop along the path an intermediary device accepts frames from one medium de
encapsulates the frame and then forwards the packets in a new frame. The headers of each
frame are formatted for the specific medium that it will cross

 As packets travel from the source host to the destination

host, they travel over different physical networks.

 Physical networks can consist of different types of

physical media such as copper wires, optical fibers, and
wireless consisting of electromagnetic signals, radio and
microwave frequencies, and satellite links

▪ At each hop along the path, a router:

▪ Accepts a frame from a medium

▪ De-encapsulates the frame
▪ Re-encapsulates the packet into a new
frame
▪ Forwards the new frame appropriate
to the medium of the segment

Data Link Layer Standards

▪ Engineering organizations that
define open standards and protocols
that apply to the network access
layer include:
 Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers (IEEE)

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

International Organization for

Standardization (ISO)

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Media Access Control (MAC)

Controlling Access to the Media
▪ Media access control is the
equivalent of traffic rules that
regulate the entrance of motor
vehicles onto a roadway.

▪ The absence of any media access

control would be the equivalent of
vehicles ignoring all other traffic
and entering the road without
regard to the other vehicles.

▪ However, not all roads and

entrances are the same. Traffic can
enter the road by merging, by
waiting for its turn at a stop sign, or
by obeying signal lights. A driver
follows a different set of rules for each type of entrance.
 Physical topology - Refers to the physical Logical Topology: Refers to the way a network
connections and identifies how end devices and transfers frames from one node to the next.
infrastructure devices such as routers, switches, These logical signal paths are defined by data
and wireless access points are interconnected. link layer protocols

Common physical wan Topologies

Point-to-Point - Permanent link between two
endpoints.

Hub and Spoke - A central site

interconnects branch sites using point-
to-point links.

Mesh - Provides high availability, but

requires that every end system be
interconnected to every other system.
Administrative and physical costs can be
significant.

Physical Point-to-Point

Logical Point-
to-Point

▪ Frames are placed on the media by the

node at one end and taken from the
media by the node at the other end of
the point-to- point circuit.
 • However, the use of physical devices in
the network does not affect the logical
topology.

• End nodes communicating in a point-to- • The logical connection between nodes

point network can be physically forms what is called a virtual circuit
connected via a number of
intermediate devices.

Data Link Frame

The Frame

Each frame type has three basic parts:

• Header

• Data

• Trailer

Structure of the frame and the fields

contained in the header and trailer
depend on Layer 3 protocol.
Frame Fields

Frame start and stop indicator flags -

Identifies the beginning and end limits of
the frame.

Addressing - Indicates the source and

destination nodes.

Type - Identifies the Layer 3 protocol in

the data field.

Control - Identifies special flow control

services such as QoS.

Data - Contains the frame payload (i.e.,

packet header, segment header, and the
data).

Layer 2 Address

Each data link frame

contains the source data
link address of the NIC card
sending the frame, and the
destination data link
address of the NIC card
receiving the frame

LAN and WAN Frames

▪ Layer 2 protocol used for a topology is determined by the technology.

▪ Data link layer protocols include:
o Ethernet
o 802.11 Wireless
o Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
o HDLC
o Frame Relay

Network media
Copper cabling
Characteristics of Copper Media

Transmitted on copper cables as electrical pulses.

Attenuation - the longer the signal travels, the

more it deteriorates. All copper media must
follow strict distance limitations.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio

frequency interference (RFI) - distorts and
corrupts the data signals being carried by copper
media. To counter copper cables wrapped in
shielding.

Crosstalk - disturbance caused by the electric or

magnetic fields of a signal on one wire to the
signal in an adjacent wire. To cancel crosstalk
opposing circuit wire pairs twisted together.

Three main types of copper media

▪ Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable

▪ Shielded twisted pair (STP) cable
▪ Coaxial Cable

Unshielded Twisted Pair

 UTP cabling is the most common

networking media.
 Terminated with RJ-45 connectors.
 Used for interconnecting network hosts
with networking devices such as switches.
 Consists of four pairs of color-coded wires
that have been twisted together to help
protect against signal interference from
other wires.
 Color codes aid in cable termination.
 Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Cable

 STP provides better noise protection than

UTP.
 STP cable is significantly more expensive
and difficult to install.
 Uses an RJ-45 connector.
 Combines the techniques of shielding to
counter EMI and RFI, and wire twisting to
counter crosstalk.
 Uses four pairs of wires, each wrapped in a
foil shield, which are then wrapped in an
overall metallic braid or foil.

Coaxial Cable
 A copper conductor used to transmit the
electronic signals.
 A layer of flexible plastic insulation surrounding a
copper conductor.
 The insulating material is surrounded in a woven
copper braid, or metallic foil, that acts as the
second wire in the circuit and as a shield for the
inner conductor.
 The entire cable is covered with a cable jacket to
prevent minor physical damage.
 UTP cable has essentially replaced coaxial cable in
modern Ethernet
installations but is used in:
 Wireless installations:
Coaxial cables attach
antennas to wireless
devices.
 Cable Internet installations

Copper Media Safety

  The separation of data and electrical power cabling must comply with safety codes
 Cables must be connected correctly
 Installation must be inspected for damage
 Equipment must be grounded correctly

Properties of UTP Cabling

 Consists of four pairs of color-coded

copper wires that have been twisted
together and then encased in a flexible
plastic sheath.

 Small size can be advantageous during

installation.

 UTP cable does not use shielding to

counter the effects of EMI and RFI.

o Cancellation: When two wires

in an electrical circuit are
placed close together, their
magnetic fields are the exact
opposite of each other and
cancel out any outside EMI and
RFI signals.

o Varies the number of twists per wire pair to further enhance the cancellation effect of a
paired circuit.
 UTP CABLING STANDARDS
 UTP cabling conforms to the standards established by TIA/EIA.

o TIA/EIA-568 stipulates the cabling standards for LAN

 installations

 Cat 3 Cable

o Used for voice communication

o Most often used for phone lines

 Cat 5 and 5e Cable

o Used for data transmission

o Cat5 supports 100 Mb/s and can support 1000Mb/s, but it is not recommended

o Cat5e supports 1000 Mb/s

 Cat 6 Cable

o Used for data transmission

o An added separator is between each pair of wires

o allowing it to function at higher speeds

o Support 1000 Mb/s – 10 Gb/s, though 10 Gb/s is not

o UTP Cabling Standards

UTP Connectors
▪ UTP cable terminated with an
RJ-45 connector.

▪ TIA/EIA-568 standard
describes the wire color codes
to pin assignments (pinouts)
for Ethernet cables.

▪ RJ-45 connector is the male

component, crimped at the
end of the cable.

▪ Socket is the female

component of a network
device, wall, cubicle partition
outlet, or patch panel.

▪ Essential that all copper media

terminations be of high quality
to ensure optimum
performance with current and
future network technologies.

Types of UTP cable

 UTP Testing
Parameters:
▪ Wire map
▪ Cable length
▪ Signal loss due to attenuation
▪ Crosstalk

Properties of Fiber Optic Cabling

▪ Fiber-optic cabling is now being
used in four types of industry:
 Enterprise Networks
 Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH)
 Long-Haul Networks
 Submarine Cable Networks
 ▪ Transmits data over longer distances and at higher bandwidths.

▪ Transmit signals with less attenuation and is completely immune to EMI and RFI.

▪ Used to interconnect network devices.

▪ Flexible, but extremely thin, transparent strand of very pure glass, not much bigger than a
human hair.

▪ Bits are encoded on the fiber as light pulses

Fiber media Cable Design

Jacket Protects the fiber against abrasion,
moisture, and other contaminants. Composition
can vary depending on the cable usage.

Strengthening Material Surrounds the buffer,

prevents the fiber cable from being stretched
when it is being pulled. Often the same material
used to produce bulletproof vests.

Buffer Used to help shield the core and cladding

from damage.

Cladding Tends to act like a mirror by reflecting

light back in the core of the fiber. Keeps light in
the core as it travels down the fiber.

Core Light transmission element at the center of the optical fiber. Core is typically silica or glass. Light
pulses travel through the fiber core.

Types of Fiber Media

Fiber optic Connectors
 Light can only travel in one direction over optical fiber, two fibers are required to support the
full duplex operation.

Straight-Tip (ST) Connectors

 One of the first connector types used.

 Locks securely with a “twist-on/twist-off”.

Subscriber Connector (SC) Connector

 Referred to as square or standard connector.

 Uses a push-pull mechanism to ensure positive insertion.
 Used with multimode and single-mode fiber.

Lucent Connector (LC) Simplex Connectors

Smaller version of SC and popular due to size.

Duplex Multimode LC Connectors

Similar to LC but using a duplex connector

 Fiber patch cords are required for interconnecting infrastructure
devices.

Yellow jacket is for single-mode fiber cables

Orange (or aqua) for multimode fiber cables.

Fiber cables should be protected with a small plastic cap when

not in use.

Testing Fiber Optic Cable

Three common types of fiber-optic termination
and splicing errors are:

Misalignment: The fiber-optic media are not

precisely aligned to one another when joined.

End gap: The media does not completely touch

at the splice or connection.

End finish: The media ends are not well

polished, or dirt is present at the termination.
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)

can be used to test each fiber-optic cable segment

Fiber Vs Copper

Properties of Wireless Media

 ▪ Wireless media carry electromagnetic signals that represent the binary digits of data
communications using radio or microwave frequencies.

▪ Wireless areas of concern:

• Coverage area: Construction materials used in buildings and structures, and the local
terrain, will limit the coverage.

• Interference: Disrupted by such common devices as fluorescent lights, microwave

ovens, and other wireless communications.

• Security: Devices and users, not authorized for access to the network, can gain access to
the transmission.

• Shared medium: Only one device can send or receive at a time and the wireless medium
is shared amongst all wireless users.

Types of Wireless Media

Wi-Fi: Standard IEEE 802.11

 Uses Carrier/Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA).
 Wireless NIC must wait till channel is clear.

Bluetooth: Standard IEEE 802.15

 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)
 Uses a device pairing process for distances 1 to 100 meters

WiMAX: Standard IEEE 802.16

 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
 Wireless broadband access.

Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN requires the following
network devices:

Wireless Access Point (AP):

Concentrates the wireless signals
from users and connects to the
existing copper-based network
infrastructure, such as Ethernet.
 Wireless NIC adapters: Provide wireless communication capability to each network
host.

Home and small business wireless routers integrate

the functions of a router, switch and access point into

one device.