Module 2: Online Connections,

Communication Principles,
Network Design and the Access
Layer
 Module Objectives
Module Objective: Explain the basic requirements for getting online.
Topic Title Topic Objective
Wireless Networks Describe the different types of networks used by cell phones and mobile devices.

Network Explain the importance of network documentation.

Documentation
The Rules Describe network communication protocols.

Communication
Describe network communication standards.
Standards
Network
Communication Compare the OSI and TCP/IP models.
Models
Explain the OSI model Layer 1 and Layer 2 functions in an Ethernet network.
Ethernet

Encapsulation and Explain the process of encapsulation and Ethernet framing.

the Ethernet Frame
Hierarchical Network Explain the function at each layer of the 3-layer network design model.
Design
© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 2
The Access Layer Explain how to improve network communication at the access layer.
2.1 Wireless Networks

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 3
Wireless Networks
Mobile Telephones
Did you know that most mobile phones can be connected to many different types of networks
simultaneously?

Mobile phones use radio waves to transmit voice signals to antennas mounted on towers located
in specific geographic areas. Mobile phones are often referred to as “cell phones” because the
geographic area in which an individual tower can provide a signal to a phone is called a cell. When
a telephone call is made, the voice signal is relayed from one tower to another tower until it is
delivered to its destination. It is also used to send text messages directly from the phone.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 4
Wireless Networks
Cell Phone Network
The abbreviations 3G, 4G, 4G-LTE, and 5G are used to describe enhanced cell phone networks that are
optimized for the fast transmission of data. The “G” in these designations represents the word
“generation,” so 5G is the fifth generation of the cell network. The figure shows that 4G will continue to be
the dominant source of global mobile traffic in 2022. However, 5G will use an increasingly larger portion.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 5
Wireless Networks
Other Wireless Networks
The GPS uses satellites to transmit signals that Wi-Fi transmitters and receivers located within
cover the globe. The smart phone can receive the smartphone let the phone connect to local
these signals and calculate the phone’s networks and the internet. To receive and send
location to an accuracy of within 10 meters. data on a Wi-Fi network, the phone needs to be
within the range of the signal from a wireless
network access point.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 6
Wireless Networks
Other Wireless Networks (Cont.)
Bluetooth is wireless technology that allows NFC stands for near field communications.
devices to communicate over short distances. NFC is a wireless communication technology
Because Bluetooth technology can be used to that enables data to be exchanged by devices
transmit both data and voice, it can be used to that are in very close proximity to each other,
create small local networks. usually less than a few centimeters.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 7
2.2 Network Documentation

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 8
Network Documentation
Device Names and Address Planning
The use of logical device naming and addressing conventions that are well documented can greatly
simplify the task of training and network management and can help as well with troubleshooting when
problems arise.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 9
Network Documentation
Logical Network Information
A physical topology shows how network devices connect.
A diagram called a logical topology illustrates the relevant network configuration information.

Logical Topology

Physical Topology © 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 10
Communication Principles
2.3 The Rules
The Rules
The Three Elements

The primary purpose of any network is to provide us with a method to communicate and share
information.
All communication begins with a message, or information, that must be sent from one individual or
device to another.

All communication methods have three elements in common:

• The first of these elements is the message source or sender. Message sources are people, or
electronic devices, that need to communicate a message to other individuals or devices.

• The second element of communication is the destination, or receiver, of the message. The
destination receives the message and interprets it.

• The third element is called a transmission medium, or channel. It provides the pathway over which
the message can travel from source to destination.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 12
The Rules
Communication Protocols

Before beginning to communicate with each other, we establish rules or agreements to govern the conversation:

• What method of communication should we use?

• What language should we use?
• Do we need to confirm that our messages are received?

These rules, or protocols, must be followed for the message to be successfully delivered and understood:

• An identified sender and receiver

• Agreed upon method of communicating (face-to-face, telephone, letter, photograph)
• Common language and grammar
• Speed and timing of delivery
• Confirmation or acknowledgment requirements

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 13
The Rules
Why Protocols Matter

Protocol Characteristic Description

When a message is sent, it must use a specific format or structure. Message formats depend on
Message format
the type of message and the channel that is used to deliver the message.

The rules that govern the size of the pieces communicated across the network are very strict and
Message size can be different, depending on the channel used. It may be necessary to break a longer message
into smaller pieces in order to ensure that the message can be delivered reliably.

Many network communication functions are dependent on timing. Timing determines the speed
Timing at which the bits are transmitted across the network. It also affects when an individual host can
send data and the total amount of data that can be sent in any one transmission.

Messages sent across the network are first converted into bits by the sending host. Each bit is
Encoding encoded into a pattern of sounds, light waves, or electrical impulses. The destination host
receives and decodes the signals in order to interpret the message.
Each message transmitted on a network must include a header that contains addressing
Encapsulation information that identifies the source and destination hosts. Encapsulation is the process of
adding this information to the pieces of data that make up the message.
Some messages require an acknowledgment before the next message can be sent. This type of
Message pattern
request/response pattern is a common aspect of many©networking protocols.
2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 14
The Rules
Lab - My Protocol Rules

In this lab, you will complete the following objectives:

• Relate computer network protocols to the rules that you use every day for various forms of
communication.

• Define the rules that govern how you send and interpret text messages.

• Explain what would happen if the sender and receiver did not agree on the details of the protocol.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 15
2.4 Communication Standards

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 16
Communication Standards
The Internet and Standards

A standard is a set of rules that determines how something must be done.

Networking and internet standards ensure that all devices connecting to the network implement the same set of
rules or protocols in the same manner.

Using standards, it is possible for different types of devices to send information to each other over the internet.

For example, the way in which an email is formatted, forwarded, and received by all devices is done according to a
standard:
• If one person sends an email via a personal computer, another person can use a mobile phone to receive and
read the email as long as the mobile phone uses the same standards as the personal computer.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 17
Communication Standards
Network Standards Organizations

An internet standard is the end result of a comprehensive cycle of

discussion, problem solving, and testing.

These different standards are developed, published, and maintained by

a variety of organizations.

When a new standard is proposed, each stage of the development and

approval process is recorded in a numbered Request for Comments
(RFC) document.

• RFCs for internet standards are published and managed by the

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Other standards organizations that support the internet are shown in

the figure.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 18
2.5 Network Communication
Models

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 19
Network Communication Models
The Protocol Stack

Successful communication between hosts requires interaction between a number of protocols.

These protocols are implemented in software and hardware that are installed on each host and networking
device.
The interaction between the different protocols on a device can be illustrated as a protocol stack, as shown in the
figure.
A stack illustrates the protocols as a layered hierarchy, with each higher-level protocol depending on the services
of the protocols shown in the lower levels.
The separation of functions enables each layer in the stack to operate independently of others

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 20
Network Communication Models
The Protocol Stack (Cont.)

The protocols in the figure are described as follows:

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – This protocol governs the way a

web server and a web client interact.
HTTP defines the content and formatting of the requests and responses
that are exchanged between the client and server.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) – This protocol manages the
individual conversations. TCP is responsible for guaranteeing the
reliable delivery of the information and managing flow control between
the end devices.
Internet Protocol (IP) – This protocol is responsible for delivering
messages from the sender to the receiver. IP is used by routers to
forward the messages across multiple networks.
Ethernet – This protocol is responsible for the delivery of messages
from one NIC to another NIC on the same Ethernet local area network
(LAN).

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 21
Network Communication Models
The TCP/IP Model

A layered model depicts the operation of the protocols occurring within each layer, as well as the interaction with
the layers above and below it.
The layered model has many benefits:
• Assists in protocol design, because protocols that operate at a specific layer have defined information that
they act upon and a defined interface to the layers above and below.
• Fosters competition because products from different vendors can work together.
• Enables technology changes to occur at one level without affecting the other levels.
• Provides a common language to describe networking functions and capabilities.
TCP/IP Model Layer Description

Application Represents data to the user, plus encoding and dialog control.

Transport Supports communication between various devices across diverse networks.

Internet Determines the best path through the network.

Network Access Controls the hardware devices and media that make up the network.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 22
Network Communication Models
The OSI Reference Model

OSI Model Layer Description

7 - Application The application layer contains protocols used for process-to-process

communications.
6 - Presentation The presentation layer provides for common representation of the data transferred
between application layer services.
5 - Session The session layer provides services to the presentation layer to organize its dialogue
and to manage data exchange.
4 - Transport The transport layer defines services to segment, transfer, and reassemble the data
for individual communications between the end devices.
3 - Network The network layer provides services to exchange the individual pieces of data over
the network between identified end devices.
2 - Data Link The data link layer protocols describe methods for exchanging data frames between
devices over a common media
1 - Physical The physical layer protocols describe the mechanical, electrical, functional, and
procedural means to activate, maintain, and de-activate physical connections for a
bit transmission to and from a network device.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 23
Network Communication Models
Upper and Lower Layers of the OSI Model
Common Network Components Associated with this
Group Layer Number Layer Name
Layer

7 Application •Network aware applications

•Email
Upper Layers 6 Presentation •Web browsers and servers
•File transfer
5 Session •Name resolution
•Video and voice streaming mechanisms
4 Transport
•Firewall filtering lists
•IP addressing
3 Network
•Routing

Lower Layers •Network interface cards and drivers

2 Data Link •Network switching
•WAN connectivity
•Physical medium (copper twisted pair, fiber-optic
1 Physical cables, wireless transmitters)
•Hubs and repeaters

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 24
Network Communication Models
OSI Model and TCP/IP Model Comparison

The protocols that make up the TCP/IP

protocol suite can be described in terms of
the OSI reference model:

• The functions that occur at the internet

layer in the TCP/IP model are contained in
the network layer of the OSI Model.

• The transport layer functionality is the

same between both models.

• The network access layer and the

application layer of the TCP/IP model are
further divided in the OSI model to
describe discrete functions that must
occur at these layers.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 25
2.6 Ethernet

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 26
Ethernet
The Rise of Ethernet

In the early days of networking, each vendor used its own proprietary methods of interconnecting
network devices and networking protocols.

As networks became more widespread, standards were developed that defined rules by which network
equipment from different vendors operated.

Standards are beneficial to networking in many ways:

• Facilitate design
• Simplify product development
• Promote competition
• Provide consistent interconnections
• Facilitate training
• Provide more vendor choices for customers

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 27
Ethernet
The Rise of Ethernet (Cont.)

There is no official local area networking standard protocol, but over time, Ethernet has become the
most common.
Ethernet protocols define how data is formatted and how it is transmitted over the wired network.
The Ethernet standards specify protocols that operate at Layer 1 and Layer 2 of the OSI model.

Ethernet has become a de facto standard, which means that it is the technology used by almost all wired
local area networks, as shown in the figure.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 28
Ethernet
Ethernet Evolution

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, or IEEE, maintains the networking standards, including
Ethernet and wireless standards.

Each technology standard is assigned a number that refers to the committee that is responsible for
approving and maintaining the standard.

The committee responsible for the Ethernet standards is 802.3.

Each version of Ethernet has an associated standard. For example, 802.3 100BASE-T.
This standard notation translates as:
• 100 is the speed in Mbps
• BASE stands for baseband transmission
• T stands for the type of cable, in this case, twisted-pair cable standards.

Early versions of Ethernet were relatively slow at 10 Mbps. The latest versions of Ethernet operate at 10
Gigabits per second and more.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 29
Ethernet
The Ethernet MAC Address

All communication requires a way to identify the source and destination.

The source and destination in human communication are represented by names.

When your name is called, you listen to the message and respond. Other people in the room may hear the
message, but they ignore it because it is not addressed to them.

On Ethernet networks, a similar method exists for identifying source and destination hosts. Each host connected to
an Ethernet network is assigned a physical address which serves to identify the host on the network.

Every Ethernet network interface has a physical address assigned to it when it is manufactured. This address is
known as the Media Access Control (MAC) address.

The MAC address identifies each source and destination host on the network.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 30
Ethernet
Lab - Determine the MAC Address of a Host

In this lab, you will complete the following objectives:

• Determine the MAC address of a Windows computer on an Ethernet network using the ipconfig /all
command.

• Analyze a MAC address to determine the manufacturer.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 31
Communication Principles Summary
New Terms and Commands

• Message format • Standards Organizations

• Message size • TCP/IP Model
• Timing • OSI Reference Model
• Encoding • HTTP
• Encapsulation • TCP
• Message pattern • Ethernet
• Standards • MAC address

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 32
Network Design and the
Access Layer
2.7 Encapsulation and the
Ethernet Frame

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 34
Encapsulation and the Ethernet Frame
Encapsulation

Each message is encapsulated into a specific format,

called a frame, that includes the source and
destination addresses.

• An example is how a letter is put (encapsulated)

inside an envelope.

For communication on an IP network, the format is

very specific and includes a source and destination
address.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 35
Encapsulation and the Ethernet Frame
Ethernet Frame

On an Ethernet network, messages are put into a frame or Layer 2 protocol data units (PDUs).

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 36
2.8 Hierarchical Network
Design

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 37
Hierarchical Network Design
Physical and Logical Addresses

Both a physical address and a logical IP address are needed for a device to communicate on an Ethernet
network.
• A physical address (MAC address) does not change.
• Burned into the NIC
• A logical address (IP address) can change and is commonly assigned by a network administrator.
• Two parts: network and host

Logical
addressing

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 38
Hierarchical Network Design
Lab - View Wireless and Wired NIC Information

In this lab, you will complete the following objectives:

• Identify and work with PC NICs.

• Identify and use the System Tray network icons.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 39
Hierarchical Network Design
Benefits of a Hierarchical Design

A hierarchical, layered design provides:

• Increased efficiency
• Optimization of function
• Increased speed
• A way in which to scale the network without impacting
the performance of existing ones

Three layers:
• Access Layer - This layer provides connections to hosts in a
local Ethernet network.
• Distribution Layer - This layer interconnects the smaller local
networks.
• Core Layer - This layer provides a high-speed connection
between distribution layer devices.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 40
Hierarchical Network Design
Access, Distribution, and Core

Cisco Catalyst 9600

Cisco C9300 Series

Distribution Layer Switches

Cisco ME 2600X Access Layer Switch

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 41
2.9 The Access Layer

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 42
The Access Layer
Access Layer Devices

• Access layer devices provide access

so hosts can join a wired (or
wireless) network.

• In a wired network, each host

connects to an access layer network
device such as a switch.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 43
The Access Layer
Ethernet Hubs

• Only one message can be sent through an

Ethernet hub at a time.

• Hubs take signals from one port and sends

the message out all of the other ports.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 44
The Access Layer
Ethernet Switches

An Ethernet switch is an access layer

device.
• A switch builds a MAC address table.
• A switch uses the MAC address table
to send the message to a specific
port.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 45
The Access Layer
The MAC Address Table

• A switch builds a MAC address table

by examining a frame as it comes into
the switch.
• A switch adds the source MAC
address of the device connected to the
port through which the frame came in
on.
• A switch forwards a frame out to a
specific port when the destination
MAC address is in the MAC address
table.
• A switch forwards a frame out to all
hosts (except the sending host) when
the destination MAC address is not in
the MAC address table.
© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 46
2.10 Broadcast Containment

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 47
Broadcast Containment
Ethernet Broadcasts in the Local Network

• A broadcast message is used to contact every

other device on the local network.

• An Ethernet broadcast is all 1s in the

destination MAC address – FFFF.FFFF.FFFF.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 48
Broadcast Containment
Broadcast Domains

• A broadcast domain is the area

through which a broadcast message
can travel.

• Each local Ethernet network is a

broadcast domain.

• Routers are used to divide the

network into multiple broadcast
domains.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 49
Broadcast Containment
Access Layer Communication

• In order to send information from a device that is on an Ethernet network, the device must supply
its own source MAC address, a destination MAC address, its own source IP address, as well as a
destination IP address.
• The address resolution protocol (ARP) is used to discover the MAC address of a device on the
same local network.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 50
Broadcast Containment
ARP
ARP uses 3 steps to discover and store the MAC address of a host on the local network when only the
IPv4 address of that host is known.
1. The sending host creates and sends a frame addressed to a broadcast MAC address. Contained
in the frame is a message with the IPv4 address of the intended destination host.
2. Each host on the network receives the broadcast frame and compares the IPv4 address contained
in the message with its own IPv4 address. The host with the matching IPv4 address sends its own
MAC address back to the original sending host.
3. The sending host receives the message and stores the MAC address and the IPv4 address in an
ARP table.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 51
Broadcast Containment
Lab - View Captured Traffic in Wireshark

In this lab, you will complete the following objectives:

• Download and install Wireshark.

• Capture and analyze ARP data in Wireshark.
• View the ARP cache entries on the PC.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 52
2.11 Network Design and
Access Layer Summary

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 53
Network Design and Access Layer Summary
What Did I Learn in this Module?

• Encapsulation is the process of placing one message format inside another message format.
• A part of the encapsulation process on an Ethernet network is to create a frame that includes the
source and destination MAC address.
• Networks have a hierarchical design of IP addressing that includes a network portion and a host
portion.
• Networks can be designed using a hierarchical design model with three layers: access, distribution
and core.
• An access layer device provides connections so hosts can get onto a network.
• The distribution layer connects networks.
• The core layer provides a high speed connection between distribution layer devices.
• Hubs takes signals from one port and sends the same message out all other ports. All connected
devices share the bandwidth.
• Switches build a MAC address table by examining and saving the source MAC address from a
received frame.
© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 54
Network Design and Access Layer Summary
What Did I Learn in this Module? (Cont.)

• Switches build transmit messages based on the destination MAC address and comparing it to the
addresses found in the MAC address table.
• If a destination MAC address is not in the MAC address table, flooding is used to forward the
message out all ports except the port that has the sending host attached.
• ARP is used to send a broadcast message of all ones (FFFF.FFFF.FFFF) to discover the MAC
address of a particular host.
• Routers divide the network into multiple broadcast domains.
• A broadcast can only be received on a local network.

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 55
Network Design and Access Summary
New Terms and Commands
• encapsulation • access layer
• frame • distribution layer
• Ethernet frame • core layer
• physical address • Ethernet hub
• MAC address • Ethernet switch
• logical address • MAC address table
• IP address • broadcast
• hierarchical design • broadcast domain
• hierarchical design model • ARP
• broadcast containment

© 2020 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential