Module-1 Introduction & Network Models

1.1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Between individuals, local communication usually occurs face to face, while remote
communication takes place over distance. The term telecommunication, which includes
telephony, telegraphy, and television, means communication at a distance (tele is Greek for “far”).
The word data refers to information presented in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties
creating and using the data.

Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable. For data communications to occur, the communicating
devices must be part of a communication system made up of a combination of hardware (physical
equipment) and software (programs). The effectiveness of a data communications system depends
on four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy,timeliness, and jitter.

1. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by the
intended device or user and only by that device or user.
2. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the
same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission.
4. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every
30 ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30-ms delay and others with 40-ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.

1.1.1 Components

A data communications system has five components (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication

1. Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
2. Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3. Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4. Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,
coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
5. Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected
but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by a person who
speaks only Japanese.

1.1.2 Data Representation

Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.
Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (0s or 1s). Different
sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a code, and the
process of representing symbols is called coding. Today, the prevalent coding system is called
Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any language in the world.
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), developed some decades
ago in the United States, now constitutes the first 127 characters in Unicode and is also referred to
as Basic Latin.

Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used to
represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify mathematical
operations.

Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix
of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the pixel depends on the
resolution. For example, an image can be divided into 1000 pixels or 10,000 pixels. In the second
case, there is a better representation of the image (better resolution), but more memory isneeded
to store the image.
After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size and the value of
the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of only blackand- white dots (e.g., a
chessboard), a 1-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel. If an image is not made of pure white
and pure black pixels, we can increase the size of the bit pattern to include gray scale. For example,
to show four levels of gray scale, we can use 2-bit patterns. A black pixel can be represented by
00, a dark gray pixel by 01, a light gray pixel by 10, and a white pixel by 11.
There are several methods to represent color images. One method is called RGB, so called because
each color is made of a combination of three primary colors: red, green, and blue. The intensity
of each color is measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it. Another method is called YCM, in
which a color is made of a combination of three other primary colors: yellow, cyan, andmagenta.
Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature different from
text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even when we use a microphone to change
voice or music to an electric signal, we create a continuous signal.
Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be produced
as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a discrete
entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion.

1.1.3 Data Flow

Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex as shown in
Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 Dataflow(Simplex,half-duplex and full duplex)

Simplex
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the
two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive (see Figure 1.2a). Keyboards and
traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce input; the
monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to
send data in one direction.

Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. When
one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa (see Figure 1.2b). The half- duplex
mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars are traveling in one
direction, cars going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of
a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time. Walkie-talkies
and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplexmode is used in cases
where there is no need for communication in both directions at the same time; the entire capacity
of the channel can be utilized for each direction.

Full-Duplex
In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously
(see Figure 1.2c).
The full-duplex mode is like a two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same
time. In full-duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link with signals
going in the other direction. This sharing can occur in two ways: Either the link must contain two
physically separate transmission paths, one for sending and the other for receiving;or the capacity
of the channel is divided between signals traveling in both directions. One common example of
full-duplex communication is the telephone network.
When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.
The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time. The
capacity of the channel, however, must be divided between the two directions.

1.2 NETWORKS
A network is the interconnection of a set of devices capable of communication. In this definition,
a device can be a host (or an end system as it is sometimes called) such as a large computer,
desktop, laptop, workstation, cellular phone, or security system. A device in this definition can
also be a connecting device such as a router, which connects the network to other networks, a
switch, which connects devices together, a modem (modulator-demodulator), which changes the
form of data, and so on. These devices in a network are connected using wired or wireless
transmission media such as cable or air. When we connect two computers at home using a plug-
and-play router, we have created a network, although very small.

1.2.1 Network Criteria

A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these are
performance, reliability, and security.

Performance
Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and response time. Transit
time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another. Response
time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response. The performance of a network depends
on a number of factors, including the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the
capabilities of the connected hardware, and the efficiency of the software.Performance is often
evaluated by two networking metrics: throughput and delay. We often need more throughput and
less delay. However, these two criteria are often contradictory. If we try to send more data to the
network, we may increase throughput but we increase the delay because of traffic congestion in
the network.
Reliability
In addition to accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure,
the time it takes a link to recover from a failure, and the network’s robustness in a catastrophe.
Security
Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access, protecting data from
damage and development, and implementing policies and procedures for recovery from breaches
 and data losses.

1.2.2 Physical Structures

Type of Connection
A network is two or more devices connected through links. A link is a communications pathway
that transfers data from one device to another. For visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine
any link as a line drawn between two points. For communication to occur, two devices must be
connected in some way to the same link at the same time.
There are two possible types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint.
Point-to-Point
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire capacity
of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices. Most point-to-point connections
use an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends, but other options, suchas microwave
or satellite links, are also possible (see Figure 1.3a). When we change television channels by
infrared remote control, we are establishing a point-to-point connection between the remote control
and the television’s control system.
Multipoint
A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more than two specific
devices share a single link (see Figure 1.3b).
In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the channel is shared, either spatially or temporally.
If several devices can use the link simultaneously, it is a spatially shared connection. If users must
take turns, it is a timeshared connection.

Figure 1.3 Types of connection :Point to point and multipoint

Physical Topology
The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically.Two or
more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology. The topology of a network is
the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually
called nodes) to one another. There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring.
Mesh Topology
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The
term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. To find
the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes, we first consider
that each node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must be connected to n – 1 nodes,
node 2 must be connected to n – 1 nodes, and finally node n must be connected to n – 1 nodes. We
need n (n – 1) physical links. However, if each physical link allows communication in both
directions (duplex mode), we can divide the number of links by 2. In other words, we can say that
in a mesh topology, we need n (n – 1) / 2 duplex-mode links. To accommodate that many links,
every device on the network must have n – 1 input/output (I/O) ports (see Figure1.4) to be
connected to the other n – 1 stations.
A mesh offers several advantages over other network topologies.

1. First, the use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load, thus
eliminating the traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by multiple devices.
2. Second, a mesh topology is robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the
entire system.
3. Third, there is the advantage of privacy or security. When every message travels along a
dedicated line, only the intended recipient sees it. Physical boundaries prevent other users from
gaining access to messages.
4. Finally, point-to-point links make fault identification and fault isolation easy. Traffic can be
routed to avoid links with suspected problems. This facility enables the network manager to
discover the precise location of the fault and aids in finding its cause and solution.

Figure 1.4 A fully connected mesh topology(five devices)

The main disadvantages of a mesh are related to the amount of cabling and the number of I/O ports
required.
1. First, because every device must be connected to every other device, installation and
reconnection are difficult.
2. Second, the sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (in walls, ceilings,
or floors) can accommodate.
3. Finally, the hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively
expensive. For these reasons a mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion, for
example, as a backbone connecting the main computers of a hybrid network that can include
several other topologies. One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone
regional offices in which each regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office.

Star Topology
In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller,
usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to one another. Unlike a mesh topology,
a star topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. The controller acts as an exchange:

If one device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which then relays
the data to the other connected device (see Figure 1.5) .

Figure 1.5 A star topology connecting four stations

1.A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only one
link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of others. This factor also makes it easy to install
and reconfigure. Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions involve
only one connection: between that device and the hub.
2.Other advantages include robustness. If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other links
remain active. This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification and fault isolation. As long
as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link problems and bypass defective links.
One big disadvantage of a star topology is the dependency of the whole topology on one single
point, the hub. If the hub goes down, the whole system is dead. Although a star requires far less
cable than a mesh, each node must be linked to a central hub. For this reason, often more cabling
is required in a star than in some other topologies (such as ring or bus). High-speed LANs often
use a star topology with a central hub.

Bus Topology
The preceding examples all describe point-to-point connections. A bus topology, on the other
hand, is multipoint. One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a network (see
Figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6 A bus topology connecting three stations

 Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps. A drop line is a connection running
between the device and the main cable. A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable
or punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact with the metallic core. As a signal travels
along the backbone, some of its energy is transformed
into heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and farther. For this reason
there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can support and on the distance between those taps.
Advantages of a bus topology include ease of installation. Backbone cable can be laid along the
most efficient path, then connected to the nodes by drop lines of various lengths. In this way, a bus
uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies. In a star, for example, four network devices in the
same room require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to the hub. In a bus, this redundancy
is eliminated. Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each drop line has to
reach only as far as the nearest point on the backbone.
Disadvantages include difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A bus is usually designed to be
optimally efficient at installation. It can therefore be difficult to add new devices. Signal reflection
at the taps can cause degradation in quality. This degradation can be controlled by limiting the
number and spacing of devices connected to a given length of cable. Adding new devices may
therefore require modification or replacement of the backbone. In addition, a fault or break in the
bus cable stops all transmission, even between devices on the same side of the problem. The
damaged area reflects signals back in the direction of origin, creating noise in both directions.
Bus topology was the one of the first topologies used in the design of early localarea networks.

Ring Topology
In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only the two
devices on either side of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to device,
until it reaches its destination. Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. When a device
receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater
regenerates the bits and passes them along (see Figure 1.7).

Figure 1.7 A ring topology connecting six stations

A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is linked to only its immediate
neighbors (either physically or logically). To add or delete a device requires changing only two
connections. The only constraints are media and traffic considerations (maximum ring length and
number of devices). In addition, fault isolation is simplified.Generally, in a ring a signal is
circulating at all times. If one device does not receive a signal within a specified period, it can
issue an alarm. The alarm alerts the network operator to the problem and its location.
However, unidirectional traffic can be a disadvantage. In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such
as a disabled station) can disable the entire network. This weakness can be solved by using a dual
ring or a switch capable of closing off the break. Ring topology was prevalent when IBM
introduced its local-area network, Token
Ring. Today, the need for higher-speed LANs has made this topology less popular.

1.3 NETWORK TYPES

After defining networks in the previous section and discussing their physical structures, we need
to discuss different types of networks we encounter in the world today. The criteria of
distinguishing one type of network from another is difficult and sometimes confusing. We use a
few criteria such as size, geographical coverage, and ownership to make this distinction. After
discussing two types of networks, LANs and WANs, we define switching, which is used to connect
networks to form an internetwork (a network of networks).

1.3.1 Local Area Network

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and connects some hosts in a single
office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of an organization, a LAN can be as simple
as two PCs and a printer in someone’s home office, or it can extend throughout a company and
include audio and video devices. Each host in a LAN has an
identifier, an address, that uniquely defines the host in the LAN. A packet sent by a host to another
host carries both the source host’s and the destination host’s addresses. In the past, all hosts in a
network were connected through a common cable, which meant that a packet sent fromone host to
another was received by all hosts. The intended recipient kept the packet; the others dropped the
packet. Today, most LANs use a smart connecting switch, which is able to recognizethe destination
address of the packet and guide the packet to its destination without sending it to all other hosts.
The switch alleviates the traffic in the LAN and allows more than one pair to communicate with
each other at the same time if there is no common source and destination among them. Note that
the above definition of a LAN does not define the minimum or maximum number of hosts in a
LAN. Figure 1.8 shows a LAN using either a common cable or a switch.
When LANs were used in isolation (which is rare today), they were designed to allow resources
to be shared between the hosts. As we will see shortly, LANs today are connected to each other
and to WANs (discussed next) to create communication at a wider level.
1.3.2 Wide Area Network
A wide area network (WAN) is also an interconnection of devices capable of communication.
However, there are some differences between a LAN and a WAN. A LAN is normally limited in
size, spanning an office, a building, or a campus; a WAN has a wider geographical span, spanning
a town, a state, a country, or even the world. A LAN interconnects hosts;a WAN interconnects
connecting devices such as switches, routers, or modems. A LAN is normally privately owned by
the organization that uses it; a WAN is normally created and run by communication companies
and leased by an organization that uses it. We see two distinct examples of WANs today: point-
to-point WANs and switched WANs.
Point-to-Point WAN
A point-to-point WAN is a network that connects two communicating devices through a
transmission media (cable or air). We will see examples of these WANs when we discuss how to
connect the networks to one another. Figure 1.9 shows an example of a point-to-point WAN.
Switched WAN
A switched WAN is a network with more than two ends. A switched WAN, as we will see shortly,
is used in the backbone of global communication today. We can say that a switched WAN is a
combination of several point-to-point WANs that are connected by switches. Figure
1.10 shows an example of a switched WAN.

Internetwork
Today, it is very rare to see a LAN or a WAN in isolation; they are connected to one another.
When two or more networks are connected, they make an internetwork, or internet. As an
example, assume that an organization has two offices, one on the east coast and the other on the
west coast. Each office has a LAN that allows all employees in the office to communicate with
each other. To make the communication between employees at different offices possible, the
management leases a point-to-point dedicated WAN from a service provider, such as a telephone
company, and connects the two LANs. Now the company has an internetwork, or a private internet
(with lowercase i). Communication between offices is now possible. Figure 1.11 shows this
internet.
When a host in the west coast office sends a message to another host in the same office, the
router blocks the message, but the switch directs the message to the destination. On the other hand,
when a host on the west coast sends a message to a host on the east coast, router R1 routes the
packet to router R2, and the packet reaches the destination. Figure 1.12 shows another internet
with several LANs and WANs connected. One of the WANs is a switched WAN with four
switches.
1.3.3 Switching
An internet is a switched network in which a switch connects at least two links together. A switch
needs to forward data from a network to another network when required. The two most common
types of switched networks are circuit-switched and packet-switched networks.
Circuit-Switched Network
In a circuit-switched network, a dedicated connection, called a circuit, is always available
between the two end systems; the switch can only make it active or inactive.
Figure 1.13 shows a very simple switched network that connects four telephones to each end. We
have used telephone sets instead of computers as an end system because circuit switching was very
common in telephone networks in the past, although part of the telephone network today isa
packet-switched network.
In Figure 1.13, the four telephones at each side are connected to a switch. The switch connects a
telephone set at one side to a telephone set at the other side. The thick line connecting two switches
is a high-capacity communication line that can handle four voice communications at thesame time;
the capacity can be shared between all pairs of telephone sets. The switches used in this example
have forwarding tasks but no storing capability.
Let us look at two cases. In the first case, all telephone sets are busy; four people at one site are
talking with four people at the other site; the capacity of the thick line is fully used. In the second
case, only one telephone set at one side is connected to a telephone set at the other side; only one-
fourth of the capacity of the thick line is used. This means that a circuit-switched network is
efficient only when it is working at its full capacity; most of the time, it is inefficient because it is
working at partial capacity. The reason that we need to make the capacity of the thick line four
times the capacity of each voice line is that we do not want communication to fail when all
telephone sets at one side want to be connected with all telephone sets at the other side.

Packet-Switched Network
In a computer network, the communication between the two ends is done in blocks of data called
packets. In other words, instead of the continuous communication we see between two telephone
sets when they are being used, we see the exchange of individual data packets between the two
computers. This allows us to make the switches function for both storing and forwarding because
a packet is an independent entity that can be stored and sent later. Figure 1.14 shows a small packet-
switched network that connects four computers at one site to four computers at the other site. A
router in a packet-switched network has a queue that can store and forward the packet. Now assume
that the capacity of the thick line is only twice the capacity of the data line connecting the
computers to the routers. If only two computers (one at each site) need to communicate with each
other, there is no waiting for the packets.
However, if packets arrive at one router when the thick line is already working at its full capacity,
the packets should be stored and forwarded in the order they arrived. The two simple examples
show that a packet-switched network is more efficient than a circuit switched network, but the
packets may encounter some delays.

1.3.4 The Internet

As we discussed before, an internet (note the lowercase i) is two or more networks tha can
communicate with each other. The most notable internet is called the Internet (uppercase I ),
and is composed of thousands of interconnected networks. Figure 1.15 shows a conceptual (not
geographical) view of the Internet. The figure shows the Internet as several backbones, provider
networks, and customer networks. At the top level, the backbones are large networks owned by
some communication companies such as Sprint, Verizon (MCI), AT&T, and NTT. The backbone
networks are connected through some complex switching systems, called peering points. At the
second level, there are smaller networks, called provider networks, that use the services of the
backbones for a fee. The provider networks are connected to backbones and sometimes to other
provider networks. The customer networks are networks at the edge of the Internet that actually
use the services provided by the Internet.
They pay fees to provider networks for receiving services. Backbones and provider networks are
also called Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The backbones are often referred to as
international ISPs; the provider networks are often referred to as national or regional ISPs.
1.3.5 Accessing the Internet
The Internet today is an internetwork that allows any user to become part of it. The user, however,
needs to be physically connected to an ISP. The physical connection is normally done through a
point-to-point WAN.
Using Telephone Networks
Today most residences and small businesses have telephone service, which means they are
connected to a telephone network. Since most telephone networks have already connected
themselves to the Internet, one option for residences and small businesses to connect to the Internet
is to change the voice line between the residence or business and the telephone center to a point-
to-point WAN. This can be done in two ways.
❑ Dial-up service. The first solution is to add to the telephone line a modem that converts data to
voice. The software installed on the computer dials the ISP and imitates making a telephone
connection. Unfortunately, the dial-up service is very slow, and when the line is used for Internet
connection, it cannot be used for telephone (voice) connection. It is only useful for small
residences.
❑ DSL Service. Since the advent of the Internet, some telephone companies have upgraded their
telephone lines to provide higher speed Internet services to residences or small businesses. The
DSL service also allows the line to be used simultaneously for voice and data communication..
Using Cable Networks
More and more residents over the last two decades have begun using cable TV services instead of
antennas to receive TV broadcasting. The cable companies have been upgrading their cable
networks and connecting to the Internet. A residence or a small business can be connected to the
Internet by using this service. It provides a higher
speed connection, but the speed varies depending on the number of neighbors that use the same
cable.
Using Wireless Networks
Wireless connectivity has recently become increasingly popular. A household or a small business
can use a combination of wireless and wired connections to access the Internet. With the growing
wireless WAN access, a household or a small business can be connected to the Internet through a
wireless WAN.
Direct Connection to the Internet
A large organization or a large corporation can itself become a local ISP and be connected to the
Internet. This can be done if the organization or the corporation leases a high-speed WAN from a
carrier provider and connects itself to a regional ISP. For example, a large university with several
campuses can create an internetwork and then
connect the internetwork to the Internet.
2.1 PROTOCOL LAYERING
In data communication and networking, a protocol defines the rules that both the sender and
receiver and all intermediate devices need to follow to be able to communicate effectively. When
communication is simple, we may need only one simple protocol; when the communication is
complex, we may need to divide the task between different layers, in which case we need a protocol
at each layer, or protocol layering.

One of the advantages of protocol layering is that it allows us to separate the services from the
implementation. A layer needs to be able to receive a set of services from the lower layer and to
give the services to the upper layer; we don’t care about how the layer is implemented Another
advantage of protocol layering, which cannot be seen in our simple examples but reveals itself
when we discuss protocol layering in the Internet, is that communication
does not always use only two end systems; there are intermediate systems that need only some
layers, but not all layers. If we did not use protocol layering, we would have to make each
intermediate system as complex as the end systems, which makes the whole system more
expensive.

2.1.2 Principles of Protocol Layering

Let us discuss two principles of protocol layering.
First Principle
The first principle dictates that if we want bidirectional communication, we need to make each
layer so that it is able to perform two opposite tasks, one in each direction. For example, the third
layer task is to listen (in one direction) and talk (in the other direction). The second layer needs to
be able to encrypt and decrypt. The first layer needs to send and receive mail.
Second Principle
The second principle that we need to follow in protocol layering is that the two objects under each
layer at both sites should be identical. For example, the object under layer 3 at both sites should
be a plaintext letter. The object under layer 2 at both sites should be a ciphertext letter. The object
under layer 1 at both sites should be a piece of mail.

Logical Connections
After following the above two principles, we can think about logical connection between each
layer as shown in Figure 2.3. This means that we have layer-to-layer communication. Maria and
Ann can think that there is a logical (imaginary) connection at each layer through which they can
send the object created from that layer.
TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
Now that we know about the concept of protocol layering and the logical communicationbetween
layers in our second scenario, we can introduce the TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol). TCP/IP is a protocol suite (a set of protocols organized in different
layers) used in the Internet today. It is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, each
of which provides a specific functionality. The term hierarchical means that each upper level
protocol is supported by the services provided by one or more lower level protocols. The original
TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as four software layers built upon the hardware. Today,
however, TCP/IP is thought of as a five-layer model. Figure 2.4 shows both configurations.

Figure 2.4 Layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite

2.1.1 Layered Architecture
To show how the layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite are involved in communication between two
hosts, we assume that we want to use the suite in a small internet made up of three LANs (links),
each with a link-layer switch. We also assume that the links are connected by one router, as shown
in Figure 2.5.source host (computer A), the link-layer switch in link 1, the router, the link-layer
switch in link 2, and the destination host (computer B). Each device is involved with a set of layers
depending on the role of the device in the internet. The two hosts are involved in all five layers;
the source host needs to create a message in the application layer and send it down the layers so
that it is physically sent to the destination host. The destination host needs to receive the
communication at the physical layer and then deliver it through the other layers to theapplication
layer.

The router is involved in only three layers; there is no transport or application layer in a router as
long as the router is used only for routing. Although a router is always involved in one network
layer, it is involved in n combinations of link and physical layers in which n is the number of links
the router is connected to. The reason is that each link may use its own data-link or physical
protocol. For example, in the above figure, the router is involved in three links, but the message
sent from source A to destination B is involved in two links. Each link may be using different link-
layer and physical-layer protocols; the router needs to receive a packet from link 1 based on one
pair of protocols and deliver it to link 2 based on another pair of protocols. A link-layer switch in
a link, however, is involved only in two layers, data-link and physical. Although each switch in
the above figure has two different connections, the connections are in the same link, which uses
only one set of protocols. This means that, unlike a router, a link-layer switch is involved only in
one data-link and one physical layer.

Layers in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite

After the above introduction, we briefly discuss the functions and duties of layers in the TCP/IP
protocol suite To better understand the duties of each layer, we need to think about the logical
connections between layers. Figure 2.6 shows logical connections in our simple internet. Figure
2.7 shows the second principle discussed previously for protocol layering. We show the identical
objects below each layer related to each device.
Description of Each Layer
Physical Layer
The physical layer is responsible for carrying individual bits in a frame across the link. Although
the physical layer is the lowest level in the TCP/IP protocol suite, the communication between two
devices at the physical layer is still a logical communication because there is another, hiddenlayer,
the transmission media, under the physical layer. Two devices are connected by a transmission
medium (cable or air). We need to know that the transmission medium does not carry bits; it carries
electrical or optical signals. So the bits received in a frame from the data-linklayer are transformed
and sent through the transmission media, but we can think that the logical unit between two
physical layers in two devices is a bit.
Data-link Layer
An internet is made up of several links (LANs and WANs) connected by routers. There may be
several overlapping sets of links that a datagram can travel from the host to the destination. The
routers are responsible for choosing the best links. However, when the next link to travel is
determined by the router, the data-link layer is responsible for taking the datagram and moving it
across the link. The link can be a wired LAN with a link-layer switch, a wireless LAN, a wired
WAN, or a wireless WAN. We can also have different protocols used with any link type. In each
case, the data-link layer is responsible for moving the packet through the link. TCP/IP does not
define any specific protocol for the data-link layer. It supports all the standard and proprietary
protocols. Any protocol that can take the datagram and carry it through the link suffices for the
network layer. The data-link layer takes a datagram and encapsulates it in a packet called a frame.
Each link-layer protocol may provide a different service. Some link-layer protocols provide
complete error detection and correction, some provide only error correction.

Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for creating a connection between the source computer and the
destination computer. The communication at the network layer is host-to-host. However, since
there can be several routers from the source to the destination, the routers in the path are
responsible for choosing the best route for each packet. We can say that the network layer is
responsible for host-to-host communication and routing the packet through possible routes. Again,
we may ask ourselves why we need the network layer. We could have added the routing duty to
the transport layer and dropped this layer. One reason, as we said before, is the separation of
different tasks between different layers. The second reason is that the routers do not need the
application and transport layers. Separating the tasks allows us to use fewer protocols on the
routers.
The network layer in the Internet includes the main protocol, Internet Protocol (IP), that defines
the format of the packet, called a datagram at the network layer. IP also defines the format and the
structure of addresses used in this layer. IP is also responsible for routing a packet from its source
to its destination, which is achieved by each router forwarding the datagram to the next router in
its path. IP is a connectionless protocol that provides no flow control, no error control, and no
congestion control services. This means that if any of these services is required for an application,
the application should rely only on the transport-layer protocol. The network layer also includes
unicast (one-to-one) and multicast (one-to-many) routing protocols. A routing protocol does not
take part in routing (it is the responsibility of IP), but it creates forwarding tables for routers to
help them in the routing process. The network layer also has some auxiliary protocols that help IP
in its delivery and routing tasks. The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) helps IP to report
some problems when routing a packet. The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is
another protocol that helps IP in multitasking. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
helps IP to get the network-layer address for a host. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a
protocol that helps IP to find the link-layer address of a host or a router when its network-layer
address is given.

Transport Layer
The logical connection at the transport layer is also end-to-end. The transport layer at the source
host gets the message from the application layer, encapsulates it in a transport layer packet (called
a segment or a user datagram in different protocols) and sends it, through the logical
(imaginary) connection, to the transport layer at the destination host. In other words, the transport
layer is responsible for giving services to the application
layer: to get a message from an application program running on the source host and deliver it to
the corresponding application program on the destination host.

The main protocol, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), is a connection-oriented protocol that
first establishes a logical connection between transport layers at two hosts before transferring data.
It creates a logical pipe between two TCPs for transferring a stream of bytes. TCP provides flow
control (matching the sending data rate of the source host with the receiving data rate of the
destination host to prevent overwhelming the destination), error control (to guarantee that the
segments arrive at the destination without error and resending the corrupted ones), and congestion
control to reduce the loss of segments due to congestion in the network. The other common
protocol, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), is a connectionless protocol that transmits user
datagrams without first creating a logical connection. In UDP, each user datagram is an
independent entity without being related to the previous or the next one (the meaning of the term
connectionless). UDP is a simple protocol that does not provide flow, error, or congestion control.
Its simplicity, which means small overhead, is attractive to an application program that needs to
send short messages and cannot afford the retransmission of the packets involved in TCP, when a
packet is corrupted or lost. A new protocol, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is
designed to respond to new applications that are emerging in the multimedia

Application Layer

The two application layers exchange messages between each other as though there were a bridge
between the two layers Communication at the application layer is between two processes (two
programs running at this layer). To communicate, a process sends a request to the other process
and receives a response. Process-to-process communication is the duty of the application layer.
The application layer in the Internet includes many predefined protocols, but a user can also create
a pair of processes to be run at the two hosts.
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a vehicle for accessing the World Wide Web
(WWW). The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the main protocol used in electronic mail
(e-mail) service. The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for transferring files from one host to
another. The Terminal Network (TELNET) and Secure Shell (SSH) are used for accessing a site
remotely. The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used by an administrator to
manage the Internet at global and local levels. The Domain Name System (DNS) is used by other
protocols to find the network-layer address of a computer. The Internet Group Management
Protocol (IGMP) is used to collect membership in a group.

Encapsulation and Decapsulation

One of the important concepts in protocol layering in the Internet is encapsulation/decapsulation.
Figure 2.8 shows this concept for the small internet in Figure 2.5.
Encapsulation at the Source Host
At the source, we have only encapsulation.
1. At the application layer, the data to be exchanged is referred to as a message. A message
normally does not contain any header or trailer, but if it does, we refer to the whole as the message.
The message is passed to the transport layer.
2. The transport layer takes the message as the payload, the load that the transport layer should
take care of. It adds the transport layer header to the payload, which contains the identifiers of the
source and destination application programs that want to communicate plus some more
information that is needed for the end-toend delivery of the message, such as information needed
for flow, error control, or congestion control. The result is the transport-layer packet, which is
called the segment (in TCP) and the user datagram (in UDP). The transport layer then passes the
packet to the network layer.
3. The network layer takes the transport-layer packet as data or payload and adds its own header
to the payload. The header contains the addresses of the source and destination hosts and some
more information used for error checking of the header, fragmentation information, and so on. The
result is the network-layer packet, called a datagram. The network layer then passes the packet to
the data-link layer.
4. The data-link layer takes the network-layer packet as data or payload and adds its own header,
which contains the link-layer addresses of the host or the next hop (the router). The result is the
link-layer packet, which is called a frame. The frame is passed to the physical layer for
transmission.

Decapsulation and Encapsulation at the Router

At the router, we have both decapsulation and encapsulation because the router is connected to
two or more links.
1. After the set of bits are delivered to the data-link layer, this layer decapsulates the datagram
from the frame and passes it to the network layer.
2. The network layer only inspects the source and destination addresses in the datagram header
and consults its forwarding table to find the next hop to which the datagram is to be delivered. The
contents of the datagram should not be changed by the network layer in the router unless there is
a need to fragment the datagram if it is too big to be passed through the next link. The datagram is
then passed to the data-link layer of the next link.
3. The data-link layer of the next link encapsulates the datagram in a frame and passes it to the
physical layer for transmission.
Decapsulation at the Destination Host
At the destination host, each layer only decapsulates the packet received, removes the payload,
and delivers the payload to the next-higher layer protocol until the message reaches the application
layer. It is necessary to say that decapsulation in the host involves error checking.

Addressing

At the application layer, we normally use names to define the site that provides services, such as
someorg.com, or the e-mail address, such as [email protected]. At the transport layer,
addresses are called port numbers, and these define the application-layer programs at the source
and destination. Port numbers are local addresses that distinguish between several programs
running at the same time. At the network-layer, the addresses are global, with the whole Internet
as the scope. A network-layer address uniquely defines the connection of a device to the Internet.
The link-layer addresses, sometimes called MAC addresses, are locally defined addresses, each
of which defines a specific host or router in a network (LAN or WAN). Figure 2.9 shows the
addressing at each layer.
Multiplexing and Demultiplexing
Since the TCP/IP protocol suite uses several protocols at some layers, we can say that we have
multiplexing at the source and demultiplexing at the destination. Multiplexing in this case means
that a protocol at a layer can encapsulate a packet from several next-higher layer protocols (one
at a time); demultiplexing means that a protocol can decapsulate and deliver a packet to several
next-higher layer protocols (one at a time).To be able to multiplex and demultiplex, a protocol
needs to have a field in its header to identify to which protocol the encapsulated packets belong.
At the transport layer, either UDP or TCP can accept a message from several application-layer
protocols. At the network layer, IP can accept a segment from TCP or a user datagram from UDP.
IP can also accept a packet from other protocols such as ICMP, IGMP, and so on. At the data-link
layer, a frame may carry the payload coming from IP or other protocols such as ARP. Figure 2.10
shows the concept of multiplexing and demultiplexing at the three upper layers.

THE OSI MODEL

Although, when speaking of the Internet, everyone talks about the TCP/IP protocol suite, this suite
is not the only suite of protocols defined. Established in 1947, the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) is a multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on
international standards. Almost three-fourths of the countries in the world are represented in the
ISO. An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network communications is the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) model. It was first introduced in the late 1970s. An open system is a set of
protocols that allows any two different systems to communicate regardless of their underlying
architecture.
The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to facilitate communication between different
systems without requiring changes to the logic of the underlying hardware and software. The
OSI model is not a protocol; it is a model for understanding and designing a network architecture
that is flexible, robust, and interoperable. The OSI model was intended to be the basis for the
creation of the protocols in the OSI stack. The OSI model is a layered framework for the design of
network systems that allows communication between all types of computer systems. It
consists of seven separate but related layers, each of which defines a part of the process of moving
information across a network (see Figure 2.11).

When we compare the two models, we find that two layers, session and presentation, are missing
from the TCP/IP protocol suite. These two layers were not added to the TCP/IP protocol suite after
the publication of the OSI model. The application layer in the suite is usually considered to be the
combination of three layers in the OSI model,as shown in Figure 2.12.
Two reasons were mentioned for this decision. First, TCP/IP has more than one transport-layer
protocol. Some of the functionalities of the session layer are available in some of the transport-
layer protocols. Second, the application layer is not only one piece of software. Many applications
can be developed at this layer. If some of the functionalities mentioned in the session and
presentation layers are needed for a particular application, they can be included in the
development of that piece of software.

2.3.2Lack of OSI Model’s Success

The OSI model appeared after the TCP/IP protocol suite. Most experts were at first excited and
thought that the TCP/IP protocol would be fully replaced by the OSI model. This did not happen
for several reasons, but we describe only three, which are agreed upon by all experts in the field.
First, OSI was completed when TCP/IP was fully in place and a lot of time and money had been
spent on the suite; changing it would cost a lot. Second, some layers in the OSI model were never
fully defined. For example, although the services provided by the presentation and the session
layers were listed in the document, actual protocols for these two layers were not fully defined,
nor were they fully described, and the corresponding software was not fully developed. Third,
when OSI was implemented by an organization in a different application, it did not show a high
enough level of performance to entice the Internet authority to switch from the TCP/IP protocol
suite to the OSI model.