Unit 2

Network layer design issues:

The network layer is concerned with getting packets from the source all the way to the
destination. Getting to the destination may require making many hops at intermediate routers
along the way. This function clearly contrasts with that of the data link layer, which has the
more modest goal of just moving frames from one end of a wire to the other. Thus, the network
layer is the lowest layer that deals with end-to-end transmission.
To achieve its goals, the network layer must know about the topology of the network (i.e., the
set of all routers and links) and choose appropriate paths through it, even for large networks. It
must also take care when choosing routes to avoid overloading some of the communication
lines and routers while leaving others idle. Finally, when the source and destination are in
different networks, new problems occur. It is up to the network layer to deal with them.

1. Store and Forward packet Switching

The major components of the network are the ISP’s equipment (routers connected by
transmission lines), shown inside the shaded oval, and the customers’ equipment, shown
outside the oval. Host H1 is directly connected to one of the ISP’s routers, A, perhaps as a home
computer that is plugged into a DSL modem. In contrast, H2 is on a LAN, which might be an
office Ethernet, with a router, F, owned and operated by the customer. This router has a leased
line to the ISP’s equipment. We have shown F as being outside the oval because it does not
belong to the ISP.
A host with a packet to send transmits it to the nearest router, either on its own LAN or over a
point-to-point link to the ISP. The packet is stored there until it has fully arrived and the link
has finished its processing by verifying the checksum. Then it is forwarded to the next router
along the path until it reaches the destination host, where it is delivered. This mechanism is
store-and-forward packet switching.
2. Services Provided to the Transport Layer

The network layer provides services to the transport layer at the network layer/transport layer
interface. An important question is precisely what kind of services the network layer provides
to the transport layer. The services need to be carefully designed with the following goals in
mind:
1. The services should be independent of the router technology.
2. The transport layer should be shielded from the number, type, and topology of the routers
present.
3. The network addresses made available to the transport layer should use a uniform numbering
plan, even across LANs and WANs.
1) One camp (represented by the Internet community) argues:
the routers’ job is moving packets around and nothing else. Therefore, the hosts should
accept this fact and do error control (i.e., error detection and correction) and flow control
themselves. The network service should be connectionless, with primitives SEND
PACKET and RECEIVE PACKET and little else. In particular, no packet ordering and
flow control should be done, because the hosts are going to do that anyway. each packet
must carry the full destination address, because each packet sent is carried independently
of its predecessors, if any.
2) The other camp (represented by the telephone companies) argues:
the network should provide a reliable, connection-oriented service. In this view, quality of
service is the dominant factor, and without connections in the network, quality of service
is very difficult to achieve, especially for real-time traffic such as voice and video.

3. Implementation of Connectionless Service

If connectionless service is offered, packets are injected into the network individually and
routed independently of each other. No advance setup is needed. In this context, the packets
are frequently called datagrams (in analogy with telegrams) and the network is called a
datagram network. If connection-oriented service is used, a path from the source router all
the way to the destination router must be established before any data packets can be sent. This
connection is called a VC (virtual circuit), in analogy with the physical circuits set up by the
telephone system, and the network is called a virtual-circuit network.
Let us now see how a datagram network works. Suppose that the process P1 in Fig. 5-2 has a
long message for P2. It hands the message to the transport layer, with instructions to deliver it
to process P2 on host H2. The transport layer code runs on H1, typically within the operating
system. It prepends a transport header to the front of the message and hands the result to the
network layer. Assume the message is four times longer than the maximum packet size, so the
network layer has to break it into four packets, 1, 2, 3, and 4, and send each of them in turn to
router A using some point-to-point protocol, for example, PPP. At this point the ISP takes over.
Every router has an internal table telling it where to send packets for each of the possible
destinations. Each table entry is a pair consisting of a destination and the outgoing line to use
for that destination. Only directly connected lines can be used. For example, in Fig. 5-2, A has
only two outgoing lines—to B and to C—so every incoming packet must be sent to one of these
routers, even if the ultimate destination is to some other router.

and had their checksums verified. Then each packet is forwarded according to A’s table, onto
the outgoing link to C within a new frame. Packet 1 is then forwarded to E and then to F. When
it gets to F, it is sent within a frame over the LAN to H2. Packets 2 and 3 follow the same route.
However, something different happens to packet 4. When it gets to A it is sent to router B, even
though it is also destined for F. For some reason, A decided to send packet 4 via a different
route than that of the first three packets. Perhaps it has learned of a traffic jam somewhere along
the ACE path and updated its routing table, as shown under the label ‘‘later.’’ The algorithm
that manages the tables and makes the routing decisions is called the routing algorithm. IP
(Internet Protocol), which is the basis for the entire Internet, is the dominant example of a
connectionless network service. Each packet carries a destination IP address that routers use to
individually forward each packet.

4. Implementation of Connection Oriented Service

For connection-oriented service, we need a virtual-circuit network.
A virtual circuit (VC) is a means of transporting data over a data network, based on packet
switching where a virtual path is established between the source and the destination systems
for data communication to occur.
Let us see how that works. The idea behind virtual circuits is to avoid having to choose a new
route for every packet sent, as in Fig. 5-2. Instead, when a connection is established, a route
from the source machine to the destination machine is chosen as part of the connection setup
and stored in tables inside the routers. That route is used for all traffic flowing over the
connection, exactly the same way that the telephone system works. When the connection is
released, the virtual circuit is also terminated. With connection-oriented service, each packet
carries an identifier telling which virtual circuit it belongs to.

As an example, consider the situation shown in Fig. 5-3. Here, host H1 has established
connection 1 with host H2. This connection is remembered as the first entry in each of the
routing tables. The first line of A’s table says that if a packet bearing connection identifier 1
comes in from H1, it is to be sent to router C and given connection identifier 1. Similarly, the
first entry at C routes the packet to E, also with connection identifier 1.
Now let us consider what happens if H3 also wants to establish a connection to H2. It chooses
connection identifier 1 (because it is initiating the connection and this is its only connection)
and tells the network to establish the virtual circuit. This leads to the second row in the tables.
Note that we have a conflict here because although A can easily distinguish connection 1
packets from H1 from connection 1 packets from H3, C cannot do this. For this reason, A
assigns a different connection identifier to the outgoing traffic for the second connection.
Avoiding conflicts of this kind is why routers need the ability to replace connection identifiers
in outgoing packets.
In some contexts, this process is called label switching.
The ability of the router to replace connection identifiers in outgoing packets is called
label switching.

An example of a connection-oriented network service is MPLS (MultiProtocol Label

Switching). It is used within ISP networks in the Internet, with IP packets wrapped in an MPLS
header having a 20-bit connection identifier or label.

5. Comparison of Virtual Circuit and Datagram Subnets

Routing algorithms:
1. Shortest Path Routing
2. Flooding
3. Distance Vector Routing
4. Link state Routing
5. Hierarchical Routing
6. Broadcast Routing
7. Multicast Routing.