CS 382: Network-Centric Computing

Packets

Dr. Zafar Ayyub Qazi

Spring 2021

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ACK: Slides use some material from Scott Shenker, UC Berkeley
 About Class Activities
l We will be using this link for in-class polls/exercises
l https://pollev.com/zafarqazi045
l Link also shared in the chat section

l When we get to a specific class activity, you will

have to click on the above link and fill out your
responses

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 Previous Lecture

l Core task of the Internet

l Delivers packets between programs (applications) on
different end-systems

l Important problems Internet is solving:

l Routing
l Reliable transfer
l Congestion Control
l Mapping names to addresses

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 Packets
l Packets are bags of bits with:
l Header: meaningful to network (and network stack)
l Can be more than one header!
l Body: meaningful only to application

Header Body

Used By Network Used By App

l Body can be bits in a file, image, whatever

l Header contains destination address, port, etc
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 Agenda for Today’s Class

l Why Packets?
l Packet Switching vs. Circuit Switching

l Packet dynamics
Why Packets?

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 Links/Switches are Shared

shared link and

switch resources

end-system
k
lin

switch

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 Approaches to Sharing
l Reservations:
l Communication resources reserved for the duration of the
communication session between the end systems

l On-demand: (also know as “best effort”)

l Send packets when you have them
l Hope for the best

l Restaurant analogy
l Reservation
l On-demand
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 Two Approaches to Sharing

l Reservation

l On-demand

How are these implemented in networks?

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 Two Approaches to Sharing

l Reservation à circuit switching

l Before data can be sent, the network must establish a
connection, “circuit”, between the end systems
l When the circuit is established, the network reserves
a constant transmission rate in the network links

l On demand à packet switching

l Service each packet independently on demand
l No reservation of network resources

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 Circuit Switching

dst
10Mb/s?
✔
src 10Mb/s?
✔

10Mb/s?
✔

(1) src sends a reservation request for 10Mbps to dst

(2) Switches “establish a circuit”
(3) src starts sending data
(4) src sends a “teardown circuit” message
 Circuit Switching

switch

src

dst

Reservation also establishes a “circuit” within a switch

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 Many kind of “Circuits”
l Time division multiplexing
l Divide time in time slots
l Separate time slot per circuit time

l Frequency division multiplexing

frequency
l Divide frequency spectrum in
frequency bands
time
l Separate frequency band per circuit

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 Circuit Switching and Failures
Circuit is established Must establish new circuit
Link Fails along path

Circuit switching doesn’t “route around trouble”

 Packet Switching

switch

dst

Each packet treated independently

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 Packet Switching

switch

dst

Each packet treated independently

With buffers to absorb transient overloads

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 Packet Switching and Failures
Link Fails along path Route recomputed on the fly

Packet switching “routes around trouble”

Which is better: Circuits or Packets?

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Which is better: Circuits or Packets?
l What are the tradeoffs?

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 Example: Three constant sources
l Total bandwidth 30Mbps
l Mbps = megabits per second

l Demands: Each source needs a constant rate of

10Mbps

l Reservation and on-demand give same result

l Every source gets what they need
l No wasted bandwidth
l ….

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Example: Three “bursty” sources

12Mbps

Link capacity = 30Mbps

11Mbps

13Mbps
Time
What happens with reservations?
l Option #1: allow two flows to reserve peak rate

12Mbps Must turn away third flow!

Link capacity = 30Mbps

11Mbps

13Mbps
Time
What happens with reservations?
l Option #2: allow flows to reserve equal rates

12Mbps Frequent overloading!

Link capacity = 30Mbps

11Mbps

Each source gets 10Mbps

13Mbps
Time
What happens with on-demand?

No overloading

Link capacity = 30Mbps

Time
 Peak vs Average Rates
l For each communication session, define:
l P = peak rate
l A = average rate

l Reservations must reserve P:

l But flows only use A (on average)
l Level of utilization is A/P

l On-demand:
l Can achieve higher utilizations
l Depends on degree of sharing, burstiness of flows

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 Smooth vs Bursty Applications
l Some apps have relatively small P/A ratios
l Voice might have a ratio of 3:1 or so

l Data applications tend to be rather bursty

l Ratios of 100 or greater are common

l That’s why the phone network used reservations

l And the Internet does not….
 Next Lecture
l Topics
l Packet Dynamics
l Network design principles
l Layering
l End-End principle
l Fate-sharing

l We won’t have a live class on Wednesday

l Instead, recorded lecture to be uploaded on Friday

l Quiz 1 next week, in Monday’s class

l Will cover lecture 2 and lecture 3. 27