UNIT 1

1. Data Communications
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 3D-ms. If some of the packets arrive with 3D-ms delay and others with 4D-ms delay,
an uneven quality in the video is the result.
Components
A data communications system has five components
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.
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.
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.
Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature
different from text, numbers, or images.
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.
Data Flow
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or 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. Keyboards and traditional
monitors are examples of simplex devices.
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. The half-duplex
mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions.
Full-Duplex
In full-duplex, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. 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.
Networks
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by communication links.
A node can be a computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending and/or receiving
data generated by other nodes on the network.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Multipoint: A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more than two
specific devices share a single link.
Physical Topology
The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically. One
or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology.
Categories of topology
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.
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
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.
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.
Hybrid Topology: A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star topology
with each branch connecting several stations in a bus topology.
Network Models
Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so that these
heterogeneous networks can communicate with one another. The two best-known
standards are the OSI model and the Internet model.
Categories of Networks
Local Area Network
A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office,
building, or campus.
Wide Area Network
A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data, image, audio, and
video information over large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or
even the whole world.
Metropolitan Area Networks
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN and a WAN. It
normally covers the area inside a town or a city. It is designed for customers who need a
high-speed connectivity, normally to the Internet, and have endpoints spread over a city or
part of city.
Interconnection of Networks: Internetwork
It is very rare to see a LAN, a MAN, or a LAN in isolation; they are connected to one another.
When two or more networks are connected, they become an internetwork, or internet.
The Internet
The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily lives. It has affected the way we
do business as well as the way we spend our leisure time. Count the ways you've used the
Internet recently.
Protocols and Standards
A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. A protocol defines what is
communicated, how it is communicated, and when it is communicated. The key elements of
a protocol are syntax, semantics, and timing.
Syntax: The term syntax refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning the order in
which they are presented.
Semantics: The word semantics refers to the meaning of each section of bits. How is a
particular pattern to be interpreted, and what action is to be taken based on that
interpretation?
Timing: The term timing refers to two characteristics: when data should be sent and how fast
they can be sent.
Standards
Standards are essential in creating and maintaining an open and competitive market for
equipment manufacturers and in guaranteeing national and international interoperability of
data and telecommunications technology and processes.
De facto: Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but have been
adopted as standards through widespread use are de facto standards. De facto standards
are often established originally by manufacturers who seek to define the functionality of a
new product or technology.
De jure: Those standards that have been legislated by an officially recognized body are de-
jure standards.
Standards Organizations
1. International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
2. International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standards Sector (ITU-T)
3. American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
4. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
5. Electronic Industries Association (EIA)

2. THE OSI MODEL

Established in 1947, the International Standards Organization (ISO) is a multinational body
dedicated to worldwide agreement on international standards. An ISO standard that covers
all aspects of network communications is the Open Systems Interconnection 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 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.
Layered Architecture
The OSI model is composed of seven ordered layers:

• Physical (layer 1)
• Data link (layer 2)
• Network (layer 3)
• Transport (layer 4)
• Session (layer 5)
• Presentation (layer 6) and
• Application (layer 7)
LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL
Physical Layer
The physical layer coordinates the functions required to carry a bit stream over a physical
medium. It deals with the mechanical and electrical specifications of the interface and
transmission medium. It also defines the procedures and functions that physical devices
and interfaces have to perform for transmission to Occur.

The physical layer is responsible for movements of individual bits from one hop
(node) to the next.
Data Link Layer
The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable
link. It makes the physical layer appear error-free to the upper layer (network layer).

The data link layer is responsible for moving frames from one hop (node) to the next.
Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of a packet, possibly
across multiple networks (links). Whereas the data link layer oversees the delivery of the
packet between two systems on the same network (links), the network layer ensures that
each packet gets from its point of origin to its final destination.

The network layer is responsible for the delivery of individual packets from the source
host to the destination host.
Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery of the entire message. A
process is an application program running on a host. Whereas the network layer oversees
source-to-destination delivery of individual packets, it does not recognize any relationship
between those packets.

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery of a message from one process to
another.
Session Layer
The services provided by the first three layers (physical, data link, and network) are not
sufficient for some processes. The session layer is the network dialog controller. It
establishes, maintains, and synchronizes the interaction among communicating systems.

The session layer is responsible for dialog control and synchronization.

Presentation Layer
The presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information
exchanged between two systems.

The presentation layer is responsible for translation, compression, and encryption.

Application Layer
The application layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network.
It provides user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file
access and transfer, shared database management, and other types of distributed
information services.

The application layer is responsible for providing services to the user.

TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, each of which provides a
specific functionality; however, the modules are not necessarily interdependent. Whereas
the OSI model specifies which functions belong to each of its layers, the layers of the TCP/IP
protocol suite contain relatively independent protocols that can be mixed and matched
depending on the needs of the system. The term hierarchical means that each upper-level
protocol is supported by one or more lower-level protocols.
Physical and Data Link Layers
At the physical and data link layers, TCPIIP does not define any specific protocol. It supports
all the standard and proprietary protocols. A network in a TCP/IP internetwork can be a
local-area network or a wide-area network.
Network Layer
At the network layer (or, more accurately, the internetwork layer), TCP/IP supports the
Internetworking Protocol. IP, in turn, uses four supporting protocols: ARP, RARP, ICMP, and
IGMP. Each of these protocols is described in greater detail in later chapters.
Internetworking Protocol (IP)
The Internetworking Protocol (IP) is the transmission mechanism used by the TCP/IP
protocols. It is an unreliable and connectionless protocol-a best-effort delivery service. The
term best effort means that IP provides no error checking or tracking. IP assumes the
unreliability of the underlying layers and does its best to get a transmission through to its
destination, but with no guarantees.
Transport Layer
Traditionally the transport layer was represented in TCP/IP by two protocols: TCP and UDP.
IP is a host-to-host protocol, meaning that it can deliver a packet from one physical device to
another. UDP and TCP are transport level protocols responsible for delivery of a message
from a process (running program) to another process. A new transport layer protocol, SCTP,
has been devised to meet the needs of some newer applications.
Application Layer
The application layer in TCPIIP is equivalent to the combined session, presentation, and
application layers in the OSI model Many protocols are defined at this layer. We cover many
of the standard protocols in later chapters.

3. ADDRESSING
Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing the TCP/IP protocols: Physical
(link) addresses, Logical (IP) addresses, Port addresses, and Specific addresses

Physical Addresses
The physical address, also known as the link address, is the address of a node as defined by
its LAN or WAN. It is included in the frame used by the data link layer. It is the lowest-level
address. The physical addresses have authority over the network (LAN or WAN). The size
and format of these addresses vary depending on the network. For example, Ethernet uses
a 6-byte (48-bit) physical address that is imprinted on the network interface card (NIC).

Logical Addresses
Logical addresses are necessary for universal communications that are independent of
underlying physical networks. Physical addresses are not adequate in an internetwork
environment where different networks can have different address formats. A universal
addressing system is needed in which each host can be identified uniquely, regardless of
the underlying physical network. The logical addresses are designed for this purpose. A
logical address in the Internet is currently a 32-bit address that can uniquely define a host
connected to the Internet. No two publicly addressed and visible hosts on the Internet can
have the same IP address.
The physical addresses will change from hop to hop, but the logical addresses usually remain the
same.

Port Addresses
The IP address and the physical address are necessary for a quantity of data to travel from a
source to the destination host. However, arrival at the destination host is not the final
objective of data communications on the Internet. A system that sends nothing but data
from one computer to another is not complete. Today, computers are devices that can run
multiple processes at the same time. The end objective of Internet communication is a
process communicating with another process.

Specific Addresses
Some applications have user-friendly addresses that are designed for that specific address.
Examples include the e-mail address (for example, [email protected]) and the Universal
Resource Locator (URL) (for example, www.mhhe.com).

Transmission Media
A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from
a source to a destination. For example, the transmission medium for two people having a
dinner conversation is the air.
In telecommunications, transmission media can be divided into two broad categories:
guided and unguided. Guided media include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic
cable.

GUIDED MEDIA
Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another, include
twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.
Twisted-Pair Cable
A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each with its own plastic
insulation, twisted together. One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the
other is used only as a ground reference. The receiver uses the difference between the two.
In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and
crosstalk may affect both wires and create unwanted signals.
Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable
The most common twisted-pair cable used in communications is referred to as unshielded
twisted-pair (UTP). IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair cable for its use called
shielded twisted-pair (STP). STP cable has a metal foil or braided mesh covering that encases
each pair of insulated conductors. Although metal casing improves the quality of cable by
preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it is bulkier and more expensive.
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher frequency ranges than those in twisted pair
cable, in part because the two media are constructed quite differently. Instead of having two
wires, coax has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire (usually copper) enclosed
in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, braid,
or a combination of the two. The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against
noise and as the second conductor, which completes the circuit. This outer conductor is also
enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is protected by a plastic cover
Coaxial Cable Standards
Coaxial cables are categorized by their radio government (RG) ratings. Each RG number
denotes a unique set of physical specifications, including the wire gauge of the inner
conductor, the thickness and type of the inner insulator, the construction of the shield, and
the size and type of the outer casing.
Coaxial Cable Connectors
To connect coaxial cable to devices, we need coaxial connectors. The most common type of
connector used today is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNC), connector. The BNC connector
is used to connect the end of the cable to a device, such as a TV set. The BNC T connector is
used in Ethernet networks. The BNC terminator is used at the end of the cable to prevent
the reflection of the signal.
Fiber-Optic Cable
A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light. To
understand optical fiber, we first need to explore several aspects of the nature of light. Light
travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform substance. If a ray of
light traveling through one substance suddenly enters another substance (of a different
density), the ray changes direction.
If the angle of incidence I (the angle the ray makes with the line perpendicular to the
interface between the two substances) is less than the critical angle, the ray refracts and
moves closer to the surface. If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light
bends along the interface. If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects
(makes a turn) and travels again in the denser substance. Note that the critical angle is a
property of the substance, and its value differs from one substance to another.
Propagation Modes
Current technology supports two modes (multimode and single mode) for propagating light
along optical channels, each requiring fiber with different physical characteristics. Multi
mode can be implemented in two forms: step-index or graded-index
Multimode: Multimode is so named because multiple beams from a light source move
through the core in different paths. How these beams move within the cable depends on
the structure of the core. The term step index refers to the suddenness of this change,
which contributes to the distortion of the signal as it passes through the fiber. A second type
of fiber, called multimode graded-index fiber, decreases this distortion of the signal through
the cable. The word index here refers to the index of refraction.
Single-Mode: Single-mode uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of light that
limits beams to a small range of angles, all close to the horizontal. The single-mode fiber
itself is manufactured with a much smaller diameter than that of multimode fiber, and with
substantially lower density (index of refraction)
The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking
system. The straight-tip (ST) connector is used for connecting cable to networking devices. It
uses a bayonet locking system and is more reliable than SC. MT-RJ is a connector that is the
same size as RJ45.
UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS
Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor. This
type of communication is often referred to as wireless communication. Signals are normally
broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who has a device capable of
receiving them.
Propagation methods
In Ground propagation, radio waves travel through the lowest portion of the atmosphere,
hugging the earth.
In Sky propagation, higher-frequency radio waves radiate upward into the ionosphere (the
layer of atmosphere where particles exist as ions) where they are reflected back to earth.
In Line-or-Sight propagation, very high-frequency signals are transmitted in straight lines
directly from antenna to antenna.
Wireless transmission waves
Radio Waves
Radio waves, for the most part, are omnidirectional. When an antenna transmits radio
waves, they are propagated in all directions. This means that the sending and receiving
antennas do not have to be aligned.
Omnidirectional Antenna
Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all directions. Based on
the wavelength, strength, and the purpose of transmission, we can have several types of
antennas.
Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and television, and
paging systems.
Microwaves
Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between I and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can be
narrowly focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned.
The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage.
Unidirectional Antenna: Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in
one direction. Two types of antennas are used for microwave communications: the
parabolic dish and the hom
A parabolic dish antenna is based on the geometry of a parabola: Every line parallel to the
line of symmetry (line of sight) reflects off the curve at angles such that all the lines intersect
in a common point called the focus.
Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular telephones, satellite
networks, and wireless LANs.
Infrared
Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770
nm), can be used for short-range communication. Infrared waves, having high frequencies,
cannot penetrate walls. This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between
one system and another; a short-range communication system in one room cannot be
affected by another system in the next room.
Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-
sight propagation.

4. CONNECTING DEVICES
LANs do not normally operate in isolation. They are connected to one another or to the
Internet. To connect LANs, or segments ofLANs, we use connecting devices. Connecting
devices can operate in different layers of the Internet model.
We divide connecting devices into five different categories based on the layer in which they
operate in a network.
The five categories contain devices which can be defined as.
1. Those which operate below the physical layer such as a passive hub.
2. Those which operate at the physical layer (a repeater or an active hub).
3. Those which operate at the physical and data link layers (a bridge or a two-layer switch).
4. Those which operate at the physical, data link, and network layers (a router or a three-
layer switch).
5. Those which can operate at all five layers (a gateway).

Passive Hubs
A passive hub is just a connector. It connects the wires coming from different branches. In a
star-topology Ethernet LAN, a passive hub is just a point where the signals coming from
different stations collide; the hub is the collision point

Repeaters
A repeater is a device that operates only in the physical layer. Signals that carry information
within a network can travel a fixed distance before attenuation endangers the integrity of
the data.
A repeater connects segments of a LAN. A repeater forwards every frame; it has no filtering
capability. A repeater is a regenerator, not an amplifier.
Active Hubs
An active hub is actually a multipart repeater. It is normally used to create connections
between stations in a physical star topology.

Bridges
A bridge operates in both the physical and the data link layer. As a physical layer device, it
regenerates the signal it receives. As a data link layer device, the bridge can check the
physical (MAC) addresses (source and destination) contained in the frame.

Filtering
One may ask, What is the difference in functionality between a bridge and a repeater? A
bridge has filtering capability. It can check the destination address of a frame and decide if
the frame should be forwarded or dropped.
A bridge has a table used in filtering decisions. A bridge does not change the physical (MAC)
addresses in a frame.

Transparent Bridges
A transparent bridge is a bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of the
bridge's existence. If a bridge is added or deleted from the system, reconfiguration of the
stations is unnecessary.
Loop Problem: Transparent bridges work fine as long as there are no redundant bridges in
the system. Systems administrators, however, like to have redundant bridges (more than
one bridge between a pair of LANs) to make the system more reliable.
Spanning Tree
In graph theory, a spanning tree is a graph in which there is no loop. In a bridged LAN, this
means creating a topology in which each LAN can be reached from any other LAN through
one path only (no loop). We cannot change the physical topology of the system because of
physical connections between cables and bridges, but we can create a logical topology that
overlays the physical one.

Two-Layer Switches
We can have a two-layer switch or a three-layer switch. A three-layer switch is used at the
network layer; it is a kind of router. The two-layer switch performs at the physical and data
link layers.
A two-layer switch is a bridge, a bridge with many ports and a design that allows better
(faster) performance. A bridge with a few ports can connect a few LANs together. A bridge
with many ports may be able to allocate a unique port to each station, with each station on
its own independent entity. This means no competing traffic (no collision).

Routers
A router is a three-layer device that routes packets based on their logical addresses (host-to-
host addressing). A router normally connects LANs and WANs in the Internet and has a
routing table that is used for making decisions about the route. The routing tables are
normally dynamic and are updated using routing protocols.

Three-Layer Switches
A three-layer switch is a router, but a faster and more sophisticated. The switching fabric in
a three-layer switch allows faster table lookup and forwarding. In this book, we use the
terms router and three-layer switch interchangeably.

Gateway
Although some textbooks use the terms gateway and router interchangeably, most of the
literature distinguishes between the two. A gateway is normally a computer that operates in
all five layers of the Internet or seven layers of OSI model. A gateway takes an application
message, reads it, and interprets it.

Switching
Traditionally, three methods of switching have been important: circuit switching, packet
switching, and message switching. The first two are commonly used today. The third has
been phased out in general communications but still has networking applications.

CIRCUIT-SWITCHED NETWORKS
A circuit-switched network consists of a set of switches connected by physical links. A
connection between two stations is a dedicated path made of one or more links. However,
each connection uses only one dedicated channel on each link.
A circuit-switched network is made of a set of switches connected by physical links, in which
each link is divided into n channels.
In circuit switching, the resources need to be reserved during the setup phase; the
resources remain dedicated for the entire duration of data transfer until the teardown
phase.

Packet Switching
In packet switching, there is no resource allocation for a packet. This means that there is no
reserved bandwidth on the links, and there is no scheduled processing time for each packet.
Resources are allocated on demand. The allocation is done on a firstcome, first-served
basis.
In a packet-switched network, there is no resource reservation; resources are allocated on
demand.

Datagram Network
In a datagram network, each packet is treated independently of all others. Even if a packet is
part of a multipacket transmission, the network treats it as though it existed alone. Packets
in this approach are referred to as datagrams.
Datagram switching is normally done at the network layer. We briefly discuss datagram
networks here as a comparison with circuit-switched and virtual-circuit-switched networks.
A switch in a datagram network uses a routing table that is based on the destination
address.
The destination address in the header of a packet in a datagram network remains the same
during the entire journey of the packet.
Switching in the Internet is done by using the datagram approach to packet switching at the
network layer.

VIRTUAL-CIRCUIT NETWORKS
A virtual-circuit network is a cross between a circuit-switched network and a datagram
network. It has some characteristics of both.
Addressing
In a virtual-circuit network, two types of addressing are involved: global and local (virtual-
circuit identifier).
Global Addressing A source or a destination needs to have a global address-an address that
can be unique in the scope of the network or internationally if the network is part of an
international network. However, we will see that a global address in virtual-circuit networks
is used only to create a virtual-circuit identifier, as discussed next.
Virtual-Circuit Identifier The identifier that is actually used for data transfer is called the
Virtual-Circuit Identifier (VCL).
In virtual-circuit switching, all packets belonging to the same source and destination travel
the same path; but the packets may arrive at the destination with different delays if
resource allocation is on demand.
Switching at the data link layer in a switched WAN is normally implemented by using virtual-
circuit techniques.