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2.3.5 Network Communication Process Facts

This lesson covers the following topics:

IP-based communications
Process details
MTU

IP-based Communications

During IP-based communications between two network hosts, the following processes occur:

1. The data to be transferred is encapsulated on the sending host by moving from the top
layer of the TCP/IP or OSI model to the bottom.
2. The data is transmitted on the network medium.
3. If necessary, the data is transferred to various routers that forward the data to the
appropriate network.
4. The data is delivered to the destination host.
5. The received data is de-encapsulated on the destination host by moving from the bottom
layer of the TCP/IP or OSI model to the top.

Process Details

This process is detailed in the following table:

Process Step Description

Source host The data to be transferred is encapsulated on the sending host from the top layer of
encapsulation the TCP/IP or OSI model to the bottom. The following events occur:

1. The Application layer prepares the data to be sent through the network by
encoding it using the appropriate Application layer protocol.
2. The Transport layer receives the data stream from the Application layer and:
Breaks it into smaller chunks called segments.
Adds a Transport layer header to each segment. The header identifies
the source port, the destination port as well as sequencing and control
information.
3. The Internet layer converts the segments into packets by adding an Internet layer
header that specifies source and destination IP addresses for each packet. IP
addresses are 32-bit (4-byte) logical address that can be assigned, unassigned,
and reassigned as needed.
4. The Link layer converts the packets into frames by adding a Link layer header that
specifies source and destination media access control (MAC) addresses for each
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frame. A MAC address:

Is a 48-bit (6-byte) address that is physically assigned in the firmware of
all network interfaces.
Uniquely identifies each interface on the network.
Is displayed using hexadecimal notation.
5. Each frame is converted into bits and transmitted across the network media.

Network The source and destination IP addresses are used to determine whether the hosts
transmission reside on the same network or on different networks:

If they reside on the same network, the data can be sent directly to the
destination host. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to determine
the MAC address of the host using the destination IP address:
1. The sending host checks its ARP cache to see if it already has an IP-to-
MAC address mapping for the host. If so, it transmits the frames to the
destination host's MAC address. If not, it must use the remaining steps to
determine the appropriate MAC address.
2. The sending host sends out an ARP broadcast frame addressed to all
MAC addresses on the subnet to ask for the hardware address of the
host with the destination IP address.
3. The host with the destination IP address responds to the ARP broadcast
with a unicast transmission containing its MAC address. All other hosts
ignore the broadcast.
4. The sending host caches the destination host's MAC address in its ARP
cache.
5. The source MAC address of the frames is set to the MAC address of the
sending system and the destination MAC address is set to the MAC
address of the receiving system.
6. The sending host transmits the frames to the destination host's MAC
address.
If they reside on different networks, the packets must be forwarded from
router to router until they reach the appropriate destination network and
host. The following occurs in this situation:
1. If it's not already cached, the source system uses ARP to determine the
MAC address of the first hop router interface that is connected to the
same network segment as the source host (usually the default gateway
router).
2. The source MAC address of the frames is set to the MAC address of the
sending system, but the destination MAC address is set to the MAC
address of the router interface identified with ARP.
3. The frames are transmitted to the first router.
4. The first router:
Removes the frame header information and examines the
packets in the transmission for their source and destination IP
addresses.
Uses ARP to discover its MAC address (if it's not already cached
and if the destination host is on a network that is directly
connected to the router).

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Re-encapsulates the packets in new frames with the destination

host's MAC address.
Transmits the frames directly to the destination host.
If the destination host is not on a directly-connected network, the
remaining steps occur.
5. The router uses its routing table to determine the next router the packets
should be sent to.
6. The router re-encapsulates the packets in the transmission in new
frames.
7. The source MAC address of the frames is set to the MAC address of the
local router interface and the destination MAC address is set to the MAC
address of the next hop router interface.
8. The router transmits the frames to the MAC address of the next hop
router interface.
The routing process repeats until the packets arrive at a router that is directly
connected to same network as the destination host.
The router receives the frames and removes the frame headers.
The router examines the packets. It recognizes that the destination host
resides on a network that is directly connected to the router.
If necessary, the router uses ARP to determine the MAC address of the
destination system.
The router re-encapsulates the packets in new frames. The source MAC
address of the frames is set to the MAC address of the router interface. The
destination MAC address is set to the MAC address of the destination host.
The frames are transmitted to the destination host.

The data received is de-encapsulated on the destination host by moving from the
bottom layer of the TCP/IP or OSI model to the top.

1. The Link layer converts bits received on the network medium into frames and
passes them to the Internet layer.
2. The Internet layer extracts the packets from the frames and passes them to the
Destination host Transport layer.
de-encapsulation 3. The Transport layer receives packets and uses sequencing and error control
information to request retransmission of any missing or damaged packets.
4. The Transport layer uses sequencing information to convert the packets into
segments and passes them to the Application layer.
5. The Application layer uses the appropriate Application layer protocol to convert
the segments back into the original data stream from the application on the
source host.

MTU

If there are multiple paths to a distant network, a routing protocol assigns a metric to each
directly connected network link. The metric value can be thought of as the cost of sending a
packet over that link. The metric is used when determining the best path to a network.
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The maximum transmission unit (MTU) setting on a router determines the maximum payload
size for a frame. While payload size is not usually included in a metric, it is sometimes used as a
tie-breaker when two links or paths have the same cost.

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