LINK LAYER CONCEPTS AND LANS

Link Layer Concepts

Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 1

Introduction to Link Layer
▪ In order for a datagram to be transferred from source host to
destination host, it must be moved over each of the individual links in
the end-to-end path.
▪ Link layer has responsibility of transferring datagram from one
node to physically adjacent node over a link.
▪ Over a given link, a transmitting node encapsulates the datagram in a
link-layer frame and transmits the frame into the link.

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Link Layer Services
▪ Datagram transferred by different link protocols over different links e.g., Wi-Fi link, Ethernet link, each link protocol
provides different services.
▪ Although the basic service of any link layer is to move a datagram from one node to an adjacent node over a single
communication link, the details of the provided service can vary from one link-layer protocol to the next. Possible
services that can be offered by a link-layer protocol include:
▪ Framing: All link-layer protocols encapsulate each network-layer datagram within a link-layer frame before
transmission over the link. A frame consists of a data field, in which the network-layer datagram is inserted, and a
number of header fields. The structure of the frame is specified by the link-layer protocol.
▪ Link access: A medium access control (MAC) protocol specifies the rules by which a frame is transmitted onto the
link.
▪ Reliable delivery: When a link-layer protocol provides reliable delivery service, it guarantees to move each
network-layer datagram across the link without error.
▪ Error detection and correction: Many link-layer protocols provide a mechanism to detect bit errors. This is done
by having the transmitting node include error-detection bits in the frame, and having the receiving node perform an
error check.

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Link Layer Implementation
▪ The Ethernet capabilities are either integrated into the
motherboard chipset or implemented via a low-cost
dedicated Ethernet chip. For the most part, the link layer is
implemented on a chip called the network adapter, also
sometimes known as a network interface controller (NIC).
▪ The network adapter implements many link layer services
including framing, link access, error detection, and so on.
Thus, much of a link-layer controller’s functionality is
implemented in hardware.

Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 4

Link Layer Implementation (Contd.)
application application
transport transport
cpu memory memory CPU
datagram network network
link link

linkh datagram controller controller datagram

link link
physical physical
physical physical

On the sending side, the controller takes a On the receiving side, the controller receives the
datagram that has been created and stored in host entire frame, and extracts the network layer
memory by the higher layers of the protocol stack, datagram. If the link layer performs error
encapsulates the datagram in a link-layer frame detection, then it is the sending controller that sets
(filling in the frame’s various fields), and then the error-detection bits in the frame header, and it
transmits the frame into the communication link, is the receiving controller that performs error
following the link-access protocol. detection.
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 5
Error-Detection and Error-Correction Techniques
Error-detection and -correction techniques allow the receiver to sometimes, but not always, detect that bit errors have
occurred.

datagram datagram
otherwise
Error detection is not 100%
all
bits in D’ N reliable!
OK detected ▪ protocol may miss some
? error errors, but rarely
d data bits
▪ larger EDC field yields better
D EDC D’ EDC’ detection and correction

bit-error prone link

EDC: error detection and correction bits (e.g., redundancy)

D: data protected by error checking, may include header fields
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 6
Error-Detection and Error-Correction Techniques (Contd.)
Parity checking
Single bit parity: Two-dimensional bit parity:
▪ detect single bit errors ▪ detect and correct single bit errors

0111000110101011 1 row parity

d1,1 ... d1,j d1,j+1
d data bits
d2,1 ... d2,j d2,j+1
parity ... ... ... ...
bit di,1 ... di,j
column
di,j+1
Even parity: set parity parity di+1,1 ... di+1,j di+1,j+1
bit so there is an even
number of 1’s no errors: 1 0 1 0 1 1 detected 10101 1
11110 0 and 10110 0 parity
error
correctable
01110 1 single-bit 01110 1
00101 0 error: 10101 0
parity
error
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 7
Error-Detection and Error-Correction Techniques (Contd.)
Internet Checksum
Sender: Receiver:
▪ treat contents of UDP segment (including UDP ▪ compute checksum of received segment
header fields and IP addresses) as sequence of 16-bit ▪ check if computed checksum equals checksum field
integers value:
▪ checksum: addition (one’s complement sum) of • not equal - error detected
segment content • equal - no error detected
▪ checksum value put into UDP checksum field

1110011001100110 1110011001100110
1101010101010101 1101010101010101
1 1011101110111011 1 1011101110111011
+ +
Sum 1011101110111100 1011101110111100
0100010001000011
Checksum 0100010001000011
1111111111111111
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Error-Detection and Error-Correction Techniques (Contd.)
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
▪ Consider the Data, D (d-bit), that the sending node wants to send to the receiving node.
▪ The sender and receiver must first agree on an CRC Generator, G (r +1) bit pattern will require that the most significant
(leftmost) bit of G be a 1.
▪ For a given piece of data, D, the sender will choose CRC bit, R (r additional bits) and append them to D such that the
resulting d + r bit pattern is exactly divisible by G (i.e., has no remainder) using modulo-2 arithmetic.

Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 9

Error-Detection and Error-Correction Techniques (Contd.)
Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
Data, D ----> 101101
CRC Generator, G ----> 1101 (Sender & Receiver agree)
CRC bit, R ---> 3 (0s)
Division ---> XOR

Sender: Receiver: Data (D+R) 101101010

(G)1101 101101000 (D+R)

(G)1101 101101010 (D+R)
1101
1101
01100
01100
1101
1101
0001100
1101 0001101
1101
00010 (CRC,R)
0000
(D+R) 101101010
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Multiple Access Links
▪ There are two types of network links: point-to-point links and broadcast links.
▪ A point-to-point link consists of a single sender at one end of the link and a single receiver at the other end of the
link. Many link-layer protocols have been designed for point-to-point links; the point-to-point protocol (PPP) and
high-level data link control (HDLC) are two such protocols.
▪ A broadcast link, can have multiple sending and receiving nodes all connected to the same, single, shared broadcast
channel. The term broadcast is used here because when any one node transmits a frame, the channel broadcasts the
frame and each of the other nodes receives a copy.
▪ Ethernet and wireless LANs are examples of broadcast link-layer technologies.

shared wire (e.g., humans at a cocktail party

cabled Ethernet) shared radio: 4G/5G shared radio: WiFi shared radio: satellite
(shared air, acoustical)

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Multiple Access Protocols
▪ Nodes are in the single shared broadcast channel then two or more nodes can transmit simultaneously: interference!!!
▪ Collision if node receives two or more signals at the same time.
▪ Distributed algorithm that determines how nodes share channel,
▪ i.e., determine when node can transmit
▪ Communication about channel sharing must use channel itself!
▪ no out-of-band channel for coordination
Three broad classes of MAC Protocols:
Channel partitioning
divide channel into smaller “pieces” (time slots, frequency, code) allocate piece to node for exclusive use
Random access
channel not divided, allow collisions “recover” from collisions
Taking turn
nodes take turns, but nodes with more to send can take longer turns

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Access Control Methods
Contention-based access
▪ All nodes operating in half-duplex, competing for use of the medium. Examples are:
▪ Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) as used on legacy bus-topology Ethernet.
▪ Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as used on Wireless LANs.

Controlled access
▪ Deterministic access where each node has its own time on the medium.
▪ Used on legacy networks such as Token Ring and ARCNET.

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Access to Media
Packets exchanged between nodes may experience numerous data link layers and media transitions.
e.g., Wi-Fi on first link, Ethernet on next link
At each hop along the path, a router performs four basic Layer 2 functions:
▪ Accepts a frame from the network medium.
▪ De-encapsulates the frame to expose the encapsulated packet.
▪ Re-encapsulates the packet into a new frame.
▪ Forwards the new frame on the medium of the next network segment.

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Data Link Frame

Field Description
Frame Start and Stop Identifies beginning and end of frame
Addressing Indicates source and destination nodes
Type Identifies encapsulated Layer 3 protocol
Control Identifies flow control services
Data Contains the frame payload
Error Detection Used for determine transmission errors
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Data Link Frame (Contd.)

▪ The minimum Ethernet frame size is 64 bytes and the maximum is 1518 bytes. The preamble field is not
included when describing the size of the frame.
▪ Any frame less than 64 bytes in length is considered a “collision fragment” or “runt frame” and is automatically
discarded. Frames with more than 1500 bytes of data are considered “jumbo” or “baby giant frames”.
▪ If the size of a transmitted frame is less than the minimum, or greater than the maximum, the receiving device
drops the frame. Dropped frames are likely to be the result of collisions or other unwanted signals. They are
considered invalid. Jumbo frames are usually supported by most Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet switches
and NICs.
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LAN Addressing and ARP
MAC Address
▪ 32-bit IP address:
network-layer address for interface
used for layer 3 (network layer) forwarding
e.g., 128.119.40.136
▪ MAC (or LAN or physical or Ethernet) address:
function: used “locally” to get frame from one interface to another physically-connected interface (same subnet, in IP-
addressing sense)
48-bit MAC address (for most LANs) burned in NIC ROM, also sometimes software settable
e.g., 1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD

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LAN Addressing and ARP
MAC Address
▪ 32-bit IP address:
network-layer address for interface
used for layer 3 (network layer) forwarding
e.g., 128.119.40.136
▪ MAC (or LAN or physical or Ethernet) address:
function: used “locally” to get frame from one interface to another physically-connected interface (same subnet, in IP-
addressing sense)
48-bit MAC address (for most LANs) burned in NIC ROM, also sometimes software settable
e.g., 1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD

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LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
MAC Address
Each interface on LAN
▪ has unique 48-bit MAC address 137.196.7.78
▪ has a locally unique 32-bit IP address 1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD
MAC address allocation administered by
IEEE
LAN
▪ manufacturer buys portion of MAC
(wired or wireless)
address space (to assure uniqueness) 137.196.7/24
analogy: 71-65-F7-2B-08-53 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0
MAC address: like Social Security 137.196.7.23 137.196.7.14
Number
IP address: like postal address 0C-C4-11-6F-E3-98
MAC flat address: portability 137.196.7.88
can move interface from one LAN to
another
IP address not portable: depends on IP
subnet to which node is attached
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LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
Question: how to determine interface’s MAC address, knowing its IP address?

ARP

137.196.7.78 ARP table: each IP node (host, router) on LAN has

1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD table
ARP
ARP

LAN • IP/MAC address mappings for some LAN nodes:

71-65-F7-2B-08-53 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0 < IP address; MAC address; TTL>
137.196.7.23 137.196.7.14
• TTL (Time To Live): time after which address
ARP 0C-C4-11-6F-E3-98 mapping will be forgotten (typically 20 min)
137.196.7.88

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LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Address Resolution Protocol in Action
Example: A wants to send datagram to B
B’s MAC address not in A’s ARP table, so A uses ARP to find B’s MAC address
A broadcasts ARP query, containing B's IP addr
Ethernet frame (sent to FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF)
1 • destination MAC address = FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF
• all nodes on LAN receive ARP query C Source MAC: 71-65-F7-2B-08-53
Source IP: 137.196.7.23
ARP table in A Target IP address: 137.196.7.14
…
IP addr MAC addr TTL
TTL
A B
1
71-65-F7-2B-08-53 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0
137.196.7.23 137.196.7.14

Advanced Networking
D
Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 21
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Address Resolution Protocol in Action
Example: A wants to send datagram to B
B’s MAC address not in A’s ARP table, so A uses ARP to find B’s MAC address
ARP message into Ethernet frame
(sent to 71-65-F7-2B-08-53)
C Target IP address: 137.196.7.14
Target MAC address:
ARP table in A 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0
…
IP addr MAC addr TTL
TTL
A B
2
71-65-F7-2B-08-53 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0
137.196.7.23 137.196.7.14

2 B replies to A with ARP response,

giving its MAC address
D
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LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Address Resolution Protocol in Action
Example: A wants to send datagram to B
B’s MAC address not in A’s ARP table, so A uses ARP to find B’s MAC address

C
ARP table in A
IP addr MAC addr TTL
TTL
137.196. 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0 500
A B
7.14

71-65-F7-2B-08-53 58-23-D7-FA-20-B0
137.196.7.23 137.196.7.14

3 A receives B’s reply, adds B entry

into its local ARP table
D
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies 23
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
Example: sending a datagram from A to B via R
▪ focus on addressing – at IP (datagram) and MAC layer (frame) levels
▪ assume that:
• A knows B’s IP address
• A knows IP address of first hop router, R (how?)
• A knows R’s MAC address (how?)

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F
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LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
▪ A creates IP datagram with IP source A, destination B
▪ A creates link-layer frame containing A-to-B IP datagram
• R's MAC address is frame’s destination
MAC src: 74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
MAC dest: E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222

IP
Eth
Phy

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F 25
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
▪ frame sent from A to R
▪ frame received at R, datagram removed, passed up to IP

MAC src: 74-29-9C-E8-FF-55

IP src: 111.111.111.111
MAC dest: E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222

IP IP
Eth Eth
Phy Phy

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F 26
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
▪ R determines outgoing interface, passes datagram with IP source A, destination B to link layer
▪ R creates link-layer frame containing A-to-B IP datagram. Frame destination address: B's MAC address

MAC src: 1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

MAC dest: 49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222

IP
Eth
Phy

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F 27
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
▪ R determines outgoing interface, passes datagram with IP source A, destination B to link layer
▪ R creates link-layer frame containing A-to-B IP datagram. Frame destination address: B's MAC address
▪ transmits link-layer frame
MAC src: 1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
MAC dest: 49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP
IP Eth
Eth Phy
Phy

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F 28
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies
LAN Addressing and ARP (Contd.)
Routing to Another Subnet
▪ B receives frame, extracts IP datagram destination B
▪ B passes datagram up protocol stack to IP

IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222

IP
IP Eth
Eth Phy
Phy

A B
R
111.111.111.111
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55 222.222.222.222
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110
CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 222.222.222.221
88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F 29
Advanced Networking Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies
Link Layer Switches
▪ The role of the switch is to receive incoming link-layer frames (Ingress) and forward them onto outgoing links
(Egress).
▪ Filtering is the switch function that determines whether a frame should be forwarded to some interface or should just
be dropped.
▪ Forwarding is the switch function that determines the interfaces to which a frame should be directed, and then moves the
frame to those interfaces.
▪ A switch will use the destination MAC address to determine the egress interface. Before a switch can make this decision it
must learn what interface the destination is located.
▪ A switch builds a MAC address table, also known as a Content Addressable Memory (CAM) table, by recording the
source MAC address into the table along with the port it was received.

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Link Layer Switches (Contd.)
The switch uses a two-step process:
Step 1. Learn – Examines Source Address
▪ Adds the source MAC if not in table
▪ Resets the time out setting back to 5 minutes if source is in the table
Step 2. Forward – Examines Destination Address
▪ If the destination MAC is in the MAC address table it is forwarded out the specified port.
▪ If a destination MAC is not in the table, it is flooded out all interfaces except the one it was received.

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 Source: A
Link Layer Switches (Contd.) Dest: A’
▪ switch learns which hosts can be reached through A A’
which interfaces
A
C’ B
▪ when frame received, switch “learns”
1 2
location of sender: incoming LAN segment
6
3
5 4
▪ records sender/location pair in switch table B’ C
A’

MAC addr interface TTL Switch table

(initially empty)
A 1 60

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 Source: A
Link Layer Switches (Contd.) Dest: A’

▪ frame destination, A’, location A A’

unknown: flood
A
C’ B
▪ destination A location known: selectively send
on just one link 1 2
6A A’
3
5 4

B’ C
A’ A A’

MAC addr interface TTL

A 1 60 switch table
A’ 4 60 (initially empty)

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Switch Forwarding Methods
▪ Switches use software on application-specific-integrated circuits (ASICs) to make very quick decisions.
▪ A switch will use one of two methods to make forwarding decisions after it receives a frame:
▪ Store-and-forward switching: Receives the entire frame and ensures the frame is valid. Store-and-forward
switching is Cisco’s preferred switching method.
▪ Cut-through switching: Forwards the frame immediately after determining the destination MAC address of an
incoming frame and the egress port.

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Switching Forwarding Methods (Contd.)
Store-and-Forward Switching
▪ Store-and-forward has two primary
characteristics:
▪ Error Checking – The switch will check
the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) for
CRC errors. Bad frames will be discarded.
▪ Buffering – The ingress interface will
buffer the frame while it checks the FCS.
This also allows the switch to adjust to a
potential difference in speeds between the
ingress and egress ports.

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Switching Forwarding Methods (Contd.)
Cut-Through Switching
▪ Cut-through forwards the frame immediately after
determining the destination MAC.
▪ Fragment (Frag) Free method will check the
destination and ensure that the frame is at least 64
Bytes. This will eliminate runts.
▪ Concepts of Cut-Through switching:
▪ Is appropriate for switches needing latency to be
under 10 microseconds
▪ Does not check the FCS, so it can propagate
errors
▪ May lead to bandwidth issues if the switch
propagates too many errors
▪ Cannot support ports with differing speeds
going from ingress to egress

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Switching Domains
▪ Switches eliminate collision domains and reduce
congestion.
▪ When there is full duplex on the link the collision
domains are eliminated.
▪ When there is one or more devices in half-duplex
there will now be a collision domain.
▪ There will now be contention for the
bandwidth.
▪ Collisions are now possible.
▪ Most devices, including Cisco and Microsoft use
auto-negotiation as the default setting for duplex and
speed.

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Switching Domains (Contd.)
▪ A broadcast domain extends across all Layer 1 or
Layer 2 devices on a LAN.
▪ Only a layer 3 device (router) will break the
broadcast domain, also called a MAC broadcast
domain.
▪ The broadcast domain consists of all devices on
the LAN that receive the broadcast traffic.
▪ When the layer 2 switch receives the broadcast, it
will flood it out all interfaces except for the ingress
interface.
▪ Too many broadcasts may cause congestion and poor
network performance.
▪ Increasing devices at Layer 1 or layer 2 will cause
the broadcast domain to expand.

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Alleviated Network Congestion
▪ Switches use the MAC address table and full-duplex to eliminate collisions and avoid congestion.
▪ Features of the switch that alleviate congestion are as follows:

Protocol Function

Fast Port Speeds Depending on the model, switches may have up to 100Gbps port speeds.

Fast Internal Switching This uses fast internal bus or shared memory to improve performance.

Large Frame Buffers This allows for temporary storage while processing large quantities of frames.

High Port Density This provides many ports for devices to be connected to LAN with less cost.
This also provides for more local traffic with less congestion.

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Switches vs Routers

Both are store-and-forward: Both have forwarding tables:

▪ routers: network-layer devices (examine network- ▪ routers: compute tables using routing
layer headers) algorithms, IP addresses
▪ switches: link-layer devices (examine link-layer ▪ switches: learn forwarding table using flooding,
headers) learning, MAC addresses

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Properties of Link-Layer Switching
Elimination of collisions. In a LAN built from switches (and without hubs), there is no wasted bandwidth due to collisions!
The switches buffer frames and never transmit more than one frame on a segment at any one time.
Heterogeneous links. Because a switch isolates one link from another, the different links in the LAN can operate at
different speeds and can run over different media.
Management. In addition to providing enhanced security, a switch also eases network management.

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Lab Activities-I
Lab 1.1 Setup a Small Network with Basic Configuration and Secure Remote Access
Lab 1.2 Examine the ARP Table in the Network Environment
Lab 1.3 Practice on Small Network with Configuration and Troubleshooting

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Link Layer Concepts and LANs: Building a Small Network

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