Chapter 5

Link Layer

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Link Layer 5-1

Chapter 5: Link layer
our goals:
 understand principles behind link layer
services:
 error detection, correction
 sharing a broadcast channel: multiple access
 link layer addressing
 local area networks: Ethernet, VLANs
 instantiation, implementation of various link
layer technologies

Link Layer 5-2

Link layer: introduction
terminology:
 hosts and routers: nodes
global ISP
 communication channels that
connect adjacent nodes along
communication path: links
 wired links
 wireless links
 layer-2 packet: frame,
encapsulates datagram

data-link layer has responsibility of

transferring datagram from one node
to physically adjacent node over a link
Link Layer 5-3
Link Layer Frame

Data Link Layer

Link layer services
 framing, link access:
 encapsulate datagram into frame, adding header
 channel access if shared medium
 “MAC” addresses used in frame headers to identify
source, dest
• different from IP address!
 reliable delivery between adjacent nodes
 we learned how to do this already (chapter 3)!
 seldom used on low bit-error link (fiber, some twisted
pair)
 wireless links: high error rates
• Q: why both link-level and end-end reliability?

Link Layer 5-5

Link layer services (more)
 flow control:
 pacing between adjacent sending and receiving nodes
 error detection:
 errors caused by signal attenuation, noise.
 receiver detects presence of errors:
• signals sender for retransmission or drops frame
 error correction:
 receiver identifies and corrects bit error(s) without resorting to
retransmission

Link Layer 5-6

Where is the link layer implemented?
 in each and every host
 link layer implemented in
“adaptor” (aka network
interface card NIC) or on a application
chip transport
cpu memory
network
 Ethernet card, 802.11 link

card host
 implements link, physical controller
bus
(e.g., PCI)
layer link
physical
physical
 attaches into host’s system transmission
buses
 combination of hardware, network adapter
card
software, firmware

Link Layer 5-7

MAC addresses and ARP
 32-bit IP address:
 network-layer address for interface
 used for layer 3 (network layer) forwarding
 MAC (or LAN or physical or Ethernet) address:
 function: used ‘locally” to get frame from one interface to
another physically-connected interface

 48 bit MAC address (for most LANs) burned in NIC ROM,

also sometimes software settable
 e.g.: 1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD

hexadecimal (base 16) notation

(each “number” represents 4 bits)
Link Layer 5-8
 MAC addresses and ARP
each adapter on LAN has unique MAC address

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

LAN
(wired or adapter
wireless)
71-65-F7-2B-08-53
58-23-D7-FA-20-B0

0C-C4-11-6F-E3-98

Link Layer 5-9

MAC addresses (more)
 MAC address allocation administered by IEEE

 manufacturer buys portion of MAC address space

(to assure uniqueness)

 analogy:
 MAC address: like Social Security Number
 IP address: like postal address

Link Layer 5-10

 ARP: address resolution protocol
Question: how to determine ARP table: each IP node (host,
interface’s MAC address, router) on LAN has table
knowing its IP address?  IP/MAC address mappings
for some LAN nodes:
B  TTL (Time To Live): time
137.196.7.78 after which address mapping
will be forgotten (typically 20
1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD min)
137.196.7.23
137.196.7.14
 ARP Table of Node A
A
LAN
71-65-F7-2B-08-53
58-23-D7-FA-20-B0 IP MAC TTL
137.196.7 1A-2F-BB-76-09- 20 min
0C-C4-11-6F-E3-98 .78 AD
137.196.7.88 … … …

Link Layer 5-11

Data Link Layer
ARP protocol: same LAN
 A wants to send a frame to B
 B’s MAC address not in A’s ARP
table.
 A broadcasts ARP query frame,
containing B's IP address. The
format is:
Source Dest. Source Dest. IP
MAC MAC IP
71-65-F7- 137.196. 137.196.7
2B-08-53 7.23 .78

Link Layer 5-13

ARP protocol: same LAN
 A wants to send a frame to B
 B’s MAC address not in A’s ARP
table.
 A broadcasts ARP query frame,
containing B's IP address. The
format is:
Source Dest. Source Dest. IP
MAC MAC IP
71-65- FF-FF-FF- 137.196. 137.196.7
F7-2B- FF-FF-FF 7.23 .78
08-53 ARP Response Frame:
Source Dest. Source Dest. IP
 B receives ARP Query frame, MAC MAC IP
replies to A with its (B's) MAC
1A-2F- 71-65- 137.196. 137.196.
address BB-76- F7-2B- 7.78 7.23
 frame sent to A’s MAC address 09-AD 08-53
(unicast)
Link Layer 5-14
Notes on ARP
 A caches (saves) IP-to-
MAC address pair in its
ARP table until
information becomes old
(times out)
 soft state: information that
times out (goes away)
unless refreshed
 ARP is “plug-and-play”:
 nodes create their ARP
tables without intervention
from net administrator

Data Link Layer

 Addressing: routing to another LAN
walkthrough: send datagram from A to B via R
 focus on addressing – at IP (datagram) and MAC layer (frame)
 assume A knows B’s IP address
 assume A knows IP address of first hop router, R (how?)
 assume A knows R’s MAC address (how?)

A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-16

Addressing: routing to another LAN
 A creates IP datagram with IP source A, destination B
 A creates link-layer frame with R's MAC address as dest, frame
contains A-to-B IP datagram
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
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-17

Addressing: routing to another LAN
 frame sent from A to R
 frame received at R, link layer header removed, passed up to IP

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

MAC dest: E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP IP
Eth Eth
Phy Ph
y
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-18

Addressing: routing to another LAN
 R forwards datagram with IP source A, destination B
 R creates link-layer frame with B's MAC address as dest, frame
contains A-to-B IP datagram
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
Ph
y
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-19

Addressing: routing to another LAN
 R forwards datagram with IP source A, destination B
 R creates link-layer frame with B's MAC address as dest, frame
contains A-to-B IP datagram

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
Ph
y
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-20

Addressing: routing to another LAN
 R forwards datagram with IP source A, destination B
 R creates link-layer frame with B's MAC address as dest, frame
contains A-to-B IP datagram
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
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

Link Layer 5-21

Ethernet switch
 link-layer device: takes an active role
 store, forward Ethernet frames
 examine incoming frame’s MAC address,
selectively forward frame to one-or-more
outgoing links when frame is to be forwarded on
segment, uses CSMA/CD to access segment
 transparent
 hosts are unaware of presence of switches
 plug-and-play, self-learning
 switches do not need to be configured

Link Layer 5-22

Switch: multiple simultaneous transmissions
 hosts have dedicated, direct A
connection to switch
C’ B
 switches buffer frames
 Ethernet protocol used on each 6 1 2
incoming link, but no collisions;
full duplex 5 4 3

B’ C
 switching: A-to-A’ and B-to-B’
can transmit simultaneously,
without collisions A’
switch with six interfaces
(1,2,3,4,5,6)

Link Layer 5-23

Switch forwarding table
Q: how does switch know A’ A
reachable via interface 4, B’
C’ B
reachable via interface 5?
 A: each switch has a switch 6 1 2
table, each entry:
5 4 3
 (MAC address of host, interface
to reach host, time stamp) B’ C

 looks like a routing table!

A’
Q: how are entries created, switch with six interfaces
maintained in switch table? (1,2,3,4,5,6)
 something like a routing
protocol?
Link Layer 5-24
Switch: self-learning Source: A
Dest: A’
 switch learns which hosts A A A’
can be reached through
which interfaces C’ B

Step-1: Initially the table 6 1 2

is empty A A’
Step-2: When frame 5 4 3
received, switch “learns” B’ C
the followings:

a) location of sender by A’
Switch table
incoming LAN segment b)
MAC addr interface TTL (initially empty)
Source MAC
A 1 60
Switch records the pair in
table if it is not already
there. Link Layer 5-25
Switch: frame filtering/forwarding
When a frame received at switch:

1. Index(Search) switch table using MAC destination address

2. If entry found for destination
then
{
If the outgoing interface in the table is the same from
which frame arrived
then filter the frame
Else forward frame on interface indicated by entry
}
Else
Broadcast it/* forward on all interfaces except arriving
interface */
Link Layer 5-26
Self-learning, forwarding: example Source: A
Dest: A’

A A A’
 frame destination, A’,
locaton unknown: flood C’ B

 destination A location 6 1 2

known: selectively send A A’

5 4 3
on just one link
B’ C
A’ A

A’

MAC addr interface TTL

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

Link Layer 5-27

Data Link Layer
 A day in the life: scenario

browser DNS server

Comcast network
68.80.0.0/13

school network
68.80.2.0/24

web page

web server Google’s network

64.233.169.105 64.233.160.0/19

Link Layer 5-29

A day in the life… connecting to the Internet
DHCP DHCP  connecting laptop needs to
UDP
DHCP
DHCP IP
get its own IP address, addr
DHCP Eth of first-hop router, addr of
Phy DNS server: use DHCP
DHCP

 DHCP request encapsulated

in UDP, encapsulated in IP,
DHCP
DHCP
DHCP UDP
encapsulated in 802.3
DHCP IP Ethernet
DHCP Eth router
Phy (runs DHCP)  Ethernet frame broadcast
(dest: FFFFFFFFFFFF) on
LAN, received at router
running DHCP server
 Ethernet demuxed to IP
demuxed, UDP demuxed to
DHCP
5-30
Link
A day in the life… connecting to the Internet
DHCP DHCP DHCP server formulates
DHCP UDP DHCP ACK containing
DHCP IP client’s IP address, IP
DHCP Eth address of first-hop router
Phy for client, name & IP
address of DNS server
 encapsulation at DHCP
DHCP DHCP server, frame forwarded
DHCP UDP (switch learning) through
DHCP IP LAN, demultiplexing at
DHCP Eth router client
Phy (runs DHCP)
DHCP  DHCP client receives
DHCP ACK reply

Client now has IP address, knows name & addr of DNS

server, IP address of its first-hop router

5-31
Link
A day in the life… ARP (before DNS, before HTTP)
DNS DNS  before sending HTTP request, need
DNS UDP IP address of www.google.com:
DNS
ARP
IP DNS
ARP query Eth
Phy  DNS query created, encapsulated in
UDP, encapsulated in IP,
encapsulated in Eth. To send frame
ARP
to router, need MAC address of
ARP reply Eth
Phy router interface: ARP
router  ARP query broadcast, received by
(runs DHCP) router, which replies with ARP
reply giving MAC address of
router interface
 client now knows MAC address
of first hop router, so can now
send frame containing DNS
query

5-32
Link
A day in the life… using DNS DNS
DNS UDP DNS server
DNS IP
DNS DNS DNS Eth
DNS UDP DNS Phy
DNS IP
DNS Eth
Phy
DNS
Comcast network
68.80.0.0/13

router
 IP datagram forwarded from
(runs DHCP) campus network into comcast
 IP datagram containing DNS network, routed (tables created by
query forwarded via LAN RIP, OSPF, IS-IS and/or BGP
switch from client to 1st hop routing protocols) to DNS server
router  demux’ed to DNS server
 DNS server replies to client
with IP address of
www.google.com
5-33
Link
A day in the life…TCP connection carrying HTTP
HTTP
HTTP
SYNACK
SYN TCP
SYNACK
SYN IP
SYNACK
SYN Eth
Phy

 to send HTTP request,

client first opens TCP
socket to web server
router  TCP SYN segment (step 1 in 3-
(runs DHCP)
SYNACK
SYN TCP way handshake) inter-domain
SYNACK
SYN IP routed to web server
SYN
SYNACK Eth
Phy  web server responds with TCP
SYNACK (step 2 in 3-way
web server handshake)
64.233.169.105  TCP connection established!

5-34
Link
A day in the life… HTTP request/reply
HTTP
HTTP HTTP  web page finally (!!!) displayed
HTTP
HTTP TCP
HTTP
HTTP IP
HTTP
HTTP Eth
Phy

 HTTP request sent into TCP

socket
router  IP datagram containing HTTP
HTTP HTTP (runs DHCP)
HTTP TCP
request routed to
HTTP IP www.google.com
HTTP Eth  web server responds with
Phy HTTP reply (containing web
page)
web server
64.233.169.105
 IP datagram containing HTTP
reply routed back to client

5-35
Link