Network Models

 In the early- and mid-1970s, networking was largely either

government-sponsored (NPL network in the
UK, ARPANET in the US, CYCLADES in France) or vendor-
developed with proprietary standards, such
as IBM's Systems Network Architecture and Digital
Equipment Corporation's DECnet. 

 Public data networks were only just beginning to emerge,

and these began to use the X.25 standard in the late 1970s

The U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the
first public packet-switched computer network.

X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet-switched data

communication in wide area networks (WAN).

2.2
  The Experimental Packet Switched System in the UK
circa 1973-5 identified the need for defining higher level
protocols.
  The UK National Computing Centre publication 'Why
Distributed Computing' which came from considerable
research into future configurations for computer
systems, resulted in the UK presenting the case for an
international standards committee to cover this area at
the ISO meeting in Sydney in March 1977.

2.3
  Beginning in 1977, the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) conducted a program to develop
general standards and methods of networking.
 A similar process evolved at the International Telegraph
and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT)
 Both bodies developed documents that defined similar
networking models. The OSI model was first defined in
raw form in Washington, DC in February 1978 by Hubert
Zimmermann of France and the refined but still draft
standard was published by the ISO in 1980

2.4
 In 1983, the CCITT and ISO documents were merged to
form The Basic Reference Model for Open Systems
Interconnection, usually referred to as the Open Systems
Interconnection Reference Model, OSI Reference Model,
or simply OSI model.

 It was published in 1984 by both the ISO, as

standard ISO 7498.

The concept of a seven-layer model was provided by the

work of Charles Bachman at Honeywell Information
Systems.
 LAYERED TASKS

We use the concept of layers in our daily life. As an

example, let us consider two friends who communicate
through postal mail. The process of sending a letter to a
friend would be complex if there were no services
available from the post office.

Topics discussed in this section:

Sender, Receiver, and Carrier
Hierarchy
Figure Tasks involved in sending a letter
 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
(OSI) model. It was first introduced in the late 1970s.

Topics discussed in this section:

Layered Architecture
Peer-to-Peer Processes
Encapsulation
Note

ISO is the organization.

OSI is the model.
Figure Seven layers of the OSI model
Figure The interaction between layers in the OSI model

Service to the
End-user

Translation/
Compression
/Encryption

Control/
Synchronization

Segments/Message

Packets

Frames

Bits
2.12
 Common protocol used
Protocol Acronym Remarks
Point To Point PPP Used to manage network
communication over a
modem

Transfer/Transmission Control Protocol TCP / IP Backbone protocol. The

most widely used protocol.

Internetwork package exchange IPX Standard protocol for Novell

NOS

NetBIOS extended user interface NetBEUI Microsoft protocol that

doesn’t support routing to
other network. Running only
Windows-based clients.

File transfer Protocol FTP used to send and received

file from a remote host

Simple mail Transfer protocol SMTP Used to send Email over a

network

Hyper text transfer protocol HTTP Used for Internet to send

document that encoded in
HTML

Apple Talk Apple Talk Protocol suite to network

Macintosh computer and a
peer-to-peer network
protocol

OSI Model OSI Layers A way of illustrating how

information functions travels
through network of its 7
2.13 layers.
Figure An exchange using the OSI model
 LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL

In this section we briefly describe the functions of each

layer in the OSI model.

Topics discussed in this section:

Physical Layer
Data Link Layer
Network Layer
Transport Layer
Session Layer
Presentation Layer
Application Layer
Figure Physical layer
 T-----------S1----------S2-----------S3

Note

The physical layer is responsible for movements of

individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.
Figure Data link layer
Note

The data link layer is responsible for moving

frames from one hop (node) to the next.
Figure Hop-to-hop delivery
Figure Network layer
Note

The network layer is responsible for the

delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.
Figure Source-to-destination delivery
Figure Transport layer
Note

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery

of a message from one process to another.
Figure Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message
Figure Session layer
Note

The session layer is responsible for dialog

control and synchronization.
Figure Presentation layer
Note

The presentation layer is responsible for translation,

compression, and encryption.
Figure Application layer
Note

The application layer is responsible for

providing services to the user.
Figure Summary of layers
  Figure shows the layers involved when a message is
sent from
device A to device D.
 As the message travels from A to D, it may pass
through many intermediate nodes.
 These intermediate nodes usually involve only the first
three layers of the OSI model.
 In developing the model, the designers distilled the
process of transmitting data to its most fundamental
elements.
 They identified which networking functions had
related uses and collected those functions into discrete
groups that became the layers.

2.34
 Each layer defines a family of functions distinct from those of
the other layers.
 By defining and localizing functionality in this fashion, the
designers created an architecture that is both comprehensive
and flexible.
 Most importantly, the OSI model allows complete
interoperability between otherwise incompatible systems.

2.35
  Within a single machine, each layer calls upon the services of the
layer just below it.
 Layer 3, for example, uses the services provided by layer 2 and
provides services for layer 4.
 Between machines, layer x on one machine communicates with layer
x on another machine.
 This communication is governed by an agreed-upon series of rules
and conventions called protocols.
 The processes on each machine that communicate at a given layer
are called peer-to-peer processes.
 Communication between machines is therefore a peer-to-peer process
using the protocols appropriate to a given layer.
2.36
 Peer-to-Peer Processes
At the physical layer, communication is direct: In Figure,
device A sends a stream of bits to device D (through
intermediate nodes).
At the higher layers, however, communication must move
down through the layers on device A, over to device B, and
then back up through the layers.
 Each layer in the sending device adds its own information
to the message it receives from the layer just above it and
passes the whole package to the layer just below it.

2.37
  At layer 1 the entire package is converted to a form that can
be transmitted to the receiving device.
 At the receiving machine, the message is unwrapped layer
by layer, with each process receiving and removing the data
meant for it.
 For example, layer 2 removes the data meant for it, then
passes the rest to layer 3.
 Layer 3 then removes the data meant for it and passes the
rest to layer 4, and so on.

2.38
 Interfaces Between Layers
The passing of the data and network information down
through the layers of the sending device and back up through
the layers of the receiving device is made possible by an
interface between each pair of adjacent layers.
Each interface defines the information and services a layer
must provide for the layer above it.

2.39
 Interfaces Between Layers
Well-defined interfaces and layer functions provide
modularity to a network.
As long as a layer provides the expected services to the layer
above it, the specific implementation of its functions can be
modified or replaced without requiring changes to the
surrounding layers.

2.40
 Organization of the Layers
The seven layers can be thought of as belonging to three
subgroups. Layers 1, 2, and 3-physical, data link, and network-are
the network support layers; they deal with the physical aspects of
moving data from one device to another (such as electrical
specifications, physical connections, physical addressing, and
transport timing and reliability).
 Layers 5, 6, and 7-session, presentation, and application-can be
thought of as the user support layers; they allow interoperability

among unrelated software systems.

2.41
Organization of the Layers
 Layer 4, the transport layer, links the two subgroups and ensures
that what the lower layers have transmitted is in a form that the
upper layers can use.
The upper OSI layers are almost always implemented in software;
lower layers are a combination of hardware and software, except for
the physical layer, which is mostly hardware.

2.42
  In Figure, which gives an overall view of the OSI layers, D7
means the data unit at layer 7, D6 means the data unit at layer
6, and so on.
 The process starts at layer 7 (the application layer), then moves
from layer to layer in descending, sequential order.
 At each layer, a header, or possibly a trailer, can be added to
the data unit. Commonly, the trailer is added only at layer 2.
 When the formatted data unit passes through the physical
layer (layer 1), it is changed into an electromagnetic signal and
transported along a physical link.

2.43
  Upon reaching its destination, the signal passes into layer 1 and
is transformed back into digital form.
 The data units then move back up through the OSI layers.
 As each block of data reaches the next higher layer, the
headers and trailers attached to it at the corresponding
sending layer are removed, and actions appropriate to that
layer are taken.
 By the time it reaches layer 7, the message is again in a form
appropriate to the application and is made available to the
recipient.

2.44
 Encapsulation
Figure reveals another aspect of data communications in the
OSI model: encapsulation.
A packet (header and data) at level 7 is encapsulated in a packet
at level 6. The whole packet at level 6 is encapsulated in a packet
at level 5, and so on.
In other words, the data portion of a packet at level N - 1
carries the whole packet (data and header and maybe trailer)
from level N.

2.45
 Encapsulation
The concept is called encapsulation; level N - 1 is not aware of
which part of the encapsulated packet is data and which part is
the header or trailer.
For level N - 1, the whole packet coming from level N is treated
as one integral unit.

2.46
 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

The layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not exactly

match those in the OSI model. The original TCP/IP
protocol suite was defined as having four layers: host-to-
network, internet, transport, and application. However,
when TCP/IP is compared to OSI, we can say that the
TCP/IP protocol suite is made of five layers: physical,
data link, network, transport, and application.

Topics discussed in this section:

Physical and Data Link Layers
Network Layer
Transport Layer
Application Layer
 Similarities between the OSI and TCP/IP models.
1.Reference Model: Both the OSI as well as the TCP/IP are
reference models. This means that we can take a reference or help
from the specification of these two models during implementing
the network.
2.Layered Architecture: Both the OSI and TCP/IP model have a
layered architecture. Each layer provides different functionalities
in the network. The OSI model has generally 7 layers, while the
TCP/IP has 5 layers.

2.48
 3.Protocols: Both the OSI as well as the TCP/IP model makes use
of different protocols in different layers for the proper
implementation of the model over the network.
4.Functionalities: The layers of the OSI and the TCP/IP model
provides approximately the same functionality. The Application
layer of the TCP/IP model acts as the upper three
layers(Application, Presentation, and Session layer) of the OSI
model, while the Internet layer in the TCP/IP model acts as the
Network layer of the OSI model. Rest of the layers in both the
models works the same.

2.49
Dissimilarities between the OSI and the TCP/IP model:
1.Evolution: The OSI model evolved as a logical and conceptual model. It was documented
first and the functionalities of each layer are specified. Afterwards, the protocols for each
layer are identified. On the other hand, the TCP/IP model is implemented first with the
specified protocols and then it is documented. Hence, the OSI model evolved as a theoretical
model, while the TCP/IP as a practical model. So, if someone just needs the theoretical
aspects of the model, they should go with the OSI model. But if someone wants to practically
implement the model, they should go with the TCP/IP model.
2.Objective: The objective of the OSI model is to come up with a generic standard model for
specifying the connection procedures, layered architecture, services, interfaces, and protocols.
On the other hand, the TCP/IP model aims to provide a reliable and end-to-end transmission
model. So, if someone needs a generic and standard model, they should go for the OSI model.
But if someone needs reliability and security over the network, they should go for the TCP/IP
model.

2.50
 3. Area Focused: The OSI model is a generic model, and hence universal in
nature. It can be used accordingly in different types of networks as per the
specifications. On the other hand, the TCP/IP model is dependent on protocols
and is compatible with the current Internet architecture. Thus, the TCP/IP model
is able to solve only a specific set of problems. So, if someone needs a universal
model that can be applied to different networks, they should choose the OSI
model. But if they have to perform some network functionalities on the Internet,
they should choose the TCP/IP reference model.
4. Documentation: The OSI model is documented properly. The three major
concepts, i.e., services, interfaces, and protocols are clearly specified in this
model. On the other hand, the TCP/IP model is not properly documented. The
specifications and functionalities of each layer are not so clear in the TC/IP
model. So, if someone needs proper documentation and guidance during
implementing the network, they should refer to the OSI model.
2.51
 5. Set-up and Configuration: The OSI model is easy and standardized to
set-up and configure, as it is a generic model. On the other hand, the
TCP/IP model is complex to set-up and configure, as it is compatible with
only specific domains of networks. So, the OSI model is better if we
consider the network set-up and configuration functionality.
6. Modularity: Both models are modular in nature. But the OSI model has
more layers(7) as compared to the TCP/IP model(5 layers). Hence, the
OSI model is more modular then the TCP/IP model, and the functionalities
of each module are clearly specified in the OSI model. So, if someone is
focusing on a more modular network with proper functionalities, they
should go for the TCP/IP model.

2.52
 7. Replacing Protocols: The OSI model is a protocol-independent model. We
can implement our own protocols as per our needs. On the other hand, the
TCP/IP model is protocol dependent. It defines a specific set of protocols for
implementing the model. It is very complex to make any changes or replace
some protocols in the TCP/IP model. So, if someone just needs the specified
set of protocols, they should go with the TCP/IP model, else the OSI model is
better for implementing our own protocols.
8. Data Delivery: Data delivery is the functionality of the Transport layer in
both models. In the OSI model, the transport layer facilitates the connection-
oriented transfer and hence it guarantees the delivery of packets. On the other
hand, in the TCP/IP model, the transport layer facilitates both connection-
oriented as well as connectionless transfer, and hence it does not guarantees the
delivery of data packets. So, we can use the OSI model if we want to guarantee
the proper data delivery over the network.
2.53
 Reliable and Secure Connection: The OSI model does not have any special
mechanism for providing a reliable and secure connection for data transmission.
On the other hand, the TCP/IP model has a 3 WAY HANDSHAKE
MECHANISM for providing a reliable and secure connection link over the
network. So, we can opt for the TCP/IP model is we want a reliable and secure
network connection.
Conclusion
Thus, we can conclude that both models have their own advantages and
disadvantages. If someone is focusing on the proper documentation,
specification, and modularization, they should prefer the OSI model over the
TCP/IP model. But if someone is focusing more on the implementation,
reliability, and security of the network, they should prefer the TCP/IP model
over the OSI model.
2.54
 Main Differences Between TCP and IP
1.The Transmission Control Protocol carries out the task of delivering
the data. On the other hand, the Internet Protocol carries out the task of
finding the address to which the data is supposed to be delivered.

2.The TCP stands for the Transmission Control Protocol. On the other
hand, the IP stands for the Internet Protocol.

3.The use of TCP includes the exchange of messages over a network.

On the other hand, the use of IP includes tracking down the user’s
location.

4.The Transmission Control Protocol generally works at the transport

layer. On the other hand, the Internet Protocol works at the Network
layer.

5.The TCP is responsible for the correction of error and end to end
delivery. On the other hand, the IP is responsible for the judgment of a
suitable path to delivering the data.
2.55
Figure TCP/IP and OSI model
 ADDRESSING

Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing

the TCP/IP protocols: physical, logical, port, and specific.

Topics discussed in this section:

Physical Addresses
Logical Addresses
Port Addresses
Specific Addresses
Figure Addresses in TCP/IP
Figure Relationship of layers and addresses in TCP/IP
 Example

In Figure, a node with physical address 10 sends a

frame to a node with physical address 87. The two nodes
are connected by a link (bus topology LAN). As the
figure shows, the computer with physical address 10 is
the sender, and the computer with physical address 87 is
the receiver.
Figure Physical addresses
 Example

Most local-area networks use a 48-bit (6-byte) physical

address written as 12 hexadecimal digits; every byte (2
hexadecimal digits) is separated by a colon, as shown
below:

07:01:02:01:2C:4B

A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical address.

 Example

Figure shows a part of an internet with two routers

connecting three LANs. Each device (computer or
router) has a pair of addresses (logical and physical) for
each connection. In this case, each computer is
connected to only one link and therefore has only one
pair of addresses. Each router, however, is connected to
three networks (only two are shown in the figure). So
each router has three pairs of addresses, one for each
connection.
Figure IP addresses
 Example

Figure shows two computers communicating via the

Internet. The sending computer is running three
processes at this time with port addresses a, b, and c. The
receiving computer is running two processes at this time
with port addresses j and k. Process a in the sending
computer needs to communicate with process j in the
receiving computer. Note that although physical
addresses change from hop to hop, logical and port
addresses remain the same from the source to
destination.
Figure Port addresses
Note

The physical addresses will change from hop to hop,

but the logical addresses usually remain the same.
 Example

A port address is a 16-bit address represented by one

decimal number as shown.

753

A 16-bit port address represented

as one single number.
Note

The physical addresses change from hop to hop,

but the logical and port addresses usually remain the same.