COMPUTER NETWORKING

ET 6312

Unit IV

Networking Protocols and the

Layered Architecture
 Layers, Services & Protocols
 The overall communications process between two or more
machines connected across one or more networks is very
complex
 Layering partitions related communications functions into
groups that are manageable
 Each layer provides a service to the layer above
 Each layer operates according to a protocol
 Layers and protocols is called the network architecture
 Layers, Services & Protocols
 Networks are organized as layers to reduce design
complexity
 Each layer offers services to the higher layers
 Between adjacent layers is an interface
 The basic elements of a layered model are

• Services: Each layer provides a set of services to the

layer above it. These services hide the complexity of the
underlying layer and offer a simplified interface for the
 Layers, Services & Protocols
 Protocols: Protocols define the format, order of messages sent and
received among network entities, and actions taken on message
transmission, receipt

• Protocols ensure proper communication and data exchange within

a specific layer
 Interfaces: An interface defines the interaction point between
adjacent layers

• It specifies the format of data and the services offered by a layer

• Data is passed down from higher layers to lower layers, adhering
to the defined interface at each level
 Layering
 A set of related communication functions that can be managed and
grouped together
 The services provided by a layer depend only on the services provided
by the previous, less abstract, layer
 Why Layering?!
No without layering each new application has to be re-
Layering implemented for every network technology

introduce an intermediate layer that provides a

Solution
unique abstraction for various network technologies
 Why Protocol Layering?
 Modularity; one problem is decomposed into a number
of smaller more manageable subproblems

• more flexibility in designing, modifying and evolving

computer networks
 Functionality reuse; a common functionality of a lower
layer can be shared by many upper layers

Layered approach accommodates incremental changes

much more rapidly
 Protocol Layering
Grouping of related communication functions into hierarchical set of layers
each layer:
1. performs a subset of functions required for communication
with another system
2. relies on next lower layer to perform more primitive
functions
3. provides service to next higher layer
4. implements protocol for communication with peer layer in
other systems
 vertical communication; communication between adjacent
layers requires mutual understanding of what services
and/or information lower layer must provide to layer
above
 horizontal communication; communication between
software or hardware elements running at the same layer
on different machines

Communication between peer processes is virtual, i.e. indirect.

 Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
model
 The Open Systems Interconnection(OSI) is the model
developed by the International Standards Organization
 OSI model is a conceptual framework that define how
communication occurs between network systems
 It's a reference model, meaning it doesn't specify exact
protocols but rather provides a common language for
understanding network communication
 OSI model
 The OSI model consists of seven layers, each with specific
functionalities
 These layers work together in a hierarchical manner, where each
layer provides services to the layer above it and relies on the
services of the layer below it
 Data travels down from the top layer (application) to the bottom
layer (physical) on the sending device
 The OSI model is composed of seven ordered layers
 These layers work together to make the network work
OSI model
 Layer-to-Layer Communication
 message moves down through layers on sending device, over intermediate
nodes, to receiving station, and then back up through layers
 at intermediate nodes (routers), data is pulled only up to network layer, so
that next hop could be determined
 Layer-to-Layer Communication
 each layer in sending device adds its own information to message it
receives from layer above it and passes whole package to layer just
below it – reverse process occurs at receiving device
 when data reaches physical layer, it is changed into electromagnetic
signal and sent along a physical link
 Interfaces between Layers
 Each interface defines what information and services a layer
must provide for the layer above it
 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
Organization of the Layers

Upper Layers
user support layers
“End-to-End”-Layers

Lower Layers
network support layers;
“End-to-End” layers
 Encapsulation
 Encapsulation is a fundamental concept in computer
networks, especially when it comes to data transmission
across the different layers of a layered network model (like
the OSI model or TCP/IP model)
 It refers to the process of adding additional information to a
chunk of data as it travels down the layers on the sending
device and removing that information as it travels up the
layers on the receiving device
 Encapsulation

message M
application M application

segment Ht M
transport Ht M
transport
datagram Hn Ht M Hn Ht M
network network

frame Hl Hn Ht M Hl Hn Ht M
link link

physical physical

source
destination
 Encapsulation: an end-end view
message M application
segment Htt M transport
datagram Hn Ht M network
frame Hl Hn Ht M link
physical
link
link
physical
physical
switch

destination Hn Ht M network
M application Hl Hn Ht M link Hn Ht M
Ht M transport physical
Hn Ht M network
Hl Hn Ht M link router
physical
 Layers in the OSI Model
Physical Layer
It also defines the procedures and
The physical layer coordinates
functions that physical devices and
the functions required to carry a
interfaces have to perform for
bit stream over a physical
transmission to occur
medium
It deals with the mechanical and
electrical specifications of the
interface and transmission media
 Layers in the OSI Model
Data Link Layer
It makes the physical layer appear error-free access control: When 2 or more
to the upper layer devices are connected to same link, the
The data link layer transforms the physical DLL determines which device has
layer, a raw stream of bits, to a reliable link control over the link at any given time
between two devices on the same network flow control: If rate at which data are

Framing; The DLL divides the stream of absorbed by receiver is less than
bits received from the network layer into sender’s transmission rate, the DLL
manageable data units called frames imposes a flow control over sender
physical addressing: The DLL adds a
header to the frame to specify the NIC
address of appropriate receiver on the other
side (of wire)
error control: The DLL adds reliability
to the physical layer by adding a trailer
with information necessary to
detect/recover damaged or lost frames
 Layers in the OSI Model
Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination
delivery of a packet, possibly across multiple networks/ (links)
While the data link layer oversees the delivery of packets
between two devices on the same network
Logical addressing:The physical addressing implemented by
the data link layer handles the addressing problem locally
 Layers in the OSI Model
Network Layer  routing: The Network Layer provides
If a packet passes the network boundary, the mechanism for routing/switching

we need another addressing system to help packets to their final destination, along

distinguish the source and destination the optimal path – across a large

systems internetwork
 Layers in the OSI Model
Transport Layer

 The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process

delivery of the entire message
 A process is an application program running on the host
 While network layer gets each packet to the correct
computer, transport layer gets the entire message to the
correct process on that computer
 Processes communicating
process: program running clients, servers
within a host client process: process that
 within same host, two initiates communication
server process: process
processes communicate that waits to be contacted
using inter-process
communication (defined by
OS)  note: applications with
 processes in different hosts P2P architectures have
client processes &
communicate by exchanging server processes
messages
Layers in the OSI Model
 Layers in the OSI Model
 Port addressing: Computers often run several programs at
the same time
 Process-to-process delivery means delivery not only
from one computer to the other but also from a specific
process on one computer to a specific process on the
other
 The Transport Layer header therefore must include a
type of address called a port address
 Layers in the OSI Model
 Segmentation and reassembly: A message is divided into
segments, each segment containing a sequence number
 These numbers enable the Transport Layer to
reassemble the message correctly upon arrival at the
destination, and to identify and replace packets that
were lost in the transmission
 Flow & error control: Flow & error control at this layer
are performed end-to-end rather than across a single link
 Layers in the OSI Model
Session Layer
 The session layer is the network  Synchronization: The session
dialog controller layer allows a process to add
 It establishes, maintains, and checkpoints (synchronization
synchronizes the interaction points) into a stream of data
between communicating systems  For example, if a system is

sending a file of 2,000 pages, it is
Dialog control: The session
advisable to insert checkpoints
layer allows two systems to enter
after every 100 pages to ensure
into a dialog
that each 100-page unit is
 It allows the communication received and acknowledged
between two processes to take independently
place in either half duplex or
full-duplex mode
 Layers in the OSI Model
Presentation Layer
 The presentation layer is  The presentation layer is
concerned with the syntax responsible for
and semantics of the interoperability between
information exchanged these different encoding
between two systems methods
 Translation: The processes  Different computers use
(running programs) in two different encoding systems
systems are usually
exchanging information in
the form of character
strings, numbers, and so on
 Layers in the OSI Model
 Encryption: To carry  Decryption reverses the
sensitive information a original process to
system must be able to transform the message back
assure privacy to its original form
 Encryption means that the  Compression: Data
sender transforms the compression reduces the
original information to number of bits contained in
another form and sends the the information
resulting message out over  Data compression becomes
the network
particularly important in the
transmission of multimedia
such as text, audio, and
video
 Layers in the OSI Model
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
web browsers, email clients, and file transfer programs
TCP/IP Architecture
 Introduction
 The protocol stack used on the Internet is the Internet
Protocol Suite
 The TCP/IP protocol suite was developed prior to the OSI
model
 Therefore, the layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not
match exactly with those in the OSI model
 The TCP/IP model is based on a five-layer model for
networking
 Introduction
 The TCP/IP stack is open, which means that there are no
“secrets” as to how it works
 The TCP/IP stack is comprised of modules. Each module
provides a specific function, but the modules are fairly
independent
 The TCP/IP layers contain relatively independent protocols
that can be used depending on the needs of the system to
provide whatever function is desired
 Suite, Stack, and Model
 The term “protocol stack” is often used synonymously with
“protocol suite” as an implementation of a reference model
 The term “protocol suite” properly refers to a collection of
all the protocols that can make up a layer in the reference
model
 TCP/IP protocol stack implements one or more of these
protocols at each layer
TCP/IP and OSI model
That’s all for today