CCS2201

Introductions to
Networks
Fall 2023-2024

Lecture #3
Performance: loss, delay, throughput.
Protocol layers, and Networks under attack

Assoc. Prof. Hisham Dahshan

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 How do packet delay and loss occur?
• packets queue in router buffers, waiting for turn for transmission
 queue length grows when arrival rate to link (temporarily) exceeds output link capacity
 packet loss occurs when memory to hold queued packets fills up

packet being transmitted (transmission delay)

B
packets in buffers (queueing delay)
free (available) buffers: arriving packets
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dropped (loss) if no free buffers
 Packet delay: four sources
transmission
A propagation

B
nodal
processing queueing

dnodal = dproc + dqueue + dtrans + dprop

dproc: nodal processing dqueue: queueing delay

 check bit errors  time waiting at output link for
 determine output link transmission
 typically < microsecs  depends on congestion level of router
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 Packet delay: four sources
transmission
A propagation

B
nodal
processing queueing

dnodal = dproc + dqueue + dtrans + dprop

dtrans: transmission delay: dprop: propagation delay:
 L: packet length (bits)  d: length of physical link
 R: link transmission rate (bps)  s: propagation speed (~2x108 m/sec)
 dtrans = L/R  dprop = d/s
dtrans and dprop
4 very different
 Caravan analogy
100 km 100 km

ten-car caravan toll booth toll booth toll booth

(aka 10-bit packet) (aka link)

 car ~ bit; caravan ~ packet; toll  time to “push” entire caravan

service ~ link transmission through toll booth onto
 toll booth takes 12 sec to service highway = 12*10 = 120 sec
car (bit transmission time)  time for last car to propagate
 “propagate” at 100 km/hr from 1st to 2nd toll both:
100km/(100km/hr) = 1 hr
 Q: How long until caravan is lined
up before 2nd toll booth?  A: 62 minutes

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 Caravan analogy
100 km 100 km

ten-car caravan toll booth toll booth

(aka 10-bit packet) (aka router)

 suppose cars now “propagate” at 1000 km/hr

 and suppose toll booth now takes one min to service a car
 Q: Will cars arrive to 2nd booth before all cars serviced at first booth?
A: Yes! after 7 min, first car arrives at second booth; three cars still at
first booth

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 Packet queueing delay (revisited)
 a: average packet arrival rate

average queueing delay

 L: packet length (bits)
 R: link bandwidth (bit transmission rate)

L .a arrival rate of bits “traffic

:
R service rate of bits intensity”
traffic intensity = La/R 1

La/R ~ 0
 La/R ~ 0: avg. queueing delay small
 La/R -> 1: avg. queueing delay large
 La/R > 1: more “work” arriving is
more than can be serviced - average
delay infinite!
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La/R -> 1
 Packet loss
 queue (aka buffer) preceding link in buffer has finite capacity
 packet arriving to full queue dropped (aka lost)
 lost packet may be retransmitted by previous node, by source end
system, or not at all
buffer
(waiting area) packet being transmitted
A

B
packet arriving to
full buffer is lost

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 Throughput
 throughput: rate (bits/time unit) at which bits are being sent from
sender to receiver
• instantaneous: rate at given point in time
• average: rate over longer period of time

link
pipecapacity
that can carry linkthat
pipe capacity
can carry
serverserver,
sends with
bits Rsfluid at rate
bits/sec Rfluid
c
at rate
bits/sec
(fluid)
fileinto
of Fpipe
bits (Rs bits/sec) (Rc bits/sec)
to send to client
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 Throughput
Rs < Rc What is average end-end throughput?

Rs bits/sec Rc bits/sec

Rs > Rc What is average end-end throughput? min(Rc,Rs)

Rs bits/sec Rc bits/sec

bottleneck link
link on end-end path that constrains end-end throughput
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 Throughput: network scenario
 per-connection end-end
Rs throughput:
Rs Rs min(Rc,Rs,R/10)
 in practice: Rc or Rs is
R
often bottleneck
Rc Rc
Rc

10 connections (fairly) share

backbone bottleneck link R bits/sec
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 Protocol “layers” and reference models

Networks are complex, Question: is there any

with many “pieces”: hope of organizing
 hosts structure of network?
 routers
 links of various media
 applications
 protocols
 hardware, software

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 Example: organization of air travel

end-to-end transfer of person plus baggage

ticket (purchase) ticket (complain)
baggage (check) baggage (claim)
gates (load) gates (unload)
runway takeoff runway landing
airplane routing airplane routing
airplane routing

How would you define/discuss the system of airline travel?

 a series of steps, involving many services
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 Example: organization of air travel

ticket (purchase) ticketing service ticket (complain)

baggage (check) baggage service baggage (claim)
gates (load) gate service gates (unload)
runway takeoff runway service runway landing
airplane routing routing service
airplane routing airplane routing

layers: each layer implements a service

 via its own internal-layer actions
 relying on services provided by layer below
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 Why layering?
Approach to designing/discussing complex systems:
 explicit structure allows identification, relationship of system’s
pieces
• layered reference model for discussion
 modularization eases maintenance, updating of system
• change in layer's service implementation: transparent to rest of system
• e.g., change in gate procedure doesn’t affect rest of system

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 Layered Internet protocol stack
 application: supporting network applications
• HTTP, IMAP, SMTP, DNS
application
application
 transport: process-process data transfer
• TCP, UDP transport
transport
 network: routing of datagrams from source to
destination network
• IP, routing protocols
link
 link: data transfer between neighboring
network elements physical
• Ethernet, 802.11 (WiFi), PPP
 physical: bits “on the wire”
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 Services, Layering and Encapsulation
M
Application exchanges messages to implement some
application application service using services of transport layer application
Ht M
transport Transport-layer protocol transfers M (e.g., reliably) from transport
one process to another, using services of network layer

network  transport-layer protocol encapsulates network

application-layer message, M, with
transport layer-layer header Ht to create a link
link
transport-layer segment
• Ht used by transport layer protocol to
physical implement its service physical

source destination
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 Services, Layering and Encapsulation
M

application application
Ht M
transport Transport-layer protocol transfers M (e.g., reliably) from transport
one process to another, using services of network layer
Hn Ht M
network Network-layer protocol transfers transport-layer segment
network
[Ht | M] from one host to another, using link layer services
link  network-layer protocol encapsulates link
transport-layer segment [Ht | M] with
physical network layer-layer header Hn to create a physical
network-layer datagram
source • Hn used by network layer protocol to destination
implement its service
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 Services, Layering and Encapsulation
M

application application
Ht M
transport transport
Hn Ht M
network Network-layer protocol transfers transport-layer segment
network
[Ht | M] from one host to another, using link layer services
Hl Hn Ht
link M
link
Link-layer protocol transfers datagram [Hn| [Ht |M] from
host to neighboring host, using network-layer services
physical  link-layer protocol encapsulates network physical
datagram [Hn| [Ht |M], with link-layer header
source Hl to create a link-layer frame destination
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 Services, Layering and Encapsulation
M

application M application
message
Ht M
transport Ht M
transport
segment
Hn Ht M Hn Ht M
network network
datagram

Hl Hn Ht Hl Hn Ht M
link M
link
frame

physical physical

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

 Internet not originally designed with (much) security in mind

• original vision: “a group of mutually trusting users attached to a
transparent network” 
• Internet protocol designers playing “catch-up”
• security considerations in all layers!
 We now need to think about:
• how bad guys can attack computer networks
• how we can defend networks against attacks
• how to design architectures that are immune to attacks

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 Bad guys: packet interception
packet “sniffing”:
 broadcast media (shared Ethernet, wireless)
 promiscuous network interface reads/records all packets (e.g.,
including passwords!) passing by

A C

src:B dest:A payload

B

Wireshark software used for our labs is a (free) packet-sniffer

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 Bad guys: fake identity
IP spoofing: injection of packet with false source address

A C

src:B dest:A payload

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 Bad guys: denial of service
Denial of Service (DoS): attackers make resources (server,
bandwidth) unavailable to legitimate traffic by
overwhelming resource with bogus traffic

1. select target
2. break into hosts around
the network (see botnet)
3. send packets to target
target
from compromised hosts

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 Lines of defense:
 authentication: proving you are who you say you are
• cellular networks provides hardware identity via SIM card; no such
hardware assist in traditional Internet
 confidentiality: via encryption
 integrity checks: digital signatures prevent/detect tampering
 access restrictions: password-protected VPNs
 firewalls: specialized “middleboxes” in access and core networks:
 off-by-default: filter incoming packets to restrict senders, receivers,
applications
 detecting/reacting to DOS attacks
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