LAN and WAN Standards

Habib Youssef, Ph.D.

[email protected]
Department of Computer Engineering
King Fahd University of Petroleum &
Minerals
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

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 Networks are classified on the basis of
geographic span.
» Local Area Networks (LANs)
» Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
» Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 The difference in geographical extent
between WANs and LANs account for
significant differences in their
respective design issues.

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 Local Area Networks
(LANs)

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 LAN Characteristics
 LANs are designed to:
» Operate within a limited geographic area
» Allow multi-access to high-bandwidth media
» Control the network privately under local
administration
» Provide full-time connectivity to local services
» Connect physically adjacent devices

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 LAN Characteristics
 All nodes are connected by a single high speed
shared channel.
 Data is packetized and packets are carried
past all nodes in the network.

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 LAN Characteristics
 Transmission Medium
» Twisted pair, Coax, CATV, Fiber Optic, or Wireless.
 Topology: Star, Bus, Ring
 Transmission method: Base vs
Broadband
 Medium Access Technique
» Random Access (CSMA/CD)
» Controlled Access (Token Passing)

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 LAN Characteristics (Cont.)

 Others
» Type (Peer-to-Peer or Server-based)
» Speed: in bits per second (bps)
» Span: distance between end stations
» Load: number of stations.

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 Server-Based LANs
 Server-based: A server-based
network consists of a group of
user-oriented PCs called clients
that request and receive network
services from specialized
computers called servers.

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 Peer-to-Peer LANs
 Peer-to-peer: A peer-to-peer network is
a group of user-oriented PCs that
basically operate as equals. Each PC is
called a peer. The peers share
resources, such as files and printers,
but no specialized servers exists. Each
peer is responsible for its own security,
and, in a sense, each peer is both a
client and a server.

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 Peer-to-Peer Networking
(Workgroup)
 Resources are distributed throughout the
network on computer systems that may act
as both service requesters and service
providers.
 The user of each PC is responsible for the
administration and sharing of resources for
his PC.
 Ideal for small organizations where security
is not of concern.

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 LAN Standards

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 MAC Standards

 CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access)

Protocols
 CSMA/CD (Ethernet), Token Bus, Token Ring,
FDDI, 100VG-AnyLAN
 Wavelength Division Multiple Access
Protocols
 Wireless LAN Protocols

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 CSMA/CD
(CSMA with Collision Detection)
 CSMA/CD: Frame Frame Frame Frame
» 1. if the medium is idle,
transmit; else, go to step 2.
» 2. if the medium is busy,
continue to listen until the
channel is idle, then
transmit.
» 3. if a collision is detected
during transmission,
transmit a brief jamming
signal
» 4. after transmitting a
jamming signal, wait a
random amount of time,
Aprilthen
1999 attempt to LAN
transmit.
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 Token Bus (IEEE 802.4)
 Disadvantages of IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD:
» Unpredictable delays
» No support for priorities
 Physically, the token bus is a linear cable onto
which stations are attached. Logically, stations
are organized into a ring.
 A special control frame called token is
transmitted from one station to the next, with
each station knowing the addresses of the
stations to its ``left’’ and ``right’’.
 Token bus defines four priority classes: 0, 2, 4,
and 6 for traffic, with 0 the lowest and 6 the
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 Token Bus (IEEE 802.4)
B C

A E D

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 TOKEN RING
 IEEE 802.5 Medium Access Protocol
 The token ring technique is based on the use of a
small frame, called a token that circulates.
» A station wishing to transmit must wait until it
detects a token passing by.
» It then seizes the token by changing one bit in
the token which transforms it from a token into
a start-of-frame sequence for a data frame.
» The station then appends and transmits the
remainder of the fields needed to construct a
data frame.

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 TOKEN RING (cont)
 Note that under lightly
loaded conditions, there is
some inefficiency with
token ring because a
station must wait for the
token to come around
before transmitting.
 Principal disadvantage of
token ring is the token
maintenance.

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 Token Ring Priority
 The 802.5 standard includes a specification for
an optional priority mechanism. Eight levels of
priority are supported by providing two 3-bit fields in
each data frame and token: a priority field and a
reservation field.
P(f): priority of frame
P(s): service priority; priority of current token
R(s): reservation value in current token
» A station wishing to transmit must wait for a
token with P(s) <= P(f).
» While waiting, a station may reserve a future
token at its priority level P(f).
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 FDDI
 The FDDI standard specifies a ring topology
operating at 100 Mbps.
 Optical fiber or twisted pair are used for medium.
» Optical fiber uses 4B/5B NRZI encoding.
Maximum length between repeaters is 2 km.
Maximum number of repeaters is 100.
» Two twisted pair media are specified: 100-ohm
Category 5 unshielded twisted pair and 150-
ohm shielded twisted pair. Maximum length
between repeaters is 100m . Maximum number
of repeaters is 100.

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 FDDI as a Campus Backbone
All of the protocols are
Ethernet converted to the FDDI
transport protocol
Token Ring Ethernet

Ethernet
Data is Bridged/Routed from
the high-speed Backbone
Token Ring to destination LAN Token Ring
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 FDDI Strengths
+ FDDI is tailor-made and very
effective as a high-speed LAN for
workstation traffic and as a
Backbone for LANs.

+ Provides a framework for inter-

networking between various LAN
protocols.

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 FDDI Strengths (Contd.)
+ Compared to legacy LANs, FDDI
provides greater data capacity and
performance, transmitting at 100
Mbps.

+ Can accommodate large networks

of up to 500 Backbone nodes.

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 FDDI Strengths (Contd.)
+ Because of its dual-ring architecture, FDDI
offers a high degree of network availability &
reliability.

+ Using Token passing, traffic is dealt with on a

deterministic basis.

+ Provides long distance communication

(Ring perimeter can be 100 Km with a distance
of up to 2Km between Stations)

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 FDDI Weaknesses

-- Can accommodate LAN traffic only. Not

capable for transporting real-time
signals (voice, host-to-terminal, etc.)

-- Non scaleable (fixed at 100 Mbps).

-- High implementation cost (Processor

intensive).

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 How FDDI Works?
 It is a token passing fiber ring with a data
rate of 100 Mbps.

 Ring can be as large as 100 Km with a

distance of 2 Km between stations.

 Most prevalent standard is multi-mode

fiber. However, some manufacturers are
producing multi-mode to single-mode
FDDI adapter.
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 How FDDI Works? (Contd.)

 Others proposed amendments to the

standard to support FDDI on twisted pair
(CDDI).

 Routers are used to convert competing

LAN protocols to FDDI and back.

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 How FDDI Works? (Contd.)

 Dual-counter rotating rings:

» Primary link for carrying data.
» Secondary link for failure recovery.

 In the event of a node or cable failure,

the data on the primary link wraps on to
the secondary link, making a U-turn,
thus maintaining ring integrity.

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 How FDDI Works? (Contd.)

FDDI X
FDDI
X

FDDI

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 FDDI Specification
 ANSI Standard.
 Ring as large as 100 Km with a distance
of 2 Km between stations.
 62.5  core / 125  cladding.
 1300 nano-meter LED transmitter
 Two types of FDDI networking devices:
» Class A devices have dual attachment.
» Class B are typically workstations.

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 FDDI Specification
 Class A Devices
» To exploit counter-rotating rings. The
failure wrapping feature is
implemented through Class A devices.

» Can be any networking device, but are

usually Bridges, Routers,
Concentrators, Servers, or other
devices comprising the network
Backbone.
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 Class A Devices (Contd.)
» Each dual-attached station constantly
receives Handshaking information
from its neighbors via the secondary
link.

» If station stops receiving Handshaking

information, it wraps data from the
primary to the secondary ring so that
the disabled node is avoided and ring
integrity is maintained.
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 FDDI Specification (Contd.)
 Class B Devices
» They are single-attached stations.
» They are typically workstations, printers, and
other nodes that are attached only indirectly
to the primary link.
» They access the ring by plugging into a
concentrator that is dual-attached to the
ring.
 An FDDI network can operate with up to
500 dual-attached stations.
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 FDDI Specification (Contd.)
B B
B B
Class A A
B B
B

B B
B B
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 100VG-AnyLAN
 Intended to be a 100 Mbps extension to the 10
Mbps Ethernet and to support IEEE 802.3 frame
types.
 Uses a MAC scheme known as demand priority;it
has been standardized under IEEE 802.12.
» Its MAC algorithm is a round-robin scheme with
two priority levels.
 Single-Hub Network
» When a station wishes to transmit a frame, it
first issues a request to the central hub and
then awaits permission from the hub to
transmit.
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 100VG-AnyLAN (contd.)
» A station must designate each request as
normal-priority or high-priority.
» The central hub continually scans all of its
ports for a request in round-robin fashion.
» The central hub maintains two pointers: a
high-priority pointer and a normal-priority
pointer.
» If at any time there are no pending high-
priority requests, the hub will grant any
normal-priority requests that it encounters.

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 100 VG-AnyLAN (contd.)

 Hierarchical Network
» All of the end-system ports on all hubs are treated
as a single set of ports for purposes of round-robin.
» Port ordering is done preorder traversal:
– Visit the root
– Traverse the subtrees from left to right.

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 100VG-AnyLAN (contd.)
 Hierarchical topology
» There is a single root Hub (at level 1)
» A level 1 Hub may have one or more
subordinate level 2 hubs
» A level 2 hub can have one or many
subordinate level 3 hubs, and so on, to an
arbitrary depth
 Hub is responsible for converting
between 802.3 and 802.5 frame formats
if necessary

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 Example 100VG-AnyLAN
Configuration
100VG-AnyLAN Hub 10/100 Ethernet

100VG-AnyLAN Hub Bridge 100VG-AnyLAN Hub

Ethernet LAN
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 MAC of 100VG-AnyLAN
(Single hub network)
 The MAC algorithm for 802.12 is a
round-robin scheme with two priority
levels
 A station wishing to transmit
» it first issues a request to the central hub
» it then awaits permission from the hub to
transmit
» A station must designate each request as
normal priority or high priority

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 Single hub LAN (contd.)
» The central hub continually scans all of its ports
for request in round-robin fashion
» The hub maintains two pointers
– a high priority pointer and
– a low priority pointer
» During one cycle, the hub grants each high
priority request in the order encountered
» When there are no pending high priority
requests, the hub grants normal priority
requests in the order encountered

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 100VG-AnyLAN Priority Scheme
Request from n 1
.
port k placed in .
2
3
position k . High
4
REQ-H priority Transmit
C pointer 5
B 6
Frame
A 7
9 8

Time-out High-priority
Request from . n 1 2 queue empty

port k placed in . 3
position k . Normal 4
REQ-N priority
C pointer 5
B 6
A 7
9 8
If a request remains in the normal priority buffer for too long (default=
500 ms), it is moved to the corresponding position in the high-priority
buffer.
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 Hierarchical LAN
 The set of all hubs are treated
logically as one single hub
» The port order is generated by performing a
pre-order traversal of the tree (depth-first)
– Visit the root
– traverse the subtrees from left to right
» Each hub is running its own round-robin
algorithm to service end-systems directly
attached to it.

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Port Ordering in a Two-Level IEEE
802.12 Network
Level 1 “Root” Repeater

R
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1-6 1-7
1-1 1-2

A 1-4
B
1 2 k
1 2
k
Level 2 Repeater
Level 2 Repeater

3-1 3-k 5-1 5-2 5-n

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 Example Frame Sequence in a
Single-Repeater Network
2 7
1
1 9
2
4
3
4
3
5
5
6
6
7
8
8
Ports High priority frame
High priority request

Normal priority request Normal priority frame

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 IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD
Labeling Terminology
IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD

100BASE-X

100BASE-TX 100BASE-FX 100BASE-T4

Two Two STP Two Optical Fiber Four Category 3 or

Category 5 Category 5 UTP
UTP
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 IEEE 802.3 100BASE-T Physical Layer
Medium Alternatives
_________________________________________________________________
100BASE-TX 100BASE-FX 100BASE-T4
_________________________________________________________________
Transmission Two pair Two pair Two optical fibers Four pair, cat
medium STP cat 5 UTP 3,4 or 5 UTP
Signaling 4B5B,NRZI 4B5B, NRZI 4B5B, NRZI 8B6T, NRZ
technique
Data rate 100 Mbps 100 Mbps 100 Mbps 100 Mbps
Max. Segment 100 m 100 m 100 m 100 m
length
Network 200 m 200 m 400 m 200 m
Span
_________________________________________________________________

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 Wavelength Division Multiple
Access Protocols
 Are used on fiber optic LANs in order to permit different
conversations to use different wavelengths (frequencies)
at the same time. (wavelength X frequency = speed of
light )
 A simple way to build an all optical-LAN is to use a
passive star.
 To allow multiple transmissions at the same time, the
spectrum is divided up into channels (wavelength bands)
 Each station is assigned two channels: one as a control
channel to signal the station, and the other for the
station to output data frames.

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 Wireless LANs
 IEEE 802.11 has developed a set of wireless LAN
standards.
 A system of portable computers that communicate
by radio (or infrared) signals is regarded as a
wireless LAN.
 Three physical media are defined in 802.11:
» Infrared at 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps operating at a wavelength
between 850 and 950 nm.
» Direct-sequence spread spectrum operating in the 2.4-GHz.
Up to 7 channels, each with a data rate of 1 Mbps or 2 Mbps.
» Frequency-hopping spread spectrum operating in the 2.4
GHz.

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 Wireless LANs (cont)
 IEEE 802.11: CSMA/CA (CSMA with collision
avoidance).
» Sender to stimulate the receiver into outputting a
short frame, so stations nearby can detect this
transmission and avoid transmitting themselves for
the upcoming large data frame. Sender sends an
RTS (Request To Send) frame. Receiver replies with
a CTS (Clear To Send) frame.
» An ACK frame is sent after each successful data
frame.
» Binary exponential backoff algorithm is used if a
transmitter does not hear anything from receiver.
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 Wide Area Networks
(WANs)

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 WANs

 WANs cover a large geographical area.

 To make optimum use of expensive

communication links, WANs are
structured with irregular placement of
the nodes. Store-and-Forward packet
switching is used to deliver packets to
their destination.

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 WANs

S D

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 WANs (contd.)
 Traditionally, WANs have been implemented using
one of two technologies: circuit switching and
packet switching. Recently, frame relay and ATM
networks have assumed major roles.
» Circuit switching: a dedicated communication path is established
between two stations through the nodes of the network. Example:
the telephone network.
» Packet switching: At each node, a packet is received, stored
briefly, and then transmitted to the next node. Example: X.25
network
» To compensate errors, there is a considerable amount of
overhead built into the packet-switched schemes.

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 Packet and Circuit switching
S Store Forward D

S Switch Switch D

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 WAN Communication
Technologies
WANs are deployed over the existing
telecommunications infrastructure using
technologies such as:
» Leased line services.
» Switched services.
» Packet services.
» Cell-based services.
» Shared-media services.

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 Leased-line services
 Leased lines are digital or analog
telephone lines dedicated exclusively
to the use of the lessee.
» T1: 24 multiplexed channels at 64 Kbps each.
» E1: 30 multiplexed channels at 64 Kbps each.
» T2: multiplexes 4 T1 data streams.
» T3: carries 672 multiplexed channels.
» Fractional T1 services.

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 Switched Services
 Switched services are dial-up point-to-
point communication lines through the
PSTN.
 End station should communicate at
the same speed.
 Examples:
» Modems.
» Switched 56 Kbps service (CSU/DSU).
» Switched ISDN.

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 Packet Service
 Public Data Networks (X.25) use packet-
switching protocols for worldwide data
transfer between computers.
 The two end stations can communicate at
different data rates.
 Examples:
» Frame Relay (CSU/DSU).
» X.25.
» ISDN.

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 Shared Media

 Examples:
» Cable Modems, and
» Satellite links.

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 PPP Protocol
 Point-to-point protocol provides
physical layer and Data Link Layer
functionality.
 PPP provides the following features:
» Simultaneous support for multiple
protocols on the same link.
» Dynamic IP addressing.
» Error control.

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 DCE/DTE Interfaces

 DCE: Data circuit-terminating

equipment. It is a female interface.
» Modems have DCE serial interface.
 DTE: Data terminal equipment. It is a
male interface.
» Terminals, PCs, Routers have DTE serial
interfaces.

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 Communication over a Dial-up Connection

 A serial point-to-point link is

established.

 Datagrams are transmitted over the

serial point-to-point links using the
ppp (point-to-point protocol) protocol.

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 PPP Frame Format

Field length in bytes

1 1 1 2 variable 2 or 4
Flag Address Control Protocol Data FCS

Flag: 01111110 beginning or end of a frame

Address: 11111111 (Standard broadcast domain)

Control: 00000011 transmission of data rate

Protocol: identifies the protocol encapsulated

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 Establishment of communications over a
point-to-point link

 A physical link is established.

 Install ppp encapsulation.
 PPP sends LCP (Link Control Protocol) packets
to configure the data link.
 PPP sends NCP (Network Control Protocol)
packets to configure network layer protocols.
 Datagrams from each network-layer protocol
can be sent over the link.

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 X.25 Networks
 Was developed during 1970s by CCITT to provide an
interface between public packet-switched networks
and their customers. X.25 calls for three layers of
functionality: physical layer, data link layer, and packet (or
network) layer.
 The physical layer protocol, called X.21, specifies the
physical, electrical, and procedural interface between the host
and the network.
 Very few public networks actually support this
standard. It requires digital, rather than analog
signaling on the telephone lines.
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 X.25 Networks (contd)
 The data link layer protocol deals with transmission errors on
the telephone line between the user’s equipment (host or
terminal) and the public network (router).
 The network layer protocol deals with addressing, flow control,
delivery confirmation, interrupts, and related issues.
» Establishes virtual circuits and sends packets of up to 128
bytes on them. These packets are delivered reliably in order.
» Most X.25 networks work at speeds up to 64 kbps
 Both data link layer and network layer include flow
control and error control mechanisms.

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 X.25 Networks (contd)
 X.25 is connection-oriented. At network layer, X.25 provides
multiplexing: a DTE is allowed to establish up to 4095
simultaneous virtual circuits with other DTEs over a single
physical DTE-DCE link.
 X.25 supports both switched virtual circuits and permanent ones.
 A switched virtual circuit is created when one computer sends a
packet to the network asking to make a call to a remote
computer.
» Once established, packets are sent over the connection,
always arriving in order.
» X.25 provides flow control, to make sure a fast sender cannot
swamp
April 1999 a slow or busy
LAN andreceiver.
WAN Standards/Habib Yo 67
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 X.25 Networks (contd)
 A permanent virtual circuit
» is used the same way as a switched one, but it is set up in
advance by agreement between the customer and the
carrier.
» It is always present, and no call setup is required to use it. It
is analogous to a leased line.
 If the user terminal does not speak X.25, then the
terminal is connected to a “black box” called a PAD
(Packet Assembler Disassembler) whose function is
defined in the document X.3.
» The protocol X.28 is defined between terminal and PAD.
» The protocol X.29 is defined between PAD and the network.
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 WANs (cont)
 Frame relay was developed to take advantage of
high data rates and low error rates that are
available in modern high-speed communication
systems. It operates efficiently at user data rates
up to 2 Mbps. It uses variable-length packets,
called frames.
 ISDN is intended to be a worldwide public
telecommunications network to replace existing
public telecommunications networks and deliver a
wide variety of services.
» Narrowband ISDN
» Broadband
April 1999 ISDN (B-ISDN
LAN and )
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 WANs (cont)
 ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) :
» Is a culmination of all of the developments in
circuit switching and packet switching.
» Can be viewed as an evolution from frame relay.
ATM uses fixed-length packets, called cells.

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 Frame Relay
 Frame relay is designed to eliminate much of the
overhead that X.25 imposes on end-user systems
and on the packet-switching network.
 Frame relay can best be thought of as a virtual
leased line on which data bursts may be sent at full
speed, but the long-term average usage must be
below a predetermined level. Therefore, the carrier
charges much less for a virtual line than a physical
one.
 Frame relay competes with leased lines and X.25
permanent virtual circuits, except that frame relay
operates
April 1999 at higher speeds.
LAN and WAN Standards/Habib Yo 71
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 Frame Relay (cont.)
 Frame Relay offers data transfer rates from 56
Kbps to T1 or E1 speed.
 Frame Relay networks are used to interconnect
individual LANs into a WAN.
 A CSU/DSU provides the interface between the
subscriber’s computer equipment and the
telephone line.

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 Frame Relay (contd)
 The principal disadvantage of frame relay, compared to X.25, is
that we lost the ability to do link-by-link flow and error control.

Packet-switching Frame relay

14 12 3
3 2
6 5
4
7 6
13
11
16 1 2 15 8 7 10 1 8 5 4
9

Source Destination Source Destination

April 1999 LAN and WAN Standards/Habib Yo 73
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 Frame Relay Frame Format

1 2 Variable 2 1
Flags Address Data FCS Flags

10 bits of the bytes Address field comprise the actual circuit ID

(called the DLCI, for “data link connection identifier”.)

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 ISDN, B-ISDN, and ATM
 Telephone companies are faced with a fundamental
problem: maintaining multiple networks. Also, want
to control cable television network
 The solution was to invent a single new network
that will replace the entire telephone system and all
the specialized networks.
 The new wide area service is first called ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) that has as its
primary goal the integration of voice and nonvoice
services.

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 Narrow Band-ISDN
 The ISDN bit pipe supports multiple channels interleaved by
time division multiplexing. Several channel types have been
standardized:
» A: 4-kHz analog telephone channel
» B: 64-kbps digital PCM channel for voice or data
» C: 8-kbps or 16-kbps digital channel
» D: 16-kbps digital channel for out-of-band signaling
» E: 64-kbps digital channel for internal ISDN signaling
» H: 384-kbps, 1536-kbps, or 1920-kbps digital channel

 Three combinations of channels:

» Basic rate: 2B+1D
» Primary rate: (1) 23B+1D (U.S. and Japan), (2) 30B+1D
(Europe)
» Hybrid:
April 1999 1A+1C LAN and WAN Standards/Habib Yo 76
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 B-ISDN and ATM
 B-ISDN offers video on demand, live
television from many sources, full motion
multimedia electronic mail, CD-quality
music, LAN interconnection, high-speed data
transfer.
 The transfer mode of B-ISDN ATM
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode).
 ATM is the standard technology for
switching and multiplexing in B-ISDN.

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 How ATM Works?
 Data Units: Fixed-length cells of size 53
bytes each (5 Header + 48 payload).
 Operates at the equivalent of MAC
sublayer. Operates above physical layer
which could be SONET, Fibre channel,...
 Connection-oriented.
 Layered architecture.

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 ATM Layered Architecture
User Services
Higher Layers
& applications

ATM Adaptation Fragmentation and

Layer de-fragmentation of frames

Cell header insertion/removal

ATM
Cell relaying & multiplexing
Layer
Connection establishment
Physical Medium Transmission & receipt of bits
Dependent Layer Synchronization
April 1999 LAN and WAN Standards/Habib Yo 79
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 How ATM Works?

Data packet

AAL

ATM
Physical Layer
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 How ATM Works (Contd.)?
Overhead Cell

Physical Layer

Envelope

Entire process is reversed

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 B-ISDN and ATM (contd)
 ATM networks are organized like traditional WANs, with lines
and switches (routers).
 The intended speeds for ATM networks are 155.52 Mbps and
622.08 Mbps to make them compatible with SONET that is the
standard used on fiber optic links.
 ATM uses cell switching because
» it is highly flexible can handle both constant rate traffic (audio,
video) and variable rate traffic (data) easily,
» at the very high speeds, digital switching of cells is easier than
using traditional multiplexing techniques, especially using fiber
optics
» cell switching can provide broadcasting, circuit switching cannot.

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 ATM Backbone
ATM-
Attached
Client

ATM
Backbone

Tower box

ATM- Workstation

Attached Workstation

LAN Workstation
Servers Tower box
Attached
Clients
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 Internet
 Is a large collection of interconnected networks, all of
which use TCP/IP protocol suite
 Began with the development of ARPANET in 1969
(ARPA: Advanced Research Project Agency)
 ARPANET protocols were not suitable for running
over multiple networks. This led to the invention of
the TCP/IP model and protocols by Cerf and Kahn in
1974.
 TCP/IP became the only official protocol on Jan. 1,
1983. The glue that holds the Internet together is the
April 1999 LAN and WAN Standards/Habib Yo 84
TCP/IP protocol stack.
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 Internet (contd)
 A machine is on the Internet if it runs the TCP/IP
protocol stack, has an IP address, and can send IP
packets to any machine on the Internet.
 Until the early 1990s, Internet users were academic,
industrial, and government researchers. But, WWW
(World Wide Web) brought millions of nonacademic
users.
 WWW made the underlying facilities of the Internet
easier to use.

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