Chapter three

Data Communication Layers

 Old paradigm: a single powerful computer serving all the

needs of an organization
 New paradigm† - Computer networks: a large number of
separate (autonomous) but internetworked (being able to
exchange information) computers doing the job
 Merging of computer and communications technologies –
no geographical barrier
 Connection: copper wire, fiber optics, microwaves, infrared,
communication satellites, …
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 The Internet
 when two or more networks are connected, they become an
internetwork, or internet
 the most notable internet is called the Internet, a collaboration of
more than hundreds of thousands of interconnected networks
 it came into being in 1969 - by ARPA (Advanced Research Project
Agency) of DoD for researchers they funded to share findings
 it developed a packet-switched network, named as the ARPANET
 by the mid-seventies, a full suite of protocols, called TCP were
developed and proposed as the standard underlying technology for the
expanded use of the ARPANET system

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 TCP was later split into two protocols: IP to handle datagram routing and TCP
to be responsible for higher-level functions such as segmentation, reassembly,
and error correction; it was named as TCP/IP and was adopted as the standard
protocol suite in 1983
 addressing used by ARPANET users became easier to handle in 1984 with the
development of the Domain Name System (DNS); this service took the
responsibility of putting ARPANET numerical address into readable text form
and is still in use
 in the 1990s, an international consortium under the name of European Center
for Nuclear research (CERN) created the concept of web pages and the WWW
that allowed the exchange of data on the Internet with ease
 ARCHIE (the first of many search engines) was introduced at McGill University;
followed by gopher (1991, University of Michigan), VERONICA (1993, McGill);
today we have such search engines like AltaVista, Yahoo, Google, etc.

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 HTML was developed in 1992; the first graphical web browser, mosaic, was
developed in 1993 by students at the national center for super computing at
the university of Illinois;
Network Protocols and Standards
 a protocol is a set of rules that governs data communications
 a protocol defines what is communicated, how it is communicated,
and when it is communicated
 for instance, for one computer to send a message to another
computer, the first computer must perform the following general
steps
 break the data into small sections called packets
 add addressing information to the packets identifying the source
and destination computers
 deliver the data to the network interface card for transmission over the network

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 the receiving computer must perform the same steps, but in
reverse order
 accept the data from the NIC
 remove transmitting information that was added by the
transmitting computer
 reassemble the packets of data in to the original message
 the key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics, and timing
 syntax: refers to the structure or format of the data
 semantics: refers to the meaning of each section of bits
 timing: refers to when data should be sent and how fast they
can be sent

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 functions of protocols
 each device must perform the same steps the same way so that the
data will arrive and reassemble properly; if one device uses a
protocol with different steps, the two devices will not be able to
communicate with each other
 the following are categories of functions that form the basis of
protocols
 encapsulation
 segmentation and reassembly
 connection control
 addressing
 multiplexing
 transmission services
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1. Encapsulation
 the inclusion of control information to data is called encapsulation. Each
frame contains not only data but also control information
 such control information falls into three categories: address
(sender/receiver), error-detecting code and protocol control
(information about protocol functions)
2. Segmentation (by the sender also called fragmentation) and reassembly (by
the receiver)
 a block of data for transmission is of some bounded size
 at the application level, we refer to a logical unit of data transfer as a
message
 lower level protocols may need to break the data up into blocks of some
bounded size
 this process is called segmentation

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 reasons for segmentation:
 the communication network may only accept blocks of data up to a
certain size
 error control may be more efficient with a smaller frame size; fewer bits
need to be retransmitted when a frame gets corrupted
 facilitates more equitable access to shared transmission facilities (for
example, without maximum block size, one station could monopolize a
multipoint medium)
 disadvantages
 since a frame contains certain amount of control information, the
smaller the block size, the greater the percentage overhead
 frame arrivals may generate an interrupt that must be serviced; hence smaller blocks
result in more interrupts
 more time is spent processing smaller, more numerous frames
 the counterpart of segmentation is reassembly
 on receipt, the receiving device must reassemble the segmented data into a message 8
3. Connection control
 two types of protocols (services)
 connectionless service
 the packets are sent from one party to another with no need for
connection establishment or connection release
 the packets are not numbered, they may be delayed, lost, or
arrive out of sequence; there is no acknowledgement either
 UDP (User Datagram Protocol), one of the transport layer
protocols, is connectionless
 connection-oriented service
 in connection-oriented data transfer, a logical association or connection is
established between the communicating computers (devices)
 long sustained session
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 orderly and timely delivery of packets, e.g., FTP
 TCP (Transport Control Protocol) is connection-oriented
 three phases are involved
 connection establishment (agreement to exchange data)
 data transfer (data and control information exchanged)
 connection termination (termination request) - by any of the two
parties
 the key characteristics of connection-oriented data transfer is that
sequencing is used
 each side sequentially numbers the frames that it sends to the other
side
 because each side remembers that it is engaged in a logical connection,
it can keep track of both outgoing numbers, which it generates, and
incoming numbers which are generated by the other side

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– sequencing supports three main functions
 ordered delivery: frames may not arrive in the order in which
they were sent, because they may traverse different paths
 flow control: a receiving station has to limit the amount or
rate of data that is sent by a transmitting station
 the simplest form of flow control is stop-and-wait
procedure in which each frame must be acknowledged
before the next can be sent
 more efficient protocols involve some form of credit
provided to the transmitter, which is the amount of
frames that can be transmitted without an
acknowledgement; e.g. sliding window technique

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  error control: error control is implemented as two separate functions;
error detection and retransmission
 if an error is detected, the receiver discards the frame
 upon failing to receive an acknowledgement to the frame in a
specified reasonable time, the sender retransmits the frame
 some protocols also employ error correction which enables the
receiver not only to detect errors but, in some cases, to correct them
4. addressing
 a unique address is associated with each end-system in a configuration
(e.g. workstation, server) and each intermediate system (e.g. router)
 an example is an IP address in TCP/IP connection, but addressing spans
more layers: data link, network, transport

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5. multiplexing
 occurs when multiple connections share a single connection (multiple
access)
6. transmission services
 a variety of additional services can be provided
 priority: messages such as control messages may need to get through
to the destination station with minimum delay
 security: security mechanisms, restricting access, may be invoked
 Protocols in a layered architecture
 protocols that work together to provide a layer or layers of the model
are known as a protocol stack or suite, e.g. TCP/IP
 each layer handles a different part of the communications process and
has its own protocol
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 Data Communication Standards
 standards are essential for interoperability
 data communication standards fall into two categories
 De facto standards: that have not been approved by an organized body; mostly set
by manufacturers
 De jure standards: those legislated by an officially recognized body such as ISO,
ITU, ANSI, IEEE
Network (Reference) Models
 Hierarchy
 there are three different activities at the sender side and another three at the
receiver’s side
 the tasks must be done in the order given in the hierarchy
 Layers and Services
 within a single machine, each layer uses the services immediately below it and
provides services for the layer immediately above it
 between machines, layer x on one machine communicates with layer x on another machine
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Why layering?
reduces complexity (one big problem to smaller ones)
standardizes interfaces (between layers)
facilitates modular engineering (different teams work on
different modules)
assures interoperable technology
accelerates evolution of networking technology
simplifies teaching and learning
Two important network models or architectures
The ISO OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Reference
Model
The TCP/IP Reference Model The OSI Reference Model
consists of 7 layers
was never fully implemented as a protocol stack, but a 15
 Principles to arrive at the 7 layers
 a layer should be created at different level of abstraction
 a layer should perform a well-defined function
 the function of each layer should be chosen towards defining
internationally standardized protocols
 layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information
flow across the interfaces
 the number of layers should be optimal
 large enough so that distinct functions should not be put
together, and
 small enough so that the architecture does not become
unwieldy
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The TCP/IP Reference Model
 TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
 used by ARPANET and its successor the Internet
 design goals
 the ability to connect multiple networks (internetworking) in a seamless way
 the network should be able to survive loss of subnet hardware, i.e., the
connection must remain intact as long as the source and destination
machines are properly functioning
 flexible architecture to accommodate requirements of different applications
- ranging from transferring files to real-time speech transmission
 these requirements led to the choice of a packet-switching network based on a
connectionless internetwork layer
 has 4 (or 5 depending on how you see it) layers: Application, Transport, Internet
(Internetwork), Host-to-network (some split it into Physical and Data Link)

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 OSI and TCP/IP Layers Correspondence

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 OSI Reference Model:
• The Open Systems Interconnection reference model is a
layered, abstract representation created as a guideline for
network protocol design.
• The OSI model divides the networking process into seven
logical layers, each of which has unique functionality and to
which are assigned specific services and protocols.
• In this model, information is passed from one layer to the
next, starting at the Application layer on the transmitting
host, proceeding down the hierarchy to the Physical layer,
then passing over the communications channel to the
destination host, where the information proceeds back up
the hierarchy, ending at the Application layer.
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The seven layers of OSI model
•Data flow is divided into
seven smaller and
manageable steps.
•What devices operate at
each layer.
•As a result, you will
understand how to trouble
shoot network problems. 20
 Functions of each layer
Application Layer

The Application layer, Layer seven, is the top layer

of both the OSI and TCP/IP models.
It is the layer that provides the interface between the
applications we use to communicate and the
underlying network over which our messages are
transmitted

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:The application layer
•Provides services to user’s
applications.
•Ensures the availability of
intended communication partner .
•Ensures the existence of sufficient
network resources (ex. NIC).
•Synchronizes and establishes
agreement on error recovery.
•Data integrity. 22
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• The Presentation layer has three primary functions:
I. Coding and conversion of Application layer data to
ensure that data from the source device can be
interpreted by the appropriate application on the
destination device.
II. Compression of the data in a manner that can be
decompressed by the destination device.
III.Encryption of the data for transmission and the
decryption of data upon receipt by the
destination.
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:The Presentation layer
•services to user’s
•Data format.
applications.
•Insures data is readable by
the receiving system.
•Translates between different
data formats.
•Compression /decompression
•Encryption/ decryption.25
• Session Layer
• As the name of the Session layer implies,
functions at this layer create and maintain
dialogs between source and destination
applications.
• The Session layer handles the exchange of
information to initiate dialogs, keep them active,
and to restart sessions that are disrupted or idle
for a long period of time. 26
:The session layer

•services to user’s applications.

•Data format.
•Establishes, manages and
terminates commun. between
presentation layer entities.
•Dialog management
(half/full duplex).
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 Session layer cont…
•Provisions for efficient data transmission.
•Reporting of session, presentation and
application layer errors (errors above
transport layer).
•Synchronization (checkpoints).

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 Transport layer
• The Transport layer provides for the segmentation of data and
the control necessary to reassemble these pieces into the
various communication streams. Its primary responsibilities to
accomplish this are:
 Tracking the individual communication between applications on
the source and destination hosts
 Segmenting data and managing each piece
 Reassembling the segments into streams of application data
 Identifying the different applications

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:The transport layer
services to user’s applications
Data format.
Dialog and conversations.
End - to - end services.
•Segmentation /
•Reliability :
reassembly

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 •Transport Layer Cont…
error recovery
windows.
Flow control, manages
Establishes : and terminates
virtual circuits (not physical circuits).
Shields the upper layers from transport
details.
acknowledgment.
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:The network layer
services to user’s applications.
Data format.
Dialog and conversations.
•Reliability, error recovery.
• IP addressing.
•Path selection.
•Packet routing.

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:The data link layer
•services to user’s applications.
•Data format.
•Dialog and conversations.
•Reliability, error recovery.
•Addressing / path selection.
•Point –to- point services.
•Physical addressing.

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Data link layer cont…
Media access control.
•Network topology.
•Error detection.
•Flow control.
•Framing.
•Reliability over the physical link.

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•services to user’s applications.
•Data format.
•Dialog and conversations.
•Reliability, error recovery.
•Addressing / path selection.
•Framing, access control.
•Binary transmission.
•Data rate.
•Distances.
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Physical Layer Cont…
Electrical characteristics of physical medium.
•Pin assignment.
•Timing of bits.
•Voltage levels

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Encapsulation encapsulation
wraps data with
necessary protocol Data stream
information before Data stream
transit.
Data stream
Data Data Data
header Data
header header Data trail
(peer-to-peer communication- PDUs)

00111101010011010101011100011001
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 TCP / IP model
•The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
created the TCP/IP reference model because
it wanted a network that could survive any
conditions, even a nuclear war.
•The main purpose was to move packets
from any point to any other point regardless
of the condition of any particular node.
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40
:The application layer
•Session and Presentation layers are within.
•TCP/IP model combines the functions of
the upper three layers into one layer.

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:The transport layer
Deals with QoS issues (TCP protocol):
• reliability:
Error recovery.
Acknowledgment.
• flow control:
Sliding windows.
TCP – connection oriented protocol.
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:The internet layer
• path determination.
•Packet switching.
•IP addressing.
•Connectionless services (unreliable).

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:The network-access layer
•Host-network layer.
•Combines the functions of physical and
data link layers.
•It includes the WAN and LAN technology.

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:TCP / IP protocol graph

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Similarities:
both have layers
both have application layers.
both have comparable transport and network layers
packet-switched (not circuit-switched) technology is
assumed
 networking professionals need to know both 46
Differences
TCP/IP combines the presentation and session layer issues
into its application layer
 TCP/IP combines the OSI data link and physical layers into one layer
TCP/IP appears simpler because it has fewer layers
TCP/IP protocols are the standards around which the
Internet developed, so the TCP/IP model gains credibility
just because of its protocols. In contrast, typically networks
aren't built on the OSI protocol, even though the OSI model is used as a guide.
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OSI # OSI Layer Name TCP/ TCP/IP Layer Name Encapsul.
IP# Units .
7
application 4 application data
6
presentation 4 application data
5
session 4 application data
4
transport 3 transport segment
3
network 2 internet packet
2
Data link 1 Netw. access frame
1
physical 1 Netw. access bits 48