Standards

„ Required to allow for interoperability

between equipment
„ Advantages
„ Ensures a large market for equipment and
software
„ Allows products from different vendors to
communicate
„ Disadvantages
„ Freeze technology
„ May be multiple standards for the same thing
Standards Organizations
„ Internet Society
„ ISO
„ ITU-T (formally CCITT)
„ ATM forum
OSI - The Model
„ A layer model
„ Each layer performs a subset of the required
communication functions
„ Each layer relies on the next lower layer to
perform more primitive functions
„ Each layer provides services to the next
higher layer
„ Changes in one layer should not require
changes in other layers
The OSI Environment
OSI as Framework for
Standardization
Layer Specific Standards
Elements of Standardization
„ Protocol specification
„ Operates between the same layer on two systems
„ May involve different operating system
„ Protocol specification must be precise
„ Format of data units
„ Semantics of all fields
„ allowable sequence of PCUs
„ Service definition
„ Functional description of what is provided
„ Addressing
„ Referenced by SAPs
OSI Layers (1)
„ Physical
„ Physical interface between devices
„ Mechanical
„ Electrical
„ Functional
„ Procedural
„ Data Link
„ Means of activating, maintaining and deactivating
a reliable link
„ Error detection and control
„ Higher layers may assume error free transmission
 OSI Layers (2)
„ Network
„ Transport of information
„ Higher layers do not need to know about underlying technology
„ Not needed on direct links
„ Transport
„ Exchange of data between end systems
„ Error free
„ In sequence
„ No losses
„ No duplicates
„ Quality of service
 OSI Layers (3)
„ Session
„ Control of dialogues between applications
„ Dialogue discipline
„ Grouping
„ Recovery
„ Presentation
„ Data formats and coding
„ Data compression
„ Encryption
„ Application
„ Means for applications to access OSI environment
Terminology (1)
„ Transmitter
„ Receiver
„ Medium
„ Guided medium
„ e.g. twisted pair, optical fiber
„ Unguided medium
„ e.g. air, water, vacuum
Terminology (2)
„ Direct link
„ No intermediate devices
„ Point-to-point
„ Direct link
„ Only 2 devices share link
„ Multi-point
„ More than two devices share the link
Terminology (3)
„ Simplex
„ One direction
„ e.g. Television
„ Half duplex
„ Either direction, but only one way at a time
„ e.g. police radio
„ Full duplex
„ Both directions at the same time
„ e.g. telephone
 A Communications Model
„ Source
„ generates data to be transmitted

„ Transmitter
„ Converts data into transmittable signals

„ Transmission System
„ Carries data

„ Receiver
„ Converts received signal into data

„ Destination
„ Takes incoming data
Simplified Communications
Model - Diagram
Key Communications Tasks
„ Transmission System Utilization
„ Interfacing
„ Signal Generation
„ Synchronization
„ Exchange Management
„ Error detection and correction
„ Addressing and routing
„ Recovery
„ Message formatting
„ Security
„ Network Management
Simplified Data
Communications Model
Networking
„ Point to point communication not
usually practical
„ Devices are too far apart
„ Large set of devices would need
impractical number of connections
„ Solution is a communications network
Simplified Network Model
Local Area Networks
„ Smaller scope
„ Building or small campus
„ Usually owned by same organization as
attached devices
„ Data rates much higher
„ Usually broadcast systems
„ Now some switched systems and ATM
are being introduced
LAN Applications (1)
„ Personal computer LANs
„ Low cost
„ Limited data rate
„ Back end networks and storage area
networks
„ Interconnecting large systems (mainframes
and large storage devices)
„ High data rate
„ High speed interface
„ Distributed access
„ Limited distance
„ Limited number of devices
LAN Applications (2)
„ High speed office networks
„ Desktop image processing
„ High capacity local storage
„ Backbone LANs
„ Interconnect low speed local LANs
„ Reliability
„ Capacity
„ Cost
LAN Topologies
 Bus and Tree
„ Multipoint medium
„ Transmission propagates throughout medium
„ Heard by all stations
„ Need to identify target station

„ Each station has unique address

„ Full duplex connection between station and tap

„ Allows for transmission and reception

„ Need to regulate transmission

„ To avoid collisions

„ To avoid hogging

„ Data in small blocks - frames

„ Terminator absorbs frames at end of medium

Frame Transmission - Bus LAN
 Ring Topology
„ Repeaters joined by point to point links in closed
loop
„ Receive data on one link and retransmit on another
„ Links unidirectional
„ Stations attach to repeaters
„ Data in frames
„ Circulate past all stations
„ Destination recognizes address and copies frame
„ Frame circulates back to source where it is removed
„ Media access control determines when station can
insert frame
Frame Transmission Ring LAN
Star Topology
„ Each station connected directly to
central node
„ Usually via two point to point links
„ Central node can broadcast
„ Physical star, logical bus
„ Only one station can transmit at a time
„ Central node can act as frame switch
Wide Area Networks
„ Large geographical area
„ Crossing public rights of way
„ Rely in part on common carrier circuits
„ Alternative technologies
„ Circuit switching
„ Packet switching
„ Frame relay
„ Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
Circuit Switching
„ Dedicated communications path
established for the duration of the
conversation
„ e.g. telephone network
Packet Switching
„ Data sent out of sequence
„ Small chunks (packets) of data at a
time
„ Packets passed from node to node
between source and destination
„ Used for terminal to computer and
computer to computer communications
Frame Relay
„ Packet switching systems have large
overheads to compensate for errors
„ Modern systems are more reliable
„ Errors can be caught in end system
„ Most overhead for error control is
stripped out
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
„ ATM
„ Evolution of frame relay
„ Little overhead for error control
„ Fixed packet (called cell) length
„ Anything from 10Mbps to Gbps
„ Constant data rate using packet
switching technique
Protocols
„ Used for communications between entities in a system
„ Must speak the same language
„ Entities
„ User applications

„ e-mail facilities

„ terminals

„ Systems
„ Computer

„ Terminal

„ Remote sensor
Key Elements of a Protocol
„ Syntax
„ Data formats

„ Signal levels

„ Semantics
„ Control information

„ Error handling

„ Timing
„ Speed matching

„ Sequencing
Characteristics
„ Direct or indirect
„ Monolithic or structured
„ Symmetric or asymmetric
„ Standard or nonstandard
Direct or Indirect
„ Direct
„ Systems share a point to point link or
„ Systems share a multi-point link
„ Data can pass without intervening active
agent
„ Indirect
„ Switched networks or
„ Internetworks or internets
„ Data transfer depend on other entities
Symmetric or Asymmetric
„ Symmetric
„ Communication between peer entities
„ Asymmetric
„ Client/server
Standard or Nonstandard
„ Nonstandard protocols built for specific
computers and tasks
„ K sources and L receivers leads to K*L
protocols and 2*K*L implementations
„ If common protocol used, K + L
implementations needed
Use of Standard Protocols
Monolithic or Structured
„ Communications is a complex task
„ To complex for single unit
„ Structured design breaks down problem
into smaller units
„ Layered structure
Functions
„ Encapsulation
„ Segmentation and reassmebly
„ Connection control
„ Ordered delivery
„ Flow control
„ Error control
„ Addressing
„ Multiplexing
„ Transmission services
Encapsulation
„ Addition of control information to data
„ Address information
„ Error-detecting code
„ Protocol control
 Segmentation (Fragmentation)
„ Data blocks are of bounded size
„ Application layer messages may be large
„ Network packets may be smaller
„ Splitting larger blocks into smaller ones is
segmentation (or fragmentation in TCP/IP)
„ ATM blocks (cells) are 53 octets long
„ Ethernet blocks (frames) are up to 1526 octets
long
„ Checkpoints and restart/recovery
Why Fragment?
„ Advantages
„ More efficient error control
„ More equitable access to network facilities
„ Shorter delays
„ Smaller buffers needed

„ Disadvantages
„ Overheads
„ Increased interrupts at receiver
„ More processing time
Connection Control
„ Connection Establishment
„ Data transfer
„ Connection termination
„ May be connection interruption and recovery
„ Sequence numbers used for
„ Ordered delivery

„ Flow control

„ Error control
TCP/IP Protocol Architecture
„ Developed by the US Defense Advanced
Research Project Agency (DARPA) for its
packet switched network (ARPANET)
„ Used by the global Internet
„ No official model but a working one.
„ Application layer
„ Host to host or transport layer
„ Internet layer
„ Network access layer
„ Physical layer
TCP/IP Protocol Architecture
Model