Lecture#2: Fundamentals

Network Architecture

Introduction to Networks (ITN) v7.0 Module: 3

2.1 The Rules

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The Rules
Communications Fundamentals

Networks can vary in size and complexity. It is not enough to have a connection, devices
must agree on “how” to communicate.

There are three elements to any communication:

• There will be a source (sender).

• There will be a destination (receiver).
• There will be a channel (media) that provides for the path of communications to occur.

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The Rules
Communications Protocols

• All communications are governed by protocols.

• Protocols are the rules that communications will follow.

• These rules will vary depending on the protocol.

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The Rules
Rule Establishment
• Individuals must use established rules or agreements to govern the conversation.

• The first message is difficult to read because it is not formatted properly. The second
shows the message properly formatted

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The Rules
Rule Establishment (Cont.)

Protocols must account for the following requirements:

• An identified sender and receiver

• Common language and grammar
• Speed and timing of delivery
• Confirmation or acknowledgment requirements

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The Rules
Network Protocol Requirements
Protocols must account for the following requirements:
• An identified sender and receiver
• Common language and grammar
• Speed and timing of delivery
• Confirmation or acknowledgment requirements

Common computer protocols must be in agreement and include the following requirements:
• Message encoding
• Message formatting and encapsulation
• Message size
• Message timing
• Message delivery options

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The Rules
Message Encoding

• Encoding is the process of converting information into another acceptable form for transmission.

• Decoding reverses this process to interpret the information.

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The Rules
Message Formatting and Encapsulation

• When a message is sent, it must use a specific format or structure.

• Message formats depend on the type of message and the channel that is used to deliver the
message.

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The Rules
Message Size

Encoding between hosts must be in an appropriate format for the medium.

• Messages sent across the network are converted to bits

• The bits are encoded into a pattern of light, sound, or electrical impulses.
• The destination host must decode the signals to interpret the message.

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The Rules
Message Timing
Message timing includes the following:

• Flow Control – Manages the rate of data transmission and defines how much information
can be sent and the speed at which it can be delivered.

• Response Timeout – Manages how long a device waits when it does not hear a reply from
the destination.

• Access method - Determines when someone can send a message.

§ There may be various rules governing issues like “collisions”. This is when more than one
device sends traffic at the same time and the messages become corrupt.
§ Some protocols are proactive and attempt to prevent collisions; other protocols are reactive
and establish a recovery method after the collision occurs.

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The Rules
Message Delivery Options
Message delivery may one of the following methods:

• Unicast – one to one communication

• Multicast – one to many, typically not all
• Broadcast – one to all

Note: Broadcasts are used in IPv4 networks, but are not an option for IPv6. Later we will
also see “Anycast” as an additional delivery option for IPv6.

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The Rules
A Note About the Node Icon

• Documents may use the node icon , typically a circle, to represent all devices.

• The figure illustrates the use of the node icon for delivery options.

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2.2 Protocols

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Protocols
Network Protocol Overview

Protocol Type Description

Network protocols define a
common set of rules.
Network enable two or more devices to communicate
Communications over one or more networks

• Can be implemented on devices Network Security secure data to provide authentication, data
in: Software, Hardware, or Both integrity, and data encryption
Routing enable routers to exchange route
• Protocols have their own: information, compare path information, and
Function, Format, Rules select best path
Service Discovery used for the automatic detection of devices
or services

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Protocols
Network Protocol Functions
• Devices use agreed-upon protocols to
communicate .

• Protocols may have may have one or

functions.

Function Description
Addressing Identifies sender and receiver
Reliability Provides guaranteed delivery

Flow Control Ensures data flows at an efficient rate

Sequencing Uniquely labels each transmitted segment of data

Error Detection Determines if data became corrupted during transmission

Application Interface Process-to-process communications between network applications

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Protocols
Protocol Interaction

• Networks require the use of several protocols.

• Each protocol has its own function and format.

Protocol Function
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) § Governs the way a web server and a web client interact
§ Defines content and format
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) § Manages the individual conversations
§ Provides guaranteed delivery
§ Manages flow control
Internet Protocol (IP) Delivers messages globally from the sender to the receiver

Ethernet Delivers messages from one NIC to another NIC on the same LAN

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2.3 Protocol Suites

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Protocol Suites
Network Protocol Suites

Protocols must be able to work with other protocols.

Protocol suite:
• A group of inter-related protocols necessary to
perform a communication function
• Sets of rules that work together to help solve a
problem

The protocols are viewed in terms of layers:

• Higher Layers
• Lower Layers- concerned with moving data and
provide services to upper layers

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Protocol Suites
Evolution of Protocol Suites

There are several protocol suites.

• TCP/IP- The most common protocol

suite and maintained by the IETF.

• OSI protocols- Developed by the ISO

and the ITU

• AppleTalk- Proprietary suite release

by Apple Inc.

• Novell NetWare- Proprietary suite

developed by Novell Inc.

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Protocol Suites
TCP/IP Protocol Example

• TCP/IP protocols operate at the

application, transport, and internet
layers.

• The most common network access

layer LAN protocols are Ethernet
and WLAN (wireless LAN).

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Protocol Suites
TCP/IP Protocol Suite

• TCP/IP is the protocol suite used

by the internet and includes many
protocols.

§ An open standard protocol suite

that is freely available to the public
and can be used by any vendor
§ A standards-based protocol suite
that is endorsed by the networking
industry and approved by a
standards organization to ensure
interoperability

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Protocol Suites
TCP/IP Communication Process

• A web server encapsulating and sending • A client de-encapsulating the web page
a web page to a client. for the web browser

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2.4 Standards Organizations

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Standards Organizations
Open Standards
Open standards encourage:
• interoperability

• competition

• innovation

Standards organizations are:

• vendor-neutral

• non-profit organizations

• established to develop and promote the

concept of open standards.

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Standards Organizations
• Internet Society (ISOC) - Promotes
Internet Standards the open development and evolution of
internet
• Internet Architecture Board (IAB) -
Responsible for management and
development of internet standards
• Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) - Develops, updates, and
maintains internet and TCP/IP
technologies
• Internet Research Task Force
(IRTF) - Focused on long-term
research related to internet and
TCP/IP protocols
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Standards Organizations
Internet Standards (Cont.)
Standards organizations involved with the
development and support of TCP/IP
• Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) -
Coordinates IP address allocation, the
management of domain names, and
assignment of other information
• Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA) - Oversees and manages IP
address allocation, domain name
management, and protocol identifiers
for ICANN

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Standards Organizations
Electronic and Communications Standards
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE, pronounced “I-triple-E”)
- dedicated to creating standards in power and energy, healthcare,
telecommunications, and networking
• Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) - develops standards relating to electrical
wiring, connectors, and the 19-inch racks used to mount networking equipment
• Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) - develops communication
standards in radio equipment, cellular towers, Voice over IP (VoIP) devices,
satellite communications, and more
• International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) - defines standards for video compression,
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), and broadband communications, such as a
digital subscriber line (DSL)
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2.5 Reference Models

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Reference Models
The Benefits of Using a Layered Model

Complex concepts such as how a

network operates can be difficult to
explain and understand. For this
reason, a layered model is used.
Two layered models describe network
operations:
• Open System Interconnection (OSI)
Reference Model
• TCP/IP Reference Model

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Reference Models
The Benefits of Using a Layered Model (Cont.)
These are the benefits of using a layered model:
• Assist in protocol design because protocols that operate at a specific layer have
defined information that they act upon and a defined interface to the layers above
and below
• Foster competition because products from different vendors can work together

• Prevent technology or capability changes in one layer from affecting other layers
above and below
• Provide a common language to describe networking functions and capabilities

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Reference Models
The OSI Reference Model
OSI Model Layer Description
7 - Application Contains protocols used for process-to-process communications.
Provides for common representation of the data transferred between application
6 - Presentation
layer services.

5 - Session Provides services to the presentation layer and to manage data exchange.

Defines services to segment, transfer, and reassemble the data for individual
4 - Transport
communications.

3 - Network Provides services to exchange the individual pieces of data over the network.

2 - Data Link Describes methods for exchanging data frames over a common media.

1 - Physical Describes the means to activate, maintain, and de-activate physical connections.

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Reference Models
The TCP/IP Reference Model
TCP/IP Model
Description
Layer
Application Represents data to the user, plus encoding and dialog control.

Transport Supports communication between various devices across diverse networks.

Internet Determines the best path through the network.

Network Access Controls the hardware devices and media that make up the network.

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Reference Models
OSI and TCP/IP Model Comparison

• The OSI model divides the network

access layer and the application
layer of the TCP/IP model into
multiple layers.
• The TCP/IP protocol suite does not
specify which protocols to use when
transmitting over a physical medium.
• OSI Layers 1 and 2 discuss the
necessary procedures to access the
media and the physical means to
send data over a network.

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Lab Activity

Packet Tracer - Investigate the TCP/IP and OSI Models in Action

Task#1 : Examine HTTP Web Traffic.

Task#2 : Display Elements of the TCP/IP Protocol Suite.

2.6 Data Encapsulation

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Data Encapsulation
Segmenting Messages
Segmenting is the process of breaking up
messages into smaller units. Multiplexing is
the processes of taking multiple streams of
segmented data and interleaving them
together.
Segmenting messages has two primary
benefits:
• Increases speed - Large amounts of data can
be sent over the network without tying up a
communications link.

• Increases efficiency - Only segments which

fail to reach the destination need to be
retransmitted, not the entire data stream.

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Data Encapsulation
Sequencing

Sequencing messages is the process

of numbering the segments so that the
message may be reassembled at the
destination.
TCP is responsible for sequencing the
individual segments.

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Data Encapsulation
Protocol Data Units
Encapsulation is the process where protocols
add their information to the data.
• At each stage of the process, a PDU has a
different name to reflect its new functions.

• There is no universal naming convention for

PDUs, in this course, the PDUs are named
according to the protocols of the TCP/IP suite.

• PDUs passing down the stack are as follows:

¯ Data (Data Stream)
¯ Segment
¯ Packet
¯ Frame
¯ Bits (Bit Stream)
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Data Encapsulation
Encapsulation Example

• Encapsulation is a top down

process.

• The level above does its

process and then passes it
down to the next level of the
model. This process is
repeated by each layer until
it is sent out as a bit stream.

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Lab Activity

Wireshark - Use Wireshark to View Network Traffic

Task#1 : Download and Install Wireshark.

Task#2 : Capture and Analyze Local ICMP Data in Wireshark.

Task#3 : Capture and Analyze Remote ICMP Data in Wireshark

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