COMPUTER NETWORKS:

INTRODUCTION
MRS NEETA GEORPHIN
COMPUTER NETWORKS
UNIT I 10 Hours
Introduction to Computer Networks and Networking Elements: Network Definition, Network Topologies, Network
Classifications, Network Protocol, Layered Network Architecture, Overview of OSI Reference Model, Overview of TCP/IP
Protocol Suite
UNIT II 13 Hours
Transmission of Digital Data: Digital Data transmission, Parallel, Serial-DTE-DCE Interface, Modems.
Guided media and unguided media: types
Networks Switching Techniques and Access Mechanisms: Circuit Switching, Packet Switching- Connectionless Datagram
Switching, Connection Oriented Virtual
Data Link Layer Functions and Protocol: Error Detection and Error Correction Techniques, Data-Link Control- Framing and
Flow Control, Error Recovery
Protocols-Stop and Wait ARQ, Go-Back-N ARQ, Point to Point Protocol on Internet.
UNIT III 14 Hours
Multiple Access Protocol and Network Layer: CSMA/CD Protocols, Ethernet LANs;
Connecting LAN and Back-Bone Networks: Repeaters, Hubs, Switches, Bridges, Router
and Gateways.
Addressing on the internet- Physical address, Domains names/URLs, Logical Addressing:
IPv4 - Classes, Subnet masks, CIDR, Types - Static, dynamic, loopback, APIPA, Private,
dynamic, broadcast, unicast, multicast, network address.
Subnetting - Subnet mask, NAT, Limitations of IPv4, Introduction to IPv6.
Networks Layer Functions and Protocols: Routing, Routing Algorithms,
Network Layer Protocol of Internet – IP Protocol, Internet Control Protocols.
Networking commands: ping, traceroute, nslookup, ipconfig, ip addr.
UNIT IV 8 Hours
Transport Layer and Application Layer Functions and Protocols: Transport Services Error and Flow Control,
Connection Establishment and Release- Three Way Handshake,
Overview of Application Layer Protocol - Overview of DNS
Protocol; Overview of WWW & HTTP Protocol.
Text Book
1. Behrouz A. Forouzan. Data Communications and Networking. Tata McGraw-Hill
Edition, Fourth Edition.
Reference Books
1. Andrew s. Tanenbaum .Computer Networks. Pearson Education .Fourth Edition.
2. Alberto Leon- Garcia and IndraWidjaja.Communication Networks- Fundamental
Concepts and key Architectures. Tata Mcgraw-Hill. Second Edition.
DATA COMMUNICATION

 When we communicate we are sharing information.

 This sharing can be local or remote.
 The term telecommunication means communication at a distance.
 In computer information systems, data are represented by binary information units(or
bits) produced and consumed in the form of 0s and 1s.
 Data Communication is the exchange of data (in the form of 0s and 1s) between two
devices via some form of transmission medium.
 Data communications can be local or remote.
THREE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DATA
COMMUNICATION

 1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by the
intended device or user and only by that device or user.

2. Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless. In
the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the
same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission
FIVE COMPONENTS OF DATA COMMUNICATION
 1.Message - It is the information to be communicated. Popular forms of information include text, pictures,
audio, video etc. Text is converted to binary, number doesnt converted, image is converted to pixels, etc.

2. Sender - It is the device which sends the data messages. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone
handset etc.

3. Receiver - It is the device which receives the data messages. It can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset etc.

4. Transmission Medium - It is the physical path by which a message travels from sender to receiver. Some
examples include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, radio waves etc.

5. Protocol - It is a set of rules that governs the data communications. It represents an agreement between
the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not communicating.
NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often

referred to as nodes) connected by
media links. A node can be
computer, printer or any other
device capable of sending and or
receiving data generated by other
nodes on the network. The links
connecting the devices are often
called communication channels.
DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING- ADVANTAGES
 In distributed processing a task is divided among multiple computers.
Advantages:
 1. Security and encapsulation: a system designer can limit the kinds of interactions
that a given user can have with the entire system.
 2. Distributed databases: no one system needs to provide storage capacity for the
entire database.
 3. Faster problem solving: multiple computers working on parts of a problem
concurrently can solve the problem faster than a single machine working alone.
 4. Security through redundancy: multiple computers running the same program at the
same time can provide security through redundancy.
 5. Collaborative processing.: Both multiple computers and multiple users may interact
on a disk.
NETWORK CRITERIA
 To be considered effective and efficient, a network must meet a number of criteria. The most important of these
are performance, reliability and security.

Performance: Can be measured by transit time and response time.

• Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another.

• Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.

• The performance of a network depends on the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the capacities of the
connected hardware and the efficiency of the software.
1. Number of users: Having a large number of concurrent users can slow response time in a network not designed to coordinate
heavy traffic loads.
 2. Type of transmission medium: A medium that can carry data at 100 megabits per second is 10 times more
powerful than a medium that can carry data at only 10 megabits per second.
 3.Hardware; A higher speed computer with greater storage capacity provides better performance.
 4. Software: The software used to process data at the sender, receiver and intermediate nodes affect network
performance.
 Reliability: Is measured by the frequency of failures, the time it takes a link to recover from failure and the
network robustness in a catastrophe.
 Security: This refers to the ability to protect data from unauthorized access. Protection can be accomplished at
the lower levels by identification codes and passwords and at higher level using encryption techniques.
PROTOCOLS

 A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communication. A protocol defines what is communicated, how it is
communicated and when it is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics and timing.
1. Syntax: refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning the order in which they are presented.
2. Semantics: refers to the meaning of each section of bits.
3. Timing refers to two characteristics: when data should be sent and how fast they can be sent.
STANDARDS

 A standard provides a model for development that makes it possible for a product to work regardless of the
individual manufacturer
 Standards provide guidelines to manufacturers, vendors, government agencies, and other service providers to
ensure the kind of interconnectivity necessary in today's marketplace and in international communications.
 Standards – two types
 1. De jure
 2. De Facto
 De jure • Those standards that have been legislated by an officially recognized body.
 De facto • Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but have been adopted as standards
through widespread use. • De facto standards are often established originally by manufacturers who seek to
define the functionality of a new product or technology.
 De facto • Proprietary (Closed Standards) • Standards that are originally invented by a commercial organization as
a basis for the operation of its product. • They are wholly owned by the company. • They are also called Closed
Standards because they close off communication systems. • e.g. IGRP& EIGRP Routing Protocols. • Non
Proprietary (Open Standards) • They are originally developed by groups or communities that have passed them
into public domains. • They are also called Open standards because they open communication between different
systems.
LINE CONFIGURATION

 Line configuration defines the attachment of communication devices to a link. A link is the physical communication
pathway that transfers data from one device to another. Two possible line configurations: point to point and multi
point.
POINT-TO-POINT CONNECTION

 A point-to-point connection provides a

dedicated link between two devices.
 The entire capacity of the link is reserved for
transmission between those two devices.
 Most point-to-point connections use a actual
length of wire or cable to connect the two
end, but other options such as microwave or
satellite links are also possible.
 Eg: when you change television channels by
infrared remote control, we are establishing a
point to point line configuration between the
remote control and tv.
MULTIPOINT CONNECTION

 It is also called Multidrop configuration. In this

connection two or more devices share a single
link.
 More than two devices share the link that is the
capacity of the channel is shared now. With
shared capacity, there can be two possibilities in
a Multipoint Line configuration:
 Spatial Sharing: If several devices can share
the link simultaneously, its called Spatially shared
line configuration.
 Temporal (Time) Sharing: If users must take
turns using the link , then its called Temporally
shared or Time Shared Line configuration.
TOPOLOGY

 The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically. One or more devices
connect to a link; two or more links form a topology. The topology of a network is the geometric representation
of the relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another. There are four basic
topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring
MESH TOPOLOGY
 In mesh, all the computers are interconnected to every other during a network. Each computer not only sends its own signals but also relays data
from other computers.
 The nodes are connected to every other completely via a dedicated link during which information is travel from nodes to nodes and there are
N(N-1)/2 links in mesh if there are N nodes.
 If suppose, N number of devices are connected with each other in mesh topology, then total number of ports that is required by each device is
N-1. In the Figure there are 5 devices connected to each other, hence total number of ports required is 4.
 Every node features a point-to-point connection to the opposite node. The connections within the mesh are often wired or wireless.
Advantages of this topology :
• It is robust.
• Fault is diagnosed easily. Data is reliable because data is transferred among
the devices through dedicated channels or links.
• Provides security and privacy.

Problems with this topology :

• Installation and configuration is difficult.
• Cost of cables are high as bulk wiring is required, hence suitable for less
number of devices.
• Cost of maintenance is high.
STAR TOPOLOGY
In star topology each device in the network is connected to a central device called hub. Unlike Mesh topology, star
topology doesn’t allow direct communication between devices, a device must have to communicate through hub. If one
device wants to send data to other device, it has to first send the data to hub and then the hub transmit that data to the
designated device. The hub can be passive in nature i.e. not intelligent hub such as broadcasting devices, at the same time
the hub can be intelligent known as active hubs. Active hubs have repeaters in them.
Advantages of Star topology
1. Less expensive because each device only need one I/O port and needs to be
connected with hub with one link.
2. Easier to install
3. Less amount of cables required because each device needs to be connected with
the hub only.
4. Robust, if one link fails, other links will work just fine.
5. Easy fault detection because the link can be easily identified.

Disadvantages of Star topology

1. If hub goes down everything goes down, none of the devices can work without
hub.
2. Hub requires more resources and regular maintenance because it is the central
system of star topology.
BUS TOPOLOGY

 In bus topology there is a main cable and all the devices are connected to this main cable through drop lines.
There is a device called tap that connects the drop line to the main cable. Since all the data is transmitted over
the main cable, there is a limit of drop lines and the distance a main cable can have.

Advantages of bus topology

1. Easy installation, each cable needs to be connected with
backbone cable.
2. Less cables required than Mesh and star topology

Disadvantages of bus topology

1. Difficultly in fault detection.
2. Not scalable as there is a limit of how many nodes you can
connect with backbone cable.
RING TOPOLOGY
 In ring topology each device is connected with the two devices on either
side of it. There are two dedicated point to point links a device has with the
devices on the either side of it. This structure forms a ring thus it is known as
ring topology. If a device wants to send data to another device then it sends
the data in one direction, each device in ring topology has a repeater, if the
received data is intended for other device then repeater forwards this data
until the intended device receives it.
Advantages of Ring Topology
1. Easy to install.
2. Managing is easier as to add or remove a device from the topology only
two links are required to be changed.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

1. A link failure can fail the entire network as the signal will not travel
forward due to failure.
2. Data traffic issues, since all the data is circulating in a ring.
TREE TOPOLOGY
 This topology is the variation of Star topology. This topology have hierarchical flow of data.
 In this the various secondary hubs are connected to the central hub which contains the repeater. In this data flow
from top to bottom i.e from the central hub to secondary and then to the devices or from bottom to top i.e.
devices to secondary hub and then to the central hub.
Advantages of tree topology :
 It allows more devices to be attached to a single central hub thus it increases the distance that is travel by the
signal to come to the devices.
 It allows the network to get isolate and also prioritize from different computers.
Problems with this topology :
 If the central hub gets fails the entire system fails.
 The cost is high because of cabling.
HYBRID TOPOLOGY
 A combination of two or more topology is known as
hybrid topology. For example a combination of star and
mesh topology is known as hybrid topology.
Advantages of Hybrid topology
1. We can choose the topology based on the requirement for
example, scalability is our concern then we can use star
topology instead of bus technology.
2. Scalable as we can further connect other computer
networks with the existing networks with different
topologies.

Disadvantages of Hybrid topology

1. Fault detection is difficult.
2. Installation is difficult.
3. Design is complex so maintenance is high thus expensive.
COMPUTER NETWORK TRANSMISSION MODES

 The data is transmitted from one device to another device through a transmission
mode. The transmission mode decides the direction of data in which the data
needs to travel to reach the receiver system or node. The transmission mode is
divided in three categories:

 1. Simplex
 2. Half-Duplex
 3. Full-Duplex
SIMPLEX MODE
 In simplex mode the data transmits in one direction only, from
one system to another system.
 2. The sender device that sends data can only send data and
cannot receive it. On the other hand the receiver device can
only receive the data and cannot send it.
 3. Television is an example of simplex mode transmission as the
broadcast sends signals to our TV but never receives signals
back from our TV. This is a unidirectional transmission.
 Advantages of Simplex Mode:
 The full capacity of the transmission medium is utilised as the
transmission is one way and cannot have traffic issues.
 Disadvantages of Simplex Mode:
 No bidirectional communication is possible. Two devices cannot
communicate with each other using simplex mode of
transmission.
HALF-DUPLEX MODE
 1. In half duplex mode transmission can be done both ways which means if two
systems are connected with half-duplex mode of transmission, they both can send
and receive data but not at the same time.
 2. If one device is sending data then other device cannot send data until it
receives the data which is already in transmission.You can say that the
communication is not simultaneous.
 3. The radio communication device that our soldiers use at the battle fields are
the examples of half duplex mode transmission as they send message and then
say over and then the person on other hand send his message and this way they
communicate but not simultaneously like we used to do on mobile.
 Advantages of Half-Duplex mode:
 Both devices can send and receive data.
 Whole bandwidth can be utilised as at a time only one signal transmits.

 Disadvantages of Half-Duplex mode:

 The disadvantage in half duplex mode is that the other device cannot send data
until it receives the data which is already in transmission, this can cause delays to
the communication.
FULL DUPLEX MODE

 In full duplex mode both the connected devices can send and
receive data simultaneously. The mobile phone we use is an
example of full duplex mode where we can communicate
simultaneously.
 2. Both the devices can send and receive the data at the same
time.

Advantages of Full Duplex mode:

 No delays in communication as both can send and receive
data simultaneously.

Disadvantages of Full Duplex mode:

 No proper bandwidth utilization as the same line is used for
sending and receiving data at the same time.
Not: network bandwidth is the amount of data that can be
transferred per second
CATEGORIES OF NETWORK

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
4. Inter Network (Internet)

Local Area Network (LAN)

It is also called LAN and designed for small physical areas such as an office, group
of buildings or a factory. LANs are used widely as it is easy to design and to
troubleshoot. Personal computers and workstations are connected to each other
through LANs. We can use different types of topologies through LAN, these are
Star, Ring, Bus, Tree etc.
LAN can be a simple network like connecting two computers, to share files and
network among each other while it can also be as complex as interconnecting an
entire building.
LAN networks are also widely used to share resources like printers, shared hard-
drive etc.
METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)

 It was developed in 1980s.It is basically a bigger version of LAN. It is also called MAN and uses the
similar technology as LAN. It is designed to extend over the entire city. It can be means to
connecting a number of LANs into a larger network or it can be a single cable. It is mainly hold
and operated by single private company or a public company.
WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

 It is also called WAN. WAN can be private or it can be public leased network. It is used for the
network that covers large distance such as cover states of a country. It is not easy to design and
maintain. Communication medium used by WAN are PSTN or Satellite links. WAN operates on low
data rates.
INTER NETWORK
 Inter Network or Internet is a combination of two or more networks. Inter network can be formed
by joining two or more individual networks by means of various devices such as routers, gateways
and bridges.
NETWORK MODELS

 A network is a combination of hardware and software that sends data from one location to another. The hardware
consists of the physical equipment that carries signals from one point of the network to another. The software
consists of instruction sets that make possible the services that we expect from a network.
THE OSI MODEL
The International Standards organization is a multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on International
standards. An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network communications is the Open System Interconnection
model.
An open system is a set of protocols that allows any two different systems to communicate regardless of their
underlying architecture.
The OSI model is not a protocol, it is a model for understanding and designing a network architecture that is flexible,
robust and interoperable.
The OSI model is a layered framework for the design of network systems that allows communication between all types
of computer systems.
The purpose of the OSI reference model is to show how to facilitates communication between different systems
without requiring changes to the logic of underlying hardware and software.
 There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different
functions. A list of seven layers are given below:

 Physical Layer
 Data-Link Layer
 Network Layer
 Transport Layer
 Session Layer
 Presentation Layer
 Application Layer
LAYERED ARCHITECTURE
Figure shows the layers involved when a
message is sent from device A to device B.
As the message travels from A to B, it may pass
through many intermediate nodes. These
intermediate nodes usually involves only the
first three layers of the OSI model.
• Within a single machine, each layer calls
upon the services of the layer just below it.
• Layer3 uses the services provided by layer2
and provided services for layer 4.
• Between machines, layer x on one machine
communicates with layer x on another
machine. This communication is governed by
an agreed upon series of rules and
conventions called protocols.
• The processes on each machine that
communicate at a given layer are called
peer-to-peer processes.
INTERFACE BETWEEN LAYERS & ORGANIZATION OF LAYERS

 Each interface defines the information and services a layer must provide for the layer above it.

Organization of layers
 The seven layers can be thoughts of belonging two- three subgroups. Layers one, two and three (Physical, Data
Link, and Network Layer) are the network support layers. So, they deal with the physical aspects of moving
data from one device to another device.
 Layers five, Six and Seven (Session, Presentation, Application) can be thoughts of as the users support layers,
They allow interoperability among unrelated software system. Therefore, the main work of Transport Layer
ensures end-to-end reliable data transmission.
At each layer a header or possibly a
trailer can be added to the data unit.
The trailer is added only at layer 2.
Upon reaching its destination , the
headers and trailers attached to it at
the corresponding sending layer are
removed.
LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL

 Physical Layer

Physical Layer deals with the mechanical(hardware) and electrical specification of the interface and
transmission media. The physical layer is responsible for the movement of individual data from one
hop(node) to next hop.
Other responsibilities of Physical layers :
 Physical characteristics of interface and media: This layer defines the features of the interface between the devices
and the transmission media, it also defines the type of transmission media.
 Representation of data: To be transmitted, data must be encoded to the signal, electrical and optical. The physical
layer defines the type of encoding (how zero and one change two signals).
 Data rate: The number of bits send each second is defined by the physical layer.
 Synchronization of data: In this, process the sender and receiver must not only use the same data rate but must
also be synchronized at the bit level, in other words, the sender and receiver clock must be synchronized.
 Line Configuration: The physical layer concerned with the connection of the devices to the media either point to
point configuration or multipoint configuration.
 Physical Topology: The physical topology defines, how devices are connected to make a network, Ring, Bus, Star
etc.
 Transmission mode: This layer support different transmission mode such as Simple, Half-duplex and Full-duplex.
DATA LINK LAYER

 The data link layer is responsible for moving the frame from one hop to next hop
 Framing: Data link layer divides the stream of data received from the network layer into manageable data
units called frames.
 Physical addressing: If frames are to be distributed to different systems on the network, the data link
layer adds a header to the frame to define the sender or receiver of the frame.
 Flow Control: If the data rate in which data receives by the receiver is less than the rate produced by the
sender, the data link layer imposes a flow of control mechanism to prevent overwhelming the receiver.
 Error Control: The data link layer adds reliability by adding mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged
or lost frames. It also uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate frames.
 Access Control: Data link layer define when two or more devices are connected to the same link; data
link layer protocols are necessary to determine which device has control over the link at any given time.
NETWORK LAYER
 The network layer is responsible for the delivery of individual
packets from the source host to the destination host across
multiple networks.
Other responsibilities of the network layer:
 Logical addressing: If a packet passes the network
boundary, another addressing system is used to distinguish the
source and destination systems. The network layer adds a
header to the packet which includes the logical addresses of
the sender and the receiver.
 Routing: When independent networks or links are connected
to create internetworks or a large network, the connecting
devices called routers route the packet to their final
destination
TRANSPORT LAYER

 Transport layer is responsible for

process to process delivery of the
entire message. A process is an
application program running on a host.
Network layer does not recognize any
relationship between packets. The
transport layer ensures the whole
message arrives intact and in order.
 Other responsibilities are
 Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to this reason, the transmission of data
from source to the destination not only from one computer to another computer but also from one process to another
process. The transport layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-point address or port address.
The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit the data from one computer to another computer and the responsibility
of the transport layer is to transmit the message to the correct process.
 Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message from the upper layer, it divides the
message into multiple segments. Each segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. When
the message has arrived at the destination, then the transport layer reassembles the message based on their sequence numbers.
 Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented service and connectionless service. A
connectionless service treats each segment as an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the destination.
A connection-oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the destination machine before delivering the
packets. In connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
 Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is performed end-to-end rather than across a
single link.
 Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control is performed end-to-end rather than
across the single link. The sender transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.
SESSION LAYER
The Session layer is used to establish, maintain
and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices. Functions of Session
layer:
•Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog
controller that creates a dialog between two processes
or we can say that it allows the communication
between two processes which can be either half-
duplex or full-duplex.
•Synchronization: Session layer adds some
checkpoints when transmitting the data in a sequence.
If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission
of data, then the transmission will take place again
from the checkpoint. This process is known as
Synchronization and recovery.
PRESENTATION LAYER
 The primary goal of this layer is to take care of
the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged
between two communicating systems. Functions of
Presentation layer:
• Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the
information in the form of character strings, numbers and
so on. Different computers use different encoding methods,
the presentation layer handles the interoperability between
the different encoding methods. It converts the data from
sender-dependent format into a common format and
changes the common format into receiver-dependent
format at the receiving end.
• Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy.
Encryption is a process of converting the sender-
transmitted information into another form and sends the
resulting message over the network.
• Compression: Data compression is a process of
compressing the data, i.e., it reduces the number of bits to
be transmitted. Data compression is very important in
multimedia such as text, audio, video.
APPLICATION LAYER
 The application layer enables the user whether human or software to
access the network. It provides user interfaces and support for
services such as electronic mail, remote file access and transfer and
other type of distributed information services.
 Network virtual Terminal: is a software version of a physical
terminal and it allows user to log in to a remote host. To do so, the
application creates a software emulation of a terminal at the remote
host.
 File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application
layer allows a user to access the files in a remote computer, to
retrieve the files from a computer and to manage the files in a
remote computer.
 Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email
forwarding and storage.
 Directory services: An application provides the distributed
database sources and is used to provide that global information about
various objects.
TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
 The TCPIIP protocol suite was developed prior to the OSI model. Therefore, the layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite
do not exactly match those in the OSI model.
 The original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as having four layers: host-to-network, internet, transport, and
application. However, when TCP/IP is compared to OSI, we can say that the host-to-network layer is equivalent to the
combination of the physical and data link layers. The internet layer is equivalent to the network layer, and the
application layer is roughly doing the job of the session, presentation, and application layers with the transport layer in
TCPIIP taking care of part of the duties of the session layer.
 TCPIIP protocol suite is made of five layers: physical, data link, network, transport, and application. The first four layers
provide physical standards, network interfaces, internetworking, and transport functions that correspond to the first
four layers of the OSI model. The three topmost layers in the OSI model, however, are represented in TCPIIP by a
single layer called the application layer
 TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol. Whereas the OSI model specifies which functions belong to each of its layers,
the layers of the TCP/IP protocol suite contain relatively independent protocols that can be mixed and matched
depending on the needs of the system. The term hierarchical means that each upper-level protocol is supported
by one or more lower-level protocols.
 At the transport layer, TCP/IP defines three protocols: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram
Protocol (UDP), and Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP).
 At the network layer, the main protocol defined by TCP/IP is the Internetworking Protocol (IP); there are also
some other protocols that support data movement in this layer.
 Physical and Data Link Layers
At the physical and data link layers, TCP/IP does not define any specific protocol. It supports all the standard and proprietary
protocols. A network in a TCP/IP internetwork can be a local-area network or a wide-area network.
 Network Layer
At the network layer (or, more accurately, the internetwork layer), TCP/IP supports the Internetworking Protocol. IP, in turn,
uses four supporting protocols: ARP, RARP, ICMP, and IGMP.
 Internetworking Protocol (IP)
 The Internetworking Protocol (IP) is the transmission mechanism used by the TCP/IP protocols. It is an unreliable and
connectionless protocol-a best-effort delivery service.
 The term best effort means that IP provides no error checking or tracking. IP assumes the unreliability of the
underlying layers and does its best to get a transmission through to its destination, but with no guarantees.
 IP transports data in packets called datagrams, each of which is transported separately.
 Datagrams can travel along different routes and can arrive out of sequence or be duplicated. IP does not keep track of the
routes and has no facility for reordering datagrams once they arrive at their destination.
 Address Resolution Protocol
 The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) associates a logical address with a physical address. On a typical physical
network, such as a LAN, each device on a link is identified by a physical or station address, usually imprinted on the
network interface card (NIC). ARP is used to find the node’s physical address when its Internet address is known.
 Reverse Address Resolution Protocol
 The Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) allows a host to discover its Internet address when it knows
only its physical address. It is used when a computer is connected to a network for the first time or when a diskless
computer is booted.
 Internet Group Message Protocol
 The Internet Group Message Protocol (IGMP) is used to facilitate the simultaneous transmission of a message to a
group of recipients.
• ICMP (Internet Control Message protocol)
The ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. It is a network layer protocol. It is used for error handling in
the network layer, and it is primarily used on network devices such as routers. As different types of errors can exist in
the network layer, so ICMP can be used to report these errors and to debug those errors.
 Transport Layer
 Traditionally the transport layer was represented in TCP/IP by two protocols: TCP andUDP.
 IP is a host-to-host protocol, meaning that it can deliver a packet from one physical device to another.
 UDP and TCP are transport level protocols responsible for delivery of a message from a process (running
program) to another process.
 A new transport layer protocol, SCTP, has been devised to meet the needs of some newer applications.
 User Datagram Protocol
 The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is the simpler of the two standard TCPIIP transport protocols. It is a
process-to-process protocol that adds only port addresses, checksum error control, and length information to the
data from the upper layer.
 Transmission Control Protocol
 The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) provides full transport-layer services to applications. TCP is a
reliable stream transport protocol. The term stream, in this context, means connection-oriented: A connection must
be established between both ends of transmission before either can transmit data.
 At the sending end of each transmission, TCP divides a stream of data into smaller units called segments. Each
segment includes a sequence number for reordering after receipt, together with an acknowledgment number for the
segments received. Segments are carried across the internet inside of IP datagrams. At the receiving end, TCP collects
each datagram as it comes in and reorders the transmission based on sequence numbers.
 Stream Control Transmission Protocol
The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) provides support for newer applications such as voice over the
Internet. It is a transport layer protocol that combines the best features of UDP and TCP..
 Application Layer
The application layer in TCPIIP is equivalent to the combined session, presentation, and application layers in the OSI
model. Many protocols are defined at this layer.