Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

Ethernet ProcessesEthernet is the original Local Area Network technology. Other LAN technologies havecompeted with Ethernet, but Ethernet is really the only LAN technology left in the market place.At one time, it looked like Ethernet would fade because of performance issues, but Layer 2switching technology saved Ethernet. The problem was collisions. Before layer 2 switching,Ethernet LANs (10Base2, 10Base5, 10BaseT) lost up to 70% of its bandwidth because of collisions.Layer 2 switches create a collision-free network. A switch has a very high speed back plane thatconnects to each port on the switch. The back plane is much faster than the speed of anindividual port. Data from a computer is “stored” in the port and is “forwarded” when the back plane can accept the data without a collision. Think of the back plane as a very fast, but verysafe, interstate highway. Cars wait for an opening before entering the flow of traffic. The car then travels to its destination and exits without having a wreck, or collision. The data travels onthe back plan much faster than the port speed where it entered the switch, freeing up the back plane for data from other ports. Before layer 2 switches, Ethernet was more like the interstatehighways that most of us travel, the one where about 70% of the cars are affected by wrecks andwe are late for work about three times a week.With the development of layer 2 switching, Ethernet became the fastest, most reliable, and, moreimportantly, the least expensive LAN technology on the market. Today, Ethernet ports on our computers are essentially “free” since it is installed on almost every new computer. Most laptopshave both copper Ethernet such as 100BaseT or even Gigabit Ethernet, and wireless Ethernet,and the increase in cost for the Ethernet connections is minimal.Layer 2 switch ports on a 2950 switch cost about $100 per port. If you need a few switch portsat home, they cost even less. Your $50 internet router has them for as little as $12 each, thoughthe primary cost of your router is not ports but rather the routing function (as strange as it mayseem that you bought a router to route). An eight-port switch can cost as little as $20, or $2.50 a port. Enhanced functionality such as full duplex and 100BaseT, or increasingly, 1000BaseT, produce speeds that were unimaginable only a few years ago, and at low prices alsounimaginable. With Layer 2 switching, data rates increased while cost decreased. The result:Ethernet survived and other LAN technologies disappeared.While understanding the physical aspects of Ethernet are important for the CCNA exam, that isnot the purpose of this document. Both the Cisco CCNA and Sybex CCNA books cover thehistorical and physical aspects of Ethernet very well. Even more complete explanations of Ethernet can be found on the Internet, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel here.

Make sureyou completely understand the physical aspects of Ethernet technology as well as processessuch as collision detection, broadcasts, etc., before you take the CCNA exam.

We will notcover CSMA-CD, for example, though it is coming back with wireless LANs. This documentcovers Ethernet addressing, how computers use the addresses, and more importantly for your exam, how Cisco switches use Ethernet addresses. This explanation is important for understanding future labs and switch function.

Ethernet Addressing

Each Ethernet device has an address coded into the hardware. Each address is six bytes, 48 bits,12 hexadecimal digits in length. The first three bytes identify the manufacturer and is called the“Organizationally Unique Identifier” or OUI. The last three bytes keep the card unique, a serialnumber, if you like. Just don't call it a serial number. The address has several names, and youshould know them all:1.Unicast address, as in a frame addressed to a single, or “uni” address.2.MAC Address (Media Access Control)3.Ethernet address4.“burned in address” since it is “burned in” to the controller on the card.5.Layer 2 addressMAC address and unicast address seem to the the most common terms, and have the most valuewhen working with Cisco equipment.An Ethernet frame has the following format:

Preamble or Preamble +Start FrameDelimiter (SFD)DestinationAddress – computer receivingdataSourceAddress -Computer transmittingdataType/LengthDataFCS8 bytesSFD -7 bytes + 1 byte6 bytes6 bytes2 bytes48 – 1500 bytes4 bytes

The International Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) oversee a number of standardsrelated to data communication: cabling, voltages, protocols, etc. The IEEE made three changesto the original Ethernet standard, but none to Ethernet addressing.1.The new standard was named 802.3, using the 802 naming convention.2.Part of the preamble were renamed. Ethernet defined the preamble as 64 bits: 62 “one” bits followed by “01”. The “01” bits indicated that the next bits were meaningful data,the destination address. Basically, the “01” was for framing, or indicating wheremeaningful data started.The IEEE defined the Preamble as two parts. The first 7 bytes, or 56 bits, are “one” bits,and are called the Preamble. However, the last byte, 8 bits, differed in the last two bits:11111101. This byte was named the “Start Frame Delimiter,” or “SFD.” Actually, theterm SFD is more accurate, since the data is “delimited,” or starts after this byte.Everyone calls it the Preamble, and everyone knows what it means, but it might be anissue on an exam. Or not.3.Another change was the 2 byte type field. The IEEE used used it as a length field, to

indicate the amount of data, and used other bits to define the type of data.While there are more complete explanations available for the changes, the address fields werenot changed.Since all Ethernet computers originally shared the same coax cable or hub network, everycomputer had to evaluate every frame. Each device processed the destination address todetermine if the frame had been sent to them. The computer that had the destination address thenhad to “remember” the source address in order to reply if necessary.

PreambleDestination AddressSource addressType/LengthDataFCS11111...0100-18-37-9A-48-1200-16-D4-EE-D1-E62 bytes48 – 1500 bytes4 bytes

Often the transmitting computer needs access to a

service

, but does not know the MAC addressof the computer that provides the service. When the MAC address of the destination computer is not known, the source computer will send a broadcast request for the information. A broadcastframe uses all 1 bits, or hexadecimal

FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF

, in the Destination address. It puts itsown address,

00-16-D4-EE-D1-E6

, in the source address field so that the servicing computer willknow how to address the reply.

PreambleDestination AddressSource addressType/LengthDataFCS11111...01FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF00-16-D4-EE-D1-E62 bytesRequest for service or address 4 bytes

Every computer that “sees” the broadcast will evaluate the request. The computer that canservice the request will reply. In this example, the computer with the address

00-18-37-9A-48-12

services the request. The acknowledgment frame uses the source MAC address of therequest as the destination address for the reply, and its own address in the source address field.

PreambleDestination AddressSource addressType/LengthDataFCS11111...0100-16-D4-EE-D1-E600-18-37-9A-48-122 bytesReply 4 bytes

The original computer that requested the information will use the source address in the replyframe to send another frame, this time with data.

PreambleDestination AddressSource addressType/LengthDataFCS11111...0100-18-37-9A-48-1200-16-D4-EE-D1-E62 bytesData4 bytes

This process of alternating the source and destination addresses is the key to understandingEthernet data transfer. Each receiving computer uses the source address in the received frame asthe destination address for the reply, and puts its own address in the source address field. If acomputer does not know the address of the destination computer, it uses a broadcast, all 1's bits,or

FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF

hexadecimal. The reply to the broadcast will have the needed MACaddress.