HowTCP/IPWorks

ByJoeCasad Date:Jan18,2012 SampleChapterisprovidedcourtesyofSamsPublishing. Returntothearticle ThischapterdescribestheTCP/IPprotocolsystemandshowshowthecomponentsofTCP/IPworktogetherto sendandreceivedataacrossthenetwork. WhatYoullLearninThisHour: TCP/IPprotocolsystem TheOSImodel Datapackages HowTCP/IPprotocolsinteract TCP/IPisasystem(orsuite)ofprotocols,andaprotocolisasystemofrulesandprocedures.Forthemostpart, thehardwareandsoftwareofthecommunicatingcomputerscarryouttherulesofTCP/IPcommunicationsthe userdoesnothavetogetinvolvedwiththedetails.Still,aworkingknowledgeofTCP/IPisessentialifyouwantto navigatethroughtheconfigurationandtroubleshootproblemsyoullfacewithTCP/IPnetworks. ThishourdescribestheTCP/IPprotocolsystemandshowshowthecomponentsofTCP/IPworktogethertosend andreceivedataacrossthenetwork. Atthecompletionofthishour,youwillbeableto DescribethelayersoftheTCP/IPprotocolsystemandthepurposeofeachlayer DescribethelayersoftheOSIprotocolmodelandexplainhowtheOSIlayersrelatetoTCP/IP ExplainTCP/IPprotocolheadersandhowdataisenclosedwithheaderinformationateachlayerofthe protocolstack NamethedatapackageateachlayeroftheTCP/IPstack DiscusstheTCP,UDP,andIPprotocolsandhowtheyworktogethertoprovideTCP/IPfunctionality

TheTCP/IPProtocolSystem
BeforelookingattheelementsofTCP/IP,itisbesttobeginwithabriefreviewoftheresponsibilitiesofaprotocol system. AprotocolsystemsuchasTCP/IPmustberesponsibleforthefollowingtasks: Dividingmessagesintomanageablechunksofdatathatwillpassefficientlythroughthetransmission medium. Interfacingwiththenetworkadapterhardware. Addressing:Thesendingcomputermustbecapableoftargetingdatatoareceivingcomputer.The receivingcomputermustbecapableofrecognizingamessagethatitissupposedtoreceive. Routingdatatothesubnetofthedestinationcomputer,evenifthesourcesubnetandthedestination subnetaredissimilarphysicalnetworks. Performingerrorcontrol,flowcontrol,andacknowledgment:Forreliablecommunication,thesendingand receivingcomputersmustbeabletoidentifyandcorrectfaultytransmissionsandcontroltheflowofdata. Acceptingdatafromanapplicationandpassingittothenetwork. Receivingdatafromthenetworkandpassingittoanapplication. Toaccomplishtheprecedingtasks,thecreatorsofTCP/IPsettledonamodulardesign.TheTCP/IPprotocol systemisdividedintoseparatecomponentsthattheoreticallyfunctionindependentlyfromoneanother.Each componentisresponsibleforapieceofthecommunicationprocess.

Theadvantageofthismodulardesignisthatitletsvendorseasilyadapttheprotocolsoftwaretospecifichardware andoperatingsystems.Forinstance,theNetworkAccesslayer(asyoulearninHour3,TheNetworkAccess Layer)includesfunctionsrelatingtothespecificationanddesignofthephysicalnetwork.BecauseofTCP/IPs modulardesign,avendorsuchasMicrosoftdoesnothavetobuildacompletelydifferentsoftwarepackagefor TCP/IPonanopticalfibernetwork(asopposedtoTCP/IPonanordinaryethernetnetwork).Theupperlayersare notaffectedbythedifferentphysicalarchitectureonlytheNetworkAccesslayermustchange. TheTCP/IPprotocolsystemissubdividedintolayeredcomponents,eachofwhichperformsspecificduties(see Figure2.1).Thismodel,or stack,comesfromtheearlydaysofTCP/IP,anditissometimescalledtheTCP/IP model.TheofficialTCP/IPprotocollayersandtheirfunctionsaredescribedinthefollowinglist.Comparethe functionsinthelistwiththeresponsibilitieslistedearlierinthissection,andyoullseehowtheresponsibilitiesof theprotocolsystemaredistributedamongthelayers.

Figure2.1TheTCP/IPmodelsprotocollayers. BytheWay:ManyModels ThefourlayermodelshowninFigure2.1isacommonmodelfordescribingTCP/IPnetworking,butitisntthe onlymodel.TheARPAnetmodel,forinstance,asdescribedinRFC871,describesthreelayers:theNetwork Interfacelayer,theHosttoHostlayer,andtheProcessLevel/Applicationslayer.OtherdescriptionsofTCP/IPcall forafivelayermodel,withPhysicalandDataLinklayersinplaceoftheNetworkAccesslayer(tomatchOSI). StillothermodelsmightexcludeeithertheNetworkAccessortheApplicationlayer,whicharelessuniformand hardertodefinethantheintermediatelayers. Thenamesofthelayersalsovary.TheARPAnetlayernamesstillappearinsomediscussionsofTCP/IP,andthe InternetlayerissometimescalledtheInternetworklayerortheNetworklayer. Thisbookusesthefourlayermodel,withnamesshowninFigure2.1. NetworkAccesslayer:Providesaninterfacewiththephysicalnetwork.Formatsthedataforthe transmissionmediumandaddressesdataforthesubnetbasedonphysicalhardwareaddresses.Provides errorcontrolfordatadeliveredonthephysicalnetwork. Internetlayer:Provideslogical,hardwareindependentaddressingsothatdatacanpassamongsubnets withdifferentphysicalarchitectures.Providesroutingtoreducetrafficandsupportdeliveryacrossthe internetwork.(Theterm internetworkreferstoaninterconnected,greaternetworkoflocalareanetworks (LANs),suchaswhatyoufindinalargecompanyorontheInternet.)Relatesphysicaladdresses(usedat theNetworkAccesslayer)tologicaladdresses. Transportlayer:Providesflowcontrol,errorcontrol,andacknowledgmentservicesfortheinternetwork. Servesasaninterfacefornetworkapplications. Applicationlayer:Providesapplicationsfornetworktroubleshooting,filetransfer,remotecontrol,and Internetactivities.Alsosupportsthenetworkapplicationprogramminginterfaces(APIs)thatenable programswrittenforaparticularoperatingenvironmenttoaccessthenetwork. LaterhoursprovidemoredetaileddescriptionsoftheactivitiesateachoftheseTCP/IPprotocollayers. WhentheTCP/IPprotocolsoftwarepreparesapieceofdatafortransmissionacrossthenetwork,eachlayeron thesendingmachineaddsalayerofinformationtothedatathatisrelevanttothecorrespondinglayeronthe receivingmachine.Forinstance,theInternetlayerofthecomputersendingthedataaddsaheaderwithsome informationthatissignificanttotheInternetlayerofthecomputerreceivingthemessage.Thisprocessis

sometimesreferredtoasencapsulation.Atthereceivingendtheseheadersareremovedasthedataispassedup theprotocolstack. BytheWay:Layers Theterm layerisusedthroughoutthecomputerindustryforprotocolcomponentlevelssuchastheonesshownin Figure2.1.Headerinformationisappliedinlayerstothedataasitpassesthroughthecomponentsoftheprotocol stack.(Youlllearnmoreaboutthislaterinthishour.)Whenitcomestothecomponentsthemselves,however, theterm layerissomewhatmetaphorical. DiagramssuchasFigure2.1aremeanttoshowthatthedatapassesacrossaseriesofinterfaces.Aslongas theinterfacesaremaintained,theprocesseswithinonecomponentarenotaffectedbytheprocessesinother components.IfyouturnedFigure2.1sideways,itwouldlookmorelikeanassemblyline,andthisisalsoauseful analogyfortherelationshipoftheprotocolcomponents.Thedataproceedsthroughaseriesofstepsintheline and,aslongasitarrivesateachstepasspecified,thecomponentscanoperateindependently.

TCP/IPandtheOSIModel
ThenetworkingindustryhasastandardsevenlayermodelfornetworkprotocolarchitecturecalledtheOpen SystemsInterconnection(OSI)model.TheOSImodelrepresentsaneffortbytheInternationalOrganizationfor Standardization(ISO),aninternationalstandardsorganization,tostandardizethedesignofnetworkprotocol systemstopromoteinterconnectivityandopenaccesstoprotocolstandardsforsoftwaredevelopers. TCP/IPwasalreadyonthepathofdevelopmentwhentheOSIstandardarchitectureappearedand,strictly speaking,TCP/IPdoesnotconformtotheOSImodel.However,thetwomodelsdidhavesimilargoals,and enoughinteractionoccurredamongthedesignersofthesestandardsthattheyemergedwithacertain compatibility.TheOSImodelhasbeenveryinfluentialinthegrowthanddevelopmentofprotocolimplementations, anditisquitecommontoseetheOSIterminologyappliedtoTCP/IP. Figure2.2showstherelationshipbetweenthefourlayerTCP/IPstandardandthesevenlayerOSImodel.Note thattheOSImodeldividesthedutiesoftheApplicationlayerintothreelayers:Application,Presentation,and Session.OSIsplitstheactivitiesoftheNetworkAccesslayerintoaDataLinklayerandaPhysicallayer.This increasedsubdivisionaddssomecomplexity,butitalsoaddsflexibilityfordevelopersbytargetingtheprotocol layerstomorespecificservices.Inparticular,thedivisionatthelowerlevelintotheDataLinkandPhysicallayers separatesthefunctionsrelatedtoorganizingcommunicationfromthefunctionsrelatedtoaccessingthe communicationmedium.ThethreeupperOSIlayersofferagreatervarietyofalternativesforanapplicationto interfacewiththeprotocolstack.

Figure2.2ThesevenlayerOSImodel. ThesevenlayersoftheOSImodelareasfollows:

Physicallayer:Convertsthedataintothestreamofelectricoranalogpulsesthatwillactuallycrossthe transmissionmediumandoverseesthetransmissionofthedata DataLinklayer:Providesaninterfacewiththenetworkadaptermaintainslogicallinksforthesubnet Networklayer:Supportslogicaladdressingandrouting Transportlayer:Provideserrorcontrolandflowcontrolfortheinternetwork Sessionlayer:Establishessessionsbetweencommunicatingapplicationsonthecommunicating computers Presentationlayer:Translatesdatatoastandardformatmanagesencryptionanddatacompression Applicationlayer:Providesanetworkinterfaceforapplicationssupportsnetworkapplicationsforfile transfer,communications,andsoforth ItisimportanttorememberthattheTCP/IPmodelandtheOSImodelarestandards,notimplementations.Real worldimplementationsofTCP/IPdonotalwaysmapcleanlytothemodelsshowninFigures2.1and2.2,andthe perfectcorrespondencedepictedinFigure2.2isalsoamatterofsomediscussionwithintheindustry. NoticethattheOSIandTCP/IPmodelsaremostsimilarattheimportantTransportandInternet(calledNetworkin OSI)layers.Theselayersincludethemostidentifiableanddistinguishingcomponentsoftheprotocolsystem,and itisnocoincidencethatprotocolsystemsaresometimesnamedfortheirTransportandNetworklayerprotocols. Asyoulearnlaterinthisbook,theTCP/IPprotocolsuiteisnamedforTCP,aTransportlayerprotocol,andIP,an Internet/Networklayerprotocol.

DataPackages
TheimportantthingtorememberabouttheTCP/IPprotocolstackisthateachlayerplaysaroleintheoverall communicationprocess.Eachlayerinvokesservicesthatarenecessaryforthatlayertoperformitsrole.Asan outgoingtransmissionpassesdownthroughthestack,eachlayerincludesabundleofrelevantinformationcalled a headeralongwiththeactualdata.Thelittledatapackagecontainingtheheaderandthedatathenbecomes thedatathatisrepackagedatthenextlowerlevelwiththenextlowerlayersheader.Thisprocessisshownin Figure2.3.Thereverseprocessoccurswhendataisreceivedonthedestinationcomputer.Asthedatamovesup throughthestack,eachlayerunpacksthecorrespondingheaderandusestheinformation.

Figure2.3Ateachlayer,thedataisrepackagedwiththatlayersheader. Asthedatamovesdownthroughthestack,theeffectisalittlelikethenestedRussianwoodendollsyoumight haveseentheinnermostdollisenclosedinanotherdoll,whichisthenenclosedinanotherdoll,andsoon.Atthe receivingend,thedatapackagesareunpacked,onebyone,asthedataclimbsbackuptheprotocolstack.The InternetlayeronthereceivingmachineusestheinformationintheInternetlayerheader.TheTransportlayeruses theinformationintheTransportlayerheader.Ateachlayer,thepackageofdatatakesaformthatprovidesthe necessaryinformationtothecorrespondinglayeronthereceivingmachine.Becauseeachlayerisresponsiblefor differentfunctions,theformofthebasicdatapackageisverydifferentateachlayer.

BytheWay:TransportingDolls Thenetworkingindustryhasasmanyanalogiesasithasacronyms,andtheRussiandollanalogy,likeanyofthe others,illustratesapoint,butmustnotbetakentoofar.Itisworthnotingthatonaphysicalnetworksuchas ethernet,thedataistypicallybrokenintosmallerunitsattheNetworkAccesslayer.Amoreaccurateanalogy wouldcallforthislowestlayertobreaktheconcentricdollsystemintosmallerpieces,encapsulatethosepieces intotinierdolls,andthengrindthosetinydollsintoapatternof1sand0s.The1sand0sarereceived, reconstitutedintotinydolls,andrebuiltintotheconcentricdollsystem.Thecomplexityofthisscenariocauses manytoeschewtheotherwisepromisinganalogyofthedolls. Thedatapacketlooksdifferentateachlayer,andateachlayeritgoesbyadifferentname.Thenamesforthe datapackagescreatedateachlayerareasfollows: ThedatapackagecreatedattheApplicationlayeriscalleda message . ThedatapackagecreatedattheTransportlayer,whichencapsulatestheApplicationlayermessage,is called a segmentifitcomesfromtheTransportlayersTCPprotocol.Ifthedatapackagecomesfromthe Transportlayers UserDatagramProtocol(UDP)protocol,itiscalleda datagram . ThedatapackageattheInternetlayer,whichencapsulatestheTransportlayersegment,iscalleda datagram. ThedatapackageattheNetworkAccesslayer,whichencapsulatesandmaysubdividethedatagram,is calleda frame .ThisframeisthenturnedintoabitstreamatthelowestsublayeroftheNetworkAccess layer. Youlearnmoreaboutthedatapackagesforeachlayerinlaterhours.

AQuickLookatTCP/IPNetworking
Thepracticeofdescribingprotocolsystemsintermsoftheirlayersiswidespreadandnearlyuniversal.The layeringsystemdoesprovideinsightsintotheprotocolsystem,anditsimpossibletodescribeTCP/IPwithout firstintroducingitslayeredarchitecture.However,focusingsolelyonprotocollayersalsocreatessome limitations. First,talkingaboutprotocollayersratherthanprotocolsintroducesadditionalabstractiontoasubjectthatis alreadyexcruciatinglyabstract.Second,itemizingthevariousprotocolsassubheadswithinthegreatertopicofa protocollayercangivethefalseimpressionthatallprotocolsareofequalimportance.Infact,thoughevery protocolhasaroletoplay,mostofthefunctionalityoftheTCP/IPsuitecanbedescribedintermsofonlyafewof itsmostimportantprotocols.Itissometimesusefultoviewtheseimportantprotocolsintheforeground,against thebackdropofthelayeringsystemdescribedearlierinthishour. Figure2.4describesthebasicTCP/IPprotocolnetworkingsystem.Ofcourse,thereareadditionalprotocolsand servicesinthecompletepackage,butFigure2.4showsmostofwhatisgoingon.

Figure2.4AquicklookatthebasicTCP/IPnetworkingsystem. Thebasicscenarioisasfollows: 1. Datapassesfromaprotocol,networkservice,orapplicationprogramminginterface(API)operatingatthe ApplicationlayerthroughaTCPorUDPporttoeitherofthetwoTransportlayerprotocols(TCPorUDP). ProgramscanaccessthenetworkthrougheitherTCPorUDP,dependingontheprogramsrequirements: TCP isaconnectionorientedprotocol.AsyoulearninHour6,TheTransportLayer,connection orientedprotocolsprovidemoresophisticatedflowcontrolanderrorcontrolthanconnectionless protocols.TCPgoestogreatefforttoguaranteethedeliveryofthedata.TCPismorereliablethan UDP,buttheadditionalerrorcheckingandflowcontrolmeanthatTCPisslowerthanUDP. UDP isaconnectionlessprotocol.ItisfasterthanTCP,butitisnotasreliable.UDPoffloadsmore oftheerrorcontrolresponsibilitiestotheapplication. 2. ThedatasegmentpassestotheInternetlevel,wherethe IP protocolprovideslogicaladdressing informationandenclosesthedataintoadatagram. 3. TheIPdatagramenterstheNetworkAccesslayer,whereitpassestosoftwarecomponentsdesignedto interfacewiththephysicalnetwork.TheNetworkAccesslayercreatesoneormoredataframesdesigned forentryontothephysicalnetwork.InthecaseofaLANsystemsuchasethernet,theframemaycontain physicaladdressinformationobtainedfromlookuptablesmaintainedusingtheInternetlayer ARP protocol. (ARP,AddressResolutionProtocol,translatesIPaddressestophysicaladdresses.) 4. Thedataframeisconvertedtoastreamofbitsthatistransmittedoverthenetworkmedium. Ofcourse,thereareendlessdetailsdescribinghoweachprotocolgoesaboutfulfillingitsassignedtasks.For instance,howdoesTCPprovideflowcontrol,howdoesARPmapphysicaladdressestoIPaddresses,andhow doesIPknowwheretosendadatagramaddressedtoadifferentsubnet?Thesequestionsareexploredlaterin thisbook.

Summary
Inthishour,youlearnedaboutthelayersoftheTCP/IPprotocolstackandhowthoselayersinterrelate.Youalso learnedhowtheclassicTCP/IPmodelrelatestothesevenlayerOSInetworkingmodel.Ateachlayerinthe protocolstack,dataispackagedintotheformthatismostusefultothecorrespondinglayeronthereceivingend. Thishourdiscussedtheprocessofencapsulatingheaderinformationateachprotocollayerandoutlinedthe differenttermsusedateachlayertodescribethedatapackage.Finally,yougotaquicklookathowtheTCP/IP protocolsystemoperatesfromtheviewpointofsomeofitsmostimportantprotocols:TCP,UDP,IP,andARP.

Q&A
Q. WhataretheprincipaladvantagesofTCP/IPsmodulardesign? A. BecauseofTCP/IPsmodulardesign,theTCP/IPprotocolstackcanadapteasilytospecifichardwareand operatingenvironments.Breakingthenetworkingsoftwareintospecific,welldesignedcomponentsalsomakesit easiertowriteprogramsthatinteractwiththeprotocolsystem. Q. WhatfunctionsareprovidedattheNetwork Accesslayer? A. TheNetworkAccesslayerprovidesservicesrelatedtothespecificphysicalnetwork.Theseservicesinclude preparing,transmitting,andreceivingtheframeoveraparticulartransmissionmedium,suchasanethernetcable. Q. WhichOSIlayercorrespondstotheTCP/IPInternetlayer? A. TCP/IPsInternetlayercorrespondstotheOSINetworklayer. Q. WhyisheaderinformationenclosedateachlayeroftheTCP/IPprotocolstack ? A. Becauseeachprotocollayeronthereceivingmachineneedsdifferentinformationtoprocesstheincoming data,eachlayeronthesendingmachineenclosesheaderinformation.

Workshop
Thefollowingworkshopiscomposedofaseriesofquizquestionsandpracticalexercises.Thequizquestionsare designedtotestyouroverallunderstandingofthecurrentmaterial.Thepracticalexercisesareintendedtoafford youtheopportunitytoapplytheconceptsdiscussedduringthecurrenthour,aswellasbuildupontheknowledge acquiredinprevioushoursofstudy.Pleasetaketimetocompletethequizquestionsandexercisesbefore continuing.RefertoAppendixA,AnswerstoQuizzesandExercises,foranswers.

Quiz
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. WhattwoOSIlayersmapintotheTCP/IPNetworkAccesslayer? WhatTCP/IPlayerisresponsibleforroutingdatafromonecomputertoanother? WhataretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofUDPascomparedtoTCP? Whichlayerdealswithframes? Whatdoesitmeantosaythatalayerencapsulatesdata?

Exercises
1. 2. 3. 4. ListthefunctionsperformedbyeachlayerintheTCP/IPstack. Listthelayer(s)thatdealwithdatagrams. ExplainhowTCP/IPwouldhavetochangetouseanewlyinventedtypeofnetwork. ExplainwhatitmeanstosaythatTCPisareliableprotocol.

KeyTerms
Reviewthefollowinglistofkeyterms: AddressResolutionProtocol(ARP):AprotocolthatresolveslogicalIPaddressestophysicaladdresses.

Applicationlayer:ThelayeroftheTCP/IPstackthatsupportsnetworkapplicationsandprovidesan interfacetothelocaloperatingenvironment. Datagram:ThedatapackagepassedfromtheInternetlayertotheNetworkAccesslayer,oradata packagepassedfromUDPattheTransportlayertotheInternetlayer. Frame:ThedatapackagecreatedattheNetworkAccesslayer. Header:Abundleofprotocolinformationattachedtothedataateachlayeroftheprotocolstack. Internetlayer:ThelayeroftheTCP/IPstackthatprovideslogicaladdressingandrouting. IP(InternetProtocol):TheInternetlayerprotocolthatprovideslogicaladdressingandroutingcapabilities. Message:InTCP/IPnetworking,amessageisthedatapackagepassedfromtheApplicationlayertothe Transportlayer.Thetermisalsousedgenericallytodescribeamessagefromoneentitytoanotheronthe network.ThetermdoesntalwaysrefertoanApplicationlayerdatapackage. NetworkAccesslayer:ThelayeroftheTCP/IPstackthatprovidesaninterfacewiththephysicalnetwork. Segment:ThedatapackagepassedfromTCPattheTransportlayertotheInternetlayer. TCP(TransmissionControlProtocol):Areliable,connectionorientedprotocoloftheTransportlayer. Transportlayer:ThelayeroftheTCP/IPstackthatprovideserrorcontrolandacknowledgmentandserves asaninterfacefornetworkapplications. UDP(UserDatagramProtocol):Anunreliable,connectionlessprotocoloftheTransportlayer.