Intro

Chapter 3: Network Protocols and Communications

More and more, it is networks that connect us. People communicate online from everywhere. Conversations in classrooms spill
into instant message chat sessions, and online debates continue at school. New services are being developed daily to take
advantage of the network.

Rather than developing unique and separate systems for the delivery of each new service, the network industry as a whole has
adopted a developmental framework that allows designers to understand current network platforms, and maintain them. At the
same time, this framework is used to facilitate the development of new technologies to support future communications needs and
technology enhancements.

Central to this developmental framework, is the use of generally-accepted models that describe network rules and functions.

Within this chapter, you will learn about these models, as well as the standards that make networks work, and how
communication occurs over a network.

The figure is a standard graphic for the introduction and conclusion pages.

summary

Chapter 3: Network Protocols and Communications

Data networks are systems of end devices, intermediary devices, and the media connecting them. For communication to occur,
these devices must know how to communicate.

These devices must comply with communication rules and protocols. TCP/IP is an example of a protocol suite. Most protocols
are created by a standards organization such as the IETF or IEEE. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a
professional organization for those in the electrical engineering and electronics fields. ISO, the International Organization for
Standardization, is the world’s largest developer of international standards for a wide variety of products and services.

The most widely-used networking models are the OSI and TCP/IP models. Associating the protocols that set the rules of data
communications with the different layers of these models is useful in determining which devices and services are applied at
specific points as data passes across LANs and WANs.

Data that passes down the stack of the OSI model is segmented into pieces and encapsulated with addresses and other labels. The
process is reversed as the pieces are de-encapsulated and passed up the destination protocol stack. The OSI model describes the
processes of encoding, formatting, segmenting, and encapsulating data for transmission over the network.

The TCP/IP protocol suite is an open standard protocol that has been endorsed by the networking industry and ratified, or
approved, by a standards organization. The Internet Protocol Suite is a suite of protocols required for transmitting and receiving
information using the Internet.

Protocol Data Units (PDUs) are named according to the protocols of the TCP/IP suite: data, segment, packet, frame, and bits.

Applying models allows individuals, companies, and trade associations to analyze current networks and plan the networks of the
future.

The figure is a standard graphic for the introduction and conclusion pages.
6Human communication / Computer Communication,

Intro

Chapter 3: Network Protocols and Communications

More and more, it is networks that connect us. People communicate online from everywhere. Conversations in classrooms spill
into instant message chat sessions, and online debates continue at school. New services are being developed daily to take
advantage of the network.

Rather than developing unique and separate systems for the delivery of each new service, the network industry as a whole has
adopted a developmental framework that allows designers to understand current network platforms, and maintain them. At the
same time, this framework is used to facilitate the development of new technologies to support future communications needs and
technology enhancements.

Central to this developmental framework, is the use of generally-accepted models that describe network rules and functions.

Within this chapter, you will learn about these models, as well as the standards that make networks work, and how
communication occurs over a network.

The figure is a standard graphic for the introduction and conclusion pages.

Summary

Chapter 4: Network Access

The TCP/IP network access layer is the equivalent of the OSI data link layer (Layer 2) and the physical layer (Layer 1).

The OSI physical layer provides the means to transport the bits that make up a data link layer frame across the network media.
The physical components are the electronic hardware devices, media, and other connectors that transmit and carry the signals to
represent the bits. Hardware components such as network adapters (NICs), interfaces and connectors, cable materials, and cable
designs are all specified in standards associated with the physical layer. The physical layer standards address three functional
areas: physical components, frame encoding technique, and signaling method.

Using the proper media is an important part of network communications. Without the proper physical connection, either wired or
wireless, communications between any two devices will not occur.

Wired communication consists of copper media and fiber cable:

 There are three main types of copper media used in networking: unshielded-twisted pair (UTP), shielded-twisted pair
(STP), and coaxial cable. UTP cabling is the most common copper networking media.

 Optical fiber cable has become very popular for interconnecting infrastructure network devices. It permits the transmission
of data over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than any other networking media. Unlike copper wires,
fiber-optic cable can transmit signals with less attenuation and is completely immune to EMI and RFI.

Wireless media carry electromagnetic signals that represent the binary digits of data communications using radio or microwave
frequencies.

The number of wireless-enabled devices continues to increase. For this reason, wireless has become the medium of choice for
home networks and is quickly gaining in popularity in enterprise networks.
The data link layer handles the exchange of frames between nodes over a physical network media. It allows the upper layers to
access the media and controls how data is placed and received on the media.

Among the different implementations of the data link layer protocols, there are different methods of controlling access to the
media. These media access control techniques define if and how the nodes share the media. The actual media access control
method used depends on the topology and media sharing. LAN and WAN topologies can be physical or logical. It is the logical
topology that influences the type of network framing and media access control used. WANs are commonly interconnected using
the point-to-point, hub and spoke, or mesh physical topologies. In shared media LANs, end devices can be interconnected using
the star, bus, ring, or extended star physical topologies.

All data link layer protocols encapsulate the Layer 3 PDU within the data field of the frame. However, the structure of the frame
and the fields contained in the header and trailer vary according to the protocol.

Add the media transcript

Physical Layer Media

There are three basic forms of network media. The physical layer produces the representation and groupings of bits for each type
of media as:

 Copper cable: The signals are patterns of electrical pulses.

 Fiber-optic cable: The signals are patterns of light.

 Wireless: The signals are patterns of microwave transmissions.

The figure displays signaling examples for copper, fiber-optic, and wireless.

To enable physical layer interoperability, all aspects of these functions are governed by standards organizations.

Figure shows examples of signals for different types of media: copper, fiber and wireless. The copper uses electrical signals, the
fiber uses light pulses and the wireless uses microwave signals.

Chapter 5: Ethernet

The OSI physical layer provides the means to transport the bits that make up a data link layer frame across the network media.

Ethernet is now the predominant LAN technology in the world. Ethernet operates in the data link layer and the physical layer.
The Ethernet protocol standards define many aspects of network communication including frame format, frame size, timing, and
encoding. When messages are sent between hosts on an Ethernet network, the hosts format the messages into the frame layout
that is specified by the standards.

Because Ethernet is comprised of standards at these lower layers, it may best be understood in reference to the OSI model. The
OSI model separates the data link layer functionalities of addressing, framing, and accessing the media from the physical layer
standards of the media. Ethernet standards define both the Layer 2 protocols and the Layer 1 technologies. Although Ethernet
specifications support different media, bandwidths, and other Layer 1 and 2 variations, the basic frame format and address
scheme is the same for all varieties of Ethernet.
This chapter examines the characteristics and operation of Ethernet as it has evolved from a shared media, contention-based data
communications technology to today's high bandwidth, full-duplex technology.

The figure is a standard graphic for the introduction and conclusion pages.

Ethernet Encapsulation

Ethernet is the most widely used LAN technology today.

Ethernet operates in the data link layer and the physical layer. It is a family of networking technologies that are defined in the
IEEE 802.2 and 802.3 standards. Ethernet supports data bandwidths of:

 10 Mb/s

 100 Mb/s

 1000 Mb/s (1 Gb/s)

 10,000 Mb/s (10 Gb/s)

 40,000 Mb/s (40 Gb/s)

 100,000 Mb/s (100 Gb/s)

As shown in Figure 1, Ethernet standards define both the Layer 2 protocols and the Layer 1 technologies. For the Layer 2
protocols, as with all 802 IEEE standards, Ethernet relies on the two separate sublayers of the data link layer to operate, the
Logical Link Control (LLC) and the MAC sublayers.

LLC sublayer

The Ethernet LLC sublayer handles the communication between the upper layers and the lower layers. This is typically between
the networking software and the device hardware. The LLC sublayer takes the network protocol data, which is typically an IPv4
packet, and adds control information to help deliver the packet to the destination node. The LLC is used to communicate with the
upper layers of the application, and transition the packet to the lower layers for delivery.

LLC is implemented in software, and its implementation is independent of the hardware. In a computer, the LLC can be
considered the driver software for the NIC. The NIC driver is a program that interacts directly with the hardware on the NIC to
pass the data between the MAC sublayer and the physical media.

MAC sublayer

MAC constitutes the lower sublayer of the data link layer. MAC is implemented by hardware, typically in the computer NIC. The
specifics are listed in the IEEE 802.3 standards. Figure 2 lists common IEEE Ethernet standards.

Figure 1 shows the seven layers of the OSI model with the lower two layers highlighted. This figure demonstrates that Ethernet
spans Layers 1 and 2. 802.3 covers Layer 1 and the MAC sublayer of Layer 2. 802.2 is the LLC sublayer and covers the upper
half of Layer 2. Figure 2 shows a different representation of how the different implementations of Ethernet span the layers. In this
figure, we see that Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet spans Layer 1 and the lower half of Layer 2.
Summary

Chapter 5: Ethernet

Ethernet is the most widely used LAN technology today. It is a family of networking technologies that are defined in the IEEE
802.2 and 802.3 standards. Ethernet standards define both the Layer 2 protocols and the Layer 1 technologies. For the Layer 2
protocols, as with all 802 IEEE standards, Ethernet relies on the two separate sublayers of the data link layer to operate, the
Logical Link Control (LLC) and the MAC sublayers.

At the data link layer, the frame structure is nearly identical for all bandwidths of Ethernet. The Ethernet frame structure adds
headers and trailers around the Layer 3 PDU to encapsulate the message being sent.

There are two styles of Ethernet framing: IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard and the DIX Ethernet standard which is now referred to
Ethernet II. The most significant difference between the two standards is the addition of a Start Frame Delimiter (SFD) and the
change of the Type field to a Length field in the 802.3. Ethernet II is the Ethernet frame format used in TCP/IP networks. As an
implementation of the IEEE 802.2/3 standards, the Ethernet frame provides MAC addressing and error checking.

The Layer 2 addressing provided by Ethernet supports unicast, multicast, and broadcast communications. Ethernet uses the
Address Resolution Protocol to determine the MAC addresses of destinations and map them against known IPv4 addresses.

Each node on an IPv4 network has both a MAC address and an IPv4 address. The IP addresses are used to identify the original
source and final destination of the packet. The Ethernet MAC addresses are used to send the packet from one Ethernet NIC to
another Ethernet NIC on the same IP network. ARP is used to map a known IPv4 address to a MAC address, so the packet can be
encapsulated in an Ethernet frame with the correct Layer 2 address.

ARP relies on certain types of Ethernet broadcast messages and Ethernet unicast messages, called ARP requests and ARP replies.
The ARP protocol resolves IPv4 addresses to MAC addresses and maintains a table of mappings.

On most Ethernet networks, end devices are typically connected on a point-to-point basis to a Layer 2, full-duplex switch. A
Layer 2 LAN switch performs switching and filtering based only on the OSI data link layer (Layer 2) MAC address. A Layer 2
switch builds a MAC address table that it uses to make forwarding decisions. Layer 2 switches depend on routers to pass data
between independent IP subnetworks.

The figure is a standard graphic for the introduction and conclusion pages.