Topic 3 – Wired LAN Corporate Communications Systems

Management

Wired LAN
Topic 3- 1.4

MAC Essentials
• The problem: ‘Who goes next?’
• Need protocols to avoid chaos

Corporate Communications H H H H
Systems Management
shared, common medium
Topic 3 : Wired LAN

H H H

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Topic 3- 1.2 Topic 3- 1.5

In this lecture you will learn: MAC Essentials

• The A-Z of (wired) local area networks (LAN): • MAC = Medium Access Control
• Issues with shared media and broadcasts • Technically a sub-layer of data link layer
• Detecting & recovering from frame collisions • MAC = backbone of LAN concept
• The principles of the CSMA/CD algorithm • MAC = channel allocation & control
• Ethernet – in all its forms • Common issues on wired & wireless LAN
• MAC addresses and address resolution (ARP) • Various channel allocation models…
• Repeaters, bridges, hubs & switches
• Virtual LAN (VLAN) concepts and traffic isolation

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Topic 3- 1.3 Topic 3- 1.6

MAC Essentials MAC - Channel Allocation

• Compare: • Static Allocation
• Point-To-Point (P2P) links • Each host gets own sub-channel (frequency or slot)
• => Targeted and (usually) long distance • Remember FDM and TDM?
• => WAN & Internet • No conflict or interference between hosts/users
• Broadcast links • Radio stations => share common RF spectrum
• => Shotgun approach and (usually) local
• Not suitable for large number of users/hosts
• => LAN
• Not suitable for ‘bursty’ or erratic traffic flows
• Broadcast over a common, shared channel
• Not enough sub-channels or idle/wasted channels
• Hosts have to contend/compete for access

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Topic 3- 1.7 Topic 3- 1.10

MAC - Channel Allocation MAC - Protocols

• Dynamic Allocation:
• There are N independent hosts
• Each transmits & receives data frames
• There is only a single common (shared) medium
• Collisions between data frames will occur
• Two options:
• Avoid: wait until medium is clear before sending
• Recover: just send anyway and re-send if crash occurs
• ALOHA
• Hawaii – lots of remote islands – no cabling
• 1970s – early pioneer of these MAC concepts
• Wireless packet-switching network
• Two models:
• Users transmit at will – anytime – no scheduled ‘slots’
• Users transmit only within fixed time slots
• Both encounter collisions – but wide differences

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Topic 3- 1.8 Topic 3- 1.11

MAC - Channel Allocation MAC - Protocols

• Avoid: • Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
• Uses ‘carrier sense’ technology (CSMA/CD) • Listen before sending
• Hosts can tell if a frame active on medium • Wait time is random
• Wait until free => no frame collisions • Propagation delay => collisions
• Recover: • CSMA & Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
• No ‘carrier sense’ technology • Basis of Ethernet
• Hosts cannot detect frames – so just transmit! • Collision occurs => quickly detected => stop!
• No waiting (good) => collisions => re-send (bad) • Saves time & bandwidth (rather than conclude)

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Topic 3- 1.9 Topic 3- 1.12

MAC - Channel Allocation MAC - Protocols

• Think traffic lights… • CSMA/CD model…

CAR
frame contention period frame idle period contention period frame
CAR CAR CAR
channel clear - but not needed
channel busy- wait channel busy- wait
CAR
channel clear - send channel clear - send channel clear - send

CAR

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Topic 3- 1.13 Topic 3- 1.16

MAC - Protocols MAC Protocols – No Collisions

• Avoiding Collisions • Token Ring…
• CSMA/CD can still have frame collisions during the H
H H
contention period (due to propagation delay)
• Means re-transmission => inefficient performance
Transmit Frame Token
• Introduces variability => not good for some services H H

• New models for channel allocation

• Possible to totally avoid collisions H H
• Various solutions… H

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Topic 3- 1.14 Topic 3- 1.17

MAC Protocols – No Collisions MAC Protocols – No Collisions

• Reservation Models • Token Bus…
• Like putting hand up to speak
• Request to transmit before transmitting H H H H H
• Collate all requests, then transmit in sequence Frame
Shared Medium

• Token-Passing Model Token H H H H

• Like passing a microphone around a room
• Pass token to each host in turn Token circulated in sequence – like circle
(Physical Bus, Logical Ring)
• Can only transmit when have token

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Topic 3- 1.15 Topic 3- 1.18

MAC Protocols – No Collisions MAC Protocols – Hybrid Models

• Reservation Model… • Contention-Based Models (ALOHA & CSMA/CD)
• Light traffic = few collisions = low delay = good
H1 Request Transmission? Y

Transmit Frames • Heavy traffic = lots of collisions/re-sends = bad

H2 Request Transmission? N Repeat • Most efficient at low traffic levels
H1 Frame H3 Frame H4 Frame Request
Phase
H3 Request Transmission? Y • Collision-Free Models (Reservation & Token-Passing)
H4 Request Transmission? Y • Light traffic = high set-up overhead = delay
• Heavy traffic = no collisions with same overhead = good
H5 Request Transmission? N
• Most efficient at heavy traffic levels

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Topic 3- 1.19 Topic 3- 1.22

MAC Protocols – Hybrid Models Ethernet - Classic

• The ideal is a merger of both approaches… • All hosts attached to single cable
• Contention model for low traffic flows • Thick Ethernet versus Thin Ethernet
• Collision-free model for heavy traffic flows • Each has (different) maximum cable lengths
• Leads to ‘limited-contention’ protocols • 500m segments (Thick)
• Maximizes channel efficiency • 185m segments (Thin)
• Covered in tutorial • Each has (different) maximum hosts/segment
• 100 hosts/segment (Thick)
• 30 hosts/segment (Thin)

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Topic 3- 1.20 Topic 3- 1.23

MAC Protocols – Wireless LAN Ethernet - Classic

• IEEE 802.11 covered in another lecture…
• Need repeaters to join cable segments
• Bigger LAN, hosts (H) link via transceivers (T)
• Maximum distance between hosts = 2.5km
H • Maximum number of repeaters crossed = 4
Ethernet Cable (1 Segment)

T T T T T T
H H H H H H

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Topic 3- 1.21 Topic 3- 1.24

Ethernet Ethernet - Classic

• IEEE 802.3 - dominant LAN technology • MAC protocol:
•Two flavours: • Used to format frames (like IP datagram)
• Ethernet • Subtle differences – DIX Ethernet v IEEE 802.3
• Rates up to 10 Mbps • Each frame consists of these fields:
• Well established (1970s), largely superseded by… • Preamble (8 bytes) plus Start of Frame (802.3)
• Switched Ethernet • Destination address & Source* address (6 bytes each)
• Fast Ethernet • Type (DIX) or Length (802.3) – each 2 bytes
• Gigabit Ethernet (and beyond…) • Data (payload) = 0-1500 bytes + Pad + Checksum (4)
• Rates up to 10,000 Mbps (10 Gigabits/second) * globally unique via IEEE

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Topic 3- 1.25 Topic 3- 1.28

Ethernet - Classic Ethernet - Switched

• Uses the classic CSMA/CD algorithm
• Listens to medium, waits for idleness, transmits
• If collision occurs, re-transmits => random time
• Randomness based on number of re-tries
• Nth re-try => random number (0 to 2^N -1)
• Used to decide wait time for next re-try
• Aims to reduce repeated collisions
• Acknowledgements?
• Much better performance than hubs…
• Full duplex + port-level domains = no collisions
• No repeat transmissions => more efficiency
• Many hosts can send many frames at same time
• Each frame travels own path over switch backplane
• Supports internal queuing and buffering
• Bonus = added security from interception
• Frames only sent to targeted hosts

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Topic 3- 1.26 Topic 3- 1.29

Ethernet - Switched Ethernet - Fast

• Why? • Fast Ethernet = IEEE 802.3u
• Classic Ethernet = one long cable with local links • All same basic Ethernet concepts
• Loose and faulty links hard to track down • Use hubs and switches (P2P links)
• So give each host dedicated cable to central hub • Just make it quicker (=> 100 Mbps) How?
• Still logically one single medium - easy to support • Reduce the bit time and allow various media
• Now use twisted pair rather than thick/thin cable • 100Base-T4 (Cat. 3 UTP)
• Capacity? • 100Base-TX (Cat. 5 UTP)
• Hubs do nothing to increase capacity, so… • 100Base-FX (Fiber Optic)

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Topic 3- 1.27 Topic 3- 1.30

Ethernet - Switched Ethernet - Gigabit

• More hosts + single shared medium = saturation
• IEEE 802.3ab
• Only break out is…switches!
• Uses switches and hubs (P2P links)
• Box with a series of ports, plug hosts in via TP
• Supports full and half duplex (like fast Ethernet)
• Ports connected internally - high-speed backplane
• Supports a range of media:
• Incoming frames routed to specific output ports
• 1000Base-SX (Fiber Optic)
• Means mapping (switch) ports to (host) addresses
• 1000Base-LX (Fiber Optic)
• Hub => single collision domain => uses CSMA/CD
• 1000Base-CX (2 x STP)
• Switch => each port = own collision domain (CSMA/CD?)
• 1000Base-T (4 x UTP)

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Topic 3 – Wired LAN
Ethernet – 10Gb
• 1000x faster than ‘classic’ Ethernet
• Used in ultra-high capacity situations:
• Data centres
• Long-distance backbones
• Metropolitan networks (MAN)
• Supports:
• Fiber optic (long distance)
• Twisted pair (local)
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Ethernet – Auto-Negotiation
• Many versions/standards of Ethernet
• Interoperability between hosts over LAN key
• NIC at each host needs to be configured
• Both must use common Ethernet standard
• Auto-configuration allows NIC to adopt standard
• Each NIC ‘announces’ its Ethernet version
• Both default to highest common version
• Means low-cost, easily-deployed NIC devices
V1.0
Ethernet – Address Resolution
• Host connects to network via NIC
• NIC = physical & data link layer (levels 1 + 2) issues
• NIC has unique MAC physical address (level 2)
• Host has unique IP network address (level 3)
• Two independent addressing models!
• An NIC has both but router only uses IP address
• How to relate IP address to MAC address?
• Answer: ARP (address resolution protocol)
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Corporate Communications Systems
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Topic 3- 1.31 Topic 3- 1.34
Ethernet – Address Resolution
• Source sends ARP request frame holding:
• Destination & sender IP addresses
• Sender’s MAC address
• Every other host on LAN gets this request
• If IP matches, target host returns ARP reply
• Reply holds MAC (physical) address of target
• Source sends frames using that MAC address
• Both hosts store MAC/IP mappings in ARP table
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Topic 3- 1.32 Topic 3- 1.35
Ethernet – Getting Bigger
• There is a limit to the physical scale of single LAN
• Signal propagation/quality issues (limits distance)
• Collisions via multiple access (limits performance)
• Signal quality issue solved via inserting repeater
• Active physical layer (level 1) device
• Links two or more LAN segments
• Amplifies signal on input port to all output ports
• Limited to 4 in series (See IEEE 802.3: 5-4-3 rule)
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Topic 3- 1.33 Topic 3- 1.36
Ethernet – Getting Bigger
• Escape physical limits via an extended LAN
• Use a bridge:
• Data link layer (level 2) device
• Does the job of repeater and more…
• Can work at level 2 => process data frames
• Reads target MAC address, filters and forwards
• Does not broadcast out like repeater (smarter)
• Plug-and-play, no programming (unlike routers)
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Topic 3- 1.37 Topic 3- 1.40

Ethernet – Getting Bigger Ethernet – Getting Bigger

Four LAN segments… LAN & VLAN
VLAN 1 VLAN 2

H H H H H H Academic Staff: Floor 4 S

Repeater Finance: Floor 3 S
S
R
IT & Networking: Floor 2 S
Bridge
Reception & Administration: Floor 1 S
H H H H H H
S
Repeater
R

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Topic 3- 1.38 Topic 3- 1.41

Ethernet – Getting Bigger Ethernet - Summary

• VLAN = Virtual LAN => software based • Dominates LAN world
• A set of logically grouped hosts • Well established, well proven since 1970s
• Not restricted by physical location • Simple, cheap and reliable
• LAN often based on physical proximity of hosts • Flexible – supports various media
• VLAN based on logical activity of hosts • Interfaces well with dominant TCP/IP (see ARP)
• Software-based => no need to physically move • Can be extended – repeaters, bridges
• Each VLAN has own broadcast domain • Can be partitioned – switches and VLAN
• Isolates traffic => aids performance and security • High performance => Gigabits per second

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Topic 3- 1.39 Topic 3- 1.42

Ethernet – Getting Bigger Ethernet – Next Steps

• VLAN could use a single switch (simple model) • More details & practice in tutorial…
• VLAN could use many switches (branched model)
• VLAN could be static:
• Each switch port assigned to specific VLAN
• Switch port defines VLAN membership, not hosts
• VLAN could be dynamic:
• VLAN membership defined by host address
• Address could be MAC (level 2) or IP (level 3)

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Topic 3 – Wired LAN

Any Questions?

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