Network Interface Layer

MIS 507
Prasad Kularatne
Objective
Understand the functions behind Physical layer and
Data Link layer of the OSI model with more in-depth
treatment of the latter
Framing & Synchronization, Error Control, Flow
Control, Reliable Delivery

Understand the popular data link layer protocol

implementations
Ethernet
Wi-Fi
PPP
Physical Layer
Physical Layer
Standardizes transmission media
Cable types and specifications
Encoding and Decoding
Convert electrical pulses into signals that can be
transmitted over the medium
Manchester codes, 8B/10B etc.
Common layer-1 communications
Ethernet, xDSL (ADSL, SDSL), Frame Relay, X.25, SONET,
ATM, GSM, HSDPA, Wireless LAN
Note: We will not go into details of the Physical Layer
Encoding/Decoding
Determines how the binary data is represented on the
link or how a given bit stream should be converted into
signals that can be transmitted over the media
Allows clock synchronization
Reduces in DC content (for electrical signals)
Detects and correct errors

Line codes and Block codes

Line codes: RZ, NRZ, NRZI, Manchester coding
Block Codes: 4B5B, 8B10B
 Q: Which line coding/block coding are used in Ethernet, PPP and WLAN?
Data Link Layer
Data Link Layer
Responsible for transport of packets received from the
network layer in a reliable manner to the immediate link
destination

Access control to physical media

To allow many nodes to share a common transmission medium

Framing
Synchronize the sender and receiver
Aid in devising error control mechanisms
Error control works on chunks of data rather than on a continuous
steam of bits
Efficient switching
Data Link Layer (cntd.)
Error Control
Detection of errors occurred in transit
How many bit errors can be detected?
Correction of errors
Detect and errors have occurred
In which bit position has the errors occurred

Flow Control
Address the problem of fast sender overl0ading a busy
receiver
Uses a feedback mechanism to let sender know that he
is sending too much
Data Link layer in context
 Data Link Layer termination

Ethernet PPP

Source: Computer Networks, A Tanenbaum

Media Access Control
When to listen , when to transmit and how to handle
contention

Broadcast media vs. Point-to-Point

Typically original Ethernet LAN’s are broadcast and
WAN’s are P2P

Broadcast media is shared

Mechanism to control access to media should be in place
Media Access Control (MAC)
MAC protocols: CSMA
CS: Carrier Sense -> Is there anyone transmitting?
MA: Multiple Access -> I can hear what others can hear

When to transmit depends on how you would want to

handle the contention
CSMA/CD: Collisions are NOT prevented, detect them
and let others know of them
 Used in original Ethernet standard
CSMA/CA: Collisions are prevented as much as possible
 Used in Wireless LAN’s
 Obviously more overheads, less effective throughput
CSMA/CD vs. CSMA/CA
Detection of collisions are possible in wired, but virtually
impossible in wireless media
 Wireless medium is essentially half-duplex
 Research is under way for full duplex wireless
 Strength of the transmitted signal essentially masks detection of
any other node transmission
 If you cannot detect collisions you need to avoid occurring them as
much as possible

In Wireless LAN’s negotiate for media access

 This negotiation tells other nodes not to transmit till the intended
communication is complete
Framing: What is it?
At the Sender: Packets received has to be packaged into
frames and sent reliably over the unreliable physical media

At the Receiver: Identify where the frame starts and where
it ends
 Requires some special bit sequence to indicate the start and the end

Synchronizing sender and receiver for frame transmission

 Where does the frame starts and where does it end
Framing: Approaches
Fixed length
Send a special character at the beginning and end of
the frame
Send a special flag sequence at the beginning and end
of the frame
What if the special character or flag sequence occurs
in actual data?
Error Control
Error Detection & Correction and a mechanism to
deal with detected errors if correction is not
possible

Can use either

Error-Correcting Codes (ECC)
Not all errors can be corrected
Usage: Many wireless networks
Error-Detecting Codes (EDC)
Just detect errors and deal with them (may be reject them)
Usage: Most wired networks (low BER and fast transmission
speeds)
Error Detection
Introduces some additional bits/bytes into the frame
header

Mechanisms
 Parity checking (Even or Odd parity)
 Checksum
 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

Not all errors can be detected

 Residual errors may remain
 A good mechanism must minimize the residual errors
 How to deal with residual errors?
Error Correction
Mechanisms
FEC: Forward Error Correction
ARQ: Automatic Repeat Request

FEC is used when it is important to mitigate latency

than to avoid errors
Voice, video transmission
 It is OK to lose one or two frames that incurring latency if it
has to retransmit!
E.g. Hamming Codes
Reliable Delivery
Mechanism: ARQ
Acknowledge the received frame
Timer to stop waiting indefinitely for an ACK
Sequence Numbering
 Identify what is acknowledged
 Distinguish between transmissions and retransmissions

Protocols
Idle ARQ: Stop and Wait
Continuous ARQ: Sliding Window protocols
 n-bit sliding window
 Go-back-n
 Selective Repeat
Go-Back-N
Receiver Windows Size = 1; Sender Windows Size = N

The sender keeps transmitting until the number of

unacknowledged frames equals its window size
Still if it doesn’t receive what it expects it starts
resending everything in the window

Source: Computer Networks, A Tanenbaum

Go-Back-N issues
A pipeline (continuing to send frames when the past
frames have not yet been acknowledged) is a good idea

Fairly simple and fast mechanism and Frames are

always received in order, no need to re-order

When the pipeline breaks, a lot of retransmission is

needed
Can we avoid unnecessarily sending frames?
Selective Repeat ARQ
Receiver Windows Size = 1; Sender Windows Size = N

The sender keeps transmitting frames till a NACK is received,

then it starts resending everything not acknowledged.
The receiver can buffer (and reorder) frames after sending a
NACK.
No need for sender to re-send buffered frames

Source: Computer Networks, A Tanenbaum

Selective Repeat ARQ issues
Assumptions
A pipeline is a good idea
Unique sequence numbers can be generated and sent

Very fast and when pipeline breaks less

retransmissions are required

But frames are received out of order when pipeline

breaks, DLL has to reassemble
Flow Control
Idea: Sender does not flood the receiver, but maximizes
throughput
Sender throttles until receiver grants permission

Same Sliding Window protocols are used with the receiver

window tuned based on the size of receive buffer space

Mechanism
To advertise Receiver window size (use ACK frame)
To block the Sender if Receiver Windows size is zero
Flow Control (cntd.)
Receiver Window size
Increases when network layer takes control
Decreases when packets are received from the sender

Sender window size

Increases when ACK’s are received
Packets in sender window must be buffered at source
 Why? – May be needed for retransmissions
 Flow Control Example Receiver
Sender Receiver Buffer
Application Does 0K 4K
a 2K Write 2K SEQ=0 Empty
2K
8
=2 0 48 , WIN=204
ACK
Application Does
a 3K Write
2K SEQ=
2048
Full
Sender is = 409 6, WIN=0
AC K Application
blocked
Reads 2K
8
=4 0 96 , WIN=204
ACK 2K
Sender may
send up to 2K

1K SEQ=
4096
1K 2K
Individual Assignment
Examine what Media Access Control, Error control, flow control
and framing techniques are used in the following DLL protocols
 Ethernet
 Wi-Fi

Ethernet Virtual LAN’s are a layer-2 technology that allows

multiple logical networks to be carved out from a single physical
network. With Wireless LAN’s becoming commonplace in todays
enterprise network access layer, it is important to extend Ethernet
VLAN’s to Wireless LAN environment as well. Briefly describe how
Wireless LAN’s can accommodate this requirement
Data Link Layer
protocols
DLL Protocols
Most popular Data Link Layer protocols
Ethernet (most popular Wired-LAN protocol)
Wi-Fi (Wireless LAN protocol)
PPP (a popular WAN protocol)

We will discuss Ethernet protocol and Wi-Fi in detail

Ethernet
Ethernet
The most dominant DLL protocol in the networking
world
Demonstrated the fastest growth in last 5-7 years
Speed: 100Mbps -> 10Gbps (three orders of magnitude)
Range: LAN -> MAN -> WAN
Part of Physical layer and Data Link Layer
Standardized under IEEE 802.3
802.3u: Fast Ethernet
Same
802.3z: 1Gbps Ethernet Frame format
Addressing
802.3ae: 10Gbps Ethernet Ease of deployment
Cost effectiveness
Services to network layer
Connectionless unacknowledged service to the
network layer
Provide unreliable communication interface
Considering the reliability of frame transmissions in
LAN environments frame losses are less
Remember Concepts:
 Connection oriented vs. Connectionless
 Acknowledged vs. unacknowledged
MAC layer
CSMA/CD
Addresses issues with transmission over shared media
 Ethernet Bus topology
 Ethernet Hub
 Half duplex operation

Not relevant today

Ethernet networks are full duplex, switched
10Gbps Ethernet does not even talk about this
 Ethernet Framing
FCS

Preamble allows receiver to obtain clock synchronization

Addressing
6-byte world unique
Unicast, multicast, broadcast
Length of data field has to be between 46 Bytes – 1500 Bytes
(pad if less than 46 B)
Error control: 32-bit CRC [FCS]

Source: Computer Networks, A Tanenbaum

Ethernet Flow Control
Standardized under IEEE 802.3x
Paces a high speed transmitter
Can be a any network element: switch or a host
Receiving station upon overwhelming traffic ingestion
sends a PAUSE MAC control frame to a multicast
address
Control frame carries how long to wait before sending
the next message
Enhanced and used in Data Center Ethernet (DCE)
Discussed later
Ethernet Management Infrastructure

IEEE 802.1: LAN/MAN Bridging and Management

We will discuss those applicable to the management of
Ethernet based LAN’s
 IEEE 802.1Q: VLAN’s
 IEEE 802.1P: LAN based QoS
 IEEE 802.1D: Spanning Tree Protocol
Source: www.10gea.org
IEEE 802.1Q: VLAN

VLAN: Gives a logical topology to LAN’s

Segments network load (traffic isolation)
Segments broadcast domains
Facilitates MAC’s (Moves, Adds, Changes)
Improves security
VLAN-aware switches vs. VLAN-aware hosts

Source: Computer Networks, A Tanenbaum

VLAN: Applications
Use of VLAN tagging in
Virtualized server environments
Blade Servers

Design LAN’s based on a topology aligned with

business organization rather than physical location of
network elements

Separate out LAN-based backup traffic, management

traffic to separate VLAN’s
IEEE 802.1P: Prioritization
Prioritization of LAN traffic
Level 7: Network-critical traffic (Routing)
Level 5 & 6: Delay-sensitive applications (interactive
video and voice)
Level 1 through 4: Controlled-load applications
streaming multimedia and business-critical traffic -
carrying SAP data- down to "loss eligible" traffic

Enhanced and used in offering flow control per

priority in Data Center Ethernet (discussed later)
IEEE 802.1D: Spanning Tree Protocol
Prevent loops from occurring in a LAN
Automatically activates redundant links in failure
scenarios

Idea
Go through each path in the LAN and figure out a
topology that is loop-free (Tree)
Determine the ISL ports that can be used to maintain
just enough connectivity among all segments (The tree
is spanning all segments)
Block all other ports
Spanning Tree Algorithm
 All switches are assigned a Bridge ID

 Select Root Bridge as the node with the lowest bridge ID and
MAC address

 Mark Root Port in all other switches such that it has the least
cost to the Root Bridge

 For each LAN segment, select the bridge with least cost to the
root bridge and mark the corresponding port as the
Designated Port

 Forward frames only over Root & Designated ports and block
all others
 Spanning Tree illustration
Bridge ID: 1 Bridge ID: 2

Root Port

Designated Port

Blocked Port

Bridge ID: 4
Bridge ID: 3

Note on Breaking the ties

• Equal cost paths through different bridges -> Select the path to the bridge with lowest Bridge ID
• Equal cost paths through the same bridge -> Select the path that connect to the lowest Port ID
STP Enhancements
Why? - To address the shortcomings of the conventional STP
 Takes a long time to converge upon a bridge/link failure
 Poor link utilization

IEEE 802.1W: Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP)

 Improve the convergence time

IEEE 802.1S: Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP)

 Use redundant links for load balancing
 Traffic of different VLAN’s spans through different redundant links
between the same set of switches
 Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol
Bridge ID: 1 Bridge ID: 2 Bridge ID: 1 Bridge ID: 2

Root for STPi1 Root for STPi2

Bridge ID: 3 Bridge ID: 4 Bridge ID: 3 Bridge ID: 4

Resulting traffic flow (all links used)

VLAN to MSTP instance

Mappings
VLANs 10,20,30 <-> STPi1
VLANs 15,25,35 <-> STPi2
Gigabit Ethernet
Why? - Proliferation of bandwidth hungry apps
 Content networking, file serving, increase in concurrent
server connections
Compatible to Ethernet and Fast Ethernet (UTP Cat-5)
Same MAC layer as Fast Ethernet
Burrowed Physical Layer from Fibre Channel
Support for MM and SM fiber
8B/10B encoding
Support for jumbo frames
Ideal for high throughput applications
 NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, backup traffic
Gigabit Ethernet overview

Source: Broadband Network Technologies, Technical University of Berlin

Gigabit Ethernet (Protocol Stack)

Source: Broadband Network Technologies, Technical University of Berlin

GigE – Distance specifications

Source: Broadband Network Technologies, Technical University of Berlin

10Gbps Ethernet
Objective I: Promote Ethernet’s LAN experience to
WAN’s - Ethernet Broadband
IEEE 802.1P and 802.1Q enables services provider
capabilities
Defines two PHY options LAN PHY and WAN PHY
 Separate WAN PHY allows Ethernet over existing telco networks

Objective II: Data Center Ethernet

Increased load on LAN’s due to
 Server virtualization
 I/O consolidation
Ethernet Broadband
IEEE 802.1P and 802.1Q standards allow
 Service differentiation (802.1P)
 Traffic separation and security (VLAN)

Source: http://www.10gea.org/ethernet-wan.htm
Data Center Ethernet (DCE)
Architectural extensions to address increased traffic
load & new traffic types in Data Center caused by
Server virtualization and I/O consolidation
Also known as Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE)
IEEE 802.1Qbb: Priority Flow Control
IEEE 802.1Qau: Congestion Notification
IEEE 802.1Qaz: Bandwidth Management
IEEE 802.1Aq: Shortest Path Bridging
IEEE 802.1Qbb: Priority Flow Control
Combined use of Flow Control (IEEE 802.3x) and
Prioritization (IEEE 802.1p)
Send PAUSE frame on a per-user-priority basis
Loss sensitive protocols (Fibre Channel) to get a lossless lane

Ethernet Enhancements supporting I/O consolidation, Nuova Systems Inc.

IEEE 802.1Qaz: BW Management
Re-allocate the unused bandwidth in one traffic class to
another in need of more bandwidth
Allow for bursty LAN traffic while guaranteeing bandwidth
for Fibre Channel traffic

Ethernet Enhancements supporting I/O consolidation, Nuova Systems Inc.

Wi-Fi
What is Wi-Fi?
Its not a protocol, but a set of standards that
defines the compliance of devices to IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 defines a set of protocols that
defines the physical and data link layers of
Wireless LAN

We will not discuss MAC, framing, flow control

and error control here
They are covered via the Assignment
Unlicensed Frequency Bands
Short-Wave Radio FM Broadcast
Infrared Wireless LAN
AM Broadcast Television
Cellular (840MHz)
Audio
NPCS (1.9GHz)

Extremely Very Low Medium High Very Ultra Super Infrared Visible Ultra- X-Rays
Low Low High High High Light violet

2.4–2.4835 GHz
5 GHz
83.5 MHz
(IEEE 802.11a)
(IEEE 802.11b,g)
IEEE 802.11n
IEEE 802.11n
Source: Wireless Protocols, Todd Lammle
WLAN design goals
Easy to use and plug-and-play setup
Enables operation globally over wireless
Uses license-free ISM band of frequencies
Low power operation
Extend the use to cover battery operated devices
Easily inter-operate with the existing wired
infrastructure protecting the committed investments
Support for mobility through roaming
Wi-Fi in IEEE 802
Broadband Mobility
IEEE 802.16e

WMAN
IEEE 802.16 / ETSI HiperMAN
WiMAX (256-FFT OFDM)
48+ km.

WLAN
IEEE 802.11x
Wi-Fi
100m.

WPAN
IEEE 802.15
Bluetooth
10m.

Source: Wireless Broadband Mobility, Shawn Taylor

WLAN terminology
Access Point (AP): Provides co-ordination of
communication within a BSS and provides services to
integrate with the Distribution System

Basic Service Set (BSS): One or more wireless nodes

that share a single Access Point (co-ordination
function)

Extended Service Set (ESS): One or more BSS’s

connected via Access Points
WLAN Terminology (Cntd.)
Distribution System (DS): Network that
interconnects several BSS’s to form an ESS

Portal: Function that allows BSS to integrate with

the non IEEE 802.11 network
WLAN terminology illustrated
802.11 LAN

BSS1 STA5
STA4
STA1 BSS3

Access Access Portal

Portal Point
Point

Distribution System (DS)

Access Portal
Point

STA2 STA3
BSS2

ESS
Portal function
802.11 LAN

BSS1 STA5
STA4
STA1 BSS3

Access Access
Point Point
Wireless

Distribution System (DS)

Access Portal
Point
802.3 LAN

STA2 STA3
BSS2

ESS
 Services offered by a DS
Association, Re-association & de-association

Distribution service and Integration service

Source: CWAP Certified Wireless Analysis Professional Official Study Guide, Devin Akin and Jim Geier
WLAN topologies
Infrastructure WLAN
A set of wireless nodes whose communication is coordinated
via an access point
Ad-hoc WLAN
A set of wireless nodes that established communication
between them without a central coordinator
IEEE 802.11 standards
Criteria 802.11a 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n

Maximum Data Rate 54 Mbps 11 Mbps 54 Mbps 600 Mbps

DSSS or CCK DSSS or CCK or

Modulation Technique OFDM DSSS or CCK
or OFDM OFDM

RF-Band 5 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz

Number of Spatial Streams

1 1 1 1, 2, 3 or 4

Channel Width 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz 20 MHz or 40 MHz

IEEE 802.11n
Need for higher data rates & longer range
Increased adoption of bandwidth hungry LAN applications
 Voice, Video, Gaming & multimedia, file serving etc.

Need for more simplified and flexible WLAN deployments

 Mainly increase in the range

Features introduced in IEEE 802.11n to address the

above requirements
Re-engineer the Physical layer
Enhance the MAC layer
IEEE 802.1n: Re-engineering PHY
Key technology - MIMO

Option for the use of an increased frequency band

Use of dual-band antennas – 40 MHz channel BW

Source: http://www.computerlanguage.com/ydict.html
MIMO

Uses a technique called Spatial Multiplexing

Input data stream is split into multiple streams and fed
into multiple transmit antennas
Each antenna transmit them in parallel
At the received parallel data streams are merged to
reconstruct the original data stream
IEEE 802.11n: Enhanced MAC layer
Block Acknowledgements
Send only one ACK for a number of frames
ACK overhead is minimized, hence the effective
throughput

Frame Aggregation
Increases the Maximum Frame Size at the MAC layer
 ServiceFrames: 2304 Bytes -> 8 kB
 Data Frames: 2304 Bytes -> 64 kB

Benefits especially voice and video traffic

 End of Network
Interface Layer lecture