Data Communication and

Computer Networks
CHAPTER SIX

LAN Technologies
1
 Chapter Six
LAN Technologies
 Topics
 Repeaters
 Hubs
 Bridges
 Switches
 Routers
 Gateways

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 LAN Technologies
 As companies grow, so do their networks.
 LANs tend to outgrow their original designs.
 The time usually comes when Network Engineers need to
expand the size or improve the performance of their
networks.
 But networks cannot be made larger merely by adding
new computers and more cable Several devices are used
to connect small LANs into larger network.
 Each of these devices has its own function along with
some limitations.
 They can be used simply to extend the length of network
media or to provide access to a worldwide network over
the Internet.

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 LAN Technologies
 There are components that can be installed to increase
the size of the network within its existing environment
 These components can:
 Segment existing LANs so that each segment

becomes its own LAN.

 Join two separate LANs.

 Connect to other LANs and computing

environments to join them into a larger

comprehensive WAN.

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 LAN Technologies
 The components that enable engineers to accomplish
these goals are:
 Repeaters
 Hubs
 Bridges
 Switches
 Routers
 Gateways

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 REPEATERS
 As signals travel along a cable, they degrade and
become distorted in a process called "attenuation."
 If a cable is long enough, attenuation will finally make a
signal unrecognizable.
 Installing a repeater enables signals to travel farther.

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 REPEATERS
 How Repeaters Work
 A repeater works at the physical layer of the OSI
Model to regenerate the network's signals and resend
them out on other segments.

Repeaters
regenerate
weakened signals

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
REPEATERS
How Repeaters Work
 The repeater takes a weak signal from one segment,
regenerates it, and passes it to the next segment.
 To pass data through the repeater from one segment to the
next, the packets and the LLC protocols must be identical on
each segment.
 A repeater will not enable communication, for example, between
an LAN (Ethernet) and an LAN (Token Ring).
 Repeaters do not translate or filter signals.
 For a repeater to work, both segments that the repeater joins
must use the same access method.
 A repeater cannot connect a segment using CSMA/CD to a

segment using the Token-passing access method.

 That is, a repeater cannot translate an Ethernet packet into a

Token Ring packet.

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 REPEATERS
 How Repeaters Work
 Repeaters, however, can connect different types of media
 They can take packet coming from a thinnet coaxial-cable
segment and pass it on to a fiber-optic segment, provided
the repeater is capable of accepting the physical
connections

Repeaters can
move packets
from one kind of
physical media to
another

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 REPEATERS
 Repeater Considerations:
 Repeaters afford the least expensive way to expand a
network.
 When the need arises to extend the physical network
beyond its distance limitations, consider using a
repeater to link segments if neither segment is
generating much traffic or limiting costs is a major
consideration.

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
REPEATERS
Repeater Considerations:
 No Isolation or Filtering is performed by repeaters
 Repeaters send every bit of data from one cable
segment to another, even if the data consists of
malformed packets or packets not destined for use on
the network.
 This means that a problem with one segment can
disrupt every other segment.
 Repeaters do not act as filters to restrict the flow of
problem traffic.
 Repeaters will also pass a broadcast storm along from
one segment to the next, back and forth along the
network.
 A broadcast storm occurs when so many broadcast
messages are on the network that the number is
approaching the network bandwidth limit. 11
 REPEATERS
 Repeater Considerations:
 Use a repeater to:
 Connect two segments of similar or dissimilar media.

 Regenerate the signal to increase the distance

transmitted.
 Pass all traffic in both directions.

 Connect two segments in the most cost-effective

manner.
 Do not use a repeater when:
 There is heavy network traffic.

 Segments are using different access methods.

 Data filtering is needed.

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 HUBS
 Hubs work at the physical layer of OSI model and are used
as the central hardware component in a star topology.
 Hubs can also be used to expand the size of a LAN.
 Although using hubs won't convert a LAN into a WAN,
connecting or adding hubs to a LAN can effectively increase
the number of workstations.
 This method of growing a LAN is popular

Several hubs can

be connected to
expand a network

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 HUBS
 Hubs (active hubs) function in similar way as repeaters
and often are called multiport repeaters.
 As the result all the consideration for use of repeaters
also apply for hubs

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 BRIDGES
 Like a repeater, a bridge can join segments LANs

A bridge
connecting two
network segments

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 BRIDGES
 A bridge can also divide a network to isolate traffic or
problems.
 For example, if the volume of traffic from one or two
computers or a single segment is flooding the network
with data and slowing down the entire operation, a bridge
could isolate those computers or that segment.

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 BRIDGES
 Bridges can be used to:
 Expand the length of a segment.
 Provide for an increased number of computers on the
network.
 Reduce traffic bottlenecks resulting from an excessive
number of attached computers.
 Split an overloaded network into two separate
networks, reducing the amount of traffic on each
segment and making each network more efficient.
 Link unlike physical media such as twisted-pair and
coaxial cable.

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 BRIDGES
 How Bridges Work
 Bridges work at the data-link layer of the OSI
reference model
 Rather than distinguish between one protocol and
another, bridges simply pass all protocols along the
network.
 All protocols pass across bridges, so it is up to the
individual computers to determine which protocols
they can recognize.
 The data-link layer has two sublayers: the LLC
sublayer and the MAC sublayer
 Bridges work at the MAC sublayer and are sometimes
referred to as MAC-layer bridges.

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 BRIDGES
 A MAC-layer bridge:
 Listens to all traffic.
 Checks the source and destination addresses of each
packet.
 Builds a routing table, as information becomes
available.
 Forwards packets in the following manner:
 If the destination is not listed in the routing table,

the bridge forwards the packets to all segments.

 If the destination is listed in the routing table, the

bridge forwards the packets to that segment

(unless it is the same segment as the source).

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 BRIDGES
 A bridge works on the principle that each network node
has its own address.
 A bridge forwards packets based on the address of the
destination node.
 Bridges actually have some degree of intelligence in that
they learn where to forward data.
 As traffic passes through the bridge, information about
the computer addresses is stored in the bridge's RAM.
 The bridge uses this RAM to build a routing table based
on source addresses.
 Initially, the bridge's routing table is empty.
 As nodes transmit packets, the source address is copied
to the routing table.
 With this address information, the bridge learns which
computers are on which segment of the network.
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 BRIDGES

The routing
table keeps
track of
addresses

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 BRIDGES
 Creating the Routing Table:
 Bridges build their routing tables based on the addresses
of computers that have transmitted data on the network.
 Specifically, bridges use source addresses—the address
of the device that initiates the transmission—to create a
routing table.
 When the bridge receives a packet, the source address is
compared to the routing table.
 If the source address is not there, it is added to the table.
 The bridge then compares the destination address with
the routing-table.
 If the destination address is in the routing table and is on
the same segment as the source address, the packet is
discarded.
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 BRIDGES
 Creating the Routing Table:
 This filtering helps to reduce network traffic and isolate
segments of the network.
 If the destination address is in the routing table and not
in the same segment as the source address, the bridge
forwards the packet out of the appropriate port to reach
the destination address.
 If the destination address is not in the routing table, the
bridge forwards the packet to all its ports except the one
on which it originated

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 BRIDGES
 In summary:
 If a bridge knows the location of the destination node,
it forwards the packet to it.
 If it does not know the destination, it forwards the
packet to all segments

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 BRIDGES
 Segmenting Network Traffic:
 A bridge can segment traffic because of its routing
table.
 As shown in next slide, a computer on segment 1 (the
source), sends data to another computer (the
destination) also located in segment 1.
 If the destination address is in the routing table, the
bridge can determine that the destination computer is
also on segment 1.
 Because the source and destination computers
are both on segment 1, the packet does not get
forwarded across the bridge to segment 2.

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 BRIDGES

The routing table

allows bridges to
segment networks

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 BRIDGES
 Bridges can use routing tables to reduce the traffic on the
network by controlling which packets get forwarded to
other segments.
 This controlling (or restricting) of the flow of network traffic
is known as "segmenting network traffic."
 As a network gets larger, it may be necessary to segment
the net work into separate segments
 Bridges can be used to separate a large network into
logical network segments
 Traffic on each side of the bridge crosses the other side
only if the MAC address of the destination computer is
determined to be on the other side
 A large network is not limited to one bridge.
 Multiple bridges can be used to combine several small
networks into one large network.

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 BRIDGES
 Differentiating Between Bridges and Repeaters
 Bridges work at a higher OSI layer than repeaters.
 This means that bridges have more intelligence than
repeaters and can take more data features into
account.
 While bridges resemble repeaters in that they can
regenerate data, bridges are however, capable of
segmenting traffic

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 BRIDGES
 Bridge Considerations
 Bridges have all of the features of repeaters, but also
accommodate more nodes.
 They provide better network performance than
repeaters.
 Because bridged networks have been divided, fewer
computers compete for available resources on each
segment.
 To look at it another way, if a large network were
divided into two segments connected by a bridge,
each new network would carry fewer packets, have
fewer collisions, and operate more efficiently.
 Although each network would be separate, the bridge
would pass appropriate traffic between them.

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 BRIDGES
 Bridge Considerations
 Bridges are more expensive than repeaters
 One of the main disadvantage of bridges is they relay
on broadcast to locate destination addresses when
they do not know the segment the destination address
located and, hence, broadcast packets they receive
to all segments.
 This feature of bridges relay on broadcast to locate
destination address can potentially creates broadcast
storm that affects network performance
 In theses instances, it is often necessary to use
routers

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 SWITCHES
 Switches operate in the same way as a bridge
 While bridges have two ports, switch s usually have
multiple ports.
 Because of this, switches are also called multiport
bridges.

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 SWITCHES
 ???????

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 ROUTERS
 In an environment that consists of several network
segments with differing protocols and architectures, a
bridge might be inadequate for ensuring fast
communication among all segments.
 A network this complex needs a device that not only
knows the address of each segment, but can also
determine the best path for sending data and filtering
broadcast traffic to the local segment.
 Such a device is called a router.

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 ROUTERS
 Routers work at the network layer of the OSI model.
 This means they can switch and route packets across
multiple networks.
 They do this by exchanging protocol-specific information
between separate networks.
 Routers read complex network addressing information in
the packet and, because they function at a higher layer in
the OSI reference model than bridges, they have access
to additional information.
 Routers can provide the following functions of a bridge:
 Filtering and isolating traffic
 Connecting network segments

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 ROUTERS
 Routers have access to more of the information in packets
than bridges have and use this information to improve
packet deliveries.
 Routers are used in complex networks because they
provide better traffic management.
 Routers can share status and routing information with one
another and use this information to bypass slow or
malfunctioning connections.

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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 Routers maintain their own routing tables, usually
consisting of network addresses.
 To determine the destination address for incoming
data, the routing table includes:
 All known network addresses.

 The possible paths between routers.

 The costs of sending data over those paths.

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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 Remember that routing tables were also discussed in the
context of bridges.
 The routing table maintained by a bridge contains MAC-
sublayer addresses for each node, whereas the routing
table maintained by a router contains network address
 Although manufacturers of both types of equipment have
chosen to use the term "routing table," it has a different
meaning for bridges than it does for routers.
 Routers require specific addresses.
 They understand only the network numbers that allow

them to communicate with other routers and local NIC

addresses.
 Routers do not talk to remote computers.
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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 A router uses its routing table to select the best route
for the data based on costs and available paths.

Routers talk
to other
routers, but
not to remote
computers

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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 When routers receive packets destined for a remote
network, they send them to the router that manages
the destination network.
 Because routers must perform complex functions on
each packet, routers are slower than most bridges.
 As packets are passed from router to router, data-link
layer source and destination addresses are stripped
off and then re-created.
 This enables a router to route a packet from a TCP/IP
Ethernet network to a server on a TCP/IP Token Ring
network.

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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 Because routers read only addressed network packets,
they do not allow corrupted data to get passed onto the
network.
 Because they do not pass corrupted data or broadcast
data storms, routers put little stress on networks.
 Routers do not look at the destination node address; they
look only at the network address.
 Routers will pass information only if the network address
is known.
 This ability to control the data passing through the router
reduces the amount of traffic between networks and
allows routers to use these links more efficiently than
bridges.
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 ROUTERS
 How Routers Work
 Using the router-addressing scheme, administrators
can break one large network into many separate
networks, and because routers do not pass every
packet, they act as a safety barrier between network
segments.
 This can greatly reduce the amount of traffic on the
network and the wait time experienced by users.
 Routers are available that can accommodate multiple
protocols such as IP and IPX in the same network.
 Routers can:
 Segment large networks into smaller ones.
 Act as safety barriers between segments.
 Prohibit broadcast storms, because broadcasts are
not forwarded.

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 ROUTERS
 Choosing Paths
 Unlike bridges, routers can accommodate multiple active
paths between LAN segments and choose among
redundant paths available for the router to use.
 This means that if one router does not function, the data
can still be passed over alternate routes.
 Router act as traffic cop, directing packets down different
paths to different segments and to other routers
 A router can listen to a network and identify which parts
are busiest.
 It uses this information to determine which path to send
data over.
 If one path is very busy, the router identifies an
alternative path and sends data over that one.
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 ROUTERS
 A router decides the path the data packet will follow by
determining the number of hops between internetwork
segments.
 Like bridges, routers build routing tables and use these
in routing algorithms such as the following:
 OSPF ("open shortest path first") is a link-state
routing algorithm.
 Link-state algorithms control the routing process
and allow routers to respond quickly to changes in
the network.
 RIP (Routing Information Protocol) uses distance-
vector algorithms to determine routes.
 Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) and IPX support RIP
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 Types of Routers
 The two major types of routers are:
 Static
 Static routers require an administrator to manually

set up and configure the routing table and to

specify each route.
 Dynamic.
 Dynamic routers are designed to discover routes

automatically and therefore require a minimal

amount of setup and configuration.
 More sophisticated than static routers, they

examine information from other routers and make

packet-by-packet decisions about how to send
data across the network.
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 Types of Routers
• Table below compares and contrasts the characteristics of
static and dynamic routers.

Static routers Dynamic routers

Manually set up and configure all
routes.
Always use the same route,
determined by a routing table
entry.
Manually configure the first route.
Automatically detect additional
networks and routes.
Can choose a route based on
factors such as cost and
amount of link traffic.

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 ROUTERS
 Distinguishing Between Bridges and Routers
 Bridges and routers can be confusing even for engineers
with LAN and WAN experience because they appear to
do the same things: both forward packets between
networks.
 Because of this, a question often asked is how to decide
when to use a bridge and when to use a router.
 The bridge, which works at the MAC sublayer of the OSI
data-link layer, sees only a node address.
 To be more specific, a bridge looks for a node's MAC-
sublayer address in each packet. If the bridge recognizes
the address, it keeps the packet local or forwards it to the
appropriate segment.
 If the bridge does not recognize the address, it forwards
the packet to all segments except the one through which
the packet arrived. 46
 ROUTERS
•Distinguishing Between Bridges and Routers

Bridges work at the data-link layer MAC

sublayer, and routers work at the network layer

47
 ROUTERS
 Broadcasting
 Forwarding the packet is the key to understanding
bridges and distinguishing them from routers.
 With bridges, forwarded broadcast data goes out to
every computer from all ports of the bridge except the
one through which the packet arrived.
 That is, each computer on all networks (except the local
network from which the broadcast originated) receives
a broadcast packet.

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 ROUTERS
 Broadcasting
 In small networks this might not have much of an
impact, but a large network can generate enough
broadcast traffic to slow down a network even though it
is filtering for network addresses.
 The router, which works at the network layer, takes
more information into account than the bridge does,
determining not only what to forward but where to
forward it.
 Additionally, the router can identify the addresses of
other routers and determine which packets to forward
to which routers.

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 ROUTERS
 Multiple Paths
 A bridge can recognize only one path between
networks. A router can search among multiple active
paths and determine which the best path is at that
particular moment.
 As illustrated in Next slide, if router A has a
transmission that needs to be sent to router D, it can
send the message to router C or to router B, and the
message will be forwarded to router D.
 Routers have the ability to evaluate both paths and
determine which would be the best route for that
transmission.

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 ROUTERS
Routers recognize and use multiple paths
between destinations

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 ROUTERS
 The following Four key pieces of information can help you
distinguish between a bridge and a router and determine
which would be appropriate in a given situation:
 The bridge recognizes only local MAC-sublayer
addresses (the addresses of NICs in its own segment).
Routers recognize network addresses.
 The bridge broadcasts (forwards) everything it does not
recognize and forwards all addresses it knows, but only
from the appropriate port.
 The router works only with routable protocols.
 The router filters addresses. It forwards particular
protocols to particular addresses (other routers).

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 GATEWAYS
 Gateways enable communication between different
architectures and environments.
 For example, electronic-mail gateways, such as the X.400
gateway, receive messages in one format, translate it, and
forward it in X.400 format used by the receiver, and vice
versa.
 They repackage and convert data going from one
environment to another so that each environment can
understand the other environment's data.
 A gateway repackages information to match the requirements
of the destination system.
 Gateways can change the format of a message so that it
conforms to the application program at the receiving end of
the transfer.
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 GATEWAYS
 A gateway links two systems that do not use the same:
 Communication protocols.
 Data-formatting structures.
 Languages.
 Architecture.
 Gateways interconnect heterogeneous networks; for
example, they can connect Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
to IBM's Systems Network Architecture (SNA) server.
 Gateways change the format of the data to make it conform
to the application program at the receiving end.

54
 GATEWAYS
 How Gateways Work
 Gateways are task-specific, which means that they are
dedicated to a particular type of transfer.
 They are often referred to by their task name
(Windows 2000 Server to SNA gateway).
 As shown in next slide, a gateway takes the data from
one environment, strips off its old protocol stack, and
repackages it in the protocol stack from the destination
network.
 To process the data, the gateway:
 Disassembles incoming data through the network's
complete protocol stack.
 Encapsulates the outgoing data in the complete
protocol stack of the other network to allow
transmission.
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 GATEWAYS
Gateways strip off an old protocol stack
and add a new protocol stack

56
 GATEWAYS
 Gateway Considerations
 Some gateways use all seven layers of the OSI reference
model, but gateways typically perform protocol conversion
at the application layer.
 However, the level of functionality varies widely between
types of gateways.
 Gateways, typically, are dedicated servers on a network
 For example:
 The Microsoft’s SAN server is used to connect with the

dissimilar network environment of IBM SNA network

and Windows based network
 The Novell’s System Application Architecture (SAA)

server is used to connect Novel network with Windows

based network
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 Any
Questions?

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