INTRODUCTION TO INTERNETWORKING

When networks first came into being, computers could typically communicate only
with computers from the same manufacturer. For example, companies ran either a
complete DECnet solution or an IBM solution—not both together. In the late
1970s, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model was created by
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to break this barrier.
The OSI model was meant to help vendors create interoperable network devices
and software in the form of protocols so that different vendor networks could work
with each other. The OSI model is the primary architectural model for networks. It
describes how data and network information are communicated from an
application on one computer through the network media to an application on
another computer. The OSI reference model breaks this approach into layers.

The Layered Approach

A reference model is a conceptual blueprint of how communications should take

place. It addresses all the processes required for effective communication and
divides these processes into logical groupings called layers. When a
communication system is designed in this manner, it’s known as layered
architecture.

Advantages of Reference Models

The OSI model is hierarchical, and the same benefits and advantages can apply to
any layered model. The primary purpose of all such models, especially the OSI
model, is to allow different vendors’ networks to interoperate

Advantages of using the OSI layered model are the following:

 It divides the network communication process into smaller and simpler

components, thus aiding component development, design, and
troubleshooting.

 It allows multiple-vendor development through standardization of network

components.
  It encourages industry standardization by defining what functions occur at
each layer of the model.

 It allows various types of network hardware and software to communicate.

 It prevents changes in one layer from affecting other layers, so it does not
hamper development.

OSI REFERENCE MODEL

One of the greatest functions of the OSI specifications is to assist in data transfer
between disparate hosts—meaning, for example, that they enable us to transfer
data between a Unix host and a PC or a Mac.
The OSI isn’t a physical model, though. Rather, it’s a set of guidelines that
application developers can use to create and implement applications that run on a
network. It also provides a framework for creating and implementing networking
standards, devices, and internetworking schemes.

The OSI reference model has seven layers and divided into two groups:
 Application layer (layer 7)
 Presentation layer (layer 6)
 Session layer (layer 5)
 Transport layer (layer 4)
 Network layer (layer 3)
 Data Link layer (layer 2)
 Physical layer (layer 1)

Figure below shows the three upper layers and their functions.
The upper layers tells us that the user interfaces with the computer at the
Application layer and also that the upper layers are responsible for applications
communicating between hosts. Remember that none of the upper layers knows
anything about networking or network addresses. That’s the responsibility of the
four bottom layers.

Figure below shows the four lower layers and their functions.

The four lower layers that define how data is transferred through a physical wire or
through switches and routers.

Application Layer

The Application layer is acting as an interface between the actual application

programs. The Application layer is also responsible for identifying and
establishing the availability of the intended communication partner and
determining whether sufficient resources for the intended communication exist.

The Major Duties Of Application Layer

 Network virtual terminal

 File transfer, access, and management

 Mail services
The Presentation Layer

The Presentation layer presents data to the Application layer and is responsible for
data translation and code formatting. This layer is essentially a translator and
provides coding and conversion functions. By providing translation services, the
Presentation layer ensures that data transferred from the Application layer of one
system can be read by the Application layer of another one. The OSI has protocol
standards that define how standard data should be formatted. Tasks like data
compression, decompression, encryption, and decryption are associated with this
layer.
The Session Layer

The Session layer is responsible for setting up, managing, and then tearing down
sessions between Presentation layer entities. This layer also provides dialog control
between devices, or nodes. It coordinates communication between systems and
serves to organize their communication by offering three different modes: simplex,
half duplex, and full duplex.

The Transport Layer

The Transport layer segments and reassembles data into a data stream. The
Transport layer is responsible for providing mechanisms for multiplexing upper-
layer applications, establishing sessions, and tearing down virtual circuits. It also
hides details of any network-dependent information from the higher layers by
providing transparent data transfer.
 Process To Process Delivery

The Network Layer

The Network layer manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices
on the network, and determines the best way to move data, which means that the
Network layer must transport traffic between devices that aren’t locally attached.
Logical Addressing

Routing
Data Link Layer

The Data Link layer provides the physical transmission of the data and handles
error notification, network topology, and flow control. This means that the Data
Link layer will ensure that messages are delivered to the proper device on a LAN
using hardware addresses and will translate messages from the Network layer into
bits for the Physical layer to transmit

The Physical Layer

The Physical layer does two things: It sends bits and receives bits. The Physical
layer communicates directly with the various types of actual communication
media. Different kinds of media represent these bit values in different ways. The
Physical layer specifies the electrical, mechanical, functional requirements.
Physical layer is concerned with the following:
 Representation of bits
 Data rate : transmission rate
 Synchronization of bits
 Line configuration
 Physical topology
 Transmission mode

Summarization Of OSI Reference Model

ETHERNET NETWORKING
Ethernet is a contention media access method that allows all hosts on a network to
share the same bandwidth of a link. Ethernet uses both Data Link and Physical
layer specifications. Ethernet networking uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access with
Collision Detection (CSMA/CD), a protocol that helps devices share the bandwidth
evenly without having two devices transmit at the same time on the network
medium. CSMA/CD was created to overcome the problem of those collisions that
occur when packets are transmitted simultaneously from different nodes.

CSMA/CD
When a host wants to transmit over the network, it first checks for the presence of
a digital signal on the wire. If all is clear, the host will then proceed with its
transmission. The transmitting host constantly monitors the wire to make sure no
other hosts begin transmitting. If the host detects another signal on the wire, it
sends out an extended jam signal that causes all nodes on the segment to stop
sending data. The nodes respond to that jam signal by waiting a while before
attempting to transmit again. Back off algorithms determine when the colliding
stations can retransmit. If collisions keep occurring after 15 tries, the nodes
attempting to transmit will then timeout.

When a collision occurs on an Ethernet LAN, the following happens:

 A jam signal informs all devices that a collision occurred.

 The collision invokes a random backoff algorithm.
 Each device on the Ethernet segment stops transmitting for a short time
until the timers expire.
 All hosts have equal priority to transmit after the timers have expired.

The following are the effects of having a CSMA/CD network sustaining heavy
collisions:
 Delay
 Low throughput
 Congestion

ETHERNET AT THE DATA LINK LAYER

Ethernet at the Data Link layer is responsible for Ethernet addressing, referred to
as hardware addressing or MAC addressing. Ethernet is also responsible for
framing packets received from the Network layer and preparing them for
transmission on the local network through the Ethernet contention media access
method.

Ethernet Addressing

Ethernet addressing works by using the Media Access Control(MAC) address

burned into each and every Ethernet network interface card (NIC). The MAC,
or hardware, address is a 48-bit (6-byte) address written in a hexadecimal format.
 Ethernet addressing using MAC addresses

Ethernet Frames

The Data Link layer is responsible for combining bits into bytes and bytes into
frames. Frames are used at the Data Link layer to encapsulate packets handed
down from the Network layer for transmission on a type of media access.

802.3 and Ethernet frame formats

ETHERNET AT THE PHYSICAL LAYER

Ethernet was first implemented by a group called DIX (Digital, Intel, and Xerox).
They created and implemented the first Ethernet LAN specification. This was a
10Mbps network that ran on coax and then eventually twisted pair and fiber
physical media. Figure below shows the IEEE 802.3 and original Ethernet Physical
layer specifications.

Ethernet Physical layer specifications

ETHERNET CABLING
Three types of Ethernet cables are available:
 Straight-through cable
 Crossover cable
 Rolled cable

Straight-Through Cable:-

The straight-through cable is used to connect

1. Host to switch or hub
2. Router to switch or hub
Four wires are used in straight-through cable to connect Ethernet devices.
Straight-through Ethernet cable
Crossover Cable:-

The crossover cable can be used to connect

1. Switch to switch
2. Hub to hub
3. Host to host
4. Hub to switch
5. Router direct to host
The same four wires are used in this cable as in the straight-through cable.

Crossover Ethernet cable

Rolled Cable:-

Rolled cable is used to connect a host to a router console serial communication

(com) port.

Rolled Ethernet Cable

DATA ENCAPSULATION

When a host transmits data across a network to another device, the data goes
through encapsulation: It is wrapped with protocol information at each layer of the
OSI model. To communicate and exchange information, each layer uses Protocol
Data Units (PDUs). These hold the control information attached to the data at each
layer of the model. Each PDU attaches to the data by encapsulating it at each layer
of the OSI model, and each has a specific name depending on the information
provided in each header.

Data Encapsulation
At a transmitting device, the data encapsulation method works like this:

1. User information is converted to data for transmission on the network.

2. Data is converted to segments and a reliable connection is set up between
the transmitting and receiving hosts.
3. Segments are converted to packets or datagrams, and a logical address is
placed in the header so each packet can be routed through an internetwork.
4. Packets or datagrams are converted to frames for transmission on the local
network. Hardware (Ethernet) addresses are used to uniquely identify hosts
on a local network segment.
5. Frames are converted to bits, and a digital encoding and clocking scheme is
used.

PDU AND LAYER ADDRESSING

PORT NUMBERS AT THE TRANSPORT LAYER