CAP256: Computer Networks

Unit-I: Network Models

School of Computer Applications

Lovely Professional University
Network Models
 For data communication to take place and two or more users can
transmit data from one to other, a systematic approach is required.
 This approach enables users to communicate and transmit data
through efficient and ordered path.
 It is implemented using models in computer networks and are
known as computer network models.
 Computer network models are responsible for establishing a
connection among the sender and receiver and transmitting the
data in a smooth manner respectively.
• There are two computer network models on which the whole data
communication process relies:
• OSI Model
• TCP/IP Model
Layered Architecture
 The main aim of the layered architecture is to divide the design into
small pieces.
 Each lower layer adds its services to the higher layer to provide a full
set of services to manage communications and run the applications.
 It provides modularity and clear interfaces, i.e., provides interaction
between subsystems.
 It ensures the independence between layers by providing the services
from lower to higher layer without defining how the services are
implemented. Therefore, any modification in a layer will not affect
the other layers.
 The number of layers, functions, contents of each layer will vary
from network to network. However, the purpose of each layer is to
provide the service from lower to a higher layer and hiding the
details from the layers of how the services are implemented.
 The basic elements of layered architecture are services, protocols,
and interfaces.
 Service: It is a set of actions that a layer provides to the higher layer.
 Protocol: It defines a set of rules that a layer uses to exchange the
information with peer entity. These rules mainly concern about both the
contents and order of the messages used.
 Interface: It is a way through which the message is transferred from
one layer to another layer.
 In a layer n architecture, layer n on one machine will have a
communication with the layer n on another machine and the rules
used in a conversation are known as a layer-n protocol.
 In case of layered architecture, no data is transferred from layer n of
one machine to layer n of another machine. Instead, each layer
passes the data to the layer immediately just below it, until the
lowest layer is reached.
 Below layer 1 is the physical medium
through which the actual
communication takes place.
 In a layered architecture,
unmanageable tasks are divided into
several small and manageable tasks.
 The data is passed from the upper
layer to lower layer through an
interface. A Layered architecture
provides a clean-cut interface so that
minimum information is shared
among different layers. It also
ensures that the implementation of
one layer can be easily replaced by
another implementation.
 A set of layers and protocols is
known as network architecture.
Why do we require Layered architecture?
 Divide-and-conquer approach: Divide-and-conquer approach
makes a design process in such a way that the unmanageable tasks are
divided into small and manageable tasks. In short, we can say that
this approach reduces the complexity of the design.
 Modularity: Layered architecture is more modular. Modularity
provides the independence of layers, which is easier to understand
and implement.
 Easy to modify: It ensures the independence of layers so that
implementation in one layer can be changed without affecting other
layers.
 Easy to test: Each layer of the layered architecture can be analyzed
and tested individually.
 OSI Reference Model
 OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference
model that describes how information from a software application in
one computer moves through a physical medium to the software
application in another computer.
 OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular
network function.
 OSI model was developed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in 1984, and it is now considered as an
architectural model for the inter-computer communications.
 OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable
tasks. Each layer is assigned a particular task.
 Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be
performed independently.
 The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower
layers.
 The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application
related issues, and they are implemented only in the software. The
application layer is closest to the end user. Both the end user and
the application layer interact with the software applications. An
upper layer refers to the layer just above another layer.
 The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport
issues. The data link layer and the physical layer are implemented in
hardware and software. The physical layer is the lowest layer of the
OSI model and is closest to the physical medium. The physical layer
is mainly responsible for placing the information on the physical
medium.
Functions of the OSI Layers
 Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the
application user. This layer encompasses protocols which directly interact with the
user.
 Presentation Layer: This layer defines how data in the native format of remote
host should be presented in the native format of host.
 Session Layer: This layer maintains sessions between remote hosts. For example,
once user/password authentication is done, the remote host maintains this session
for a while and does not ask for authentication again in that time span.
 Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for Process to process delivery
between hosts.
 Network Layer: This layer is responsible for address assignment and uniquely
addressing hosts in a network.
 Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data from and
onto the line. Link errors are detected at this layer.
 Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling wiring, power output,
pulse rate etc.
Physical layer
 The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the
individual bits from one node to another node.
 It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
 It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
 It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network
interface specifications.
Functions of a Physical layer
 Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices
can be connected physically.
 Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it
is simplex, half-duplex or full-duplex mode between the two
devices on the network.
 Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
 Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting
the information.
Data-Link Layer
 This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.
 It defines the format of the data on the network.
 It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more
devices.
 It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that
resides on a local network.
 It contains two sub-layers:
 Logical Link Control Layer
 It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer of the receiver that is
receiving.
 It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the header.
 It also provides flow control.
 Media Access Control Layer
 A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link Control layer and the
network's physical layer.
 It is used for transferring the packets over the network.
Functions of the Data-link layer
 Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into packets known
as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the frame. The header which
is added to the frame contains the hardware destination and source address.
 Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that contains a
destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the
header.
 Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is the
technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the sides so that
no data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station such as a server with
higher processing speed does not exceed the receiving station, with lower processing
speed.
 Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which is added to the
message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any error seems to occur, then the
receiver sends the acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
 Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same
communication channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to determine which
device has control over the link at a given time.
Network Layer
 It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of
devices on the network.
 It determines the best path to move data from source to the
destination based on the network conditions, the priority of service,
and other factors.
 The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the
packets.
 Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and
used to provide the routing services within an internetwork.
 The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as
Network layer protocols. Examples of protocols are IP and Ipv6.
Functions of Network Layer
 Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility
of the network layer. It provides a logical connection between
different devices.
 Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination
address to the header of the frame. Addressing is used to identify the
device on the internet.
 Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer,
and it determines the best optimal path out of the multiple paths
from source to the destination.
 Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the segments from the
upper layer and converts them into packets. This process is known as
Packetizing. It is achieved by internet protocol (IP).
Transport Layer
 The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in
the order in which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
 The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data
completely.
 It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller
units known as segments.
 This layer can be termed as an process to process layer as it provides a
point-to-point connection between source and destination to deliver the
data reliably.
The two protocols used in this layer are:
 Transmission Control Protocol
 It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over
the internet.
 It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
 When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol
divides the data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment
travels over the internet using multiple routes, and they arrive in
different orders at the destination. The transmission control protocol
reorders the packets in the correct order at the receiving end.
 User Datagram Protocol
 User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
 It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not
send any acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does
not wait for any acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol
unreliable.
Functions of Transport Layer
 Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs
simultaneously due to this reason, the transmission of data from source to
the destination not only from one computer to another computer but also
from one process to another process. The transport layer adds the header
that contains the address known as a service-point address or port address.
The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit the data from one
computer to another computer and the responsibility of the transport
layer is to transmit the message to the correct process.
 Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the
message from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple
segments, and each segment is assigned with a sequence number that
uniquely identifies each segment. When the message has arrived at the
destination, then the transport layer reassembles the message based on
their sequence numbers.
 Connection control: Transport layer provides two services
Connection-oriented service and connectionless service. A
connectionless service treats each segment as an individual packet, and
they all travel in different routes to reach the destination. A connection-
oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination machine before delivering the packets. In connection-
oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
 Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but
it is performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
 Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control.
Error control is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link.
The sender transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination
without any error.
Session Layer
 It is a layer 5 in the OSI model.
 The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the
interaction between communicating devices.
Functions of Session layer
 Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates
a dialog between two processes or we can say that it allows the
communication between two processes which can be either half-
duplex or full-duplex.
 Synchronization: Session layer adds some checkpoints when
transmitting the data in a sequence. If some error occurs in the
middle of the transmission of data, then the transmission will take
place again from the checkpoint. This process is known as
Synchronization and recovery.
Presentation Layer
 A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and
semantics of the information exchanged between the two systems.
 It acts as a data translator for a network.
 This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data
from one presentation format to another format.
 The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.
Functions of Presentation layer
 Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the
information in the form of character strings, numbers and so on.
Different computers use different encoding methods, the
presentation layer handles the interoperability between the different
encoding methods. It converts the data from sender-dependent
format into a common format and changes the common format into
receiver-dependent format at the receiving end.
 Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption
is a process of converting the sender-transmitted information into
another form and sends the resulting message over the network.
 Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the
data, i.e., it reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. Data
compression is very important in multimedia such as text, audio,
video.
Application Layer
 An application layer serves as a window for users and application
processes to access network service.
 It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation,
etc.
 An application layer is not an application, but it performs the
application layer functions.
 This layer provides the network services to the end-users.
Functions of Application layer
 File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An
application layer allows a user to access the files in a remote
computer, to retrieve the files from a computer and to manage the
files in a remote computer.
 Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email
forwarding and storage.
 Directory services: An application provides the distributed
database sources and is used to provide that global information about
various objects.
TCP/IP Model
TCP/IP model
 The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.
 The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
 The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer,
transport layer, network layer, data link layer and physical layer.
 The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface,
internetworking, and transport functions that correspond to the
first four layers of the OSI model and these four layers are
represented in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the
application layer.
 TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules,
and each of them provides specific functionality.
Functions of TCP/IP layer
Network Access Layer
 A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.
 A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data
Link layer defined in the OSI reference model.
 It defines how the data should be sent physically through the
network.
 This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data
between two devices on the same network.
 The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP
datagram into frames transmitted by the network and mapping of IP
addresses into physical addresses.
 The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI,
X.25, frame relay.
Internet Layer
 An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.
 An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
 The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets
from any network, and they arrive at the destination irrespective of
the route they take.
 Following protocols are used at this layer:
 Internet Protocol (IP)
 Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
Internet Protocol (IP)
 IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most significant part of the
entire TCP/IP suite.
 Responsibilities of this protocol are:
 IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known as IP
addresses. The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher layers to identify the
device and to provide internetwork routing.
 Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to
be transmitted.
 Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data from the
transport layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is sent and received
securely, it encapsulates the data into message known as IP datagram.
 Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the IP datagram
by data link layer protocol is known as Maximum Transmission unit (MTU).
 If the size of IP datagram is greater than the MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits
the datagram into smaller units so that they can travel over the local network.
 Fragmentation can be done by the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver
side, all the fragments are reassembled to form an original message.
 Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as LAN, MAN,
WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and destination are on the distant
network, then the IP datagram is sent indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing
the IP datagram through various devices such as routers.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
 ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.
 ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical
address from the IP address.
 The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP
Protocol:
 ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of
the device, it broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
 ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the ARP
request and process the request, but only recipient recognize the IP
address and sends back its physical address in the form of ARP reply.
The recipient adds the physical address both to its cache memory and
to the datagram header
ICMP Protocol
 ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.
 It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications
regarding datagram problems back to the sender.
 A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination. If
a router is unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions
such as disabled links, a device is on fire or network congestion, then the
ICMP protocol is used to inform the sender that the datagram is
undeliverable.
 An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
 ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is reachable or not.
 ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the destination device is
responding or not.
 The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems,
not correct them. The responsibility of the correction lies with the sender.
 ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the
intermediate routers because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the
source and destination but not of the router that it is passed to.
Transport Layer
 The transport layer is responsible for error-free, end-to-end
delivery of data from the source host to the destination host. It
corresponds to the transport layer of the OSI model.
 The functions of the transport layer are:
 It facilitates the communicating hosts to carry on a conversation.
 It provides an interface for the users to the underlying network.
 It can provide for a reliable connection. It can also carry out error
checking, flow control, and verification.
 The protocols used at transport layer are:
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
 Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
 It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of
transmission.
 It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the
error.
 User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports
the error to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
 UDP consists of the following fields:
 Source port address: The source port address is the address of the
application program that has created the message.
 Destination port address: The destination port address is the address of
the application program that receives the message.
 Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram in
bytes.
 Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
 UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only checksum;
it does not contain any ID of a data segment.
Transmission control protocol (TCP)
 It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
 It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is
active for the duration of the transmission.
 TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the
damaged frames.
 Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received and acknowledged before
the transmission is considered to be completed and a virtual circuit is discarded.
 At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller
units known as segment, and each segment contains a sequence
number which is required for reordering the frames to form an
original message.
 At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders
them based on sequence numbers.
Application Layer
 An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.
 It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of
representation.
 This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
 When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with
another application layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
 There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every
application cannot be placed inside the application layer except those
who interact with the communication system.
 For example: text editor cannot be considered in application layer while web
browser using HTTP protocol to interact with the network where HTTP protocol
is an application layer protocol.
 Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:
 HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us
to access the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of
plain text, audio, video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has
the efficiency to use in a hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps
from one document to another.
 SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a
framework used for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP
protocol suite.
 SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol
that supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This
protocol is used to send the data to another e-mail address.
 DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify
the connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the
names instead of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the
address is known as Domain Name System.
 TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the
connection between the local computer and remote computer in such a way
that the local terminal appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
 FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet
protocol used for transmitting the files from one computer to another
computer.
Addressing Mechanisms
 Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing the
TCP/IP protocols: physical, logical, port, and specific.
Physical Address
• The physical address, also known as the link address, is the
address of a node as defined by its LAN or WAN.
• The size and format of these addresses vary depending on the
network. For example, Ethernet uses a 6-byte (48-bit) physical
address.
• Physical addresses can be either unicast (one single recipient),
multicast (a group of recipients), or broadcast (to be received
by all systems in the network.
• Most local area networks use a 48-bit (6-byte) physical address
written as 12 hexadecimal digits;
• every byte (2 hexadecimal digits) is separated by a colon, as shown
below: A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical
address 07:01:02:01:2C:4B
 In Figure a node with physical address 10 sends a frame to a node with
physical address 87. The two nodes are connected by a link (bus topology
LAN). As the figure shows, the computer with physical address 10 is the
sender, and the computer with physical address 87 is the receiver.
Logical Address
• Logical addresses are used by networking software to allow packets
to be independent of the physical connection of the network, that is,
to work with different network topologies and types of media.
• A logical address in the Internet is currently a 32-bit address that
can uniquely define a host connected to the Internet. An internet
address in IPv4 in decimal numbers 132.24.75.9
• No two publicly addressed and visible hosts on the Internet can have
the same IP address.
• The physical addresses will change from hop to hop, but the logical
addresses remain the same.
• The logical addresses can be either unicast (one single recipient),
multicast (a group of recipients), or broadcast (all systems in the
network). There are limitations on broadcast addresses.
 Figure shows a part of an internet with two routers connecting three LANs. Each
device (computer or router) has a pair of addresses (logical and physical) for each
connection. In this case, each computer is connected to only one link and
therefore has only one pair of addresses. Each router, however, is connected to
three networks (only two are shown in the figure). So each router has three pairs
of addresses, one for each connection.
Port Addresses
• There are many application running on the computer. Each
application run with a port no.(logically) on the computer.
• A port number is part of the addressing information used to identify
the senders and receivers of messages.
• Port numbers are most commonly used with TCP/IP connections.
• These port numbers allow different applications on the same
computer to share network resources simultaneously.
• The physical addresses change from hop to hop, but the logical and
port addresses usually remain the same.
• Example: a port address is a 16-bit address represented by one
decimal number 753
 Figure shows two computers communicating via the Internet. The sending
computer is running three processes at this time with port addresses a, b, and c.
The receiving computer is running two processes at this time with port
addresses j and k. Process a in the sending computer needs to communicate with
process j in the receiving computer. Note that although physical addresses
change from hop to hop, logical and port addresses remain the same from the
source to destination.
Application-Specific Addresses
• Some applications have user-friendly addresses that are designed for
that specific application.
• Examples include the e-mail address (for
example, [email protected]) and the Universal Resource Locator
(URL) (for example, www.gmail.com). The first defines the
recipient of an e-mail; the second is used to find a document on the
World Wide Web.