OSI MODEL

o 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.
o OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular
network function.
o 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.
o OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable
tasks. Each layer is assigned a particular task.
o Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be
performed independently.

7 Layers of OSI Model

There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different functions. A list of seven
layers are given below:
1. Physical Layer
2. Data-Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer
1) Physical layer

o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual

bits from one node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface
specifications.
Functions of a Physical layer:
o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be
connected physically.
 o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is
simplex, half-duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the
network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the
information.
2) Data-Link Layer

o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.

o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more
devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that
resides on a local network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network
layer of the receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from
the header.
 o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical
Link Control layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.
Functions of the Data-link layer
o 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.

o 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.
o 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.
o 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 occurr, then the receiver sends the
acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o 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.
3) Network Layer
 o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of
devices on the network.
o 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.
o The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used
to provide the routing services within an internetwork.
o 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:
o Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the
network layer. It provides a logical connection between different devices.
o 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.
o 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.
 o Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer
and converts them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It
is achieved by internet protocol (IP).
4) Transport Layer

o 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.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data
completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller
units known as segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end 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:
o Transmission Control Protocol
o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate
over the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o 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.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o 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:
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it
is performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o 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.
5) Session Layer

o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.

o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the
interaction between communicating devices.
Functions of Session layer:
o 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.
o 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.
6) Presentation Layer
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 o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics
of the information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from
one presentation format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.
Functions of Presentation layer:
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
7) Application Layer
 o An application layer serves as a window for users and application
processes to access network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application
layer functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.
Functions of Application layer:
o 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.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email
forwarding and storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database
sources and is used to provide that global information about various
objects.

Network Layer Design Issues

The network layer comes with some design issues that are described as follows:
1. Store and Forward packet switching
The host sends the packet to the nearest router. This packet is stored there until
it has fully arrived once the link is fully processed by verifying the checksum then
it is forwarded to the next router till it reaches the destination. This mechanism
is called “Store and Forward packet switching.”
2. Services provided to the Transport Layer
Through the network/transport layer interface, the network layer transfers
its patterns services to the transport layer. These services are described below.
But before providing these services to the transfer layer, the following goals must
be kept in mind:-
• Offering services must not depend on router technology.
• The transport layer needs to be protected from the type, number, and
topology of the available router.
• The network addresses for the transport layer should use uniform
numbering patterns, also at LAN and WAN connections.
Based on the connections there are 2 types of services provided :
• Connectionless – The routing and insertion of packets into the subnet are
done individually. No added setup is required.
• Connection-Oriented – Subnet must offer reliable service and all the
packets must be transmitted over a single route.
3. Implementation of Connectionless Service
Packets are termed as “datagrams” and corresponding subnets as “datagram
subnets”. When the message size that has to be transmitted is 4 times the size
of the packet, then the network layer divides into 4 packets and transmits each
packet to the router via. a few protocols. Each data packet has a destination
address and is routed independently irrespective of the packets.
4. Implementation of Connection-Oriented service:
To use a connection-oriented service, first, we establish a connection, use it, and
then release it. In connection-oriented services, the data packets are delivered
to the receiver in the same order in which they have been sent by the sender. It
can be done in either two ways :
 • Circuit Switched Connection – A dedicated physical path or a circuit is
established between the communicating nodes and then the data stream
is transferred.
• Virtual Circuit Switched Connection – The data stream is transferred over
a packet switched network, in such a way that it seems to the user that
there is a dedicated path from the sender to the receiver. A virtual path is
established here. While, other connections may also be using the same
path.
Connection-less vs Connection-Oriented
Both Connection-less and Connection-Oriented are used for the connection
establishment between two or more devices. These types of services are
provided by the Network Layer.
Connection-oriented service: In connection-Oriented service we have to
establish a connection between sender and receiver before communication.
Handshske method is used to establish a connection between sender and
receiver. Connection-Oriented service include both connection establishment as
well as connection termination phase. Real life example of this service is
telephone service, for conversation we have to first establish a connection.

Connection-Oriented Service
Connection-less service: In Connection-Less service no need of connection
establishment and connection termination. This Service does not give a
guarantee of reliability. In this service, Packets may follow the different path to
reach their destination. Real life examples of this service is postal system, Online
gaming, real-time video and audio streaming etc.
What is a Distance Vector Routing Algorithm?
Distance vector routing algorithm is a type of routing algorithm that is used to
determine the best path for data packets to travel through a network. This
algorithm is also known as Bellman-Ford Algorithm.
The distance vector routing algorithm works by each router in a network
maintaining a table of the distances to all other routers in the network. This table
is called the distance vector. The distance vector contains the distance to all the
other routers in the network as well as the next hop router that the data packet
should be sent to in order to reach its destination.
How Distance Vector Routing Protocol Works
The Distance Vector Routing protocol follows these basic steps:
1. Initialization: Each router in the network is configured with its own
distance vector table, which lists the distance (in terms of hop count or
other metrics) to every other network in the inter-network.
2. Sending distance vectors: Each router sends its distance vector table to its
immediate neighbors.
3. Updating distance vectors: Upon receiving a distance vector from a
neighbor, a router updates its own table by comparing the distance to a
network via its neighbor with the distance currently listed in its own table.
If the new distance is shorter, the router updates its table with the new
information.
 4. Calculating best path: Using the information in its distance vector table,
each router calculates the best path to each network and updates its
routing table accordingly.
5. Periodic updates: The sending and updating distance vectors are repeated
periodically, typically every 30 seconds. This allows the network to adapt
to changes in topology quickly.
6. Convergence: The process of sending and updating distance vectors
continues until all routers in the network have the most up-to-date
information and have converged on the best path to each network.
AND THEIR EXAMPLE THAT I TEACH IN CLASS.

Link State Routing

Link state routing is the second family of routing protocols. While distance-vector
routers use a distributed algorithm to compute their routing tables, link-state
routing uses link-state routers to exchange messages that allow each router to
learn the entire network topology. Based on this learned topology, each router
is then able to compute its routing table by using the shortest path computation.
Link state routing is a technique in which each router shares the knowledge of
its neighborhood with every other router i.e. the internet work.
Link state routing has two phase:
1. Reliable Flooding: Initial state– Each node knows the cost of its neighbors.
Final state- Each node knows the entire graph.
2. Route Calculation: Each node uses Dijkstra’ s algorithm on the graph to
calculate the optimal routes to all nodes. The link state routing algorithm
is also known as Dijkstra’s algorithm which is used to find the shortest path
from one node to every other node in the network.
EXAMPLE OF LINK STATE: https://youtu.be/kW6zV-040SY

Hierarchical State Routing Protocol

The hierarchical state routing protocol (HSR) is a multi-level and distributed
routing protocol. It makes use of clustering, present on different levels. Each
level of cluster has the potential to manage its members efficiently. This
improves resource allocation and management. Leaders are elected in each
cluster, which form the members of the immediate higher level.
Working of HSRP
• Each node maintains information about its neighboring node and their link
status
• The information regarding the cluster is broadcast in the network at
regular intervals.
• The job of the cluster leader is to exchange topology and link state routing
information among other cluster leaders of neighborhood clusters.
• The exchange of link state information is carried out over multiple hops
that consist of gateway nodes and cluster-heads.
• The path between two cluster-heads which is formed by multiple wireless
links is called virtual link.
• The link status for the virtual link(otherwise called tunnel) is obtained
from the link status parameters of the wireless links that constitute the
virtual link.
• After obtaining information from its peers, the cluster head floods the
information to the lower levels.
• Hierarchical addressing in HSR reduces routing information compared to
link-state routing. HSR’s HID and node ID structure simplifies addressing
and topology management.
• HSR tables update with received routing packets, maintaining accurate
hierarchy information.
EXAMPLE : https://youtu.be/Y9ZoeWuHk78
Broadcast Routing
Broadcast routing plays a role, in computer networking and
telecommunications. It involves transmitting data, messages, or signals from one
source to destinations within a network. Unlike routing (one-to-one
communication) or multicast routing (one-to-many communication) broadcast
routing ensures that information reaches all devices or nodes within the
network.
In this article, we will explore the world of broadcast routing in today’s era of
communication.

Mechanisms for Broadcast Routing

The mechanisms and protocols are employed to efficiently distribute data to
multiple recipients through broadcast routing. Here are some important
methods:
• Flooding: Flooding is an approach to broadcast routing. In this method,
the sender broadcasts the message to all connected devices, which then
forwards it to their connected devices and so on. This continues until the
message reaches all intended recipients or a predefined maximum
number of hops is reached. However flooding can lead to network
congestion and inefficiency.
• Spanning Tree Protocol (STP): STP is utilized in Ethernet networks to
prevent loops and ensure broadcast routing. It establishes a tree structure
 that connects all devices, in the network while avoiding paths. Reducing
network congestion and avoiding broadcast messages are the benefits of
implementing this approach.
• The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP): It is a communication
protocol utilized in IP networks to facilitate the management of group
memberships. Its purpose is to enable hosts to join or leave groups
ensuring that only interested recipients receive the multicast traffic. This
not enhances network efficiency. Also prevents unnecessary data
transmission.
• Broadcast Domains: Segmenting a network into broadcast domains also
known as subnetting is a way to manage and control the scope of
broadcast messages. By dividing a network into segments we can contain
the impact of broadcast traffic within each segment minimizing its overall
effect, on the entire network.
CONGESTION CONTROL
Congestion control is a crucial concept in computer networks. It refers to the
methods used to prevent network overload and ensure smooth data flow. When
too much data is sent through the network at once, it can cause delays and data
loss. Congestion control techniques help manage the traffic, so all users can
enjoy a stable and efficient network connection. These techniques are essential
for maintaining the performance and reliability of modern networks.
What is Congestion?
Congestion in a computer network happens when there is too much data being
sent at the same time, causing the network to slow down. Just like traffic
congestion on a busy road, network congestion leads to delays and sometimes
data loss. When the network can’t handle all the incoming data, it gets “clogged,”
making it difficult for information to travel smoothly from one place to another.
Congestion Control techniques in Computer Networks
Last Updated : 26 Jun, 2022
•

Congestion control refers to the techniques used to control or prevent

congestion. Congestion control techniques can be broadly classified into two
categories:
Open Loop Congestion Control
Open loop congestion control policies are applied to prevent congestion before
it happens. The congestion control is handled either by the source or the
destination.
Policies adopted by open loop congestion control –

1. Retransmission Policy :
It is the policy in which retransmission of the packets are taken care of. If
the sender feels that a sent packet is lost or corrupted, the packet needs
to be retransmitted. This transmission may increase the congestion in
the network.
To prevent congestion, retransmission timers must be designed to
prevent congestion and also able to optimize efficiency.

2. Window Policy :
The type of window at the sender’s side may also affect the congestion.
Several packets in the Go-back-n window are re-sent, although some
packets may be received successfully at the receiver side. This
duplication may increase the congestion in the network and make it
worse.
Therefore, Selective repeat window should be adopted as it sends the
specific packet that may have been lost.

3. Discarding Policy :
A good discarding policy adopted by the routers is that the routers may
prevent congestion and at the same time partially discard the corrupted
or less sensitive packages and also be able to maintain the quality of a
message.
In case of audio file transmission, routers can discard less sensitive
packets to prevent congestion and also maintain the quality of the audio
file.
 4. Acknowledgment Policy :
Since acknowledgements are also the part of the load in the network,
the acknowledgment policy imposed by the receiver may also affect
congestion. Several approaches can be used to prevent congestion
related to acknowledgment.
The receiver should send acknowledgement for N packets rather than
sending acknowledgement for a single packet. The receiver should send
an acknowledgment only if it has to send a packet or a timer expires.

5. Admission Policy :
In admission policy a mechanism should be used to prevent congestion.
Switches in a flow should first check the resource requirement of a
network flow before transmitting it further. If there is a chance of a
congestion or there is a congestion in the network, router should deny
establishing a virtual network connection to prevent further congestion.
All the above policies are adopted to prevent congestion before it happens in the
network.

Closed Loop Congestion Control

Closed loop congestion control techniques are used to treat or alleviate
congestion after it happens. Several techniques are used by different protocols;
some of them are:

1. Backpressure :
Backpressure is a technique in which a congested node stops receiving packets
from upstream node. This may cause the upstream node or nodes to become
congested and reject receiving data from above nodes. Backpressure is a node-
to-node congestion control technique that propagate in the opposite direction
of data flow. The backpressure technique can be applied only to virtual circuit
where each node has information of its above upstream node.
 In above diagram the 3rd node is congested and stops receiving packets as
a result 2nd node may be get congested due to slowing down of the output data
flow. Similarly 1st node may get congested and inform the source to slow down.

2. Choke Packet Technique :

Choke packet technique is applicable to both virtual networks as well as
datagram subnets. A choke packet is a packet sent by a node to the source to
inform it of congestion. Each router monitors its resources and the utilization at
each of its output lines. Whenever the resource utilization exceeds the
threshold value which is set by the administrator, the router directly sends a
choke packet to the source giving it a feedback to reduce the traffic. The
intermediate nodes through which the packets has traveled are not warned
about congestion.

3. Implicit Signaling :
In implicit signaling, there is no communication between the congested nodes
and the source. The source guesses that there is congestion in a network. For
example when sender sends several packets and there is no acknowledgment
for a while, one assumption is that there is a congestion.
4. Explicit Signaling :
In explicit signaling, if a node experiences congestion it can explicitly sends a
packet to the source or destination to inform about congestion. The difference
between choke packet and explicit signaling is that the signal is included in the
packets that carry data rather than creating a different packet as in case of
choke packet technique.
Explicit signaling can occur in either forward or backward direction.
• Forward Signaling : In forward signaling, a signal is sent in the direction of
the congestion. The destination is warned about congestion. The receiver
in this case adopt policies to prevent further congestion.
• Backward Signaling : In backward signaling, a signal is sent in the opposite
direction of the congestion. The source is warned about congestion and it
needs to slow down.

• Congestion control in data-gram and sub-nets :

Some congestion Control approaches which can be used in the datagram
Subnet (and also in virtual circuit subnets) are given under.
1. Choke packets
2. Load shedding
3. Jitter control.
Approach-1: Choke Packets :
• This approach can be used in virtual circuits as well as in the datagram
sub-nets. In this technique, each router associates a real variable with
each of its output lines.
• This real variable says u has a value between 0 and 1, and it indicates the
percentage utilization of that line. If the value of the variable goes above
the threshold then the output line will enter into a warning state.
• The router will check each newly arriving packet to see if its output line is
in the warning state. if it is in the warning state then the router will send
back choke packets. Several variations on the congestion control algorithm
have been proposed depending on the value of thresholds.
 • Depending upon the threshold value, the choke packets can contain a mild
warning a stern warning, or an ultimatum. Another variation can be in
terms of queue lengths or buffer utilization instead of using line utilization
as a deciding factor
Drawback –
The problem with the choke packet technique is that the action to be taken by
the source host on receiving a choke packet is voluntary and not compulsory.
Approach-2: Load Shedding :
• Admission control, choke packets, and fair queuing are the techniques
suitable for congestion control. But if these techniques cannot make the
congestion disappear, then the load-shedding technique is to be used.
• The principle of load shedding states that when the router is inundated by
packets that it cannot handle, it should simply throw packets away.
• A router flooded with packets due to congestion can drop any packet at
random. But there are better ways of doing this.
• The policy for dropping a packet depends on the type of packet. For file
transfer, an old packet is more important than a new packet In contrast,
for multimedia, a new packet is more important than an old one So.the
policy for file transfer is called wine (old is better than new), and that for
the multimedia is called milk (new is better than old).
• An intelligent discard policy can be decided depending on the
applications. To implement such an intelligent discard policy, cooperation
from the sender is essential.
• The application should mark their packets in priority classes to indicate
how important they are.
• If this is done then when the packets are to be discarded the routers can
first drop packets from the lowest class (i.e. the packets which are least
important). Then the routers will discard the packets from the next lower
class and so on. One or more header bits are required to put the priority
to make the class of a packet. In every ATM cell, 1 bit is reserved in the
header for marking the priority. Every ATM cell is labeled either as a low
priority or high priority.
Approach-3: Jitter control :
 • Jitter may be defined as the variation in delay for the packet belonging to
the same flow. The real-time audio and video cannot tolerate jitter on the
other hand the jitter doesn’t matter if the packets are carrying information
contained in a file.
• For the audio and video transmission, if the packets take 20 ms to 30 ms
delay to reach the destination, it doesn’t matter, provided that the delay
remains constant.
• The quality of sound and visuals will be hampered by the delays associated
with different packets having different values. Therefore, practically we
can say that 99% of packets should be delivered with a delay ranging from
24.5 ms to 25.5 ms.
• When а packet arrives at a router, the router will check to see whether the
packet is behind or ahead and by what time.
• This information is stored in the packet and updated at every hop. If a
packet is ahead of the schedule then the router will hold it for a slightly
longer time and if the packet is behind schedule, then the router will try
to send it out as quickly as possible. This will help in keeping the average
delay per packet constant and will avoid time jitter.

What is the Leaky Bucket Algorithm?

The Leaky Bucket Algorithm is a simple yet effective algorithm designed to
regulate the flow of data through a network. It is often used in scenarios where
a constant and controlled data rate is essential. The concept behind the
algorithm is analogous to a leaky bucket filled with water. In this analogy, the
water represents incoming data, and the bucket represents the buffer or storage.
How Leaky Bucket Algorithm Works?
1. Bucket and Leakage:
• The "bucket" has a fixed capacity, representing the maximum amount of
data that can be stored or transmitted at any given time.
• Data is added to the bucket at a variable rate.
 • The bucket has a leak, allowing data to flow out at a constant rate,
regardless of the input rate.
2. Token-Based System:
• The algorithm employs a token-based system to control data flow.
• Tokens are generated at a fixed rate and added to the bucket.
• For each unit of data to be transmitted, a token must be available in the
bucket.
3. Data Transmission:
• When data needs to be transmitted, the algorithm checks if there are
enough tokens in the bucket.
• If there are sufficient tokens, the data is transmitted, and the
corresponding number of tokens is removed.
• If there are not enough tokens, the data transmission is delayed until
enough tokens accumulate.
Applications of Leaky Bucket Algorithm
Below are some of the Applications of Leaky Bucket Algorithm:
1. Traffic Shaping:
• The Leaky Bucket Algorithm is commonly used for traffic shaping in
networks to regulate the data flow and prevent congestion.
• It ensures a steady and controlled transmission rate, reducing the risk of
network bottlenecks.
2. Rate Limiting:
• Online services often employ the Leaky Bucket Algorithm for rate limiting
to control the rate at which requests or data are processed.
• This helps prevent abuse, ensures fair usage, and maintains system
stability.
3. Quality of Service (QoS):
• In scenarios where different types of traffic (e.g., voice, video, and data)
compete for bandwidth, the Leaky Bucket Algorithm can be used to
prioritize and allocate resources based on predefined rules.
Token Bucket Algorithm
The leaky bucket algorithm enforces output patterns at the average rate, no
matter how busy the traffic is. So, to deal with the more traffic, we need a flexible
algorithm so that the data is not lost. One such approach is the token bucket
algorithm.
Let us understand this algorithm step wise as given below −
• Step 1 − In regular intervals tokens are thrown into the bucket f.
• Step 2 − The bucket has a maximum capacity f.
• Step 3 − If the packet is ready, then a token is removed from the bucket,
and the packet is sent.
• Step 4 − Suppose, if there is no token in the bucket, the packet cannot be
sent.
Example
Let us understand the Token Bucket Algorithm with an example −

In figure (a) the bucket holds two tokens, and three packets are waiting to be
sent out of the interface.
In Figure (b) two packets have been sent out by consuming two tokens, and 1
packet is still left.
When compared to Leaky bucket the token bucket algorithm is less restrictive
that means it allows more traffic. The limit of busyness is restricted by the
number of tokens available in the bucket at a particular instant of time.
The implementation of the token bucket algorithm is easy − a variable is used to
count the tokens. For every t seconds the counter is incremented and then it is
decremented whenever a packet is sent. When the counter reaches zero, no
further packet is sent out.