IT305

Computer Networks
Week 13_Lec3
Switched Ethernet

Data Link Layer 5-1

Ethernet
“dominant” wired LAN technology:
 first widely used LAN technology
 simpler, cheaper than token LANs and ATM
 kept up with speed race: 10 Mbps – 10 Gbps

Metcalfe’s Ethernet sketch

Link Layer 5-2
Ethernet frame structure
sending adapter encapsulates IP datagram (or other
network layer protocol packet) in Ethernet frame
• preamble:
• 7 bytes with pattern 10101010 followed by one byte with pattern
10101011
• used to synchronize receiver, sender
• addresses:
• 6 byte source, destination MAC addresses
• type: indicates higher layer protocol – IPv4 or v6
CRC: cyclic redundancy check at receiver
 error detected: frame is dropped
type

dest. source data (payload) CRC

preamble address address

Link Layer 5-3

802.3 Ethernet standards: link & physical
layers
 many different Ethernet standards
 common MAC protocol and frame format
 different speeds: 2 Mbps, 10 Mbps, 100
Mbps, 1Gbps, 10G bps
 different physical layer media: fiber, cable

MAC protocol
application and frame format
transport
network 100BASE-TX 100BASE-T2 100BASE-FX
link 100BASE-T4 100BASE-SX 100BASE-BX
physical

copper (twister fiber physical layer

pair) physical layer
Link Layer 5-4
Ethernet Segments
• Ethernet segment cable size 500 • Multiple segments joined
m through repeaters
• Hosts connect to segment by • Max 4 segments = 2000m
tapping which has a transceiver • Max 1024 hosts
(Tx, Rx) • Repeaters:
• Network adapter in the device • forward digital signals
(NIC) connects to the transceiver
• Multiport repeater is a Hub
• Mulitple NICs can be connect
across the 500 m cable with tap
points being 2.5 apart
(Standards)
• Ethernet protocol implemented
in the NIC

Data Link Layer 5-5

Classic Ethernet
• Stations on single shared bus
• Collisions if no proper protocol
• Ethernet –CSMA
• Carrier Sense Multiple Access –CD
• Exponential back-off
• Collisions reduced
Architectural change
• Switched ethernet
Ethernet switch
• link-layer device: takes an active role
• store, forward Ethernet frames
• examine incoming frame’s MAC address,
selectively forward frame to one-or-more
outgoing links when frame is to be forwarded on
segment, uses CSMA/CD to access segment
• transparent
• hosts are unaware of presence of switches
• plug-and-play, self-learning
• switches do not need to be configured

Link Layer 5-8

Switch: multiple simultaneous
transmissions
• hosts have dedicated, direct A
connection to switch
C’ B
• switches buffer packets
• Ethernet protocol used on each 6 1 2
incoming link, but no collisions;
full duplex 5 4 3
• each link is its own collision B’ C
domain
• switching: A-to-A’ and B-to-B’
A’
can transmit simultaneously,
without collisions switch with six interfaces
(1,2,3,4,5,6)

Link Layer 5-9

Switch: frame
filtering/forwarding
when frame received at switch:

1. record incoming link, MAC address of sending host

2. index switch table using MAC destination address
3. if entry found for destination
then {
if destination on segment from which frame arrived
then drop frame –BROADCASTED ALREADY
else forward frame on interface indicated by entry
}
else flood /* forward on all interfaces except arriving
interface */
But how des the switch get this forwarding interface information? i.e,
how does it know which device is conenected to which interface?

Link Layer 5-10

Switch forwarding table

Q: how does switch know A’ A

reachable via interface 4, B’ B
C’
reachable via interface 5?
 A: each switch has a 1 2
6
switch table, each
4
entry: 5 3

 (MAC address of host, B’ C

interface to reach host,
time stamp) A’
Q:how
looksare
likeentries
a routing table!
created, switch with six interfaces
maintained in switch (1,2,3,4,5,6)
table?
 something like a routing
protocol? Link Layer 5-11
Switch: self-learning Source: A
Dest: A’

A A A’
• switch learns which hosts
can be reached through B
C’
which interfaces
• when frame received, 6 1 2
switch “learns” location
of sender: incoming LAN 5 4 3
segment
B’ C
• records sender/location
pair in switch table
A’

MAC addr interface TTL

A 1 60 Switch table
(initially empty)

Link Layer 5-12

Self-learning, forwarding: Source: A
example Dest: A’

A A A’
• frame destination, A’,
B
locaton unknown: flood C’

1
 destination A 6 2

locationselectively
known: A A’
5 4 3
send
B’ C
on just one link
A’ A

A’

MAC addr interface TTL

A 1 60 switch table
A’ 4 60 (initially empty)

Link Layer 5-13

Interconnecting switches
switches can be connected together
S4

S1
S3
A S2
F
D I
B C
G H
E

Q: sending from A to G - how does S1 know

to forward frame destined to F via S4 and
S 3?
 A: self learning! (works exactly the same
as in single-switchLinkcase!)
Layer 5-14
Self-learning multi-switch
example
Suppose C sends frame to I, I responds to C

S4

S1
S3
A S2
F
D I
B C
G H
E

 Q: show switch tables and packet forwarding in

S1 , S 2 , S 3 , S 4

Link Layer 5-15

Synthesis: a day in the life of a web request
 our journey down the protocol stack is now complete!
• application, transport, network, link
 putting-it-all-together: synthesis!
• goal: identify, review, understand protocols (at all layers) involved in
seemingly simple scenario: requesting www page
• scenario: student attaches laptop to campus network, requests/receives
www.google.com

Link Layer: 6-16

A day in the life: scenario
scenario:
browser DNS server  arriving mobile
Comcast network client attaches
68.80.0.0/13 to network …
 requests web
school network page:
68.80.2.0/24
www.google.com
web page

Sounds
web server Google’s network
simple!
64.233.169.105 64.233.160.0/19

Link Layer: 6-17

 A day in the life: connecting to the
Internet
DHCP
DHCP
DHCP
UDP
 connecting laptop needs to get its own IP
DHCP IP address, addr of first-hop router, addr of
arriving mobile:
DHCP Eth
Phy DHCP client DNS server: use DHCP
DHCP

 DHCP request encapsulated in UDP,

DHCP DHCP encapsulated in IP, encapsulated in 802.3
DHCP
DHCP
UDP
IP
Ethernet
DHCP Eth
Phy
router has
 Ethernet frame broadcast (dest:
DHCP server FFFFFFFFFFFF) on LAN, received at router
running DHCP server
 Ethernet de-muxed to IP de-muxed, UDP
de-muxed to DHCP
Link Layer: 6-18
 A day in the life: connecting to the
Internet
DHCP
DHCP UDP  DHCP server formulates DHCP ACK
DHCP IP
Eth arriving mobile: containing client’s IP address, IP address
of first-hop router for client, name & IP
DHCP

DHCP Phy DHCP client

address of DNS server
DHCP
DHCP
 encapsulation at DHCP server, frame
forwarded (switch learning) through LAN,
DHCP
UDP
DHCP
IP
DHCP
Eth demultiplexing at client
DHCP Phy
router has
DHCP server  DHCP client receives DHCP ACK reply

Client now has IP address, knows name & addr of DNS

server, IP address of its first-hop router
Link Layer: 6-19
 A day in the life… ARP (before DNS, before HTTP)
DNS DNS  before sending HTTP request, need IP address
UDP
of www.google.com: DNS
DNS

ARP IP
DNS
ARP query Eth arriving mobile:
Phy ARP client  DNS query created, encapsulated in UDP,
encapsulated in IP, encapsulated in Eth. To
send frame to router, need MAC address of
router interface: ARP
ARP  ARP query broadcast, received by router, which
Eth
replies with ARP reply giving MAC address of
ARP reply

Phy
router has router interface
ARP server
 client now knows MAC address of first hop
router, so can now send frame containing
DNS query

Link Layer: 6-20

 A day in the life… using DNS
DNS
DNS
DNS
DNS UDP
DNS DNS  de-muxed to DNS
UDP
DNS IP DNS
DNS IP
 DNS replies to client
Eth DNS
DNS Phy
DNS Eth
server
with IP address of
Phy
DNS
www.google.com

Comcast network
68.80.0.0/13

 IP datagram
 IP datagram forwarded from campus
containing DNS query
network into Comcast network,
forwarded via LAN
routed (tables created by RIP, OSPF,
switch from client to
IS-IS and/or BGP routing protocols)
1st hop router
to DNS server
Link Layer: 6-21
 A day in the life…TCP connection carrying HTTP
HTTP
HTTP  to send HTTP request,
SYNACK
SYN TCP
SYNACK
SYN IP client first opens TCP
SYNACK
SYN Eth
Phy Comcast network
socket to web server
68.80.0.0/13
 TCP SYN segment (step 1 in TCP
3-way handshake) inter-domain
routed to web server
 web server responds with
SYNACK
SYN
SYNACK
SYN
TCP
IP
TCP SYNACK (step 2 in TCP 3-
SYNACK
SYN Eth way handshake)
Phy
 TCP connection established!
Google web server
64.233.169.105

Link Layer: 6-22

 A day in the life… HTTP request/reply
HTTP
HTTP HTTP  HTTP request sent into
HTTP
HTTP TCP
HTTP
HTTP IP
 web page finally (!!!) TCP socket
HTTP
HTTP Eth displayed
Phy Comcast network  IP datagram containing
68.80.0.0/13
HTTP request routed to
www.google.com
 web server responds with
HTTP
HTTP
HTTP
TCP
HTTP reply (containing web
HTTP
IP page)
HTTP Eth
Phy  IP datagram containing
Google web server HTTP reply routed back to
64.233.169.105
client
Link Layer: 6-23