1 Introduction to TCP/IP

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1 Introduction to TCP/IP...........................................................1
1.1 Introduction to TCP/IP........................................................3
1.2 The TCP/IP Protocol Suite .................................................4
1.2.1 The Link Layer .................................................................5
1.2.2 The Internet Layer ...........................................................6
1.2.3 The Transport Layer........................................................7
1.2.4 The Application Layer .....................................................8
1.3 The Communication Process (1/2) ...................................9
1.3.1 Packet Terminology ......................................................11
1.3.2 Frame Components (1/2) ..............................................12
1.3.2 Frame Components (2/2) ..............................................13
1.3.3 Data Flow........................................................................14
1.4 Types of Data Transfer (1/4) ............................................15
1.4 Types of Data Transfer (2/4) ............................................16
1.4 Types of Data Transfer (3/4) ............................................17
1.4 Types of Data Transfer (4/4) ............................................18

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1.1 Introduction to TCP/IP

If computers are to communicate with each other across a network, they must use the same
language, or protocol. A protocol is a system of rules and standards which enables
communication between the computers within a network.
TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Although its name implies
two protocols, TCP/IP is actually a collection of various protocols. We call this a protocol
family or protocol suite. We will focus on this later in this course.

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1.2 The TCP/IP Protocol Suite

For the exchange of data between two computers, TCP/IP uses a four layer communication
model, the "Department of Defense" or DoD model.
The layers of this model are:
the Application layer
the Transport layer
the Internet layer and
the Link layer.
Each protocol of the TCP/IP family can be related clearly to one of these layers. Let's first
examine the base of the protocol stack, the Link layer.

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1.2.1 The Link Layer

The Link layer is responsible for placing the data onto and receiving data from the
transmission medium. This layer includes the physical hardware, such as the network
adapter and the network cable.
The Ethernet network adapter, for example, contains a hexadecimal number consisting of 12
characters, like: A5-50-08-22-D4-65. It is called the MAC address, or Media Access Control
Address. As we will see later on, the MAC plays an important role in the addressing and
transmission of data.
Here are some of the layer's most important protocols, which, as was said before, determine
how data is transmitted over the network: - Asynchronous Transfer Mode, or ATM, Ethernet,
Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) and Frame Relay.

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1.2.2 The Internet Layer

The layer above the Link layer is the Internet layer. It is responsible for addressing,
packaging and routing the data.
Here are the four most important protocols of this layer:
The Internet Protocol (IP) is responsible for addressing the data before transmission,
and for bringing it to its intended destination.
The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) identifies the network adapter's MAC
address on the destination computer.
The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) provides error diagnosis and error
notification when data transmission fails. Finally,
The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) will be examined in greater detail
later in this course. But let's anticipate this much: IGMP handles multicast
transmissions, that is point-to-multipoint transmissions, within TCP/IP.

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1.2.3 The Transport Layer

The next higher layer, the Transport layer, enables the management and verification of the
communication between computers, as well as the forwarding of data to the above-lying
Application layer, or down to the Internet layer. Furthermore, the Transport layer uses ports
to clearly identify which application in the next higher layer is to receive the incoming data.
The Transport layer has two main protocols: one of them is the Transmission Control
Protocol TCP. TCP offers connection-oriented and reliable communication for applications
that usually require the transmission of large data volumes at a time, or that need
acknowledgement of the data received. Connection-oriented means that the communication
consists of three phases:
1 Controlled connection set-up
2 Secured data transfer
3 Controlled connection release.
The other protocol is the User Datagram Protocol UDP. Unlike TCP, UDP offers
connectionless communication without guaranteeing the successful delivery of data packets.
Connectionless means the communication is not divided into phases and the data is sent as
independent message packets. UDP-based applications usually transmit only small amounts
of data at a time. The responsibility for reliability, however, is taken over by a higher protocol.

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1.2.4 The Application Layer

Finally, there is the Application layer, which resides at the top of the TCP/ IP model. It
contains all applications and tools which use this layer to access the network. The protocols
of this layer are used to format and exchange user information.
Among the numerous protocols of this layer are
the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
the Domain Name System (DNS),
the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP),
the File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP),
the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) as well as
TELNET
In chapter 6 we will focus on what these protocols do, and on how they do it.
Now that we have familiarized ourselves with the layers of the TCP /IP protocol stack, the
question arises how the data is passed through the different layers. We will examine this
more closely in the following lesson.

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1.3 The Communication Process (1/2)

Communication in a network is a complex procedure which encompasses a series of

processes. TCP/ IP transmits data across the network by splitting it into small units, or
"packets" as they are called.
The name of these packets varies, depending on the protocol they belong to. The
transmission of a large amount of data, that is a big packet, across a network takes a long
time, and can strongly reduce the network capacity, or even block the entire network.
Therefore, it often makes sense to subdivide chunks of data into small packets, which can
easily be moved across the network.
This avoids a network blockage, and allows other computers to transmit their data as well. If
a packet is damaged, it is sufficient to retransmit this single packet instead of the entire data.

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1.3 The Communication Process (2/2)

The data flow comprises a series of steps, including the organization of the data into small
packets, or frames, at the source computer. This process is known as fragmentation. A
packet at the Link layer is called a "frame". A frame consists of different components that
take on definite functions in the data flow. As soon as the frames reach the destination
computer they are reassembled.
Each layer of the TCP/IP protocol stack is involved in these processes, both at the source
and the destination computer. First, let's look at the term "packet".

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1.3.1 Packet Terminology

At each layer of the TCP/IP protocol stack the packet takes on a different name.
When a data packet is passed down through the layers of the stack, each protocol adds its
own information to the data packet. We refer to this information as the "header" of a protocol.
Various technical terms are used to denote a packet and the added information, depending
on which protocol the packet is associated with.
In TCP, the transmission unit is called a "segment". It contains the TCP header and the
application data. In unreliable protocols such as ICMP, UDP, IGMP and ARP, the
transmission unit is called a "message". It consists of a protocol header and the application
data or protocol data. In IP, the transmission unit is called a "datagram". It consists of an IP
header and the data from the Transport layer.
In the Link layer, the transmission unit is known as a "frame". It is composed of a header,
which is added at the Link layer, and the data from the IP layer.

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1.3.2 Frame Components (1/2)

When data is subdivided into packets, various kinds of information are added to the packet to
make sure that it reaches its destination. A frame, that is a data packet at the Link layer,
consists of three components: a header, a data block and a trailer.
The header contains a preamble giving the information that a packet is being transmitted, as
well as the packet's sources and destination address.
The data is the actual information sent by the higher layer. The size of this component varies
depending on the limitations imposed by the network.
The data size is limited, depending on the network technology used.
Since the data to be transmitted usually far exceeds the maximum permissible data block
size, it must be subdivided into smaller units. In the following lesson, we will take a closer
look at the trailer of a frame.

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1.3.2 Frame Components (2/2)

The trailer's content depends on the respective protocol of the Link layer. Usually, the trailer
contains error checking - the CRC, or Cyclical Redundancy Check. The CRC is a value
calculated from the packet at the source computer using a mathematical function. When the
packet reaches its destination, this calculation is repeated.
If both values match, the data in the packet has not been altered. Different values indicate
that the data has been altered or damaged on its way. In this case, the packet is deleted, and
the data must be retransmitted.

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1.3.3 Data Flow

The data packets that are transmitted from a computer to another computer are passed
through the layers of the TCP/IP protocol stack. During this procedure, the protocols of the
respective layers add their specific information to the header. The information added by each
protocol contains data for error checking: the header checksum. This header checksum is
used to verify the integrity of the header at the destination.
Additionally, the CRC verifies the integrity of the entire data packet. The information added
by the protocols of a layer is treated as data and is encapsulated by the protocols of the
lower layers like in a nutshell.
When the packet reaches its destination, the peer layer removes the relevant header and
treats the rest of the packet as data. Then the packet moves up to the next protocol.

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1.4 Types of Data Transfer (1/4)

Before going on to the individual protocols of the TCP/IP stack, we will have to concern
ourselves with the different types of data transfer.
As we have already seen, the protocols enable data to be transferred between the
computers on a network. But high volumes of certain kinds of traffic, such as multimedia
applications, can impair the network's efficiency, since the network's overall transmission
speed is reduced.
The amount of traffic within a network varies, depending on which of the three types of data
transfer - unicast, broadcast or multicast - is used.
In order to be able to understand how each of these types of data transfer affects network
traffic, we must learn about their characteristics.

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1.4 Types of Data Transfer (2/4)

With Unicast, the source computer sends an individual copy of the data to every single client
computer that requested it. No other computer on the network must deal with the traffic.
Unicast transmissions, however, are less efficient if several computers request the same
data, because the source computer must transmit several copies of the data.
Unicast transmissions are best employed if the data is requested only by a few computers.
Unicast is also referred to as a "one-to-one transmission", and constitutes a significant part of
today's network traffic.

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1.4 Types of Data Transfer (3/4)

When data is transmitted with broadcast, a copy of it is sent automatically to all computers
within the sender's subnet. If the data is only intended for some of the computers, broadcast
is not very efficient, as this method unneccessarily reduces network performance.
As we will see later on, broadcast transmissions are excellent for address resolution, and for
the request of dynamic Internet addresses.

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1.4 Types of Data Transfer (4/4)

With multicast transmissions, a copy of the data is only sent to a particular group of
computers. A computer can register for an existing multicast group and will then receive the
network traffic addressed to this particular group.
This reduces the netload as compared to broadcast, and is used to supply multimedia
applications without causing unnecessary net load. Many Internet services use multicast to
communicate with their client computers.

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