Network Layers

¾ Networking technologies are most often

compartmentalized in this manner by dividing their
functions into layers, each of which contains hardware
and/or software elements.
¾ Each layer
y is responsible
p for performing
p g a particular
p type
yp of
task, as well as interacting with the layers above it and
below it.
 Layer Groups
¾ Lower Layer – Network Support Layers
¾ Deals with the physical aspects of moving one data to another

¾ Middle Layer – Transport Layer

¾ Links the Lower and Higher Layers and ensures that what the lower layers
have transmitted is in the form that the upper layers can use

¾ Higher Layer – User Support Layers

¾ Allow interoperability among unrelated software systems
Layer Analogy – Sending Mail
Sender Receiver

The letter is written, The letter is picked

put in an envelope, up, removed from
and dropped in a the envelope, and
mailbox read

The letter is carried The letter is carried

from the mailbox to from the post office
a post office to the mailbox

The letter is The letter is

delivered to a The parcel is carried from the delivered from the
carrier by the post carrier to the post
office source to the destination office
 OSI Layers
¾ Open Systems Interconnection

¾ Established in 1947 by the International Standards Organization

¾ The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to facilitate

communication between different systems without requiring changes to
the logic of the underlying hardware and software.

¾ It is not a protocol, it is a model for understanding and designing a

network architecture that is flexible, robust, and interoperable
 OSI Layers
¾ Physical

¾ Data Link

¾ Network

¾ Transport

¾ Session

¾ Presentation

¾ Application
 OSI Layers
¾ Physical
¾ Responsible for the movements of individual bits from one
node to the next
¾ Concerned with the following:
¾ Physical Characteristics of interfaces and medium
¾ Defines the characteristics of the interface bet
between
een the de
devices
ices and the
transmission medium
¾ Defines the type of transmission medium
¾ Representation of bits
¾ Defines the type of encoding (how 0s and 1s are changed to signals
¾ Data Rate
¾ Defines the number of bits sent each second (transmission rate)
 OSI Layers
¾ Physical
¾ Responsible for the movements of individual bits from one
node to the next
¾ Concerned with the following:
¾ Synchronization of bits
¾ Synchronization of sender and receiver clocks
¾ Line Configuration
¾ Concerned with how devices are connected to the transmission media
¾ Physical Topology
¾ Defines how a devices are connected to make a network (Topology)
¾ For example: Ring, Bus, Star, Hybrid
¾ Transmission mode
¾ Defines direction of transmission between to devices
¾ For example: Simplex, Half-duplex, Full-duplex
Physical layer



 OSI Layers
¾ Data Link
¾ Responsible for moving packets between two systems on the
same network
¾ Other responsibilities include:
¾ Framing
¾ Divides the stream of bits received from the network layer into manageable
data units called streams
¾ Physical Addressing (NIC Address or MAC Address)
¾ Adds a header to the frame to define the sender and/or receiver of the frame
¾ If the frame is intended for a system outside the sender’s network, the receiver
address is the address of the device that connects the network to the next one
¾ Flow Control
¾ If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is less than the rate
at which data are produced in by the sender, the data link layer imposes a flow
control mechanism to avoid overwhelming the receiver
 OSI Layers
¾ Data Link
¾ Responsible for moving packets between two systems on the
same network
¾ Other responsibilities include:
¾ Error Control
¾ Adds mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames
frames.
¾ Adds mechanisms to recognize duplicate frames
¾ Normally achieved by adding a trailer to the end of the frame
¾ Access Control
¾ When two or more devices are connected to the same link, the data link layer
protocols determine which device has control over the link at a given time
Data link layer
Hop--to-
Hop to-hop delivery
 OSI Layers
¾ Network
¾ Responsible for the delivery of individual packets from the
source host to the destination host across multiple networks
¾ Other responsibilities include:
¾ Logical Addressing
¾ Adds a header that includes the logical addresses (IP address) of the sender
and the receiver
¾ Routing
¾ Provides mechanism to route or switch the packets to their final destination.
¾ This is needed among internetworks (network of networks)
Network layer
Source--to
Source to--destination delivery
 OSI Layers
¾ Transport
¾ Responsible for the delivery of a message from one process to
another
¾ Other responsibilities include:
¾ Service-point addressing
¾ Adds a header that includes the service point address (port address)
¾ Since computer
Si t will
ill h
have severall running
i programs, ttransportt llayer ensure delivery
d li off
packets not only from one computer to the next but also from a specific process (running
program) on one computer to a specific process (running program) on the other.
¾ Segmentation and reassembly
¾ Messages are divided into transmittable segments, with each segment containing a
sequence number
¾ Using the sequence number, the transport layer reassembles the message correctly upon
arriving at the destination, as well as identifies and replaces packets that were lost in
transmission
 OSI Layers
¾ Transport
¾ Responsible for the delivery of a message from one process to
another
¾ Other responsibilities include:
¾ Connection Control
¾ Transport layer can either be connectionless or connection-oriented
¾ A connectionless
ti l transport
t t layer
l treats
t t each h segmentt as an iindependent
d d t packer
k and
d
delivers it to the transport layer at the destination machine
¾ A connection-oriented transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination machine first before delivering packets
¾ Flow Control
¾ Controls the flow of packets sent from end to end rather than a single link
¾ Error Control
¾ Error control is performed process-to-process rather than across a single link
Transport layer
Reliable process-
process-to
to--process delivery of a message
 OSI Layers
¾ Session
¾ Responsible for dialog control and synchronization
¾ Specific responsibilities include:
¾ Dialog control
¾ Allows two systems (specifically two processes) to enter into a
dialog in either half-duplex
f (one way at a time) or full-duplex
f
(two ways at a time) mode.
¾ Synchronization
¾ Allow a process to add synchronization points to a stream of
data
Session Layer
 OSI Layers
¾ Presentation
¾ Responsible for translation, compression, and encryption
¾ Specific responsibilities include:
¾ Translation
¾ Presentation layer at the sender changes sent information from its
sender-dependent format into a common format. The presentation
l
layer at the
h receiving
i i machinehi changes
h the
h common fformat into
i iti
receiver-dependent format
¾ Encryption
¾ Sender transforms original information to another form and send the
resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the
original process to transform the message back to its original form
¾ Compression
¾ Reduces the number of bits contained in the information.
Presentation layer
 OSI Layers
¾ Application
¾ Responsible for providing services to the user
¾ Specific services provided include:
¾ Network Virtual Terminal
¾ Software version of a physical terminal and allows a user to log on to a remote
host
¾ File transfer, access, and management
¾ Allows a user to access files in a remote host, to retrieve files, and manage
or control files in a remote computer locally.
¾ Mail services
¾ Provides the basis for e-\mail forwarding and storage
¾ Directory services
¾ Provides distributed database sources and access for global information
about various objects and services
Application layer
Summary of layers
OSI Data Units
 TCP/IP Protocol Suite
¾ Transmission Control Protocol/ Internetworking Protocol
¾ Developed prior to the OSI Model
¾ Layers of the TCP/IP protocol suite does not exactly match
those in the OSI model.
¾ Defined as having four layers
 TCP/IP Layers
¾ Host-to-Network Layer
¾ Equivalent to the combination of Physical and Data Link layers

¾ Internet Layer
¾ Equivalent to the Network layer

¾ Transport Layer
¾ Equivalent to the Transport layer and part of the duties of the Session layer

¾ Application Layer
¾ Roughly doing the job of the Session, Presentation, and Application layers
 TCP/IP and OSI Model
Application Applications

Presentation
SMTP FTP HTTP DNS SNMP TELNET …
Session

Transport SCTP TCP UDP

Network ICMP IGMP

(Internet) IP RARP ARP

Data link
Protocols defined by the underlying networks
(host-to-network)
Physical
 Protocols: What are they anyway?
¾ In the real world, a protocol often refers to a code of conduct, or a form
of etiquette observed by diplomats.

¾ These people must follow certain rules of ceremony and form to

ensure that they communicate effectively, and without coming into
conflict.

¾ In networking, they define a language and a set of rules and

procedures that enable devices and systems to communicate.

¾ A networking protocol defines a set of rules, algorithms, messages

and other mechanisms that enable software and hardware in
networked devices to communicate effectively.
 Use of the word “Protocol”
¾ Protocol suites
¾ Used to refer to sets of protocols that are more properly called protocol
suites
¾ For example, TCP/IP is often called just a “protocol” when it is really a
(large) set of protocols.

¾ Microsoft Windows Protocols

¾ The networking software in Microsoft Windows is a protocol suite referred to
as single protocol.
¾ It usually calls a full networking stack like TCP/IP or IPX/SPX just a
“protocol”.
¾ When you install one of these “protocols”, however, you actually get a
software module that supports a full protocol suite.
 Use of the word “Protocol”
¾ Other Technologies
¾ Sometimes technologies that are not protocols at all are called protocols,
either out of convention or perhaps because people think it sounds good.
¾ For example, TCP/IP Remote Network Monitoring (RMON) is often called a
protocol when it is really just an enhancement to the Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP)—which is a protocol!

¾ So, does it really matter whether a protocol is a “true” protocol or not?

Well, the networking hardware devices and software programs sure
don’t care.