NETWORK ESSENTIALS FUNDAMENTALS OF NETWORKING

NETWORK ESSENTIALS FUNDAMENTALS OF NETWORKING CONTENTS

OBJECTIVES INTRODUCTION LAN COMPONENTS REPEATER HUB BRIDGE ROUTER GATEWAY NETWORK SERVICE TYPES

NETWORK ESSENTIALS FUNDAMENTALS OF NETWORKING

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this chapter are to familiarize with the following: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) The LAN components Repeater Hub ri!ge Router "atewa# $n!erstan! the Networ%ing

INTRODUCTION
&nformation !oes not e'ist in a vacuum( )ust as the nee! to share in formation between !es%top computers in an office has force! the proliferation of LANs* the nee! to share information be#on! a single wor%group is forcing the a!option of LANto-LAN lin%s* host gatewa#s* as#nchronous communication servers* an! other metho!s of communicating with other s#stems(

LAN COMPONENTS
Local Area Networ% is a high spee!* low error !ata networ% covering a relativel# small geographic area( LAN connects wor%stations* peripherals* terminal an! other !evices in a single buil!ing or other geographicall# limite! area( LAN stan!ar! specifies cabling an! signaling at the ph#sical an! !ata lin% la#ers of the +,& mo!el( -thernet* .//& an! To%en ring are wi!el# use! LAN technolog#( &n LAN technolog# to solve the congestion problem an! increase the networ%ing performance single -thernet segment is to !ivi!e into multiple networ% segments( This is achieve! through various networ% components( 0h#sical segmentation* networ% switching technolog#* using full !uple' -thernet !evices* fast -thernet an! .//& available ban!wi!th ma# be ma'imize!(

REPEATERS
Repeaters are !evices that amplif# an! reshape the signals on one LAN1 pass them to another( A repeater forwar!s all traffic from one LAN to the other( Repeaters are usuall# use! to e'ten! LAN cable !istances or connect !ifferent me!ia t#pe( Repeaters connect LANs together at the lowest la#er* the 0h#sical la#er* of the +,& mo!el( This means that repeaters can onl# connect i!entical LANs* such as -thernet2345(6 to -thernet2345(6 or To%en Ring to To%en Ring(

OSI MODEL LAN INTERCONNECTION DEVICE =-A00L&>AT&+N "AT-?AA,

6-N-T?+R@ 5-/ATA L&N@ 8-0HA,&>AL Fig. 1

R+$T-R R&/"-2,?&T>H R-0-AT-R2H$

Two ph#sical LANs connecte! b# a repeater become one ph#sical LAN( ecause of this* the proper use an! placement of repeaters is specifie! as part of LAN architecture7s cabling parameters(

HUB
As its name implies* a hub is a center of activit#( &n more specific networ% terms* a hub* or concentrator* is a common wiring point for networ%s that are base! aroun! a star topolog#( Arcnet* 84base-T* an! 84base-.* as well as man# other proprietar# networ% topologies* all rel# on the use of hubs to connect !ifferent cable runs an! to !istribute !ata across the various segments of a networ%( Hubs basicall# act as a signal splitter( The# ta%e all of the signals the# receive in through one port an! re!istribute it out through all ports( ,ome hubs actuall# regenerate wea% signals before re-transmitting them( +ther hubs retime the signal to provi!e true s#nchronous !ata communication between all ports( Hubs with multiple 84base-. connectors actuall# use mirrors to split the beam of light among the various ports(

PASSIVE HUBS
0assive hubs* as the name suggests* are rather 9uiescent creatures( The# !o not !o ver# much to enhance the performance of #our LAN* nor !o the# !o an#thing to assist #ou in troubleshooting fault# har!ware or fin!ing performance bottlenec%s( The# simpl# ta%e all of the pac%ets the# receive on a single port an! rebroa!cast them across all ports--the simplest thing that a hub can !o( 0assive hubs commonl# have one 84base-5 port in a!!ition to the R)-:; connectors that connect each LAN !evice( 84base-; is 84<bps -thernet that is run over thic%-coa'( This 84base-5 connector can be use! as networ% bac%bone( +ther* more a!vance! passive hubs have A$& ports that can be connecte! to the transceiver to form a bac%bone that ma# be more a!vantageous(

<ost passive hubs are e'cellent entr#-level !evices that can be use! as starting points in the worl! of star topolog# -thernet( <ost eight-port passive hubs are cheaper(

ACTIVE HUBS
Active hubs actuall# !o something other than simpl# re-broa!casting !ata( "enerall#* the# have all of the features of passive hubs* with the a!!e! bonus of actuall# watching the !ata being sent out( Active hubs ta%e a larger role in -thernet communications b# implementing a technolog# calle! store 1 forwar! where the hubs actuall# loo% at the !ata the# are transmitting before sen!ing it( This is not to sa# that the hub prioritizes certain pac%ets of !ataB it !oes* however* repair certain C!amage!C pac%ets an! will retime the !istribution of other pac%ets( &f a signal receive! b# an active hub is wea% but still rea!able* the active hub restores the signal to a stronger state before re-broa!casting it( This feature allows certain !evices that are not operating within optimal parameters to still be use! on #our networ%( &f a !evice is not broa!casting a signal strong enough to be seen b# other !evices on a networ% that uses passive hubs* the signal amplification provi!e! b# an active hub ma# allow that !evice to continue to function on #our LAN( A!!itionall#* some active hubs will report !evices on #our networ% that are not full# functional( &n this wa#* active hubs also provi!e certain !iagnostic capabilities for #our networ%( Active hubs will also retime an! res#nchronize certain pac%ets when the# are being transmitte!( >ertain cable runs ma# e'perience electromagnetic D-<) !isturbances that prevent pac%ets from reaching the hub or the !evice at the en! of the cable run in timel# fashion( &n other situations* the pac%ets ma# not reach the !estination at all( Active hubs can compensate for pac%et loss b# re-transmitting pac%ets on in!ivi!ual ports as the# are calle! for an! re-timing pac%et !eliver# for slower* more error-prone connections( +f course* re-timing pac%et !eliver# slows !own overall networ% performance for all !evices connecte! to that particular hub* but sometimes that is preferable to !ata loss--especiall# since the re-timing can actuall# lower the number of collisions seen on LAN( &f !ata !oes not have to be broa!cast over an! over again* the LAN is available for use for new re9uests more fre9uentl#( Again* it is important to point out that active hubs can help #ou !iagnose ba! cable runs b# showing which port on #our hub warrants the retransmission or retiming(

INTELLIGENT HUBS
&ntelligent hubs offer man# a!vantages over passive an! active hubs( +rganizations loo%ing to e'pan! their networ%ing capabilities so users can share resources more efficientl# an! function more 9uic%l# can benefit greatl# from intelligent hubs( The technolog# behin! intelligent hubs has onl# become available in recent #ears an! man# organizations ma# not have ha! the chance to benefit from themB nevertheless intelligent hubs are a proven technolog# that can !eliver unparallele! performance for LAN( &n a!!ition to all of the features foun! in active hubs* incorporating intelligent hubs into #our networ% infrastructure gives #ou the abilit# to manage #our networ%

from one central location( &f a problem !evelops with an# !evice on a networ% connecte! to an intelligent hub* it can easil# i!entif#* !iagnose* an! reme!# the problem using the management information provi!e! b# each intelligent hub( This is a significant improvement over stan!ar! active hubs( Troubleshooting a large enterprise-scale networ% without a centralize! management tool that can help #ou visualize #our networ% infrastructure usuall# leaves #ou running from wiring closet to wiring closet tr#ing to fin! poorl# functioning !evices(

BRIDGES
ri!ges connect LANs together at the /ata Lin% la#er of the +,& mo!el( ,pecificall# bri!ges connect at the <e!ia Access >ontrol D<A>) sub-la#er of the /ata Lin% la#er* an! are often referre! to as <A>-la#er bri!ges( &n the past* Novel incorrectl# referre! to Net ?are routers as bri!ges(

Application 0resentation ,ession Transport Networ% /ata Lin% 0h#sical Fig. 2 ri!ges

Application 0resentation ,ession Transport Networ% /ata Lin% 0h#sical

This !iagram shows a t#pical multi-protocol remote bri!ge application( ri!ges connect similar or i!entical LANs( ri!ges can be use! to connect -thernet2 345(6 to -thernet2 345(6* 84-<bps -thernet2345(6 to 8-<bps ,tar LAN* :<bps To%en Ring to :-<bps To%en Ring* or :-<bps To%en Ring to 8E-<bps To%en Ring( Li%e repeaters* bri!ges can be use! to connect LANs using !ifferent me!ia D84 A,--T to 84 A,-;* for e'ample)( ri!ges are transparent to the networ%-la#er protocols Dsuch as &0F an! &0) being use! on the networ%( Two networ%s connecte! via a bri!ge are ph#sicall# separate networ%* but logicall# a single networ%( This means that a networ%7s cabling rules appl# to each in!ivi!ual networ%* not both collectivel#* but Networ%-la#er protocols will a!!ress the bri!ge! networ% as if the# were one( ri!ges segment traffic b# onl# forwar!ing traffic that is a!!resse! to stations on the opposite si!e of the bri!ge( This means that bri!ges !o not forwar! local traffic( This can consi!erabl# re!uce overall traffic in a multi-LAN inter-networ%(

TRANSPARENT BRIDGES
The t#pe of bri!ges use! for -thernet2345(6 LANs is calle! a transparent bri!ge( This is because the e'istence of the bri!ge is transparent to wor%stations* file servers an! other networ% !evices( The bri!ge performs all the functions necessar# to route traffic between bri!ge! networ%s( Transparent bri!ges %eep routing tables of ph#sical a!!resses of networ% !evices an! forwar! traffic base! on the locations of the particular networ% !evice to which pac%ets are being sent( -arl# bri!ges re9uire! the s#stem a!ministrator to manuall# buil! the routing tables( >urrent bri!ges automaticall# learn station a!!resses an! buil! the routing tables an! are sometimes referre! to as learning bri!ges(

SPANNING TREE ALGORITHM

Transparent bri!ges to not allow re!un!ant paths( # using a scheme calle! the ,panning Tree Algorithm* however* alternate paths are allowe!( &n simplest terms* the ,panning Tree Algorithm ensures that onl# one bri!ge path between an# two networ%s is active at a time( &f a bri!ge path fails* another bri!ge path Dif it e'ists) will automaticall# be activate!( Not all bri!ges support the ,panning Tree Algorithm* an! although ,panning Tree Algorithm is now part of the &--- 345 specifications* not all bri!ges that support the ,panning Tree Algorithm conform with the &--specifications(

SOURCE ROUTING BRIDGES

Although transparent bri!ging can be use! with To%en Ring Networ%s* & < has promote! another bri!ging metho! calle! source routing( ?ith source routing* the bri!ge !oes not %eep trac% of the route b# which pac%ets are sent( -ach networ% no!e that initiates communication with another no!e across one or more bri!ges must %eep trac% of the route use!( $nli%e transparent bri!ges* source routing bri!ges allow re!un!ant paths( To establish a route* the station initiating communication broa!casts a !iscover# pac%et* which ma%es its wa# through the Networ%7s source routing bri!ges( The !iscover# pac%et %eeps trac% of the bri!ges it crosses on the wa# to the !estination( /epen!ing on the configuration of the bri!ges an! the metho! use! to sen! the !iscover# pac%et Dthe !escription of which is be#on! the scope of this boo%)* the !iscover# pac%et will arrive at the !estination via one or more routes* meaning one or more copies of the !iscover# pac%et will be receive! at the !estination( The !estination returns its responseDs) using reverse a!!ressing* meaning it uses each !iscover# pac%et7s list of crosse! bri!ges* in reverse or!er* to return its responseDs)( &f the initiating station receives responses via more than one route* the first response receive! establishes the route to be use!(

ROUTERS
Routers connect LANs at the Networ% la#er of the +,& mo!el Routers connect LANs that use the same Networ%-la#er protocol* such as &0F-to-&0F an! &0-to-&0(

ecause routers operate at the Networ% la#er* the# can be use! to lin% !issimilar LANs* such as AR>N-T* -thernet* an! To%en Ring( Application 0resentation ,ession Transport Networ% /ata Lin% 0h#sical Fig. 3 Two networ%s connecte! via a router are ph#sicall# an! logicall# separate networ%s( Networ%-la#er protocols have their own a!!ressing scheme separate from the a!!ressing scheme of <A>-la#er protocols( This a!!ressing scheme ma# or ma# not inclu!e the <A>-la#er a!!resses of the networ% car!s( -ach networ% attache! to a router must be assigne! a logical i!entifier* or networ% a!!ress* to !esignate it as uni9ue from other ph#sical networ%s( .or e'ample* Net?are7s &0F routers DNet?are file servers or e'ternal Net?are routers using R+$T-R(-F-) use each LAN car!7s <A>-la#er a!!ress an! a logical a!!ress for each networ% assigne! b# the router installer( A router can support single or multiple Networ%-la#er protocols( Net ?are 5(5 .ile servers an! Net ?are e'ternal routers* for e'ample* onl# support Net?are7s &0F protocol( Net?are 6(88 file servers( Routers on the other han!* can route &0F* &0 an! Apple Tal%* if the proper routing software is loa!e! into the file server( /e!icate! routers from 0roteon* >isco* ?elfleet* an! others can route a number of !ifferent protocols( Router Application 0resentation ,ession Transport Networ% /ata Lin% 0h#sical

,tation

LAN A

,tation

LAN

,tation

0oint-to-0oint Lin%* Heterogeneous LANs

,tation

LAN A

,tation

Wi!"#$%"$ &$'(") S*i)'+i,g N")*-%(

,tation

LAN

,tation

?i!e-Area Networ% Lin%* Heterogeneous LANs

Fig. 7.

,tation

LAN

Router

,tation

LAN to Host Lin% Li%e bri!ges* routers onl# forwar! traffic a!!resse! to the other si!e( This means that local traffic on one LAN will not affect performance on another( Again* li%e bri!ges* routers can be proprietar# !evices* or can be software an! har!ware resi!ing in a general purpose computer* such as a 0>( Li%e transparent bri!ges* routers maintain routing tables( A router7s routing table* however* %eeps trac% of networ% a!!resses an! possible routes between networ%s* not in!ivi!ual no!e a!!resses( $sing routers* re!un!ant paths between networ%s can be establishe!* an! traffic will be route! between networ%s base! on some algorithm to !etermine the best path( The simplest routers usuall# select the path with the fewest number of router hops as the best path( <ore intelligent routers consi!er other factors* such as the relative response times of various possible routes* when selecting the best path( ecause routers operate at the networ% la#er* the# can connect !issimilar t#pes of LANs* such as AR>N-T an! -thernet( LAN car!s using !ifferent frame t#pes* such as 345(6 an! -thernet &&* can co-e'ist on the same LAN cable* but are actuall# separate logical networ%s( A router can connect two or more such logical networ%s( Routing is more comple' than bri!ging* an!* all other things being e9ual* routers are somewhat slower than bri!ges( Routers usuall# !o not provi!e the e'tensive filtering capabilities that some bri!ges !o( Another !ownsi!e to routers is that there are few stan!ar!s* so !ifferent ven!or7s pro!ucts ma# not inter operate( Routers !o provi!e better networ% segmentation than bri!ges* however* so that things li%e broa!cast pac%et storms will not affect an entire inter-networ%(

GATEWAYS
A gatewa# is a fun!amentall# !ifferent t#pe of !evice than a repeater* bri!ge* router* or switch an! can be use! in conjunction with them( A gatewa# ma%es it possible for an application program* running on a s#stem* confirming to networ% architecture* to communicate with an application program running on a s#stem confirming to some other networ% architecture( A gatewa# performs its function in the Applicatio4n la#er of the +,& mo!el( The function of a gatewa# is to convert one set of communication protocols to some other set of communication protocols( 0rotocol conversion ma# inclu!e the following: <essage .ormat >onversion- /ifferent networ%s ma# emplo# !ifferent message format* ma'imum message size* or character co!es( The gatewa# must be able to convert messages to appropriate format* size an! co!ing( A!!ress translation- /ifferent networ%s ma# emplo# !ifferent a!!ressing mechanism an! networ% a!!ress structures( The gatewa# must be able to interpret networ% a!!ress in one networ% an! convert them into networ% a!!ress in other networ%( 0rotocol conversion- ?hen a message is prepare! for transmission* each la#er a!!s control information* uni9ue to the protocol use! in that la#er( The gatewa# must be able to convert control information use! b# each la#er so that the receiving s#stem receives the control information in the format it e'pects( ,ervices affecte! ma# inclu!e message segmentation an! reassembl#* !ata flow control* an! error !etection an! recover#(

NETWORK SERVICE TYPES

There are two t#pes of Networ% ,ervices one is %nown as >onnectionless Dor /atagram) an! the other is >onnection-+riente! Dor Girtual >ircuit)( >onnectionless ,ervice &n connectionless service the en! no!e transmits with ever# piece of !ata the a!!ress to which the !ata shoul! be !elivere!( -ver# piece of !ata calle! pac%et is in!epen!entl# route!* so the networ% canHt guarantee that all the pac%ets will reach the !estination in the transmitting or!er since the pac%ets can be !elivere! through more then one path( >onnection-+riente! ,ervice &n connection-oriente! service the en! no!e first informs the networ% it wishes to start a conversation with another en! no!e* the networ% sen!s itHs re9uest to the !estination that accepts or rejects the re9uest( &f the !estination refuses* connection fails* otherwise connection is establishe!( >onnection-+riente! service usuall# has the following characteristics: The networ% guarantees that all pac%ets will be !elivere! in or!er without loss or !uplication of !ata( +nl# a single path is establishe! for the call* an! all the !ata follows that path(

The networ% guarantees a minimal amount of ban!wi!th an! this ban!wi!th is reserve! for the !uration of the call( &f the networ% becomes overl# utilize!* future call re9uests are refuse!(

.ollowing are few e'amples of applications* which nee! the connection-oriente! service or connectionless service(

.ile transfer an! remote terminal protocols will not tolerate loss of !ata* an! re9uire the pac%ets to remain or!ere!( This %in! of application !ictates a connection-oriente! service( -lectronic mail !o not re9uires that pac%ets remain or!ere!( ,peech conve#ing s#stems can tolerate a mo!est percentage of lost pac%ets( &n pac%et voice* receiving !ela#e! pac%ets is actuall# useless( This %in! of application !ictates connectionless service(