The Link Layer: Wellesley College - Fall 2020

Wellesley College – Fall 2020
CS242 – Computer Networks
The Link Layer

Chapter 5 (6th edition) – Sections 5.4 to 5.6
Most of these slides are adapted from (or perhaps identical to) the authors’ slides.
All material copyright 1996-2012 J.F Kurose and K.W. Ross.
Some are adapted from slides prepared by Randy Shull.
This presentation has been designed using resources from PoweredTemplate.com
Switches
• Switches are link-level devices; they switch link-layer frames rather than
network-layer datagrams.
• They don’t recognize network-layer datagram or addresses and don’t

use routing algorithms like RIP or OSPF.
Link-layer addresses
Expressed in
dashed
• A LAN node’s link-layer hexadecimal
address (variously physical , notation
Ethernet, or MAC* address)
properly belongs its adapter.
• Generally these are 48 bits
long.
• Although MAC addresses
were designed to be
permanent, (originally burnt
into the adapter’s ROM) it
is now possible to set an
adapter's MAC via software.
*Media Access Control

No two are ever alike
• How is this possible? MAC

address space is managed
by IEEE.
• When a company want to
manufacture adapters, it
purchases a chunk of 224
addresses for a nominal
fee.
• The first 24 bits of a MAC
address are fixed by IEEE,
and company gets to create
unique combinations of the
last 24 bits.
Flat tax?
• An adapter's MAC
address has a flat
structure, as
opposed to IP's
hierarchical structure.
• A slaptop has the

same MAC address,
no matter where so
ever it goes*;
meanwhile its IP
address is bouncing
all over the place**.
*Kinda like your social security number.
**Kinda like your postal address (at least when you are young).
An adaptor sends a frame into the LAN
• If it is a broadcast LAN*, it
is received and processed
by all other adapters on the
LAN.
• On the receiving end,
– If a destination address
matches the node’s MAC
address, it extracts the
network-layer datagram
and passes it up the
protocol stack.
– If the destination address
doesn’t match, the node
discards the frame. The
host is never disturbed.
*Such as 802.11 or the old fashion Ethernet LANs.
MAC Broadcast address
• Sometimes the sending

adaptor wants all other
adapters on the LAN to
receive and process the
frame.
• The sending adapter inserts
a MAC broadcast address
into the destination field of
the frame.*
*For an Ethernet and token passing LAN, the broadcast address is FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF.
ARP: address resolution protocol
Question: how to determine

interface’s MAC address, ARP table: each IP node
knowing its IP address? (host, router) on LAN has
table
137.196.7.78
§ IP/MAC address
1A-2F-BB-76-09-AD
mappings for some
137.196.7.23 LAN nodes:
137.196.7.14
< IP address; MAC address;
TTL>
LAN
71-65-F7-2B-08-53
§ TTL (Time To Live):
58-23-D7-FA-20-B0 time after which
address mapping
0C-C4-11-6F-E3-98
137.196.7.88 will be forgotten
(typically 20 min)
ARP protocol: same LAN

• A wants to send datagram to B • A caches (saves) IP-to-MAC
– B’s MAC address not in A’s address pair in its ARP table
ARP table. until information becomes old
(times out)
• A broadcasts ARP query – soft state: information that
packet, containing B's IP times out (goes away)
unless refreshed
address
– dest MAC address = FF-FF-FF-
FF-FF-FF • ARP is “plug-and-play”:
– all nodes on LAN receive ARP – nodes create their ARP
query tables without intervention
from net administrator
• B receives ARP packet, replies
to A with its (B's) MAC address
– frame sent to A’s MAC
address (unicast)
Addressing: routing to another LAN
• Send datagram from A to B via R
– focus on addressing – at IP (datagram) and MAC layer
(frame)
– assume A knows B’s IP address
– assume A knows IP address of first hop router, R (how?)
– assume A knows R’s MAC address (how?)
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

CC-49-DE-D0-AB-7D E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B 88-B2-2F-54-1A-0F

v A creates IP datagram with IP source A, destination B
v A creates link-layer frame with R's MAC address as dest, frame
contains A-to-B IP datagram
MAC src: 74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
MAC dest: E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP
Eth
Phy
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

v frame sent from A to R
v frame received at R, datagram removed, passed up to IP
MAC src: 74-29-9C-E8-FF-55

MAC dest: E6-E9-00-17-BB-4B
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP IP
Eth Eth
Phy Phy
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221


v R forwards datagram with IP source A, destination B
v R creates link-layer frame with B's MAC address as dest, frame
MAC src: 1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
MAC dest: 49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP
IP Eth
Eth Phy
Phy
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP
IP Eth
Eth Phy
Phy
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221


IP src: 111.111.111.111
IP dest: 222.222.222.222
IP
Eth
Phy
A B
R
111.111.111.111
222.222.222.222
74-29-9C-E8-FF-55
49-BD-D2-C7-56-2A
222.222.222.220
1A-23-F9-CD-06-9B
111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

Ethernet
Ethernet
• Since the mid 1990s Ethernet has dominated the LAN
market. Partially because,
– First to be widely deployed.
– Generally cheaper and simpler than its competitors.
– Always managed to maintain comparable data rates with
emerging technologies.
Original bus topology for
Ethernet LANs*
• Metcalfe and Boggs's original design used a coaxial bus to interconnect
the nodes.
• A topology that lingered on into the mid-nineties.
By the late 1990s ...
• ... the bus LANs had been

replaced with Ethernet
installions using a hub-
based star topology.
• A hub is a physical-layer
device that acts on
individual bits rather than
frames.
• When a bit arrives from one
interface, the hub recreates
the bit, boosts its energy,
and transmits the bit onto
all other interfaces.
Hubs also provide network
management features
• If an adapter is misbehaving (e.g., hogging the
network), the hub can detect this and
disconnect the offending one.
• Most hubs also gather information and report

the information back to a host that connects
directly to the hub.
In the early 2000s ...

• ... the hub at the center of the star topology
was replaced with a switch.
• A switch is a collision-less, store-and-forward

packet switching device which operates at the
physical and link layers.*
*You guessed it, more later.
Ethernet frame structure
• Sending adapter encapsulates IP datagram (or
other network layer protocol packet) in
Ethernet frame type

dest. source
preamble address address data CRC
(payload)
• Preamble:
– 7 bytes with pattern 10101010 followed by one
byte with pattern 10101011
– used to synchronize receiver, sender clock
rates
Ethernet frame structure (more)

• Addresses: 6 byte source, destination MAC addresses
– if adapter receives frame with matching destination address, or
with broadcast address (e.g. ARP packet), it passes data in
frame to network layer protocol
– otherwise, adapter discards frame
• Type: indicates higher layer protocol (mostly IP but others

possible, e.g., Novell IPX, AppleTalk)
• CRC: cyclic redundancy check at receiver

– error detected: frame is dropped
type
dest. source
preamble address address data CRC
(payload)
Demultiplexing using the type field
• Hosts can use multiple

network-layer protocols.*
• When Ethernet frame
arrives at adapter B, B
needs to know to which
network-layer protocol it
should pass its contents.
• This field is analogous to
the protocol field in the
network-layer datagram
and the port number in the
transport-layer segment.
*Each protocol has its own type number (e..g., a frame contenting an
ARP packet has type field hex 0806).
What could possible go wrong?
• Causes of errors include

attenuation in signal
strength and ambient
electromagnetic energy that
leaks into the Ethernet
cables and interface cards.
• CRC calculated on
everything except
preamble.
Unreliable connectionless
service
• Ethernet provides
connectionless service;
– no handshaking
– the sending adapter simply
encapsulates the datagram and
drops it into the LAN
• Similarly, the service is

unreliable.
– Receiver checks for errors, but
sends no acknowledgements
one way or the other
Ethernet and Switches

Many flavors
• We've been talking
about Ethernet as if it
were one protocol
standard when fact it is
many.
• Many of these have

been standardized by
the IEEE 802.3
CSMA/CS (Ethernet)
working group.
10BASE-2 and 10BASE-5 Ethernet

• Legacy technology from the 90s, 10Base-2 used thin coaxial cable to connect
nodes in a bus topology.
• The 10 stands for 10 Mbps, BASE refers to baseband Ethernet and the 2 (5)
stands for 200 meters (500 meters), the length limit of a coaxial cable.
• Longer runs could be obtained by using repeaters, physical-layer devices to

boast signals.
Generations pass
• Today's Ethernet is
very different from the
original coaxial bus
technology.
• Nodes are connected

to a switch via point-to-
point segments made
of twisted-pair copper
wires or fiber-optic
cable.
100BASE-T, 100-BASE-FX,
100BASE-SX, 100BASE-BX
• In the mid-nineties, Ethernet was standardized at 100Mbps.
• The original MAC protocol and frame format were preserved,

100 Mbps Ethernet is limited to a 100 meter distance over
twisted pair, and several kilometers over fiber.
*The T stands for twisted pair, the FX, SX, and BX for fiber.
Gigabit and 10 Gbps Ethernet
• Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE

802.3z) is backwardly
compatible with 10BASE-
T/100BASE-T technologies
and uses the same frame
format.
• Allows for point-to-point
links (switches) as well as
shared broadcast channels
(hubs).
• Uses CSMA/CD for shared
broadcast channels. Max
distances restricted for
acceptable efficiency.
Which brings us back to

switches
• The switch is transparent to the nodes; a node addresses and
sends a frame into the LAN unaware that a switch will be
doing the dirty work.
LANs with switches are good
1. Switches permit interdepartmental communication while
preserving isolated collision domains.
2. Switches can interconnect different LAN technologies, including
10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, Cat 5, and fiber Ethernets.
3. There is no limit to how large a LAN can grow when switches are
used.
Switches filtering and forwarding
Filtering
The ability to determine
whether a frame should be
forwarded to some interface
or simply dropped.
Forwarding
The ability to determine the
interface to which a frame
should be forwarded, and
then to get it there.
Switch tables
Filtering & forwarding with switch tables
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF BB-BB-BB-BB-BB-BB
6 1 2
Frame arrives with
destination address
3 DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-
5 4 DD*.
EE-EE-EE-EE-EE-EE CC-CC-CC-CC-CC-CC
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD
*But there is no entry in the table for DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD.

No entry in the switches ARP table
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
Switch forwards copies

6 1 2
to all interfaces except
the one on which it
arrived (2)*
5 4 3
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD
*In other words, it broadcasts it.
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
6 1 2
Frame arrives with
destination address
3 DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-
5 4 DD*.
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD
*And this time there is an entry in the table for DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD (4).
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
6 1 2
5 4 3
Off you go then
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
6 1 2
Frame arrives with
destination address
3 DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-
5 4 DD*.
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD
*And this time there is an entry in the table for DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD,

but the entry is 4.
AA-AA-AA-AA-AA-AA
6 1 2
5 4 3
This one is
easiest of
DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD all. Do
nothing.
*Hold on, how realistic is that?
Frame addressed to 62-FE-F7-11-

89-A3 arrives at interface 1
Frame addressed to 62-FE-F7-11-
89-A3 arrives at interface 2
Frame arrives with source address

10-23-34-45-56 on interface 2
But that address isn’t in the switch table
• Switches are self-learning;

they build their tables are
built automatically.
• For each frame received,
the switch stores in its table
1. The LAN address in the
frame’s source field;
2. The interface from which
the frame arrived;
3. The current time.
Address 10-23-34-45-56 is entered with

interface 2
01-12-23-34-45-56 2 9:39
Summary comparison
hubs switches routers
traffic no yes yes

isolation
plug & play yes yes no
optimal no no yes
routing
Virtual Networks
Problems with the institutional network
Group traffic is
localized to a single
switch, but
broadcast traffic is
not Limiting the scope
of such broadcast
traffic would
improve LAN
performance*.
*Not to mention security/privacy reasons.
Inefficient use of switches and

managing users
More, smaller
groups would
require more
(under-utilized)
switches Employees moving
between groups
would require
physical cabling
changes*
*And what do we do about an employee that belongs to two groups?

Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)
• Switches that support

VLANs allow multiple virtual 1 7 9 15
local area networks over a 2 8 10 16
single physical LAN.

• Switch's ports are divided … …
into VLAN groups, each Electrical Engineering Computer Science
forming its own broadcast (VLAN ports 1-8) (VLAN ports 9-15)
domain.*
• VLANs solve all three of the
previously mentioned 1 7 9 15
problems.
2 8 10 16
• But now we have a new

problem: How can traffic … …
from EE be sent to CS? Electrical Engineering Computer Science
(VLAN ports 1-8) (VLAN ports 9-16)
*That is, broadcast traffic from one port can only reach other ports in the group.
Hybrid router/switches
• One way to connect EE

router
and CS is to connect a
VLAN switch port to an
external router and
configure that port to
belong to both EE and 1 7 9 15
CS. 2 8 10 16
• To make Tim Cantin's … …

life easier, vendors Electrical Engineering Computer Science
provide single devices (VLAN ports 1-8) (VLAN ports 9-15)
that contain both a

VLAN switch and a
router.
Okay, here's another problem for Tim
Suppose now some

EE and CS faculty
are housed in
... and they still
separate buildings
would like to be
part of the
department's
VLAN.
Well, we could ...
Define a port belonging to the CS VLAN on

each switch and connect these ports to each
other.
And do the same for ports

belonging to the EE VLAN
*But this approach doesn’t scale.

VLAN trunking
Special ports on each switch are

configured as a trunk ports to
interconnect the two VLAN
switches.
1 7 9 15 1 3 5 7
2 8 10 16 2 4 6 8
… …
Electrical Engineering Computer Science Ports 2,3,5 belong to EE VLAN
(VLAN ports 1-8) (VLAN ports 9-15) Ports 4,6,7,8 belong to CS VLAN
*Fair enough, but how does a switch know that a frame arriving on a trunk port
belongs to a particular VLAN?
IEEE 802.1Q*
Type
802.1 frame
802.1Q frame
2-byte Tag Protocol Identifier Recomputed

(value: 81-00)
CRC
Tag Control Information (12 bit VLAN ID field,

3 bit priority field like IP TOS)
*An extended format designed for frames crossing a VLAN trunk.

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Wellesley College – Fall 2020

CS242 – Computer Networks

The Link Layer

• They don’t recognize network-layer datagram or addresses and don’t

*Media Access Control

• How is this possible? MAC

• A slaptop has the

*Such as 802.11 or the old fashion Ethernet LANs.

MAC Broadcast address

• Sometimes the sending

Question: how to determine

ARP protocol: same LAN

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

Addressing: routing to another LAN

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

MAC src: 74-29-9C-E8-FF-55

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

Addressing: routing to another LAN

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

Addressing: routing to another LAN

111.111.111.112 111.111.111.110 222.222.222.221

• A topology that lingered on into the mid-nineties.

By the late 1990s ...

• ... the bus LANs had been

• Most hubs also gather information and report

In the early 2000s ...

• A switch is a collision-less, store-and-forward

Ethernet frame type

Ethernet frame structure (more)

• Type: indicates higher layer protocol (mostly IP but others

• CRC: cyclic redundancy check at receiver

• Hosts can use multiple

What could possible go wrong?

• Causes of errors include

• Similarly, the service is

Ethernet and Switches

• Many of these have

10BASE-2 and 10BASE-5 Ethernet

• Longer runs could be obtained by using repeaters, physical-layer devices to

• Nodes are connected

• The original MAC protocol and frame format were preserved,

• Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE

Which brings us back to

Switches filtering and forwarding

Filtering & forwarding with switch tables

*But there is no entry in the table for DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD.

Switch forwards copies

*In other words, it broadcasts it.

Filtering & forwarding with switch tables

Off you go then

Filtering & forwarding with switch tables

*And this time there is an entry in the table for DD-DD-DD-DD-DD-DD,

Frame addressed to 62-FE-F7-11-

Frame arrives with source address

• Switches are self-learning;

Address 10-23-34-45-56 is entered with

hubs switches routers

traffic no yes yes

*Not to mention security/privacy reasons.

Inefficient use of switches and

*And what do we do about an employee that belongs to two groups?

• Switches that support