Local Area Networks

Y. C. Chen

Department of Computer Science

and Information Engineering
Spring 2005
 1. Overview
2. Data Link Layer
3. Medium Access Control of LANs
4. Physical Layer
5. Metropolitan Area Networks
6. Personal Area Networks
7. Quality of Services
8. Security
9. Applications

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 2

Overview
Traditionally, communications networks can be viewed in 3 categories:

 Wide Area Networks (WANs), which span a very large geographical area,
such as from city to city or across countries and oceans. WANs are
usually operated by transmission service providers.
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), which span a large area such as a
city, or company sites in different locations within the same city. MANs
are usually operated by organizations.
 Local Area Networks (LANs), which span a limited area such as a
company complex, a building, a campus, or even a small office. LANs are
usually operated by a single organization.

In recent years, the so-called Personal Area Networks (PANs) become

more and more popular. This is due to the advance in home broadband
access so that multiple stations and peripherals form a small network in a
single residential home. Topics regarding LANs, MANs and PANs will be
discussed in the class.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 3
Local Area Networks (LANs)

Local Area Networks are privately-owned networks within a small area,

usually a single building or campus of up to a few kilometers. Since it is
restricted in size, that means their data transmission time can be known in
advance, and the network management would be easier.

LAN characteristics are determined by

 Topologies
 MAC (Medium Access Control)
 Transmission media
 Size of coverage

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 4

Motivations for
Local Area Networking
Local area networks are usually privately owned with limited
coverage, this means that the underlying network technologies
and network services may be freely selected. This leads to
network architectures markedly different from those of Wide Area
Networks.
The growing demand for local area networks is due to technical,
economic and organizational factors:

 Cost reductions through sharing of information and databases,

resources and network services.
 Increased information exchange between different departments in an
organization, or between individuals.
 The trend to automate communication and manufacturing process.
 Improve the community security.
 Increasing number and variety of intelligent data terminals, PCs and
workstations.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 5
 Various Local Area Networks
A local area network is a small group of interconnected
workstations and associated devices that share the resources
within a small geographic area. Usually, a local area network may
serve as few as several users or many more.

The nowadays main local area network technologies are:

• Ethernet (Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10G Ethernet)
• Fiber Channel
• Hipper LAN
• Token ring
• ATM LAN
• FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)
• Wireless LAN
• ……..
There are also some other technologies such as 100VG, token bus,
ARCnet, but those are almost obsolete.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 6
LAN Approaches
There are two methods of networking computers together,
Peer-to-Peer, and Client-Server. The proper method to use
depends on the requirements.

 Peer-to-Peer Networking
It offers a quick way to tie all your resources and people together. Users
can access information from and share it directly with others in the
network. Users can easily share files and directories in a peer-to-peer
network.

 Client/Server Networking
Clients are connected to a centralized server. The server provides
centralized security, backup, and recover capability and controls access
to sensitive files and expensive peripherals. A dedicated server improves
data integrity, because the most current version of a document will be
saved in one location. This type of network requires a network operating
system.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 7
LAN Topologies
 Bus (Including Tree) – All the stations are attached to a common
medium, so there may be collision if two or more stations try to
transmit at the same time. Traditional Ethernet uses bus
topology.
 Ring – All the stations are attached to the same medium which
forms a ring structure, however, data from multiple stations may
be transmitted upon receiving a token (FDDI, Token Ring, RPR).
Ring networks suffer the complexity of token manipulation.
 Star – A switched Ethernet basically uses a star topology. It
becomes popular due to the fast growing bandwidth demand,
and both bus and ring topologies are hard to be scaled up in
bandwidth.
 Mesh – it connects stations in an arbitrary manner. Mesh
topology encounters some routing problems which are hard to be
accommodated.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 8
 LAN Topologies
Bus Topology

Example: Traditional Ethernet

Bus
Extender

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 9

 LAN Topologies
Hub/Tree (also the bus) Topology

Example: 100VG-AnyLAN

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 10

LAN Topologies
Ring Topology

 Each station attaches to the network via a repeater

 Data are transmitted in packets which contains source address
and destination address
 The station will copy the data destined to itself, and the source is
responsible for removing the data from the ring
 Media can be twisted pair, coaxial cable, or optical fiber

Examples: FDDI, Token ring

 
Repeater

Station  
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 11
LAN Topologies
Star Topology
 Digital Switch
 Digital PBX (Private Branch eXchange)
 Switched Ethernet
 Star Coupler
- Passive - Optical fiber, baseband coaxial
- Active - Twisted pair

Example: ATM LAN  

 
 
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 12
LAN Topologies
Mesh Topology

I B M相 容 型

I B M相 容 型

I B M相 容 型

I B M相 容 型

I B M相 容 型
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 13
LAN Topologies
Wireless LAN Topologies
Infrastructure
Fixed-wire replacement Ad hoc

PAU

PAU
10-20 m

Server

Portable-to-fixed 50-100 m
Spring 2005 Network Local Area Networks 14
LAN Interconnection
Traditional LAN interconnection devices
 Repeater – it operates at OSI layer 1 and transmits data bits over
a physical medium.
 Bridge – it operates at OSI layer 2 and is commonly used to
connect similar LAN segments.
 Switch – it operates at OSI layer 2 or layer 3 and is used to
interconnect multiple similar or dissimilar LANs.
 Router – it operates at OSI layer 3. A router is used to
interconnect individual networks whose sizes vary from very
small to very large. Routers may be categorized into backbone
router (or core router), border router and access router
depending on their role in the network.

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 15

Switched LAN
Example: Switched Ethernet
Switched Ethernet provides high performance, high bandwidth,
and flexibility required for today's LAN. Switches allow different nodes of a
network to communicate directly with each other in a smooth and efficient
manner, and provide a separate connection for each node in a
organization's internal network. Basically, a LAN switch creates a series of
instant networks that contain only the two devices communicating with
each other at that particular moment. Layer 2 switching provides the
dedicated bandwidth and network segmentation critical for directly
connecting users to the network, while Layer 3 provides for switching and
routing, maximizing speed, bandwidth, and flexibility in the network core
or aggregation points. There are three main techniques for Ethernet
switching:
 Store and Forward: Switch receives the full frame to it's memory and
then decides what to do with it.
 Cut Through: Switch makes the decision on re-transmission when it
has received the destination MAC address.
 Fragment Free (Modified Cut Through): Switch makes the decision
on re-transmission after it has received the first 64 bytes of the
frame.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 16
LAN Access Methods
 Broadcasting – In a broadcast LAN, transmitted information
will be received by all stations simultaneously. The medium
access schemes are random access such as CSMA/CD
which may cause contention, and controlled access such
as token-passing, in which no contention will occur.

 Switching – In a switched architecture, a switch forward

data packets to their destinations that may be a single user
station or another LAN segment.

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 17

 LAN Selections - Wired
Office automation
Universities/hospitals
Factory automation
Star Closed systems

Application
domains
ISO
Ring
Top
olo
gie IEEE
ds
s Standar
Bus
Wired LANM bodies
Hub/tree n ed NBS
i o iu
s
is a co m a ECMA EIA
sm di nt cc
Fiber optic r an me ro e
l ss
T
CSM
ial

Twisted pair A/CD

cable
Coax

Co
slo ed
Br

nt
Carrier band

ts
oa

ro
nd

Fix
db

l
a
eb

to
s a

ke
nd
Ba Headend

n
RF modem
Thin-wire Thick-wire CATV
EIA:
EIA:Electrical
ElectricalIndustries
IndustriesAssociation
Association(USA)
(USA)
Spring 2005 ECMA:
ECMA: European
European
Local Area Networks Computer
ComputerManufacturers
ManufacturersAssociation
Association
18
NBS:
NBS:National
NationalBureauBureauof ofStandards
Standards
LAN Selections - Wireless
Airports
Old buildings Warehouses On-off
keying
Hospitals Retail stores Pulse-position
Ad hoc modulation
Direct Multi-
Top Applications modulation
olo subcarrier
gie
s modulation
Infrastructure Transmission Carrier
Wireless LAN schemes modulation
Single-carrier
Spread

M
modulation

ed co
ia on

spectrum
rds

iu nt
ed si

m ro
m mis

da

ac l
ce
s

Stan

Direct Sequence
an

CDMA

ss
Tr

Radio CS
A MA Frequency hopping
M

CS
/ CD
FD TDMA

MA
/C
Infrared IEEE ETSI (Hipper LAN)

A
CDMA:
CDMA:Code CodeDivision
DivisionMultiple
MultipleAccess
Access ETSI:
ETSI:European
EuropeanTelecom.
Telecom.Standards
StandardsInstitute
Institute
CSMA/CD:
CSMA/CD: CSMA with Collision Detection FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access
Spring 2005 CSMA with Collision Detection FDMA: Frequency Division Multiple Access
Local Area Networks 19
CSMA/CA:
CSMA/CA: CSMA with Collision Avoidance TDMA:Time
CSMA with Collision Avoidance TDMA: TimeDivision
DivisionMultiple
MultipleAccess
Access
 IEEE LAN Standards

802.1 Higher Layer LAN Protocols

802 Executive Committee

802.2 Logical Link Control

802.10 LAN Security

Data
802.16 802.17 Link
802.3 802.4 802.5 802.6 802.9 802.11 802.12 802.15
MAC MAC
MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC MAC
Broad- Phy-
band sical
CSMA/ Token Token Isoc.
Wireless
CD Bus Ring DQDB LAN WLAN 100VG PAN Access RPR

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 20

IEEE LAN Standards
 802.1 Higher LAN Protocols
 802.2 Logical link control (LLC) (No Activity)
 802.3 CSMA/CD (Ethernet)
 802.4 Token Bus (No Activity)
 802.5 Token Ring (No Activity)
 802.6 Metropolitan area network (No Activity)
 802.7 Broadband technical advisory (No Activity)
 802.8 Fiber optic technical advisory (Obsolete)
 802.9 Integrated services LAN (No Activity)
 802.10 Interoperable LAN Security (No Activity)
 802.11 Wireless LAN
 802.12 100 VG-AnyLAN (No Activity)
 802.14 Cable-TV based broadband (Obsolete)
 802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network
 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access (WiMAX)
 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring (RPR)

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 21

Layers of LAN and OSI Model
OSI LAN
LAYERS LAYERS

Application

Presentation

Session

Transport Higher layers

Logical link control
Network (LLC)
Medium access control
Data link
(MAC)
Physical Physical (PHY)

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 22

Outline Structure of a LAN Station

Logical Link Control LLC

DTE
CSMA/CD Token Reserved MAC

Physical signaling PLS

AUI: Attachment Unit Interface
LLC: Logical Link Control P’
AUI
MAC: Medium Access Control
MAU: Medium Access Unit P’
PLS: Physical Signaling Broadband Baseband Fiber
MAU
PMA: Physical Medium Attachment
Physical Medium Attachment PMA

MDI

Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 23

 Layered Architecture
Regardless the mode of operation of the underlying MAC sublayer -
CSMA/CD, token ring, wireless - a standard set of user services is
defined for use by the LLC sublayer to transfer LLC PDUs to a
correspondent layer. These user service primitives are:
• MA_UNITDATA.request
• MA_UNITDATA.indication
• MA_UNITDATA.confirm
LLC layer MAC layer Peer LLC layer

MA_UNITDATA.request
MA_UNITDATA.indication
MA_UNITDATA.confirm

MA_UNITDATA.request
MA_UNITDATA.indication
MA_UNITDATA.confirm

For a CSMA/CD LAN, the confirm primitive indicates that the request has been
successfully (or not) transmitted, while for a token LAN it means that the request
has been successfully (or not) delivered.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 24
Layered Architecture
Each service primitive has its associated parameters.

Those parameters in the MA_UNIDATA.request primitive are

- the required destination address (individual, group or broadcast
address)
- a service data unit (LLC PDU),
- and the required class (i.e. priority) of service associated with the PDU.
The MA_UNIDATA.confirm primitive includes a parameter that specifies
the success or failure of the associated MA_UNIDATA.request primitive.
The confirm primitive is not generated as a result of a response from
the remote LLC sublayer, but rather by local MAC entity.
If the parameter indicates success, this simply shows that the MAC
protocol entity was successful in transmitting the service data unit into
the network medium.
If unsuccessful, the parameter indicates why the transmission attempts
failed. For example, ‘excessive collision’ is a typical failure parameter if it
is a CSMA/CD network.
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 25
 Layered Architecture
LLC/MAC sublayer interactions
LLC protocol is based on the high-level link control (HDLC) protocol, thus it supports
two types of user service: connectionless and connection-oriented. Almost all LAN
installations use connectionless protocol, therefore the only primitive used is
L_DATA.request, and all data is transferred using the unnumbered information (UI)
frame. Parameters used for this primitive are source/destination address and user
data ( network-layer protocol data unit;NPDU ).

Source DTE Destination DTE

Network LLC MAC layer MAC layer LLC Network

L_DATA.req
MA_UNITDATA.req
(NPDI) (UI)
MA_UNITDATA.ind
(UI)
L_DATA.ind
(NPDU)
Physical L_DATA.req
medium MA_UNITDATA.req
MA_UNITDATA.req (UI)
(NPDU)
L_DATA.ind (UI)
(NPDI)
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 26
Layered Architecture
Interlayer primitives and parameters
Network Network protocol entity
NPDU

L_DATA.request
DSAP+DA LLC
SSAP+SA
service
Service class
primitive
Length indicator
User data(NPDU)
LLC protocol
LLC entity
LLC PDU DSAP SSAP (NPDU)

MA_UNIDATA.req
DA MAC
Link SA service
Service class primitive
Length indicator
User data(LLC PDU)

MAC protocol
MAC entity
Preamble SFD DA SA LLC PDU FCS
Spring 2005 Local Area Networks 27
physical layer