Chapter 1 Part A

Data Communications
and
Networks Overview

1.1
 Syllabus

Chapter 1: Data Communications and Networking

●

Overview
Chapter 2: Data Communications Fundamental
Chapter 3: Characteristics of Data Communication
Networks
Chapter 4: Reliable Data Communications
Chapter 5: Multiple Access Networks
Chapter 6: Internetworking Protocols

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 1­1   DATA COMMUNICATIONS
The term telecommunication means communication at a
distance. The word data refers to information presented in
whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating and
using the data. Data communications are the exchange of
data between two devices via some form of transmission
medium such as a wire cable.

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Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication

What is data communications?

Exchange of data between two devices via a transmission
medium
Any transfer of data within a computer, between computer and
any other devices
Exchange of digitally encoded information between two Sides

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 Data Representation
Ø Text – represented as a bit pattern; codes often
used: ASCII; Extended ASCII; Unicode; ISO
Ø Numbers – represented by binary equivalent
Ø Images – bit patterns representing pixels
Ø Audio
Ø Video

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Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

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 1­2   NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network.

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 Categories of Network

Based on size, ownership, distance covered, and

physical architecture:
Ø Local Area Network (LAN) – smaller
geographical area
Ø Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) – network
extended over an entire city
Ø Wide Area Network (WAN) – large
geographical area

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Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

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Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

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Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

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Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

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Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

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Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

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Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

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 1­3   THE INTERNET

The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily

lives. It has affected the way we do business as well as the
way we spend our leisure time. The Internet is a
communication system that has brought a wealth of
information to our fingertips and organized it for our use.

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Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the Internet

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 1­4   PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS

In this section, we define two widely used terms: protocols

and standards. First, we define protocol, which is
synonymous with rule. Then we discuss standards, which
are agreed-upon rules.

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 Protocols and Standards

Why do we need Protocol and Standard?

Protocol – set of rules that govern data

communication; defines what, how, and when
(Key elements – syntax, semantics, timing)

Standard – provides a model for development;

allows for interoperability

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 Protocols
Ø When two computers across a network exchange data, procedures
involved can be quite complex.
Ø These computers cannot simply send bit streams to each other and
expect to be understood.
Ø There must be a high degree of cooperation between the two
computer systems.
Ø For communication to occur, the entities must agree on a protocol,
what is communicated, how it is communicated, and when it is
communicated

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 Key Elements of a Protocol
Ø Syntax
f1 f2 f3
Ø Format of the data blocks
Ø e.g. What are the fields, how many bits per field, etc.
Ø Semantics
Ø Control information for coordination & operation
Ø Defines functions of the fields, what does each field do?
Ø This include error handling information
Ø Timing
Ø Speed matching/synchronizing so that packets can be received properly
(especially to know where the protocol frame starts and ends)
Ø Sequencing so that frames or packets can be received in order
(especially for packet-based switching)

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 Basic Protocol Architecture
Ø Application Layer
Ø Support for different user applications
Ø e.g. e-mail, file transfer
Ø Transport Layer
Ø Reliable data exchange
Ø Independent of network being used
Ø Independent of application
Ø Network Access Layer
Ø Exchange of data between the computer and the network
Ø Sending computer provides address of destination so that data
can be routed
Ø May invoke levels of service e.g. priority
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Dependent on type of network used (Ethernet LAN, ATM, WLAN)
 Standards
Ø A set of agreed-upon rules/protocols which are essential in creating
and maintaining an open and competitive market for equipment
manufacturers and other service providers, also in guaranteeing
international interoperatibility of data and telecommunications
technology and processes
Ø Standard Organization:
Ø CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative
Committee in Europe [now ITU-T (International
Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication standardization
sector)]
Ø ISO – International Standards Organization

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 Standards
Ø Advantages
Ø Ensures a large market for equipment and software
Ø Allows products from different vendors to communicate
Ø Disadvantages
Ø Freeze technology
Ø May be multiple standards for the same thing

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 Chapter 1 Part B

Data Communications and

Networks Overview

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2­1   LAYERED TASKS

We use the concept of layers in our daily life.

As an example, let us consider two friends who
communicate through postal mail. The process
of sending a letter to a friend would be
complex if there were no services available
from the post office.

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Figure 2.1 Tasks involved in

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2­2   THE OSI MODEL
Established in 1947, the International
Standards Organization (ISO) is a multinational
body dedicated to worldwide agreement on
international standards. An ISO standard that
covers all aspects of network communications
is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
model. It was first introduced in the late

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 Motivation of OSI Model
Ø Provides a common set of convention, to make
communication among heterogeneous machines
possible.
Ø If functions of each layer are well-defined,
standards can be developed independently and
simultaneously for each layer – that means faster
standardization process.
Ø If the boundaries between layers are well-defined,
changes in standards in one layer need not affect
another layer – easier to introduce new standards
Ø the task of communication between applications
on different computer is too complex to be handle
as a unit. Problem can be decomposed into
manageable parts
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N
ote
ISO is the organization.
OSI is the model.

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Figure 2.2 Seven layers of the OSI
model

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Figure 2.3 The interaction between layers in the OSI
model
the same set of
layered functions must
exist in 2 systems
(transmitting and
receiving sides)
communication is
achieved by having
The corresponding
(peer) layers in 2
Systems
communicate

telecom networks
mainly concern
the lowest 3 layers

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Figure 2.4 An exchange using the OSI
model

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2­3   LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL
In this section we briefly describe the functions
of each layer in the OSI model.

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Figure 2.5 Physical
layer

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N
ote
The physical layer is responsible for movements of
individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.

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Figure 2.6 Data link
layer

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N
ote
The data link layer is responsible for moving
frames from one hop (node) to the next.

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Figure 2.7 Hop-to-hop
delivery

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Figure 2.8 Network
layer

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N
ote
The network layer is responsible for the
delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.

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Figure 2.9 Source-to-destination
delivery

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Figure 2.10 Transport
layer

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N
ote
The transport layer is responsible for the delivery
of a message from one process to another.

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Figure 2.11 Reliable process-to-process delivery of a
message

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Figure 2.12 Session
layer

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N
ote
The session layer is responsible for dialog
control and synchronization.

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Figure 2.13 Presentation
layer

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N
ote
The presentation layer is responsible for
translation, compression, and encryption.

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Figure 2.14 Application
layer

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N
ote
The application layer is responsible for
providing services to the user.

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Figure 2.15 Summary of
layers

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 Layer
Functions 7
of Each
Layer (Sum)

Layer
1.56 1
 The basic functions of each layer are
summarized below:
1. Physical- Concerned with transmission of raw bit stream over
physical medium; deals with mechanical, electrical, functional and
procedural properties of interfaces and physical medium
2. Link- Responsible for node-to-node validity and integrity of the
transmissions; send blocks of data [frames] with synchronization
3. Network- Provide upper layers with data transmission and
switching technologies used to connect systems; establishes the
route between sender and receiver
4. Transport- Provide end-to-end error recovery and flow control
5. Session- Provide coordination for communication between
applications; establishes, manages and terminates connections
between cooperating applications
6. Presentation- Manages the way data is represented to the
application processes from difference in data representation
7. Application- Defines the rules for applications to gain entrance
into the communication system
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2­4   TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
The layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not
exactly match those in the OSI model. The
original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as
having four layers: host-to-network, internet,
transport, and application. However, when
TCP/IP is compared to OSI, we can say that the
TCP/IP protocol suite is made of five layers:
physical, data link, network, transport, and

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 TCP/IP Model
Ø Everyone believed that the OSI model would become the
ultimate standard for computer communication before
1990, but this did not happen
Ø TCP/IP protocol suite became the dominant commercial
architecture because it was used and tested extensively
in the Internet, while the OSI model was never fully
implemented
Ø As TCP/IP was developed concurrently with the OSI
model, it does not contain specific protocols relating to
all the OSI layers
Ø The TCP/IP suite is made of five layers
Ø The three top-most layers in the OSI model are
represented by the applications layer
Ø The OSI model specifies functions associated with each
layer, whereas TCP/IP layers contain relatively
independent protocols that can be mixed and matched
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Figure 2.16 TCP/IP and OSI
model

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 TCP/IP Model

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 TCP/IP Model

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 TCP/IP Model
n Application Layer - contains a selection of application
protocols [e.g. FTP, SMTP, HTTP, SNMP and TELNET]

n Transport Layer - represented by 2 transport protocols:

i. TCP [Transmission Control Protocol]
ii. UDP [User Datagram Protocol]
- these are process-to-process protocols responsible
for delivery of a message from a process [running
program] to another process
- TCP provides a reliable connection-oriented service
- UDP provides an unrealiable connectionless service
by delivering the UDP datagrams on a best-effort basis
[when error correction is not needed or for a single short
request/response message exchange between two
application protocols]
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 TCP/IP Model
n Network Layer
- The main protocol is IP [Internet Protocol] and
other supporting protocols: ARP, ICMP and IGMP
- IP is an unreliable and connectionless
protocol - a best-effort delivery service, it does its
best to get a transmission through to its
destination
- IP transport data in packets called datagrams
[each=IP header + TCP or UDP packet] which
travel along different routes to destination
- IP is a host-to-host protocol, meaning that it
can only deliver a packet from one device to
another by routing across multiple networks
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 TCP/IP Model
n Data Link Layer
- also known as network access layer, and is
concerned with the exchange of data between an
end system and a network
- main functions are:
i. Framing IP datagrams into a stream of
bits
ii. Specifying the MAC [Medium Access
Control] methods to the networks
iii. Specifying MAC [hardware] and CRC in
the frame
- HDLC [High-level Data Link Control] and ARQ
[Automatic Repeat Request] are the two
important
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 TCP/IP Model
n Physical Layer
- defines the interface between devices and
transmission media [type of connectors], type of
media, transmission rate, type of encoding for
representing data bits in electrical or optical
signals, network topology, communication mode
[e.g. fullduplex service] and etc

n There are no specific protocols defined for the

lowest two layers
n Hence, they support all of the standard and
proprietary LAN or WAN protocols or technologies

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2­5   ADDRESSING

Four levels of addresses are used in an internet

employing the TCP/IP protocols: physical, logical,
port, and specific.

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Figure 2.17 Addresses in
TCP/IP

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Figure 2.18 Relationship of layers and addresses in
TCP/IP

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 Example
2.1
In Figure 2.19 a node with physical address 10
sends a frame to a node with physical address
87. The two nodes are connected by a link
(bus topology LAN). As the figure shows, the
computer with physical address 10 is the
sender, and the computer with physical
address 87 is the receiver.

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Figure 2.19 Physical
addresses

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 Example
2.2
Most local-area networks use a 48-bit (6-byte)
physical address written as 12 hexadecimal
digits; every byte (2 hexadecimal digits) is
separated by a colon, as shown below:

07:01:02:01:2C:4B
A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical
address.

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 Example
2.3

Figure 2.20 shows a part of an internet with

two routers connecting three LANs. Each
device (computer or router) has a pair of
addresses (logical and physical) for each
connection. In this case, each computer is
connected to only one link and therefore has
only one pair of addresses. Each router,
however, is connected to three networks (only
two are shown in the figure). So each router
has three pairs of addresses, one for each

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Figure 2.20 IP
addresses

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 Example
2.4
Figure 2.21 shows two computers
communicating via the Internet. The sending
computer is running three processes at this
time with port addresses a, b, and c. The
receiving computer is running two processes
at this time with port addresses j and k.
Process a in the sending computer needs to
communicate with process j in the receiving
computer. Note that although physical
addresses change from hop to hop, logical
and port addresses remain the same from the

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Figure 2.21 Port
addresses

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N
ote
The physical addresses will change from hop to
hop,
but the logical addresses usually remain the same.

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 Example
2.5
A port address is a 16-bit address represented
by one decimal number as shown.

753
A 16-bit port address represented
as one single number.

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N
ote
The physical addresses change from hop to hop,
but the logical and port addresses usually remain
the same.

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