Networking Fundamentals
Networking Fundamentals
Networking Fundamentals
Network
Fundamentals
1
Passport / Mike Meyers CompTIA Network+ Certification Passport / Michael Meyers / 178905-7 /
Chapter 1
ITINERARY
Link/Network Interface
Internet
Transport
Application
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Its important to appreciate that the TCP/IP model doesnt have a standards
body to define the layers. Because of this, there are a surprising number of varia-
tions on the TCP/IP model. Some even have it as five layers rather than four!
A great example of this lack of standardization is the Link layer. Without a
standardizing body, we cant even agree on the name. While Link layer is ex-
tremely common, the termNetwork Interface layeris equally popular. Agood
tech knows both of these terms and understands that they are interchangeable.
Notice also that, unlike the OSI model, the TCP/IP model does not identify each
layer with a number.
CompTIA has chosen one popular version of the TCP/IP model for the
CompTIA Network+ competencies and exam. Thats the version youll learn
right here. Its concise, having only four layers, and many important companies,
like Cisco and Microsoft, use it, although with a few variations in names as just
described. The TCP/IP model gives each protocol in the TCP/IP protocol suite a
clear home in one of the four layers.
The clarity of the TCP/IP model shows the flaws in the OSI model. The OSI
model couldnt perfectly describe all the TCP/IP protocols. The TCP/IP model
fixes this ambiguity, at least for TCP/IP.
The Link Layer
The TCP/IPmodel lumps together the OSI models layer 1 and layer 2 into a sin-
gle layer called the Link layer (or Network Interface layer).
A nice way to separate layers in the TCP/IP model is to think about packets
and frames. Any part of the network that deals with complete frames is in the
Link layer. The moment the frame information is stripped away from an IP
packet, we move out of the Link layer and into the Internet layer.
Travel Advisory
At the Link layer, just about every network tech reverts back to the OSI model for
troubleshooting. Its important to distinguish between problems
happening at the Physical layer, with cabling, for example, and
problems that reflect the Data Link layer, with switches and MAC
addresses. Thats why accomplished techs know both models!
The Internet Layer
The Internet layer should really be called the IP packet layer. Any device or
protocol that deals with pure IP packetsgetting an IP packet to its
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destinationsits in the Internet layer. IP addressing itself is also part of the
Internet layer, as are routers and the magic they perform to get IP packets to the
next router. IP packets are created at this layer.
The Transport Layer
The Transport layer combines features of the OSI Transport and Session layers
with a dash of Application layer just for flavor. While the TCP/IP model is cer-
tainly involved with the assembly and disassembly of data, it also defines other
functions, such as connection-oriented and connectionless communication.
Connection-oriented vs. Connectionless
Communication
Some protocols, like the popular Post Office Protocol (POP) used for sending
e-mail messages, require that the e-mail client and server verify that they have a
good connection before a message is sent (Figure 1.14). This makes sense because
you dont want your e-mail message to be a corrupted mess when it arrives.
Alternatively, a number of TCP/IP protocols simply send data without first
waiting to verify that the receiving system is ready (Figure 1.15). When using
Voice over IP (VoIP), for example, the call is made without verifying first
whether another device is there.
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FIGURE 1.14 Connection between e-mail client and server
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The connection-oriented protocol is called Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP). The connectionless protocol is called User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
Travel Assistance
Chapter 5 covers TCP, UDP, and all sorts of other protocols in detail.
Everything you can do on the Internet, from web browsing to Skype phone
calls to playing World of Warcraft, is predetermined to be either connection-
oriented or connectionless.
Segments Within Packets and Datagrams Within
Packets
To see the Transport layer in action, strip away the IP addresses from an IP
packet. Whats left is a chunk of data in yet another container called a TCP
segment or a UDP datagram.
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FIGURE 1.15 Connectionless communication
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TCP segments have many fields that ensure the data gets to its destination in
good order. These fields have names such as Checksum, Flags, and Acknowl-
edgement. Chapter 5 goes into more detail on TCP segments, but for now, just
know that TCP segments have fields that ensure the connection-oriented com-
munication works properly. Figure 1.16 shows a typical (although simplified)
TCP segment.
Data comes from the Application-layer applications. The Transport layer
breaks that data into chunks, adding port numbers and sequence numbers, cre-
ating the TCP segment. The Transport layer then hands the TCP segment to the
Internet layer that, in turn, creates the IP packet, which encapsulates the
segment.
UDP also gets data from the Application-layer programs and adds port and
sequencing numbers to create a container called a UDP datagram. A UDP
datagram lacks most of the extra fields found in TCP segments, simply because
UDP doesnt care if the receiving computer gets its data. Figure 1.17 shows a
UDP datagram.
Just like with TCP segments, when the Transport layer hands the UDP
datagram to the Internet layer, it in turn creates the IP packet, which encapsu-
lates the datagram.
The Application Layer
The TCP/IP Application layer combines features of the top three layers of the
OSI model (Figure 1.18). Every application, especially connection-oriented ap-
plications, must know how to initiate, control, and disconnect from a remote
system. No single method exists for doing this. Each TCP/IP application uses its
own method.
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FIGURE 1.16 TCP segment
FIGURE 1.17 UDP datagram
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TCP/IP uses a unique port-numbering system that gives each application
a unique number between 1 and 65,535. Some of these port numbers are very
well known. The protocol that makes webpages work, HTTP, uses port 80, for
example.
Although we can say that the OSI models Presentation layer fits inside the
TCP/IP models Application layer, no application requires any particular form
of presentation as seen in the OSI model. Standard formats are part and parcel
with TCP/IP protocols. For example, all e-mail messages use an extremely strict
format called Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME). All e-mail servers
and clients read MIME without exception.
In the OSI model, we describe the Application Programming Interface
(API)the smarts that make applications network awareas being part of the
Application layer. While this is still true for the TCP/IP model, all applications
designed for TCP/IP are, by definition, network aware. There is no such thing as
a TCP/IP word processor or a TCP/IP image editor that requires the added
ability to knowhowto talk to a networkall TCP/IPapplications can talk to the
network, as long as they are part of a network. Thats because they work directly
with the APIs at the Application layer to send and receive data.
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FIGURE 1.18 TCP/IP Application layer compared to OSI layers 57
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CHECKPOINT
Objective 1.01: Overview of How Networks Work The most obvious pieces
of network hardware are the computers on the network. These are divided
into client and server systems unless they are desktop systems that are shar-
ing resources, in which case they are known as peer-to-peer systems. Corpo-
rate networks generally use dedicated servers because they offer higher
performance, greater stability, and better security than peer-to-peer options.
Your network wont be complete without some mediasuch as copper wir-
ing, fiber optics, wireless, or infraredto interconnect your systems, as well
as a network interface card (NIC) to connect your system to the media.
Other devices on the networksuch as switches and routersenable you to
expand the system locally or to other sites.
Objective 1.02: The OSI Seven-Layer Model The OSI seven-layer model
describes how data flows from one networked system to anotherits a the-
oretical model into which many of the standards, components, and func-
tions of a network fit. The model promotes the use of recognized network
standards and helps ensure compatibility between network hardware and
software from different manufacturers.
Objective 1.03: The TCP/IP Model The TCP/IP model describes how data
flows from one networked system to another, specifically for TCP/IP net-
works. Every TCP/IP protocol and application fits into one of the four layers
in the model, making the TCP/IP model ideal for troubleshooting modern
networks.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What name is given to a network in which computers act as both
clients and servers?
A. A multitasking network
B. A mainframe network
C. A peer-to-peer network
D. A LAN network
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2. What standard defines the hardware technology of modern LANs?
A. ARPANET
B. Ethernet
C. OSI
D. TCP/IP
3. Which device is being used if frames are repeated down every attached
Ethernet cable?
A. Modem
B. Switch
C. Frame
D. Hub
4. What device enables LANs to connect and direct packets to the correct
LAN?
A. Hub
B. Frame
C. Router
D. Switch
5. A protocol operating at which layer of the OSI model is responsible for
logical addressing and routing?
A. Transport
B. Network
C. Session
D. Application
6. A protocol operating at which layer of the OSI model handles the
formatting of data so upper or lower layers can work with them
further?
A. Application
B. Presentation
C. Session
D. Transport
7. Layer 3 is the __________ layer of the OSI model.
A. Session
B. Application
C. Data Link
D. Network
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8. At which layer of the TCP/IP model are UDP datagrams created?
A. Link/Network Interface
B. Internet
C. Transport
D. Application
9. Which type of communication requires the client and server to
acknowledge the transmission?
A. ACK request
B. Connectionless
C. Connection-oriented
D. Session
10. At which layer of the TCP/IP model do cables fit?
A. Link/Network Interface
B. Internet
C. Transport
D. Application
REVIEW ANSWERS
1. C A network with computers acting as both clients and servers is a
peer-to-peer network.
2. B Ethernet is the standard.
3. D A hub repeats frames down every attached network cable.
4. C A router connects LANs and directs packets to the correct LAN.
5. B A protocol operating at the Network layer provides addressing and
routing functions.
6. B A protocol operating at the Presentation layer handles the
formatting of data (among other functions).
7. D Layer 3 of the OSI model is the Network layer.
8. C Data is divided into chunks at the Transport layer and then
bundled into UDP datagrams or TCP segments, depending on which
protocol is used.
9. C Connection-oriented communication requires the client and
server to acknowledge the transmission.
10. A Cabling is in the Link/Network Interface layer of the TCP/IP model.
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