Chapter 1

Introduction
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All material copyright 1996-2012
J.F Kurose and K.W. Ross, All Rights Reserved

Computer
Networking: A
Top Down
Approach

6th edition
Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
Addison-Wesley
March 2012

Introduction 1-1

Chapter 1: introduction
overview:
our goal:
whats the Internet?
get feel and
whats a protocol?
terminology
network edge; hosts, access
more depth, detail
net, physical media
later in course
network core: packet/circuit
approach:
switching, Internet structure
performance: loss, delay,
use Internet as
throughput
example

security
protocol layers, service models
history

Introduction 1-2

Chapter 1: roadmap
1.1 what is the Internet?
1.2 network edge
end systems, access networks, links
1.3 network core
packet switching, circuit switching, network
structure

1.4 delay, loss, throughput in networks

1.5 protocol layers, service models
1.6 networks under attack: security

Introduction 1-3

Whats the Internet: nuts and bolts view

PC

millions

of connected
computing devices:
hosts = end systems
running network apps

server
wireless
laptop
smartphone

communication
wireless
links
wired
links

links

global ISP

home
network

fiber, copper, radio,

satellite
transmission rate:
bandwidth

Packet
router

mobile network

switches: forward
packets (chunks of data)

routers and switches

regional ISP

institutional
network

Introduction 1-4

Fun internet appliances

Web-enabled toaster +
weather forecaster
IP picture frame
http://www.ceiva.com/

Tweet-a-watt:
monitor energy use

Slingbox: watch,
control cable TV remotely
Internet
refrigerator

Internet phones
Introduction 1-5

Whats the Internet: nuts and bolts view

Internet: network of
networks

mobile network

global ISP

Interconnected ISPs

protocols control sending,

receiving of msgs
e.g., TCP, IP, HTTP, Skype,
802.11

home
network

regional ISP

Internet standards
RFC: Request for comments
IETF: Internet Engineering Task
Force
IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standard
Committee
institutional
network

Introduction 1-6

Whats the Internet: a service view

mobile network

Infrastructure that provides

services to applications:

global ISP

Web, VoIP, email, games, ecommerce, social nets,

provides programming
interface to apps

home
network

hooks that allow sending and

receiving app programs to
connect to Internet
provides service options,
analogous to postal service

regional ISP

institutional
network
Introduction 1-7

Whats a protocol?
human protocols:

whats the time?

I have a question
introductions

specific msgs sent

specific actions taken
when msgs received,
or other events

network protocols:

machines rather than

humans
all communication
activity in Internet
governed by protocols

protocols define format, order

of msgs sent and received
among network entities, and
actions taken on msg
transmission, receipt
Introduction 1-8

Whats a protocol?
a human protocol and a computer network protocol:

Hi

TCP connection
request

Hi

TCP connection
response

Got the
time?

Get http://www.awl.com/kurose-ross

2:00

<file>
time

Q: other human
protocols?

Introduction 1-9

Chapter 1: roadmap
1.1 what is the Internet?
1.2 network edge
end systems, access networks, links
1.3 network core
packet switching, circuit switching, network
structure

1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7

delay, loss, throughput in networks

protocol layers, service models
networks under attack: security
history

Introduction 1-10

A closer look at network structure:

network edge:

mobile network

hosts: clients and servers

servers often in data centers

access networks,
physical media:
wired, wireless
communication links

global ISP

home
network

regional ISP

network core:
interconnected

routers
network of networks

institutional
network

Introduction 1-11

Access networks and physical media

Q: How to connect end
systems to edge
router?

residential access nets

institutional access
networks (school,
company)
mobile access networks

keep in mind:

bandwidth (bits per

second) of access
network?
shared or dedicated?

Introduction 1-12

Access net: digital subscriber line (DSL)

central office

DSL
splitter
modem

voice, data transmitted

at different frequencies over
dedicated line to central office

telephone
network

DSLAM

ISP
DSL access
multiplexer

use existing telephone line to central office DSLAM

data over DSL phone line goes to Internet
voice over DSL phone line goes to telephone net (0-4 kHz)
< 2.5 Mbps upstream transmission rate (typically < 1 Mbps / 4-50kHz)
< 24 Mbps downstream transmission rate (typically < 10 Mbps / 50 kHz 1 MHz)
Introduction 1-13

Access net: cable network

cable headend

cable splitter
modem

V
I
D
E
O

V
I
D
E
O

V
I
D
E
O

V
I
D
E
O

V
I
D
E
O

V
I
D
E
O

D
A
T
A

D
A
T
A

C
O
N
T
R
O
L

Channels

frequency division multiplexing:

different channels transmitted
in different frequency bands

Introduction 1-14

Access net: cable network

cable headend

cable splitter
modem

data, TV transmitted at different

frequencies over shared cable
distribution network

CMTS

cable modem
termination system

ISP

HFC: hybrid fiber coax

asymmetric: up to 42,8 Mbps downstream transmission rate,
30,7 Mbps upstream transmission rate

network of cable, fiber attaches homes to ISP router

homes share access network to cable headend
unlike DSL, which has dedicated access to central office
Introduction 1-15

Access net: FTTH

split ottico

ONT
ONT

central office
ONT

OLT

Pon (passive Optical Network)

FTTH: Fiber To The Home

- an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) or switch at the Headend or Central

Office- it converts incoming traffic into laser pulses and sends them down the
fiber
- an Optical Network Terminal (ONT), media converter, or gateway in the home
-it converts the signals from light to electrical signals

Introduction 1-16

Access net: home network

wireless
devices

to/from headend or
central office
often combined
in single box

cable or DSL modem

wireless access
point (54 Mbps)

router, firewall, NAT

wired Ethernet (100 Mbps)

Introduction 1-17

Enterprise access networks (Ethernet)

institutional link to
ISP (Internet)
institutional router
Ethernet
switch

institutional mail,
web servers

typically used in companies, universities, etc

10 Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps, 10Gbps transmission rates

today, end systems typically connect into Ethernet switch

Introduction 1-18

Wireless access networks

shared wireless access network connects end system to

router
via base station aka access point

wireless LANs:
within building (100 ft)
802.11b/g (WiFi): 11, 54
Mbps transmission rate

wide-area wireless access

provided by telco (cellular)
operator, 10s km
between 1 and 10 Mbps
3G, 4G: LTE

to Internet
to Internet
Introduction 1-19

Host: sends packets of data

host sending function:
takes application message
breaks into smaller chunks,
known as packets, of length L
bits
transmits packet into access
network at transmission rate R

two packets,
L bits each

link transmission rate,

aka link capacity, aka
link bandwidth

2 1

R: link transmission rate

host

packet
transmission
delay

time needed to
transmit L-bit
packet into link

L (bits)
R (bits/sec)
1-20

Physical media

bit: propagates between

transmitter/receiver pairs
physical link: what lies
between transmitter &
receiver
guided media:
signals propagate in
solid media: copper,
fiber, coax
unguided media:
signals propagate freely,
e.g., radio

twisted pair (TP)

two insulated copper
wires

Category 5: 100 Mbps, 1

Gpbs Ethernet
Category 6: 10Gbps

Introduction 1-21

Physical media: coax, fiber

coaxial cable:

two concentric copper

conductors
bidirectional
broadband:
multiple channels on
cable
HFC

fiber optic cable:

glass fiber carrying light

pulses, each pulse a bit
high-speed operation:
high-speed point-to-point
transmission (e.g., 10s-100s
Gpbs transmission rate)

low error rate:

repeaters spaced far apart
immune to electromagnetic noise

Introduction 1-22

Physical media: radio

signal carried in
electromagnetic
spectrum
no physical wire
bidirectional
propagation
environment effects:
reflection
obstruction by objects
interference

radio link types:

terrestrial microwave
e.g. up to 45 Mbps channels

LAN (e.g., WiFi)

11Mbps, 54 Mbps

wide-area (e.g., cellular)

3G cellular: ~ few Mbps

satellite
Kbps to 45Mbps channel (or
multiple smaller channels)
270 msec end-end delay
geosynchronous versus low
altitude

Introduction 1-23

Chapter 1: roadmap
1.1 what is the Internet?
1.2 network edge
end systems, access networks, links
1.3 network core
packet switching, circuit switching, network
structure

1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7

delay, loss, throughput in networks

protocol layers, service models
networks under attack: security
history

Introduction 1-24

The network core

mesh of
interconnected routers
packet-switching:
hosts break
application-layer
messages into packets
forward packets from
one router to the next,
across links on path
from source to
destination
each packet transmitted
at full link capacity
Introduction 1-25

Packet-switching: store-and-forward

L bits
per packet
source

32 1

R bps

takes L/R seconds to transmit

(push out) L-bit packet into link
at R bps
store and forward: entire
packet must arrive at router
before it can be transmitted on
next link

R bps

destination

one-hop numerical
example:
L = 7.5 Mbits
R = 1.5 Mbps
one-hop transmission
delay = 5 sec

end-end delay = 2L/R (assuming zero

propagation delay)
Introduction 1-26

Packet Switching: queueing delay, loss

C

R = 100 Mb/s

A
B

R = 1.5 Mb/s

D
E

queue of packets
waiting for output link

queuing and loss:

If arrival rate (in bits) to link exceeds

transmission rate of link for a period of time:
packets will queue, wait to be transmitted on link
packets can be dropped (lost) if memory (buffer)
fills up
Introduction 1-27

Two key network-core functions

routing: determines

source-destination route
taken by packets
routing algorithms

forwarding: move

packets from routers input

to appropriate router output

routing algorithm

local forwarding table

header value
0100
0101
0111
1001

output link

3
2
2
1

3 2
1
01

dest address in arriving

packets header

Network Layer 4-28

Alternative core: circuit switching

end-end resources allocated to,
reserved for call between
source & dest:

In diagram, each link has four

circuits.
call gets 2nd circuit in top link and
1st circuit in right link.
dedicated resources: no sharing
circuit-like (guaranteed)
performance
circuit segment idle if not used by
call (no sharing)
Commonly used in traditional
telephone networks

Introduction 1-29

Circuit switching: FDM versus TDM

Example:
FDM

4 users

frequency

time

TDM

frequency

time
Introduction 1-30

Packet switching versus circuit switching

packet switching allows more users to use network!
example:
1 Mb/s link
each user:
100 kb/s when active
active 10% of time

N
users
1 Mbps link

circuit-switching:

10 users
packet

switching:

with 35 users, probability > 10

active at same time is less
than .0004 *

Introduction 1-31

Packet switching versus circuit switching

is packet switching a slam dunk winner?

great for bursty data

resource sharing
simpler, no call setup
excessive congestion possible: packet delay and loss
protocols needed for reliable data transfer, congestion
control
Q: How to provide circuit-like behavior?
bandwidth guarantees needed for audio/video apps
still an unsolved problem

Q: human analogies of reserved resources (circuit

switching) versus on-demand allocation (packet-switching)?
Introduction 1-32

Internet structure: network of networks

End systems connect to Internet via access ISPs

(Internet Service Providers)
Residential, company and university ISPs

Access ISPs in turn must be interconnected.

Resulting network of networks is very complex

So that any two hosts can send packets to each

other
Evolution was driven by economics and national
policies

Lets take a stepwise approach to describe

current Internet structure

Internet structure: network of networks

Question: given millions of access ISPs, how to connect them
together?

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

Option: connect each access ISP to every other access ISP?

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

connecting each access ISP

to each other directly doesnt
scale: O(N2) connections.

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

Option: connect each access ISP to a global transit
ISP? Customer and provider ISPs have economic
agreement.
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

global
ISP

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

But if one global ISP is viable business, there will be
competitors .
access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net
access
net

access
net

ISP A

access
net

ISP C
access
net
access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

ISP B

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

But if one global ISP is viable business, there will be
competitors . which must be interconnected
access
net

Internet exchange point

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

IXP

access
net

access
net

ISP A

IXP

access
net

ISP C
access
net

peering link

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

ISP B

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

and regional networks may arise to connect
access nets to ISPS
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

IXP

access
net

access
net

ISP A

IXP

access
net

ISP C
access
net

regional net

access
net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

ISP B

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

and content provider networks (e.g., Google,
Microsoft, Akamai ) may run their own network, to
bring services, content close to end users
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net
access
net

IXP

access
net

ISP A

IXP

access
net

Content provider network

access
net

ISP B

ISP B

access
net

access
net

regional net
access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

access
net

Internet structure: network of networks

Tier 1 ISP

Tier 1 ISP

IXP

IXP
Regional ISP

access
ISP

access
ISP

Google

access
ISP

IXP

Regional ISP

access
ISP

access
ISP

access
ISP

access
ISP

access
ISP

at center: small # of well-connected large networks

tier-1 commercial ISPs (e.g., Level 3, Sprint, AT&T, NTT), national &
international coverage
content provider network (e.g, Google): private network that connects it
data centers to Internet, often bypassing tier-1, regional ISPs
Introduction 1-41

Tier-1 ISP: e.g., Sprint

POP: point-of-presence

to/from backbone
peering

to/from customers

Introduction 1-42