UNIT- I

Data communication:

Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some
form of transmission medium such as a wire cable. For data communications to occur,
the communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a combination
of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).

Data communication refers to the exchange of data between a source and a receiver via form
of transmission media such as a wire cable. Data communication is said to be local if
communicating devices are in the same building or a similarly restricted geographical area.

The meanings of source and receiver are very simple. The device that transmits the data is
known as source and the device that receives the transmitted data is known as receiver. Data
communication aims at the transfer of data and maintenance of the data during the process but
not the actual generation of the information at the source and receiver.

Characteristics of data communication:

The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on following four fundamental

characteristics:

I. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by
the intended device or user and only by that device or user.

2. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

3. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in
the same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is
called real-time transmission.

4. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every
3D ms. If some of the packets arrive with 3D-ms delay and others with 4D-ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.

Components of a computer communication:

A Communication system has following components:

1. Message: It is the information or data to be communicated. It can consist of text, numbers,
pictures, sound or video or any combination of these.
2. Sender: It is the device/computer that generates and sends that message.
3. Receiver: It is the device or computer that receives the message. The location of receiver
computer is generally different from the sender computer. The distance between sender and
receiver depends upon the types of network used in between.
4. Medium: It is the channel or physical path through which the message is carried from sender
to the receiver. The medium can be wired like twisted pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable
or wireless like laser, radio waves, and microwaves.
5. Protocol: It is a set of rules that govern the communication between the devices. Both sender
and receiver follow same protocols to communicate with each other.

Data Representation:

Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.

Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or Is).
Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a
code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding. Today, the prevalent coding
system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any
language in the world.

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), developed some decades
ago in the United States, now constitutes the first 127 characters in Unicode and is also referred
to as Basic Latin.

Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used to
represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify
mathematical operations.

Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a
matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot.

The size of the pixel depends on the resolution. For example, an image can be divided into
1000 pixels or 10,000 pixels. In the second case, there is a better representation of the image
(better resolution), but more memory is needed to store the image.
After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size and the value
of the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of only black and white dots (e.g., a
chessboard), a I-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel.

If an image is not made of pure white and pure black pixels, you can increase the
size of the bit pattern to include gray scale. For example, to show four levels of gray scale, you
can use 2-bit patterns. A black pixel can be represented by 00, a dark gray pixel by 01, a light
gray pixel by 10, and a white pixel by 11.

There are several methods to represent color images. One method is called RGB,
so called because each color is made of a combination of three primary colors: red,
green, and blue. The intensity of each color is measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it.

Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature
different from text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even when we use a
microphone to change voice or music to an electric signal, we create a continuous signal.

Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be
produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images,
each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion. Again we can change video to a
digital or an analog signal.

Protocol: A protocol is a particular set of rules for having a conversation between two
computers to convey a specific set of information. It is an agreement between the
communicating parties on how the communication is to proceed. Violating the protocol will
make the communication more difficult. An example of protocol would be TCP/IP. The
specifics of the above would detail the addressing format, number of bits used, methods to
decide grouping, size of data chunks and more.

Standard: A standard (and in the networking arena, many protocols are standards) is a
document that specifies something that has the overwhelming support and agreement of the
standards making bodies. An example of standards would be 802 standards. One of them,
802.3u, lays down the specifications related to FastEthernet. So, if anyone were to design a
hardware or software related to FastEthernet, they would have to follow those specifications.
Some of the standards making organizations are given below:
  IEEE- Institute of Electrical, Electronics Engineers. Formed in 1962 by grouping
Institute of Radio Engineers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Standards
are designed and maintained by IEEE-SA (IEEE Standards Association)
 ANSI- American National Standard Institute- five societies are AIEE, ASME, ASCE,
AIME(mining), ASTM(testing & Material)
 ITU-International telecommunication Union
 ISO – International Organization for standards
 EIA – Electronic Industries Association
 ESTI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)- ETSI has been successful
in standardizing the Low Power Radio, Short Range Device, GSM cell phone system
and the TETRA professional mobile radio system.
 W3C-www consortium – formed on 18 Feb 2011

Protocol: It is a set of rules that govern the communication between the devices. Both sender
and receiver follow same protocols to communicate with each other.
It defines what is communicated, how it is communicated, and when it is communicated. The
key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics and timing
Syntax
It refers to the structure or format of the data. This refers the order in which the data are
presented.
Example
 The first 8 bits of data to be the address of the sender.
 The second 8 bits to be the address of the receiver.
 The rest of the stream may be the message itself

A protocol performs the following functions:

1. Data sequencing. It refers to breaking a long message into smaller packets of fixed size.
Data sequencing rules define the method of numbering packets to detect loss or duplication of
packets, and to correctly identify packets, which belong to same message.
2. Data routing. Data routing defines the most efficient path between the source and
destination.
3. Data formatting. Data formatting rules define which group of bits or characters within
packet constitute data, control, addressing, or other information.
4. Flow control. A communication protocol also prevents a fast sender from overwhelming a
slow receiver. It ensures resource sharing and protection against traffic congestion by
regulating the flow of data on communication lines.
5. Error control. These rules are designed to detect errors in messages and to ensure
transmission of correct messages. The most common method is to retransmit erroneous
message block. In such a case, a block having error is discarded by the receiver and is
retransmitted by the sender.
6. Precedence and order of transmission. These rules ensure that all the nodes get a chance
to use the communication lines and other resources of the network based on the priorities
assigned to them.
7. Connection establishment and termination. These rules define how connections are
established, maintained and terminated when two nodes of a network want to communicate
with each other.

8. Data security. Providing data security and privacy is also built into most communication
software packages. It prevents access of data by unauthorized users.
9. Log information. Several communication software are designed to develop log information,
which consists of all jobs and data communications tasks that have taken place. Such
information may be used for charging the users of the network based on their usage of the
network resources.

Types of Medium:
Medium can be classified into 2 categories.

1. Guided Media: Guided media means that signals is guided by the presence of physical
media i.e. signals are under control and remains in the physical wire. For example.
Copper wire.
2. Unguided Media: Unguided Media means that there is no physical path for the signal
to propagate. Unguided media are essentially electro-magnetic waves. There is no
control on flow of signal. For example. Radio waves.
Communication Links:
In a network nodes are connected through links. The communication through links can be
classified as
1. Simplex: Communication can take place only in one direction. eg. T.V broadcasting.
 2. Half-duplex: Communication can take place in one direction at a time. Suppose node
A and B are connected then half-duplex communication means that at a time data can
flow from A to B or from B to A but not simultaneously. eg. two persons talking to
each other such that when speaks the other listens and vice versa.
3. Full-duplex : Communication can take place simultaneously in both directions. eg. A
discussion in a group without discipline.

Links can be further classified as

1. Point to Point : In this communication only two nodes are connected to each other.
When a node sends a packet then it can be received only by the node on the other side
and none else.
2. Multipoint : It is a kind of sharing communication, in which signal can be received by
all nodes. This is also called broadcast.

Generally two kind of problems are associated in transmission of signals.

1. Attenuation : When a signal transmits in a network then the quality of signal degrades
as the signal travels longer distances in the wire. This is called attenuation. To improve
quality of signal amplifiers are used at regular distances.
2. Noise : In a communication channel many signals transmits simultaneously, certain
random signals are also present in the medium. Due to interference of these signals our
signal gets disrupted a bit.

Bandwidth:
Bandwidth simply means how many bits can be transmitted per second in the communication
channel. In technical terms it indicates the width of frequency spectrum.

Direction of data flow

Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex or full-duplex
1. Simplex
In simplex mode ,the communication is unidirectional. Only one of the devices on a link can
transmit; the other can only receive.
Figure. Simplex

Example: Keyboards and monitors.

The keyboard can only introduce input. The monitor can only accept output.

2. Half-duplex
In half-duplex mode ,each station can both transmit and receive but not at the same time. When
one device is sending ,the other can only receive.

Fig. Half Duplex

The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with two directional traffic. The entire capacity
of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time.

Ex. Walkie-talkies and CB(citizen band radios.

Full-duplex
In full-duplex mode ,both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. It is like a two-way
street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. Signals going in either direction
share the capacity of the link.
The full duplex is like a two –way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same
time. Signals going in either direction share the capacity of the link.
Ex. Telephone network
When two people are communicating by a telephone line ,both can listen and talk at the same
time.
figure. Full Duplex

Network:

An interconnected collection of autonomous computers” interconnected = able to exchange

information. A set of nodes connected by communication links. A node can be any device
capable of sending &/or receiving data to &/or from other nodes in the network
A connected collection of hardware and software that permits information exchange and
resource sharing.
information = data, text, audio, video, images, …
resources = printers, memory, link bandwidth

Uses of networks

 companies & organizations

 resource sharing: programs, equipment, data…
 high reliability: multiple processors/links/file copies/...
 scalability: gradually improve system performance
 rapid communications & remote cooperation
 saving money
 private individuals:
 access to remote & diverse information sources
 communicating with other people
 entertainment
 education, healthcare, access to government...

Distributed Processing
Networks use distributed processing which is termed as a task divided among multiple
computers. Instead of a single machine responsible for all aspects of a process, separate
computers handle a subset.
Performance
Performance can be measured by means of transit time, response time, number of users, type
of transmission medium, capabilities of the connected hardware and the efficiency of the
software. Transit time
The amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another.
Response time:: The elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.
Reliability: Reliability is read by the frequency of failure ,the time it takes a link to recover
from a failure. Security :Network security is protecting data from unauthorized access.

Type of connection:
There are two possible type of connections
1. Point-to-point
2. Multipoint
1. Point-to-point:
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire link is
reserved for transmission between those two devices.
Ex. Change of television channel by infrared remote control. A point-to-point connection is
established between the remote control and the televisions control system.
2. Multipoint:
A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more than two specific devices
share a single link. The capacity of the channel is shared either spatially or temporally.
Physical Topology
Physical Topology refers to the way in which network is laid out physically. Two or more links
form a topology. The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship
of all the links and the linking devices tone another.
The basic topologies are
1. Mesh
2. Star
3. Bus
4. Ring
1. Mesh
In a mesh topology each device has a dedicated point to point link to every other device. The
term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects.

A fully connected mash network therefore has n(n-1)/2 physical channels to link n devices. To
accommodate that many links every device on the network has (n-1) I/O ports.

Merits.

 Dedicated link guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load. This
eliminates the traffic problems that occur when links shared by multiple devices.
 If one link becomes unusable ,it does not incapacitate the entire system.
 Privacy or security: When every message travels along a dedicated line only the
intended recipient
Demerits
 The amount of cabling and the I/O ports required
 Installation and reconnection are difficult
 The sheer bulk of the wire accommodate more space than available.

The hardware required to connect each link can be prohibitively expensive.

2. Star topology

Each device has a dedicated point to point link only to a central controller usually called a hub.
If one device has to send data to another it sends the data to the controller, which then relays
the data to the other connected device.
Merits
 Less expensive than a mesh topology. Each device needs only one link and I/O port to
connect it to any number of others.
 Installation and reconfigure is easy.
 Robustness. If one link fails only that link is affected.
 Requires less cable than a mesh.

Demerits
 Require more cable compared to bus and ring topologies.

3. Bus Topology

One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a network Nodes are connected to
the bus cable by drop lines and taps. A drop line is a connection running between the device
and the main cable. A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the
sheathing of a cable to create a contact with a metallic core. As the signal travels farther and
farther ,it becomes weaker .So there is limitation in the number of taps a bus can support and
on the distance between those taps.(In this diagram taps and connectors are
Merits
 Ease of installation.
 Bus use less cabling than mesh or star topologies.

Demerits
 Difficult reconnection and isolation.
 Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality.
 A fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission. It also reflects signals back in
the direction of origin creating noise in both directions.

4. Ring Topology:

Each device has a dedicated point to point connection only with the two devices on either side
of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction from device to device until it reaches
the destination Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. It regenerates the bits and passes
them along ,when it receives the signal intended for another device.
Merits:
 Easy to install and reconfigure.
 To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections.
 The constraints are maximum ring length and the number of devices.
 If one device does not receive the signal within a specified period, it issue an alarm that
alerts the network operator to the problem and its location
Demerits
 A break in the ring disables the entire network. It can be solved by using a dual ring or
a switch capable of closing off the break.
Categories of Network:
The three primary categories are of network are Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan
Area Network (MAN), and Wide Area Network(WAN). The category into which a network
fall is determined by its size, ownership, the distance it covers and its physical architecture.

1. LAN (Local Area Network)

 A LAN is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office, building or
campus.
 A LAN can be as simple as two PCs or it can extend throughout a company. LAN size
is limited to a few kilometers. The most widely used LAN system is the Ethernet system
developed by the Xerox Corporation.
 It is designed to allow resources (hardware, software or data) to be shared between PC’s
or workstations. It may be used to provide a (shared) access to remote organizations
through a router connected to a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) or a Wide Area
Network (WAN).
 One of the computers may be given a large capacity disk drive and may become a server
to other clients. Software can be stored on this server and used by the whole group.
 The size of the LAN may be determined by the licensing restrictions on the numbers
per copy of software. or the number of users licensed to access the operating system.
 Also differentiated from other types of network by transmission media and topology.
LAN use only one type of transmission medium. The common LAN topologies are bus,
ring and star.
 LANs have data rates in the 4 to 10 megabits per second. Can also reach 100 Mbps with
gigabit systems in development.
 Intermediate nodes (i.e. repeaters, bridges and switches) allow LANs to be connected
together to form larger LANs. A LAN may also be connected to another LAN or to
WANs and MAN’s using a "router

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A MAN is designed to extend over an entire city.
 May be a single network such as cable TV network
 May be a means of connecting a number of LANs into a larger network
 Resources may be shared LAN to LAN as well as device to device
 Example: A company can use a MAN to connect the LANs in all its offices throughout a
city.
 A MAN can be owned by a private company or it may be a service provided by a public
company ,such as local telephone company
 Telephone companies provide a popular MAN service called (SMDS) Switched Multi-
megabit Data Services.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN)

 A WAN provides long distance transmission of data, voice, image and video
information over large geographic areas.
 It may comprise a country, continent or even the whole world. Transmission rates are
typically 2 Mbps, 34 Mbps, and 45 Mbps, 155 Mbps, 625 Mbps (or sometimes
considerably more).
 WAN utilize public, leased, or private communication equipment usually in
combinations and therefore span an unlimited number of miles.

Internet Standards and Organization

Standards

Why do we need standards?

 To create and maintain an open and competitive market for equipment manufacturers
 To guarantee national and international interoperability of data, telecommunication
technology and process
 To give a fixed quality and product to the customer
 To allow the same product to be re used again elsewhere
 To aid the design and implementation of ideas
 To provide guidelines to manufacturers, vendors, government agencies and other
service providers to ensure kind of interconnectivity.

Standards Creation Committees

ITU, International Telecommunications Union formerly the (CCITT):
 It a standard for telecommunication in general and data systems in particular.
ISO, International Standards Organization:
  It is active in developing cooperation in the realms of scientific, technological and
economic activity.
ANSI, American National Standards Institute:
 It is a private nonprofit corporation and affiliated with the U.S federal government.
IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers:
 It aims to advance theory, creativity, and product quality in the fields of electrical
engineering , electronics radio and in all related branches of Engineering.
 It oversees the development and adoption of international standards for computing and
communications. See http://standards.ieee.org/
EIA, Electronic Industries Association:
 It is a nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of electronics manufacturing
concerns.
 Its activities include public awareness education and lobbying efforts in addition to
standards development.
 It also made significant contributions by defining physical connection interfaces and
electronic signaling specifications for data communication.
Forums
 It work with universities and users to test, evaluate ,and standardize new technologies.
 The forums are able to speed acceptance and use of those technologies in the
telecommunications community.
 It present their conclusions to standard bodies.
Regulatory Agencies:
 Its purpose is to protect the public interest by regulating radio, television and wire cable
communications.
 It has authority over interstate and international commerce as it relates to
communication.
Internet Standards
 It is a thoroughly tested specification that is useful to and adhered to by those who work
with the internet.
 It is a formalized regulation that must be followed.
 A specification begins as an internet draft and attains Internet standard status.
  An Internet draft is a working document and it may be published as Request for
Comment(RFC).RFC is edited, assigned a number, and made available to all interested
parties.

Peer-to-Peer Processes

 The processes on each machine that communicate at a given layer are called peer-to-
peer processes.
 At higher layers communication must move down through the layers on device A aver
to device B and then back up through the layers.

 Each layer in the sending device adds its own information to the message it receives
from the layer just above it. and passes the whole package to the layer just below and
transferred to the receiving device.

Interfaces between layers

 The passing of data and network information down through the layers of the sending
device and back up through the layers of the receiving device is made possible by an
interface between each pair of adjacent layers.
 Each interface defines what information and services a layer must provide for the
layer above it.

 Well defined interfaces and functions provide modularity to a network

Transmission Media

Transmission media are actually located below the physical layer and directly controlled by
the physical layer.

Transmission media can be divided into two broad categories

 Guided &
 Unguided
Guided media

It includes twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable

Unguided media

It is usually air.

Guided media

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another.

Coaxial cable

 Coaxial cable carries signals of higher frequency ranges than twisted pair cable.
 It has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire enclosed in an insulating sheath.
This in turn encased in an outer conductor of metal foil ,braid or a combination of the
two.
 The metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise and as the second
conductor completes the circuit.
 The outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath and the whole cable is
protected by a plastic cover.
Coaxial cable Standards

Coaxial cables are categorized by their radio government (RG) ratings .Each RG number
denotes a set of physical specifications such as,

 wire gauge of the inner conductor

 thickness and type of the inner insulator
 the construction of the shield
 the size and type of outer casing.

Categories of coaxial cables

Category Impedance Use

RG-59 75 Cable TV

RG-58 50 Thin Ethernet

RG-11 50 Thick Ethernet

Coaxial Cable Connectors

Coaxial Cable Connectors are used to connect coaxial cable to devices. The most common
type of connector is the Bayone Neill-concelman or BNC connectors. There are three popular
types of connectors

 BNC connector
 BNC T connector &
 BNC terminator
BNC connector

It is used to connect the end of the cable to a device such as a TV set.

BNC T connector

It is used in Ethernet networks to branch out a cable for connection to a computer or other
devices.

BNC terminator

It is used at the end of the cable to prevent the reflection of the signal.

Performance

 Attenuation is much higher in coaxial cables than in twisted pair cable.

 Coaxial cable has a much higher bandwidth the signal weakens rapidly and needs the
frequent use of repeaters.
Basic definitions

 Signal Attenuation is the phenomenon whereby the amplitude of a signal decreases as

it propagates along a transmission line.
 Attenuation is a function of distance and frequency of signal
 Repeaters are used to increase the power of the signal at appropriate intervals
 Skin effect, which increases attenuation as the bit rate of the transmitted signal increases
Applications
 Coaxial cable is used in analog telephone network where a single coaxial cable
could carry 10,000 voice signals.
  It is also used in digital telephone network where a cable could carry digital
data up to 600 Mbps.
 Cable TV networks also used RG-59 coaxial cables.
 It is also used in traditional Ethernets.

Fiber Optic Cable.

A fiber optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmit signals in the form of light.

Properties of light

 Light travels in a straight line as long as it moves through a single uniform substance.
If array traveling through one substance suddenly enters another the ray changes
direction.
Refraction:

If the angle of incidence (the angle the ray makes with the line perpendicular to the interface
between the two substances) is less than the critical angle the ray refracts and moves closer
to the surface.

Reflection:

If the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle the ray reflects and travels again in
the denser substance.

Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel.

A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense glass or plastic. The difference
in the density of the two materials must be such that a beam of light moving through the core
is reflected off the cladding.

Propagation Modes
There are two modes for propagating light along optical channels, each requires fiber with
different physical characteristics
 Multimode
 Single mode
Multimode
Multiple beams from a light source move through the core in different paths.

Multimode can be implemented in two forms

 Step-index
 Graded index

Wireless Transmission
1. Radio: Radio is a general term that is used for any kind of frequency. But higher
frequencies are usually termed as microwave and the lower frequency band comes
under radio frequency. There are many application of radio. For eg. cordless keyboard,
wireless LAN, wireless Ethernet. but it is limited in range to only a few hundred meters.
Depending on frequency radio offers different bandwidths.
2. Terrestrial microwave: In terrestrial microwave two antennas are used for
communication. A focused beam emerges from an antenna and is received by the other
antenna, provided that antennas should be facing each other with no obstacle in
between. For this reason antennas are situated on high towers. Due to curvature of earth
terrestrial microwave can be used for long distance communication with high
bandwidth. Telecom department is also using this for long distance communication. An
advantage of wireless communication is that it is not required to lay down wires in the
city hence no permissions are required.

3. Satellite communication: Satellite acts as a switch in sky. On earth VSAT(Very Small

Aperture Terminal) are used to transmit and receive data from satellite. Generally one
 station on earth transmits signal to satellite and it is received by many stations on earth.
Satellite communication is generally used in those places where it is very difficult to
obtain line of sight i.e. in highly irregular terrestrial regions. In terms of noise wireless
media is not as good as the wired media. There are frequency band in wireless
communication and two stations should not be allowed to transmit simultaneously in a
frequency band. The most promising advantage of satellite is broadcasting. If satellites
are used for point to point communication then they are expensive as compared to wired
media.

Layering scenario:

The Internet was still restricted to non-commercial use and limited access, so gopher sites were
typically information repositories, e.g. universities and government public information.

According to the ISO(International Standards’ Organization) standards, networks have been

divided into 7 layers depending on the complexity of the functionality each of these layers
provide. The detailed description of each of these layers is given in the notes below. We will
first list the layers as defined by the standard in the increasing order of function complexity:

1. Physical Layer

2. Data Link Layer

3. Network Layer

4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer

7. Application Layer

1. Physical Layer

This layer is the lowest layer in the OSI model. It helps in the transmission of data between
two machines that are communicating through a physical medium, which can be optical
fibres,copper wire or wireless etc. The following are the main functions of the physical layer:
1. Hardware Specification: The details of the physical cables, network interface cards,
wireless radios, etc are a part of this layer.
Coaxial Cable Hybrid Cable Wireless Card Network Card

2. Encoding and Signaling: How are the bits encoded in the medium is also decided by
this layer. For example, on the copper wire medium, we can use different voltage levels
for a certain time interval to represent '0' and '1'. We may use +5mV for 1nsec to
represent '1' and -5mV for 1nsec to represent '0'. All the issues of modulation is dealt
with in this layer. eg, we may use Binary phase shift keying for the representation of '1'
and '0' rather than using different voltage levels if we have to transfer in RF waves.

Binary Phase Shift Keying

3. Data Transmission and Reception: The transfer of each bit of data is the
responsibility of this layer. This layer assures the transmission of each bit with a high
probability. The transmission of the bits is not completely reliable as their is no error
correction in this layer.
4. Topology and Network Design: The network design is the integral part of the physical
layer. Which part of the network is the router going to be placed, where the switches
will be used, where we will put the hubs, how many machines is each switch going to
handle, what server is going to be placed where, and many such concerns are to be taken
 care of by the physical layer. The various kinds of topologies that we decide to use may
be ring, bus, star or a hybrid of these topologies depending on our requirements.

2. Data Link Layer

This layer provides reliable transmission of a packet by using the services of the physical layer
which transmits bits over the medium in an unreliable fashion. This layer is concerned with :
1. Framing: Breaking input data into frames (typically a few hundred bytes) and caring
about the frame boundaries and the size of each frame.
2. Acknowledgment: Sent by the receiving end to inform the source that the frame was
received without any error.

3. Sequence Numbering: To acknowledge which frame was received.

4. Error Detection: The frames may be damaged, lost or duplicated leading to errors. The
error control is on link to link basis.

5. Retransmission: The packet is retransmitted if the source fails to receive

acknowledgment.

6. Flow Control: Necessary for a fast transmitter to keep pace with a slow receiver.

Data Link Layer

3. Network Layer
Its basic functions are routing and congestion control.
Routing: This deals with determining how packets will be routed (transferred) from source to
destination. It can be of three types :
 Static : Routes are based on static tables that are "wired into" the network and are rarely
changed.
 Dynamic : All packets of one application can follow different routes depending upon
the topology of the network, the shortest path and the current network load.

 Semi-Dynamic: A route is chosen at the start of each conversation and then all the
packets of the application follow the same route.

Routing
The services provided by the network can be of two types :
 Connection less service: Each packet of an application is treated as an independent
entity. On each packet of the application the destination address is provided and the
packet is routed.
 Connection oriented service: Here, first a connection is established and then all
packets of the application follow the same route. To understand the above concept, we
can also draw an analogy from the real life. Connection oriented service is modeled
after the telephone system. All voice packets go on the same path after the connection
is established till the connection is hung up. It acts like a tube ; the sender pushes the
objects in at one end and the receiver takes them out in the same order at the other end.
Connection less service is modeled after the postal system. Each letter carries the
destination address and is routed independent of all the others. Here, it is possible that
the letter sent first is delayed so that the second letter reaches the destination before the
first letter.

Congestion Control: A router can be connected to 4-5 networks. If all the networks send
packet at the same time with maximum rate possible then the router may not be able to handle
all the packets and may drop some/all packets. In this context the dropping of the packets
should be minimized and the source whose packet was dropped should be informed. The
control of such congestion is also a function of the network layer. Other issues related with this
layer are transmitting time, delays, jittering.
Internetworking: Internetworks are multiple networks that are connected in such a way that
they act as one large network, connecting multiple office or department networks.
Internetworks are connected by networking hardware such as routers, switches, and bridges.
Internetworking is a solution born of three networking problems: isolated LANs, duplication
of resources, and the lack of a centralized network management system. With connected LANs,
companies no longer have to duplicate programs or resources on each network. This in turn
gives way to managing the network from one central location instead of trying to manage each
separate LAN. We should be able to transmit any packet from one network to any other network
even if they follow different protocols or use different addressing modes.

Inter-Networking
Network Layer does not guarantee that the packet will reach its intended destination. There
are no reliability guarantees.

4. Transport Layer

Its functions are :

 Multiplexing / Demultiplexing : Normally the transport layer will create distinct
network connection for each transport connection required by the session layer. The
transport layer may either create multiple network connections (to improve throughput)
or it may multiplex several transport connections onto the same network connection
(because creating and maintaining networks may be expensive). In the latter case,
demultiplexing will be required at the receiving end. A point to note here is that
communication is always carried out between two processes and not between two
machines. This is also known as process-to-process communication.
 Fragmentation and Re-assembly : The data accepted by the transport layer from the
session layer is split up into smaller units (fragmentation) if needed and then passed to
the network layer. Correspondingly, the data provided by the network layer to the
transport layer on the receiving side is re-assembled.

ISO(International Standards Organization) - OSI(Open System Interconnection)

Reference Model:

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) architecture has been developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to describe the operation and design of
layered protocol architectures. This forms a valuable reference model and defines much of the
language used in data communications.
 Describes a seven-layer abstract reference model for a network architecture

Purpose of the reference model was to provide a framework for the

development of protocols

 Types of service : The transport layer also decides the type of service that should be
provided to the session layer. The service may be perfectly reliable, or may be reliable
within certain tolerances or may not be reliable at all. The message may or may not be
received in the order in which it was sent. The decision regarding the type of service to
be provided is taken at the time when the connection is established.
 Error Control : If reliable service is provided then error detection and error recovery
operations are also performed. It provides error control mechanism on end to end basis.

 Flow Control : A fast host cannot keep pace with a slow one. Hence, this is a
mechanism to regulate the flow of information.

 Connection Establishment / Release : The transport layer also establishes and releases
the connection across the network. This requires some sort of naming mechanism so
that a process on one machine can indicate with whom it wants to communicate.

5. Session Layer
  It deals with the concept of Sessions i.e. when a user logins to a remote server he should
be authenticated before getting access to the files and application programs. Another
job of session layer is to establish and maintain sessions. If during the transfer of data
between two machines the session breaks down, it is the session layer which re-
establishes the connection. It also ensures that the data transfer starts from where it
breaks keeping it transparent to the end user. e.g. In case of a session with a database
server, this layer introduces check points at various places so that in case the
connection is broken and reestablished, the transition running on the database is not lost
even if the user has not committed. This activity is called Synchronization. Another
function of this layer is Dialogue Control which determines whose turn is it to speak
in a session. It is useful in video conferencing.
6. Presentation Layer

 This layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information transmitted.
In order to make it possible for computers with different data representations to
communicate data structures to be exchanged can be defined in abstract way along with
standard encoding. It also manages these abstract data structures and allows higher level
of data structures to be defined an exchange. It encodes the data in standard agreed
way(network format). Suppose there are two machines A and B one follows 'Big
Endian' and other 'Little Endian' for data representation. This layer ensures that the data
transmitted by one gets converted in the form compatible to other machine. This layer
is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information transmitted. In order to
make it possible for computers with different data representations to communicate data
structures to be exchanged can be defined in abstract way along with standard encoding.
It also manages these abstract data structures and allows higher level of data structures
to be defined an exchange. Other functions include compression, encryption etc.
7. Application Layer

 The seventh layer contains the application protocols with which the user gains access
to the network. The choice of which specific protocols and their associated functions
are to be used at the application level is up to the individual user. Thus the boundary
between the presentation layer and the application layer represents a separation of the
protocols imposed by the network designers from those being selected and
implemented by the network users. For example commonly used protocols are
 HTTP(Hyper text transfer protocol for web browsing), FTP(File transfer protocol for
file transfer) etc.
 Network Layers as in Practice
 In most of the networks today, we do not follow the OSI model of seven layers. What
is actually implemented is as follows. The functionality of Application layer and
Presentation layer is merged into one and is called as the Application Layer.
Functionalities of Session Layer is not implemented in most networks today. Also, the
Data Link layer is split theoretically into MAC (Medium Access Control) Layer and
LLC (Link Layer Control). But again in practice, the LLC layer is not implemented
by most networks. So as of today, the network architecture is of 5 layers only.

TCP/IP Protocol Suite:

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research branch of the U.S.
Department of Defense, created the TCP/IP model in the 1970s for use in ARPANET, a wide
area network that preceded the internet. TCP/IP was originally designed for the Unix operating
system, and it has been built into all of the operating systems that came after it. The TCP/IP
model and its related protocols are now maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force.
TCP/IP, or the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of
communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet. TCP/IP can
also be used as a communications protocol in a private network (an intranet or an extranet).

The entire internet protocol suite -- a set of rules and procedures -- is commonly referred to as
TCP/IP, though others are included in the suite.

TCP/IP specifies how data is exchanged over the internet by providing end-to-end
communications that identify how it should be broken into packets, addressed, transmitted,
routed and received at the destination. TCP/IP requires little central management, and it is
designed to make networks reliable, with the ability to recover automatically from the failure
of any device on the network.

The two main protocols in the internet protocol suite serve specific functions. TCP defines how
applications can create channels of communication across a network. It also manages how a
message is assembled into smaller packets before they are then transmitted over the internet
and reassembled in the right order at the destination address.

IP defines how to address and route each packet to make sure it reaches the right destination.
Each gateway computer on the network checks this IP address to determine where to forward
the message.

How TCP/IP works

TCP/IP uses the client/server model of communication in which a user or machine (a client) is
provided a service (like sending a webpage) by another computer (a server) in the network.
Collectively, the TCP/IP suite of protocols is classified as stateless, which means each client
request is considered new because it is unrelated to previous requests. Being stateless frees up
network paths so they can be used continuously.

The transport layer itself, however, is stateful. It transmits a single message, and its connection
remains in place until all the packets in a message have been received and reassembled at the
destination. The TCP/IP model differs slightly from the seven-layer Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) networking model designed after it, which defines how applications can
communicate over a network.
TCP/IP model layers

TCP/IP functionality is divided into four layers, each of which include specific protocols.

 The application layer provides applications with standardized data exchange. Its
protocols include the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

 The transport layer is responsible for maintaining end-to-end communications across the
network. TCP handles communications between hosts and provides flow control,
multiplexing and reliability. The transport protocols include TCP and User Datagram
Protocol (UDP), which is sometimes used instead of TCP for special purposes.

 The network layer, also called the internet layer, deals with packets and connects
independent networks to transport the packets across network boundaries. The network
layer protocols are the IP and the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), which is used
for error reporting.

 The physical layer consists of protocols that operate only on a link -- the network
component that interconnects nodes or hosts in the network. The protocols in this layer
include Ethernet for local area networks (LANs) and the Address Resolution Protocol
(ARP).
Advantages of TCP/IP:
TCP/IP is nonproprietary and, as a result, is not controlled by any single company. Therefore,
the internet protocol suite can be modified easily. It is compatible with all operating systems,
so it can communicate with any other system. The internet protocol suite is also compatible
with all types of computer hardware and networks. TCP/IP is highly scalable and, as a routable
protocol, can determine the most efficient path through the network.

Comparison of OSI and TCP/IP reference model:

OSI(Open System Interconnection) TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol /

Internet Protocol)
1. OSI is a generic, protocol independent 1. TCP/IP model is based on standard
standard, acting as a communication protocols around which the Internet has
gateway between the network and end developed. It is a communication protocol,
user. which allows connection of hosts over a
network.

2. In OSI model the transport layer 2. In TCP/IP model the transport layer does
guarantees the delivery of packets. not guarantees delivery of packets. Still the
TCP/IP model is more reliable.

3. Follows vertical approach. 3. Follows horizontal approach.

4. OSI model has a separate Presentation 4. TCP/IP does not have a separate
layer and Session layer. Presentation layer or Session layer.

5. OSI is a reference model around 5. TCP/IP model is, in a way implementation

which the networks are built. Generally of the OSI model.
it is used as a guidance tool.

6. Network layer of OSI model provides 6. The Network layer in TCP/IP model
both connection oriented and provides connectionless service.
connectionless service.

7. OSI model has a problem of fitting 7. TCP/IP model does not fit any protocol
the protocols into the model.

8. Protocols are hidden in OSI model 8. In TCP/IP replacing protocol is not easy.
and are easily replaced as the technology
changes.

9. OSI model defines services, interfaces 9. In TCP/IP, services, interfaces and

and protocols very clearly and makes protocols are not clearly separated. It is also
clear distinction between them. It is protocol dependent.
protocol independent.
10. It has 7 layers 10. It has 4 layers