THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT

ITU 08106: Distributed Systems

NETWORKING ISSUES IN DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS

Department of Computing & Communication Technology

 Lecture Outline
❖ Networking Issues in Distributed Systems
❖ Latency
❖ Transfer Rate

❖ Types of Networks

❖ Network Principles in Distributed Systems

❖ Packet Transmissions
❖ Data Streaming
❖ Switching Scheme
❖ Protocol
❖ Routing
❖ Congestion Control
❖ Internetworking

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 2
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ Regarding the development of distributed applications that
require the sharing of resources in the networked
environment, a higher standard of performance for the
network to meet the demand of distributed applications is
needed
❖ Also, with the growth of the Internet and the emergency of
new modes of using the Internet, more strict requirements
for reliability, scalability, mobility, security, and quality of
service have emerged

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 3
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ Performance: The network performance parameters are
those affecting the speed during the processing and
transferring of messages between two interconnected
computers
❖ These parameters include latency and point-to-point data
transfer rate
❖ Latency: is the delay that occurs after a send operation is
executed and before data starts to arrive at the destination
computer
❖ Latency refers to the time it takes for a data packet/message to
travel from its source to its destination across a network
❖ Considering only network latency, which forms a part of the
process-to-process latency
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 4
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ Data Transfer Rate (DTR): the speed at which data can be
transferred between two computers in the network once
transmission has begun.
❖ Data Transfer Rate is sometimes called Throughput and usually
measured in bits per second
❖ Following these definitions (Latency and data transfer rate),
the time required for a network to transfer a message
containing length bits between two computers is

[Message transmission time = latency + length/data transfer rate]

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Technology (CCT) slide 5
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ The equation is valid for messages whose length does not
exceed a maximum determined by the underlying network
technology
❖ Longer messages have to be segmented; the transmission
time is then calculated as the sum of the times for the
segments
❖ The transfer rate of a network is determined by its
physical characteristics
❖ The latency is determined by software overheads, routing
delays, and a load-dependent element arising from
conflicting demands for access to transmission channels

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 6
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ A large number of messages transferred between
processes in distributed systems are small in size;
❖ Latency is therefore of equal or greater implication than
transfer rate in determining performance
❖ The total system bandwidth of a network is a measure of
throughput – the total volume of traffic that can be
transferred across the network in a given time
❖ In local area network (LAN) technologies, such as Ethernet,
the full transmission capacity of the network is used for
every transmission and the system bandwidth is the same
as the data transfer rate
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 7
 Networking Issues in Distributed System
❖ In wide-area networks (WAN), messages can be
transferred using different channels simultaneously, the
total system bandwidth bears no direct relationship to
the transfer rate
❖ The performance of networks weakens in conditions of
overload – when there are too many messages in the
network at the same time

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 8
 Types of Networks
❖ In supporting distributed systems, various types of
networks can be used for communication and
coordination between the nodes or components
❖ The choice of network type depends on factors such
as the scale of the distributed system, the
communication requirements, and the underlying
infrastructure
❖ Internetwork is a network that is composed of many
interconnected networks, integrated to provide a
single data communication medium

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 9
 Types of Networks
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Personal Area Networks (PANs)
❖ Local Area Networks (LANs)
❖ Wide Area Networks (WANs)
❖ Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
❖ Wireless Area Networks (WANs)
❖ Wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs)
❖ Wireless wide area networks (WWANs)
❖ Internetworks

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Technology (CCT) slide 10
 Types of Networks - PAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Personal Area Networks (PANs):
❖ A Personal Area Network (PAN) is a type of network that
connects devices within the immediate surrounding area of an
individual, typically within a range of a few meters (10 Meters)
❖ PANs are designed for personal use and enable
communication and data sharing between devices used by an
individual (e.g. Computers, Phones, Tablets, Speakers)
❖ One of the most common real-world examples of a PAN is the
connection between a Bluetooth earpiece and a smartphone
❖ PAN network connections can either be wired or wireless
❖ Wired connection methods include USB; wireless connection
methods include Bluetooth (the most common)
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 11
 Types of Networks - PAN
❖ Types of networks that
support distributed
systems
❖ Personal Area
Networks (PANs):
❖ Wireless PAN doesn’t
require cables but it
requires that all
devices that need to
be connected to a
network to be
Bluetooth- or infrared-
capable Source https://www.techslang.com/definition/what-is-a-personal-area-network/

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 12
 Types of Networks - LAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Local Area Networks (LANs):
❖ A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that
connects devices within a limited geographical area, such as a
home, office building, or campus
❖ LANs facilitate communication and resource sharing between
connected devices, such as computers, printers, servers, and
other network-enabled devices
❖ Local Area Networks – Characteristics & Components
❖ Size and Coverage: LANs cover a small area, such as a single
building, floor, or a group of nearby buildings
❖ They are differentiated by their limited geographic scope

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 13
 Types of Networks - LAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Local Area Networks – Characteristics & Components
❖ Topology: LAN topology is the physical or logical arrangement
of devices and connections within a Local Area Network (LAN)
❖ LANs are set up using different network topologies, including
bus, ring, star, mesh, or a combination of these
❖ The choice of topology depends on factors such as cost,
scalability, and network requirements
❖ Transmission Media: LANs use different types of transmission
media to connect devices
❖ These include Ethernet cables (such as twisted pair) or fiber
optic cables or wireless technologies (such as Wi-Fi)

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 14
 Types of Networks - LAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Local Area Networks – Characteristics & Components
❖ Network Devices: LANs consist of various network devices that
enable communication and resource-sharing
❖ These devices include switches, routers, hubs, wireless access
points, and network interface cards (NICs) on individual devices
❖ Larger local networks, such as campuses or office buildings, are
composed of many segments interconnected by switches
❖ Addressing: LANs use addressing schemes, such as IP (Internet
Protocol) addresses, to uniquely identify devices on the network
❖ IP addresses are assigned to each device, allowing them to send
and receive data over the network

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Technology (CCT) slide 15
 Types of Networks - LAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Local Area Networks – Characteristics & Components
❖ Protocols: To ensure how data are transmitted, received, and
managed within the network, LAN has to comply with Network
Protocols
❖ Common LAN protocols include Ethernet, Wi-Fi (802.11), and
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
❖ Security: LANs incorporate security measures to protect
sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access
❖ This includes the use of firewalls, access control mechanisms,
encryption, and network monitoring tools

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Technology (CCT) slide 16
 Types of Networks - WAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Wide Area Networks (WANs):
❖ In its simplest form, a wide-area network (WAN) is a collection
of local-area networks (LANs) or other networks that
communicate with one another
❖ WANs carry messages at lower speeds between nodes that
might be in different organizations and may be separated by
large distances
❖ They may be located in different cities, countries, or continents
❖ Routers are the key communication medium that set a
communication circuits linking a set of dedicated computers
❖ Routers manage the communication network and route
messages or packets to their destinations

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 17
 Types of Networks - WAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Wide Area Networks (WANs):
❖ In most networks, the routing operations introduce a delay at
each point in the route, so the total latency for the
transmission of a message depends on the route that it follows
and the traffic loads in the various network segments that it
traverses
❖ The purpose of a WAN is to enable the exchange of data and
facilitate communication between connected locations
❖ Allowing organizations to centralize their resources, share
information, and collaborate across multiple sites
❖ WANs support various types of data transmission, including
voice, video, and other forms of multimedia

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 Types of Networks - MAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Metropolitan Area Networks (WANs):
❖ Like WANs, a MAN is made up of interconnected LANs
❖ A MAN is larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller
than a wide area network (WAN)
❖ Because MANs are smaller, they are usually more efficient
than WANs, since data does not have to travel over large
distances
❖ MANs typically combine the networks of multiple organizations,
instead of being managed by a single organization

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 19
 Types of Networks - WLAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs):
❖ A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a type of local area
network (LAN) that uses wireless communication technologies
to connect devices within a limited area
❖ They are designed for use in place of wired LANs to provide
connectivity for mobile devices, or simply to remove the need
for a wired infrastructure to connect computers within homes
and office buildings to each other and the Internet
❖ They are in widespread use in several variants of the IEEE
802.11 standard (WiFi), offering bandwidths of 10–100 Mbps
over ranges up to 1.5 kilometers
❖ WLANs use radio waves to transmit data between devices

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 20
 Types of Networks - WLAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ WLANs Characteristics & Components:
❖ Wireless Access Points (APs): APs are devices that serve as
the central point of connectivity in a WLAN
❖ They transmit and receive wireless signals, allowing devices to
connect to the network
❖ APs are typically connected to a wired network infrastructure
and act as a bridge between wired and wireless devices
❖ Wireless Clients: Wireless clients are devices that connect to
the WLAN, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and IoT
devices
❖ These devices have built-in wireless network adapters that
enable them to communicate with the WLAN infrastructure

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 21
 Types of Networks - WLAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ WLANs Characteristics & Components:
❖ Roaming: WLANs support roaming, which allows wireless
devices to maintain connectivity while moving within the
coverage area
❖ When a device moves out of range of one access point, it
automatically connects to another nearby access point without
disrupting the network connection
❖ Wireless LAN Controllers: In larger WLAN deployments, wireless
LAN controllers may be used to manage and control multiple
access points
❖ These controllers centralize the management of the WLAN,
allowing administrators to configure settings, monitor
performance, and enforce security policies across the network
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 22
 Types of Networks - WMAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs)
❖ A Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) is a type of
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) that provides connectivity
through wireless
❖ It spans multiple locations within a geographic area
❖ It is one type of wireless networking that has a coverage area
approximately the size of a city
❖ Generally, it spans or covers an area that is larger than the
WLAN but smaller than the Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN)

Department of Computing and Communication

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 Types of Networks - WWAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs)
❖ Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWANs) are wireless networks
that provide connectivity over a wide geographic area larger than
a metropolitan area
❖ WWANs use wireless communication technologies to enable
data transmission and connectivity across long distances,
allowing users to access network resources and services without
the need for physical cables
❖ Most mobile phone networks utilize WWAN since they are
designed to operate over wide areas (entire countries or
continents) through the use of cellular radio connections; their
data transmission facilities therefore offer wide-area mobile
connections to the Internet for portable devices
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 24
 Types of Networks - WWAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ WWANs Characteristics & Components
❖ Coverage: WWANs cover large areas, such as regional, national,
or global territories
❖ They are designed to provide wireless connectivity over long
distances, connecting users in different cities, regions, or even
countries
❖ Wireless Technologies: WWANs make use of various wireless
technologies for data transmission
❖ These technologies include cellular networks (e.g., Global
System for Mobile Communication (GSM) standard, third
generation (3G) mobile phone networks, 4G, 5G), satellite
communications, and other wireless technologies that provide
wide-area coverage
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Types of Networks - WWAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ WWANs Characteristics & Components
❖ Network Infrastructure: WWANs rely on a network
infrastructure composed of cellular towers, satellite systems,
base stations, and other transmission equipment
❖ These infrastructure components enable wireless connectivity
and facilitate the transmission of data over long distances
❖ Mobile Devices: Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets,
and laptops, act as wireless clients in WWANs
❖ These devices have built-in wireless capabilities and can
connect to WWANs through cellular networks
❖ They utilize Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards or other
authentication mechanisms to access WWAN services

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Technology (CCT) slide 26
 Types of Networks - WWAN
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ WWANs Characteristics & Components
❖ Service Providers: WWANs are operated by telecommunication
service providers, mobile network operators, or satellite
communication companies
❖ These providers offer wireless connectivity services to
customers, providing network coverage and enabling data
transmission over their network infrastructure
❖ Roaming: WWANs support roaming capabilities, allowing users
to maintain connectivity while moving between different
geographic areas
❖ Roaming enables seamless access to network services and
resources as users travel across different regions covered by
WWAN infrastructure
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Types of Networks - InterNetworks
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Internetworks
❖ An internetwork, also known as an internet, is a collection of
interconnected networks that are linked together using routers
and other networking devices
❖ It refers to a network of networks, where individual networks
are connected to form a larger network infrastructure to
provide common data communication facilities
❖ The openness characteristic of distributed systems implies
that the networks used in distributed systems should be
extensible to very large numbers of computers, whereas
individual networks have restricted address spaces and some
have performance limitations

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Technology (CCT) slide 28
 Types of Networks - InterNetworks
❖ Types of networks that support distributed systems
❖ Internetworks
❖ In Internetworks, a variety of local and wide area network
technologies are integrated to provide the networking capacity
needed by each group of users
❖ Internetworks brings many of the benefits of open systems to
the provision of communication in distributed systems
❖ Internetworks are constructed from a variety of component
networks
❖ They are interconnected by routers and an integrated
communication subsystem is produced by a software layer that
supports the addressing and transmission of data to
computers throughout the internetwork

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 Network Principles
❖ The basis for all computer networks is the packet-switching
technique first developed in the 1960s
❖ This enables data packets addressed to different
destinations to share a single communications link, unlike
the circuit-switching technology that underlies conventional
telephony
❖ Packets are queued in a buffer and transmitted when the
link is available
❖ Communication is asynchronous – messages arrive at
their destination after a delay that varies depending on the
time that packets take to travel through the network
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 Network Principles
❖ Key Networking Principles that govern the Distributed
Systems

❖ Packets Transmissions
❖ Data Streaming
❖ Switching Scheme
❖ Protocols
❖ Routing
❖ Congestion Control
❖ Internetworking

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 Network Principles
Packets Transmissions:
❖ Packet transmission refers to the process of sending data over
a network in the form of small units called packets
❖ In packet-switched networks, such as the Internet, large
amounts of data are divided into smaller packets before being
transmitted from the source to the destination
❖ At the Destination, these packets are then recombined by the
computer or device that receives them
❖ Example: Suppose a user loads an image from a Web
❖ The image file does not go from a web server to the user's
computer in one piece
❖ Instead, it is broken down into packets of data, sent over the
wires, cables, and radio waves of the Internet, and then
reassembled by the user's computer into the original Image
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Packets Transmissions:
❖ Why Use Packets?
❖ The Internet is a "packet-switching" network
❖ Packet switching refers to the ability of networking equipment to
process packets independently from each other
❖ It also means that packets can take different network paths to
the same destination, so long as they all arrive at the destination
❖ Because of packet switching, packets from multiple computers
can travel over the same wires in any order
❖ This enables multiple connections to take place over the same
networking equipment at the same time
❖ Allows billions of devices to exchange data on the Internet at the
same time

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 33
 Network Principles
Packets Transmissions: How does it work?
❖ Data Segmentation: The data to be transmitted is divided into
smaller, fixed-sized units called packets
❖ Each packet consists of a header and a payload
❖ The header contains information such as the source and
destination addresses, packet sequence number, error detection
codes, and other control information
❖ Routing: Once the packets are created, they are sent to the
network layer, which is responsible for determining the best path
for each packet to reach its destination (Routing Process)
❖ Routers along the path examine the destination address in the
packet header and use routing protocols to make decisions on
how to forward the packet to the destination

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 34
 Network Principles
Packets Transmissions: How does it work?
❖ Transmission: The packets are then transmitted over the
network using various transmission media, such as copper
wires, fiber optics, or wireless connections
❖ The specific method of transmission depends on the
underlying network technology
❖ Packet Switching: As the packets travel through the network,
they may pass through multiple routers
❖ At each router, the packet is received, and the router examines
the destination address in the packet header to determine the
next hop along the path
❖ The router then forwards the packet to the appropriate
outgoing interface

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 Network Principles
Packets Transmissions: How does it work?
❖ Reassembly: Once all the packets reach the destination, they
are reassembled into the original data stream based on the
sequence numbers in their headers
❖ The reassembled data can then be processed and delivered to
the receiving application
❖ Acknowledgment and Retransmission: To ensure reliable
packet transmission, the receiving end acknowledges the
receipt of each packet by sending an acknowledgment (ACK)
back to the sender
❖ If the sender does not receive an acknowledgment within a
specified timeout period or if it receives a negative
acknowledgment (NACK), it may retransmit the packet

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 Network Principles

❖ The process of dividing data into packets,

transmitting them independently, and
reassembling them at the destination allows for
efficient and reliable communication over
networks

❖ The process also enables the network to handle

congestion and varying network conditions by
dynamically routing packets and accommodating
different types of traffic

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 37
 Network Principles
Data Streaming:
❖ Streaming is the process of transmitting, processing, and
analyse data (data stream) across multiple network nodes in
real-time
❖ Multimedia applications rely upon the transmission of
continuous streams of audio and video data elements at
guaranteed high rates and with small latencies
❖ The timely delivery of audio and video streams depends upon
the availability of connections with adequate quality of service
– bandwidth, latency and reliability must all be considered
❖ UDP internet packets are generally used to hold the video
frames
❖ The play time of a multimedia element such as a video frame
is the time at which it must be displayed
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Data Streaming:
❖ Elements that arrive at their destination later than their play
time are no longer useful and will be dropped by the receiving
process
❖ Streaming data is generated by various sources such as
sensors, applications, or systems
❖ These sources produce a continuous flow of data in an
ordered way that needs to be collected, processed, and
analysed in real-time
❖ The data can be in the form of text, audio, video, or any other
type of digital information

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Technology (CCT) slide 39
 Network Principles
Data Streaming:

Source: https://jenkov.com/tutorials/data-streaming/index.html

Characteristics of Data Streaming

❖ Real-time or near real-time: Data streaming enables the
processing of data as it is generated, allowing for real-time or
near real-time analysis and decision-making
❖ Continuous flow: Data is transmitted as a continuous flow of
small packets or chunks
❖ The data is not stored in its entirety before being processed,
but rather processed incrementally as it arrives
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Data Streaming:
Characteristics of Data Streaming
❖ Unbounded data: Streaming data is unbounded, meaning that
there is no predefined end to the data stream. It can continue
indefinitely or until a specific condition is met
❖ Scalability: Data streaming systems are designed to handle
large volumes of data and scale horizontally as the data rates
increase. They can accommodate high-velocity data streams
and distributed processing
❖ Data streaming is commonly used for various purposes, such
as real-time monitoring and alerting, fraud detection,
recommendation systems

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Technology (CCT) slide 41
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
❖ A switching scheme refers to the method or technique
used to forward data packets between network nodes in
a network
❖ OR It is the process of exchanging information between
two communication devices
❖ The switching technique is responsible for deciding the
best route for data transmission
❖ The technique is used to connect the systems for making
one-to-one communication

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Technology (CCT) slide 42
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching in computer networks

❖ Circuit Switching: is a switching technique that

establishes a dedicated communication path between
two network devices for the duration of a data
transmission
❖ The path remains open throughout the entire
communication session, regardless of whether data is
being transmitted or not
❖ A complete end-to-end path must exist before the
communication takes place
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 43
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching in computer networks

❖ Circuit Switching: When the data needs to be sent (voice,

video), the request signal is sent first to the receiver
❖ The receiver sends back the acknowledgment to ensure
the availability of the dedicated path
❖ After receiving the acknowledgment, dedicated path is
established and the transfers of the data begin
❖ Communication has three phases: Circuit Establishment,
Data Transfer, Circuit Disconnect

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Technology (CCT) slide 44
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching in computer networks
❖ Circuit Switching:
❖ Circuit Establishment - A dedicated circuit between the source
and the destination is established with the help of the
intermediate switching centres
❖ The requesting and receiving of the communication signals
are possible when the sender and receiver transmit signals
across the circuit
❖ Data Transfer - The transfer of data and voice signals are possible
between the source and the destination after the establishment of
the circuit
❖ The connection between both the end parties continues as
long as they communicate
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching in computer networks
❖ Circuit Switching:
❖ Circuit Disconnect - The disconnection in the circuit happens
when one of the users initiates to disconnect
❖ When the disconnection takes place, all the intermediate
links between the sender and receiver are removed

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 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching
Circuit Switching:

Source https://byjus.com/physics/circuit-switching/

Department of Computing and Communication

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 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching
Packet Switching:
❖ Packet switching is a connectionless network switching
method
❖ It is a switching technique in which the message is
divided into smaller pieces, and they are sent
individually
❖ The message splits into smaller pieces known as
packets and packets are given a unique number to
identify their order at the receiving end

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 48
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching
Packet Switching:
❖ Every packet contains some information in its headers such
as source address, destination address and sequence
number
❖ The packet travels across the network, taking the shortest
path as possible
❖ All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in
correct order, a resend process is performed when a packet
failed to reach its destination
❖ The acknowledgment message will be sent when packet is
received Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 49
 Network Principles
Switching Scheme:
Types of switching
Packet Switching:

Source https://www.javatpoint.com/computer-network-switching-techniques

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 50
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ The term protocol is used to refer to a set of rules and
formats used for communication between processes in
order to perform a given task
❖ The definition of a protocol has two parts:
❖ Specification of the sequence of messages to be exchanged
❖ Specification of the format of the data in the messages
❖ The existence protocols enables the separate software
components of distributed systems to be developed
independently and implemented in different
programming languages on computers that may have
different order codes and data representations
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ A protocol is implemented by a pair of software modules
located in the sending and receiving computers
❖ Protocol layers:
❖ Network software is arranged in a hierarchy of layers
❖ Each layer presents an interface to the layers above it
that extends the properties of the underlying
communication system
❖ Each layer of network software communicates by local
procedure calls with the layers above and below it

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 52
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol layers:

The structure and the flow of data when a message is transmitted using a layered
protocol
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 53
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol layers:
❖ On the sending side, each layer (except the topmost, or
application layer) accepts items of data in a specified format
from the layer above it and applies transformations to
encapsulate the data in the format specified for that layer
before passing it to the layer below for further processing
❖ On the receiving side, the inverse transformations are applied
to data items received from the layer below before they are
passed to the layer above
❖ The protocol type of the layer above is included in the header
of each layer, to enable the protocol stack at the receiver to
select the correct software components to unpack the
packets
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 54
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol layers:

Encapsulation in the layered protocols

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 55
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol Suite:
❖ A complete set of protocol layers is referred to as a
protocol suite or a protocol stack, reflecting the
layered structure
❖ The protocol stack conforms to the seven-layer
Reference Model for Open Systems Interconnection
(OSI) adopted by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) [ISO 1992]
❖ The OSI Reference Model was adopted in order to
encourage the development of protocol standards to
meet the requirements of open systems
Department of Computing and Communication
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 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol Suite:

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 57
 Network Principles
Protocols: Protocol Suite:

Department of Computing and Communication

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 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol Suite:
❖ The implementation of the Internet does not follow the
OSI model (It follows the Internet protocol stack)
❖ First, the application, presentation and session layers
are not clearly distinguished in the Internet protocol
stack
❖ Instead, they are implemented either as a single
middleware layer or separately within each
application
❖ Thus the inter-object invocations and data
representations in a middleware library is included
in each application process
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 59
 Network Principles
Protocols:
❖ Protocol Suite:
❖ The Second, the (Transport) Internetwork protocol suites
include an application layer, a transport layer and an
internetwork layer
❖ The internetwork layer is a ‘virtual’ network layer that is
responsible for transmitting internetwork packets to a
destination computer
❖ An internetwork packet is the unit of data transmitted
over an internetwork

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 60
 Network Principles
Protocols: Protocol Suite:

Internet Protocol Stack

Source https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19620-01/805-
4041/intro-78284/index.html

Department of Computing and Communication

Technology (CCT) slide 61
 Network Principles
Protocols: Protocol Suite:

Source https://www.w3.org/People/Frystyk/thesis/TcpIp.html

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 Network Principles
Protocols:
Packet Assembly:
❖ The task of dividing messages into packets before
transmission and reassembling them at the receiving
computer is performed in the transport layer
❖ The network-layer protocol packets consist of a header and
a data field
❖ In network technologies, the data field is variable in length,
with the maximum length called the maximum transfer unit
(MTU)
❖ If the length of a message exceeds the MTU of the
underlying network layer, it must be fragmented into chunks
of the appropriate size, with sequence numbers
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 63
 Network Principles
Protocols:
Packet Assembly:
❖ The sequence numbers are used on reassembly process at
the receiving end
❖ For example, the MTU for Ethernets is 1500 bytes – no
more than that quantity of data can be transmitted in a
single Ethernet packet
Ports:
❖ The transport layer’s task is to provide a network-
independent message transport service between pairs of
network ports
❖ Ports are software-defined destination points at a host
computer
Department of Computing and Communication
Technology (CCT) slide 64
 Network Principles
Protocols:
Ports:
❖ Ports are software-based and managed by a computer's
operating system
❖ Ports allow computers to differentiate between different
kinds of traffic
❖ They are attached to processes, enabling data transmission
to be addressed to a specific process at a destination node
Addressing:
❖ The transport layer is responsible for delivering messages to
destinations with transport addresses that are composed of
the network address of a host computer and a port number

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Questions and Discussions

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