Data Communications Protocols - are sets of rules governing the orderly

exchange of data within the network or a portion of the network. The list of
protocols used by a system is called a protocol stack, which generally includes
only one protocol per layer. Layered network architectures consist of two or more
independent levels. Each level has a specific set of responsibilities and functions,
including data transfer, flow control, data segmentation and reassembly,
sequence control, error detection and correction, and notification.

Types of Protocols

Protocols can be generally classified as either connection-oriented or

connectionless.

With a connection-oriented protocol, a logical connection is established between

the endpoints prior to the transmission of data. Connection-oriented protocols
operate in a manner similar to making a standard telephone call, where there is a
sequence of actions and acknowledgments, such as setting up the call,
establishing the connection, and then disconnecting. The actions and
acknowledgments include dial tone, Touch-Tone signaling, ringing and ring-back
signals, and busy signals.

Connection-oriented protocols are designed to provide a high degree of reliability

for data moving through the network. This is accomplished by using a rigid set of
procedures for establishing the connection, transferring the data, acknowledging
the data, and then clearing the connection. In a connection-oriented system, each
packet of data is assigned a unique sequence number and an associated
acknowledgement number to track the data as they travel through a network. If
data are lost or damaged, the destination station requests that they be re-sent.

Characteristics of connection-oriented protocols include the following:

1. A connection process called a handshake occurs between two stations
before any data are actually transmitted. Connections are sometimes
referred to as sessions, virtual circuits, or logical connections.
2. Most connection-oriented protocols require some means of
acknowledging the data as they are being transmitted. Protocols that
 use acknowledgment procedures provide a high level of network
reliability.
3. Connection-oriented protocols often provide some means of error
control (i.e., error detection and error correction). Whenever data are
found to be in error, the receiving station requests a retransmission.
4. When a connection is no longer needed, a specific handshake drops the
connection.

Connectionless protocols are protocols where data are exchanged in an

unplanned fashion without prior coordination between endpoints (e.g., a
datagram).

Connectionless protocols do not provide the same high degree of reliability as

connection-oriented protocols; however, connectionless protocols offer a
significant advantage in transmission speed. Connectionless protocols operate in
a manner similar to the U.S. Postal Service, where information is formatted,
placed in an envelope with source and destination addresses, and then mailed.
You can only hope the letter arrives at its destination.

Characteristics of connectionless protocols are as follows:

1. Connectionless protocols send data with a source and destination address
without a handshake to ensure that the destination is ready to receive the
data.
2. Connectionless protocols usually do not support error control or
acknowledgment procedures, making them a relatively unreliable method
of data transmission.
3. Connectionless protocols are used because they are often more efficient, as
the data being transmitted usually does not justify the extra overhead
required by connection-oriented protocols.
Open System Interconnection (OSI) Model

Is a conceptual framework that divides network communication functions into

seven layers to facilitate interoperability between different networking
technologies and protocols. The primary purpose of OSI standards is to serve as a
structural guideline for exchanging information between computers,
workstations, and networks. The OSI is endorsed by both the International
Standards Organization (ISO) and International Telecommunication Union-
Telecom (ITU-T), which have worked together to establish a set of ISO standards
and ITU-T recommendations that are essentially identical. In 1983, the ISO and
ITU-T (CCITT) adopted a seven-layer communications architecture reference
model. Each layer consists of specific protocols for communicating. This hierarchy
was developed to facilitate the intercommunications of data processing
equipment by separating network responsibilities into seven distinct layers.
OSI Layer Protocol
 .
OSI Hierarchy

1. Physical Layer. The physical layer is the lowest level of the OSI hierarchy
and is responsible for the actual propagation of unstructured data bits (1s
and 0s) through a transmission medium, which includes how bits are
represented, the bit rate, and how bit synchronization is achieved. The
physical layer specifies the type of transmission medium and the
transmission mode (simplex, half duplex, or full duplex) and the physical,
electrical, functional, and procedural standards for accessing data
communications networks. Definitions such as connections, pin
assignments, interface parameters, timing, maximum and minimum voltage
levels, and circuit impedances are made at the physical level. Transmission
 media defined by the physical layer include metallic cable, optical fiber
cable, or wireless radio-wave propagation. The physical layer also includes
the carrier system used to propagate the data signals between points in the
network. Carrier systems are simply communications systems that carry
data through a system using either metallic or optical fiber cables or
wireless arrangements, such as microwave, satellites, and cellular radio
systems. The carrier can use analog or digital signals that are somehow
converted to a different form and then propagated through the system.

Physical Layer

2. Data-link Layer. The data-link layer is responsible for providing error-free

communications across the physical link connecting primary and secondary
stations (nodes) within a network (sometimes referred to as hop-to-hop
delivery). The data-link layer packages data from the physical layer into
groups called blocks, frames, or packets and provides a means to activate,
maintain, and deactivate the data communications link between nodes. The
data-link layer provides the final framing of the information signal, provides
synchronization, facilitates the orderly flow of data between nodes,
outlines procedures for error detection and correction, and provides the
physical addressing information. A block diagram of a network showing
data transferred between two computers (A and E) at the datalink level is
illustrated in Figure 9. Note that the hubs are transparent but that the
switch passes the transmission on to only the hub serving the intended
destination.
 Data Link Layer

3. Network Layer. The network layer provides details that enable data to be
routed between devices in an environment using multiple networks, sub-
networks, or both. Networking components that operate at the network
layer include routers and their software. The network layer determines
which network configuration is most appropriate for the function provided
by the network and addresses and routes data within networks by
establishing, maintaining, and terminating connections between them. The
network layer provides the upper layers of the hierarchy independence
from the data transmission and switching technologies used to
interconnect systems. It accomplishes this by defining the mechanism in
which messages are broken into smaller data packets and routed from a
sending node to a receiving node within a data communications network.
The network layer also typically provides the source and destination
network addresses (logical addresses), subnet information, and source and
destination node addresses.
 Network Layer

4. Transport Layer. The transport layer controls and ensures the end-to-end
integrity of the data message propagated through the network between
two devices, which provides for the reliable, transparent transfer of data
between two endpoints. Transport layer responsibilities includes message
routing, segmenting, error recovery, and two types of basic services to an
upper-layer protocol: connection-oriented and connectionless. The
transport layer is the highest layer in the OSI hierarchy in terms of
communications and may provide data tracking, connection flow control,
sequencing of data, error checking, and application addressing and
identification.

Transport Layer

5. Session Layer. The session layer is responsible for network availability (i.e.,
data storage and processor capacity). Session layer protocols provide the
 logical connection entities at the application layer. These applications
include file transfer protocols and sending e-mail. Session responsibilities
include network log-on and log-off procedures and user authentication. A
session is a temporary condition that exists when data are actually in the
process of being transferred and does not include procedures such as call
establishment, setup, or disconnect. The session layer determines the type
of dialogue available (i.e., simplex, half duplex, or full duplex). Session layer
characteristics include virtual connections between applications entities,
synchronization of data flow for recovery purposes, creation of dialogue
units and activity units, connection parameter negotiation, and partitioning
services into functional groups.

Session Layer

6. Presentation Layer. The presentation layer provides independence to the

application processes by addressing any code or syntax conversion
necessary to present the data to the network in a common communications
format. The presentation layer specifies how end-user applications should
format the data. This layer provides for translation between local
representations of data and the representation of data that will be used for
transfer between end users. The results of encryption, data compression,
and virtual terminals are examples of the translation service. The
presentation layer translates between different data formats and protocols.
Presentation functions include data file formatting, encoding, encryption
and decryption of data messages, dialogue procedures, data compression
algorithms, synchronization, interruption, and termination. The
presentation layer performs code and character set translation (including
 ASCII and EBCDIC) and formatting information and determines the display
mechanism for messages.

Presentation Layer

7. Application Layer. The application layer is the highest layer in the hierarchy
and is analogous to the general manager of the network by providing
access to the OSI environment. The applications layer provides distributed
information services and controls the sequence of activities within an
application and also the sequence of events between the computer
application and the user of another application. The application layer
communicates directly with the user’s application program. User
application processes require application layer service elements to access
the networking environment. There are two types of service elements:
CASEs (common application service elements), which are generally useful
to a variety of application processes and SASEs (specific application service
elements), which generally satisfy particular needs of application processes.
CASE examples include association control that establishes, maintains, and
terminates connections with a peer application entity and commitment,
concurrence, and recovery that ensure the integrity of distributed
transactions. SASE examples involve the TCP/IP protocol stack and include
FTP (file transfer protocol), SNMP (simple network management protocol),
Telnet (virtual terminal protocol), and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol).
 Application Layer

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Developed by the Department of Defense of the United States of America before

the inception of the seven-layer OSI model. TCP/IP is comprised of several
interactive modules that provide specific functionality without necessarily
operating independent of one another. The OSI seven layer model specifies
exactly which function each layer performs, whereas TCP/IP is comprised of
several relatively independent protocols that can be combined in many ways,
depending on system needs. The term hierarchical simply means that the upper
level protocols are supported by one or more lower-level protocols. Depending on
whose definition you use, TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol comprised of either
three or four layers.

The three-layer version of TCP/IP contains the network, transport, and application
layers that reside above two lower-layer protocols that are not specified by
TCP/IP (the physical and data link layers). The network layer of TCP/IP provides
internetworking functions similar to those provided by the network layer of the
OSI network model. The network layer is sometimes called the internetwork layer
or internet layer.

The transport layer of TCP/IP contains two protocols: TCP (transmission control
protocol) and UDP (user datagram protocol). TCP functions go beyond those
specified by the transport layer of the OSI model, as they define several tasks
defined for the session layer. In essence, TCP allows two application layers to
communicate with each other. The applications layer of TCP/IP contains several
other protocols that users and programs utilize to perform the functions of the
three uppermost layers of the OSI hierarchy (i.e., the applications, presentation,
and session layers).

The four-layer version of TCP/IP specifies the network access, Internet, host-to-
host, and process layers:

Network access layer. Provides a means of physically delivering data packets

using frames or cells. It contains the physical and data link layer that can operate
in parallel.

Internet layer. Contains information that pertains to how data can be routed
through the network.

Host-to-host layer. Services the process and Internet layers to handle the
reliability and session aspects of data transmission.

Process layer. Provides applications support. It combines the last three layers of
the OSI model, the session, presentation and application layers.

TCP/IP is probably the dominant communications protocol in use today. It

provides a common denominator, allowing many different types of devices to
communicate