Chapter-3

3.1 Local Area Network Overview

LAN Applications (1)
 personal computer LANs
 low cost
 limited data rate
 back end networks
 interconnecting large systems (mainframes and large
storage devices)
• high data rate
• high speed interface
• distributed access
• limited distance
• limited number of devices 1
 LAN Applications (2)
 storage area networks (SANs)
 separate network handling storage needs
 detaches storage tasks from specific servers
 shared storage facility
• eg. hard disks, tape libraries, CD arrays
 accessed using a high-speed network
• eg. Fibre Channel
 improved client-server storage access
 direct storage to storage communication for backup

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Storage Area Networks

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 LAN Applications (3)
 high speed office networks
 desktop image processing
 high capacity local storage
 backbone LANs
 interconnect low speed local LANs
 reliability
 capacity
 cost

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 LAN Architecture
 topologies
 transmission medium
 layout
 medium access control

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LAN Topologies

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 Bus and Tree
 used with multipoint medium
 transmission propagates throughout medium
 heard by all stations
 full duplex connection between station and tap
 allows for transmission and reception
 need to regulate transmission
 to avoid collisions and hogging
 terminator absorbs frames at end of medium
 tree a generalization of bus
 headend connected to branching cables
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 Frame
Transmission
on Bus LAN

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 Ring Topology
 a closed loop of repeaters joined by point to
point links
 receive data on one link & retransmit on another
 links unidirectional
 stations attach to repeaters
 data in frames
 circulate past all stations
 destination recognizes address and copies frame
 frame circulates back to source where it is removed
 media access control determines when a station
can insert frame
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 Frame
Transmission
Ring LAN

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 Star Topology
 each station connects to central node
 usually via two point to point links , one for
transmission and one for reception
 either central node can broadcast
 physical star, logical bus
 only one station can transmit at a time
 or central node can act as frame switch

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 Choice of Topology
 reliability
 expandability
 performance
 needs considering in context of:
 medium
 wiring layout
 access control

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 Bus LAN
Transmission Media (1)
 twisted pair
 early LANs used voice grade cable
 didn’t scale for fast LANs
 not used in bus LANs now
 baseband coaxial cable
 uses digital signalling
 original Ethernet

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 Bus LAN
Transmission Media (2)
 broadband coaxial cable
 as in cable TV systems
 analog signals at radio frequencies
 expensive, hard to install and maintain
 no longer used in LANs
 optical fiber
 expensive taps
 better alternatives available
 not used in bus LANs
 less convenient compared to star topology
twisted pair
 coaxial baseband still used but not often in
new installations 14
 Ring and Star Usage
 ring
 very high speed links over long distances
 single link or repeater failure disables network
 star
 uses natural layout of wiring in building
 best for short distances
 high data rates for small number of devices

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 Choice of Medium
 constrained by LAN topology
 capacity
 reliability
 types of data supported
 environmental scope

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 Media Available
 Voice grade unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
 Cat 3 phone, cheap, low data rates
 Shielded twisted pair / baseband coaxial
 more expensive, higher data rates
 Broadband cable
 even more expensive, higher data rate
 High performance UTP
 Cat 5+, very high data rates, switched star topology
 Optical fibre
 security, high capacity, small size, high cost
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LAN Protocol Architecture

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 IEEE 802 Layers (1)
 Physical
 encoding/decoding of signals
 preamble generation/removal (for
synchronization)
 bit transmission/reception
 transmission medium and topology

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 IEEE 802 Layers (2)
 Logical Link Control
 interface to higher levels
 flow and error control
 Media Access Control
 on transmit assemble data into frame
 on receive disassemble frame
 govern access to transmission medium
 for same LLC, may have several MAC options

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LAN Protocols in Context

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 Logical Link Control
 transmission of link level PDUs between
stations
 must support multiaccess, shared medium
 but MAC layer handles link access details
 addressing involves specifying source and
destination LLC users
 referred to as service access points (SAP)
 typically higher level protocol

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 LLC Services
 based on HDLC
 unacknowledged connectionless service
 connection mode service
 acknowledged connectionless service

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 LLC Protocol
 modeled after HDLC
 asynchronous balanced mode
 connection mode (type 2) LLC service
 unacknowledged connectionless service
 using unnumbered information PDUs (type 1)
 acknowledged connectionless service
 using 2 new unnumbered PDUs (type 3)
 permits multiplexing using LSAPs
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MAC Frame Format

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 Media Access Control
 where
 central
• greater control, single point of failure
 distributed
• more complex, but more redundant
 how
 synchronous
• capacity dedicated to connection, not optimal
 asynchronous
• in response to demand 26
 Asynchronous Systems
 round robin
 each station given turn to transmit data
 reservation
 divide medium into slots
 good for stream traffic
 contention
 all stations contend for time
 good for bursty traffic
 simple to implement
 tends to collapse under heavy load
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 MAC Frame Handling
 MAC layer receives data from LLC layer
 fields
 MAC control
 destination MAC address
 source MAC address
 LLC
 CRC
 MAC layer detects errors and discards frames
 LLC optionally retransmits unsuccessful frames

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 Bridges
 connects similar LANs
 identical physical / link layer protocols
 minimal processing
 can map between MAC formats
 reasons for use
 reliability
 performance
 security
 geography
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 Functions of a Bridge
 Read all frames transmitted on one LAN and
accept those address to any station on the other
LAN
 Using MAC protocol for second LAN, retransmit
each frame
 Do the same the other way round

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Bridge Function

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 Bridge Design Aspects
 No modification to content or format of frame
 No encapsulation
 Exact bitwise copy of frame
 Minimal buffering to meet peak demand
 Contains routing and address intelligence
 Must be able to tell which frames to pass

 May be more than one bridge to cross

 May connect more than two LANs

 Bridging is transparent to stations
 Appears to all stations on multiple LANs as if

they are on one single LAN 32

 Bridge Protocol Architecture
 IEEE 802.1D
 MAC level
 bridge does not need LLC layer
 can pass frame over external comms system
 capture frame
 forward it across link
 forward over LAN link
 e.g. WAN link

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Connection of Two LANs

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Bridges and
LANs with
Alternative
Routes

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 Fixed Routing
 complex large LANs need alternative routes
 for load balancing and fault tolerance
 bridge must decide whether to forward frame
 bridge must decide LAN to forward frame to
 can use fixed routing for each source-destination
pair of LANs
 done in configuration
 usually least hop route
 only changed when topology changes
 widely used but limited flexibility
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 Spanning Tree
 bridge automatically develops routing table
 automatically updates routing table in
response to changes
 three mechanisms:
 frame forwarding
 address learning
 loop resolution

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 Frame Forwarding
 maintain forwarding database for each port
 lists station addresses reached through each port
 for a frame arriving on port X:
 search forwarding database to see if MAC address is
listed for any port except X
 if address not found, forward to all ports except X
 if address listed for port Y, check port Y for blocking
or forwarding state
 if not blocked, transmit frame through port Y

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 Address Learning
 can preload forwarding database
 when frame arrives at port X, it has come form
the LAN attached to port X
 use source address to update forwarding
database for port X to include that address
 have a timer on each entry in database
 if timer expires, entry is removed
 each time frame arrives, source address
checked against forwarding database
 if present timer is reset and direction recorded
 if not present entry is created and timer set
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 Spanning Tree Algorithm
 address learning works for tree layout
 in general graph have loops
 for any connected graph there is a spanning tree
maintaining connectivity with no closed loops
 IEEE 802.1 Spanning Tree Algorithm finds this
 each bridge assigned unique identifier
 exchange info between bridges to find spanning tree
 automatically updated whenever topology changes

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Loop of Bridges

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 Spanning Tree Algorithm
 Address learning mechanism is effective if
the topology of the internet is a tree
 Terminology
 Root bridge: Lowest value of bridge identifier
 Path cost: Associated with each port
 Root port: Port to the root bridge
 Root path cost: Cost of the path to root bridge
 Designated bridge/port
 Any active port that is not a root port or a
designated port is a blocked port
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Spanning Tree Algorithm (cont)
 Determine the root bridge
 All bridges consider themselves to be the root
bridge, Each bridge will broadcast a BPDU on
each of its LAN the asserts this fact
 Only the bridge with the lowest-valued identifier
will maintain its belief
 Over time, as BPDU propagate, the identity of the
lowest-valued bridge identifier will be known to
all bridges

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Spanning Tree Algorithm (cont)
 Determine the root port on all other bridges
 The root bridge will regularly broadcast the fact that it is
the root bridge on all of the LANs; It allows the bridges on
those LANs to determine their root port and the fact that
they are directly connected to the root bridge
 Each of these bridges turn broadcasts a BPDU on the
other LANs to which it attached, indicating that it is one
hop away from the root bridge

 Determine the designated port on each LAN

 On any LAN, the bridge claiming to be the one that is
closest (minimum cost path) to the root bridge becomes
the designated bridge
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Spanning Tree Algorithm (e.g.)
LAN 2

C = 10 C=5
Bridge 3 Bridge 4
C = 10 C = 10 C=5
Bridge 1 LAN 5
C = 10
C=5
Bridge 5
C=5

LAN 1

C = 10
C=5

Bridge 2 C=5

LAN 3 LAN 4
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Spanning Tree Algorithm (e.g.)
Bridge 1
Root Path Cost = 0
C = 10 C = 10
D D
LAN 1 LAN 2
R R
C=5 C=5
Bridge 5 Bridge 4
RPC = 5 RPC = 5
C=5 R C=5
C = 10 D
R
Bridge 3
C = 10 RPC = 10 LAN 5
Bridge 2
Root Path Cost = 10 C = 10

C=5 C=5
D D
R = root port
D = designated port
LAN 3 LAN 4
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 Hubs
 Active central element of star layout
 Each station connected to hub by two lines
 Transmit and receive

 Hub acts as a repeater

 When single station transmits, hub repeats signal on outgoing
line to each station
 Line consists of two unshielded twisted pairs
 Limited to about 100 m
 High data rate and poor transmission qualities of UTP

 Optical fiber may be used

 Max about 500 m

 Physically star, logically bus

 Transmission from any station received by all other stations
 If two stations transmit at the same time, collision 47
Two Level Hub Topology
header hub (HHUB)

intermediate
hubs (IHUB)

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 Buses, Hubs and Switches
 bus configuration
 all stations share capacity of bus (e.g. 10Mbps)
 only one station transmitting at a time
 hub uses star wiring to attach stations
 transmission from any station received by hub and
retransmitted on all outgoing lines
 only one station can transmit at a time
 total capacity of LAN is 10 Mbps
 can improve performance using a layer 2 switch
 can switch multiple frames between separate ports
 multiplying capacity of LAN 49
Shared
Medium
Bus and
Hub

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 Layer 2 Switch Benefits
 no change to attached devices to convert bus
LAN or hub LAN to switched LAN
 e.g. Ethernet LANs use Ethernet MAC protocol
 have dedicated capacity equal to original LAN
 assuming switch has sufficient capacity to keep up
with all devices
 scales easily
 additional devices attached to switch by increasing
capacity of layer 2

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 Types of Layer 2 Switch
 store-and-forward switch
 accepts frame on input line, buffers briefly,
routes to destination port
 see delay between sender and receiver
 better integrity
 cut-through switch
 use destination address at beginning of frame
 switch begins repeating frame onto output line
as soon as destination address recognized
 highest possible throughput
 risk of propagating bad frames not able to 52

check the CRC prior to retransmission.

 Layer 2 Switch vs Bridge
 Layer 2 switch can be viewed as full-duplex hub
 incorporates logic to function as multiport bridge
 differences between switches & bridges:
 bridge frame handling done in software
 switch performs frame forwarding in hardware
 bridge analyzes and forwards one frame at a time
 switch can handle multiple frames at a time
 bridge uses store-and-forward operation
 switch can have cut-through operation
 hence bridge have suffered commercially
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 Layer 2 Switch Problems
 broadcast overload
 users share common MAC broadcast address
 broadcast frames are delivered to all devices
connected by layer 2 switches and/or bridges
 broadcast frames can create big overhead
 broadcast storm from malfunctioning devices
 lack of multiple links
 limits performance & reliability

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 Router Problems
 typically use subnetworks connected by routers
 limits broadcasts to single subnet
 supports multiple paths between subnet

 routers do all IP-level processing in software

 high-speed LANs and high-performance layer 2
switches pump millions of packets per second
 software-based router only able to handle well
under a million packets per second
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 Layer 3 Switches
 Solution: layer 3 switches
 implement packet-forwarding logic of router in
hardware

 two categories
 packet by packet
 flow based

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 Packet by Packet or
Flow Based
 packet by packet
 operates like a traditional router
 order of magnitude increase in performance
compared to software-based router
 flow-based switch
 enhances performance by identifying flows of
IP packets with same source and destination
 by observing ongoing traffic or using a special
flow label in packet header (IPv6)
 a predefined route is used for identified flows
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 Typical
Large
LAN
Organization
Diagram

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 Summary
 LAN topologies and media
 LAN protocol architecture
 bridges, hubs, layer 2 & 3 switches

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