1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

Communicationoverthenetwork
TheElementsofCommunication

Communicationbeginswithamessage,orinformation,thatmustbesentfromoneindividualordeviceto
another.Peopleexchangeideasusingmanydifferentcommunicationmethods.Allofthesemethodshavethree
elementsincommon.Thefirstoftheseelementsisthemessagesource,orsender.Messagesourcesarepeople,
orelectronicdevices,thatneedtosendamessagetootherindividualsordevices.Thesecondelementof
communicationisthedestination,orreceiver,ofthemessage.Thedestinationreceivesthemessageand
interpretsit.Athirdelement,calledachannel,consistsofthemediathatprovidesthepathwayoverwhichthe
messagecantravelfromsourcetodestination.Consider,forexample,thedesiretocommunicateusingwords,
pictures,andsounds.Eachofthesemessagescanbesentacrossadataorinformationnetworkbyfirst
convertingthemintobinarydigits,orbits.Thesebitsarethenencodedintoasignalthatcanbetransmittedover
theappropriatemedium.Incomputernetworks,themediaisusuallyatypeofcable,orawirelesstransmission.
Thetermnetworkinthiscoursewillrefertodataorinformationnetworkscapableofcarryingmanydifferent
typesofcommunications,includingtraditionalcomputerdata,interactivevoice,video,andentertainment
products.
CommunicatingtheMessages
Intheory,asinglecommunication,suchasamusicvideooranemailmessage,couldbesentacrossanetwork
fromasourcetoadestinationasonemassivecontinuousstreamofbits.Ifmessageswereactuallytransmittedin
thismanner,itwouldmeanthatnootherdevicewouldbeabletosendorreceivemessagesonthesamenetwork
whilethisdatatransferwasinprogress.Theselargestreamsofdatawouldresultinsignificantdelays.Further,if
alinkintheinterconnectednetworkinfrastructurefailedduringthetransmission,thecompletemessagewould
belostandhavetoberetransmittedinfull.Abetterapproachistodividethedataintosmaller,moremanageable
piecestosendoverthenetwork.Thisdivisionofthedatastreamintosmallerpiecesiscalledsegmentation.
Segmentingmessageshastwoprimarybenefits.First,bysendingsmallerindividualpiecesfromsourceto
destination,manydifferentconversationscanbeinterleavedonthenetwork.Theprocessusedtointerleavethe
piecesofseparateconversationstogetheronthenetworkiscalledmultiplexing.Second,segmentationcan
increasethereliabilityofnetworkcommunications.Theseparatepiecesofeachmessageneednottravelthe
samepathwayacrossthenetworkfromsourcetodestination.Ifaparticularpathbecomescongestedwithdata
trafficorfails,individualpiecesofthemessagecanstillbedirectedtothedestinationusingalternatepathways.
Ifpartofthemessagefailstomakeittothedestination,onlythemissingpartsneedtoberetransmitted.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

1/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

Thedownsidetousingsegmentationandmultiplexingtotransmitmessagesacrossanetworkisthelevelof
complexitythatisaddedtotheprocess.Imagineifyouhadtosenda100pageletter,buteachenvelopewould
onlyholdonepage.Theprocessofaddressing,labeling,sending,receiving,andopeningtheentirehundred
envelopeswouldbetimeconsumingforboththesenderandtherecipient.
Innetworkcommunications,eachsegmentofthemessagemustgothroughasimilarprocesstoensurethatit
getstothecorrectdestinationandcanbereassembledintothecontentoftheoriginalmessage.Varioustypesof
devicesthroughoutthenetworkparticipateinensuringthatthepiecesofthemessagearrivereliablyattheir
destination.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

2/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

ComponentsoftheNetwork
Thepaththatamessagetakesfromsourcetodestinationcanbeassimpleasasinglecableconnectingone
computertoanotherorascomplexasanetworkthatliterallyspanstheglobe.Thisnetworkinfrastructureisthe
platformthatsupportsourhumannetwork.Itprovidesthestableandreliablechanneloverwhichour
communicationscanoccur.Devicesandmediaarethephysicalelementsorhardwareofthenetwork.Hardware
isoftenthevisiblecomponentsofthenetworkplatformsuchasalaptop,aPC,aswitch,orthecablingusedto
connectthedevices.Occasionally,somecomponentsmaynotbesovisible.Inthecaseofwirelessmedia,
messagesaretransmittedthroughtheairusinginvisibleradiofrequencyorinfraredwaves.Servicesand
processesarethecommunicationprograms,calledsoftware,thatrunonthenetworkeddevices.Anetwork
serviceprovidesinformationinresponsetoarequest.Servicesincludemanyofthecommonnetwork
applicationspeopleuseeveryday,likeemailhostingservicesandwebhostingservices.Processesprovidethe
functionalitythatdirectsandmovesthemessagesthroughthenetwork.Processesarelessobvioustousbutare
criticaltotheoperationofnetworks.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

3/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

EndDevicesandtheirRoleontheNetwork
Thenetworkdevicesthatpeoplearemostfamiliarwitharecalledenddevices.Thesedevicesformtheinterface
betweenthehumannetworkandtheunderlyingcommunicationnetwork.Someexamplesofenddevicesare:
Computers(workstations,laptops,fileservers,webservers)
Networkprinters
VoIPphones
Securitycameras
Mobilehandhelddevices(suchaswirelessbarcodescanners,PDAs)
Inthecontextofanetwork,enddevicesarereferredtoashosts.Ahostdeviceiseitherthesourceordestination
ofamessagetransmittedoverthenetwork.Inordertodistinguishonehostfromanother,eachhostonanetwork
isidentifiedbyanaddress.Whenahostinitiatescommunication,itusestheaddressofthedestinationhostto
specifywherethemessageshouldbesent.Inmodernnetworks,ahostcanactasaclient,aserver,orboth.
Softwareinstalledonthehostdetermineswhichroleitplaysonthenetwork.Serversarehoststhathave
softwareinstalledthatenablesthemtoprovideinformationandservices,likeemailorwebpages,tootherhosts
onthenetwork.Clientsarehoststhathavesoftwareinstalledthatenablesthemtorequestanddisplaythe
informationobtainedfromtheserver.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

4/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

IntermediaryDevicesandtheirRoleontheNetwork
Inadditiontotheenddevicesthatpeoplearefamiliarwith,networksrelyonintermediarydevicestoprovide
connectivityandtoworkbehindthescenestoensurethatdataflowsacrossthenetwork.Thesedevicesconnect
theindividualhoststothenetworkandcanconnectmultipleindividualnetworkstoformaninternetwork.
Examplesofintermediarynetworkdevicesare:
NetworkAccessDevices(Hubs,switches,andwirelessaccesspoints)
InternetworkingDevices(routers)
CommunicationServersandModems
SecurityDevices(firewalls)
Themanagementofdataasitflowsthroughthenetworkisalsoaroleoftheintermediarydevices.These
devicesusethedestinationhostaddress,inconjunctionwithinformationaboutthenetworkinterconnections,to
determinethepaththatmessagesshouldtakethroughthenetwork.Processesrunningontheintermediary
networkdevicesperformthesefunctions:
Regenerateandretransmitdatasignals
Maintaininformationaboutwhatpathwaysexistthroughthenetworkandinternetwork
Notifyotherdevicesoferrorsandcommunicationfailures
Directdataalongalternatepathwayswhenthereisalinkfailure
ClassifyanddirectmessagesaccordingtoQoSpriorities
Permitordenytheflowofdata,basedonsecuritysettings
NetworkMedia
Communicationacrossanetworkiscarriedonamedium.Themediumprovidesthechanneloverwhichthe
messagetravelsfromsourcetodestination.Modernnetworksprimarilyusethreetypesofmediatointerconnect
devicesandtoprovidethepathwayoverwhichdatacanbetransmitted.Thesemediaare:
Metallicwireswithincables
Glassorplasticfibers(fiberopticcable)
Wirelesstransmission
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

5/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

Thesignalencodingthatmustoccurforthemessagetobetransmittedisdifferentforeachmediatype.On
metallicwires,thedataisencodedintoelectricalimpulsesthatmatchspecificpatterns.Fiberoptictransmissions
relyonpulsesoflight,withineitherinfraredorvisiblelightranges.Inwirelesstransmission,patternsof
electromagneticwavesdepictthevariousbitvalues.Differenttypesofnetworkmediahavedifferentfeatures
andbenefits.Notallnetworkmediahasthesamecharacteristicsandisappropriateforthesamepurpose.
Criteriaforchoosinganetworkmediaare:
Thedistancethemediacansuccessfullycarryasignal.
Theenvironmentinwhichthemediaistobeinstalled.
Theamountofdataandthespeedatwhichitmustbetransmitted.
Thecostofthemediaandinstallation

LANs,WANs,andInternetworks
LocalAreaNetworks
Networksinfrastructurescanvarygreatlyintermsof:
Thesizeoftheareacovered
Thenumberofusersconnected
Thenumberandtypesofservicesavailable
Anindividualnetworkusuallyspansasinglegeographicalarea,providingservicesandapplicationstopeople
withinacommonorganizationalstructure,suchasasinglebusiness,campusorregion.Thistypeofnetworkis
calledaLocalAreaNetwork.ALANisusuallyadministeredbyasingleorganization.Theadministrative
controlthatgovernsthesecurityandaccesscontrolpoliciesareenforcedonthenetworklevel.

WideAreaNetworks
Whenacompanyororganizationhaslocationsthatareseparatedbylargegeographicaldistances,itmaybe
necessarytouseatelecommunicationsserviceprovider(TSP)tointerconnecttheLANsatthedifferent
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

6/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

locations.Telecommunicationsserviceprovidersoperatelargeregionalnetworksthatcanspanlongdistances.
Traditionally,TSPstransportedvoiceanddatacommunicationsonseparatenetworks.Increasingly,these
providersareofferingconvergedinformationnetworkservicestotheirsubscribers.Individualorganizations
usuallyleaseconnectionsthroughatelecommunicationsserviceprovidernetwork.Thesenetworksthatconnect
LANsingeographicallyseparatedlocationsarereferredtoasWideAreaNetworks(WANs).Althoughthe
organizationmaintainsallofthepoliciesandadministrationoftheLANsatbothendsoftheconnection,the
policieswithinthecommunicationsserviceprovidernetworkarecontrolledbytheTSP.
WANsusespecificallydesignednetworkdevicestomaketheinterconnectionsbetweenLANs.Becauseofthe
importanceofthesedevicestothenetwork,configuring,installingandmaintainingthesedevicesareskillsthat
areintegraltothefunctionofanorganization'snetwork.LANsandWANsareveryusefultoindividual
organizations.Theyconnecttheuserswithintheorganization.Theyallowmanyformsofcommunication
includingexchangeemails,corporatetraining,andotherresourcesharing.

TheInternetANetworkofNetworks
AlthoughtherearebenefitstousingaLANorWAN,mostofusneedtocommunicatewitharesourceon
anothernetwork,outsideofourlocalorganization.
Examplesofthistypeofcommunicationinclude:
Sendinganemailtoafriendinanothercountry
Accessingnewsorproductsonawebsite
Gettingafilefromaneighbor'scomputer
Instantmessagingwitharelativeinanothercity
Followingafavoritesportingteam'sperformanceonacellphone
Internetwork
Aglobalmeshofinterconnectednetworks(internetworks)meetsthesehumancommunicationneeds.Someof
theseinterconnectednetworksareownedbylargepublicandprivateorganizations,suchasgovernment
agenciesorindustrialenterprises,andarereservedfortheirexclusiveuse.Themostwellknownandwidely
usedpubliclyaccessibleinternetworkistheInternet.TheInternetiscreatedbytheinterconnectionofnetworks
belongingtoInternetServiceProviders(ISPs).TheseISPnetworksconnecttoeachothertoprovideaccessfor
millionsofusersallovertheworld.Ensuringeffectivecommunicationacrossthisdiverseinfrastructurerequires
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

7/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

theapplicationofconsistentandcommonlyrecognizedtechnologiesandprotocolsaswellasthecooperationof
manynetworkadministrationagencies.
Intranet
ThetermintranetisoftenusedtorefertoaprivateconnectionofLANsandWANsthatbelongstoan
organization,andisdesignedtobeaccessibleonlybytheorganization'smembers,employees,orotherswith
authorization.Note:Thefollowingtermsmaybeinterchangeable:internetwork,datanetwork,andnetwork.A
connectionoftwoormoredatanetworksformsaninternetworkanetworkofnetworks.Itisalsocommonto
refertoaninternetworkasadatanetworkorsimplyasanetworkwhenconsideringcommunicationsatahigh
level.Theusageoftermsdependsonthecontextatthetimeandtermsmayoftenbeinterchanged.

Protocols
RulesthatGovernCommunications
Allcommunication,whetherfacetofaceoroveranetwork,isgovernedbypredeterminedrulescalled
protocols.Theseprotocolsarespecifictothecharacteristicsoftheconversation.Inourdaytodaypersonal
communication,therulesweusetocommunicateoveronemedium,likeatelephonecall,arenotnecessarilythe
sameastheprotocolsforusinganothermedium,suchassendingaletter.Thinkofhowmanydifferentrulesor
protocolsgovernallthedifferentmethodsofcommunicationthatexistintheworldtoday.Successful
communicationbetweenhostsonanetworkrequirestheinteractionofmanydifferentprotocols.Agroupof
interrelatedprotocolsthatarenecessarytoperformacommunicationfunctioniscalledaprotocolsuite.These
protocolsareimplementedinsoftwareandhardwarethatisloadedoneachhostandnetworkdevice.Oneofthe
bestwaystovisualizehowalloftheprotocolsinteractonaparticularhostistoviewitasastack.Aprotocol
stackshowshowtheindividualprotocolswithinthesuiteareimplementedonthehost.Theprotocolsareviewed
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

8/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

asalayeredhierarchy,witheachhigherlevelservicedependingonthefunctionalitydefinedbytheprotocols
showninthelowerlevels.Thelowerlayersofthestackareconcernedwithmovingdataoverthenetworkand
providingservicestotheupperlayers,whicharefocusedonthecontentofthemessagebeingsentandtheuser
interface.
Usinglayerstodescribefacetofacecommunication
Forexample,considertwopeoplecommunicatingfacetoface.Asthefigureshows,wecanusethreelayersto
describethisactivity.Atthebottomlayer,thephysicallayer,wehavetwopeople,eachwithavoicethatcan
utterwordsaloud.Atthesecondlayer,theruleslayer,wehaveanagreementtospeakinacommonlanguage.At
thetoplayer,thecontentlayer,wehavethewordsactuallyspokenthecontentofthecommunication.Wereweto
witnessthisconversation,wewouldnotactuallysee"layers"floatinginspace.Itisimportanttounderstandthat
theuseoflayersisamodeland,assuch,itprovidesawaytoconvenientlybreakacomplextaskintopartsand
describehowtheywork.
NetworkProtocols
Atthehumanlevel,somecommunicationrulesareformalandothersaresimplyunderstood,orimplicit,based
oncustomandpractice.Fordevicestosuccessfullycommunicate,anetworkprotocolsuitemustdescribe
preciserequirementsandinteractions.
Networkingprotocolsuitesdescribeprocessessuchas:
Theformatorstructureofthemessage
Themethodbywhichnetworkingdevicesshareinformationaboutpathwayswithothernetworks
Howandwhenerrorandsystemmessagesarepassedbetweendevices
Thesetupandterminationofdatatransfersessions
Individualprotocolsinaprotocolsuitemaybevendorspecificandproprietary.Proprietary,inthiscontext,
meansthatonecompanyorvendorcontrolsthedefinitionoftheprotocolandhowitfunctions.Someproprietary
protocolscanbeusedbydifferentorganizationswithpermissionfromtheowner.Otherscanonlybe
implementedonequipmentmanufacturedbytheproprietaryvendor.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

9/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

ProtocolSuitesandIndustryStandards
Often,manyoftheprotocolsthatcompriseaprotocolsuitereferenceotherwidelyutilizedprotocolsorindustry
standards.Astandardisaprocessorprotocolthathasbeenendorsedbythenetworkingindustryandratifiedby
astandardsorganization,suchastheInstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers(IEEE)ortheInternet
EngineeringTaskForce(IETF).Theuseofstandardsindevelopingandimplementingprotocolsensuresthat
productsfromdifferentmanufacturerscanworktogetherforefficientcommunications.Ifaprotocolisnot
rigidlyobservedbyaparticularmanufacturer,theirequipmentorsoftwaremaynotbeabletosuccessfully
communicatewithproductsmadebyothermanufacturers.Indatacommunications,forexample,ifoneendofa
conversationisusingaprotocoltogovernonewaycommunicationandtheotherendisassumingaprotocol
describingtwowaycommunication,inallprobability,noinformationwillbeexchanged

TheInteractionofProtocols
Anexampleoftheuseofaprotocolsuiteinnetworkcommunicationsistheinteractionbetweenawebserver
andawebbrowser.Thisinteractionusesanumberofprotocolsandstandardsintheprocessofexchanging
informationbetweenthem.Thedifferentprotocolsworktogethertoensurethatthemessagesarereceivedand
understoodbybothparties.Examplesoftheseprotocolsare:
ApplicationProtocol:
HypertextTransferProtocol(HTTP)isacommonprotocolthatgovernsthewaythatawebserverandaweb
clientinteract.HTTPdefinesthecontentandformattingoftherequestsandresponsesexchangedbetweenthe
clientandserver.BoththeclientandthewebserversoftwareimplementHTTPaspartoftheapplication.The
HTTPprotocolreliesonotherprotocolstogovernhowthemessagesaretransportedbetweenclientandserver
TransportProtocol:

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

10/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TransmissionControlProtocol(TCP)isthetransportprotocolthatmanagestheindividualconversations
betweenwebserversandwebclients.TCPdividestheHTTPmessagesintosmallerpieces,calledsegments,to
besenttothedestinationclient.Itisalsoresponsibleforcontrollingthesizeandrateatwhichmessagesare
exchangedbetweentheserverandtheclient.
InternetworkProtocol:
ThemostcommoninternetworkprotocolisInternetProtocol(IP).IPisresponsiblefortakingtheformatted
segmentsfromTCP,encapsulatingthemintopackets,assigningtheappropriateaddresses,andselectingthebest
pathtothedestinationhost.
NetworkAccessProtocols:
Networkaccessprotocolsdescribetwoprimaryfunctions,datalinkmanagementandthephysicaltransmission
ofdataonthemedia.DatalinkmanagementprotocolstakethepacketsfromIPandformatthemtobe
transmittedoverthemedia.Thestandardsandprotocolsforthephysicalmediagovernhowthesignalsaresent
overthemediaandhowtheyareinterpretedbythereceivingclients.Transceiversonthenetworkinterfacecards
implementtheappropriatestandardsforthemediathatisbeingused.

TechnologyIndependentProtocols
Networkingprotocolsdescribethefunctionsthatoccurduringnetworkcommunications.Inthefacetoface
conversationexample,aprotocolforcommunicatingmightstatethatinordertosignalthattheconversationis
complete,thesendermustremainsilentfortwofullseconds.However,thisprotocoldoesnotspecifyhowthe
senderistoremainsilentforthetwoseconds.Protocolsgenerallydonotdescribehowtoaccomplishaparticular
function.Bydescribingonlywhatfunctionsarerequiredofaparticularcommunicationrulebutnothowthey
aretobecarriedout,theimplementationofaparticularprotocolcanbetechnologyindependent.Lookingatthe
webserverexample,HTTPdoesnotspecifywhatprogramminglanguageisusedtocreatethebrowser,which
webserversoftwareshouldbeusedtoservethewebpages,whatoperatingsystemthesoftwarerunson,orthe
hardwarerequirementsnecessarytodisplaythebrowser.Italsodoesnotdescribehowtheservershoulddetect
errors,althoughitdoesdescribewhattheservershoulddoifanerroroccurs.Thismeansthatacomputerand
otherdevices,likemobilephonesorPDAscanaccessawebpagestoredonanytypeofwebserverthatuses
anyformofoperatingsystemfromanywhereontheInternet.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

11/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

UsingLayeredModels
TheBenefitsofUsingaLayeredModel
Tovisualizetheinteractionbetweenvariousprotocols,itiscommontousealayeredmodel.Alayeredmodel
depictstheoperationoftheprotocolsoccurringwithineachlayer,aswellastheinteractionwiththelayers
aboveandbelowit.
Therearebenefitstousingalayeredmodeltodescribenetworkprotocolsandoperations.Usingalayered
model:
Assistsinprotocoldesign,becauseprotocolsthatoperateataspecificlayerhavedefinedinformationthat
theyactuponandadefinedinterfacetothelayersaboveandbelow.
Fosterscompetitionbecauseproductsfromdifferentvendorscanworktogether.
Preventstechnologyorcapabilitychangesinonelayerfromaffectingotherlayersaboveandbelow.
Providesacommonlanguagetodescribenetworkingfunctionsandcapabilities.
ProtocolandReferenceModels
Therearetwobasictypesofnetworkingmodels:protocolmodelsandreferencemodels.Aprotocolmodel
providesamodelthatcloselymatchesthestructureofaparticularprotocolsuite.Thehierarchicalsetofrelated
protocolsinasuitetypicallyrepresentsallthefunctionalityrequiredtointerfacethehumannetworkwiththe
datanetwork.TheTCP/IPmodelisaprotocolmodelbecauseitdescribesthefunctionsthatoccurateachlayer
ofprotocolswithintheTCP/IPsuite.Areferencemodelprovidesacommonreferenceformaintaining
consistencywithinalltypesofnetworkprotocolsandservices.Areferencemodelisnotintendedtobean
implementationspecificationortoprovideasufficientlevelofdetailtodefinepreciselytheservicesofthe
networkarchitecture.Theprimarypurposeofareferencemodelistoaidinclearerunderstandingofthe
functionsandprocessinvolved.TheOpenSystemsInterconnection(OSI)modelisthemostwidelyknown
internetworkreferencemodel.Itisusedfordatanetworkdesign,operationspecifications,andtroubleshooting.
AlthoughtheTCP/IPandOSImodelsaretheprimarymodelsusedwhendiscussingnetworkfunctionality,
designersofnetworkprotocols,services,ordevicescancreatetheirownmodelstorepresenttheirproducts.
Ultimately,designersarerequiredtocommunicatetotheindustrybyrelatingtheirproductorservicetoeither
theOSImodelortheTCP/IPmodel,ortoboth.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

12/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TheTCP/IPModel
Thefirstlayeredprotocolmodelforinternetworkcommunicationswascreatedintheearly1970sandisreferred
toastheInternetmodel.Itdefinesfourcategoriesoffunctionsthatmustoccurforcommunicationstobe
successful.ThearchitectureoftheTCP/IPprotocolsuitefollowsthestructureofthismodel.Becauseofthis,the
InternetmodeliscommonlyreferredtoastheTCP/IPmodel.Mostprotocolmodelsdescribeavendorspecific
protocolstack.However,sincetheTCP/IPmodelisanopenstandard,onecompanydoesnotcontrolthe
definitionofthemodel.ThedefinitionsofthestandardandtheTCP/IPprotocolsarediscussedinapublicforum
anddefinedinapubliclyavailablesetofdocuments.ThesedocumentsarecalledRequestsforComments
(RFCs).Theycontainboththeformalspecificationofdatacommunicationsprotocolsandresourcesthat
describetheuseoftheprotocols.TheRFCsalsocontaintechnicalandorganizationaldocumentsaboutthe
Internet,includingthetechnicalspecificationsandpolicydocumentsproducedbytheInternetEngineeringTask
Force(IETF).

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

13/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TheCommunicationProcess
TheTCP/IPmodeldescribesthefunctionalityoftheprotocolsthatmakeuptheTCP/IPprotocolsuite.These
protocols,whichareimplementedonboththesendingandreceivinghosts,interacttoprovideendtoend
deliveryofapplicationsoveranetwork.
Acompletecommunicationprocessincludesthesesteps:
1.Creationofdataattheapplicationlayeroftheoriginatingsourceenddevice
2.Segmentationandencapsulationofdataasitpassesdowntheprotocolstackinthesourceenddevice
3.Generationofthedataontothemediaatthenetworkaccesslayerofthestack
4.Transportationofthedatathroughtheinternetwork,whichconsistsofmediaandanyintermediarydevices
5.Receptionofthedataatthenetworkaccesslayerofthedestinationenddevice
6.Decapsulationandreassemblyofthedataasitpassesupthestackinthedestinationdevice
7.PassingthisdatatothedestinationapplicationattheApplicationlayerofthedestinationenddevice

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

14/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

ProtocolDataUnitsandEncapsulation
Asapplicationdataispasseddowntheprotocolstackonitswaytobetransmittedacrossthenetworkmedia,
variousprotocolsaddinformationtoitateachlevel.Thisiscommonlyknownastheencapsulationprocess.The
formthatapieceofdatatakesatanylayeriscalledaProtocolDataUnit(PDU).Duringencapsulation,each
succeedinglayerencapsulatesthePDUthatitreceivesfromthelayeraboveinaccordancewiththeprotocol
beingused.Ateachstageoftheprocess,aPDUhasadifferentnametoreflectitsnewappearance.Although
thereisnouniversalnamingconventionforPDUs,inthiscourse,thePDUsarenamedaccordingtothe
protocolsoftheTCP/IPsuite.
DataThegeneraltermforthePDUusedattheApplicationlayer
SegmentTransportLayerPDU
PacketInternetworkLayerPDU
FrameNetworkAccessLayerPDU
BitsAPDUusedwhenphysicallytransmittingdataoverthemedium

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

15/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TheSendingandReceivingProcess
Whensendingmessagesonanetwork,theprotocolstackonahostoperatesfromtoptobottom.Intheweb
serverexample,wecanusetheTCP/IPmodeltoillustratetheprocessofsendinganHTMLwebpagetoaclient.
TheApplicationlayerprotocol,HTTP,beginstheprocessbydeliveringtheHTMLformattedwebpagedatato
theTransportlayer.TheretheapplicationdataisbrokenintoTCPsegments.EachTCPsegmentisgivenalabel,
calledaheader,containinginformationaboutwhichprocessrunningonthedestinationcomputershouldreceive
themessage.Italsocontainstheinformationtoenablethedestinationprocesstoreassemblethedatabacktoits
originalformat.TheTransportlayerencapsulatesthewebpageHTMLdatawithinthesegmentandsendsitto
theInternetlayer,wheretheIPprotocolisimplemented.HeretheentireTCPsegmentisencapsulatedwithinan
IPpacket,whichaddsanotherlabel,calledtheIPheader.TheIPheadercontainssourceanddestinationhostIP
addresses,aswellasinformationnecessarytodeliverthepackettoitscorrespondingdestinationprocess.Next,
theIPpacketissenttotheNetworkAccesslayerEthernetprotocolwhereitisencapsulatedwithinaframe
headerandtrailer.Eachframeheadercontainsasourceanddestinationphysicaladdress.Thephysicaladdress
uniquelyidentifiesthedevicesonthelocalnetwork.Thetrailercontainserrorcheckinginformation.Finallythe
bitsareencodedontotheEthernetmediabytheserverNIC.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

16/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TheOSIModel
InitiallytheOSImodelwasdesignedbytheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)toprovidea
frameworkonwhichtobuildasuiteofopensystemsprotocols.Thevisionwasthatthissetofprotocolswould
beusedtodevelopaninternationalnetworkthatwouldnotbedependentonproprietarysystems.Unfortunately,
thespeedatwhichtheTCP/IPbasedInternetwasadopted,andtherateatwhichitexpanded,causedtheOSI
ProtocolSuitedevelopmentandacceptancetolagbehind.Althoughfewoftheprotocolsdevelopedusingthe
OSIspecificationsareinwidespreadusetoday,thesevenlayerOSImodelhasmademajorcontributionstothe
developmentofotherprotocolsandproductsforalltypesofnewnetworks.Asareferencemodel,theOSI
modelprovidesanextensivelistoffunctionsandservicesthatcanoccurateachlayer.Italsodescribesthe
interactionofeachlayerwiththelayersdirectlyaboveandbelowit.Althoughthecontentofthiscoursewillbe
structuredaroundtheOSIModelthefocusofdiscussionwillbetheprotocolsidentifiedintheTCP/IPprotocol
stack.NotethatwhereastheTCP/IPmodellayersarereferredtoonlybyname,thesevenOSImodellayersare
moreoftenreferredtobynumberthanbyname.
Applicationlayerprovidesthemeansforendtoendconnectivitybetweenindividualsinthehuman
networkusingdatanetworks.
PresentationlayerprovidesforcommonrepresentationofdatatransferredbetweenApplicationlayer
services.
SessionlayerprovidesservicestothePresentationlayertoorganizeitsdialogueandtomanagedata
exchange.
Transportlayerdefinesservicestosegment,transfer,andreassemblethedataforindividual
communicationsbetweentheenddevices.
Networklayerprovidesservicestoexchangetheindividualpiecesofdataoverthenetworkbetween
identifiedenddevices.
TheDataLinklayerprotocolsdescribemethodsforexchangingdataframesbetweendevicesovera
commonmedia.
ThePhysicallayerprotocolsdescribethemechanical,electrical,functional,andproceduralmeansto
activate,maintain,anddeactivatephysicalconnectionsforbittransmissiontoandfromanetworkdevice.
ComparingtheOSIModelwiththeTCP/IPModel
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

17/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

TheprotocolsthatmakeuptheTCP/IPprotocolsuitecanbedescribedintermsoftheOSIreferencemodel.In
theOSImodel,theNetworkAccesslayerandtheApplicationlayeroftheTCP/IPmodelarefurtherdividedto
describediscreetfunctionsthatneedtooccurattheselayers.AttheNetworkAccessLayer,theTCP/IPprotocol
suitedoesnotspecifywhichprotocolstousewhentransmittingoveraphysicalmediumitonlydescribesthe
handofffromtheInternetLayertothephysicalnetworkprotocols.TheOSILayers1and2discussthenecessary
procedurestoaccessthemediaandthephysicalmeanstosenddataoveranetwork.Thekeyparallelsbetween
thetwonetworkmodelsoccurattheOSImodelLayers3and4.OSIModelLayer3,theNetworklayer,almost
universallyisusedtodiscussanddocumenttherangeofprocessesthatoccurinalldatanetworkstoaddressand
routemessagesthroughaninternetwork.TheInternetProtocol(IP)istheTCP/IPsuiteprotocolthatincludesthe
functionalitydescribedatLayer3.Layer4,theTransportlayeroftheOSImodel,isoftenusedtodescribe
generalservicesorfunctionsthatmanageindividualconversationsbetweensourceanddestinationhosts.These
functionsincludeacknowledgement,errorrecovery,andsequencing.Atthislayer,theTCP/IPprotocols
TransmissionControlProtocol(TCP)andUserDatagramProtocol(UDP)providethenecessaryfunctionality.
TheTCP/IPApplicationlayerincludesanumberofprotocolsthatprovidespecificfunctionalitytoavarietyof
enduserapplications.TheOSImodelLayers5,6and7areusedasreferencesforapplicationsoftware
developersandvendorstoproduceproductsthatneedtoaccessnetworksforcommunications.

NetworkAddressing
AddressingintheNetwork
TheOSImodeldescribestheprocessesofencoding,formatting,segmenting,andencapsulatingdatafor
transmissionoverthenetwork.Adatastreamthatissentfromasourcetoadestinationcanbedividedinto
piecesandinterleavedwithmessagestravelingfromotherhoststootherdestinations.Billionsofthesepiecesof
informationaretravelingoveranetworkatanygiventime.Itiscriticalforeachpieceofdatatocontainenough
identifyinginformationtogetittothecorrectdestination.Therearevarioustypesofaddressesthatmustbe
includedtosuccessfullydeliverthedatafromasourceapplicationrunningononehosttothecorrectdestination
applicationrunningonanother.UsingtheOSImodelasaguide,wecanseethedifferentaddressesand
identifiersthatarenecessaryateachlayer.

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

18/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

GettingtheDatatotheEndDevice
Duringtheprocessofencapsulation,addressidentifiersareaddedtothedataasittravelsdowntheprotocol
stackonthesourcehost.Justastherearemultiplelayersofprotocolsthatpreparethedatafortransmissiontoits
destination,therearemultiplelayersofaddressingtoensureitsdelivery.Thefirstidentifier,thehostphysical
address,iscontainedintheheaderoftheLayer2PDU,calledaframe.Layer2isconcernedwiththedeliveryof
messagesonasinglelocalnetwork.TheLayer2addressisuniqueonthelocalnetworkandrepresentsthe
addressoftheenddeviceonthephysicalmedia.InaLANusingEthernet,thisaddressiscalledtheMedia
AccessControl(MAC)address.WhentwoenddevicescommunicateonthelocalEthernetnetwork,theframes
thatareexchangedbetweenthemcontainthedestinationandsourceMACaddresses.Onceaframeis
successfullyreceivedbythedestinationhost,theLayer2addressinformationisremovedasthedatais
decapsulatedandmoveduptheprotocolstacktoLayer3.

GettingtheDatathroughtheInternetwork
Layer3protocolsareprimarilydesignedtomovedatafromonelocalnetworktoanotherlocalnetworkwithin
aninternetwork.WhereasLayer2addressesareonlyusedtocommunicatebetweendevicesonasinglelocal
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

19/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

network,Layer3addressesmustincludeidentifiersthatenableintermediarynetworkdevicestolocatehostson
differentnetworks.IntheTCP/IPprotocolsuite,everyIPhostaddresscontainsinformationaboutthenetwork
wherethehostislocated.Attheboundaryofeachlocalnetwork,anintermediarynetworkdevice,usuallya
router,decapsulatestheframetoreadthedestinationhostaddresscontainedintheheaderofthepacket,the
Layer3PDU.Routersusethenetworkidentifierportionofthisaddresstodeterminewhichpathtousetoreach
thedestinationhost.Oncethepathisdetermined,therouterencapsulatesthepacketinanewframeandsendsit
onitswaytowardthedestinationenddevice.Whentheframereachesitsfinaldestination,theframeandpacket
headersareremovedandthedatamoveduptoLayer4.

GettingtheDatatotheRightApplication
AtLayer4,informationcontainedinthePDUheaderdoesnotidentifyadestinationhostoradestination
network.Whatitdoesidentifyisthespecificprocessorservicerunningonthedestinationhostdevicethatwill
actonthedatabeingdelivered.Hosts,whethertheyareclientsorserversontheInternet,canrunmultiple
networkapplicationssimultaneously.PeopleusingPCsoftenhaveanemailclientrunningatthesametimeasa
webbrowser,aninstantmessagingprogram,somestreamingmedia,andperhapsevenagame.Allthese
separatelyrunningprogramsareexamplesofindividualprocesses.Viewingawebpageinvokesatleastone
networkprocess.Clickingahyperlinkcausesawebbrowsertocommunicatewithawebserver.Atthesame
time,inthebackground,anemailclientmaybesendingandreceivingemail,andacolleagueorfriendmaybe
sendinganinstantmessage.Thinkaboutacomputerthathasonlyonenetworkinterfaceonit.Allthedata
streamscreatedbytheapplicationsthatarerunningonthePCenterandleavethroughthatoneinterface,yet
instantmessagesdonotpopupinthemiddleofwordprocessordocumentoremailshowingupinagame.This
isbecausetheindividualprocessesrunningonthesourceanddestinationhostscommunicatewitheachother.
EachapplicationorserviceisrepresentedatLayer4byaportnumber.Auniquedialoguebetweendevicesis
identifiedwithapairofLayer4sourceanddestinationportnumbersthatarerepresentativeofthetwo
communicatingapplications.Whenthedataisreceivedatthehost,theportnumberisexaminedtodetermine
whichapplicationorprocessisthecorrectdestinationforthedata.
Basic
Communicating
Application
Transport
Network
http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

20/21

1/26/2017

Communicationovernetwork

Network2
DataLink
Physical
Ethernet
Cabling
Testing

http://www.highteck.net/EN/Communicating/Communicating_over_the_Network.html

21/21