ASYNCHRONOUS

Asynchronous communication utilizes a transmitter, a receiver and a wire without coordination about the timing of individual bits. There is no coordination between the two end points on just how long the transmiter leaves the signal at a certain level to represent a single digital bit. Each device uses a clock to measure out the 'length' of a bit. The transmitting device simply transmits. The receiving device has to look at the incoming signal and figure out what it is receiving and coordinate and retime its clock to match the incoming signal. Sending data encoded into your signal requires that the sender and receiver are both using the same encoding/decoding method, and know where to look in the signal to find data. Asynchronous systems do not send separate information to indicate the encoding or clocking information. The receiver must decide the clocking of the signal on it's own. This means that the receiver must decide where to look in the signal stream to find ones and zeroes, and decide for itself where each individual bit stops and starts. This information is not in the data in the signal sent from transmitting unit. When the receiver of a signal carrying information has to derive how that signal is organized without consulting the transmitting device, it is called asynchronous communication. In short, the two ends do not always negotiate or work out the connection parameters before communicating. Asynchronous communication is more efficient when there is low loss and low error rates over the transmission medium because data is not retransmitted and no time is spent setting negotiating the connection parameters at the beginning of transmission. Asynchronous systems just transmit and let the far end station figure it out. Asynchronous is sometimes called "best effort" transmission because one side simply transmits, and the other does it's best to receive and any lost data is recovered by a higher level protocol. EXAMPLES:

Asynchronous communication is used on RS-232 based serial devices such as on an IBM-compatible Computers communication ports (COM 1, 2, 3 & 4) for the following functions: o PS2 ports on your Computers use asynchronous serial communication with the keyboard and mouse o The serial port is used to communicate with an external devices such as modems Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) also uses asynchronous communication.

Think of asynchronous as a faster means of connecting, but less reliable when transmitting.

SYNCHRONOUS

Synchronous systems negotiate the communication parameters at the datalink layer before communication begins. Basic synchronous systems will synchronize the signal clocks on both sides before transmission begins, reset their numeric counters and take other steps. More advanced systems may negotiate things like error correction and compression. It is possible to have both sides try to synchronize the connection at the same time. Usually, there is a process to decide which end should be in control. Both sides in synchronous communication can go through a lengthy negotiation cycle where they exchange communications parameters and status information. With a lengthy connection establishment process, a synchronous system using an unreliable physical connection will spend a great deal of time in negotiating, but not in actual data transfer. Once a connection is established, the transmitter sends out a signal and the receiver sends back data regarding that transmission, and what it received. This connection negotiation process takes longer on low error-rate lines, but is highly efficient in systems where the transmission medium itself

Describe the ISO-OSI reference model and discuss the importance of every layer
The OSI, or Open System Interconnection, model defines a networking framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy.

The OSI or Open System Interconnection, model defines a networking framework for implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in one station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy. Application (Layer 7) This layer supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are identified, quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data syntax are identified. Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer provides application services for file transfers, e-mail, and other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications that exist entirely in the application level. Tiered application architectures are part of this layer.

Presentation (Layer 6) This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating from application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into the form that the application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a network, providing freedom from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer. Session (Layer 5) This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications at each end. It deals with session and connection coordination. Transport (Layer 4) This layer provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is responsible for end-to-end error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer. Network (Layer 3) This layer provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits, for transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well as addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing. Data Link (Layer 2) At this layer, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission protocol knowledge and management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame synchronization. The data link layer is divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The LLC layer controls frame synchronization, flow control and error checking. Physical (Layer 1) This layer conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal -through the network at the electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232, and ATM are protocols with physical layer components.

The echo request contains an optional data area. The echo reply contains the copy of thedata sent in the request message. The format for the echo request and echo reply echo request and echo reply message format The field OPTION ALDAT a variable length that contains data to be returned to the original sender. An echo reply always returns exactly the same data as ws to receive in the request. Field IDENTIFIER and SEQUENCE NUMBER are used by the sender to match replies to requests.The value of the TYPE field specifies whether it is echo request when equal to 8 or echo reply when equal to 0.Reports of Unreachability When a router cannot forward or deliver the datagram to the destination owing to various problems, it sends a destination unreachable message back to the original sender and the drops the datagram. Destination unreachable message format The format of destination unreachable /The TYPE field in destination unreachable message contains an integer equal to 3. The CODE field here contains an integer that describes the problem why the datagram is not reachable. Possible values for CODE field Possible problems in Destination unreachable message Network unreachable errors imply routing failures and host unreachable errors imply delivery failures. As ICMP error message contains a short prefix of the datagram that caused the problem, the source will know exactly which address is unreachable .The port is the destination point discussed at the transport layer. If the datagram contains the source route option with a wrong route, it may report source route failure message. If a router needs to fragment a datagram and DF-bit which is dont fragment bit in IP header is set, the router sends a Fragment needed and DF set message back to the source. Rests of the errors are self explanatory. Obtaining a subnet mask To participate in subnet addressing, a host needs to know which bits of the 32-bit internet address correspond to physical network and which corresponds to host identifiers. The information needed to interpret the address is represented in 32-bit quantity is called subnetmask. To learn the subnet mask used for local network, a machine can send an address