CSIS 261 Final Notes

 

 

WAN Protocols

Frame Relay - A packet-switching protocol for connecting devices on a Wide Area Network (WAN). Frame Relay networks in the U.S. support data transfer rates at T-1 (1.544 Mbps) and T-3 (45 Mbps) speeds. In fact, you can think of Frame Relay as a way of utilizing existing T-1 and T-3 lines owned by a service provider. Most telephone companies now provide Frame Relay service for customers who want connections at 56 Kbps to T-1 speeds. (In Europe, Frame Relay speeds vary from 64 Kbps to 2 Mbps.

In the U.S., Frame Relay is quite popular because it is relatively inexpensive. However, it is being replaced in some areas by faster technologies, such as ATM

ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a network technology based on transferring data in cells or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively small compared to units used with older technologies. The small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data hogs the line.

Some people think that ATM holds the answer to the Internet bandwidth problem, but others are skeptical. ATM creates a fixed channel, or route, between two points whenever data transfer begins. This differs from TCP/IP, in which messages are divided into packets and each packet can take a different route from source to destination. This difference makes it easier to track and bill data usage across an ATM network, but it makes it less adaptable to sudden surges in network traffic.

When purchasing ATM service, you generally have a choice of four different types of service:

·  Constant Bit Rate (CBR) specifies a fixed bit rate so that data is sent in a steady stream. This is analogous to a leased line.

·  Variable Bit Rate (VBR) provides a specified throughput capacity but data is not sent evenly. This is a popular choice for voice and videoconferencing data.

·  Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR) does not guarantee any throughput levels. This is used for applications, such as file transfer, that can tolerate delays.

·  Available Bit Rate (ABR) provides a guaranteed minimum capacity but allows data to be bursted at higher capacities when the network is free.

 

Packet-Switched - protocols in which messages are divided into packets before they are sent. Each packet is then transmitted individually and can even follow different routes to its destination. Once all the packets forming a message arrive at the destination, they are recompiled into the original message.

Most modern Wide Area Network (WAN) protocols, including TCP/IP, X.25, and Frame Relay, are based on packet-switching technologies. In contrast, normal telephone service is based on a circuit-switching technology, in which a dedicated line is allocated for transmission between two parties. Circuit-switching is ideal when data must be transmitted quickly and must arrive in the same order in which it's sent. This is the case with most real-time data, such as live audio and video. Packet switching is more efficient and robust for data that can withstand some delays in transmission, such as e-mail messages and Web pages.

A new technology, ATM, attempts to combine the best of both worlds -- the guaranteed delivery of circuit-switched networks and the robustness and efficiency of packet-switching networks.

Circuit-switched - A type of communications in which a dedicated channel (or circuit) is established for the duration of a transmission. The most ubiquitous circuit-switching network is the telephone system, which links together wire segments to create a single unbroken line for each telephone call.

The other common communications method is packet switching, which divides messages into packets and sends each packet individually. The Internet is based on a packet-switching protocol, TCP/IP.

Circuit-switching systems are ideal for communications that require data to be transmitted in real-time. Packet-switching networks are more efficient if some amount of delay is acceptable.

Circuit-switching networks are sometimes called connection-oriented networks. Note, however, that although packet switching is essentially connectionless, a packet switching network can be made connection-oriented by using a higher-level protocol. TCP, for example, makes IP networks connection-oriented.

Cell-Switched - The international telephone community has committed to a future network design that combines elements of both circuit and packet switching to enable the provision of integrated services. The ITU (formerly CCITT, an international standards body for telecommunications) has adopted a ``cell-switching'' technology called ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) for future high-speed networks. Cell switching closely resembles packet switching in that it breaks a data stream into packets which are then placed on lines that are shared by several streams. One major difference is that cells have a fixed size while packets can have different sizes. This makes it possible in principle to offer bounded delay guarantees (since a cell will not get stuck for a surprisingly long time behind an unusually large packet).

An ATM network also resembles a circuit-switched network in that it provides connection-oriented service. Each connection has a set-up phase, during which a ``virtual circuit'' is created. The fact that the circuit is virtual, not physical, provides two major advantages. First, it is not necessary to reserve network resources for a given connection; the economic efficiencies of statistical multiplexing can be realized. Second, once a virtual circuit path is established switching time is minimized, which allows much higher network throughput. Initial ATM networks are already being operated at 155 Mbps, while the non-ATM Internet backbones operate at no more than 45 Mbps. The path to 1000 Mbps (gigabit) networks seems much clearer for ATM than for traditional packet switching.  (ATM Cells are capable of 2.4 Gbps)

 

CISCO

 

NVRAM – Non Volatile RAM – Startup Configuration – For CISCO routers.. Boot strap program.

 

CISCO IOS Symbols

·        User mode  - 

o       Router>

·        Privileged mode –

o       Router#

·        Help symbol –

o       Router#  command ?

 

 

 

Television

NTSC – 525 Vertical Lines per Frame @ 30 Frames per Sec  60Hz

 

MPEG

Lossy compression - (as used in JPEG) witch omits bits that the eye does not detect. An acceptable Ratio is 24 to 1

Streaming – 100mbs? Or 10mbps

MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface – Transmits sounds Over 16 channels that reproduce true instrument sounds, voice sounds, and imitated and synthetic sounds.

PCM – Pulse Code Modulation – Converts an analog audio signal to an 8-bit digital signal, and transmits the digital signal at 64Kbs. 2 PCM substandard exist, U-Law in US and A- Law in Europe . U-Law is used over the internet and on intranets more than any other standard.

Latency­ – On WANs must be kept under 400 ms (Milliseconds)

·        Transmission Delay – Is the time it takes a packet to tralve across a network medium such as  10base-T cabling (Max speed 10 Mbps)or  100Base-TX cabling (Max Speed 100Mbps). Besides the speed of the medium, transmission delay is influenced by the size of the packet.

·        Propagation Delay – It is the time it takes for a packet to travel a segment or network, end to end. Propagation delay is usually associated with fiber-optic media and the speed of light through the media.

·        Processing delay – The time it takes for a bridge, switch, or router to compare frame or packet contents with its table information, change the frame or packet header, and provide any special services such as packet translation and reencapsulation, or incrementing the hop count.

·        Switching delay or Store-and-Forward – Wich is the time used by a bridge, switch, or router, to examine, process,. And retransmit a frame or packet.

 

Variable Latency – Jitter  (Min Lat = 200ms & Max =520ms, Jitter = 520ms-200ms=320ms

 

Unicast – three separate transmission to reach three transmissions to reach three separate workstations

Broadcast- One broadcast to all workstation regardless of who wants to receive it.

Multicasting – One transmission to the receiving groups only.

Multipoint - ???

 

Streaming Data ,Audio, And Video –

·        FDDI -  Fiber Distributed Data Interface, a set of ANSI protocols for sending digital data over fiber optic cable. FDDI networks are token-passing networks, and support data rates of up to 100 Mbps (100 million bits) per second. FDDI networks are typically used as backbones for wide-area networks

·        DRI – Dual Rings Interface (Like Toke Ring)

·        RTP - Real-Time Transport Protocol, an Internet protocol for transmitting real-time data such as audio and video. RTP itself does not guarantee real-time delivery of data, but it does provide mechanisms for the sending and receiving applications to support streaming data. Typically, RTP runs on top of the UDP protocol, although the specification is general enough to support other transport protocols.

 

NOVELL

 

IPX - Internetwork Packet Exchange, a networking protocol used by the Novell NetWare operating systems. Like UDP/IP, IPX is a datagram protocol used for connectionless communications. Higher-level protocols, such as SPX and NCP, are used for additional error recovery services.

SPX - Sequenced Packet Exchange, a transport layer protocol (layer 4 of the OSI Model) used in Novell Netware networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3) and provides connection-oriented services between two nodes on the network. SPX is used primarily by client/server applications. Whereas the IPX protocol is similar to IP, SPX is similar to TCP. Together, therefore, IPX/SPX provides connection services similar to TCP/IP.

TABLE 10-1 Pg.345

Protocol

Full Name

Description

OSI Layer

IPX

Internet Pacet Exchange

Used as the primary data transport protocol

3 - 4

LSL

Link Support Layer

Used With ODI to enable multiprotocol support using one NIC

2

MLID

Multiple Link Interface Driver

Connects tow or more channels into one link for telecommunications, for example for tow ISDN Tas.

2

NCP

NetWare Core Protocol

Part of the shell software, enables client and server communications in order to access applications

5-7

NLSP

Netware Link Services Protocol

Used For constructing packets with routing information

3

RIP

Router Information Protocol

Gathers routing information for servers that are configured to provide routing services

3

SAP

Service Advertising Protocol

Enables Netware Clients to identify servers and network service provided by each server

3

SPX

Sequenced Packets Exchange

Provides connection-oriented data transport for applications

4

TCP - Transmission Control Protocol, and pronounced as separate letters. TCP is one of the main protocols in TCP/IP networks. Whereas the IP protocol deals only with packets, TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.

MICROSOFT

NWLINK – For NT to Novell, to allow connection to novell servers and MS servers.

NetBEUI -  NetBios Enhanced User Interface. It is an enhanced version of the NetBIOS protocol used by network operating systems such as LAN Manager, LAN Server, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95 and Windows NT. Netbeui was originally designed by IBM for their Lan Manager server and later extended by Microsoft and Novell

NetBios - Network Basic Input Output System, an application programming interface (API) that augments the DOS BIOS by adding special functions for local-area networks (LANs). Almost all LANs for PCs are based on the NetBIOS. Some LAN manufacturers have even extended it, adding additional network capabilities. NetBIOS relies on a message format called Server Message Block (SMB).

 

Table 10-3 Pg.349 HERE

 

Name

Full Name

Description

OSI Layer

IP

Internet Protocol

Handles Addressing

3

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol

Used for network error

Reporting, particularly through routers.

3

RIP

Routing Information Protocol

Used to gather routing infromati9on to update routing tables

3

OSPF

Open shortest Path First

Used by routers to communicate routing information

3

TCP

Transport Control Protocol

Ensures the Reliability of data transmission

4

UDP

User Datagram Protocol

Used as an alternative to TCP

4

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol

Enable resolution of dotted decimal addresses to computer names, and vice versa

3

FTP

File Transfer Protocol

Used to transfer  Files

5-7

SLIP

Serial Line Internet Protocol

Used as a remote communications protocol in connection with WANs

3

PPP

Point to Point Protocol

Used as a remote communications protocol in connection with WANs

3

DNS

Domain Name Service

Maintains Tables to link dotted decimal addresses with computer names, and vice versa

4

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Used for E-Mail

6

Telnet

Telecommunications Network

Enables a workstation to emulate a terminal, for example to mainframes and microcomputers over the Networks.

5-7

NFS

Network File System

Used to transfer file over a Network

5-7

RPC

Remote Procedure Call

Enables a remote computer to execute procedures on another computer, such as a server

 

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Used for World Wide Web communications

6