Network Access Layer

Pre-assessment Questions
1. Which of the following layer of the OSI reference model converts messages into segments or breaks large segments into smaller segments that can be handled by lower layers? a. Transport layer b. Session layer c. Network layer d. Data Link layer 2. Which of the following protocols is suitable for small networks with nodes between 10 and 200? a. TCP/IP b. Apple Talk c. NetBEUI d. IPX/SPX
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Pre-assessment Questions
3. Which of the following components provide a common connection point for computers, printers, and other network devices in a star topology network? a. Repeater b. Router

c. Bridge
d. Hub 4. Which of the following layer of the TCP/IP architecture is also known as process layer? a. Internet Layer

b. Application Layer
c. Transport layer d. Network Access layer

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Pre-assessment Questions
5. Which of the following organization is responsible for maintaining the Internet through its committees? a. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

b. Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

c. Internet Corporation for assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) d. Internet Society (ISOC)

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Solutions
Ans 1. a. Transport layer Ans 2. c. NetBEUI Ans 3. d. Hub Ans 4. b. Application Layer Ans 5. d. Internet Society (ISOC)

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Objectives
In this section, you will learn about:

Basics of Network Access Layer Ethernet technology ARP and RARP

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Understanding Network Access Layer

It helps in actual transmission of data from the sending node to the receiving node in a network as shown in the following figure:
Sending Node Receiving Node Application Layer Application Layer

Transport Layer

Transport Layer

Internet Layer

Internet Layer

Network Access Layer

Network Access Layer

Transmission Medium

Data Flow

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Understanding Network Access Layer (Contd.)

The Network Access layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP architecture as shown in the following figure:
Application Layer

Transport Layer

Internet Layer

Network Access Layer

TCP/IP Architecture Network Access Layer

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Understanding Network Access Layer (Contd.)

It corresponds to the Physical layer of the OSI reference model. It is also known as Physical and Data Link layer. Its protocols determine how to transmit an IP data packet in a network. It performs the following functions: Interfacing Synchronization of bits Encapsulation Direction of Transmission Mapping Error Checking

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Protocols used in Network Access Layer

Network Access Layer has no specific protocol. Network Access Layer supports all the standard protocols . Request For Comments (RFCs) that define the Network Access layer protocols are as follows: RFC 826, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), which maps IP addresses to Ethernet addresses. RFC 894, a standard for the Transmission of IP data packets over Ethernet Networks, which specifies how IP data packets are encapsulated for transmission over Ethernet networks

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Protocols used in Network Access Layer (Contd.)

The following figure depicts the protocols in Network Access layer:

Application Layer

Transport Layer

Internet Layer

Network Access Layer

RFC 826 RFC 924

TCP/IP Architecture Network Access Layer Protocols

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Understanding Ethernet

Ethernet is an inexpensive, reasonably fast, and very popular LAN technology. Ethernet was developed by Digital, Intel, and Xerox Corporation and was known as DIX Ethernet. Ethernet was originally developed by Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Ethernet supports all higher-level protocols such as TCP, IP, and UDP. The protocols of Ethernet are easy to understand, implement, manage, and maintain. Ethernet protocols can run on different network topologies such as bus topology and star topology. An Ethernet LAN can use a coaxial cable, a twisted pair wiring, or a fiber optic cable. The Ethernet hardware consists of many hardware devices such as network adapter card, cables, connectors, and hubs.
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Ethernet Technologies

Ethernet technology are classified on the basis of their transmission rate, which are as follows:

10Base2 Ethernet

10Base5 Ethernet
10BaseT Ethernet 100BaseT Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet

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Basic Ethernet Frame Format

The Ethernet header encapsulates data to form an Ethernet frame before getting transmitted across the physical network. The size of the Ethernet header can be from 64 bytes to 1518 bytes depending on the data size. In Ethernet, the minimum frame length is 520 bits. The following figure shows an Ethernet frame:

Ethernet Header

Data

Ethernet Frame

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Basic Ethernet Frame Format (Contd.)

The Ethernet data frame format contains seven fields, which are as follows: Preamble (PRE) Start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) Destination address (DA) Source addresses (SA) Length/Type Data Frame check sequence (FCS) The following figure depicts the Ethernet basic data format:
Transmission order: Left- to - right, bit serial

PRE

SFD

DA

SA

Length / Type

Data

PAD

FCS

46 - 1500

Ethernet Data Format

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Ethernet Access Methods

The set of rules, which defines how a computer transmits data on the network cable and retrieves data from the cable is called an access method. The access methods used by Ethernet technologies is Carrier-Sense Multiple Access (CSMA). Carrier-Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) follows two methods:

Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)

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Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)

It is standardized by the IEEE under 802.3. It is the access method used in Ethernet and wireless Ethernet networks. It is only effective up to 2,500 meters. The CSMA/CD access method is depicted in the following figure:

Node A

Node B

Node C

Node X

Node A's Data packet Collision

Node X's Data packet

CSMA/CD Access Method

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Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)

In CSMA/CA, each computer signals its intent to transmit, before it actually transmits data. This reduces the frequency of collisions. It is a modified version of the CSMA/CD. It is a slower access method than CSMA/CD. It is less popular than CSMA/CD. The CSMA/CA access method is depicted in the following figure:
Node A sends RTS to Node B Node B sends CTS to Node A Node A sends RTS to Node B Node B sends ACK to Node A

Node A
CSMA/CA Access Method

Node B

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Ethernet and IEEE Standards

IEEE has published a set of standards for LAN that is collectively known as the IEEE 802.x standards. The following are the IEEE 802 standards for LAN: IEEE 802.1 IEEE 802.2 IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.4 IEEE 802.5 The standard specification for Ethernet has been published by IEEE as the IEEE-802.3 Ethernet protocol.

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Determining Hardware Address

All the operating system provides a utility to determine the Ethernet address of a network card in a node. For example:

ipconfig utility in windows platform ifconfig utility in Linux platform

The syntax of the ipconfig command is:

ipconfig [/? | /all | /release [adapter] | /renew [adapter]]

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Determining Hardware Address (Contd.)

To determine the hardware address, type the following command at the command prompt: C:\> ipconfig The result will be similar as shown in the following figure:

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Determining Hardware Address (Contd.)

To determine the hardware address, type the following command at the command prompt: C:\> ipconfig/all The result will be similar as shown in the following figure:

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Demonstration - Analyzing Ethernet Header

Problem Statement Analyze Ethernet header in the data packets on the network with the help of Ethereal, a protocol analyzer.

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Solution
1. 2. 3. Capture data packets Filter data packets Analyze Ethernet header in the data packets

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ARP and RARP

The following figure depicts the position of the ARP and RARP in TCP/IP architecture:

Application Layer

Transport Layer

ICMP Internet Layer

IGMP Internet Protocol ARP RARP

Network Access Layer

Position of the ARP and RARP in TCP/IP architecture

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Understanding ARP

It maps a logical address to its corresponding physical address.
The following figure shows the mapping of physical address to logical address with the help of ARP protocol:
Logical Address

ARP Protocol

Physical Address

ARP

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Working of ARP

The operation of ARP messages are shown in the following figure:

ARP Request Looking for a Physical address of a node with IP address 90.10.100.68

Node A

Node C

Node D

Node E

Node B

An ARP request is broadcast

ARP Reply

The node physical adress is A48RT36876FG

Node A

Node C

Node D

Node E

Node B

An ARP reply is unicast

ARP Operation

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ARP Packet Format

The following figure shows an ARP packet :

Hardware Type (HTYPE) Hardware Length (HLEN) Protocol Length (PLEN) Protocol Type (PTYPE) Operation Request 1, Reply 2 (OPER)

Sender Hardware Address (SHA) Sender Protocol Address (SPA) Target Hardware Address (THA) Target Protocol Address (TPA)
ARP Packet Format

The fields are the following: HTYPE PTYPE HLEN PLEN OPER
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ARP Packet Format (Contd.)

SHA SPA THA TPA The following figure shows ARP packet encapsulated in an Ethernet frame:
ARP request or ARP reply packet

PRE

SFD

DA

SA

Length / Type

Data

PAD

FCS

ARP packet encapsulated in an Ethernet frame

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Viewing ARP Cache

The arp command displays and modifies the IP-to-Physical address translation tables used by address resolution protocol (ARP). The syntax of the arp command is:

arp [option] [inet_addr] [eth_addr]

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Viewing ARP Cache (Contd.)

To determine the hardware address, type the following command at the command prompt: C:\> arp a The above command will display the result as shown in the following figure:

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Understanding RARP

It maps a physical address to its corresponding logical address. The following figure shows the mapping of physical address to logical address with the help of RARP protocol:
Logical Address

RARP Protocol

Physical Address

RARP

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Understanding RARP (Contd.)

There are two types of RARP messages used by a RARP protocol, which are as follows:

RARP request

RARP reply

The RARP packet format is same as the ARP An RARP packet is encapsulated into a frame before it is send.

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Summary
In this lesson, you learned: The Network Access layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP architecture. The Network Access layer corresponds to the physical and data link layers of the OSI reference model. The Network Access layer helps in actual transmission of data from the sending node to the receiving node in a network. The Network Access layer performs the following functions: Interfacing Synchronization of bits Encapsulation Request For Comments (RFCs) that define the Network Access layer protocols are as follows: RFC 826, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) RFC 894, a standard for the Transmission of IP data packets over Ethernet Networks
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Summary (Contd.)

The physical address is the address of a node in a network. It is also known as Media Access Control (MAC) address or hardware address. Ethernet is the most common local area network (LAN) technology. Ethernet was originally developed by Digital, Intel, and Xerox Corporation and was known as DIX Ethernet. An Ethernet LAN can use a coaxial cable, a twisted pair wiring, or a fiber optic cable. Ethernet technology are classified on the basis of their transmission rate, which are as follows: 10Base2 Ethernet 10Base5 Ethernet 10BaseT Ethernet 100BaseT Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet

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Summary (Contd.)

The Ethernet header encapsulates data to form an Ethernet frame before getting transmitted across the physical network. The size of the Ethernet header can be from 64 bytes to 1518 bytes depending on the data size. The Ethernet data frame format contains seven fields, which are as follows: Preamble (PRE) Start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) Destination address (DA) Source addresses (SA) Length/Type Data Frame check sequence (FCS) The set of rules defining how a computer transmits data onto the network cable and retrieves data from the cable is called an access method.
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Summary (Contd.)

Carrier-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) is the access procedure used with Ethernet, which is standardized by the IEEE under 802.3. In CSMA/CA each computer signals its intent to transmit before it actually transmits data. This way the computer can avoid collisions. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has published a set of standards for LAN that is collectively known as the IEEE 802.x standards. The standard specification for Ethernet has been published by the International Electrical and Electronic Association (IEEE) as the IEEE802.3 Ethernet protocol. Ipconfig is a utility, which can be used to display the network settings currently assigned and given by a network.
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Summary (Contd.)

The protocol analyzer captures the data as it is transmitted across the network. Once captured, the data can be analyzed through the protocol analyzer. A logical address should be unique universally and is also known as IP address. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) maps a logical address to its corresponding physical address. Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) maps a physical address to its corresponding logical address.

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