WXES2106

Network Technology
Semester 1 2004/2005
Chapter 3
Ethernet

CCNA1: Module 6, 7 and 8

Contents
 Introduction
 Ethernet Fundamentals
 Ethernet Operation
 Legacy Ethernet
 Fast Ethernet
 Gigabit Ethernet
 Ethernet Switching
 Collision Domains
 Broadcast Domains
Introduction
 Ethernet is now the dominant LAN technology in the
world
 Ethernet specifications support different media,
bandwidths, and other Layer 1 and 2 variations
 The success of Ethernet is due to the following factors:
 Simplicity and ease of maintenance

 Ability to incorporate new technologies

 Reliability

 Low cost of installation and upgrade

Introduction
 Ethernet is a family of networking technologies that
includes Legacy, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet.
 Ethernet speeds can be 10, 100, 1000, or 10,000 Mbps.
 IEEE standard for Ethernet is 802.3
 Ethernet relies on baseband signaling, which uses the
entire bandwidth of the transmission medium.
 In 1980s, IEEE announced a standard for 10-Mbps.
 In 1995, IEEE announced a standard for a 100-Mbps.
 In 1998, IEEE announced a standard for a 1-Gbps
Introduction
Ethernet Fundamental
 Ethernet operates in two areas of the OSI model, the
lower half of the data link layer, known as the MAC sub
layer and the physical layer
 To move data between one Ethernet station and
another, the data often passes through a repeater
 Stations separated by repeaters are within the same
collision domain. Stations separated by bridges or
routers are in different collision domains.
 Ethernet at Layer 1 involves interfacing with media,
signals, bit streams that travel on the media,
components that put signals on media, and various
topologies.
Ethernet Fundamental
 Data link sub layers contribute significantly to technology
compatibility and computer communication.
 The MAC sub layer is concerned with the physical
components that will be used to communicate the
information.
 The Logical Link Control (LLC) sublayer communicate
with the upper level layers
Ethernet Fundamental
 Ethernet uses MAC addresses that are 48 bits in length
and expressed as twelve hexadecimal digits
 MAC referred to as burned-in addresses (BIA)
because they are burned into read-only memory (ROM)
 On an Ethernet network, when one device sends data it
can open a communication pathway to the other device
by using the destination MAC address
Ethernet Fundamental
 Source device attaches a header with destination MAC
address. As this data propagates along the network
media, the NIC in each device on the network checks to
see if the MAC address matches the physical destination
address carried by the data frame.
 When the data reaches the destination node, the NIC
makes a copy and passes the frame up the OSI layers.
 On an Ethernet network, all nodes must examine the
MAC header even if the communicating nodes are side
by side.
Ethernet Fundamental
 Framing is the Layer 2 encapsulation process.
 A frame is the Layer 2 protocol data unit.
 A single generic frame has sections called fields, and
each field is composed of bytes. The names of the fields
are as follows:
 Start frame field

 Address field

 Length / type field

 Data field

 Frame check sequence field

Ethernet Fundamental
Ethernet Fundamental
 The reason for sending frames is to get upper layer data,
ultimately the user application data, from the source to the
destination.
 Data package has two parts, the user application data and
the encapsulated bytes to be sent to the destination
computer.
 There are three primary ways to calculate the Frame
Check Sequence number:
 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

 Two-dimensional parity

 Internet checksum
Ethernet Fundamental

IEEE 802.3 Ethernet

Ethernet Operation
 Media Access Control
 Protocols that determine which computer on a shared-
medium environment, or collision domain, is allowed
to transmit the data.
 Two broad categories

 Deterministic (Taking turns)

 Token Ring
 FDDI
 Non-deterministic (First come, first served)

 CSMA/CD
Ethernet Operation
 Token Ring
 Individual hosts are arranged in a ring and a special
data token travels around the ring to each host in
sequence.
 When a host wants to transmit, it seizes the token,
transmits the data for a limited time, and then
forwards the token to the next host in the ring.
 Token Ring is a collisionless environment as only

one host is able to transmit at any given time.

Ethernet Operation
 Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
 Specifying a 100-Mbps token-passing network using
fiber-optic cable, with transmission distances of up to
2 km.
 FDDI uses a dual-ring architecture to provide
redundancy.
Ethernet Operation
 Ethernet
 Logical bus topology
 Physical star or
extended star
 Token Ring
 Logical ring topology
 Physical star topology
 FDDI
 Logical ring topology
 Physical dual-ring
topology
Ethernet Operation
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)
 Three functions
 Transmitting and receiving data packets
 Decoding data packets and checking them for valid
addresses before passing them to the upper layers
of the OSI model
 Detecting errors within data packets or on the
network
 Devices ready to transmit data first check the channel
for a carrier. If no carrier is sensed for a specific period
of time, a device can transmit.
Ethernet Operation
 If two devices transmit
at once, a collision
occurs and is detected
by all colliding devices.
 This collision
subsequently delays
retransmissions from
those devices for some
random length of time
 After completing data
transmission the device
will return to listening
mode.
Ethernet Operation

CSMA/CD Process
Ethernet Operation
 Full Duplex
 The station may send and receive simultaneously and
collisions should not occur.
 Changes the timing considerations and eliminates the
concept of slot time.
 Allows for larger network architecture designs
 Half Duplex
 Sending station will transmit 64 bits of timing
synchronization information that is known as the
preamble.
 It will then transmit the rest of the frame.
Ethernet Operation
 Slot Time
 It is calculated assuming maximum cable lengths on
the largest legal network architecture.
 It only applies to half duplex Ethernet link
Ethernet Operation
 Interframe Spacing
 The minimum spacing between two non-colliding
frames
Ethernet Operation
 The most common error condition on an Ethernet is the collision.
 Collisions result in network bandwidth loss that is equal to the
initial transmission and the collision jam signal.
 A single collision is a collision that was detected while trying to
transmit a frame
 Multiple collisions indicate that the same frame collided
repeatedly before being successfully transmitted.
 Three types of collisions are:
 Local
 Remote
 Late
Ethernet Operation
 Local Collision
 A collision where a station detects a signal on the RX
pair at the same time it is sending on the TX pair.
 Remote Collision
 A collision where a frame that is less than the
minimum length, has an invalid FCS checksum
 Late Collision
 A collision occurs after the first 64 octets of data has
been transmitted by the sending stations.
Ethernet Operation
 Ethernet Error
 Collision or runt

 Late collision

 Jabber, long frame and range errors

 Short frame, collision fragment or runt

 FCS error

 Alignment error

 Range error

 Ghost or jabber
Ethernet Operation
 Auto-Negotiation automatically configures an interface to match the
speed and capabilities of its link partner.
 It defines how two link partners may automatically negotiate a
configuration offering the best common performance level.

Transmission Priority Rank

Legacy Ethernet
 10BASE5, 10BASE2, and 10BASE-T
 Common features
 Timing parameters
 Frame format
 Transmission process
 Basic design rule
 Operates within the timing limits offered by a series of
not more than five segments separated by no more
than four repeaters.
 No more than three populated segments between any
two distant stations
Legacy Ethernet
Legacy Ethernet
 10BASE5
 Transmitted 10 Mbps
 Use thick coaxial cable, also known as thicknet
 Bus topology
 Uses Manchester encoding

 Half duplex only

 Maximum length 500 metres

Legacy Ethernet
 10BASE2
 Transmitted 10 Mbps
 Use thin coaxial cable, also known as thinnet
 Bus topology
 Uses Manchester encoding

 Half duplex only

 Maximum length 185 metres

 Easier to install
Legacy Ethernet
 10BASET
 Transmitted 10 Mbps in half-duplex mode
 Transmitted 20 Mbps in full-duplex mode
 Use UTP cable
 Star topology
 Uses Manchester encoding
 Maximum length 100 metres
 Cheap easy installation
Fast Ethernet
 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-FX
 Common features
 Timing parameters

 Frame format

 Parts of transmission process

 Generally consist of a connection between a station and

a hub or switch
Fast Ethernet
Fast Ethernet
 100BASE-TX
 Carries 100 Mbps of traffic in half-duplex mode

 Carries 200 Mbps of traffic in full-duplex mode

 Use Cat 5 UTP cable

 Extended Star topology

 Uses 4B/5B encoding

 Unrepeated distance up to 100 metres

 Switches more commonly used than hubs

Fast Ethernet
 100BASE-FX
 Carries 100 Mbps of traffic in half-duplex mode

 Carries 200 Mbps of traffic in full-duplex mode

 Uses multimode fiber optic cable

 Extended Star topology

 Uses 4B/5B encoding

Gigabit Ethernet
 1000BASE-TX, 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX
 IEEE 802.3z
 Common features
 Timing parameters

 Frame format

 Data transmission is made more efficient by using codes

to represent the binary bit stream.
 The frame is coded into control symbols and data
symbols to increase in network throughput.
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
 1000BASE-T
 IEEE 802.3ab

 Uses CAT 5E Twisted pair cable

 Capable of full duplex operation on all four pairs to

create max speed of 1Gbps
 Uses 4D-PAM5 Encoding scheme

 Max 100 Meters distance

 Supports both half-duplex as well as full-duplex

operation
Gigabit Ethernet
 1000BASE-SX
 Multimode Fiber optic medium

 Inherently full duplex operation

 8B/10B NRZ Encoding

 Much longer max distances

 Preferred backbone technology

 1Gbps max speed

Gigabit Ethernet
 1000BASE-LX
 Single mode Fiber optic medium

 Inherently full duplex operation

 8B/10B NRZ Encoding

 Max distance up to 5000 Meters

 Preferred backbone technology

 1Gbps max speed

Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
 10-Gigabit Ethernet
 IEEE 802.3ae

 10 Gbps Max speed

 Full duplex operation

 Fiber Optic cable

 Used for LAN’s MAN’s and WAN’s

 Max distances of up to 40km

 Single-mode fiber and compatibility with synchronous

optical network (SONET) and synchronous digital
hierarchy (SDH) networks
Gigabit Ethernet
 10GBASE-SR
 Short distances multimode fiber
 Range between 26 m to 82 m
 10GBASE-LX4
 Uses wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
 Single-mode fiber
 Supports 240 m to 300 m
 10GBASE-LR and 10GBASE-ER
 Single-mode fiber
 Support 10 km and 40 km
 10GBASE-SW, 10GBASE-LW, and 10GBASE-EW
 Work with OC-192 synchronous transport module (STM)
SONET/SDH WAN equipment
Ethernet Switching
 Ethernet is a shared media, which means only one
node can transmit data at a time.
 The addition of more nodes increases the demands on
the available bandwidth and places additional loads on
the media.
 Bridging was developed to help ease performance
problems that arose from increased collisions.
 Bridge keeps a table of MAC addresses and the
associated ports. The bridge then forwards or discards
frames based on the table entries.
Ethernet Switching
Ethernet Switching
 All decisions made by a bridge are based on MAC or
Layer 2 addressing and do not affect the logical or
Layer 3 addressing.
 A bridge will create more collision domains but will not
add broadcast domains.
Ethernet Switching
 A switch is essentially a fast, multi-port bridge
 A switch dynamically builds and maintains a Content-
Addressable Memory (CAM) table, holding all of the
necessary MAC information for each port
 Using CAM allows a switch to directly find the port that is
associated with a MAC address without using search
algorithms.
Ethernet Switching
 Latency is the delay between the time a frame first starts to
leave the source device and the time the first part of the
frame reaches its destination.
 Media delays
 Caused by the finite speed
 Circuit delays
 Caused by the electronics
 Software delays
 Caused by the decisions that software must make to
implement switching and protocols.
 Delays
 Caused by the content of the frame
Ethernet Switching
 Cut-through switching
 A switch can start to transfer the frame as soon as the
destination MAC address is received.
 Store-and-forward switching
 The switch can receive the entire frame before sending
it out the destination port. This gives the switch
software an opportunity to verify the frame check sum
(FCS). It must be used for asynchronous switching.
 Asymmetric switching
 Provides switched connections between ports of unlike
bandwidths
Ethernet Switching
 Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP)
 To resolve and shut down the redundant paths

 Switching loops can lead to broadcast storms that will

rapidly overwhelm a network.
 Each switch in a LAN using STP sends special
messages called Bridge Protocol Data Units
(BPDUs) out all its ports to let other switches know of
its existence and to elect a root bridge for the network.
Collisions Domain
 Collision domains are the connected physical network
segments where collisions can occur.
 Every time a collision happens on a network, all
transmission stops for a period of time.
 Adding layer 1 devices extend collision domains
 5-4-3-2-1 rule
 Five segments of network media
 Four repeaters or hubs
 Three host segments of the network
 Two link sections (no hosts)
 One large collision domain
Collisions Domain
 Layer 2 devices segment or divide collision domains.
 Segmentation makes networks more efficient and allow
data to be transmitted on different segments of the LAN
at the same time without the frames colliding.
 Layer 3 devices, like Layer 2 devices, do not forward
collisions
Collisions Domain
Broadcast Domain
 To communicate with all collision domains, protocols use
broadcast and multicast frames at Layer 2 of the OSI model.
 It sends a broadcast frame with a destination MAC address
0xFFFFFFFFFFFF
 Layer 2 devices must flood all broadcast and multicast traffic
 The three sources of broadcasts and multicasts in IP networks
are workstations, routers, and multicast applications.
 Broadcast storm
 The circulation of broadcast radiation that saturate the
network
Broadcast Domain
 Workstations broadcast an Address Resolution
Protocol (ARP) request every time they need to locate
a MAC address that is not in the ARP table.
 The routing protocols that are configured on a network
can increase broadcast traffic significantly.
 Every 30 seconds, RIPv1 uses broadcasts to retransmit
the entire RIP routing table to other RIP routers.
 A broadcast domain is a grouping of collision
domains that are connected by Layer 2 devices.
 Broadcasts have to be controlled at Layer 3 because
routers do not forward broadcasts.
Broadcast Domain
 Any segments connected by Layer 1 devices are part of the
same domain, both collision and broadcast.
 A Layer 2 device creates multiple collision domains but
maintains only one broadcast domain.
 A Layer 3 device creates multiple collision and broadcast
domains.
 Network Segment
 Section of a network that is bounded by bridges, routers, or
switches.
 In a LAN, a segment often connected to other segments
with repeaters
 In TCP, it is used to describe a single transport layer unit of
information.
Broadcast Domain