Engineering Encyclopedia: Local Area Network (LAN) Technologies

Engineering Encyclopedia
Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards
Local Area Network (LAN) Technologies
Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramco’s employees.
Any material contained in this document which is not already in the public
domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given, or disclosed to third
parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part, without the written permission
of the Vice President, Engineering Services, Saudi Aramco.
Chapter : Communication For additional information on this subject, contact

File Reference: CDA10103 J.S. Phillips on 874-6163
Engineering Encyclopedia Communication
Content Page
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1
IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (ETHERNET) ................................................................................. 2

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2
Carrier Sense ................................................................................................. 2
Multiple Access............................................................................................. 2
Collision Detection........................................................................................ 3
IEEE 802.3/ Ethernet Incompatible................................................................ 3
Configurations............................................................................................... 3
Physical Layer .......................................................................................................... 4
Topology ....................................................................................................... 4
Transmission Methods................................................................................... 5
Data Rates ..................................................................................................... 5
Voltage/Current............................................................................................. 6
SQE............................................................................................................... 6
Media ............................................................................................................ 6
Connectors .................................................................................................... 7
Data Link Layer ........................................................................................................ 8
Frame Format................................................................................................ 8
Invalid Frame ................................................................................................ 9
CSMA/CD Protocol Operation.................................................................................10
Transmission ................................................................................................10
Reception .....................................................................................................10
Collision Detection.......................................................................................11
IEEE 802.5 TOKEN RING..................................................................................................12
Physical Layer .........................................................................................................12
Topology ......................................................................................................12
Transmission Method ...................................................................................13
Voltage/Current............................................................................................14
Data Rate......................................................................................................14
Media ...........................................................................................................14

Connectors ...................................................................................................14
Data Link Layer .......................................................................................................15
Token ...........................................................................................................15
Data Frame...................................................................................................16
Field Definitions...........................................................................................16
Abort Sequence ............................................................................................18
Token Ring Protocol Operation................................................................................18
Frame Transmission .....................................................................................18
Token Transmission .....................................................................................19
Frame Stripping............................................................................................19
Frame Reception...........................................................................................19
Active Monitor .............................................................................................19
Beaconing ....................................................................................................20
Neighbor Notification...................................................................................20
MAC Frame Types...................................................................................................21
IEEE 802.4 TOKEN BUS....................................................................................................23
Physical Layer .........................................................................................................23
Topology ......................................................................................................23
Phase Coherent FSK.....................................................................................24
AM/PSK.......................................................................................................25
Fiber Optic ...................................................................................................25
Phase-Continuous FSK.................................................................................26
Data Link Layer .......................................................................................................26
Abort Sequence ............................................................................................28
Invalid Frame ...............................................................................................28
Token Bus Protocol Operation .................................................................................29
Basic operation.............................................................................................29
Token Passing ..............................................................................................29
Ring Recovery..............................................................................................30
Ring Insertion...............................................................................................30
Collisions (Contentions) ...............................................................................31
Claim Token.................................................................................................31

ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE (ATM) ...............................................................32

ATM Cell Format ....................................................................................................32
ATM Transmission ..................................................................................................32
ATM Cell Header Formats.......................................................................................33
UNI Header..................................................................................................34
NNI Header..................................................................................................35
ATM Reference Model ............................................................................................35
Physical Layer..............................................................................................36
ATM Layer ..................................................................................................37
ATM Adaptation Layer ................................................................................37
Addressing...............................................................................................................38
ATM Switching .......................................................................................................39
Connection Types.........................................................................................39
Connection Services .....................................................................................41
Quality of Service.........................................................................................41
ATM Signaling ........................................................................................................42
WORK AID 1: HOW TO INSTALL/CONFIGURE A NIC USING WINDOWS 95 ..........44
WORK AID 2: HOW TO CONFIGURE WINDOWS 95 FOR NETWORKING ................47
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................................51
ADDENDUM A: NIC CARDS SUPPORTED BY WINDOWS 95 ....................................52

Table of Figures Page
Figure 1. Ethernet Bus Topology.............................................................................. 4

Figure 2. Star-Wired Bus Topology.......................................................................... 4
Figure 3. Manchester Coding ................................................................................... 5
Figure 4. Ethernet NIC Connectors .......................................................................... 7
Figure 5. IEEE 802.3 & Ethernet II Frame Formats.................................................. 8
Figure 6. Star-Wired Ring Topology .......................................................................13
Figure 7. Differential Manchester Coding................................................................14
Figure 8. Token Ring NIC Connectors ....................................................................15
Figure 9. Token.......................................................................................................15
Figure 10. Token Ring Data Frame .........................................................................16
Figure 11. Abort Sequence Frame ...........................................................................18
Figure 12. Token Passing Bus (Logical Ring)..........................................................23
Figure 13. Token Bus Data Frame...........................................................................26
Figure 14. Token.....................................................................................................27
Figure 15. Abort Sequence Frame ...........................................................................28
Figure 16. Logical Ring...........................................................................................29
Figure 17. ATM Cell Format...................................................................................32
Figure 18. UNI Header Format................................................................................34
Figure 19. NNI Header Format................................................................................35
Figure 20. ATM Reference Model...........................................................................35
Figure 21. ATM Address Formats ...........................................................................38
Figure 22. ATM Connection Types .........................................................................40
Figure 23. Signaling Requests Transit the Network .................................................42
Figure 24. Windows 95 Network Device Display ....................................................45
Figure 25. Windows 95 Device Properties Window.................................................46
Figure 26. Network Protocols Installation................................................................47
Figure 27. File and Print Sharing Enable .................................................................48
Figure 28. Drive Sharing Enabled ...........................................................................49
Figure 29. Network Neighborhood..........................................................................50

INTRODUCTION
This module focuses on the specifications of the most common LAN technologies in use within
Saudi Aramco:
• IEEE 802.3 Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (also known as Ethernet)
• IEEE 802.4 Token Passing Bus
• IEEE 802.5 Token Ring
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
In February 1980, the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) formed a
committee to study the predominant LAN technologies and develop associated standards. The
standards that came from this IEEE committee were sequentially numbered but all begin with
802, which stands for 1980 (the year the committee was formed) and 2 (representing the month
of February).
The legacy LANs, Ethernet and Token Ring have been in existence for nearly 20 years. Both
of these technologies are “connectionless”. A packet may be routed through different devices
over many different paths to its final destination. Data rates (bandwidths) of these LAN
technologies are fixed. Token Ring can support up to 16 Mbps and Ethernet supports 10 Mbps
or 100 Mbps. Because of the limited bandwidths, the legacy LANs cannot support modern
multimedia needs of LAN users, such as real time video and audio.
The newest LAN technology that is revolutionizing the way LANs operate is Asynchronous
Mode Transfer (ATM). ATM is a “connection” oriented technology. A direct connection is
made between the sender and the receiver -- similar to a telephone call. It can dynamically
allocate bandwidth. That is, if one user is only doing a file transfer, he may be allocated a
bandwidth of 25 Mbps. A user who wants to establish a video link may be allocated a bandwidth
of 155 Mbps.
This module will analyze these LAN technologies in greater detail.
Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 1

IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (ETHERNET)
Ether (a word of Arabic origin which means air) was once believed to be a substance that filled
all space. Early physicists believed that light traveled in waves. They knew that light could
travel through artificially created vacuums and through the void of outer space. But they could
not explain how light could travel without a medium to travel through.
As a result, they assumed the presence of a luminiferous (light carrying) either, a substance that
differed from all other matter. It could not be seen, felt, or weighed and was present in vacuums,
outer space and all matter. The ether was stationary, and the earth and other bodies moved
through it.
Introduction
In the 1970’s, a new local area network technology was developed by scientists at the Xerox
Corporation based on a radio network transmission technology pioneered at the University of
Hawaii. This technology was named “Ethernet” in honor of that mysterious substance - ether
and that the basis of the network was originally through air. Obviously Ethernet technology has
nothing to do with the gas ether. Ethernet was adopted by DEC and Intel as their preferred LAN
method.
The official title adopted by the ISO for the Ethernet LAN technology is Carrier Sense
Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD).
In comparison to a token ring, Ethernet is a much simpler network. Accordingly, the costs
associated with establishing an Ethernet LAN are typically lower than a token ring system.
However, Ethernet has no priority system to gain media access and almost no built in
acknowledgment or network management features. This must come from the higher layers of
the OSI model.
Carrier Sense
Ethernet is based on radio transmission technology where access to the network is controlled by
first “listening” for a carrier frequency (indicating transmission is taking place) on the media. If
the network is silent (no one transmitting), the node may transmit its message. This is the
“Carrier Sense” element of the network.
Multiple Access
A single Ethernet LAN segment can support up 1024 nodes. Each node has an equal level of
access to the media. This is the “Multiple Access” element of the network. Although only one
node may be transmitting at any given time. All other nodes are in a “listen” mode.

Collision Detection
Since it is possible and probable that two or more nodes may transmit at the same time, there is a
sensing method to detect simultaneous transmissions. This is the “Collision Detection” element
of the network.
IEEE 802.3/ Ethernet Incompatible
The IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD standard slightly modified the frame format developed by Xerox.
Thus IEEE 802.3 networks are not compatible with true Ethernet networks.
In comparison to Token Ring, Ethernet is a much simpler technology in both hardware and
software. As a result, the associated NIC and hub equipment is also less expensive. An Ethernet
network can be setup for 50% the cost of a Token Ring network. However, Ethernet has its
shortcomings. Access to the network is not guaranteed (Probabilistic vs. Deterministic).
Like Token Ring, Ethernet works at the Data Link and Physical Layers of the OSI model.
Configurations
Ethernet is identified by the following convention:
data rate (Mbps)+method (baseband or broadband )- cable distance

(100’s meters or T for UTP cable)
• 10BASE-5: 10 Mbps, baseband, 500 meters using thicknet coaxial cable.
• 10BASE-2: 10 Mbps, baseband, 200 meters using thinnet coaxial cable.
• 10BASE-T: 10 Mbps, baseband, using Cat. 3 UTP cable (max 100 meters hub to node).
• 100BASE-T: 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet), baseband, using Cat. 5 UTP cable.
• 10BASE-FL: 10 Mbps, baseband, using fiber optic cable.
• 10BROAD-36: 10 Mbps, broadband, using 75 ohm CATV type coaxial cable. The
MAU transmits a modulated radio frequency (RF) data signal in a data band on the
broadband coaxial cable system using separate transmit/receive frequencies. The
broadband MAU emulates a baseband MAU except for delay between transmission and
reception which is inherent in broadband systems. Collisions are detected by comparing
the received signal with the transmitted signal. Data bands are 14 MHz wide with an
adjacent collision enforcement band of 4 MHz. Single cable systems support 6 data
bands, dual cable systems support 12 data bands.

Physical Layer
Topology
Ethernet is a “bus” topology network. Nodes attach to a common bus cable (using thick or thin
coax cable).
Station #1 Station #2 Station #3
Terminator
Figure 1. Ethernet Bus Topology
The most common and recommended Ethernet installation in Saudi Aramco is the 10/100BASE-
T which requires a central hub/concentrator configured in a star-wired bus configuration using
UTP cable.
Hub
10BASE-T NIC 10BASE-T NIC

connector connector
AUI AUI
cable cable
10BASE-T
transceiver
Figure 2. Star-Wired Bus Topology

Transmission Methods
Ethernet uses serial Manchester coding to modulate the digital signals for transmission.
Manchester coding differs slightly from the Differential Manchester coding used in Token Ring,
but the same principle of an every bit transition still applies to provide a synchronous block
transmission.
Manchester coding is a binary signaling mechanism that combines data and clock into “bit-
symbols” (Figure 3). Each bit-symbol is split into two halves with the second half containing the
binary inverse of the first half; a transition always occurs in the middle of each-bit-symbol.
During the first half of the bit symbol, the encoded signal is the logical complement (opposite) of
the bit being encoded. During the second half of the bit symbol, the encoded signal is the
uncomplemented value (the same as) of the bit being encoded.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 1 1 1 0
Figure 3. Manchester Coding
Data Rates
Standard CSMA/CD operates a 1 Mbps or 10 Mbps. New “Fast Ethernet” supports either 10
Mbps or 100 Mbps transmission over Category 5 UTP data cable.

Voltage/Current
10BASE-5 signal transmission over 50 ohm terminated (Thicknet) coaxial cable are 0 to -2.05 V,
@ 17mA to 90 mA.
10BASE-2 signal transmission over 50 ohm terminated (Thinnet) coaxial cable are 0 to -2.05 V,
@ 17mA to 90 mA.
10BASE-T Ethernet transmission over UTP are bipolar (differential) 6.2 v (p-p).
SQE
Signal Quality Error indicates that the MAU has detected two or more MAUs transmitting. If
the MAU is transmitting and another MAU transmits, SQE is also set. In most installations SQE
is disabled.
Media
Media requirements for LAN installations within Saudi Aramco are defined in SAES-T-916.
Ethernet supports the following types of media:
• Coaxial Cable. Two types of 50 ohm coaxial cable are typically used with Ethernet.
10BASE-5 or thicknet (RG-59) that requires a clamp-on transceiver. A drop cable called
an AUI cable connects the transceiver to the NIC. And 10BASE-2 or thinnet (RG-58
A/U) 50 ohm coaxial cable that connects directly to the NIC via a T-connector. NOTE:
cable TV coaxial cable cannot be used as LAN cabling. Both ends of the coaxial cable
must be terminated in 50 ohm terminators. Additionally one terminator (and only one)
should have a ground connection.
• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is used for 10/100BASE-T networks and connects
directly to the RJ-45 port on the NIC or via a media attachment unit (MAU) to the AUI
port on the NIC. 10BASE-T Ethernet requires EIA Category 3 or better 100 ohm data
cable. 100BASE-T requires Category 5 data cable.
• Fiber Optic. 10BASE-FL supports Ethernet transmission over multimode fiber optic
cables. This requires an external FO interface device.

Connectors
As shown in Figure 4, a typical Ethernet NIC may have different connector options:
• Female DB-15 is the Adapter Unit Interface (AUI) connector for use with either
10BASE-5 (Thicknet) or 10BASE-2, 10BASE-FL, and 10BASE-T. An external media
adapter unit/transceiver is required to be used with the AUI connector.
• Female Coaxial connector is used with 10BASE-2 (Thinnet) coaxial cable.
• Female RJ-45 connector is used with 10/100BASE-T for UTP connections. An

associated LED illuminates when a connection has been established with the
hub/concentrator.
Figure 4. Ethernet NIC Connectors

Data Link Layer
Frame Format
For Xerox Ethernet II, the frame size can be 1526 bytes long with a minimum size of 72 bytes.
An IEEE 802.3 frame can be a maximum of 1518 bytes long and a minimum of 64
bytes.(
8 6 6 2 46 to 1500 4
Preamble DA SA Type Information FCS
Ethernet II
7 1 2/6 2/6 2 46 to 1500 4

Preamble SFD DA SA Lgth Information FCS
IEEE 802.3
Figure 5).
8 6 6 2 46 to 1500 4
Preamble DA SA Type Information FCS
Ethernet II
7 1 2/6 2/6 2 46 to 1500 4

Preamble SFD DA SA Lgth Information FCS
IEEE 802.3
Figure 5. IEEE 802.3 & Ethernet II Frame Formats

Preamble: 7 bytes of alternating 1’s and 0’s used for receiver synchronization. The preamble
always starts with a 1 and ends with a 0.
SD: The Start Frame Delimiter immediately follows the preamble and indicates the start of
frame. The SD bit patter is 10101011.
DA/SA: Destination Address (DA) and Source Address (SA) are either 48 bit (6 byte) or 16 bit
(2 byte) address format. The address field can specify an Individual address (0) or a group
address (1) used for multicast or broadcasts. The 48-bit address can also specify a Globally
administered address (0) or a locally administered address (1). All 1’s in a destination field
always denotes a broadcast address (to all stations). Note the source address is not interpreted at
the MAC layer.
The actual NIC ID will be 46 bits or 15 bits. Every NIC manufacturer assigns a unique physical
address to each NIC. Example 48 bit Physical Address: 0060975F5737 (hexadecimal format)
LGTH: The Length field (LGTH) is a two byte field indicating the number LLC bytes in the
data field. The length field is not included in the Ethernet II frame.
Information: The Information field contains a data sequence of 46 to 1500 bytes.
FCS: the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) uses 32-bit CRC. The FCS is calculated on all fields
except, the preamble, SFD and FCS.
Invalid Frame
In invalid frame is any frame that contains one of the following errors:
• Frame length does not match length field.
• Not an integral number of bytes in length.
• The bits received (exclusive of the FCS field itself) do not generate a CRC value identical
to the one received in the FCS.

CSMA/CD Protocol Operation
Transmission
When the Logical Link Control (LLC) sublayer requests the transmission of a frame, The
Transmit Data Encapsulation component of the CSMA/CD Media Access Control (MAC)
sublayer constructs the frame from the LLC - supplied data. It appends a preamble and a start of
frame delimiter to the beginning of the frame. If necessary, it appends additional data bits
(called PAD) to the end of the MAC information field to ensure that the transmitted frame length
satisfies a minimum frame size requirement (64 bytes). It also appends the destination and
source addresses, a length count field, and a frame check sequence to provide for error detection.
The frame is then handed to the Transmit Media Access component of the MAC sublayer.
The Transmit Media Access attempts to avoid contention with other traffic on the medium by
monitoring the carrier sense signal provided by the Physical Layer Signaling (PLS) component
and deferring to passing traffic. When the medium is clear, frame transmission is initiated,
following a brief interframe delay (9.6 µs) to provide recovery time for other CSMA/CD MAC
sublayers and for the physical medium. The MAC sublayer then provides a serial stream of bits
to the PLS interface for transmission.
The Physical Layer performs the task of actually generating the electrical signals on the media
that represent the bits of the frame. Simultaneously, it monitors the medium and generates the
collision detect signal, which in the contention free case, remains off for the duration of the
frame transmission.
When the transmission is complete, without contention, the CSMA/CD MAC sublayer informs
the LLC sublayer and waits for the next request for transmission.
Reception
At each receiving station, the arrival of a frame is first detected by the Physical Layer Signaling
(PLS), which responds by synchronizing with the incoming preamble, and by turning on the
“carrier sense” signal. As encoded bits arrive from the medium, they are decoded and translated
back into binary data. The PLS passes subsequent bits up the MAC sublayer, where the leading
bits are discarded, up to and including the end of the preamble and start of frame delimiter.
Meanwhile, the Receive Media Access Management component of the MAC sublayer, having
observed carrier sense, has been waiting for the incoming bits to be delivered. Receive Media
Access Management collects bits from the PLS as long as the carrier sense signal remains on.
When the carrier sense signals is turned off, the frame is truncated to an octet (byte) boundary, if
necessary, and passed to Receive Data Decapsulation for processing.

Receive Data Decapsulation checks the frame’s Destination Address field to decide whether the
frame should be received by this station. If so, it passes the Destination Address, Source
Address, and the LLC data unit, up to the LLC sublayer along with an appropriate status code
indicating reception complete, or reception too long. It also checks for invalid MAC frames by
inspecting the FCS to detect damage to the frame enroute, and by checking the proper byte
boundary alignment of the end of the frame.
The LLC sublayer will generate an acknowledgment frame to let the sender know the frame was
received.
Collision Detection
Collisions occur if multiple stations attempt to transmit at the same time. Collisions are caused
by propagation delays of signals down the bus.
In the event of a collision, the transmitting station(s) Physical Layer initially notices the
interference on the media and then turns on the collision detect signal. This is noticed, in turn,
by the Transmit Media Access Management component of the MAC sublayer, and collision
handling begins.
First, Transmit Media Access enforces the collision by transmitting a 32 bit sequence called a
jam or jamming signal. This ensures that the duration of the collision is sufficient to be
detected by the other station(s) involved in the collision. After the jam is sent, Transmit Media
Access Management terminates the transmission and schedules another transmission attempt
after a randomly selected delay time.
Retransmission is attempted to again. In the event of repeated collisions, which indicates a busy
media, the Transmit Media Access Management attempts to adjust to the media load by backing
off (voluntarily delaying its own retransmissions to reduce the load on the medium). Eventually
the retransmission succeeds or is abandoned (after 16 attempts), assuming the media has failed or
has become overloaded.

IEEE 802.5 TOKEN RING
Token ring LAN technology was developed by IBM. Each station connected to the ring gains
the right to transmit its information unto the media when it detects a token passing on the media.
The token is a control word comprised of a unique signaling sequence that circulates on the
media following each information transfer.
Any station, upon detection of any appropriate token, may capture the token by modifying it to a
start of frame sequence and appending appropriate control and status fields, address fields,
routing information field, information field, check sum, and the end of frame sequence.
At the completion of its information transfer and after appropriate checking for proper ring
operation, the station initiates a new token, which provides other stations the opportunity to gain
access to the ring.
There is no maximum frame size or number of frames a station may transmit when it holds the
token, but the maximum period of time a station may transmit on the media before releasing the
token is controlled by a timer (9.1 ms).
Multiple levels of priority are available for independent and dynamic assignment depending on
the class of service required for any given message; for example, real-time voice, interactive,
immediate (network recovery).
A token ring supports up to 250 stations (IBM = 260).
Physical Layer
Topology
A token ring consists of a star wired system of stations with each station connected by a lobe
cable to a concentrator (hub) trunk coupling unit (TCU) (this is basically a relay located
inside the concentrator) (Figure 6). A concentrator contains multiple TCUs. Concentrators are
serially connected using the concentrator ring-in and ring-out ports, forming the main ring path
and backup ring path.
Each TCU provides attachment (insertion or bypass) of the station into the trunk ring. This
insertion/bypass mechanism is usually control by the attaching station’s ring access control
function. A station performs self-tests of the attached lobe cable and interface circuitry. When a
TCU receives a dc signal from the station via the lobe cable, the TCU switches from bypass
mode to inserted mode, allowing the inserting station to receive a symbol stream from its
upstream neighbor, and provide an output symbol stream to its downstream neighbor.

Station #1 Station #2 Station #3

INSERTED BYPASSED INSERTED
RING IN RING OUT
TCU TCU TCU
CONCENTRATOR
Backup Ring
CONCENTRATOR
RO RI
Figure 6. Star-Wired Ring Topology
Transmission Method
Token Ring uses the Differential Manchester coding scheme for synchronous digital
transmission of data that encodes clock and data bit information into bit symbols.
Differential Manchester coding has a mid-bit transition -- low-to-high for every 0 and high-to-
low for every 1 transmitted (Figure 7). A 0 bit is represented by a polarity change at the start of
bit time, and a 1 is represented by no polarity change at bit time.
The advantages of Differential Manchester coding are:
• The resulting signal has no dc component and can readily be inductively or capacitively
coupled.
• The forced mid-symbol transition conveys inherent timing information on the channel.
• The signals are independent of channel polarity reversals (works even if the leads are
reversed).
Information on the token ring is transferred sequentially bit-by-bit, from one inserted station to
the next. Each station regenerates and repeats each bit.

1 0 1 1 0 J K
or
Figure 7. Differential Manchester Coding
Voltage/Current
STP 3.0 - 4.5V (p-p) @ 2mA (4.1 - 7 Vdc for TCU power)
UTP 2.7 - 3.6V (p-p) @ 2mA (4.1 - 7 Vdc for TCU power). UTP requires the use of a media
filter connected to the transmitter. May be external or built-on the NIC.
Data Rate
Token Ring supports both 4 Mbps and 16 Mbps data transmission rates.
A maximum of 4550 bytes can be transmitted per token for 4 Mbps rings and 18,200 bytes for 16
Mbps rings. Maximum Token holding time is 9.1 ms.
Media
Media requirements for Saudi Aramco LAN installations are specified in SAES-T-916.
• 150 ohm STP (Type 1A)
• 100 ohm UTP (Cat. 3 for 4 Mbps and Cat. 5 for 16 Mbps)
Connectors
• Female DB-9, STP with media filter
• Female RJ-45, UTP

Figure 8. Token Ring NIC Connectors
Data Link Layer
Token
The token consists of three fields (3 bytes), the SD, AC and ED fields (Figure 9). Fields are
defined below.
Start Access End

Delimiter Control Delimiter
Figure 9. Token

Data Frame
A token ring data frame contains 11 fields (Figure 10). Fields are defined below.
1 1 1
SD AC ED SD: Starting Delimiter
AC: Access Control
ED: Ending Delimiter
Empty Token FC: Frame Control
(3 bytes) FS: Frame Status
1 1 1 2 or 6 2 or 6 No limit 4 1 1
SD AC FC Dest Source Data Checksum ED FS
Add Add
Data Frame
(variable length)
Figure 10. Token Ring Data Frame
Field Definitions
SD - starting delimiter is 1 byte long and contains a bit pattern that marks the start of frame
(JK0JK000).
AC - access control field is 1 byte long and contains a 3 bit Priority field, 1 bit Token field (T-
bit); a 1-bit Monitor field (M-bit), and a 3-bit Reservation field.
• The priority bits provide 8 levels of priority 000 being lowest to 111 highest.
• The Token bit is a 0 in a token and a 1 in a frame.
• The Monitor bit is used by the Active Monitor to detect continuously circulating frames.
All tokens and frames are transmitted with the M-bit set to 0. The Active Monitor sets
the M-bit to 1. If the Active Monitor detects a token with a priority greater than 0 or
frame with the M-bit set to 1, it starts the ring purge process.

• The Reservations bits allow stations with high priority data packets to request (in frames
or tokens as they are repeated) that the next token be issued at the requested priority.
FC - frame control field is 1 byte long and identifies the frame type (MAC or LLC).
DA - destination address is 6 bytes (48 bits) long and includes an Individual/Group bit,
Universal/Local bit, plus a 46 bit physical address. A broadcast address is all 1’s (F’s)
SA - source address is 6 bytes (48 bits) long and includes a Routing Information Indicator bit,
Universal/Local bit, plus a 46 bit physical address.
RI - routing information (optional) is 2 to 30 bytes when present. When a frame’s routing

information indicator bit in the source address field is equal to 1, the RI field is included in the
frame. A routing frame is used by source routing bridges. This field identifies the source route
bridge and segments through which the frame is to be routed to reach its destination.
INFO - information. The information field can contain 0 or more bytes. The number of bytes
will be determined by the token holding time translated into bits/s.
FCS - frame check sequence is a 4 byte (32-bit) CRC of the FC, DA, SA, RI and INFO fields.
ED - ending delimiter is 1 byte long and consists of a bit pattern that marks the end of frame
(JK1JK1IE). The I bit is the intermediate frame bit and the E bit is frame error detected.
• The first 6 bits are checked to see if the ED is valid.
• The I bit is optionally transmitted as a 1 in the first and intermediate frames of a multiple
frame transmission. For single frame transmission or last frames the I-bit is set to 0.
• The E-bit is transmitted by the source as a 0. The destination station detects an error
(FCS or other frame error), the E-bit is set to 1.
FS - frame status field is 1 byte long and contains the A (address recognized) and C (frame
copied) bits.
IFG - inter-frame gap is a fill period consisting of at least 5 bytes for 16 Mbps transmission.

Abort Sequence
The abort sequence frame (Figure 11) is transmitted by an originating ring station that terminates
the transmission of a frame prematurely. It also causes the ring station receiving this frame to
terminate the frame’s reception.
Start End
Delimiter Delimiter
Figure 11. Abort Sequence Frame
Token Ring Protocol Operation
Frame Transmission
Station access to transmit on the media is controlled by passing a token around the ring. When
the station is ready to send data, the data is normally queued (stored) awaiting reception of the
token.
As a token passes a station it may give that station the opportunity to transmit one or more
frames. In order for a station to transmit a frame the received token must have a priority less
than or equal to that of the station (or queued data).
Alternatively, as a frame is repeated around the ring before a token is received, the station
requests the token by setting the reservation bits (R) in the AC field of the frame or token.
When a token of suitable priority is received, it is changed to a start-of-frame sequence by

transmitting the token bit as a one and M (monitor) and R (reservation) bits as zero. At this point
the station stops repeating the incoming signal (the token) and begins transmitting its queued
data.
During transmission, the FCS of the frame is calculated and transmitted between the INFO field
and the ending delimiter. After transmission of the ending delimiter, a frame status field is
transmit with the A (address recognized) and C (frame copied) bits zero followed by the required
inter-frame gap.

Token Transmission
After frame transmission is complete, the station releases the token according to the token
release station policy:
• Early token release. The station releases this token as soon as it has completed
transmission of the inter-frame gap.
• Normal token release. The station does not release the token until the last frame
transmitted has returned to the station. The station does not release the token if the
source address is not the same as the source address of the last frame it transmitted.
Frame Stripping
The source station removes (strips) all its frames that it originates from the ring by transmitting
fill until the ending delimiter (ED) of the last frame that the station transmitted is removed from
the ring.
The originating station performs the stripping process by counting the number of frames
transmitted until the same number of frames have been received.
Frame Reception
Every station inserted in the ring inspects the incoming signal stream and checks for frames that
should be copied or acted on. If the frame’s destination address (DA) field matches the station’s
individual address, relevant group address(s), an active functional address, or a broadcast address
(all 1’s), the frame is copied.
While the frame is being received, it is checked for validity by comparing the checksum and
looking for any Manchester code violations. If either error is detected, the receiving station does
not set the address recognized bit (A), nor the frame copied bit ( C). Instead the station sets the
error bit (E) in the frame status field.
Active Monitor
One station on the ring will be the Active Monitor, all other stations will be Standby Monitors.
The Active Monitor is self-designated policeman of the ring.
The Active Monitor is selected/changed through the “claim token” process. The claim token
process begins by a station transmitting a claim token MAC frame. If a station senses that the
Active Monitor is not performing its function, it initiates a claim token sequence to select a new
Active Monitor.

The Active Monitor performs critical functions to see that the ring operates correctly. These
functions include:
• Establishing a clock reference for the ring.
• Assuring that a useable token is available.
• Initiating the neighbor notification cycle.
• Preventing frames from continuously circulating the ring.
• Reset priority tokens.
The purpose of the ring purge process is to clean up the ring and release a token. The ring
purge process starts when the Active Monitor detects one of the following errors:
• No token is circulating the ring.
• A station did not strip its frames from the ring.
• A priority station failed to lower the priority token it released.
The Active Monitor must regularly transmit an Active Monitor Present (AMP) frame to alert the
other stations of its presence. If an AMP frame fails to be received within a pre-set time, the first
station to time-out will begin the Ring Recovery Process by entering the Claim Token Process.
Beaconing
Whenever any station detects a ring failure - there is a failure either in the media or a station
causing a disruption of the data flow. The station detecting the error transmits a special frame
called the beacon. This frame alerts other stations on the ring of the failure. (If a NIC that is set
to a speed different than the network speed is inserted, continuous beaconing can result.)
Neighbor Notification
The neighbor notification process is used to identify each station’s upstream neighbor. The
neighbor notification process uses the A and C bits of the Frame Status field. Since the source
station transmits the two bits initially set to 0, the first downstream station recognizes the source
address of the received frame as having come from it’s upstream neighbor, and sets the bits to 1.
AMP and SMP frames are used for this process (see MAC frames below).
The Active Monitor begins the neighbor notification process. The AMP and SMP frames are
“daisy-chained” around the ring. The Active Monitor completes the neighbor notification
process when it receives the AMP and SMP frames with the A and C bits set to 0.

MAC Frame Types
The following are the frames used on a ring segment at the MAC sublayer.
Response (RSP): a response frame is sent by a station to acknowledge receipt of, or to report an
error in, a received MAC frame.
Beacon (BN): The BN frame is transmitted by a station that detects a continuing interruption of
the data flow on the ring.
Claim Token (CT): The CT frame is used by stations when restoring the active monitor of the
ring.
Ring Purge (RP): The RP frame is transmitted by the active monitor to verify the ring data path
before restoring the token.
Active Monitor Present (AMP): The AMP frame is transmitted periodically by the active
monitor to indicate its presence on the ring and to initiate the Neighbor Notification process.
Standby Monitor Present (SMP): The SMP frame is transmitted by standby monitor stations
as part of the Neighbor Notification process.
Duplicate Address Test (DAT): The DAT frame is used during the Join Ring Process to verify
that the station’s individual (physical) address is unique.
Lobe Media Test (TEST): The TEST frame is optionally used by a station during the Join Ring
Process to test it’s lobe connection prior to inserting into the ring or at any time the station needs
to test the transmission path, such as during a Beacon Test. During the Lobe Media Test, the
TEST frame DA is set to 0. The source station determines the quality of the transmission path
by inspecting the received frames for errors.
Remove Ring Station (REMOVE): The REMOVE frame is sent to any station to force its
removal from the ring. This is a network management function.
Change Parameters (CHG_PARAM): The Change Parameters frame is sent by network

management to a station to set up its ring operating parameters such as ring priority.
Initialize Station (INIT): The INIT frame is sent by the network manager to a station to
initialize its ring operating parameters.
Request Station Addresses (RQ_ADDR): The Request Station Addresses by a network

manager to request the addresses recognized by the station.

Request Station State (RQ_STATE): The Request Station State frame is sent by network
management to a station to request information on the state of that station.
Request Station Attachments (RQ_ATTACH): The Request Station Attachments frame is

sent by network management to request information on the functions active in the station.
Request Initialization (RQ_INIT): The Request Initialization frame is sent by a frame to

network management as part of the join ring process.
Report Station Addresses (RPRT_ADDR): The Report Station Addresses frame is sent by a
station in response to a Request Station Addresses frame (RQ_ADDR).
Report Station State (RPRT_STATE): The Report Station State frame is sent by a station in
response to a Request Station State frame (RQ_STATE).
Report Station Attachments (RPRT_ATTACH): The Report Station Addresses frame is sent
by a station in response to a Request Station Attachments frame (RQ_ATTACH).
Report New Active Monitor (NEW_MON): The Report New Active Monitor frame is sent by
a station to the network manager that it has become the active monitor.
Report SUA Change (SUA_CHANGE): The Report SUA (stored upstream neighbor’s
address) Change frame is sent by a station to the network manager when a change is made in the
station’s SUA as the result of the neighborhood notification process.
Report Neighbor Notification Incomplete (NN_INCMP): The Report Neighbor Notification

Incomplete frame is sent by the active monitor to the ring error monitor to report an error in the
neighbor notification process.
Report Active Monitor error (ACT_ERR): The Report Active Monitor error frame is sent the
ring error monitor if it detects more than one station is active monitor on the ring or if another
station indicates a problem with the active monitor function by initiating the Claim Token
Process.
Report Error (RPRT_ERROR): The Report Error frame is sent the ring error monitor by a
station to report errors detected since the last error report.

IEEE 802.4 TOKEN BUS
The token passing bus system is similar in operation to the token passing ring, however, token
passing bus requires the assignment of node numbers to stations to form a “logical ring”.
Active Station
Token passing order Idle Stations

determined by tables
Figure 12. Token Passing Bus (Logical Ring)
The physical layer uses analog transmission methods. Token bus was designed to take advantage
of existing broadband CATV cabling systems (such as a facility video monitoring system).
The token passing bus standard gained popularity at 1980’s when General Motors selected the
token bus LAN to support the automation of their automobile manufacturing facilities. GM
already had a broadband cable infrastructure installed and wanted to take advantage of it, to
prevent costly re-wiring of their facilities.
Physical Layer
Topology
Token passing bus uses a “bus” system where all nodes are connected to a common bus cable.
Stations are connected in parallel to the medium. Thus, when a station transmits, its signal is
received by all stations on the medium. There is no “monitor” station as in token ring. Any
station may detect lost or multiple tokens.
Network size is dependent upon satisfying the electrical requirements of the physical interfaces.
Typical maximum network lengths using commercially available coaxial cable are:

Cable Type Distance
RG-59 1280m
RG-6 1600m
RG-11 (foam) 2900m
JT4412J 4600m
JT4750J 7600m
The token bus standard (IEEE 802.4) supports four types of physical interfaces:
• Phase Coherent Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
• Phase/Amplitude Modulation (AM/PSK)
• Fiber Optics
• Phase-Continuous FSK
Phase Coherent FSK
• Topology: Directional bus with active repeaters

• Cable: 75 ohm, RG-6 coaxial cable (CATV type) max. length of 1600 m
• Data rates: 5 Mbps and 10 Mbps
• Transmit Level: +63 dB to 66 dBmV
• Modulation:
− FSK: Two frequencies are used:
− 5 Mbps: 5 MHz and 10 MHz
− 10 Mbps: 10 MHz and 20 MHz
• Signaling
− a zero is represented by two full cycles at the higher
frequency
− a one is represented by one full cycle at the lower
frequency.

− non-data state is one full cycle at the higher frequency, one

full cycle at the lower frequency, and another one full cycle
of the higher frequency.
AM/PSK
• Topology: Directional bus with active repeaters

• Cable: 75 ohm, RG-6 coaxial cable (CATV type)
• Data rates: 1 Mbps, 5 Mbps and 10 Mbps
• Channel Bandwidths: 1.5 MHz, 6 MHz, and 12 MHz
• Transmit Level:
− 1.5 MHz +41 dB [1 mV, 75 ohms]
− 6 MHz +47 dB [1 mV, 75 ohms]
− 12 MHz +50 dB [1 mV, 75 ohms]
• Channel Assignments
− 10 Mbps, 59.75 - 71.75 MHz, and 252-264 MHz
− 5 Mbps, 59.75 - 65.75 MHz, and 252-258 MHz
− 1 Mbps, any of the eight equally spaced 1.5 MHz
subchannels
• Signaling
− zero: zero amplitude
− one: maximum amplitude
− non-data: middle amplitude (one-half of maximum)
− Scrambling is used to ensure no continuous strings of
zero’s or one’s are transmitted.
Fiber Optic
• Topology: Directional bus using active or passive stars.

• Cable: 62.5/125 µm multimode
• Data rates: 5 Mbps, 10 Mbps and 20 Mbps,
• Transmit Level: - 7 to - 11 dBm at wavelengths of 800 and 910 nm
• Signaling:
− Manchester coding

− zero: High to low transition

− one: Low to High transition
− non-data: low-low + high-high and high-high+ low-low
(J/K symbols)
Phase-Continuous FSK
• Topology: Omni-directional bus

• Trunk Cable: 75 ohm coaxial cable, RG-6 or RG-11
• Drop Cable: 35 to 50 ohm coaxial cable, less than 350 mm long
• Connector at trunk: 75 ohm tee connector
• Data rates: 1 Mbps
• Transmit Level: +54 to 60 dB
• Signaling:
− Manchester coding
− zero: High to low transition
− one - Low to High transition
− non-data: low-low + high-high and high-high+ low-low
(J/K symbols)
• Modulation:
− Phase-continuous FSK with Manchester representation
− Frequency of high level = 6.25 MHz
− Frequency of low level = 3.75 MHz
Data Link Layer
The token bus uses two frame formats, the data frame and abort sequence frame. The data frame
contains 8 fields (Figure 13) and are defined below.
Bytes 1+ 1 1 2 or 6 2 or 6 0+ 4 1
Preamble SD FC DA SA DATA FCS ED
Figure 13. Token Bus Data Frame

The token is determined by a bit pattern in the Frame Control (FC) field (Figure 14).
Bytes 1+ 1 1 2 or 6 2 or 6 4 1
Preamble SD 00001000 DA SA FCS ED
FC
Figure 14. Token
Preamble: The Preamble field precedes every transmitted frame. The preamble is used by the
receiving station to synchronize its circuitry with the incoming data frame. The actual pattern
will vary depending on the modulation method used. Another purpose of the preamble is to
guarantee a minimum time between frames, to allow stations to process the frame previously
received. The minimum time is 2 µs. For a 1 Mbps data rate one byte is required, and at 10
Mbps 3 bytes are required.
SD: The Start Delimiter (SD) field marks the beginning of the frame. The SD contains bit
patterns that are always distinguishable from data. The bit pattern is NN0NN000. N is the non-
data character, which is determined by the modulation method.
FC: The Frame Control (FC) field determines the class of frame being sent, either a MAC
sublayer control frame or an LLC sublayer data frame.
The FC fields in MAC control frames are as follows:
• 000000 claim token
• 000001 solicit successor 1
• 000010 solicit successor 2
• 000011 who follows
• 000100 resolve contention
• 001000 token
• 001100 set successor

The FC fields in LLC data frames are as follows:
• 01000ppp request with no response
• 01001ppp request with response
• 01010ppp response
• ppp priority (0 thru 7)
DA/SA: Every frame contains two address fields, the Destination Address (DA) and Source
Address (SA). Addresses may be either 16-bits or 48-bits in length. All addresses on the same
LAN will be of the same length. The Address begins with an Individual/Group address bit.
Broadcast addressing is also supported (all 1’s). Addresses are assigned by the LAN
Administrator.
FCS: The Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field which is a 32-bit CRC of the FC, addresses, and
data fields (all bits between the SD and the ED).
ED: The End Delimiter (ED) marks the end of the frame. The bit pattern is NN1NN1IE.
Where N is a non-data character, I intermediate frame bit - more frames to transmit, and E is the
error bit - indicates an FCS error and is set by a repeating station.
Abort Sequence
The abort sequence frame (Figure 11) is transmitted by an originating station and terminates the
transmission of a frame prematurely. It also causes the station receiving this frame to terminate
the frame’s reception.
Start End
Delimiter Delimiter
Figure 15. Abort Sequence Frame
Invalid Frame
An invalid frame is defined as one which meets at least one of the following conditions:
• It is identified as such by the physical interface (e.g., contains bad signal symbols).
• It is not an integral number of bytes in length

• It does not consist of an SD, one FC field, two properly formed address fields, a data field
of appropriate length (if specified by the FC field), one FCS field, and an ED field, in that
order.
• The FCS computation fails.
• The ED Error (E) bit is set to 1.
• The FC field contains an undefined pattern.
Token Bus Protocol Operation
Basic operation
Basic operation simply requires the sending of the token to a specific successor station as each
station is finished transmitting. The token passes the right to transmit from station to station in a
defined sequence. Each station knows its predecessor (Previous Station - PS) and successor
(Next Station - NS) (Figure 16).
Token Holder
Previous Station Next Station
1 2 3 4 5 6
Figure 16. Logical Ring
Whenever a station receives a token frame addressed to itself, it “has the token”, and may
transmit data or pass the token along to the NS.
Token Passing
After a station has completed transmitting any data frames it may have, it passes the token by
transmitting a MAC token control frame (described earlier) to its successor.
After transmitting the token, the station listens for evidence that its successor has heard the token
frame and is active. If the transmitting station does not hear the successor within one “timeslot”,
the token sending station will attempt to assess the status of the network.

If the token sending station does not hear a valid frame after sending the token, the token sending
station transmits another token.
If the successor does not transmit after the second attempt, the sending station assumes the
successor has failed and broadcasts a “who_follows” MAC control frame, with the failed
successor’s address (NS) in the data field. All stations compare the value in the data field to see
if it matches their recorded Predecessor Station (the station that normally sends them the token).
The station whose PS matches the value, sends back a set_successor control frame. The station
holding the token thus establishes a new successor, bridging the failed station out of the logical
ring.
Ring Recovery
If the sending station hears no response to the “who_follows” frame it tries sending it a second
time. If there is still no response, the sending station (who still holds the token) sends a
“solicit_successor_2” frame with its own address as both DA and SA, asking any station in the
system to respond. Any station that hears the transmission and wants to join the ring, responds
and the ring is reestablished.
If all attempts at soliciting a successor fail, the station assumes a catastrophic network failure has
occurred, either all stations have failed, all stations have left the logical ring (shut down), the
medium is broken, or the sending station’s own transmitter or receiver has failed. Under such
conditions, the station quits attempting to maintain the logical ring, but continues in a listen
mode for some indication of bus activity.
Ring Insertion
New stations are added to the “logical ring” through a controlled contention process called
“response windows.” A response window is a time interval (one time slot), after transmission of
any MAC control frame, in which the sending station pauses and listens for a response.
A ring maintenance function calls for a station to periodically transmit a solicit_successor_1

frame which will start the insertion process. And as described above, anytime a station loses
communication with it’s NS, it will start the solicit_successor routine.
Two control frames, solicit_successor_1 and solicit_successor_2 open response windows for
new stations to enter the ring. The solicit_successor frames specify a range of address between
the SA and DA. Stations whose addresses fall with this range and who wish to enter the logical
ring respond to the frame.
The responding stations send the sending station their requests to become the next station in the
logical ring. If the frame sender hears a valid request, it allows the new station to enter the
logical ring by changing the address of its own successor to the address of the new station and
passing the station the token.

The solicit_successor_1 frame has one response window and allows only stations whose address
is in the range between the token sender and its currently defined successor. Thus limiting the
possible contenders and preserving the descending order of the logical ring.
The solicit_successor_2 frame has two response windows, one for the successor and one for the
predecessor. This frame is used by the “last” or lowest addressed station on the ring to identify:
a) that he is the last station in the and b) to determine who is the first station in the logical ring,
which will become its successor.
Collisions (Contentions)
When multiple stations simultaneously respond, only unrecognizable noise may be heard during
the response period. When this occurs, the soliciting station initiates a “resolve_contention”
frame to try and identify a single responder. The original stations who simultaneously
responded, initiate a listen delay algorithm based on their address.
If a listening station hears anything during its listening delay, it eliminates itself from contention
(assumes predecessor(s) closer to the sender are responding). If they hear only silence, they
respond again. Again, contentions might occur, and the sending station sends another
resolve_contention frame(s). The resolve_contention algorithm eventually narrows the
responders to only one.
Claim Token
The claim token process is used in the event a token is lost or as a form of ring initialization.
When a station wants to join the ring it listens for bus activity and normally waits for a
solicit_successor frame to be sent.
In the event a station detects no activity for a preset period of time, it attempts to initialize the
ring or reinitialize the ring by sending claim_token frames. If the sending station does not
receive a response within the response window time, it “claims” the token and restarts the normal
ring operation.

ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE (ATM)
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology is a joint effort of the International

Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group
XVIII to develop Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (BISDN) for the high-speed
transfer of voice, video, and data through public networks.
The ATM Forum (jointly founded in 1991 by Cisco Systems, NET/ADAPTIVE, Northern
Telecom, and Sprint), as established guidelines for the capability of transmitting voice, video,
and data through private networks and across public networks using ATM technology. ATM
continues to evolve today as the various standards groups finalize specifications that allow
interoperability among the equipment produced by vendors in the public and private networking
industries.
ATM Cell Format
ATM segments data at high speeds into units called cells. Each cell consists of 5 octets of header
information and 48 octets of payload data, as shown in
Figure 17.
53 Bytes
Header Payload
5 48
Figure 17. ATM Cell Format
ATM Transmission
Cells transit ATM networks by passing through devices known as ATM switches, which
examine the header to determine the switch output interface that connects the switch to the next
appropriate switch as the cell works its way to its destination.
ATM is a cell-switching and multiplexing technology that combines the benefits of circuit
switching (constant transmission delay and guaranteed capacity) with those of packet switching
(flexibility and efficiency for intermittent traffic). Like X.25 and Frame Relay, ATM defines the
interface between the user equipment (such was workstations and routers) and the network
(referred to as the User-Network Interface, or UNI). This definition supports the use of ATM
switches (and ATM switching techniques) within both public and private networks.

Because it is an asynchronous mechanism, ATM differs from synchronous transfer mode

methods, where time-division multiplexing (TDM) techniques are employed to preassign users to
time slots. ATM time slots are made available on demand, with information identifying the
source of the transmission contained in the header of each ATM cell.
TDM is inefficient relative to ATM because if a station has nothing to transmit when its time slot
comes up, that time slot is wasted. The converse situation, where one station has lots of
information to transmit, is also less efficient. In this case, that station can only transmit when its
turn comes up, even though all the other time slots are empty. With ATM, a station can send
cells whenever necessary.
Another critical ATM design characteristic is its star topology. The ATM switch acts as a hub in
the ATM network, with all devices attached directly. This provides all the traditional benefits of
star-topology networks, including easier troubleshooting and support for network configuration
changes and additions.
Furthermore, ATM's switching fabric provides additive bandwidth. As long as the switch can
handle the aggregate cell transfer rate, additional connections to the switch can be made. The
total bandwidth of the system increases accordingly. If a switch can pass cells among all its
interfaces at the full rate of all interfaces, it is described as nonblocking. For example, an ATM
switch with 16 ports each at 155 megabits per second (Mbps) would require about 2.5 gigabits
per second (Gbps) aggregate throughput to be nonblocking.
ATM Cell Header Formats
The ATM standards groups have defined two header formats. The User Network Interface (UNI)
header format is defined by the UNI specification, and the Network-Node Interface (NNI) header
format is defined by the NNI specification.

UNI Header
The User Network Interface (UNI) specification defines communications between ATM
endstations (such as workstations and routers) and ATM switches in private ATM networks. The
format of the UNI cell header is shown in Figure 18.
40 bits
C
GFC VPI VCI PT L HEC
P
Field length 4 8 16 3 1 8
in bits
Figure 18. UNI Header Format
The UNI header consists of the following fields:
• GFC---4 bits of generic flow control that can be used to provide local functions, such as
identifying multiple stations that share a single ATM interface. The GFC field is typically
not used and is set to a default value.
• VPI---8 bits of virtual path identifier, which is used, in conjunction with the VCI, to
identify the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches on its
way to its destination.
• VCI---16 bits of virtual channel identifier, which is used, in conjunction with the VPI, to
identify the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches on its
way to its destination. For more information about how the VPI and VCI fields are used,
see the section "ATM Switching."
• PT---3 bits of payload type. The first bit indicates whether the cell contains user data or
control data. If the cell contains user data, the second bit indicates congestion, and the
third bit indicates whether the cell is the last in a series of cells that represent a single
AAL5 frame.
• CLP---1 bit of congestion loss priority, which indicates whether the cell should be
discarded if it encounters extreme congestion as it moves through the network. For more
information about how ATM uses this bit, see the section "Quality of Service."
• HEC---8 bits of header error control, which is a checksum calculated only on the header
itself.

NNI Header
The Network-Node Interface (NNI) specification defines communications between ATM

switches. The format of the NNI header is shown in Figure 19.
40 bits
C
VPI VCI PT L HEC
P
Field length
12 16 3 1 8
in bits
Figure 19. NNI Header Format
The GFC field is not present in the format of the NNI header. Instead, the VPI field occupies the
first 12 bits, which allows ATM switches to assign larger VPI values. With that exception, the
format of the NNI header is identical to the format of the UNI header.
ATM Reference Model
ATM functionality and the interrelationships between the layers of functionality are shown in the
ATM Reference Model (Figure 20).
Management plane
Plane Management
User Plane
Layer Management
Control Plane
Higher Higher
Layers Layers
ATM Adaptation layer
ATM layer
Physical layer
Figure 20. ATM Reference Model

In the ATM reference model, the ATM layer and the ATM adaptation layers are roughly
analogous parts of the data link layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model,
and the ATM physical layer is analogous to the physical layer of the OSI reference model. The
control plane is responsible for generating and managing signaling requests. The user plane is
responsible for managing the transfer of data. Above the ATM adaptation layer are higher-layer
protocols representing traditional transports and applications.
Physical Layer
The ATM physical layer controls transmission and receipt of bits on the physical medium. It also
keeps track of ATM cell boundaries and packages cells into the appropriate type of frame for the
physical medium being used.
The ATM physical layer is divided into two parts: the physical medium sublayer and the
transmission convergence sublayer. The physical medium sublayer is responsible for sending and
receiving a continuous flow of bits with associated timing information to synchronize
transmission and reception. Because it includes only physical-medium-dependent functions, its
specification depends on the physical medium used.
ATM can use any physical medium capable of carrying ATM cells. Some existing standards that
can carry ATM cells are SONET (Synchronous Optical Network)/SDH, DS-3/E3, 100-Mbps
local fiber (Fiber Distributed Data Interface [FDDI] physical layer), and 155-Mbps local fiber
(Fiber Channel physical layer).
Various proposals for use over twisted-pair wire are also under consideration.
The transmission convergence sublayer is responsible for the following:
• Cell delineation---Maintains ATM cell boundaries.
• Header error control sequence generation and verification---Generates and checks the
header error control code to ensure valid data.
• Cell rate decoupling---Inserts or suppresses idle (unassigned) ATM cells to adapt the rate
of valid ATM cells to the payload capacity of the transmission system.
• Transmission frame adaptation---Packages ATM cells into frames acceptable to the

particular physical-layer implementation.
• Transmission frame generation and recovery---Generates and maintains the appropriate

physical-layer frame structure.

ATM Layer
The ATM layer is responsible for establishing connections and passing cells through the ATM
network. To do this, it uses the information contained in the header of each ATM cell. For more
information about how information in the header is used to pass cells through an ATM network,
see the section "ATM Switching”.
ATM Adaptation Layer
The ATM adaptation layer (AAL) translates between the larger service data units (SDUs) (for
example, video streams, and data packets) of upper-layer processes and ATM cells.
Specifically, the ATM adaptation layer (AAL) receives packets from upper-level protocols (such
as AppleTalk, Internet Protocols [IP], and NetWare) and breaks them into the 48-byte segments
that form the payload field of an ATM cell. Several ATM adaptation layers are currently
specified. Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of each AAL.
Table 1. ATM Adaptation Layers
Requires
timing
Characteristics between Data rate Connection Traffic
source and mode types
destination
AAL1 Yes Constant Connection- Voice and

oriented circuit
emulation
AAL3/4 No Variable Connection- Data

oriented
AAL4 No Variable Connectionless Data
AAL5 No Variable Connection- Data

oriented

Addressing
The ATM Forum has adopted the subnetwork model of addressing, in which the ATM layer is
responsible for mapping network layer addresses to ATM addresses.
Several ATM address formats have been developed---one for public networks and three for
private networks. Typically, public ATM networks will use E.164 numbers, which are also used
by Narrowband Integrated Services Digital Network (NISDN) networks.
Figure 21 shows the format of private network ATM addresses. The three formats are Data
Country Code (DCC), International Code Designator (ICD), and Network Service Access Point
(NSAP) encapsulated E.164 addresses.
20 bytes
DCC Address Format AFI DCC DFI AA Reserved RD Area ESI Sel
ICD Address Format AFI ICD DFI AA Reserved RD Area ESI Sel
E.164 Address Format AFI E.164 RD Area ESI Sel
Figure 21. ATM Address Formats
The fields of an ATM address are as follows:
• AFI---1 byte of authority and format identifier. The AFI field identifies the type of
address. The defined values are 45, 47, and 39 for E.164, ICD, and DCC addresses,
respectively.
• DCC---2 bytes of data country code.
• DFI---1 byte of domain specific part (DSP) format identifier.
• AA---3 bytes of administrative authority.

• RD---2 bytes of routing domain.
• Area---2 bytes of area identifier.
• ESI---6 bytes of end system identifier, which is an IEEE 802 Media Access Control
(MAC) address.
• Sel---1 byte of NSAP selector.
• ICD---2 bytes of international code designator.
• E.164---8 bytes of Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) telephone number.
The ATM address formats are modeled on ISO NSAP addresses, but they identify SubNetwork
Point of Attachment (SNPA) addresses. Incorporating the MAC address into the ATM address
makes it easy to map ATM addresses into existing LANs.
ATM Switching
ATM switches use the VPI and VCI fields of the cell header to identify the next network
segment that a cell needs to transit on its way to its final destination. A virtual channel is
equivalent to a virtual circuit---that is, both terms describe a logical connection between the two
ends of a communications connection. A virtual path is a logical grouping of virtual circuits that
allows an ATM switch to perform operations on groups of virtual circuits.
The main function of an ATM switch is to receive cells on a port and switch those cells to the
proper output port based on the VPI and VCI values of the cell. This switching is dictated by a
switching table that maps input ports to output ports based on the values of the VPI and VCI
fields, as shown in Figure 21. ATM Address Formats.
Connection Types
ATM supports two connection types, as shown in Figure 22.
• Point-to-point ---Connections of this type can be unidirectional or bi-directional.
• Point-to-multipoint ---Connections of this type are unidirectional only.

Point-to-Point
Station A ATM Switch ATM Switch Station B
Point-to-Multipoint
Station A ATM Switch Station B
Station D
Station C
Figure 22. ATM Connection Types
It would be desirable for ATM to support multipoint-to-multipoint links, which would be

equivalent to a broadcast VCC. Unfortunately, the AAL5 standard does not provide a way for the
receiver to identify individual cells from specific sources when cells are interleaved from
multiple sources. This would not allow proper reassembly of cells into frames, unless all of the
cells of a specific frame are sent in proper order, without any interleaving.
A multicast server - is one solution to this problem. A multicast server can exist in an ATM
network, and all members of a multicast group can establish point-to-point VCCs to it. The
multicast server would then create a point-to-multipoint VCC to all members on the group, with
itself at the root.

Any data sent to the multicast server is serialized, sent out the point-to-multipoint tree, and
received by the members of the group. The value of this approach is that cells from different
sources are serialized and sent in order rather than interleaved. The multicast server can also
support dynamic groups because members can be added and deleted as leaves on the tree.
Connection Services
ATM permanent virtual connection (PVC) service, shown in operates much like Frame Relay---a
virtual connection mesh, partial mesh, or star is administratively established through the ATM
network between the routers. ATM PVC service was the original focus of the ATM Forum.
Advantages of ATM PVC service include a direct ATM connection between routers and the
simplicity of the specification and subsequent implementation. Disadvantages include static
connectivity and the administrative overhead of provisioning virtual connections manually.
Quality of Service
When an ATM endstation connects to the ATM network, it is essentially making a contract with
the network based on quality of service (QOS) parameters. This contract specifies an envelope
that describes the intended traffic flow. This envelope specifies values for peak bandwidth,
average sustained bandwidth, and burst size.
It is the responsibility of the ATM device to adhere to the contract by means of traffic shaping.
Traffic shaping is the use of queues to constrain data bursts, limit peak data rate, and smooth
jitter so that the traffic will fit within the promised envelope.
ATM switches have the option of using traffic policing to enforce the contract. The switch can
measure the actual traffic flow and compare it against the agreed upon traffic envelope. If it finds
that traffic is outside of the agreed upon parameters, the switch can set the CLP bit of the
offending cells. Setting the CLP bit makes the cell discard eligible, which means that the switch,
or any other switch handling the cell, is allowed to drop the cell during periods of congestion.
Congestion control is a primary concern of ATM designers. For example, dropping just one cell
that is part of a FDDI frame can result in the retransmission of 93 cells. Retransmission can lead
to an exponential increase in congestion as ATM switches drop individual cells from different
packets, resulting in retransmission of more packets, which causes even more cells to be
dropped.
The ATM Forum is currently working to define a congestion-control scheme.

ATM Signaling
When an ATM device, such as Router A in Figure 23, wants to establish a connection with
another ATM device such as Router B, Router A sends a signaling request packet to its directly
connected ATM switch. This request contains the ATM address of the desired ATM endpoint
(Router B, in this case), as well as any QOS parameters required for the connection.
ATM Switch 1 ATM Switch 2

Connect to B?
Router A
Yes
Connect to B?
Router B
Yes
ATM Switch 3
Figure 23. Signaling Requests Transit the Network
The signaling packet is reassembled by the switch and examined. If the switch has a switch table
entry for Router B's ATM address, and it can accommodate the QOS requested for the
connection, it sets up the virtual connection on the input link and forwards the request out the
interface specified in the switching table for the ATM NSAP of Router B.
Every switch along the path to the endpoint reassembles and examines the signaling packet and
forwards it to the next switch if the QOS parameters can be supported while setting up the virtual
connection as the signaling packet is forwarded. If any switch along the path cannot
accommodate the requested QOS parameters, the request is rejected, and a rejection message is
sent back to the originator of the request.

When the signaling packet arrives at the endpoint (Router B), it is reassembled and evaluated. If
the endpoint can support the desired QOS, it responds with an accept message. As the accept
message propagates back to the originator of the request, the switches set up a virtual circuit. The
originator of the request receives the accept message from its directly connected ATM switch, as
well as the VPI/VCI value that the originator should use for cells destined for the endpoint.
ATM Forum UNI Specification V3.0 defines the protocols, known as the NNI protocols, used to
route ATM signaling requests between switches. The ATM Forum is also working on Private
NNI (P-NNI) protocols for use in multiswitch private ATM networks. The ATM Forum has also
defined a P-NNI Phase 0 protocol, based on UNI 3.0 signaling and static routes; it is continuing
work on a P-NNI Phase 1 protocol that supports dynamic routing.

WORK AID 1: HOW TO INSTALL/CONFIGURE A NIC USING WINDOWS 95
1. Remove the cover from the PC.
2. Identify if the bus is an ISA or PCI bus and select the appropriate NIC.
3. Older NIC’s may require jumper settings prior to installation. Refer to manufacturer’s
literature as required. Plug-n-Play compatible NICs require no external
configuration.
4. Install NIC into PC card slot.
5. Boot PC and start Windows 95. If NIC is Plug-n-Play compatible, Windows 95 will
automatically start the New Hardware installation process. Otherwise go to the
Settings - Control Panel, and start the Add New Hardware program.
6. When configuration is complete, the Control Panel - System - Device Manager

should display your NIC under the Network Adapters (Figure 24).

Figure 24. Windows 95 Network Device Display

1. If the icon has a exclamation mark (!) over it, there is a problem with the device.
Click on the network adapter card icon and then Properties (Error! Reference
source not found.). Identify source of problem.
Figure 25. Windows 95 Device Properties Window
8. Replace cover on PC.
9. Connect network cabling to NIC accordingly.
NOTE: The NIC usually comes with diagnostic software. It is a good idea to use the
diagnostic software to verify that the NIC is functioning correctly before proceeding with
the operating system setup.

WORK AID 2: HOW TO CONFIGURE WINDOWS 95 FOR NETWORKING
After the NIC has been successfully installed, configure Windows 95 for networking as
follows:
1. Open the Settings - Control Panel - Network. Observe what protocols (if any) are
installed (Figure 26).
Figure 26. Network Protocols Installation

2. If the network protocols are not already installed, Add the following: (Note: the
Windows 95 disk may be required)
• Client for Microsoft Networks (or Client for Novell Networks if you are on a
Novell Network)
• IPX/SPX
• Microsoft DLC
• NetBEUI
• TCP/IP
• File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks (if you want to share your files
and your connected printer).
3. If file and printer sharing is desired, click on File and Print Sharing and enable
access according (Figure 27).
Figure 27. File and Print Sharing Enable

4. Reboot your computer and Log-in to windows. It is important you log in.
5. To enable file sharing, highlight a folder (or drive via the My Computer icon), and
click right mouse button. Click on Share. Select type of sharing access desired. A
small hand appears on the folder (or drive) indicating sharing is enabled (Figure 28).
Figure 28. Drive Sharing Enabled

6. Click on Network Neighborhood. You should see your computer and all other
computers that are active on the network and have file sharing enabled (Figure
29).
Figure 29. Network Neighborhood

BIBLIOGRAPHY
ISO/IEC 8802-3, ANSI/IEEE 802.3, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications, Fifth Edition, 1996
ISO/IEC 8802-4, IEEE 802.4
ISO/IEC 8802-5, IEEE 802.5, Token Ring Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications,
Second Edition, 1995.
SAES-T-916, January 1997
Internetworking Technology Overview, Cisco Systems, October, 1994, Text Part Number 78-
1420-01
Using Windows 95, QUE, 1995, ISBN 1-56529-921-3

ADDENDUM A: NIC CARDS SUPPORTED BY WINDOWS 95
Vendor Models
3-COM Etherlink 16, Etherlink XL, Etherlink II and IITP, Etherlink III (16
different models), Etherlink Plus, Etherlink/MC, Fast Etherlink
10/100MB, TokenLink, TokenLink III (3 models)
ACCTON EN1660, EN 2216
Allied Telesyn AT1510
Alta Research PCMIA Adapter
AMD AM2100/AM1500t, PCNET Family (PCI, ISA, ISA+ and VL-Bus)
ArcNet ARCnet
Artisoft AE-1, AE-2, AE-3
AST Token Ring Credit Card Adapter
Boca Research BOCALANcard, PCMCIA 10BASE-T
Cabletron E2000, E2100, E2200, E3000, E3100, T2015 4/16 Mbps
Cogent Cogent Emaster + EM960
D-Link DE220 ISA, DE650, PCMCIA
DCA IRMAtrac (5 models)
DEC DE100, DE101, DE102, DE200, DE201, DE202, DE210, DE211, DE22,
DE425, DE434, DE435, DE500, DEPCA, EE101, Ethernet, Etherworks3,
TokenRing Auto 16/4, 433WS, Ethernet DECchip 21040, Ethernet
DECchip 21041, Fast Ethernet DECchip 21140
Dell LATITUDE XP
Eagle Technology NE200T
Everex Speedlink
EXOS EXOS 105

Farallon EtherWave
Fujitsu MBH10302
HP Ethertwist, J2573A, J2577A, 16 TL Plus, 16TP, 16TP Plus, 8 TL, 8 TP
IBM Auto 16/4 ISA Token Ring Adaptor, Ethernet Credit Card Adapter,
Ethernet Credit Card Adapter II, Token Ring, Token Ring II, Token Ring
Credit Card Adapter, Token Ring Credit Card Adapter II
Intel 82595-base, etherExpress 16, EtherExpress 16TP, EtherExpress 32,

EtherExpress PRO/10, EtherExpress PRO/100, Token Express
Kingston Etherx Ethernet PCMCIA Adapter, Token Ring PCMCIA Adapter
Linksys Combo PCMCIA, Ether 16, EtherFast, EtherPCI
Madge Smart 16 (13 different models)
Microdyne IRMAtrac (3 models), Novell 4000 PCMCIA Adapter, PCI Ethernet,

NE2500, NE2500T
Mitron LX2100+, PCI Ethernet
National Datacomm NDC Credit Card Adapter
National AT/LANTIC EhterNODE, Ethernode 16, NE2000 Plus Informer, NE4100

Semiconductor Informer
NCR StarCard Token Ring 16/4 Mbps, Token Ring 4Mbps, WaveLAN
Novell/Anthem NE/2, NE1000, NE1500T, NE2000, NE2100, NE3200, NE3200T
Olicom Olicom Token Ring, Olicom Token Ring Server
Ositech Trumpcard
Piiceon Piiceon PCMCIA
Proteon ProNET Token Ring(12 models supported)
Pure Data PD1508+, PD1516+, PD19025-32, PDC9025, Token Ring Credit Card
Adapter
Racal ES3210, NI5210, NI6510

REALTEK RTL8019
Silicom Ethernet PCMCIA, Ethernet Pocket
SMC SMC 300, PC100, PC110, PC120, PC130, PC200, PC210, PC220, PC250,
PC260, PC270, PC600W, PC650W, PS110, PS210, ARCNET PC,
EtherCard, EtherCard Plus, EtherCard Plus Elite, EtherCard Elite Ultra,
EtherElite Ultra, StarCard Plus, TokenCard Plus, TokenCard Elite, ELITE
CARD, SMC9000, Ether EZ, Tiger Card, EtherPower, EtherPower 2
Socket EA Credit Card Ethernet Adapter

Communications
SVEC FD0421, FD0455
Sys Konnect Sk-Net
TDK TDK PCMCIA LAN
Thomas-Conrad TC5041 PCMCIA, All Arcnet types, TC4035, TC4045, TC4046, TC6042,
TC6045, TC6142, TC6145, TC6242,TC6245,TC Card PCMCIA, TC5048,
TCTX048, 100BASE-TX, Token Ring TC4046, Token Ring TC4145
Toshiba, Noteworthy PCMCIA, NWETH01 PCMCIA
Tulip NCC 16
Ungermann-Bass NIC, NIU, pcNIU
Xircom CE-10, CE10/A, CE2, CreditCard Token Ring Adapter, Pocket Ethernet I
Pocket Ethernet II, Pocket Ethernet III, Ethernet+Modem
Zenith NE2000, Z-Note

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Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Local Area Network (LAN) Technologies

Chapter : Communication For additional information on this subject, contact

IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (ETHERNET) ................................................................................. 2

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE (ATM) ...............................................................32

WORK AID 2: HOW TO CONFIGURE WINDOWS 95 FOR NETWORKING ................47

ADDENDUM A: NIC CARDS SUPPORTED BY WINDOWS 95 ....................................52

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Table of Figures Page

Figure 1. Ethernet Bus Topology.............................................................................. 4

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

• IEEE 802.4 Token Passing Bus

• IEEE 802.5 Token Ring

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

This module will analyze these LAN technologies in greater detail.

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 1

IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (ETHERNET)

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 2

IEEE 802.3/ Ethernet Incompatible

Ethernet is identified by the following convention:

data rate (Mbps)+method (baseband or broadband )- cable distance

• 10BASE-5: 10 Mbps, baseband, 500 meters using thicknet coaxial cable.

• 10BASE-2: 10 Mbps, baseband, 200 meters using thinnet coaxial cable.

• 10BASE-FL: 10 Mbps, baseband, using fiber optic cable.

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 3

Station #1 Station #2 Station #3

Figure 1. Ethernet Bus Topology

10BASE-T NIC 10BASE-T NIC

Figure 2. Star-Wired Bus Topology

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 4

Figure 3. Manchester Coding

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 5

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 6

• Female Coaxial connector is used with 10BASE-2 (Thinnet) coaxial cable.

• Female RJ-45 connector is used with 10/100BASE-T for UTP connections. An

Figure 4. Ethernet NIC Connectors

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 7

Data Link Layer

7 1 2/6 2/6 2 46 to 1500 4

7 1 2/6 2/6 2 46 to 1500 4

Figure 5. IEEE 802.3 & Ethernet II Frame Formats

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 8

Information: The Information field contains a data sequence of 46 to 1500 bytes.

• Frame length does not match length field.

• Not an integral number of bytes in length.

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 9

CSMA/CD Protocol Operation

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 10

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 11

IEEE 802.5 TOKEN RING

A token ring supports up to 250 stations (IBM = 260).

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards 12

Station #1 Station #2 Station #3

RING IN RING OUT

TCU TCU TCU

Figure 6. Star-Wired Ring Topology