Communication Process

The TCP/IP model describes the functionality of

the protocols that make up the TCP/IP protocol
suite.
These protocols, which are implemented on both
the sending and receiving hosts, interact to
provide end-to-end delivery of applications over
a network.
A complete communication process includes
these steps:
 Communication Process
Transmitter Side ( Source Side)
1. Creation of data at the application layer of the
originating source end device.
2. Segmentation and encapsulation of data as it
passes down the protocol stack in the source
end device.
3. Generation of the data onto the media at the
network access layer of the stack.
 Communication Process
Transmition Media:
4. Transportation of the data through the
internetwork, which consists of media and
any intermediary devices.
 Communication Process
Reciever Side ( Destination Side)

5. Reception of the data at the network access layer

of the destination end device.
6. Decapsulation and reassembly of the data as it
passes up the stack in the destination device.
7. Passing this data to the destination application at
the application layer of the destination end
device.
 Sending and Receiving Process
• The common task of sending an e-mail has
many steps in the process.
• Using the proper terms for PDUs and the
TCP/IP model, the process of sending the e-
mail is as follows:
 Sending and Receiving Process
1. An end user, using an e-mail application, creates data. The application
layer codes the data as e-mail and sends the data to the transport layer.
2. The message is segmented, or broken into pieces, for transport. The
transport layer adds control information in a header so that it can be
assigned to the correct process and all segments put into proper order at
the destination. The segment is sent down to the internetwork layer.
3. The internetwork layer adds IP addressing information in an IP header.
The segment is now an addressed packet that can be handled by routers
to route to the destination. The internetwork layer sends the packet down
to the network access layer.
4. The network access layer creates an Ethernet frame with local network
physical address information in the header. This enables the packet to get
to the local router and out to the web. The frame also contains a trailer
with error-checking information. After the frame is created, it is encoded
into bits and sent onto the media to the destination.
 Sending and Receiving Process
5. At the destination host, the process is reversed. The
frame is decapsulated to a packet, then to a segment, and
then the transport layer puts all segments into the proper
order.
6. When all data has arrived and is ready, it is sent to the
application layer, and then the original application data
goes to the receiver’s e-mail application. The message is
successful.

The following Figure depicts these steps as an

encapsulated message travels down the TCP/IP model on
the source and is en route to the destination for
decapsulation.
Sending and Receiving Process
 Presentation Layer
The presentation layer has three primary functions:
■ Coding and conversion of application layer data
to ensure that data from the source device can be
interpreted by the appropriate application on the
destination device.
■ Compression of the data in a manner that can be
decompressed by the destination device.
■ Encryption of the data for transmission and
decryption of data upon receipt
 Session Layer
• Functions at the session layer create and
maintain dialogs between source and
destination applications.
• The session layer handles the exchange of
information to initiate dialogs and keep them
active, and to restart sessions that are
disrupted or idle for a long period of time.
•
 TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols
• The most widely known TCP/IP application
layer protocols are those that provide the
exchange of user information.
• These protocols specify the format and
control information necessary for many of the
common Internet communication functions.
• Among these TCP/IP protocols are the
following:
 TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols
v Domain Name System (DNS) is used to resolve
Internet names to IP addresses.
v Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used to transfer
files that make up the web pages of the World Wide
Web.
v Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used for the
transfer of mail messages and attachments.
v Telnet, a terminal emulation protocol, is used to
provide remote access to servers and networking
devices.
v File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for interactive file
transfer between systems.
 Client/Server Model
vIn the client/server model, the device requesting
the information is called a client and the device
responding to the request is called a server.
vClient and server processes are considered to be
in the application layer.
vThe client begins the exchange by requesting data
from the server, which responds by sending one
or more streams of data to the client. Application
layer protocols describe the design of the
requests and responses between clients and
servers.
Client/Server Model
 Servers
• Any device that responds to requests from
client applications is functioning as a server.
• A server is usually a computer that contains
information to be shared with many client
systems.
• For example, web pages, documents,
databases, pictures, video, and audio files can
all be stored on a server and delivered to
requesting clients.
Servers
 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model
• P2P networking involves two distinct forms:
peer-to-peer network design and peer-to-peer
applications.
• Both forms have similar features but in
practice work very differently.
 P2P Networks
• In a peer-to-peer network, two or more
computers are connected through a network
and can share resources such as printers and
files without having a dedicated server.
• Every connected end device, known as a peer,
can function as either a server or a client.
• One computer might assume the role of
server for one transaction while
simultaneously serve as a client for another.
P2P Networks
 Application Layer Protocols and
Services
• The transport layer uses an addressing scheme called a port
number.
• Port numbers identify applications and application layer
services that are the source and destination of data.
• Server programs generally use predefined port numbers that
are commonly known by clients.
• Different TCP/IP application layer protocols and services, you
will be referring to the TCP and UDP port numbers normally
associated with these services.
• Some of these services are:
 Application Layer Protocols and
Services
• ■ Domain Name System (DNS): TCP/UDP port
53
• ■ HTTP: TCP port 80
• ■ Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): TCP
port 25
• ■ Post Office Protocol (POP): UDP port 110
• ■ Telnet: TCP port 23
• ■ DHCP: UDP port 67
• ■ FTP: TCP ports 20 and 21
 DNS Services and Protocol
• On the Internet, these domain names, such as
http://www.cisco.com, are much easier for
people to remember than 198.132.219.25, which,
at the time of this writing, is the numeric address
for this server.
• Also, if Cisco decides to change the numeric
address, it is transparent to the user, because the
domain name will remain http://www.cisco.com.
The new address will simply be linked to the
existing domain name and connectivity is
maintained, as shown in Figure
DNS Services and Protocol
 DNS Services and Protocol
• When a match is found and returned to the
original requesting server, the server temporarily
stores the numbered address that matches the
name in the cache.
• If that same name is requested again, the first
server can return the address by using the value
stored in its name cache.
• Caching reduces both the DNS query data
network traffic and the workloads of servers
higher up the hierarchy.
DNS Hierarchy
 WWW Service and HTTP
• To access the content, web clients make
connections to the server and request the
desired resources.
• The server replies with the resources and, upon
receipt, the browser interpret the data and
present it to the user.
• To better understand how the web browser and
web client interact, you can examine how a web
page is opened in a browser. For this example,
consider the URL
• http://www.cisco.com/web-server.htm.
 WWW Service and HTTP
First, the browser interprets the three parts of
the URL:
■ http: The protocol or scheme
■ www.cisco.com: The server name
■ web-server.htm: The specific filename
requested
• For secure communication across the Internet,
the Secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocol is used for
accessing and posting web server information.
 E-Mail Services and SMTP/POP
Protocols

v POP and POP3 (Post Office Protocol, version 3) are

inbound mail delivery protocols and are typical
client/server protocols.
v They deliver e-mail from the e-mail server to the client
(MUA)
v SMTP, on the other hand, governs the transfer of
outbound e-mail from the sending client to the e-mail
server (MDA), as well as the transport of e-mail between
e-mail servers (MTA).
E-Mail Services and SMTP/POP
Protocols
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• FTP was developed to allow file transfers
between a client and a server.
• FTP requires two connections between the client
and the server: one for commands and replies,
and the other for the actual file transfer.
• The client establishes the first connection to the
server on TCP port 21.
• The client establishes the second connection to
the server over TCP port 20. This connection is for
the actual file transfer and is created every time a
file is transferred.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 Purpose of the Transport Layer
• The following are the primary responsibilities of the transport
layer:
■ Tracking the individual communications between
applications on the source and destination hosts
■ Segmenting data and managing each piece
■ Reassembling the segments into streams of application
data
■ Identifying the different applications
■ Performing flow control between end users
■ Enabling error recovery
■ Initiating a session
Purpose of the Transport Layer
Transport layer Protocols
 TCP and UDP
• The two most common transport layer
protocols of the TCP/IP protocol suite are
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User
Datagram Protocol (UDP).
• Both protocols manage the communication of
multiple applications.
• The differences between the two are the
specific functions that each protocol
implements.
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
• UDP is a simple, connectionless protocol, described in
RFC 768.
• It has the advantage of providing low-overhead data
delivery.
• The segments of communication in UDP are called
datagrams. UDP sends datagrams as “best effort.”

• Applications that use UDP include:

• ■ Domain Name System (DNS)
• ■ Video streaming
• ■ Voice over IP (VoIP)
UDP Datagram
 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
• TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, described
in RFC 793.
• TCP incurs additional overhead to gain functions.
Additional functions specified by TCP are same-
order delivery, reliable delivery, and flow control.
• Each TCP segment has 20 bytes of overhead in
the header encapsulating the application layer
data, whereas each UDP segment has only 8
bytes of overhead
TCP Datagram
 TCP Applications
• The following applications use TCP:
• ■ Web browsers
• ■ E-mail
• ■ File transfers
 TCP Congestion Control
• TCP provides congestion control through the use of
flow control and dynamic window sizes.
• Flow Control
 TCP Congestion Control
• Dynamic Window Sizes