Module 8: Network Layer

Introduction to Networks v7.0

(ITN)
8.1 Network Layer
Characteristics

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Network Layer Characteristics
The Network Layer
• Provides services to allow end devices to exchange
data
• IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6) are the
principle network layer communication protocols.
• The network layer performs four basic operations:
• Addressing end devices
• Encapsulation
• Routing
• De-encapsulation

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Network Layer Characteristics
IP Encapsulation
• IP encapsulates the transport layer
segment.
• IP can use either an IPv4 or IPv6
packet and not impact the layer 4
segment.
• IP packet will be examined by all
layer 3 devices as it traverses the
network.
• The IP addressing does not change
from source to destination.
Note: NAT will change addressing,
but will be discussed in a later
module.
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Network Layer Characteristics
Characteristics of IP
IP is meant to have low overhead and may be described as:
• Connectionless
• Best Effort
• Media Independent

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Network Layer Characteristics
Connectionless
IP is Connectionless
• IP does not establish a connection with the destination before sending the packet.

• There is no control information needed (synchronizations, acknowledgments, etc.).

• The destination will receive the packet when it arrives, but no pre-notifications are sent by IP.

• If there is a need for connection-oriented traffic, then another protocol will handle this
(typically TCP at the transport layer).

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Network Layer Characteristics
Best Effort
IP is Best Effort
• IP will not guarantee delivery of the
packet.
• IP has reduced overhead since there
is no mechanism to resend data that
is not received.
• IP does not expect
acknowledgments.
• IP does not know if the other device
is operational or if it received the
packet.

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Network Layer Characteristics
Media Independent
IP is unreliable:
• It cannot manage or fix undelivered or
corrupt packets.
• IP cannot retransmit after an error.
• IP cannot realign out of sequence
packets.
• IP must rely on other protocols for
these functions.
IP is media Independent:
• IP does not concern itself with the type
of frame required at the data link layer
or the media type at the physical layer.
• IP can be sent over any media type:
copper, fiber, or wireless.
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Network Layer Characteristics
Media Independent (Contd.)
The network layer will establish the
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU).
• Network layer receives this from
control information sent by the data
link layer.
• The network then establishes the
MTU size.
Fragmentation is when Layer 3 splits the
IPv4 packet into smaller units.
• Fragmenting causes latency.
• IPv6 does not fragment packets.
• Example: Router goes from Ethernet
to a slow WAN with a smaller MTU
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8.2 IPv4 Packet

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IPv4 Packet
IPv4 Packet Header
IPv4 is the primary communication protocol for the network layer.
The network header has many purposes:
• It ensures the packet is sent in the correct direction (to the destination).
• It contains information for network layer processing in various fields.
• The information in the header is used by all layer 3 devices that handle the packet

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IPv4 Packet
IPv4 Packet Header Fields
The IPv4 network header characteristics:
• It is in binary.
• Contains several fields of information
• Diagram is read from left to right, 4 bytes per
line
• The two most important fields are the source
and destination.

Protocols may have may have one or more

functions.

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IPv4 Packet
IPv4 Packet Header Fields
Significant fields in the IPv4 header:

Function Description
Version This will be for v4, as opposed to v6, a 4 bit field= 0100
Differentiated Services Used for QoS: DiffServ – DS field or the older IntServ – ToS or Type of Service

Header Checksum Detect corruption in the IPv4 header

Time to Live (TTL) Layer 3 hop count. When it becomes zero the router will discard the packet.
Protocol I.D.s next level protocol: ICMP, TCP, UDP, etc.

Source IPv4 Address 32 bit source address

Destination IPV4 Address 32 bit destination address

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8.3 IPv6 Packets

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IPv6 Packets
Limitations of IPv4
IPv4 has three major limitations:
• IPv4 address depletion – We have basically run out of IPv4 addressing.
• Lack of end-to-end connectivity – To make IPv4 survive this long, private addressing and
NAT were created. This ended direct communications with public addressing.
• Increased network complexity – NAT was meant as temporary solution and creates
issues on the network as a side effect of manipulating the network headers addressing.
NAT causes latency and troubleshooting issues.

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IPv6 Packets
IPv6 Overview
• IPv6 was developed by Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF).
• IPv6 overcomes the limitations of IPv4.

• Improvements that IPv6 provides:

• Increased address space – based on

128 bit address, not 32 bits
• Improved packet handling –
simplified header with fewer fields
• Eliminates the need for NAT – since
there is a huge amount of addressing,
there is no need to use private
addressing internally and be mapped to
a shared public address

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IPv6 Packets
IPv4 Packet Header Fields in the IPv6 Packet Header
• The IPv6 header is simplified,
but not smaller.
• The header is fixed at 40 Bytes
or octets long.
• Several IPv4 fields were
removed to improve
performance.
• Some IPv4 fields were removed
to improve performance:
• Flag
• Fragment Offset
• Header Checksum
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IPv6 Packets
IPv6 Packet Header
Significant fields in the IPv6 header:

Function Description
Version This will be for v6, as opposed to v4, a 4 bit field= 0110
Traffic Class Used for QoS: Equivalent to DiffServ – DS field
Flow Label Informs device to handle identical flow labels the same way, 20 bit field
Payload Length This 16-bit field indicates the length of the data portion or payload of the IPv6
packet
Next Header I.D.s next level protocol: ICMP, TCP, UDP, etc.
Hop Limit Replaces TTL field Layer 3 hop count
Source IPv4 Address 128 bit source address
Destination IPV4 Address 128 bit destination address
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IPv6 Packets
IPv6 Packet Header (Cont.)
IPv6 packet may also contain extension headers (EH).
EH headers characteristics:
• provide optional network layer information

• are optional

• are placed between IPv6 header and the payload

• may be used for fragmentation, security, mobility support, etc.

Note: Unlike IPv4, routers do not fragment IPv6 packets.

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8.4 How a Host Routes

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How a Host Routes
Host Forwarding Decision
• Packets are always created at the source.

• Each host devices creates their own routing table.

• A host can send packets to the following:

• Itself – 127.0.0.1 (IPv4), ::1 (IPv6)
• Local Hosts – destination is on the same LAN
• Remote Hosts – devices are not on the same LAN

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How a Host Routes
Host Forwarding Decision (Cont.)
• The Source device determines whether the destination is local or remote

• Method of determination:
• IPv4 – Source uses its own IP address and Subnet mask, along with the destination IP
address
• IPv6 – Source uses the network address and prefix advertised by the local router
• Local traffic is dumped out the host interface to be handled by an intermediary device.

• Remote traffic is forwarded directly to the default gateway on the LAN.

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How a Host Routes
Default Gateway
A router or layer 3 switch can be a default-gateway.
Features of a default gateway (DGW):
• It must have an IP address in the same range as the rest of the LAN.
• It can accept data from the LAN and is capable of forwarding traffic off of the LAN.
• It can route to other networks.
If a device has no default gateway or a bad default gateway, its traffic will not be
able to leave the LAN.

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How a Host Routes
A Host Routes to the Default Gateway
• The host will know the default
gateway (DGW) either statically or
through DHCP in IPv4.
• IPv6 sends the DGW through a
router solicitation (RS) or can be
configured manually.
• A DGW is static route which will be
a last resort route in the routing
table.
• All device on the LAN will need the
DGW of the router if they intend to
send traffic remotely.
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How a Host Routes
Host Routing Tables
• On Windows, route print
or netstat -r to display
the PC routing table
• Three sections displayed
by these two commands:
• Interface List – all
potential interfaces and
MAC addressing
• IPv4 Routing Table
• IPv6 Routing Table

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8.5 Introduction to Routing

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Introduction to Routing
Router Packet Forwarding Decision
What happens when the router receives the frame from the host device?

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Introduction to Routing
IP Router Routing Table
There three types of routes in a router’s routing table:
• Directly Connected – These routes are automatically added by the router, provided the interface
is active and has addressing.
• Remote – These are the routes the router does not have a direct connection and may be learned:
• Manually – with a static route
• Dynamically – by using a routing protocol to have the routers share their information with each other
• Default Route – this forwards all traffic to a specific direction when there is not a match in the
routing table

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Introduction to Routing
Static Routing
Static Route Characteristics:
• Must be configured manually

• Must be adjusted manually by the

administrator when there is a change
in the topology
• Good for small non-redundant
networks
• Often used in conjunction with a
dynamic routing protocol for
configuring a default route

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Introduction to Routing
Dynamic Routing
Dynamic Routes Automatically:
• Discover remote networks

• Maintain up-to-date information

• Choose the best path to the

destination
• Find new best paths when there is a
topology change
Dynamic routing can also share static
default routes with the other routers.

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Introduction to Routing
Introduction to an IPv4 Routing Table
The show ip route command shows the
following route sources:
• L - Directly connected local interface IP
address
• C – Directly connected network
• S – Static route was manually configured
by an administrator
• O – OSPF
• D – EIGRP
This command shows types of routes:
• Directly Connected – C and L
• Remote Routes – O, D, etc.
• Default Routes – S*

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Network Layer
New Terms and Commands
• Encapsulation • Best effort delivery • Identification, Flags,
• Routing • Media independent Fragment Offset fields
• De-encapsulation • Connectionless • Network Address
• Data payload • Unreliable Translation (NAT)
• Packet • Maximum Transmission • Traffic Class
• Internet Protocol Version Unit (MTU) • Flow Label
• Version • Payload Length
4 (IPv4)
• Differentiated Services • Next Header
• Internet Protocol Version
(DS) • Hop Limit
6 (IPv6) • Time-to-Live (TTL) • Extension Headers
• Network Layer PDU = IP
• Internet Control Message • Local host
Packet Protocol (ICMP) • Remote host
• IP Header • Default Gateway

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Network Layer
New Terms and Commands
• netstat –r • next-hop
• route print • route timestamp
• interface list
• IPv4 Route Table
• IPv6 Route Table
• directly-connected routes
• remote routes
• default route
• show ip route
• route source
• destination network
• outgoing interface
• administrative distance
• metric

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