A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that is designed for a limited geographic area such as a building or a campus.

Although a LAN can be used as an isolated network to connect computers in an organization for the sole purpose of sharing resources, most LANs today are also linked to a wide area network (WAN) or the Internet. The LAN market has seen several technologies such as Ethernet, Token Ring, Token Bus, FDDI, and ATM LAN. Some of these technologies survived for a while, but Ethernet is by far the dominant technology.

IEEE STANDARDS
In 1985, the Computer Society of the IEEE started a project, called Project 802, to set standards to enable intercommunication among equipment from a variety of manufacturers. Project 802 does not seek to replace any part of the OSI or the Internet model. Instead, it is a way of specifying functions of the physical layer and the data link layer of major LAN protocols. The standard was adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In 1987, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) also approved it as an international standard under the designation ISO 8802. The relationship of the 802 Standard to the traditional OSI model is shown in the figure. The IEEE has subdivided the data link layer into two sub-layers: logical link control (LLC) and media access control (MAC). IEEE has also created several physical layer standards for different LAN protocols.

Other layers Network

Logical Link Control (LLC)

Other layers Network

Data link Media Access Control (MAC)

Physical

Physical

Project 802

OSI Model

IEEE standard 802.2

IEEE 802.2 is the name given to a subsection of the IEEE 802 standard that describes a software component of a computer network. It defines Logical Link Control (LLC), which is the upper portion of the data link layer of the OSI Model. 802.2 is concerned with managing traffic over the physical network. It is responsible for flow and error control. The Data Link Layer wants to send some data over the network, 802.2 Logical Link Control helps make this possible. The LLC acts like a software bus allowing multiple higher layer protocols to access one or more lower layer networks. For example, if you have a server with multiple network interface cards, the LLC will forward packers from those upper layer protocols to the appropriate network interface. This allows the upper layer protocols to not need specific knowledge of the lower layer networks in use. LLC was originated from the High-Level Data-Link Control (HDLC) and it uses a subclass of the HDLC specification. The Logical Link Control (LLC) has several service types:

Service type 1, is a connectionless service with no establishment of a connection, and an unacknowledged delivery.

Service type 2, is a connection logical service with an acknowledgement of delivery. Service type 3, is a connectionless service with an acknowledgement of delivery.

IEEE standard 802.3

IEEE 802.3 supports a LAN standard originally developed by Xerox. This was called Ethernet. In the Ethernet standard, there are two modes of operation: half-duplex and full-duplex modes. In the half duplex mode, data are transmitted using the popular Carrier-Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol on a shared medium. The main disadvantages of the half-duplex are the efficiency and distance limitation, in which the link distance is limited by the minimum MAC frame size. This restriction reduces the efficiency drastically for high-rate transmission. Therefore, the carrier extension technique is used to ensure the minimum frame size of 512 bytes in Gigabit Ethernet to achieve a reasonable link distance.

Each Ethernet-equipped computer operates independently of all other stations on the network: there is no central controller. All stations attached to an Ethernet are connected to a shared signaling system, also called the medium. To send data a station first listens to the channel, and then the channel is idle the station transmits its data in the form of an Ethernet frame, or packet.

802.3

Baseband Digital (Manchester)

Broadband Analog (PSK)

IEEE 802
10Base5 10Base2 10Base-T 1Base5 100Base-T 10Broad36

Access Method (CSMA/CD)

After each frame transmission, all stations on the network must contend equally for the next frame transmission opportunity. Access to the shared channel is determined by the medium access control (MAC) mechanism embedded in the Ethernet interface located in each station. The medium access control mechanism is based on a system called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD). As each Ethernet frame is sent onto the shared signal channel, all Ethernet interfaces look at the destination address. If the destination address of the frame matches with the interface address, the frame will be read entirely and be delivered to the networking software running on that computer. All other network interfaces will stop reading the frame when they discover that the destination address does not match their own address.

Addressing
Each station on an Ethernet network (such as a PC, workstation, or printer) has its own network interface card (NIC). The NIC fits inside the station and provides the station with a 6-byte physical address.

Frame Format
The Ethernet frame contains seven fields: preamble, SFD, DA, SA, length or type of protocol data unit (PDU), upper-layer data, and the CRe. Ethernet does not provide any mechanism for acknowledging received frames, making it what is known as an unreliable medium. Acknowledgments must be implemented at the higher layers.

Electrical Specification
Signaling: The baseband system use Manchester digital encoding. There is one broadband system, 10Broad36

Data Rate
Ethernet LANs can support data rates between 1 and 100 Mbps.
o o o o

10 BASE 5: Thick Ethernet 10 BASE 2: Thin Ethernet 10 BASE-T: Twisted pair Ethernet 1 BASE 5: Star LAN

10Base5: Thick Ethernet

The first of the physical standards defined in the IEEE 802.3 model is called 10Base5, thick Ethernet, or Thick-net.

The nickname derives from the size of the cable, which is roughly the size of garden hose and too stiff to bend with your hands.

10Base5 is a bus topology LAN that uses baseband signalling and has maximum segment length of 500 meters.

10Base2: Thin Ethernet

The second Ethernet implementation defined by the IEEE 802 series is called 10Base2 or thin Ethernet.

Thin Ethernet provides an inexpensive alternative to 10Base5 Ethernet, with the same data rate.

The advantages of thin Ethernet are reduced cost and ease of installation. It also uses a bus topology.

10BaseT: Twisted Pair

The most popular standard defined in the IEEE 802.3 series is 10Base-T, a star topology LAN using unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable instead of coaxial cable.

It supports a data rate of 10 Mbps and has a maximum length of 100 meters.

1Base5: Star LAN

Star LAN is an AT & T product used infrequently today because of its slow speed. At only 1 Mbps, it is 10 times slower than the three standards discussed above.

What is interesting about Star LAN is its range, which can be increased by a mechanism called Daisy Chaining. Like 10Base-T, star LAN uses twisted pair cable to connect stations to a central intelligent hub.

IEEE standard 802.4

Local area networks have a direct application in a factory automation and process control, where the nodes are computers controlling the manufacturing process. In this type of application, real time processing with minimum delay is needed. Processing must occur at the speed as the objects moving along the assembly line. The 802.4 IEEE standards define the Token Bus protocol for a token-passing access method on a bus topology. In a token-passing access method, a special packet called a token is passed from station to station and only the token holder is permitted to transmit packets onto the LAN. Thus, no collisions can occur with this protocol. When a station is done transmitting its packets, it passes the token to the "next" station. The next station does not need to be physically closest to this one on the bus, just the next logical station. A station can hold the token for only a certain amount of time before it must pass it on -even if it has not completed transmitting all of its data. This assures access to all stations on the bus within a specified period of time.

IEEE standard 802.5

Token Ring is a LAN protocol defined in the IEEE 802.5 where all stations are connected in a ring and each station can directly hear transmissions only from its immediate neighbor. Permission to transmit is granted by a message (token) that circulates around the ring.

Token Ring as defined in IEEE 802.5 is originated from the IBM Token Ring LAN technologies. Both are based on the Token Passing technologies. While them differ in minor ways but generally compatible with each other. Token-passing networks move a small frame, called a token, around the network. Possession of the token grants the right to transmit. If a node receiving the token has no information to send, it seizes the token, alters 1 bit of the token (which turns the token into a start-of-frame sequence), appends the information that it wants to transmit, and sends this information to the next station on the ring. While the information frame is circling the ring, no token is on the network, which means that other stations wanting to transmit must wait. Therefore, collisions cannot occur in Token Ring networks. The information frame circulates the ring until it reaches the intended destination station, which copies the information for further processing. The information frame continues to circle the ring and is finally removed when it reaches the sending station. The sending station can check the returning frame to see whether the frame was seen and subsequently copied by the destination. Unlike Ethernet CSMA/CD networks, token-passing networks are deterministic, which means that it is possible to calculate the maximum time that will pass before any end station will be capable of transmitting. This feature and several reliability features make Token Ring networks ideal for applications in which delay must be predictable and robust network operation is important. The Fiber Distributed-Data Interface (FDDI) also uses the Token Passing protocol.

IEEE standard 802.6 (DQDB)

Another protocol in the IEEE Project 802 is distributed queue dual bus (DQDB). Although DQDB resembles a LAN standard, it is designed to be user in MANs. Data Over Cable Service Interface Distributed Queue Dual Bus (DQDB) is a Data-link layer communication protocol for Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), specified in the IEEE 802.6 standard, designed for use in MANs. DQDB is designed for data as well as voice and video transmission based on cell switching technology (similar to ATM). DQDB, which permits multiple systems to interconnect using two unidirectional logical buses, is an open standard that is designed for compatibility with carrier transmission standards such as SMDS, which is based on the DQDB standards.

For a MAN to be effective it requires a system that can function across long, city-wide distances of several miles, have a low susceptibility to error, adapt to the number of nodes attached and have variable bandwidth distribution. Using DQDB, networks can be thirty miles long and function in the range of 34 Mbps to 155 Mbps. The data rate fluctuates due to many hosts sharing a dual bus as well as the location of a single host in relation to the frame generator, but there are schemes to compensate for this problem making DQDB function reliably and fairly for all hosts. The DQDB is composed of a two bus lines with stations attached to both and a frame generator at the end of each bus. The buses run in parallel in such a fashion as to allow the frames generated to travel across the stations in opposite directions. Below is a picture of the basic DQDB architecture:

Bridges
A bridge operates in both the physical and the data link layer. As a physical layer device, it regenerates the signal it receives. As a data link layer device, the bridge can check the physical (MAC) addresses (source and destination) contained in the frame. Types of bridges:

Transparent Bridges
A transparent bridge is a bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of the bridge's existence. If a bridge is added or deleted from the system, reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary. According to the IEEE 802.1 d specification, a system equipped with transparent bridges must meet three criteria: I. Frames must be forwarded from one station to another. 2. The forwarding table is automatically made by learning frame movements in the network. 3. Loops in the system must be prevented.

Source Routing Bridges

Another way to prevent loops in a system with redundant bridges is to use source routing bridges. A transparent bridge's duties include filtering frames, forwarding, and blocking. In a system that has source routing bridges; these duties are performed by the source station and, to some extent, the destination station. In source routing, a sending station defines the bridges that the frame must visit. The addresses of these bridges are included in the frame. In other words, the frame contains not only the source and destination addresses, but also the addresses of all bridges to be visited. The source gets these bridge addresses through the exchange of special frames with the destination prior to sending the data frame. Source routing bridges were designed by IEEE to be used with Token Ring LANs. These LANs are not very common today.

Bridges Connecting Different LANs

Theoretically a bridge should be able to connect LANs using different protocols at the data link layer, such as an Ethernet LAN to a wireless LAN. However, there are many issues to be considered:

Frame format. Each LAN type has its own frame format (compare an Ethernet frame with a wireless LAN frame).

Maximum data size. If an incoming frame's size is too large for the destination LAN, the data must be fragmented into several frames. The data then need to be reassembled at the destination. However, no protocol at the data link layer allows the fragmentation and reassembly of frames. The bridge must therefore discard any frames too large for its system.

Data rate. Each LAN type has its own data rate. (Compare the 10-Mbps data rate of an Ethernet with the I-Mbps data rate of a wireless LAN.) The bridge must buffer the frame to compensate for this difference. Bit order. Each LAN type has its own strategy in the sending of bits. Some send the most significant bit in a byte first; others send the least significant bit first.

Security. Some LANs, such as wireless LANs, implement security measures in the data link layer. Other LANs, such as Ethernet, do not. Security often involves encryption. When a bridge receives a frame from a wireless LAN, it needs to decrypt the message before forwarding it to an Ethernet LAN.

Multimedia support. Some LANs support multimedia and the quality of services needed for this type of communication; others do not.

Bridges from 802.x to 802.y

How do bridges work?

Remote bridges
Bridges are used to connect two (or more than 2) different distant LANs. For example a company may have different department at different locations each with its own LAN. The whole network should be connected so that it will act like one large LAN. This can be achieved by the placing a bridge on each LAN and connecting the bridges with the lines (the line given by the telephone company).

Fig: Remote Bridge

FDDI
Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) is a local area network protocol standardized by ANSI and the ITU-U (ITU-T X.3). It supports data rates of 100 Mbps and provides a high-speed alternative to Ethernet and token ring. When FDDI was designed, speeds of 100 Mbps required fiber-optic cable. Today, however, comparable speeds are available using copper cable. The copper version of FDDI is known as CDDI.

Access Method: Token Passing

In a token ring network, a station can send only one frame each time it captures the token. In FDDI, access is limited by time. A station may send as many frames as it can within its allotted access period, with the provision that time-sensitive frames be sent first. To implement this access mechanism, FDDI differentiates between two types of data frames; synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous here refers to information that is time sensitive, while asynchronous refers to information that is not. These frames are usually called S-frames and A-frames. Each station that captures the token is required to send S-frames first. In fact, it must send its Sframes whether or not its time allotment has run out. Any remaining time may then be used to send A-frames. To understand how this mechanism ensures fair and timely link access, it is necessary to understand the FDDI time registers and timers.

Time Registers
FDDI defines three time registers to control circulation of the token and distribute link-access opportunities among the nodes equitably. Each station has three registers. The registers hold time values that control the operation of the ring. These values are set when the ring is initialized and do not vary in the course of operation. The registers are called synchronous allocation (SA), target token rotation time (TTRT), and absolute maximum time (AMT). Synchronous Allocation (SA) The SA register indicates the length of time allowed each station for sending synchronous data. This value is different for each station and is negotiated during initialization of the ring.

Target Token Rotation Time (TTRT) The TTRT register indicates the average time required for a token to circulate around the ring exactly once (the elapsed time between a token's arrival at a given station and its next arrival at the same station). This value is the same for all stations and is negotiated during the initialization of the ring. Because it is an average, the actual time of any rotation may be greater or less than this value. Absolute Maximum Time (AMT) The AMT register holds a value equal to twice the TTRT. A token may not take longer than this time to make one rotation of the ring. If it does, some station or stations are monopolizing the network and the ring must be reinitialized.

Timers
Each station contains a set of timers that enable it to compare actual timings with the values contained in the registers. Timers can be set and reset, and their values decremented at a rate set by the system clock. The two timers used by FDDI are called the token rotation timer (TRT), and token holding timer (THT). Token Rotation Timer (TRT) The TRT runs continuously and measures the actual time taken by the token to complete a cycle. When the token returns, the station records the time remaining on its TRT into its THT. Then the station resets its TRT based on the TRT value. As soon as the TRT is set, it begins counting down. The time indicated by the TRT at any given point therefore is the difference between the actual time that has elapsed during the current notation and the expected or allowed time (TTRT time). When the token completes a rotation and returns to the station, the time indicated by the TRT is equal to the amount of time remaining for that rotation (the difference between the TRT and the actual elapsed time). That remaining time is then available to the station to send its frames. Token Holding Timer (THT) The THT begins running as soon as the token is received. Its function is to show how much time remains for sending asynchronous frames once the synchronous frames have been sent. Each time the station receives the token, the TRT value is copied into the THT. At that point, the THT starts its own countdown. Any waiting synchronous frames must be sent as soon as the token is received. The THT shows how much time (if any) remains for sending asynchronous frames. The station may send only as many A-frames as it has

THT credit for. As long as the THT is positive, the station can send asynchronous data. Once the value of this timer reaches or falls below zero, however, the station must release the token. We may think of the THT as the station's bank account. S-frames are bills that must be paid immediately- even if the station has to go into debt to do so. A-frames are expenditures that can be put off for a while; the station needs to make them but can wait until its bank account can cover the expense.

Addressing
FDDI uses a six-byte address, which is imprinted on the NIC card similar to Ethernet addresses.

Electrical Specification
Signaling (Physical Layer) FDDI uses a special encoding mechanism called four bits/five bits (4B/5B). In this system, each four-bit segment of data is replaced by five-bit code before being encoded in NRZ-I. The NRZ-I used here inverts on the 1. The reason for this extra encoding step is that, although NRZ-I provides adequate synchronization under average circumstances, sender and receiver may go out of synchronization any time the data includes a long sequence of 0s. Each of the 16 possible four-bit patterns is assigned a five-bit pattern to represent it. These five-bit patterns have been carefully selected so that even sequential data units cannot result in sequences of more than three 0s (none of the five-bit patterns start with more than one 0 or end with more than two 0s) Table : 4B/5B encoding
Data Sequence 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 Encoded Sequence 11110 01001 10100 10101 01010 01011 01110 01111 Data Sequence 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110 1111 Encoded Sequence 10010 10011 10110 10111 11010 11011 11100 11101

Five-bit codes that have not been assigned to represent a four-bit counterpart are used for control (see Table below). The SD field contains the J and K codes, and the ED field contains the symbols TT. To guarantee that these control codes do not endanger synchronization or transparency, the designers specify bit patterns that can never occur in the data field. In addition, their order is controlled to limit the number of sequential bit patterns possible. A K always follows a J, and an H is never followed by an R. Table: 4B/5B control symbols
Encoded Sequence Control Symbol Q (Quiet) I (Idle) H (Halt) J (Used in start delimiter) K (Used in start delimiter) T (Used in end delimiter) S (Set) R (Reset) 00000 11111 00100 11000 10001 01101 11001 00111

Data Rate
FDDI supports data rates up to 1000 Mbps.

Frame Format
The FDDI standard divides transmission functions into four protocols physical medium dependent (PMD), physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), and logical link control (LLC). These protocols correspond to the physical and data link layers of the OSI model (see figure given below). In addition, the standard specifies a fifth protocol (used for station management), details of which are beyond the scope of this book.

Logical Link Control

The LLC layer is similar to that defined in the IEEE 802.2 protocols.

Media Access Control

The FDDI MAC layer is almost identical to that defined for token ring. However, although the functions are similar, the FDDI MAC frame itself is different enough to warrant an independent discussion of each field (see figure given below). Each frame is preceded by 16 idle symbols (1111), for a total of 64 bits to initialize clock synchronization with the receiver.

Frame Fields: There are eight fields in the FDDI frame:

Start delimiter (SD): The first byte of the field is the frame's starting flag. As in token ring, these bits are replaced in the physical layer by the control codes (violations) J and K (the five-bit sequences used to represent J and K).

Frame Control (FC): The second byte of the frame identifies the frame type. Addresses: The next two fields are the destination and source address. Each address consists of two to six bytes.

Data: Each data frame can carry up to 4500 bytes of data. CRC: FDDI uses the standard IEEE four-byte cyclic redundancy check. End Delimiter (ED): This field consists of half a byte in the data frame or a full byte in the token frame. It is changed in the physical layer with one T violation symbol in the data frame or two T symbols in the token frame.

Frame Status (FS): The FDDI FS field is similar to that of token ring. It is included only in the data frame and consists of 1.5 bytes.

Implementation: Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) Layer

The physical medium dependent (PMD) layer defines the required connections and electronic components. Specific specifications for this layer depend on whether the transmission medium used is fiber-optic or copper cable.

Dual Ring
FDDI is implemented as a dual ring. In most cases, data transmission is confined to the primary ring. The secondary ring is provided in case the primary fails. The secondary ring makes FDDI self-healing. Whenever a problem occurs on the primary ring, the secondary can be activated to complete data circuits and maintain service. Nodes connect to one or to both rings using a media interface connector (MIC) that can be either male or female depending on the requirements of the station. Every MIC has two fiber ports that allow it to connect to both ring cables.

Nodes
FDDI defines three types of nodes: dual attachment station (DAS), single attachment station (SAS), and dual attachment concentrator (DAC). DAS A dual attachment station (DAS) has two MICs (called MIC A and MIC B) and connects to both rings. To do so requires an expensive NIC with two inputs and two outputs. The connection to both rings gives it improved reliability and throughput. These improvements, however, are predicated on the stations remaining on. Faults are bypassed by a station's making a wrap connection from the primary ring to the secondary to switch signals from one input to another output. However, for DAS stations to make this switch, they must be active (turned on). SAS Most workstations, servers, and minicomputers attach to the ring in single attachment station (SAS) mode. An SAS has only one MIC (called MIC S) and therefore can connect only to one ring. Robustness is achieved by connecting SASs to intermediate nodes (DACs) rather than to the FDDI ring directly. This configuration allows each workstation to operate through a

simple NIC with only one input and one output. The concentrator (DAC) provides the connection to the dual ring. Faulty stations can be turned off any bypassed to keep the ring alive. DAC As mentioned above, a dual attachment concentrator (DAC) connects an SAS to the dual ring. It provides wrapping (diverting traffic from one ring to the other to bypass a failure) as well as control functions.

COMPARISON
Table given below compares the features of the three LANs discussed above. Ethernet is good for low-level loads but collapses as the load increases due to collisions and retransmissions. Token ring and FDDI perform poorly at low-level loads but always guarantee some maximum time between transmission of two adjacent frames. Table: LAN comparison
Network Access Method Ethernet Token ring CSMA/CD Token passing Address Length 6 bytes 6 bytes Manchester Differential Manchester FDDI Token passing 6 bytes 4B/5B 100 Mbps Yes 1, 10 Mbps 10-16 Mbps Signaling Data Rate Error Control No Yes