NETWORK PROTOCOLS

Network protocols define a language of rules and conventions for communication between network devices. A protocol is a standard procedure and format that two data communication devices must understand, accept and use to be able to talk to each other. In modern protocol design, protocols are "layered" according to the OSI 7 layer model or a similar layered model. Layering is a design principle which divides the protocol design into a number of smaller parts, each part accomplishing a particular sub-task and interacting with the other parts of the protocol only in a small number of well-defined ways. Layering allows the parts of a protocol to be designed and tested without a combinatorial explosion of cases, keeping each design relatively simple. Layering also permits familiar protocols to be adapted to unusual circumstances. The header and/or trailer at each layer reflect the structure of the protocol. Detailed rules and procedures of a protocol or protocol group are often defined by a lengthy document. A wide variety of communication protocols exists. One of the most popular protocol suites is TCP/IP, which is the heart of Internetworking communications. The IP, the Internet Protocol, is responsible for exchanging information between routers so that the routers can select the proper path for network traffic, while TCP is responsible for ensuring the data packets are transmitted across the network reliably and error free. LAN and WAN protocols are also critical protocols in network communications. The LAN protocols suite is for the physical and data link layers of communications over various LAN media such as Ethernet wires and wireless radio waves. The WAN protocol suite is for the lowest three layers and defines communication over various wide-area media, such as fiber optic and copper cables. The OSI model, and any other network communication model, provides only a conceptual framework for communication between computers, but the model itself does not provide specific methods of communication. Actual communication is defined by various communication protocols.

Open System Interconnection Reference Model

The Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model describes how information from a software application in one computer moves through a network medium to a software application in another computer. The OSI reference model is a conceptual model composed of seven layers, each specifying particular network functions. The model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984, and it is now considered the primary architectural model for intercomputer communications.

Most recent protocols are designed by the IETF for Internetworking communications and by the IEEE for local area networking (LAN) and metropolitan area networking (MAN). The ITU-T contributes mostly to wide area networking (WAN) and telecommunications protocols. ISO has its own suite of protocols for internetworking communications, which is mainly deployed in European countries.

Two Sets of Layers Make Up the OSI Layers

Application Layer
The application layer is the OSI layer closest to the end user, which means that both the OSI application layer and the user interact directly with the software application. This layer interacts with software applications that implement a communicating component. Such application programs fall outside the scope of the OSI model. Application layer functions typically include identifying communication partners, determining resource availability, and synchronizing communication. Some examples of application layer implementations include Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), DNS, Web/Http.

SMTP:
The Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) controls the transfer of email messages on the Internet. SMTP defines the interaction between Internet hosts that participate in forwarding email from a sender to its destination.

DNS:
DNS is the network service that translates domain names to their associated IP address. In addition, DNS is used to find a machine and domain name from an IP address. The DNS protocol can be used in three ways: look up the primary IP address of a machine name, look up the domain name for an IP address, find the name and IP address of your local system. HTTP: HTTP functions as a request-response protocol in the client-server computing model. In HTTP, a web browser, for example, acts as a client, while an application running on a computer hosting a web site functions as a server. The client submits an HTTP request message to the server. The server, which stores content, or provides resources, such as HTML files, or performs other functions on behalf of the client, returns a response message to the client. A response contains completion status information about the request and may contain any content requested by the client in its message body.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used widely on the Internet for transferring files to and from a remote host. FTP is commonly used for uploading pages to a Web site and for providing online file archives.

TELNET:
Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection. User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet control information in an 8-bit byte oriented data connection over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).

Presentation layer:
The presentation layer provides a variety of coding and conversion functions that are applied to application layer data. These functions ensure that information sent from the application layer of one system would be readable by the application layer of another system. Some examples of presentation layer coding and conversion schemes include common data representation formats, conversion of character representation formats, common data compression schemes, and common data encryption schemes.

Session layer
The session layer implementation of the OSI protocol suite consists of a session protocol and a session service. The session protocol allows session-service users (SS-users) to communicate with the session service. An SS-user is an entity that requests the services of the

session layer. Such requests are made at session-service access points (SSAPs), and SS-users are uniquely identified by using an SSAP address. Session service provides four basic services to SS-users. 1. Establishes and terminates connections between SS-users and synchronizes the data exchange between them. 2. Performs various negotiations for the use of session layer tokens, which the SS-user must possess to begin communicating. 3. Inserts synchronization points in transmitted data that allow the session to be recovered in the event of errors or interruptions. 4. Enables SS-users to interrupt a session and resume it later at a specific point.

Transport layer
The OSI protocol suite implements two types of services at the transport layer: connection-oriented transport service and connectionless transport service. Five connection-oriented transport layer protocols exist in the OSI suite, ranging from Transport Protocol Class 0 through Transport Protocol Class 4. Connectionless transport service is supported only by Transport Protocol Class 4. Transport Protocol Class 0 (TP0), the simplest OSI transport protocol, performs segmentation and reassembly functions. TP0 requires connection-oriented network service. Transport Protocol Class 1 (TP1) performs segmentation and reassembly, and offers basic error recovery. TP1 sequences protocol data units (PDUs) and will retransmit PDUs or reinitiate the connection if an excessive number of PDUs are unacknowledged. TP1 requires connection-oriented network service. Transport Protocol Class 2 (TP2) performs segmentation and reassembly, as well as multiplexing and demultiplexing of data streams over a single virtual circuit. TP2 requires connection-oriented network service. Transport Protocol Class 3 (TP3) offers basic error recovery and performs segmentation and reassembly, in addition to multiplexing and demultiplexing of data streams over a single virtual circuit. TP3 also sequences PDUs and retransmits them or reinitiates the connection if an excessive number are unacknowledged. TP3 requires connection-oriented network service. Transport Protocol Class 4 (TP4) offers basic error recovery, performs segmentation and reassembly, and supplies multiplexing and demultiplexing of data streams over a single virtual circuit. TP4 sequences PDUs and retransmits them or reinitiates the connection if an excessive number are unacknowledged. TP4 provides reliable transport service and functions with either connection-oriented or connectionless network service. It is based on the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in the Internet Protocols suite and is the only OSI protocol class that supports connectionless network service.

Network layer
The network layer defines the network address, which differs from the MAC address. Some network layer implementations, such as the Internet Protocol (IP), define network addresses in a way that route selection can be determined systematically by comparing the source network address with the destination network address and applying the subnet mask. Because this layer defines the logical network layout, routers can use this layer to determine how to forward packets. Because of this, much of the design and configuration work for internetworks happens at Layer 3, the network layer. TCP The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. TCP is one of the two original components of the suite, complementing the Internet Protocol (IP), and therefore the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP. TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery of a stream of bytes from a program on one computer to another program on another computer. TCP is the protocol that major Internet applications such as the World Wide Web, email, remote administration and file transfer rely on. Other applications, which do not require reliable data stream service, may use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which provides a datagram service that emphasizes reduced latency over reliability.

IP
IP is probably the world's single most popular network protocol. Data travels over an IP-based network in the form of packets. Each IP packet includes both a header (that specifies source, destination, and other information about the data) and the message data itself. Data on an Internet Protocol network is organized into packets. Each IP packet includes both a header (that specifies source, destination, and other information about the data) and the message data itself.

Data Link layer

The data link layer provides reliable transit of data across a physical network link. Different data link layer specifications define different network and protocol characteristics, including physical addressing, network topology, error notification, sequencing of frames, and flow control. Physical addressing (as opposed to network addressing) defines how devices are addressed at the data link layer. Network topology consists of the data link layer specifications that often define how devices are to be physically connected, such as in a bus or a ring topology.

Error notification alerts upper-layer protocols that a transmission error has occurred, and the sequencing of data frames reorders frames that are transmitted out of sequence. Finally, flow control moderates the transmission of data so that the receiving device is not overwhelmed with more traffic than it can handle at one time.

Physical layer
The physical layer defines the electrical, mechanical, procedural, and functional specifications for activating, maintaining, and deactivating the physical link between communicating network systems. Physical layer specifications define characteristics such as voltage levels, timing of voltage changes, physical data rates, maximum transmission distances, and physical connectors. Physical layer implementations can be categorized as either LAN or WAN specifications.

http://www.edrawsoft.com/Network-Protocol.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_layer http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Internetworking_Basics#Open_System_Interconnection_Refere nce_Model