Chapter 4

Network Layer:
Data Plane
A note on the use of these PowerPoint slides:
We’re making these slides freely available to all (faculty, students,
readers). They’re in PowerPoint form so you see the animations; and
can add, modify, and delete slides (including this one) and slide content
to suit your needs. They obviously represent a lot of work on our part.
In return for use, we only ask the following:
 If you use these slides (e.g., in a class) that you mention their
source (after all, we’d like people to use our book!)
 If you post any slides on a www site, that you note that they are
adapted from (or perhaps identical to) our slides, and note our
copyright of this material.
Computer Networking: A
For a revision history, see the slide note for this page.
Top-Down Approach
Thanks and enjoy! JFK/KWR 8th edition
All material copyright 1996-2020
Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
J.F Kurose and K.W. Ross, All Rights Reserved Pearson, 2020
Network layer: our goals
understand principles  instantiation, implementation
behind network layer in the Internet
services, focusing on data • IP protocol
plane: • NAT, middleboxes
• network layer service models
• forwarding versus routing
• how a router works
• addressing
• generalized forwarding
• Internet architecture
Network Layer: 4-2
Network layer: “data plane” roadmap
 Network layer: overview
• data plane
• control plane
 What’s inside a router
• input ports, switching, output ports
• buffer management, scheduling
 IP: the Internet Protocol  Generalized Forwarding, SDN
• datagram format
• Match+action
• addressing
• OpenFlow: match+action in action
• network address translation
• IPv6  Middleboxes
Network Layer: 4-3
Network-layer services and protocols
 transport segment from sending mobile network

to receiving host national or global ISP

• sender: encapsulates segments into

datagrams, passes to link layer application

• receiver: delivers segments to transport

network

transport layer protocol link

physical
network

 network layer protocols in every

network
link link
physical physical

Internet device: hosts, routers

network

 routers: link network

physical link
physical network
datacenter
• examines header fields in all IP
link
physical network

datagrams passing through it

application
• moves datagrams from input ports to transport
network
enterprise
output ports to transfer datagrams network
link
physical

along end-end path

Network Layer: 4-4
Two key network-layer functions
network-layer functions: analogy: taking a trip
 forwarding: move packets from  forwarding: process of getting
a router’s input link to through single interchange
appropriate router output link  routing: process of planning trip
 routing: determine route taken from source to destination
by packets from source to
destination
• routing algorithms
forwarding

routing
Network Layer: 4-5
Network layer: data plane, control plane
Data plane: Control plane
 local, per-router function  network-wide logic
 determines how datagram  determines how datagram is
arriving on router input port routed among routers along end-
is forwarded to router end path from source host to
output port destination host
values in arriving  two control-plane approaches:
packet header
• traditional routing algorithms:
0111 1 implemented in routers
2
3 • software-defined networking (SDN):
implemented in (remote) servers

Network Layer: 4-6

Per-router control plane
Individual routing algorithm components in each and every
router interact in the control plane

Routing
Algorithm
control
plane

data
plane

values in arriving
packet header
0111 1
2
3

Network Layer: 4-7

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) control plane
Remote controller computes, installs forwarding tables in routers

Remote Controller

control
plane

data
plane

CA
CA CA CA CA
values in arriving
packet header

0111 1
2
3

Network Layer: 4-8

Network service model
Q: What service model for “channel” transporting datagrams
from sender to receiver?
example services for example services for a flow of
individual datagrams: datagrams:
 guaranteed delivery  in-order datagram delivery
 guaranteed delivery with  guaranteed minimum bandwidth
less than 40 msec delay to flow
 restrictions on changes in inter-
packet spacing

Network Layer: 4-9

Network layer: “data plane” roadmap
 Network layer: overview
• data plane
• control plane
 What’s inside a router
• input ports, switching, output ports
• buffer management, scheduling
 IP: the Internet Protocol  Generalized Forwarding, SDN
• datagram format • match+action
• addressing • OpenFlow: match+action in action
• network address translation  Middleboxes
• IPv6
Network Layer: 4-10
Network Layer: Internet
host, router network layer functions:

transport layer: TCP, UDP

IP protocol
Path-selection • datagram format
algorithms: • addressing
network implemented in • packet handling conventions
forwarding
layer • routing protocols
(OSPF, BGP) table ICMP protocol
• SDN controller • error reporting
• router “signaling”

link layer

physical layer

Network Layer: 4-11

 IP Datagram format
32 bits
IP protocol version number total datagram
ver head. type of length length (bytes)
header length(bytes) len service
fragment fragmentation/
“type” of service: 16-bit identifier flgs
 diffserv (0:5) offset reassembly
time to upper header
 ECN (6:7) header checksum
live layer checksum
TTL: remaining max hops source IP address 32-bit source IP address
(decremented at each router)
Maximum length: 64K bytes
destination IP address 32-bit destination IP address
upper layer protocol (e.g., TCP or UDP) Typically: 1500 bytes or less
options (if any) e.g., timestamp, record
overhead route taken
 20 bytes of TCP payload data
 20 bytes of IP (variable length,
 = 40 bytes + app typically a TCP
layer overhead for or UDP segment)
TCP+IP
Network Layer: 4-12