THE CONCEPT OF THE INTERNET

The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that
transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of
networks" that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government
networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online
chat, file transfer, and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web
(WWW). It is a global network connecting millions of computers. More than 1000 countries are
linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally
controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is
independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and local services to make
available to the global Internet community.

Historical Background of the Internet

The USSR's launch of Sputnik spurred the United States to create the Advanced Research
Projects Agency, known as ARPA, in February 1958 to regain a technological lead. The sputnik
was a series of robotic spacecraft missions launched by the Soviet Union. The first of these,
Sputnik 1, launched the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. That launch took place on
October 4, 1957 as part of the International Geophysical Year and demonstrated the viability of
using artificial satellites to explore the upper atmosphere. The surprise launch of Sputnik 1,
coupled with the spectacular failure of the United States' first two Project Vanguard launch
attempts, shocked the United States, which responded with a number of early satellite launches,
including Explorer 1, Project SCORE, and Courier 1B. The Sputnik crisis also led to the creation
of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency in 1972): DARPA, and NASA, and an increase in U.S. government spending on
scientific research and education.

In 1969, ARPA, a part of the Department of Defence (DOD), awarded a contract to the firm of
Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) to construct a computer network. The network was used to
link researchers at universities with defense contractors, researchers, scientists and military
contractors so that they can share information and resources. This network was called the
ARPANET.
Between 1969 and 1983, minicomputers, mainframes and super computers made up the
networks. This network had file transfer capabilities, electronic mail and mailing list services.

In 1973, Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) was changed to the Defense Advanced
Research Agency (DARPA) and the resulting network to DARPANET.

An important task for this newly named agency was to begin a project called “the interneting
project”, which would start the process of linking different networks together.

The principal goals of the interneting project were to: Move from circuit switching (ARPA) to
Packet switching network (DARPA) Link these packet switching networks together Overcome
network specific protocols Study ways to pass traffic from one network to another Establish
Internet protocols and standards.

Previous networking efforts used circuit switching which required two computers to be
continuously connected in order to form a network. It was like having a rail track on which a
single train could travel.

The packet switching system allows the creation of a data highway that could handle large
amount of data including voice, text, video, etc. Each data packet was given the computer
equivalent of a map and time stamp so that it would be sent to the right destination and the
reviewer would know when the message started. At its destination the message would be
reassembled from the packet parts so either machine or human could read it.
2.0. INTRANET AND EXTRANET
2.1 INTRANET
An Intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It is a private computer
network that uses Internet protocols and network connectivity to securely share part of an
organization's information or operations with its employees.

The same concepts and technologies of the Internet such as clients and servers running on the
Internet protocol suite are used to build an intranet. HTTP and other Internet protocols are
commonly used as well, such as FTP.

Briefly, an intranet can be understood as "a private version of the Internet," or as a version of the
Internet confined to an organization.

The term first appeared in print on April 19, 1995, in Digital News & Review in an article
authored by technical editor Stephen Lawton.

It may consist of many interlinked local area networks and also use leased lines in the wide area
network.

Typically, an intranet includes connections through one or more gateway computers to the
outside Internet.

The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources
among employees.

An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences.

An intranet uses TCP/IP, HTTP, and other Internet protocols and in general looks like a private
version of the Internet. With tunneling, companies can send private messages through the public
network, using the public network with special encryption/decryption and other security
safeguards to connect one part of their intranet to another.

Typically, larger enterprises allow users within their intranet to access the public Internet through
firewall servers that have the ability to screen messages in both directions so that company
security is maintained.
Advantages of Intranets

1. Workforce productivity: Intranets can help users to locate and view information faster and
use applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities. With the help of a web browser
interface, users can access data held in any database the organization wants to make
available, anytime and - subject to security provisions - from anywhere within the company
workstations, increasing employees' ability to perform their jobs faster, more accurately, and
with confidence that they have the right information. It also helps to improve the services
provided to the users.

2. Time: With intranets, organizations can make more information available to employees on a
"pull" basis (i.e. employees can link to relevant information at a time which suits them)
rather than being deluged indiscriminately by emails.

3. Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an

organization, vertically and horizontally. From a communications standpoint, intranets are
useful to communicate strategic initiatives that have a global reach throughout the
organization. The type of information that can easily be conveyed is the purpose of the
initiative and what the initiative is aiming to achieve, who is driving the initiative, results
achieved to date, and who to speak to for more information. By providing this information
Business operations and management: on the intranet, staffs have the opportunity to keep
upto-date with the strategic focus of the organization.

4. Cost-effective: Users can view information and data via web-browser rather than
maintaining physical documents such as procedure manuals, internal phone list and
requisition forms.

5. Promote common corporate culture: Every user is viewing the same information within the
Intranet.

6. Enhance Collaboration: With information easily accessible by all authorized users,

teamwork is enabled.

7. Cross-platform Capability: Standards-compliant web browsers are available for Windows,

Mac, and UNIX.
2.2 EXTRANET

Intranets differ from "Extranets" in that the former are generally restricted to employees of the
organization while extranets can generally be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other
approved parties.

An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity, and possibly
the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization's information or
operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other businesses.

An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's Intranet that is extended to users outside the
company (e.g.: normally over the Internet).

It has also been described as a "state of mind" in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do
business with a pre-approved set of other companies business-to-business (B2B), in isolation
from all other Internet users. In contrast, business-to-consumer (B2C) involves known server(s)
of one or more companies, communicating with previously unknown consumer users.

An extranet requires security and privacy. These can include firewalls, server management, the
issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user authentication, encryption of
messages, and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel through the public network.

Advantages of Extranet

1. Exchange large volumes of data using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

2. Share product catalogs exclusively with wholesalers or those "in the trade"

3. Collaborate with other companies on joint development efforts

4. Jointly develop and use training programs with other companies

5. Provide or access services provided by one company to a group of other companies, such as
an online banking application managed by one company on behalf of affiliated banks

6. Share news of common interest exclusively.

Disadvantages of Extranet
1. Extranets can be expensive to implement and maintain within an organization (e.g.:
hardware, software, employee training costs) — if hosted internally instead of via an ASP.
2. Security of extranets can be a big concern when dealing with valuable information. System
access needs to be carefully controlled to avoid sensitive information falling into the wrong
hands.
3. Extranets can reduce personal contact (face-to-face meetings) with customers and business
partners. This could cause a lack of connections made between people and a company,
which hurts the business when it comes to loyalty of its business partners and customers.

2.3 SUMMARY

INTRANETS & EXTRANETS

• The first serious use of Web technology within business was for the implementation of
Intranets

• Internet, Intranets, and Extranets are all networks that transmit data.

• The difference is geographical location and security

• An Intranet is a secure network contained within an organization. It uses a firewall for

maintaining security.

Intranets are used only by company employees

• An Extranet is a secure network that allows outsiders to use an Intranet with permission. It is
used to connect company suppliers, contractors and partners with employees
3.0 THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)

The World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or the Web) is an information space where
documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs),
interlinked by hypertext links, and can be accessed via the Internet. The World Wide Web has
been central to the development of the Information Age and is the primary tool billions of people
use to interact on the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain
text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them via hyperlinks. WWW is
another example of client/server computing. Each time a link is followed, the client is requesting
a document (or graphic or sound file) from a server (also called a Web server) that's part of the
World Wide Web that "serves" up the document. The server uses a protocol called HTTP or
Hyper Text Transport Protocol. The standard for creating hypertext documents for the WWW is
Hyper Text Markup Language or HTML. HTML essentially codes plain text documents so they
can be viewed on the Web.

DOMAIN NAMES
This refers to your website address. This is what users type in a browser search bar to have direct
access to your website. A domain name is unique and cannot be shared between two different
sites.

For example: [Link] is a domain name. When you address a web site, like
[Link] the name is translated to a number by a Domain Name Server (DNS)

When a new domain is registered together with a TCP/ IP address, DNS servers all over the
world are updated with this information

UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS (URL)

• A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is used to address a document on the Web.

• The name that corresponds to an IP address in the DNS is known as a URL.

Browser interprets the information in the URL in order to connect to the proper Internet server
and to retrieve your desired document.

Each time a click on a hyperlink in a WWW document instructs browser to find the URL that's
embedded within the hyperlink
• A full Web address is like: – [Link]

• A URL usually follows these syntax rules:

scheme://[Link].country_code:port/path/filename

Some URLs end in the following

- .com Commercial institute - .org Nonprofit organization
- .me Personal website - .net Network Service Provider
- .edu Educational institute - .mil U.S. military
- .gov Government
For International use, the domains end in the country code
- .ie For Irish websites - .[Link] United Kingdom
- .fr French websites - .ng for Nigerian website

E-MAIL ADDRESS

• E-Mail Addresses have a similar naming scheme to domain names

• Often they take the following format:

– UserName @ Organization .country_core – or [Link]@[Link]

• There are many Web based e-mail servies

• Eg. Microsoft offers hotmail, Google offers gmail, yahoo offers yahoomail

CLIENT – SERVER ARCHITECTURE

All web activity begins on the clients’ side - you could type a web address into the browser. The
browser first consults with the DNS to translate the home page name into an IP address. It then
sends a request to the server using the HTTP standard. A server spends most of its time listening
to the network waiting for a document request
WEB Servers
To view and browse pages on the Web, all you need is a web browser. To publish pages on the
Web, you need a web server. A web server is the program that runs on a computer and is
responsible for replying to web browser requests for files. You need a web server to publish
documents on the Web. When you use a browser to request a page on a website, that browser
makes a web connection to a server using the HTTP protocol. The browser then formats the
information it got from the server. Server accepts the connection, sends the contents of the
requested files and then closes.

WEB Clients
The client or user side of the web is usually referred to as the Web browser in the user’s
machine. It may also refer to plug – ins and helper applications that enhance the browser to
support special services from the site. The term may imply the entire user machine or refer to a
handheld device that provides Web access.

WEB Browsers
A web browser is the program you use to view pages and navigate the World Wide Web. A wide
array of web browsers is available for just about every platform you can imagine. Microsoft
Internet Explorer, for example, is included with Windows and Safari is included with Mac OS X.
Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator, and Opera are all available for free. The core purpose of a
web browser is to connect to web servers, request documents, and then properly format and
display those documents. Web browsers can also display files on your local computer, download
files that are not meant to be displayed. Each web page is a file written in a language called the
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that includes the text of the page, a description of its
structure, and links to other documents, images, or other media.
4.0. TRANSMISSION
4.1. INTERNET PROTOCOLS
1. TCP/IP PROTOCOL
 The Internet Protocol Suite includes a number of standard protocols, which describes
the rules computers must follow to be able to communicate with each other. The two
most common are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP).
 TCP/IP defines how electronic devices (like computers) should be connected to the
Internet, and how data should be transmitted between them.
 The TCP/IP protocol is embedded in TCP/IP software that is part of the Operating
System (OS).
 TCP/IP is TCP and IP working together.
TCP handles communication between applications and uses a fixed connection.
 If one application wants to communicate with another via TCP, it sends a
communication request. This request must be sent to an exact address. TCP takes
care of the communication between your application software (your browser) and
your network software - the handshake. After a ‘handshake’ between the
applications a communication line opens.
 TCP is responsible for breaking data down into IP packets before they are sent, and
for assembling the packets when they arrive.
IP handles communication between computers.
 IP is a connection-less protocol. IP takes care of the communication with other
computers - the postal system which lets you address the package and put it into the
post. With IP, messages are broken down into small independent ‘packets’ and are
sent between computers via the Internet. IP is responsible for ‘routing’ each packet to
its correct destination.
 IP is responsible for sending the packets to the correct destination. Every computer
has an IP address.
 Communicating via IP is like sending a long letter as a large number of small
postcards, each finding its own (often different) way to the receiver.
2. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
This takes care of the communication between a web server and a web browser. It is used
for sending requests from a web client (a browser) to a web server, returning web content
(web pages) from the server back to the client. HTTP adopted the concept of hypertext
links but its protocol includes other methods.

There are four messages within this protocol:

- Connection: Establishes a connection between the client and the server

- Request: Asks for a resource
- Response: Delivers the resource
- Close: Terminates the connection
There is also the HTTPS version, which is a secure and encrypted version for HTTP
communication.

3. FTP (File Transfer Protocol):

This is used to load (upload) or retrieve (download) files between the client and the
server communication or between two computers on the internet. In other words, this
protocol is responsible for file transfer on the internet. Before the Web, the Internet
protocol was FTP (File Transfer Protocol). FTP was too slow, and HTTP was invented

4.2. IP ADDRESSES

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique numeric label consisting of a 32 bit number
assigned to a network capable device that uses IP for communication. The address fundamentally
serves two purposes: location addressing and computer host or network interface identification.
Computing devices use IP Address to identify and communicate with other devices in the IP
network. The address indicates where the connected device resides with the majority of
hosts/devices. An IP address allows information to be sent and received by the correct parties,
which means it can also be used to track down a user's physical location in some instances.

IP addresses are not random. They are mathematically produced and allocated by the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a division of the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN is a non-profit organization that was established in the
United States in 1998 to help maintain the security of the internet and allow it to be usable by all.
Each time anyone registers a domain on the internet, they go through a domain name registrar,
who pays a small fee to ICANN to register the domain. Internet Service Providers assigns IP
Address to all the devices present on its network

An IP address is a string of numbers separated by periods which are expressed as a set of four
numbers — an example address might be [Link]. Each number in the set can range from 0
to 255. So, the full IP addressing range goes from [Link] to [Link].

The 4 numbers are called as octets where each octet has 8 bits.

A byte can hold 256 different values: 00000000, 00000001, 00000010, 00000011, 00000100,
00000101, 00000110, 00000111, 00001000 .......and all the way up to 11111111.
IP addresses can be classified into five (5) classes, they are: A, B, C, D, and E. Class A addresses
were used for networks with a very large number of total hosts. Class B was designed for use on
medium to large networks, and C for small local area networks (LANs). Class D and E were set
aside for multicast and experimental purposes.
The rapid growth of the Internet and related technologies has led to a shortage of IP addresses
and make IPv4 not to be sustainable. The Internet Protocol (IPv6) was introduced in the mid-
1990’s, this will provide relief to this problem by lengthening the IP address from 32 bits to 128
bits

4.3 PORT NUMBERS

• A port number is used to distinguish between the individual networking applications that are
running simultaneously above the TCP/IP protocol stack

• Port numbers for standard TCP/IP services may be referred to as well-known port numbers

– 80 HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) - WWW

– 194 IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - Conferencing

– 21 FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

– 25 SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - E-mail

– 23 Telnet
Server processes are associated with a fixed port and the client must know the port in order to
connect with the network service

• A Web server will normally be listening for connections on port 80. A web browser will use
this port number by default when attempting to connect to the remote computer

WHO OWNS THE INTERNET?

• No person or organization owns the entire Internet

• As the Internet is a network of networks, each network is owned by a company

• This is similar to the motor-way and road system. Each town or state owns and maintains roads
in its jurisdiction
5.0. NETWORK TOPOLOGY

A computer network is a collection of two or more computers which are connected together to
share information and resources.

Network Topology is the physical layout of nodes on a network

 Four fundamental shapes:

 Bus  Star
 Ring  Mesh
Choosing one topology over another can impact:

 type of equipment the network needs

 capabilities of the equipment

 network’s growth

 way a network is managed

1. Bus Topology

A Bus topology consists of a single cable—called a backbone— connecting all nodes on

a network without intervening connectivity devices

 Devices share responsibility for

getting data from one point to
another
 Terminators stop signals after
reaching end of wire
 Prevent signal bounce
 Inexpensive, not very scalable
 Difficult to troubleshoot, not fault-
tolerant

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Works well for small networks Management costs can be high

Easy to install Network disruption when computers are added or
removed

Relatively inexpensive to implement A break in the cable will prevent all systems from
accessing the network

Difficult to troubleshoot

2. Star Topology

Every node on the network is connected through a central device called hub or switch
 Any single cable connects only two devices
 Cabling problems affect two nodes at most
 Requires more cabling than ring or bus networks
 More fault-tolerant
 Easily moved, isolated, or interconnected with other networks
 Scalable
 Supports max of 1024 addressable nodes on logical network

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Good option for modern networks Hub is a single point of failure

Low startup cost Requires more cable than the bus

Offers opportunities for expansion Cost of installation is high

Most popular topology in use; wide variety of

equipment available

Easy to manage

3. RING Topology

A ring network is one where all workstations and other devices are connected in a
continuous loop. There is no central server. Each node is connected to the two nearest
nodes so the entire network forms a circle

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Easier to manage; easier to locate a Requires more cable and network

defective node or cable problem equipment at the start

Ring networks are moderately easy to install Expansion to the network can cause
 network disruption

Handles high-volume A single break in the cable can disrupt

network traffic the entire network

Well-suited for transmitting signals Expensive

over long distances on a LAN

4. Mesh Topology

It is a point-to-point connection to other nodes or devices. Traffic is carried only between

two devices or nodes to which it is connected. Mesh has n(n-2)/2 physical channels to
link hn devices.
Rarely used because of the following reasons:
 Wiring is very complicated
 Cabling cost is high
 Troubleshooting a failed cable is tricky
 A variation hybrid mesh – create point to point.
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Robust Requires more cable than the other LAN

topologies

There is the advantage of privacy or Complicated implementation

security

The network can be expanded without Installation and reconnection are difficult
disruption to current uses

Point to point links make fault Sheer bulk of wiring can be greater than the
identification and fault isolation easy available space can accommodate

Expensive

5. Hybrid Physical Topologies

It is the mixture of two or more topologies. A hybrid topology combines characteristics of

linear bus and star and/or ring topologies.

• One example of Hybrid Topology is Tree topology

• Tree topology is a combination of Bus and Star topology.

• It consists of groups of star-configured workstations connected to a linear bus backbone

cable.

• If the backbone line breaks, the entire segment goes down

An example of this network could be cable TV technology

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Extension of Bus and Star Topology Heavily cabled

 Expansion of nodes is possible and easy
Costly

Easily managed and maintained If more nodes are added maintenance is

difficult

Central hub fails, network fails

5.2. CHOOSING A TOPOLOGY

1) BUS:
i. network is small
ii. network will not be frequently reconfigured
iii. least expensive solution is required
iv. network is not expected to grow much
2) STAR
i. it must be easy to add/remove PCs
ii. it must be easy to troubleshoot
iii. network is large
iv. network is expected to grow in the future
3) RING
i. network must operate reasonably under heavy load
ii. higher speed network is required
iii. network will not be frequently reconfigured
6.0. OPEN SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION (OSI) REFERENCE MODEL

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a reference tool for understanding data
communications between any two networked systems. It was developed in 1977 by International
Organization for standardization (ISO). It divides the communications processes into seven
layers which is useful in troubleshooting networks. Each layer both performs specific functions
to support the layers above it and offers services to the layers below it. The three lowest layers
focus on passing traffic through the network to an end system. The top four layers come into play
in the end system to complete the process
Going from layer 1 to 7: Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away

Going from layer 7 to 1: All People Seem To Need Data Processing

LAYER1: PHYSICAL LAYER

The Physical Layer is concerned with the details of bit transmission over a physical channel.

Design issues for this layer include:

• the definition of 0 and 1, e.g. how many volts represents a 1, and how long a bit lasts,

• whether the channel is simplex or duplex,

• How many pins a connector has, and what the function of each pin is.

More generally, design issues here deal with Mechanical, Electrical and Procedural matters.

 The Physical Layer defines the electrical and physical specifications for devices. In
particular, it defines the relationship between a device and a physical medium.

 This includes the layout of pin, voltages, cable specification, hubs, repeaters, network
adapters, host bus adapters, and more.
  The Physical Layer defines the electrical and physical specifications for devices. In
particular, it defines the relationship between a device and a physical medium.

 This includes the layout of pin, voltages, cable specification, hubs, repeaters, network
adapters, host bus adapters, and more.

 The major functions and services performed by the Physical Layer are:

i. Establishment and termination of a connection to a communication medium.

ii. Participation in the process whereby the communication resources are effectively
shared among multiple users. For example, flow control.

iii. Modulation or conversion between the representation of digital data in user

equipment and the corresponding signals transmitted over a communications
channel. These are signals operating over the physical cabling (such as copper
and optical fiber) or over a radio link.

LAYER 2: DATA LINK LAYER

This layer takes the ‘raw’ transmission facility provided by the Physical Layer (Layer 1) and
uses it to provide a reliable, error-free transmission service.

It does this by breaking the data stream up into frames, typically of thousands of bytes in length.
Where necessary, special acknowledgement frames can be sent back by the receiving Data Link
entity to indicate successful receipt of each frame.

The Physical Layer transmits a continuous sequence of bits, and so Layer 2 must create and
recognize frame boundaries. This is typically done by the insertion of special bit patterns.

Channel errors can completely destroy a frame, and hence retransmission may be necessary.
This, in turn, leads to the possibility of duplicate frames being received. Data Link protocols
must deal with these problems.

A Data Link protocol may offer several different ‘service classes’ to the Network Layer, each
with a different quality and cost.

The Data Link Layer must also regulate traffic flow to prevent ‘swamping’ of a slow receiver.
In a duplex channel there may be competition between data and acknowledgment frames; one
solution is known as piggybacking, where acknowledgement information is attached to data
frames.

 The Data Link Layer provides the functional and procedural means to transfer data
between network entities and to detect and possibly correct errors that may occur in the
Physical Layer.

 Packages raw bits from the Physical layer into frames (logical, structured packets for
data).

 Provides reliable transmission of frames

 It waits for an acknowledgment from the receiving computer.

 Retransmits frames for which acknowledgement not received

LAYER 3: NETWORK LAYER

The Network Layer controls the subnet.

The key design issue is routing of data within the subnet. Routing can be:

• based on static tables (rarely changed) which is determined at the start of each session,
or

• highly dynamic: individually determined for each packet, reflecting the current network
load.

Too many packets in the subnet simultaneously can form bottlenecks; this is dealt with by
congestion control procedures in the Network Layer.

Accounting for subnet use is also typically the responsibility of the Network Layer.

When a packet travels from one network to another, address conversion may be necessary; this is
also performed by the Network Layer.

In Broadcast networks (e.g. many LANs), the routing problem is very straightforward, and hence
Layer 3 will be very simple, or even non-existent.
 • Manages addressing/routing of data within the subnet

– Addresses messages and translates logical addresses and names into physical
addresses.

– Determines the route from the source to the destination computer

– Manages traffic problems, such as switching, routing, and controlling the

congestion of data packets.

• Routing can be:

– Based on static tables

– determined at start of each session

– Individually determined for each packet, reflecting the current network load.

• Routers operate at this layer—sending data throughout the extended network and making
the Internet possible.

LAYER 4: TRANSPORT LAYER

The basic function of the Transport Layer is to take data from the Session Layer (Layer 5), split
it up into smaller units (as necessary), and pass these units on to the Network Layer. It is then
also responsible for ensuring that all the pieces are received correctly and reassembled in the
correct order.

Typically the Transport Layer will create a distinct Network Layer connection for each Transport
connection requested by the Session Layer. However, depending on the data load and the
capacity of a single Session channel:

• multiple Network connections might be used to support a single high-bandwidth Session

connection, or

• One high-bandwidth Network connection might be used to support several Session

connections.

The Transport Layer also determines what Type of Service to provide to the Session Layer and,
ultimately, to the network users. For example:
 • an error-free, point-to-point channel, guaranteeing data is delivered in the correct order
(the most common type of service),

• transport of isolated messages with no guarantee of correct ordering, or

• message broadcast to multiple destinations

Transport is the first true end-to-end layer, i.e. the Transport protocol communicates between end
parties and not to any of the intermediaries.

• Manages transmission packets

– Repackages long messages when necessary into small packets for transmission

– Reassembles packets in correct order to get the original message.

• Handles error recognition and recovery.

– Transport layer at receiving acknowledges packet delivery.

– Resends missing packets

• The Transport Layer controls the reliability of a given link through flow control,
segmentation/desegmentation, and error control.

LAYER 5: SESSION LAYER

• Allows two applications on different computers to establish, use, and end a session.

– e.g. file transfer, remote login

• Establishes dialog control

– Regulates which side transmits, plus when and how long it transmits.

Performs token management and synchronization

The Session Layer allows the establishment of sessions between machines, e.g. to allow remote
logins to a multi-user system, or to perform file transfer between machines.

One of the Session services is dialogue control; if the communications are half-duplex then the
session layer can manage which entity sends when.
A related service is token management. In some protocols it is essential that both entities do not
attempt the same operation simultaneously. Possession of a token permits the operation.

The other main Session service is synchronization. As an example consider attempting a 2-hour
file transfer between machines which crash on average once an hour. The synchronization
service provides a means for checkpoints to be inserted into the data stream so that, after a crash,
only data sent since the last checkpoint needs to be re-transmitted.

LAYER 6: PRESENTATION LAYER

The Presentation Layer is concerned with the representation of data to be transmitted, e.g.
providing a standard encoding for data.

Different computers often use different representations for data structures such as characters
(ASCII or EBCDIC), integers (one’s complement or two’s complement, and varying byte
ordering conventions), and floating point values (IEEE or proprietary).

The Presentation Layer provides a standard encoding technique (using ASN.1 - Abstract Syntax
Notation 1).

The Presentation Layer is also concerned with other representation issues such as data
compression and encryption of data.

In terms of the usual communications model, the Presentation Layer is responsible for source
coding of data.

LAYER 7: APPLICATION LAYER

The Application Layer is home to a wide variety of protocols to meet specific user needs.

• Network virtual terminal. Used by ‘networked screen editors’ and other networked
applications needing to handle many different terminal types. Software exists to map the
functions of the virtual terminal onto the real terminal, e.g. cursor movement. Examples
include OSI VTP and Internet telnet.
• File transfer. Different file systems have different file naming conventions and internal
record structures. Such a protocol must convert files to a ‘standard’ representation.
Examples include OSI FTAM and Internet ftp.
• Electronic mail. Examples of electronic mail protocols are OSI X.400 and Internet mail.
• Directory service. Examples include OSI X.500.