Module 8: Network Layer
Introduction to Networks v7.0
(ITN)
Module 8: Topics
What will I learn to do in this module?
Topic Title Topic Objective
Network Layer Explain how the network layer uses IP protocols for reliable
Characteristics communications.
IPv4 Packet Explain the role of the major header fields in the IPv4 packet.
IPv6 Packet Explain the role of the major header fields in the IPv6 packet.
Explain how network devices use routing tables to direct packets to a
How a Host Routes
destination network.
Router Routing Tables Explain the function of fields in the routing table of a router.
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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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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 IPv6 Address 128 bit source address
Destination IPV6 Address 128 bit destination address
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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 – [Link] (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
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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