Computer Network | User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a Transport Layer protocol. UDP is a part of Internet Protocol
suite, referred as UDP/IP suite. Unlike TCP, it is unreliable and connectionless protocol. So,
there is no need to establish connection prior to data transfer.
Though Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is the dominant transport layer protocol used with most
of Internet services; provides assured delivery, reliability and much more but all these services cost
us with additional overhead and latency. Here, UDP comes into picture. For the realtime services
like computer gaming, voice or video communication, live conferences; we need UDP. Since high
performance is needed, UDP permits packets to be dropped instead of processing delayed packets.
There is no error checking in UDP, so it also save bandwidth.
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is more efficient in terms of both latency and bandwidth.
UDP Header –

UDP header is 8-bytes fixed and simple header, while for TCP it may vary from 20 bytes to 60
bytes. First 8 Bytes contains all necessary header information and remaining part consist of data.
UDP port number fields are each 16 bits long, therefore range for port numbers defined from 0 to
65535; port number 0 is reserved. Port numbers help to distinguish different user requests or
process.

1. Source Port : Source Port is 2 Byte long field used to identify port number of source.
2. Destination Port : It is 2 Byte long field, used to identify the port of destined packet.
3. Length : Length is the length of UDP including header and the data. It is 16-bits field.
4. Checksum : Checksum is 2 Bytes long field. It is the 16-bit one’s complement of the one’s
complement sum of the UDP header, pseudo header of information from the IP header and the
data, padded with zero octets at the end (if necessary) to make a multiple of two octets.
Notes – Unlike TCP, Checksum calculation is not mandatory in UDP. No Error control or flow control
is provided by UDP. Hence UDP depends on IP and ICMP for error reporting.

TCP 3-Way Handshake Process

This could also be seen as a way of how TCP connection is established. Before getting into the
details, let us look at some basics. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol which indicates
that it does something to control the transmission of the data in a reliable way.
The process of communication between devices over the internet happens according to the
current TCP/IP suite model(stripped out version of OSI reference model). The Application layer is a
top pile of stack of TCP/IP model from where network referenced application like web browser on the
client side establish connection with the server. From the application layer,the information is
transferred to the transport layer where our topic comes into picture. The two important protocols of
this layer are – TCP, UDP(User Datagram Protocol)out of which TCP is prevalent(since it provides
reliability for the connection established). However you can find application of UDP in querying the
DNS server to get the binary equivalent of the Domain Name used for the website.

TCP provides reliable communication with something called Positive Acknowledgement with Re-
transmission(PAR). The Protocol Data Unit(PDU) of the transport layer is called segment. Now a
device using PAR resend the data unit until it receives an acknowledgement. If the data unit
received at the receiver’s end is damaged(It checks the data with checksum functionality of the
transport layer that is used for Error Detection), then receiver discards the segment. So the sender
has to resend the data unit for which positive acknowledgement is not received. You can realize
from above mechanism that three segments are exchanged between sender(client) and
receiver(server) for a reliable TCP connection to get established. Let us delve how this mechanism
works :
 ● Step 1 (SYN) : In the first step, client wants to establish a connection with server, so it sends a
segment with SYN(Synchronize Sequence Number) which informs server that client is likely to
start communication and with what sequence number it starts segments with
● Step 2 (SYN + ACK): Server responds to the client request with SYN-ACK signal bits set.
Acknowledgement(ACK) signifies the response of segment it received and SYN signifies with
what sequence number it is likely to start the segments with
● Step 3 (ACK) : In the final part client acknowledges the response of server and they both
establish a reliable connection with which they will start eh actual data transfer
The steps 1, 2 establish the connection parameter (sequence number) for one direction and it is
acknowledged. The steps 2, 3 establish the connection parameter (sequence number) for the other
direction and it is acknowledged. With these, a full-duplex communication is established.
Note – Initial sequence numbers are randomly selected while establishing connections between
client and server.

TCP Connection Establishment

Prerequisite – TCP 3-Way Handshake Process
TCP is a connection oriented protocol and every connection oriented protocol needs to establish
connection in order to reserve resources at both the communicating ends.
Connection Establishment –
1. Sender starts the process with following:
● Sequence number (Seq=521): contains the random initial sequence number which
generated at sender side.
● Syn flag (Syn=1): request receiver to synchronize its sequence number with the above
provided sequence number.
● Maximum segment size (MSS=1460 B): sender tells its maximum segment size, so that
receiver sends datagram which won’t require any fragmentation. MSS field is present
inside Option field in TCP header.
● Window size (window=14600 B): sender tells about his buffer capacity in which he has to
store messages from receiver.

2. TCP is a full duplex protocol so both sender and receiver require a window for receiving
messages from one another.
● Sequence number (Seq=2000): contains the random initial sequence number which
generated at receiver side.
● Syn flag (Syn=1): request sender to synchronize its sequence number with the above
provided sequence number.
● Maximum segment size (MSS=500 B): sender tells its maximum segment size, so that
receiver sends datagram which won’t require any fragmentation. MSS field is present
inside Option field in TCP header.
Since MSS < MSS , both parties agree for minimum MSS i.e., 500 B to avoid
receiver sender

fragmentation of packets at both ends.

● Therefore, receiver can send maximum of 14600/500 = 29 packets.
This is the receiver's sending window size.
● Window size (window=10000 B): receiver tells about his buffer capacity in which he has
to store messages from sender.
 ● Therefore, sender can send a maximum of 10000/500 = 20 packets.
This is the sender's sending window size.
● Acknoledgement Number (Ack no.=522): Since sequence number 521 is received by
receiver so, it makes a request of next sequence number with Ack no.=522 which is the
next packet expected by receiver since Syn flag consumes 1 sequence no.
● ACK flag (ACk=1): tells that acknowledgement number field contains the next sequence
expected by receiver.

3. Sender makes the final reply for connection establishment in following way:
● Sequence number (Seq=522): since sequence number = 521 in 1 step and SYN flag
st

consumes one sequence number hence, next sequence number will be 522.
● Acknowledgement Number (Ack no.=2001): since sender is acknowledging SYN=1
packet from the receiver with sequence number 2000 so, the next sequence number
expected is 2001.
● ACK flag (ACK=1): tells that acknowledgement number field contains the next sequence
expected by sender.

Since the connection establishment phase of TCP makes use of 3 packets, it is also known as 3-way
Handshaking (SYN, SYN + ACK, ACK).

Quality of Service
Quality-of-Service (QoS) refers to traffic control mechanisms that seek to either differentiate
performance based on application or network-operator requirements or provide predictable or
guaranteed performance to applications, sessions or traffic aggregates. Basic phenomenon for QoS
means in terms of packet delay and losses of various kinds.
Need for QoS –
● Video and audio conferencing require bounded delay and loss rate.
● Video and audio streaming requires bounded packet loss rate, it may not be so sensitive to
delay.
● Time-critical applications (real-time control) in which bounded delay is considered to be an
important factor.
● Valuable applications should be provided better services than less valuable applications.
QoS Specification –
QoS requirements can be specified as:
1. Delay
2. Delay Variation(Jitter)
3. Throughput
4. Error Rate
There are two types of QoS Solutions:
1. Stateless Solutions –
Routers maintain no fine grained state about traffic, one positive factor of it is that it is scalable
and robust. But it has weak services as there is no guarantee about kind of delay or
performance in a particular application which we have to encounter.

2. Stateful Solutions –
Routers maintain per flow state as flow is very important in providing the Quality-of-Service i.e.
providing powerful services such as guaranteed services and high resource utilization, provides
protection and is much less scalable and robust.

Computer Network | Integrated services digital network (ISDN)

These are a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video,
data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone
network. Before Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the telephone system was seen as a
way to transmit voice, with some special services available for data. The main feature of ISDN is that
it can integrate speech and data on the same lines, which were not available in the classic telephone
system.
ISDN is a circuit-switched telephone network system, but it also provides access to packet switched
networks that allows digital transmission of voice and data. This results in potentially better voice or
data quality than an analog phone can provide. It provides a packet-switched connection for data in
increments of 64 kilobit/s. It provided a maximum of 128 kbit/s bandwidth in both upstream and
downstream directions. A greater data rate was achieved through channel bonding. Generally ISDN
B-channels of three or four BRIs (six to eight 64 kbit/s channels) are bonded.
In the context of the OSI model, ISDN is employed as the network in data-link and physical layers
but commonly ISDN is often limited to usage to Q.931 and related protocols. These protocols
introduced in 1986 are a set of signaling protocols establishing and breaking circuit-switched
connections, and for advanced calling features for the user. ISDN provides simultaneous voice,
video, and text transmission between individual desktop videoconferencing systems and group
videoconferencing systems.
ISDN Interfaces:
The following are the interfaces of ISDN:
1. Basic Rate Interface (BRI) –
There are two data-bearing channels (‘B’ channels) and one signaling channel (‘D’ channel) in
 BRI to initiate connections. The B channels operate at a maximum of 64 Kbps while the D
channel operates at a maximum of 16 Kbps. The two channels are independent of each other.
For example, one channel is used as a TCP/IP connection to a location while the other channel
is used to send a fax to a remote location. In iSeries ISDN supports basic rate interface (BRl).

The basic rate interface (BRl) specifies a digital pipe consisting two B channels of 64 Kbps
each and one D channel of 16 Kbps. This equals a speed of 144 Kbps. In addition, the BRl
service itself requires an operating overhead of 48 Kbps. Therefore a digital pipe of 192 Kbps is
required.
2. Primary Rate Interface (PRI) –
Primary Rate Interface service consists of a D channel and either 23 or 30 B channels
depending on the country you are in. PRI is not supported on the iSeries. A digital pipe with 23
B channels and one 64 Kbps D channel is present in the usual Primary Rate Interface (PRI).
Twenty-three B channels of 64 Kbps each and one D channel of 64 Kbps equals 1.536 Mbps.
The PRI service uses 8 Kbps of overhead also. Therefore PRI requires a digital pipe of 1.544
Mbps.
3. Broadband-ISDN (B-ISDN) –
Narrowband ISDN has been designed to operate over the current communications
infrastructure, which is heavily dependent on the copper cable however B-ISDN relies mainly
on the evolution of fiber optics. According to CCITT B-ISDN is best described as ‘a service
requiring transmission channels capable of supporting rates greater than the primary rate.
ISDN Services:
ISDN provides a fully integrated digital service to users. These services fall into 3 categories- bearer
services, teleservices and supplementary services.
1. Bearer Services –
Transfer of information (voice, data and video) between users without the network manipulating
the content of that information is provided by the bearer network. There is no need for the
network to process the information and therefore does not change the content. Bearer services
belong to the first three layers of the OSI model. They are well defined in the ISDN standard.
They can be provided using circuit-switched, packet-switched, frame-switched, or cell-switched
networks.
2. Teleservices –
In this the network may change or process the contents of the data. These services
corresponds to layers 4-7 of the OSI model. Teleservices relay on the facilities of the bearer
services and are designed to accommodate complex user needs. The user need not to be
aware of the details of the process. Teleservices include telephony, teletex, telefax, videotex,
telex and teleconferencing. Though the ISDN defines these services by name yet they have not
yet become standards.
3. Supplementary Service –
Additional functionality to the bearer services and teleservices are provided by supplementary
services. Reverse charging, call waiting, and message handling are examples of
supplementary services which are all familiar with today’s telephone company services.
Principle of ISDN:
The ISDN works based on the standards defined by ITU-T (formerly CCITT). The
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) coordinates standards for telecommunications
on behalf of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The various principles of ISDN as per ITU-T recommendation are:
● To support switched and non-switched applications
● To support voice and non-voice applications
● Reliance on 64-kbps connections
● Intelligence in the network
● Layered protocol architecture
 ● Variety of configurations

Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)

SONET stands for Synchronous Optical Network. SONET is a communication protocol, developed
by Bellcore – that is used to transmit a large amount of data over relatively large distances using
optical fibre. With SONET, multiple digital data streams are transferred at the same time over the
optical fibre.
Key Points:
● Developed by Bellcore
● Used in North America
● Standardized by ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
● Similar to SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) which is used in Europe and Japan.
Why SONET is called a Synchronous Network?
A single clock (Primary Reference Clock, PRC) handles the timing of transmission of signals &
equipments across the entire network.

SONET Network Elements:

1. STS Multiplexer:
● Performs multiplexing of signals
● Converts electrical signal to optical signal
2. STS Demultiplexer:
● Performs demultiplexing of signals
 ● Converts optical signal to electrical signal
3. Regenerator:
It is a repeater that takes an optical signal and regenerates (increases the strength) it.
4. Add/Drop Multiplexer:
It allows you to add signals coming from different sources into a given path or remove a signal.
Why is SONET used?
SONET is used to convert electrical signal into optical signal so that it can travel longer distances.

SONET Connections:
● Section: Portion of network connecting two neighbouring devices.
● Line: Portion of network connecting two neighbouring multiplexers.
● Path: End-to-end portion of the network.
SONET Layers:

SONET includes four functional layers:

1. Path Layer:
● It is responsible for the movement of signal from its optical source to its optical destination.
● STS Mux/Demux provides path layer functions.
2. Line Layer:
● It is responsible for the movement of signal across a physical line.
● STS Mux/Demux and Add/Drop Mux provide Line layer functions.
3. Section Layer:
● It is responsible for the movement of signal across a physical section.
● Each device of the network provides section layer functions.
4. Photonic Layer:
● It corresponds to the physical layer of the OSI model.
● It includes physical specifications for the optical fibre channel (presence of light = 1 and
absence of light = 0).
Advantages of SONET:
● Transmits data to large distances
● Low electromagnetic interference
● High data rates
● Large Bandwidth

IEEE 802.11 Mac Frame

IEEE 802.11 is used in most home and office networks to allow laptops, printers,
smartphones, and other devices to communicate with each other and access the
Internet without connecting wires.
The 802.11 standard is defined through several specifications of WLANs. It defines an
over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two
wireless clients.

802.11 − This pertains to wireless LANs and provides 1 - or 2-Mbps transmission in the
2.4-GHz band using either frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct-
sequence spread spectrum (DSSS).

Prerequisite – Basics of Wi-fi

MAC layer provides functionality for several tasks like control medium access, can also offer support
for roaming, authentication, and power conservation. The basic services provided by MAC are the
mandatory asynchronous data service and an optional time-bounded service.
IEEE 802.11 defines two MAC sub-layers :-
1. Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) –
DCF uses CSMA/CD as an access method as wireless LAN can’t implement CSMA/CD. It only
offers asynchronous service.
2. Point Coordination Function (PCF) –
PCP is implemented on top of DCF and mostly used for time-service transmission. It uses a
centralized, contention-free polling access method. It offers both asynchronous and time-
bounded service.
MAC Frame:
The MAC layer frame consists of 9 fields. The following figure shows the basic structure of an IEEE
802.11 MAC data frame along with the content of the frame control field.

● Frame Control(FC) –
It is 2 bytes long field which defines type of frame and some control information. Various fields
present in FC are:
1. Version:
 It is a 2 bit long field which indicates the current protocol version which is fixed to be 0 for
now.
2. Type:
It is a 2 bit long field which determines the function of frame i.e management(00),
control(01) or data(10). The value 11 is reserved.
3. Subtype:
It is a 4 bit long field which indicates sub-type of the frame like 0000 for association
request, 1000 for beacon.
4. To DS:
It is a 1 bit long field which when set indicates that destination frame is for DS(distribution
system).
5. From DS:
It is a 1 bit long field which when set indicates frame coming from DS.
6. More frag (More fragments):
It is 1 bit long field which when set to 1 means frame is followed by other fragments.
7. Retry:
It is 1 bit long field, if the current frame is a retransmission of an earlier frame, this bit is set
to 1.
8. Power Mgmt (Power management):
It is 1 bit long field which indicates the mode of a station after successful transmission of a
frame. Set to 1 the field indicates that the station goes into power-save mode. If the field is
set to 0, the station stays active.
9. More data:
It is 1 bit long field which is used to indicates a receiver that a sender has more data to
send than the current frame. This can be used by an access point to indicate to a station in
power-save mode that more packets are buffered or it can be used by a station to indicate
to an access point after being polled that more polling is necessary as the station has
more data ready to transmit.
10. WEP:
It is 1 bit long field which indicates that the standard security mechanism of 802.11 is
applied.
11. Order:
It is 1 bit long field, if this bit is set to 1 the received frames must be processed in strict
order.

● Duration/ID –
It is 4 bytes long field which contains the value indicating the period of time in which the
medium is occupied(in µs).

● Address 1 to 4 –
These are 6 bytes long fields which contain standard IEEE 802 MAC addresses (48 bit each).
The meaning of each address depends on the DS bits in the frame control field.

● SC (Sequence control) –
It is 16 bits long field which consists of 2 sub-fields, i.e., Sequence number (12 bits) and
Fragment number (4 bits). Since acknowledgement mechanism frames may be duplicated
hence, a sequence number is used to filter duplicate frames.

● Data –
It is a variable length field which contain information specific to individual frames which is
transferred transparently from a sender to the receiver(s).
 ● CRC (Cyclic redundancy check) –
It is 4 bytes long field which contains a 32 bit CRC error detection sequence to ensure error
free frame.
Cellular Networks
● Cellular Network is formed of some cells, cell covers a geographical region, has a base
station analogous to 802.11 AP.
● It helps mobile users attach to the network and there is an air-interface of physical and link
layer protocol between mobile and base station.
● All these base stations are connected to Mobile Switching Center which connects cells to
wide area net, manages call setup and handles mobility.
● There is a certain radio spectrum that is allocated to base stations and to a particular region
and that now needs to be shared.
● There are 2 techniques for sharing mobile-to-base station radio spectrum are:
1. Combined FDMA/TDMA:
It divides the spectrum in frequency channels and divides each channel into time slots.
2. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA):
It allows reuse of the same spectrum over all cells. Net capacity improvement. Two
frequency bands are used, one of which is for forward channel (cell-site to subscriber)
and one for reverse channel (sub to cell-site).
Cell Fundamentals –
In practice cells are of arbitrary shape(close to a circle) because it has the same power on all sides
and has same sensitivity on all sides, but putting up two three circles together may result in
interleaving gaps or may intersect each other so in order to solve this problem we can use
equilateral triangle, square or a regular hexagon in which hexagonal cell is close to a circle used for
a system design.
Co-channel reuse ratio is given by:

DL/RL = Square root of (3N)

Where,
DL = Distance between co-channel cells
RL = Cell Radius
N = Cluster Size
The number of cells in a cluster N determines the amount of co-channel interference and also the
number of frequency channels available per cell.
Cell Splitting –
When the number of subscribers in a given area increases, allocation of more channels covered by
that channel is necessary, which is done by cell splitting. A single small cell midway between two co-
channel cells is introduced.

Need for Cellular Hierarchy –

● Extending the coverage to the areas that are difficult to cover by a large cell.
● Increasing the capacity of the network for those areas that have a higher density of users.
● Increasing number of wireless devices and the communication between them.
Cellular Hierarchy –

1. Femtocells:
Smallest unit of the hierarchy, these cells need to cover only a few meters where all devices are
in the physical range of the users.
2. Picocells:
Size of these networks is in the range of a few tens of meters, e.g., WLANs.
3. Microcells:
Cover a range of hundreds of meters e.g. in urban areas to support PCS which is another kind
of mobile technology.
4. Macro cells:
Cover areas in the order of several kilometers, e.g., cover metropolitan areas.
5. Mega cells:
Cover nationwide areas with ranges of hundreds of kilometers, e.g., used with satellites.
Fixed Channel Allocation –
For a particular channel the frequency band which is associated is fixed.
Total number of channels is given by
Nc = W/B
Where,
W = Bandwidth of the available spectrum,
B = Bandwidth needed by each channels per cell,
Cc = Nc/N where N is the cluster size
Adjacent radio frequency bands are assigned to different cells. In analog each channel corresponds
to one user while in digital each RF channel carries several time slots or codes (TDMA/CDMA).
Simple to implement as traffic is uniform.

What is GSM?
GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication. It is a digital cellular
technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services. Important facts about
the GSM are given below −
● The concept of GSM emerged from a cell-based mobile radio system at Bell
Laboratories in the early 1970s.
● GSM is the name of a standardization group established in 1982 to create a
common European mobile telephone standard.
● GSM is the most widely accepted standard in telecommunications and it is
implemented globally.
● GSM is a circuit-switched system that divides each 200 kHz channel into eight 25
kHz time-slots. GSM operates on the mobile communication bands 900 MHz and
1800 MHz in most parts of the world. In the US, GSM operates in the bands 850
MHz and 1900 MHz.
● GSM owns a market share of more than 70 percent of the world's digital cellular
subscribers.
 ● GSM makes use of narrowband Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technique
for transmitting signals.
● GSM was developed using digital technology. It has an ability to carry 64 kbps to
120 Mbps of data rates.
● Presently GSM supports more than one billion mobile subscribers in more than
210 countries throughout the world.
● GSM provides basic to advanced voice and data services including roaming
service. Roaming is the ability to use your GSM phone number in another GSM
network.
GSM digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down through a channel with two
other streams of user data, each in its own timeslot.

Why GSM?
Listed below are the features of GSM that account for its popularity and wide
acceptance.
● Improved spectrum efficiency
● International roaming
● Low-cost mobile sets and base stations (BSs)
● High-quality speech
● Compatibility with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and other
telephone company services
● Support for new services

GSM Architecture:
A GSM network comprises of many functional units. These functions and interfaces are
explained in this chapter. The GSM network can be broadly divided into −
● The Mobile Station (MS)
● The Base Station Subsystem (BSS)
● The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)
● The Operation Support Subsystem (OSS)

GSM - The Mobile Station

The MS consists of the physical equipment, such as the radio transceiver, display and
digital signal processors, and the SIM card. It provides the air interface to the user in
GSM networks. As such, other services are also provided, which include −
● Voice teleservices
● Data bearer services
● The features' supplementary services
The MS also provides the receptor for SMS messages, enabling the user to toggle
between the voice and data use. Moreover, the mobile facilitates access to voice
messaging systems. The MS also provides access to the various data services
available in a GSM network. These data services include −
● X.25 packet switching through a synchronous or asynchronous dial-up
connection to the PAD at speeds typically at 9.6 Kbps.
● General Packet Radio Services (GPRSs) using either an X.25 or IP based data
transfer method at the speed up to 115 Kbps.
● High speed, circuit switched data at speeds up to 64 Kbps.

GSM - The Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

The BSS is composed of two parts −
● The Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
● The Base Station Controller (BSC)
The BTS and the BSC communicate across the specified Abis interface, enabling
operations between components that are made by different suppliers.
The Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
The BTS houses the radio transceivers that define a cell and handles the radio link
protocols with the MS. In a large urban area, a large number of BTSs may be
deployed.

The BTS includes the following functions −

● Encoding, encrypting, multiplexing, modulating, and feeding the RF signals to the
antenna
● Transcoding and rate adaptation
● Time and frequency synchronizing
● Voice through full- or half-rate services
● Decoding, decrypting, and equalizing received signals
 ● Random access detection
● Timing advances
● Uplink channel measurements

The Base Station Controller (BSC)

The BSC manages the radio resources for one or more BTSs. It handles radio channel
setup, frequency hopping, and handovers. The additional functions include−
● Control of frequency hopping
● Performing traffic concentration to reduce the number of lines from the MSC
● Providing an interface to the Operations and Maintenance Center for the BSS
● Reallocation of frequencies among BTSs
● Time and frequency synchronization
● Power management
● Time-delay measurements of received signals from the MS

GSM - The Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

The Network switching system (NSS), the main part of which is the Mobile Switching
Center (MSC), performs the switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed or
mobile network users, as well as the management of mobile services such as
authentication.

GSM - The Operation Support Subsystem (OSS)

The operations and maintenance center (OMC) is connected to all equipment in the
switching system and to the BSC. The implementation of OMC is called the operation
and support system (OSS).
Here are some of the OMC functions−
● Administration and commercial operation (subscription, end terminals, charging,
and statistics).
● Security Management.
● Network configuration, Operation, and Performance Management.
● Maintenance Tasks.
Virtual LAN (VLAN)
Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a concept in which we can divide the devices logically on layer 2 (data link
layer). Generally, layer 3 devices divides broadcast domain but broadcast domain can be divided by
switches using the concept of VLAN.
A broadcast domain is a network segment in which if a device broadcast a packet then all the
devices in the same broadcast domain will receive it. The devices in the same broadcast domain will
receive all the broadcast packet but it is limited to switches only as routers don’t forward out the
broadcast packet.To forward out the packets to different VLAN (from one VLAN to another) or
broadcast domain, inter Vlan routing is needed. Through VLAN, different small size sub networks
are created which are comparatively easy to handle.
VLAN ranges –
● VLAN 0, 4095:These are reserved VLAN which cannot be seen or used.
● VLAN 1:It is the default VLAN of switches. By default, all switch ports are in VLAN.
This VLAN can’t be deleted or edit but can be used.
● VLAN 2-1001: This is a normal VLAN range. We can create, edit and delete these
VLAN.
● VLAN 1002-1005: These are CISCO defaults for fddi and token rings. These
VLAN can’t be deleted.
● Vlan 1006-4094: This is the extended range of Vlan.
Configuration –
We can simply create VLANs by simply assigning the vlan-id and Vlan name.
#switch1(config)#vlan 2
#switch1(config-vlan)#vlan accounts
Here, 2 is the Vlan I’d and accounts is the Vlan name. Now, we assign Vlan to the
switch ports.e.g-

Switch(config)#int fa0/0
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if)#switchport access Vlan 2
Also, switchport range can be assigned to required vlans.
Switch(config)#int range fa0/0-2
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if) #switchport access Vlan 2
By this, switchport fa0/0, fa0/1, fa0-2 will be assigned Vlan 2.
Example –

Assigning IP address 192.168.1.1/24, 192.168.1.2/24 and 192.168.2.1/24 to the PC’s.

Now, we will create Vlan 2 and 3 on switch.
Switch(config)#vlan 2
Switch(config)#vlan 3
We have made VLANs but the most important part is to assign switch ports to the
VLANs .
Switch(config)#int fa0/0
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if) #switchport access Vlan 2

Switch(config)#int fa0/1
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if) #switchport access Vlan 3

Switch(config)#int fa0/2
Switch(config-if)#switchport mode access
Switch(config-if) #switchport access Vlan 2
As seen, we have assigned Vlan 2 to fa0/0, fa0/2 and Vlan 3 to fa0/1.
Advantages –
● performance –The network traffic is full of broadcast and multicast. VLAN reduces
the need to send such traffic to unnecessary destination.e.g-If the traffic is
intended for 2 users but as 10 devices are present in the same broadcast domain
therefore all will receive the traffic i.e wastage of bandwidth but if we make VLANs,
then the broadcast or mulicast packet will go to the intended users only.
● formation of virtual groups – As there are different departments in every
organisation namely sales, finance etc., VLANs can be very useful in order to
group the devices logically according to their departments.
● security – In the same network, sensitive data can be broadcast which can be
accessed by the outsider but by creating VLAN, we can control broadcast
domains, set up firewalls, restrict access. Also, VLANs can be used to inform the
network manager of an intrusion. Hence, VLANs greatly enhance network security.
● Flexibility – VLAN provide flexibility to add, remove the number of host we want.
● Cost reduction – VLANs can be used to create broadcast domains which
eliminate the need for expensive routers.
● By using Vlan, the number of small size broadcast domain can be increased which
are easy to handle as compared to a bigger broadcast domain.
Virtual Private Network

VPN stands for "Virtual Private Network" and describes the opportunity to
establish a protected network connection when using public networks. VPNs
encrypt your internet traffic and disguise your online identity. This makes it more
difficult for third parties to track your activities online and steal data. The
encryption takes place in real time.

How does a VPN work?

A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured
remote server run by a VPN host. This means that if you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server
becomes the source of your data. This means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other
third parties cannot see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive online. A
VPN works like a filter that turns all your data into "gibberish". Even if someone were to get
their hands on your data, it would be useless.

What are the benefits of a VPN connection?

A VPN connection disguises your data traffic online and protects it from external access.
Unencrypted data can be viewed by anyone who has network access and wants to see it. With a
VPN, hackers and cyber criminals can’t decipher this data.

Secure encryption: To read the data, you need an encryption key . Without one, it would take
millions of years for a computer to decipher the code in the event of a brute force attack . With
the help of a VPN, your online activities are hidden even on public networks.

Disguising your whereabouts : VPN servers essentially act as your proxies on the internet.
Because the demographic location data comes from a server in another country, your actual
location cannot be determined. In addition, most VPN services do not store logs of your
activities. Some providers, on the other hand, record your behavior, but do not pass this
information on to third parties. This means that any potential record of your user behavior
remains permanently hidden.

Access to regional content: Regional web content is not always accessible from everywhere.
Services and websites often contain content that can only be accessed from certain parts of the
world. Standard connections use local servers in the country to determine your location. This
means that you cannot access content at home while traveling, and you cannot access
international content from home. With VPN location spoofing , you can switch to a server to
another country and effectively “change” your location.

Secure data transfer: If you work remotely, you may need to access important files on your
company’s network. For security reasons, this kind of information requires a secure connection.
To gain access to the network, a VPN connection is often required. VPN services connect to
private servers and use encryption methods to reduce the risk of data leakage.
Why should you use a VPN connection?

Your ISP usually sets up your connection when you connect to the internet. It tracks you via an
IP address. Your network traffic is routed through your ISP's servers, which can log and display
everything you do online.

Your ISP may seem trustworthy, but it may share your browsing history with advertisers, the
police or government, and/or other third parties. ISPs can also fall victim to attacks by cyber
criminals: If they are hacked, your personal and private data can be compromised.

This is especially important if you regularly connect to public Wi-Fi networks. You never know
who might be monitoring your internet traffic and what they might steal from you.