Computer science computer networks

Paper: CS6T2 : COMPUTER NETWORKS

PROGRAMME:BSC
SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE
SEMESTER: 6th SEM
SESSION:39

Text book reference:

Douglas E Comer and M.S.Narayana, “Computer Networks and Internets”, 5th edition,
Pearson Education, 2013
Computer science computer networks

Protocols and Layering:

Layered Software

Stacks: Layered Software The concept of layered design requires that data move down the
stack, across the network, and back up the stack: data leaves the sending software on the
source host it then "passes down through the layers" on the source host from the top layer to
the bottom layer, then the data moves across the physical network, it then "passes up through
the layers" on the target host from bottom to top, where upon it is handed off to the
destination software application running on the receiving host.

Computers can run more than one protocol stack at the same time, sharing the same physical
network for transport. Type fields in frames at the physical level allow system software to
direct packets to the correct protocol software.

How Layered Software Works

The concept of layered design requires that each protocol layer perform peer-to-peer
communication. For example, when the data link layer places a checksum in a frame and
passes the frame along to the physical layer, it is the data link layer on the receiving host that
examines the checksum.
The Scientific Basis for Layering
The concept of layered design requires that the following layering principle be followed:
"layer N software on the destination computer must receive the exact messages sent by
layerN software on the sending computer." In other words, each layer communicates with
the same layer on its peer.
Computer science computer networks

In order for the layering principle to hold, the changes that each protocol layer makes to an
outgoing frame must be reversed exactly by the peer layer on the receiving host before it
passes the frame to the next layer up.
.

Multiple, Nested Headers

Typically each protocol layer adds a header to the beginning of a frame before passing it
down to the layer below. There are variations of this that may happen at a given layer – byte
stuffing or appending a trailer, for example.