ET2208 Computer Network 1

Exercise (Introduction, TCP/IP & OSI Model)

1) Explain the following standard and internet administration organizations of computer network
below: (brief description, what the product (related to computer networks), member, etc)
a) IEEE: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest professional engineering
society in the world. International in scope, it aims to advance theory, creativity, and product quality in
the fields of electrical engineering, electronics, and radio as well as in all related branches of
engineering. As one of its goals, the IEEE oversees the development and adoption of international
standards for computing and communication.
b) IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a forum of working groups managed by the Internet
Engineering Steering Group (IESG). IETF is responsible for identifying operational problems and
proposing solutions to these problems. IETF also develops and reviews specifications intended as
Internet standards.
c) ITU: International Telecommunication Union originally the International Telegraph Union is
a specialized agency of the United Nations that is responsible for issues that concern information and
communication technologies. The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes
international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication
infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordination of
worldwide technical standards.
d) ISO: The International Standards Organization (ISO; also referred to as the International Organization
for Standardization) is a multinational body whose membership is drawn mainly from the standards
creation committees of various governments throughout the world.
e) ISOC: The Internet Society (ISOC) is an international, nonprofit organization formed in 1992 to
provide support for the Internet standards process. ISOC accomplishes this through maintaining and
supporting other Internet administrative bodies such as IAB, IETF, IRTF, and IANA (see the following
sections). ISOC also promotes research and other scholarly activities relating to the Internet.
f) IANA: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), supported by the U.S. government, was
responsible for the management of Internet domain names and addresses until October 1998.
g) APNIC: The Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre) is the regional Internet address registry (RIR)
for the Asia-Pacific region. It is one of the world's five RIRs and is part of the Number Resource
Organization. APNIC provides numbers resource allocation and registration services that support the
global operation of the internet. It is a nonprofit, membership-based organization whose members
include Internet service providers, telecommunication providers, data centers, universities, banks,
national internet registries, and similar organizations that have their own networks.
h) ICANN: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a private nonprofit
corporation managed by an international board, assumed IANA operations.
i) ANSI: Despite its name, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a completely private,
nonprofit corporation not affiliated with the U.S. federal government. ANSI’s expressed aims include
serving as the national coordinating institution for voluntary standardization in the United States,
furthering the adoption of standards as a way of advancing the U.S. economy, and ensuring the
participation and protection of the public interests.

2) Explain the difference between TCP/IP Protocol Suite with OSI Reference Model
When we compare the two models, we find that two layers, session and presentation, are missing from the
TCP/IP protocol suite. These two layers were not added to the TCP/IP protocol suite after the publication of
the OSI model. The application layer in the suite is usually considered to be the combination of three layers
in the OSI model, as shown in Figure 2.8
TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, each of which provides a specific
functionality, but the modules are not necessarily interdependent. Whereas the OSI model specifies which
functions belong to each of its layers, the layers of the TCP/IP protocol suite contain relatively independent
protocols that can be mixed and matched, depending on the needs of the system. The term hierarchical
means that each upper level protocol is supported by one or more lower level protocols.
3) Explain the process of encapsulation and decapsulation in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Figure 2.5 reveals another aspect of data communication in the OSI model: encapsulation. A packet at
level 7 is encapsulated in the packet at level 6. The whole packet at level 6 is encapsulated in a packet at
level 5, and so on. In other words, the data part of a packet at level N is carrying the whole packet (data and
overhead) from level N1. The concept is called encapsulation because level N is not aware what part of the
encapsulated packet is data and what part is the header or trailer. For level N, the whole packet coming from
level N 1 is treated as one integral unit. Encapsulation happens when the data is being sent.

Decapsulation actually is the reverse step of encapsulation. A packet at level 1 is decapsulated in the
packet at level 2. The packet at level 2 is decapsulated in a packet at level3, and so on. In other words, the
data part of a packet at level N is carrying the whole packet (data and overhead) to level N1. Decapsulation
happens when the data is being received.
4) Explain the following addressing in TCP/IP Protocol Suite:
a) Physical Address: The physical address, also known as the link address, is the address of a node as
defined by its LAN or WAN. It is included in the frame used by the data link layer. It is the lowest-level
address. The physical addresses have authority over the link (LAN or WAN). The size and format of
these addresses vary depending on the network. For example, Ethernet uses a 6-byte (48-bit) physical
address that is imprinted on the network interface card (NIC). LocalTalk (Apple), however, has a 1-byte
dynamic address that changes each time the station comes up.
Example: 07:01:02:01:2C:4B is 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical address in Ethernet
b) Logical Address: Logical addresses are necessary for universal communications that are independent of
underlying physical networks. Physical addresses are not adequate in an internetwork environment
where different networks can have different address formats. A universal addressing system is needed in
which each host can be identified uniquely, regardless of the underlying physical network. The logical
addresses are designed for this purpose. A logical address in the Internet is currently a 32-bit address that
can uniquely define a host connected to the Internet. No two publicly addressed and visible hosts on the
 Internet can have the same IP address.
Example: 32-bit address, IPv4,dll
c) Port Address: The IP address and the physical address are necessary for a quantity of data to travel
from a source to the destination host. However, arrival at the destination host is not the final objective of
data communications on the Internet. A system that sends nothing but data from one computer to another
is not complete. Today, computers are devices that can run multiple processes at the same time. The end
objective of Internet communication is a process communicating with another process. For example,
computer A can communicate with computer C by using TELNET. At the same time, computer A
communicates with computer B by using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). For these processes to receive
data simultaneously, we need a method to label the different processes. In other words, they need
addresses. In the TCP/IP architecture, the label assigned to a process is called a port address. A port
address in TCP/IP is 16 bits in length
Example: 753, A 16-bit port address represented as one single number.
d) Application-Specific Address: Some applications have user-friendly addresses that are designed for
that specific application. Examples include the e-mail address (for example, [email protected]) and the
Universal Resource Locator (URL) (for example, www.mhhe.com). The first defines the recipient of an
e-mail; the second is used to find a document on the World Wide Web. These addresses, however, get
changed to the corresponding port and logical addresses by the sending computer
Example: [email protected], www.mnhe.com