Chapter 4: Network

Layer
Computer Networking: A Top-Down
Approach
6th edition
Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
Addison-Wesley

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Outline
4. 1 Introduction
4.2 Virtual circuit and datagram networks
4.4 IP: Internet Protocol
Datagram format
IPv4 addressing
IPv6
4.5 Routing algorithms
Link state
Distance Vector
Hierarchical routing

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Network layer
• transport segment from sending to
receiving host
• on sending side encapsulates
segment into datagrams
• on receiving side, delivers segments
to transport layer
• network layer protocols in every
host, router
• router examines header fields in all
IP datagrams passing through it

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Two Key Network-Layer Functions
• Forwarding: move analogy:
packets from router’s • Routing: process of
input to appropriate planning trip from
router output source to dest
• Routing: determine • Forwarding: process
route taken by of getting through
packets from source single interchange
to dest.
* routing algorithms
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Interplay between routing and forwarding

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Outline
4. 1 Introduction
4.2 Virtual circuit and datagram networks
4.4 IP: Internet Protocol
Datagram format
IPv4 addressing
IPv6
4.5 Routing algorithms
Link state
Distance Vector
Hierarchical routing

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Network layer connection and
connection-less service
• datagram network provides network-layer
connectionless service
• VC network provides network-layer
connection service
• analogous to the transport-layer services,
but:
• service: host-to-host
• no choice: network provides one or the other
• implementation: in network core

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Virtual circuits

• Call setup, teardown for each call before data can flow
• each packet carries VC identifier (not destination host address) every router
on source-dest path maintains “state” for each passing connection
• link, router resources (bandwidth, buffers) may be allocated to VC
(dedicated resources = predictable service) “source-to-dest path behaves
much like telephone circuit”
• performance-wise
• network actions along source-to-dest path

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VC implementation
a VC consists of:
1. path from source to destination
2. VC numbers, one number for each link along
path
3. entries in forwarding tables in routers along
path
• packet belonging to VC carries VC number (rather than dest address)
• VC number can be changed on each link.
• New VC number comes from forwarding table

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VC Forwarding
table
• Forwarding table in
northwest router:

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Virtual circuits: signaling protocols
• used to setup, maintain teardown VC
• used in ATM, frame-relay, X.25
• not used in today’s Internet

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Datagram networks
• no call setup at network layer
• routers: no state about end-to-end connections
• no network-level concept of “connection”
• packets forwarded using destination host address
• packets between same source-dest pair may take different
paths

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Datagram Forwarding
table

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Datagram Forwarding table
• Q: but what happens if ranges don’t divide up so nicely?

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Longest prefix matching
• when looking for forwarding table entry for given destination address, use
longest address prefix that matches destination address.
• Examples: Which interface?
DA: 11001000 00010111 00011000 10101010
DA: 11001000 00010111 00010110 10100001

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Outline
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Virtual circuit and datagram networks
4.4 IP: Internet Protocol
Datagram format
IPv4 addressing
IPv6
4.5 Routing algorithms
Link state
Distance Vector
Hierarchical routing

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IP datagram format

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IP Fragmentation & Reassembly
• network links have MTU
(max.transfer size) - largest possible
link-level frame.
• different link types, different
MTUs
• large IP datagram divided
(fragmented) within net
• one datagram becomes several
datagrams
• “reassembled” only at final
destination
• IP header bits used to identify,
order related fragments

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IP Fragmentation and Reassembly

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IP Addressing: introduction
• IP address: 32-bit identifier for
host, router interface
• interface: connection between
host/router and physical link
• router’s typically have
multiple interfaces
• host typically has one
interface
• IP addresses associated
with each interface

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Network layer

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Subnets
 IP address:
 subnet part (high
order bits)
 host part (low order
bits)
 What’s a subnet ?
 device interfaces with
same subnet part of IP
address
 can physically reach
each other without
intervening router
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Subnets
• Recipe to determine the
subnets, detach each
interface from its host or
router, creating islands of
isolated networks, each
isolated network is called a
subnet.

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Subnets

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IP addressing: CIDR
• CIDR: Classless InterDomain Routing
•  subnet portion of address of arbitrary length
•  address format: a.b.c.d/x, where x is # bits in
subnet portion of address

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IP addresses: how to get one?
• Q: How does a host get IP address?
•  hard-coded by system admin in a file
•  Windows: control-panel->network->configuration->tcp/ip-
>properties
•  UNIX: /etc/rc.config
•  DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol:
• dynamically get address from as server
•  “plug-and-play”

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IP addresses: how to get one?
• Q: How does network get subnet part of IP addr?
• A: gets allocated portion of its provider ISP’s address space
• ISP's block 11001000 00010111 00010000 00000000 200.23.16.0/20
• Organization 0 11001000 00010111 00010000 00000000 200.23.16.0/23
• Organization 1 11001000 00010111 00010010 00000000 200.23.18.0/23
• Organization 2 11001000 00010111 00010100 00000000 200.23.20.0/23
• ... ….. …. ….
• Organization 7 11001000 00010111 00011110 00000000 200.23.30.0/23

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Hierarchical addressing: route aggregation
• Hierarchical addressing allows efficient advertisement of routing
information:

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Hierarchical addressing: more specific routes
• ISPs-R-Us has a more specific route to Organization 1

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IP addressing: the last word...
Q: How does an ISP get block of addresses?
A: ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• allocates addresses
• manages DNS
• assigns domain names, resolves disputes

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IPv6
• Initial motivation: 32-bit address space soon
to be completely allocated.
• Additional motivation:
• header format helps speed processing/forwarding
• header changes to facilitate QoS
IPv6 datagram format:
• fixed-length 40 byte header
• no fragmentation allowed

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IPv6 Header (Cont)
Priority: identify priority among datagrams in flow
Flow Label: identify datagrams in same “flow.”
(concept of“flow” not well defined).
Next header: identify upper layer protocol for data

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Other Changes from IPv4
• Checksum: removed entirely to reduce processing time at each hop
• Options: allowed, but outside of header, indicated by “Next Header”
field
• ICMPv6: new version of ICMP
• additional message types, e.g. “Packet Too Big”
• multicast group management functions

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Transition From IPv4 To IPv6
• Not all routers can be upgraded simultaneous
• no “flag days”
• How will the network operate with mixed IPv4 and IPv6 routers?
• Tunneling: IPv6 carried as payload in IPv4 datagram among IPv4
routers

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Tunneling

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Tunneling

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Outline
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Virtual circuit and datagram networks
4.4 IP: Internet Protocol
Datagram format
IPv4 addressing
IPv6
4.5 Routing algorithms
Link state
Distance Vector
Hierarchical routing

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Interplay between routing, forwarding

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Graph abstraction

Remark: Graph abstraction is useful in other network contexts

Example: P2P, where N is set of peers and E is set of TCP connections

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Graph abstraction: costs

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Routing Algorithm classification

Global or decentralized information? Static or dynamic?

Global:
• Static: routes change slowly over
 all routers have complete
time
topology, link cost info
 “link state” algorithms • Dynamic: routes change more
Decentralized: quickly
 router knows physically-connected neighbors, link • periodic update
costs to neighbors
• in response to link cost changes
 iterative process of
computation, exchange of
info with neighbors
 “distance vector” algorithms
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A Link-State Routing Algorithm

Dijkstra’s algorithm Notation:

•  net topology, link costs known to all nodes •  c(x,y): link cost from node x to y; = ∞ if not direct
neighbors
•  accomplished via “link state broadcast”
•  D(v): current value of cost of path from source to
•  all nodes have same info
dest. v
•  computes least cost paths from one node
•  p(v): predecessor node along path from source to
(‘source”) to all other nodes
v
•  gives forwarding table for that node
•  N': set of nodes whose least cost path definitively
•  iterative: after k iterations, know least cost path known
to k dest.’s

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Dijsktra’s Algorithm

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Dijkstra’s algorithm: example

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Distance Vector Algorithm

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Bellman-Ford example

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Finding Shortest Path to Node 1

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Comparison of LS and DV algorithms
Message complexity • Robustness: what happens
 LS: with n nodes, E links, • if router malfunctions?
O(nE) msgs sent • LS:
 DV: exchange between •  node can advertise
neighbors only • incorrect link cost
 convergence time varies
•  each node computes only
Speed of Convergence
• its own table
 LS: O(n
• DV:
2
•  DV node can advertise
) algorithm requires
• incorrect path cost
O(nE) msgs
•  each node’s table used by
 may have oscillations
 DV: convergence time varies • others
 may be routing loops • • error propagate thru
 count-to-infinity problem • network

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Hierarchical Routing
Our routing study thus far - idealization
 all routers identical
 network “flat”
… not true in practice

• scale: with 200 million • administrative autonomy

• destinations: •  internet = network of
•  can’t store all dest’s in • networks
• routing tables! •  each network admin may
• want to control routing in its
•  routing table exchange
• own network
• would swamp links!

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Hierarchical Routing
 aggregate routers into gateway router
regions, “autonomous  at “edge” of its own AS
systems” (AS)  has link to router in
 routers in same AS run
another AS
same routing protocol
 “intra-AS” routing
protocol
 routers in different AS
can run different intra-
AS routing protocol
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Internet inter-AS routing: BGP
 BGP (Border Gateway Protocol): the de facto
inter-domain routing protocol
 “glue that holds the Internet together”
 BGP provides each AS a means to:
 eBGP: obtain subnet reachability information from
neighboring ASs.
 iBGP: propagate reachability information to all AS-
internal routers.
 determine “good” routes to other networks based on
reachability information and policy.
 allows subnet to advertise its existence to rest of
Internet: “I am here”
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Summary

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