Lecture 1:

Introduction
to WAN
WAN TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
 Introduction to WANs 2

Introducing Wide Area Networks

 What is a WAN? 3

 A WAN is a data communications network that

operates beyond the geographic scope of a
LAN.
 Connect devices that are separated by a broader
geographical area than a LAN.

 Use carriers (phone companies, cable companies,

network providers).

 Use serial connections of various types.

 What is a WAN? 4

 A WAN is a data communications network that operates

beyond the geographic scope of a LAN.
 The Evolving Enterprise 5
• As companies grow, they hire more employees, open
branch offices, and expand into global markets.
• These changes also influence their requirements for
integrated services and drive their network
requirements.
The Evolving Network
6
Model
 As networks grow, the hierarchical design
model must grow with it.
 The Evolving Network 7
Model
 As networks grow, the hierarchical design model must
grow with it.
Fast switching, availability,
scalability.

Policies to aggregate WAN

traffic.

User Access to
network devices.
 WAN Switching Concepts
 WAN switched networks fall into two
categories:
 Circuit switched.
 POTS, ISDN
 Packet switched.
 Frame Relay, ATM, X.25
 WAN Switching Concepts – Circuit
Switched
 When a subscriber
makes a telephone
call, the dialed
number is used to set
switches in the
exchanges along the
route of the call so
that there is a
circuit from the originating caller to the receiver of the call.
 Because of the switching operation used to establish the circuit,
the telephone system is called a circuit-switched network.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Circuit
Switched
 If the telephones are
replaced with
modems, then the
switched circuit is
able to carry data.
 Suppose it is used
to access a web page.
 There will be a burst
of activity that uses the entire bandwidth while the page is being
downloaded.
 That will be followed by no activity while the user reads the page
and followed again by another burst while another page is
accessed.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Circuit
Switched
 If the circuit carries
data, it may not be
very efficient.

 The internal path is

shared by several
conversations.

 Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) is used to give each

conversation a share of the connection in turn.
 TDM assures that a fixed capacity connection is made available to
the subscriber.
 WAN Switching Concepts 1

2
Circuit Switching and TDM:
 Each device to be multiplexed is assigned a specific “time slot” in
the frame.
 At each time slot, 8 bits is read from each device and a fixed length
frame is built using that data.
 If there is nothing to send for that time slot, 8 null bits are placed in
the frame for that device.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Packet Switched

 An alternative is
to allocate the
capacity to the
traffic only when
it is needed and
share capacity
among many
users.
 If the circuit is to be shared, there must be some mechanism to
label the bits so that the system knows where to deliver them.
 The bits are gathered into groups called cells, frames, or
packets.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Packet
Switched
 Each packet
must contain the
network
information
in order to be
delivered to the
correct
destination.
 The packet passes from exchange to exchange for delivery
through the provider network.
 Packet Switched describes the type of network in which relatively
small units of data called packets are routed through a network
based on the destination address contained within each packet.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Packet
Switched
 The circuits only
exist while data
travels through
them.
 They are termed
virtual circuits
and are
categorized as
switched or permanent.
 Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC): Is constructed at the time of the
connection and disappears when the user is done.
 Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC): Is a pre-configured pathway through
the provider’s network. This path is always available to the user for
data transmission.
 WAN Switching Concepts – Packet
Switched
 These networks
can also be
connectionless
or
connection-oriented.
 The Internet is a
good example of a
connectionless, packet switched network. Each packet contains
all of the addressing information required for successful packet
delivery.
 Frame Relay is an example of a connection-oriented packet
switched network. Each packet does not require addressing
information and travels a pre-configured path between the
source and the destination.
 Introduction to WANs 1
7

WAN Connection Options

 WAN Link Connection Options
 Dedicated or leased-
line networks are the
simplest of the
implementations.

 A dedicated point-to-
point link is provided
by the vendor.

 Bandwidth is guaranteed between the end points.

 Leased lines are also used to connect the subscriber to the

vendor to make use of other technologies.
 WAN Link Connection Options
 Switched
communication links
can be either circuit
switched or packet
switched.
 Circuit Switched:
 PSTN
 ISDN
 Packet Switched:
 Frame Relay
 X.25
 ATM
 WAN Link Connection Options

• Public:
Public connections
use the global
Internet infrastructure.
 Until the development
of VPN technology,
the Internet was not
a viable connection
option. Security
issues prevented its use.
 The Internet is now an inexpensive and secure option for
connecting to teleworkers and remote offices where
performance guarantees are not critical.
 DSL, Cable Broadband Wireless
 Dedicated Connection Link
Options
Dedicated or Leased Line Connection

• A point-to-point link is used to provide a pre-established WAN

communications path from the customer premises through the provider
network to a remote destination.
• Point-to-point links are usually more expensive than shared services.
 Circuit-Switched Link Options
Analog Dial-Up

• Interuptted, low-volume data transfers.

• Limited to less than 56 kb/s.
• Advantages: simplicity, availability, low implementation cost.
• Disadvantages: low data rates, long connection time.
 Circuit-Switched Link Options
Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN)

• Enables the local loop to carry end-to-end digital signals.

• Higher capacity connections.
• ISDN changes the internal connections of the PSTN from carrying
analog signals to digital signals.
 Packet-Switched Connection Options

• X.25:
• Legacy network
layer protocol.
• Typical applications
are point-of-sale
card readers.
X.25
• Speeds vary from
2400 b/s up to
2 Mb/s.

• Now in dramatic decline.

• They are still in use in many portions of the developing world.
 Packet-Switched Connection Options
Frame Relay
• Frame Relay:
• Much simpler protocol
at the data link layer.
• Implements no error or
flow control.
• Data rates up to 4 Mb/s.

• The router on the LAN needs only a single interface.

• The short-leased line to the Frame Relay network edge allows cost-
effective connections between widely scattered LANs.
 Packet-Switched Connection
Options
ATM

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

• ATM technology is capable of transferring voice, video, and data
simultaneously through private and public networks.
• It is built on a cell-based architecture.
 Packet-Switched Connection
Options
ATM

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

• ATM cells are always a fixed length of 53 bytes.
• 5 byte ATM header.
• 48 bytes of ATM payload.
 Packet-Switched Connection
Options
ATM

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

• The ATM cell is less efficient than the bigger frames and packets of Frame
Relay and X.25.
• Needs almost 20 percent greater bandwidth than Frame Relay to carry the
same amount of data.
 Packet-Switched Connection
Options
ATM

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

• ATM was designed to be extremely scalable and can support link speeds of
(622 Mb/s) and higher.
 WAN Technology
3
Overview 0
 WAN and the OSI Model:
 In relation to the OSI reference model, WAN operations
focus on Layer 1 and Layer 2.
WAN access standards typically describe both Physical
layer delivery methods and Data Link layer
requirements.

Physical Addressing

Encapsulation
Flow Control
 WAN Technology
3
Overview 1
 WAN and the OSI Model:
 In relation to the OSI reference model, WAN operations
focus on Layer 1 and Layer 2.
WAN access standards are defined and managed by a
number of recognized authorities, including the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA), and
the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA).
 WAN Technology
3
Overview 2
 WAN and the OSI Model:
 In relation to the OSI reference model, WAN operations focus
on Layer 1 and Layer 2.

Standards describe how to

provide…
 WAN Technology
3
Overview 3
 WAN and the OSI Model:
 In relation to the OSI reference model, WAN operations focus
on Layer 1 and Layer 2.

Standards describe how data is

encapsulated for transmission to a remote
location.
WAN Physical Layer Concepts
3
4
WAN Devices 3
5
 WAN Data Link Layer
3
Concepts 6
• Data Link layer protocols define how data is encapsulated
for transmission to remote sites and the mechanisms for
transferring the resulting frames.
• A variety of different technologies, such as ISDN, Frame
Relay, or ATM, are used to move the data across the WAN
connection.
• Many of these protocols use the same basic framing mechanism,
High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC).
 WAN Data Link Layer
3
Concepts 7
• The most common WAN data-link protocols are:
• HDLC
• PPP
• Frame Relay
• ATM

• ATM is different from the others, because it uses small fixed-

size cells of 53 bytes (48 bytes for data), unlike the other
technologies, which use variable-sized packets.
 WAN Data Link Layer 3
8
Concepts
• Another Data Link layer protocol is the
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) protocol.
• MPLS is increasingly being deployed by service
providers to provide an economical solution to
carry circuit-switched as well as packet-switched
network traffic.
• It can operate over any existing infrastructure,
such as IP or Ethernet.
• It sits between Layer 2 and Layer 3 and is
sometimes referred to as a Layer 2.5 protocol.
 WAN Data Link Layer 3
9
Concepts

Data Link layer protocols define how the data is encapsulated as well as how it is
transported between sites.
 WAN Data Link Layer 4
Concepts 0

A number of technologies for the transport of data exist.

While the encapsulation will vary with the technology, most use the ISO HDLC
standard or a modification of it.