CS 341

Introduction to
WAN

WAN(Wide Area Network)

introduction
What is WAN
WAN (Wide are network) is the combination/connection of
LAN. Computers in a given location are normally connected
to a LAN; this facilitate information exchange between the
organization at that particular location. WAN normally refers
to the network which covers a larger geographical area and
use high speed communication infrastructure to
interconnect LANs.
Example of WAN
Larger cooperations e.g. banks.
Military Networks

WAN(Wide Area Network)

introduction

Airline reservation networks

Government Agencies Networks
Connection between LANs are provided by
Network Service Provider (NSP) and uses
IP(Internet Protocols) so in real terms any NSP
can communicate with other NSP through
intermediate NSPs.

Continous assessment (CA) [40%]

Lab Assignments 20%

2 Tests 80%

University exam [60%] to Final Grade

WAN Connection Types

A WAN can use a number of different connection

types.
Leased lines Typically, these are referred to as a point-topoint connection. or dedicated connection.
A leased line is a pre-established WAN communications
path from the CPE, through the DCE switch, to the CPE of
the remote site, allowing DTE networks to communicate at
any time with no setup procedures before transmitting data.
When cost is no object, its really the best choice. HDLC
and PPP technologies are examples of technologies that
uses Leased lines

WAN Connection Types

Circuit switching
When you hear the term circuit switching, think phone call.
The big advantage is costyou only pay for the time you
actually use. No data can transfer before an end-to end
connection is established.
Uses a dedicated communications path established for
duration of conversation comprising a sequence of
physical links with a dedicated logical channel eg.
telephone network

WAN Connection Types

Packet switching
This is a WAN switching method that allows you to share
bandwidth with other companies to save money. Packet
switching can be thought of as a network thats designed to
look like a leased line, yet charges you more like circuit
switching. There is a downside: If you need to transfer data
constantly, Just get yourself a leased line. Packet switching
will only work well if your data transfers are bursty in
nature.

WAN Connection Types

Packet switching

Data sent out in a sequence of small chunks, called packets

Packets passed from node to node between source and
destination
Routing protocols are needed to select path to the
destination
At each node, packets are stored and forwarded

WAN terminologies

Devices on the subscriber premises are called customer

premises equipment (CPE). The subscriber owns the
CPE or leases the CPE from the service provider. CPE are
equipments located at the customers site, they are owned,
operated and managed by the customer.
A copper or fiber cable connects the CPE to the service
providers nearest exchange or
central office (CO).
This cabling is often called the local loop, or "last-mile

WAN terminologies

WAN terminologies

A demarcation point is where customer premises

equipment (CPE) ends, and local loop begins.
The local loop is the cabling from demarcation point to
Central Office (CO).

WAN terminologies

Devices that put data on the local loop are called data
circuit-terminating equipment, or data communications
equipment (DCE).
The customer devices that pass the data to the DCE are
called data terminal equipment (DTE).
The DCE primarily provides an interface for the DTE into
the communication link on the WAN cloud.
The DTE/DCE interface uses various physical layer
protocols, such as V.35. These protocols establish the
codes and electrical parameters the devices use to
communicate with each other.

WAN terminologies

WAN protocols/encapsulation
The most prominent WAN protocols used today are Frame
Relay, ISDN, LAPB, LAPD, HDLC, PPP, and ATM.
Frame Relay
A packet-switched technology that emerged in the early
1990s, Frame Relay is a Data Link and Physical layer
specification that provides high performance. Frame Relay
is a successor to X.25, except that much of the technology
in X.25 used to compensate for physical errors (noisy
lines) has been eliminated. Frame Relay can be more costeffective than point-to-point links, and can typically run at
speeds of 64Kbps up to 45Mbps (T3).

WAN protocols/encapsulation
Frame Relay provides features for dynamic bandwidth
allocation and congestion control.
ISDN
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network ) is a set of
digital services that transmit voice and data over existing
phone lines. ISDN can offer a cost-effective solution for
remote users who need a higher-speed connection than
analog dial-up links offer. ISDN is also a good choice as a
backup link for other types of links such as Frame Relay or
a T1 connection.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
Benefit of ISDN:

Can carry voice, video, and data simultaneously over

single line
Has faster call set up than a modem
Have faster data rates than a modem connection
ISDN uses two types of channels, a B channels and D
channel
B: Bearer channel transfer data at a rate of 64kbps for each
channel

WAN protocols/encapsulation

D: data channel is used for administrative signaling, e.g. set up and

terminates B channel call, to ensure B channel is available to receive
call etc.

Two standards are defined for ISDN

BRI: Basic Rate Interface: Consist of digital communication lines with
3 lines, 2 bearer channel each with 64kbps and 1 a data channel of
16kbps commonly referred to as 2B+D, these are mainly intended for
small busnes or home use

PRI: Primary Rate Interface; It has 30B channels and 1 64kbps D

channel. It is generally transmitted through E1.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
LAPB

LAPB (Link Access Procedure Balanced) was created to be

a connection-oriented protocol at the Data Link layer for
use with X.25. It can also be used as a simple data link
transport. LAPB causes a tremendous amount of overhead
because of its strict timeout and windowing techniques.
LAPB ensures that frames are correctly ordered and error
free. It deals with sequencing, flow control, error detection
and recovery. You can use LAPB instead of lower over
head HLDC if your link is very error prone.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
LAPD
Link Access Procedure, D-Channel (LAPD) is used with
ISDN at the Data Link layer (layer 2) as a protocol for the
D (signaling) channel. LAPD was derived from the Link
Access Procedure, Balanced (LAPB) Protocol and is
designed primarily to satisfy the signaling requirements of
ISDN basic access.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
HDLC

High-Level Data-Link Control (HDLC) was derived from

Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC), which was
created by IBM as a Data Link connection protocol. HDLC
is a protocol at the Data Link layer, and it has very little
overhead compared to LAPB. HDLC wasnt intended to
encapsulate multiple Network layer protocols across the
same link.
The HDLC header carries no identification of the type of
protocol being carried inside the HDLC encapsulation.

WAN protocols/encapsulation

Because of this, each vendor that uses HDLC has their

own way of identifying the Network layer protocol, which
means that each vendors HDLC is proprietary for their
equipment.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
PPP

Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is an industry-standard

protocol. Because all multiprotocol versions of HDLC are
proprietary, PPP can be used to create point-to-point links
between different vendors equipment. It uses a Network
Control Protocol field in the Data Link header to identify
the Network layer protocol. It allows authentication and
multilink connections and can be run over asynchronous
and synchronous links.

WAN protocols/encapsulation
ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) was
created for time-sensitive traffic, providing
simultaneous transmission of voice, video,
and data. ATM uses cells instead of packets
that are a fixed 53 bytes long. It also can use
isochronous clocking (external clocking) to
help the data move faster.

Connection type and

encapsulations/technologies used