Interconnect Devices

Review of Traditional Network Devices

Interconnect Devices Internetworking deals with the issues of interconnecting multiple networks. Physical networks can be connected at several levels:

1. Repeaters operate at the physical layer, copying signals from one LAN to another. They operate at the bit level, and have no notion of what the bits (or even frames!) mean. Repeaters operating at the physical layer operate at level 1. 2. Bridges operate at the data link layer, copying frames from one LAN to another. They perform store-and-forward packet switching, but use only level-2 (e.g. frame fields) information. Bridges operate at level 2. 3. Routers or gateways operate at the network layer. Because they operate at the network layer, they are fully aware of different network technologies, and can overcome such problems as interconnecting different network technologies. Also known as level 3 routers. 4. Protocol converters operate at higher levels (e.g., ``level 4''). For instance, protocol converters can translate between OSI mail and SMTP (Internet) mail formats.

Bridges in Internetworking
Bridges are data communications devices that operate principally at Layer 2 of the OSI reference model. As such, they are widely referred to as data link layer devices. Bridges became commercially available in the early 1980s. At the time of their introduction, bridges connected and enabled packet forwarding between homogeneous networks. More recently, bridging between different networks has also been defined and standardized. Several kinds of bridging have proven important as internetworking devices. Transparent bridging is found primarily in Ethernet environments, while source-route bridging occurs primarily in Token Ring environments. Translational bridging provides translation between the formats and transit principles of different media types (usually Ethernet and Token Ring). Finally, source-route transparent bridging combines the algorithms of transparent bridging and source-route bridging to enable communication in mixed Ethernet/Token Ring environments. There are two types of bridges on the market today: spanning tree bridges and source routing bridges. Spanning Tree Bridges Spanning tree bridges were designed with transparency as a primary goal. A customer should be able to buy a bridge, insert it between two networks, and have everything work correctly with no hardware, software, or configuration changes on either hosts or existing bridges. The Concept of "Transparency" When a NIC (Network Interface Card) receives a valid packet, the normal behavior is for the NIC to check to see if the Destination DLC Address in the packet is one that it has been configured to recognize. If the destination DLC address is one that the NIC has been configured to recognize, and then the packet is passed up to the next higher layer of processing.

Bridges, on the other hand, listen to the network in promiscuous mode, meaning that they accept all packets, regardless of the packets' addressing. On a side note, this promiscuous mode is the same thing that allows your network analyzer to capture all the packets going across the network. The bridge then looks up each packet's Destination DLC Address in its internal tables to find out which port the Destination NIC is attached to. Finally, it forwards the packet onto only the necessary port. In the case of a broadcast message, the bridge forwards the packet onto every port except the port that the packet came in on. Promiscuous listening is the key to the bridge's transparent operation. Since the bridge effectively "hears" all packets that are transmitted, it can decide whether forwarding is necessary without any special behavior from the individual stations.
Examples of Transparent Bridging Behavior

Take, for example, a simple network consisting of a four-port transparent bridge with five stations attached to it. The ports on the bridge shall be numbered one through four, with Station A and Station B on port 1, no station on port 2, Station C on port 3, and Station D and Station E on port 4. (see Fig. 1). If you are using a non-graphical browser, it may help to draw this out on paper.

What happens when Station A transmits a packet destined for Station C? The bridge, which is listening in promiscuous mode, examines its internal tables (let's not worry about how the data gets into the internal tables just yet) and determines that Station C is attached to port 3. It then forwards the packet only onto port 3. (see Fig. 2). Consider what will happen if Station D tries to send a packet to Station E while this is going on. With the bridge, there will be no traffic on segment 4, and the conversation will proceed. If there were no bridge, Station D would not be able to send because Station A would have access to the media.

If Station A transmits a packet that is destined for a station that is on the same port as Station A, for example, Station B, the bridge will realize that there is no reason for it to forward the packet onto any of its ports (see Fig. 3).

If a Station, for example, Station B, transmits a broadcast or multicast packet, the bridge will forward the packet onto all ports (see Fig. 4).

Definition of A "Bridge" So, to sum up, here is a concise definition of a transparent bridge: A bridge is a device that operates at the Data Link Layer of the OSI model. It selectively forwards frames based on an examination of the Data Link Layer addresses in the frames. Any device that fits this description is acting as a transparent bridge. This definition has an important implication: A bridge doesn't care what upper layer protocols are being used. A bridge will forward packets correctly whether they are NetWare, TCP/IP, AppleTalk, or even DECnet. As long as the bridge has the right kind of NIC (Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, etc...) it can forward properly. Because of this quality, bridges are said to be protocol independent. Use of Spanning Tree Bridges The above approach works only for tree-structured topologies. Why? Frames will loop forever (there is no time-to-live field in LAN frames) if there are multiple distinct paths between any two bridges. To handle arbitrary topologies, bridges use a special protocol to build a spanning tree: 1. Bridges that are not part of the spanning tree are unused. That is, they are specifically excluded from the tree and do not forward packets. They are available for backup, however, should one of the other bridges or LANs fail. 2. Bridges periodically rebuild tables. They regularly exchange topology information, allowing them to detect the failure of a bridge or LAN. When a bridge or link that is part of the spanning fails, a new spanning tree is constructed.

Advantages: Easy to use. Just install the bridges. No software changes are needed hosts. Disadvantages: 1. Does not support multipath routing. By definition, only the bridges that belong to the spanning tree are used. 2. The path between any two hosts may not be the optimal path. An optimal path may traverse a bridge that is not part of the spanning tree and cannot be used. 3. Broadcast and multicast frames must be flooded in all cases. Spanning tree bridges have become extremely popular in CSMA/CD networks. Vendors also offer bridges that connect LANs separated by fiber or phone links.

Source Routing Bridges

Source routing bridges take a completely opposite approach from spanning tree bridges: They are not transparent. Hosts treat frames sent locally differently from those sent through bridges. Conceptually, the sending host specifies a road map saying which bridges the frame must go through to reach its destination. 1. Each LAN is assigned a 16-bit LAN number, and each bridge on a LAN is assigned a 4bit bridge number. The numbers must be unique and are set by the network administrator. 2. Each frame carries a source route listing the path the frame is to take. The path consists of a sequence of [LAN number, bridge number] pairs. 3. Sending hosts (rather than bridges) responsible chooses the source route. Host selects paths by broadcasting (flooding) special discovery frames. A discovery frame includes space for each bridge to add its number to the recorded path. 4. Eventually, a discovery frame reaches the destination host, which returns it to the sender. Each returned message contains a viable path, and the sending host chooses the shortest one. 5. How many frames are generated? Unfortunately, the discovery process leads to frame explosion. The destination may receive an exponential number of copies of the original frame. Use of Source Routing Bridges Advantages: uses the optimal route. Also can make use of multiple paths to same destination. Because paths aren't required to always lie along the spanning tree, better use of resources. Disadvantages: 1. Not transparent to hosts; hosts must participate in source routing. This is a significant disadvantage.

2. Installing new bridges non-trivial. Specifically, a system administrator must assign LAN numbers and bridge numbers. Improper configuration leads to disaster. 3. Each host must detect bridge failure on its own (e.g., using timeouts). With spanning tree bridges, the bridges hold that responsibility, and once they have reconfigured, all hosts start using the new path at the same time. Not surprisingly, IBM supports source routing bridges, while DEC supports spanning tree bridges. IBM markets token ring networks, while DEC has always been big on Ethernets.

Switches in internetworking
Switches are data communications devices that operate principally at Layer 2 of the OSI reference model. As such, they are widely referred to as data link layer devices. Switches are data link-layer devices that, like bridges, enable multiple physical LAN segments to be interconnected into a single larger network. Today, switching technology has emerged as the evolutionary heir to bridging-based internetworking solutions. Switching implementations now dominate applications in which bridging technologies were implemented in prior network designs. Superior throughput performance, higher port density, lower per-port cost, and greater flexibility have contributed to the emergence of switches as replacement technology for bridges and as complements to routing technology.

Types of Switches

Switches are data link layer devices that, like bridges, enable multiple physical LAN segments to be interconnected into a single larger network. Similar to bridges, switches forward and flood traffic based on MAC addresses. Because switching is performed in hardware instead of in software, however, it is significantly faster. Switches use either store-and-forward switching or cut-through switching when forwarding traffic. Many types of switches exist, including ATM switches, LAN switches, and various types of WAN switches.

ATM Switch

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches provide high-speed switching and scalable bandwidths in the workgroup, the enterprise network backbone, and the wide area. ATM switches support voice, video, and data applications and is designed to switch fixed-size information units called cells, which are used in ATM communications. Figure 4-3 illustrates an enterprise network comprised of multiple LANs interconnected across an ATM backbone.

Multi-LAN networks can use an ATM-based backbone when switching cells.

LAN Switch

LAN switches are used to interconnect multiple LAN segments. LAN switching provides dedicated, collision-free communication between network devices, with support for multiple

simultaneous conversations. LAN switches are designed to switch data frames at high speeds. Figure 4-4 illustrates a simple network in which a LAN switch interconnects a 10-Mbps and a 100-Mbps Ethernet LAN.

A LAN switch can link 10-Mbps and 100-Mbps Ethernet segments.

Gateways/Routers in Internetworking
Can use terms interchangeably or think of routers as within a subnet (same network) versus gateways (between subnets). Gateways are packet switches that operate at the network layer (level 3). Operating at the network level gives gateways increased flexibility compared to bridges in terms of: 1. Translating addresses between dissimilar networks. 2. Fragmenting large packets for transmission across networks that carry only small maximum packet lengths. 3. Selecting an appropriate path through the subnet. 4. Enforcing policies (e.g., don't forward any local packets off of this network). Because gateways do more work than bridges, they generally run slower than bridges.

Gateway Ownership
One issue that arises with gateways is who owns them. Typically, bridges connect LANs of one organization, and the issue does not arise there. The ownership question is important because

someone has to be responsible for the gateway's operation and dual ownership frequently leads to finger pointing when something goes wrong. One solution is to use half gateways. If two countries are involved, for instance, each country owns its half of the gateway, with a wire separating the two. A special protocol operates over the wire, and each half of the gateway is responsible for implementing the protocol. For example, the CCITT X.75 standard is used to connect half gateways in connection-oriented networks.