Objectives

Ethernet fundamentals
Ethernet operation

Introduction to Ethernet
The success of Ethernet is due to its simplicity
and ease of maintenance, as well as its ability to
incorporate new technologies, reliability, and low
cost of installation and upgrade.

Comparing LAN Standards

OSI Layer 1 and 2 Together Are the
Access Protocols
These are the delivery
system protocols.
Independent of:
Network OS
Upper-level protocols
TCP/IP, IPX/SPX
Sometimes called:
Access methods
Access protocols
Access technologies
Media access
LAN protocols
WAN protocols
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit
Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, Frame
Relay, ATM, PPP, HDLC, and so on

IEEE Standard
Divided OSI Layer 2 into two sublayers
Media Access Control (MAC) Traditional L2 features
Transitions down to media
Logical link control (LLC) New L2 features
Transitions up to the network layer

Logical Link Control (LLC)
Allows part of the data link layer to function
independent of LAN access technologies
(protocols / methods)
Provides services to network layer protocols, while
communicating with access technologies below it
LAN access technologies:
Ethernet
Token Ring
FDDI

Logical Link Control (LLC)
Participates in the data encapsulation process
LLC PDU between Layer 3 and MAC sublayer.
Adds control information to the network layer data to
help deliver the packet. It adds two fields:
Destination Service Access Point (DSAP)
Source Service Access Point (SSAP)
Supports both connectionless and connection-
oriented upper-layer protocols.
Allows multiple higher-layer protocols to share a
single physical data link.

Naming
Ethernet uses MAC addresses that are 48 bits in
length and expressed as 12 hexadecimal digits.
The first 6 hexadecimal digits, which are
administered by the IEEE, identify the
manufacturer or vendor and thus comprise the
organizational unique identifier (OUI).
The remaining 6 hexadecimal digits represent
the interface serial number, or another value
administered by the specific equipment
manufacturer.

Layer 2 Framing
Framing is the Layer
2 encapsulation
process; a frame is
the Layer 2 protocol
data unit.
A single generic
frame has sections
called fields, and
each field is
composed of bytes.

Framing
Why framing is necessary
Frame format diagram
Generic frame format

Why Framing Is Necessary
Binary data is a stream of 1s and 0s.
Framing breaks the stream into decipherable
groupings:
Start and stop indicator fields
Naming or addressing fields
Data fields
Quality-control fields
Framing is the Layer 2 encapsulation process.
A frame is the Layer 2 protocol data unit.

Generic Frame Format
Start Frame field
Address fields (source and destination MAC)
Type/Length field
Data field
FCS (Frame Check Sequence) field
Frame Stop field

Ethernet Frame Fields
Some of the fields permitted or required in an
802.3 Ethernet frame are as follows:
Preamble
Start Frame Delimiter
Destination Address
Source Address
Length/Type
Data and Pad
Frame Check Sequence (FCS)
Extension


Ethernet Operation

Media Access Control (MAC)
Provides MAC addressing (naming)
Depending on access technology (Ethernet,
Token Ring, FDDI), provides the following:
Data transmission control
Collision resolution (retransmission)
Layer 2 frame preparation (data framing)
Frame check sequence (FCS)

Media Access Control (MAC)
Protocols
Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
Logical bus topology
Physical star or extended star
Nondeterministic
First-come, first-served
Token Ring (IEEE 802.5)
Logical ring
Physical star topology
Deterministic
Token controls traffic
Older declining technology
FDDI (IEEE 802.5)
Logical ring topology
Physical dual-ring topology
Deterministic
Token controls traffic
Near-end-of-life technology

Ethernet (CSMA/CD)
Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection

Ethernet Timing
Any station on an Ethernet network wanting to
transmit a message first listens to ensure that
no other station is currently transmitting.
If the cable is quiet, the station begins
transmitting immediately.

Interframe Spacing and Backoff

Error Handling
Collisions are the mechanism for resolving
contention for network access.
Collisions result in network bandwidth loss that
is equal to the initial transmission and the
collision jam signal. This affects all network
nodes, possibly causing significant reduction in
network throughput.

Types of Collisions
Three types of collisions are:
Local
Remote
Late

Ethernet Errors
The following are the sources of Ethernet error:
Simultaneous transmission occurring before slot time has
elapsed (collision or runt)
Simultaneous transmission occurring after slot time has
elapsed (late collision)
Excessively or illegally long transmission (jabber, long
frame and range errors)
Illegally short transmission (short frame, collision fragment
or runt)
Corrupted transmission (FCS error)
Insufficient or excessive number of bits transmitted
(alignment error)
Actual and reported number of octets in frame don't match
(range error)
Unusually long preamble or jam event (ghost or jabber)

FCS and Beyond
A received frame that has a bad frame check
sequence, also referred to as a checksum or
CRC error, differs from the original transmission
by at least 1 bit.

Ethernet Auto negotiation
A process called autonegotiation (of speeds at
half or full duplex) was developed.
This process defines how two link partners may
automatically negotiate a configuration offering
the best common performance level.
It has the additional advantage of only involving
the lowest part of the physical layer.

Link Establishment
There are only two ways to achieve a full-duplex
link:
Through a completed cycle of autonegotiation
Or, by administratively forcing both link partners to full
duplex