Platform Technologies

IT Infrastructure Architecture
Infrastructure Building Blocks and Concepts

NETWORKING
 Introduction
Mainframe computers in the 1960s were stand-
alone machines. They performed computing jobs
based on input (usually on punched cards or
tapes) and created output, usually on printed
paper. Mainframe computers were large
expensive systems typically in use at universities
and large corporations. Since a university or
corporation had only one computer (the
mainframe), there was little need to have
networking. Even with time sharing systems like
the early UNIX systems in the 1970s, the user's
terminals or teletypes were connected to the
central computer through serial (RS-232) lines.
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In the late 1960s, for the first time a number of
computers were connected by means of the
ARPANET – the predecessor of the internet. The
ARPANET network consisted of Interface
Message Processors (IMPs) which we would now
call network routers.

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8.2 Networking building blocks
8.2.1 OSI Reference Model
The architecture of almost every network is
based on the Open Systems Interconnection
(OSI) standard reference model. The OSI
Reference Model (OSI-RM) was developed in
1984 by the International Organization for
Standardization, a global federation of
national standards organizations representing
approximately 130 countries. A host or node
is a component on the network, like a server,
a router, a switch or a firewall.

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The OSI-RM consists of a set of seven layers
that define the different stages that data must
go through to travel from one host to another
over a network. Figure 32 shows these seven
layers, including some examples of
implementations of that layer.

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The main benefit of implementing the OSI stack is
that it allows implementing network components
independently of each other, while still ensuring all
components work together. For instance, TCP/IP,
which is used to send information over the internet,
comprises the TCP protocol in layer 4 with the IP
protocol in layer 3. Without changing the IP protocol,
an UDP/IP stack can be used as well, by just
changing the level 4 protocol from TCP to UDP.
Because each layer in the OSI stack can be
implemented independently from the layer below and
above. This provides freedom to implement the
network stack in an optimal way for a certain usage.
For instance, local area networks use different
building blocks than wide area networks or the
internet. 6
Comparing between OSI model and TCP/IP

Or Network
Interface

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8.2.2 Physical layer
The physical layer defines physical hardware
components of the network, such as Network
Interface Cards (NICs), copper and fiber optic
cables, leased lines, cable internet, and DSL.
8.2.2.1 Cables
At the most elementary level, networking is
about cables. In early networks coax cables
were used to interconnect computers, but
most copper based cables today are of the
twisted pair type. Apart from copper cabling,
fiber optic cabling is used quite often as well.

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8.2.2.1.1 Twisted pair cables
Twisted pair cables consist of paired insulated wires
that are twisted around each other to prevent
interference. A cable contains multiple wire pairs,
that can be shielded (Shielded Twisted Pair - STP)
or unshielded (Unshielded Twisted Pair - UTP). UTP
is the most common cable in networking today

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8.2.2.1.2 Coax cable

Coax cable consists of an inner conductor surrounded

by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a
tubular conducting shield.

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8.2.2.1.3 Fiber optic cable
A fiber optic cable contains multiple strands
of fiber glass or plastic, that each provide an
optical path for light pulses. The light source
can either be a light emitting diode (LED) or
a laser. The maximum transmission
distance depends on the optical power of
the transmitter, the optical wavelength
utilized, the quality of the fiber optic cable
and the sensitivity of the optical receiver.
Two types of fiber optic cable are most
common :

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·Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF)
Single Mode Fiber (SMF)
SMF is used for long distance communication (up to
80 km), and MMF is used for distances of 500m or
less, typically used in the datacenter or on a campus
setup.
Light waves in Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF) are dispersed
into numerous paths, also known as modes, as they
travel through the cable's core – hence the name.

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8.2.2.5 Network Interface Controllers (NICs)
A network interface controller (NIC) is a hardware
component that connects a server or end user
device to a physical network cable. NICs can be
implemented on expansion cards that plug into the
computer's physical PCI bus or built into the
motherboard. The NIC is actually both a physical
layer and data link layer device, as it provides
physical access to a networking cable and an
implementation of a datalink protocol like Ethernet.
A NIC has a fixed MAC address that is uniquely
assigned to its network interface.

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8.2.3 Data link layer
In layer 2, data is encapsulated in the physical
protocol, and the type of network and the packet
sequencing is defined. Typical implementations
are Ethernet, WiFi, switching, and WANs.

8.2.4 Network layer

The network layer, often referred to as layer 3,
defines the route via which the data is sent to the
recipient device. The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols and
their routing and addressing are implementations
of this layer.

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8.2.4.2 IPv4
IPv4 addresses are composed of 4 bytes (32 bits),
represented by 4 decimal numbers, and divided by a
period, for example: 192.168.1.1. Each host (server,
switch, router, firewall, etc.) in the IP network needs at
least one IP address. Within a network all IP addresses
must be unique. An IP address actually consists of two
parts, a network prefix and a host number. For
instance, in the IP address 10.121.12.16, the network
prefix is 10 and the host number is 121.12.16.

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All hosts with the same network prefix can
communicate directly to each other. Hosts in
other networks can only be reached using a
router. The first three bits of the first byte of an
IP address define the class of the address.
Three classes of networks are defined:

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In a typical class C address, like 195.23.221.23, the network is 195.23.221
and the host number is 23

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8.2.4.3 IPv6
The internet's growth has created a need for
more addresses than IPv4 is capable of
delivering. IPv6 was introduced in 1998 as a
successor of the widely deployed IPv4 to,
among other things, solve the problem of
limited IP address space. IPv6 uses 128-bit
addresses represented in eight groups of
four hexadecimal digits separated by colons,
for example:
2001:0bb8:86a2:0000:0000:8b1e:1350:7c34
.
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IPv6 has the following benefits over IPv4:
· Expanded address space - With IPv4, the
number of hosts on the internet can theoretically
be no more 4 billion (in practice it is much less,
due to poor allocation of IP address blocks, with
approximately 14% of all available addresses
utilized). With IPv6 the maximum number of
hosts on the internet is practically unlimited
(approximately 3.4x10 38 or 34 thousand billion
billion billion billion).
· Better support for mobile IP, which is an
important feature for the billions of smartphones
in use and the rise of the internet of Things.
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· Fixed header length - Because IPv6 uses fixed
length headers, hardware based routers can be made
much more efficient leading to faster networks.
· Auto configuration - IPv6 hosts can automatically
configure themselves without the need for DHCP
servers (see 8.2.8.1).
· Quality of Service is built in IPv6, supporting
specialized traffic like Voice over IP (VoIP) or streaming
video.
· Security - IPv6 supports authentication and privacy in
the protocol itself.
· MTU discovery - Before sending packets from a
source to a destination, IPv6 discovers the maximum
packet length (MTU) supported in the route, optimizing
for the transportation of large files.
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8.2.5 Transport layer
The transport layer routes data streams coming
from multiple applications and integrates them into
a single stream for the network layer. At the
receiving end the data is split again to be routed to
the destination applications. The transport layer can
maintain flow control, and can provide error
checking and recovery of data between network
devices. The most used transport layer protocols
are TCP and UDP.

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8.2.6 Session layer
The session layer provides mechanisms for
opening, closing and managing a session between
end-user application processes. Session-layer
services are commonly used in application
environments that make use of remote procedure
calls (RPCs). The session layer also implements
VPNs using protocols like PPTP(The Point-to-Point
Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) ) and L2TP(The Layer 2
Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)).

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 8.2.7 Presentation layer
This layer takes the data provided by the
application layer and converts it into a standard
format that the other layers can understand. Many
protocols are implemented in the presentation layer,
but SSL and TLS are the most important ones.
8.2.7.1 SSL and TLS Transport Layer Security
(TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) – both of
which are frequently incorrectly referred to as 'SSL'
– are two communication protocols that allow
applications to communicate securely over the
internet using data encryption. TLS is based on
SSL, but has a different initial handshake protocol
and is more extensible.
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8.2.8 Application layer
This is the layer that interacts with the operating
system or application whenever the user chooses to
transfer files, read messages, or performs other
network related activities. Protocols like HTTP, FTP,
SMTP and POP3 (e-mail), and CIFS (Common
Internet File System) Windows file sharing, also
known as SMB (Server Message Block), are all
examples of application layer protocols.

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8.3 Network virtualization
Network virtualization can be implemented in a
number of ways. In this section, we discuss VLANs,
virtual switches, software defined networking and
network function virtualization. 8.3.1 Virtual LAN
(VLAN) Virtual LANs (VLANs) enable logical grouping
of network nodes on the same LAN. VLANs are
configured on network switches and operate at the
Ethernet level. No extra configuration is needed on
hosts using a VLAN.

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8.4 Network availability

Since networks are one of the basic IT

infrastructure components, their reliability is of the
utmost importance. High availability in networking is
reached through concepts like:
· Layered network topology
· Spine and Leaf topology
· Network teaming
· The spanning tree protocol
· Multihoming

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 8.4.1 Layered network topology
To improve availability and performance, a network
infrastructure should be built up in layers. Figure 50
gives an example of a layered switched network.

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 8.4.2 Spine and Leaf topology
In a Software Defined Network (see section 8.3.5),
a simple physical network is used that can be
programmed to act as a complex virtual network.
Such a network can be organized in a spine and
leaf topology, as shown in Figure 51.

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8.4.3 Network teaming
Network teaming, also known as link aggregation,
port trunking (see section 5.5.8), or network
bonding, provides a virtual network connection
using multiple physical cables for high availability
and increased bandwidth.

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8.4.4 The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
is an Ethernet level protocol that runs on switches.
STP guarantees that only one path is active
between two network endpoints at any given time.
With STP, redundant paths are automatically
activated when the active path experiences
problems.

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8.4.5 Multihoming
Connecting a network to two different Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) is called multihoming.
Multihoming is a good practice to enhance the
availability of internet connectivity by providing
redundant internet connections and/or gateways. It
also provides network optimization by selecting the
ISP or router which offers the best path to an online
resource.

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 8.5 Network performance
Modem and line speeds have become much faster
over the years. Nielsen's law states that network
connection speeds for high-end home users
increase 50% per year, or double every 21 months.

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 There is no reason to assume Nielsen’s law will
become invalid in the coming years. Regular
bandwidths should be 15 Gbit/s in 2025, still for a
price of about $50 per month. There are many ways
to measure the performance of a network, as each
networkis different in design. Throughput, latency,
the type of information transmitted, and the way that
information is applied all affect the speed of a
connection. In the next sections the following
concepts are discussed:
· Throughput and bandwidth
· Latency
· Quality of Service (QoS)
· WAN link compression
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8.6 Network security
Network security can be implemented using
firewalls, DMZs, RADIUS and NAC.
8.6.1 Firewalls
IDS/IPS:An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) or
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) detects and – if
possible – prevents activities that either
compromise system security, or are a hacking
attempt. An IDS/IPS monitors for suspicious (and
possibly hostile) activity and alerts the systems
manager when these activities are detected. A
typical example of an IDS/IPS alert is the
occurrence of a port scan, often used by hackers to
find vulnerabilities in internet-attached devices.
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8.6.3 DMZ
DMZ is short for De-Militarized Zone, also known
as screened subnet, or the Perimeter Network.

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8.6.4 RADIUS
Remote Authentication Dial In User Service
(RADIUS) is a networking protocol that provides
centralized user and authorization management for
network devices such as routers, modem servers,
switches, VPN routers, and wireless network access
points.

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 8.6.5 Network Access Control (NAC)
Network Access Control (NAC) is used at the
network end points, where end user devices (like
laptops) can be connected to the network. It allows
predefined levels of network access based on a
client's identity (is the laptop known to the
organization?), the groups to which a client belongs,
and the degree to which a client’s device complies
with the organization's governance policies (does it
run the most recent virus scanner?).

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 Class Assignment
1-what is a network?
2-what are the two parts that IP address consists?
3-write the first byte ranges of Class A, B and C of IP
address.
4- what are benefits of IPV6?
5-Write Types of network.
6-Discuss OSI reference model.
7- compare between TCP/IP and OSI reference model.
8- Compare between IPV4 and IPV6
9- write network cables.
10- how to secure network?
11-how to increase performance of the network?
12-mention how to make network available?
13- how to access control of network?
14-what is the function of Network Interface Card(NIC)?
15-write advantages of IPV6?
16- when is the first time that world used internet? 3
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