The Network Layer:

Responsible for delivering packets between endpoints over multiple links

The network layer is concerned with getting packets form the source to the destination,
sometimes making multiple hops through intermediate routers
Design Issues:
Store-and-forward packet switching
Services provided to the Transport Layer
Implementation of Connectionless service
Implementation of Connection-oriented service
Comparison of virtual-circuits and datagram networks
Network Layer Goals:
Goal: get packet from source to destination
Lowest layer that deals with end to end transmission
To achieve its goals, network layer must:
Know the topology ( set of routers, links, etc)
Choose appropriate paths through network
Avoid overcrowding some communication links and routers while leaving
others idle
Deal with communication problems as they arise.
Store-and-Forward Packet Switching:
Hosts send packets into the network; packets are forwarded by routers

A host with a packet to send transmits it to the nearest router

Packet is stored until it has completely arrived and link processes it
It is forwarded to the next router along the path until it reaches its destination,
where it is delivered.
Services Provided to the Transport Layer:
The network layer provides services to the transport layer.
Goals:
Services should be independent of the router technology
Transport layer should be shielded from the number, type, and topology of
the routers present.
Network addresses made available to the transport layer should use a uniform
numbering plan, even across LANs and WANs.
Connection or Not?
Should network layer provide connection-oriented or connectionless service?
One group, the Internet community, argues that routers job is moving packets and
nothing else. Thus a network is unreliable and hosts should do error control
( detection and correction ) themselves.
The service should be connectionless, without flow control
Each packet must carry full destination address and is sent independently of its
predecessors.
Example of end-to-end design principle
 Another group, represented by telephone companies, argues that the network should
provide a reliable, connection-oriented service
Quality of service ( QoS) is the dominant factor, especially needed for real-time
traffic such as voice and video.
Two Classes of Service
Two different organizations are possible:
If connectionless service is offered, packets are sent independently and routed
independently
No advance set-up is needed.
Packets are called Datagrams (like telegrams) and network is called a datagram
network.
If connection-oriented service is used a path from the source router to the
destination router must be established before any packets are sent.
This connection is called a virtual circuit (VC)
Connectionless Service Datagrams
Packet is forwarded using destination address inside it
Different packets may take different paths

Connectionless Service
Suppose a process P1 has a long message for P2
It hands the message to the transport layer, which adds a header and passes it to
the network layer.
The network layer breaks it into 4 packets, appends headers and sends each to a
router (A), using some point-to-point protocol.
The ISP takes over.
Each router has a table, consisting of a destination and the outgoing line.
Routing algorithms make the routing decisions.
IP is the dominant connectionless service.
Connection-Oriented Virtual Circuits
Packet is forwarded along a virtual circuit using tag inside it
 Idea- avoid having to choose route for each packet
Establish a route, or virtual circuit, from source to destination and store it in routing
table.
That route is used for all traffic flowing over the connection (like the telephone
system).
When the connection is released, that virtual circuit is also terminated.
Connection-Oriented Service
Idea- avoid having to choose route for each packet
Establish a route, or virtual circuit, from source to destination and store it in routing
table.
That route is used for all traffic flowing over the connection (like the telephone
system).
When the connection is released, that virtual circuit is also terminated.
Implementation of Connection-Oriented
Suppose H1 establishes a connection to H2 (first entry in the routing table).
In the previous diagram, it is given the connection identifier 1.
What happens if H3 want to establish a connection to H3 and also chooses the
connection identifier 1?
There is a conflict
Router A assigns a different connection identifier to the second connection. Routers
have the ability to replace a connection identifier for an outgoing packet (called label
switching). An example of this service is MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Switching).