Multiaccess Networks

Within a single premises (or campus), it is usual for computers to be interconnected using a Local Area Network, or LAN, instead of using point-to-point links^[1].
Characteristics include:

Usually employ some form of shared medium: multiple computers are (logically) connected to a single cable, using complex interface technology.
Data rates are high, typically 10Mbps or greater.
Privately owned; no involvement of public telcommunications providers.
Interfaces usually built-in on high-end workstations.

^[1] But see later this lecture.

Ethernet/802.3

Ethernet (also known as IEEE 802.3 and ISO 88023) is the dominant LAN technology at present. Ethernet defines a Medium Access Control (MAC) technology for operation over various types of cabling in a bus architecture. Until recently, the predominant form of Ethernet used so-called thin wire^[2] coaxial cabling. A typical installation looks like:

^[2] Also called "cheapernet" or "10Base2"

CSMA/CD Medium Access Control

This defines how computers using Ethernet can share a common medium: Carrier Sense, Multiple Access, with Collision Detection.

Multiple Access: all computers have equal access: there are no masters or slaves, etc. If the shared channel is clear, a computer may begin to transmit immediately.
Carrier Sense: if the channel is busy, continue to listen, and attempt to transmit as soon as it becomes available.
Collision Detection: if a collision is detected (ie, another computer started to transmit at the same time), immediately cease transmission. Wait a random period of time, then start all over.

Ethernet/802.3 Repeaters

A group of computers connected to an Ethernet is called a segment, thus:

A thin wire (coaxial cable) segment has a maximum length of 185 metres. This can be extended using a repeater^[3], which behaves somewhat like an amplifier. The resulting larger LAN acts like a single large segment, and is referred to as a "collision domain".

^[3] a maximum of 4 repeaters is allowed between any two stations.

Twisted Pair (10BaseT) Ethernet

For various reasons, this has become the preferred Ethernet technology. In this system, stations are "star-wired" to a central hub, using a 4-wire variation on standard telephone cabling:

The hub acts as a repeater, so whilst this superficially looks like a group of point-to-point links, all stations still see each other's transmissions, just the same as the bus topology.

Ethernet/802.3 Frames

Ethernet transmits data in frames, thus:

Preamble: 7 bytes of 0101010101... This is used to synchronise the receiver.
Start Of Frame: 1 byte, thus: 01010111
Source and Destination Address: each 6 bytes (48 bits!), and are uniquely assigned by IEEE. This is called a station's MAC-level address. All stations on a segment examine the destination address of all frames to see if it was addressed to them.
Type field: indicates which higher-level protocol created this frame. In 802.3 this field gives the length (in bytes) of the data field.
Data field: between 46 and 1500 bytes of data. NB: minimum frame size is thus 64 bytes.

Ethernet/802.3 Switches

An Ethernet switch has a similar function to a hub (see earlier)--switches are sometimes called "switching hubs".

The difference is that a switch examines the destination address of every frame it receives, and transfers it directly to the appropriate port, without other ports being aware of the communication. Many such transfers can occur simultaneously, which has the effect of increasing overall "system" throughput.

NB: A switch builds a table mapping source addresses to ports which it then uses to make switching decisions. It's obvious that switches are significantly more complex than simple hubs, and this is reflected in their price.

New Technologies

The following are some technologies which seem to be evolving as successors to 10 Mbps Ethernet:

100 Mbps Ethernet (100baseT)

so-called "Fast Ethernet". Most 10 Mbps switches have at least one 100BaseT port, and 100BaseT hubs are also invariably switches.

Fibre Distributed Data Interface

FDDI operates at 100 Mbps. It has been the Big New Thing for a decade, but has never been widely adopted due to its complexity and high cost.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

This is a system which allows integrated voice/video/data networks, currently at bit rates between 25Mbps and 625Mbps, with the most common version running at 155Mbps. Complex and expensive, but becoming very popular.

Gigabit Ethernet

A variation which is compatible with 10 and 100 Mbps Ethernet, but runs at 1000Mbps. Still very expensive, but will become important.

Note: we have not covered token ring LANs in this lecture. See the assignment topics if interested.

This lecture is also available in PostScript format. The tutorial for this lecture is Tutorial #12.
[Previous Lecture] [Lecture Index] [Next Lecture]

Phil Scott