Chapter 5

Network
Layer:
Control
Plane Computer
Networking: A Top-
Down Approach
8th edition
Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
Pearson, 2020
Network layer: “control plane” roadmap
 introduction
 routing protocols
 intra-ISP routing: OSPF
 routing among ISPs: BGP
 SDN control plane
 Internet Control  network management,
Message Protocol configuration
• SNMP
• NETCONF/YANG

Network Layer: 5-2

ICMP: internet control message protocol
 used by hosts and routers to
communicate network-level Type Code description
information 0 0 echo reply (ping)
3 0 dest. network unreachable
• error reporting: unreachable host, 3 1 dest host unreachable
network, port, protocol 3 2 dest protocol unreachable
• echo request/reply (used by ping) 3 3 dest port unreachable
 network-layer “above” IP: 3 6 dest network unknown
3 7 dest host unknown
• ICMP messages carried in IP 4 0 source quench (congestion
datagrams control - not used)
 ICMP message: type, code plus first 8 0 echo request (ping)
9 0 route advertisement
8 bytes of IP datagram causing error 10 0 router discovery
11 0 TTL expired
12 0 bad IP header

Network Layer: 4-3

Traceroute and ICMP
3 probes 3 probes

3 probes

 source sends sets of UDP segments to

stopping criteria:
destination
 UDP segment
• 1st set has TTL =1, 2nd set has TTL=2, etc.
eventually arrives at
 datagram in nth set arrives to nth destination host
router:  destination returns
• router discards datagram and sends source ICMP “port
ICMP message (type 11, code 0) unreachable” message
• ICMP message possibly includes name of (type 3, code 3)
router & IP address  source stops
 when ICMP message arrives at source: record RTTs

Network Layer: 4-4

Network layer: “control plane” roadmap
 introduction
 routing protocols
 intra-ISP routing: OSPF
 routing among ISPs: BGP
 SDN control plane
 Internet Control  network management,
Message Protocol configuration
• SNMP
• NETCONF/YANG

Network Layer: 5-5

What is network management?
 autonomous systems (aka “network”): 1000s of interacting
hardware/software components
 other complex systems requiring monitoring, configuration,
control:
• jet airplane, nuclear power plant, others?

"Network management includes the deployment, integration

and coordination of the hardware, software, and human
elements to monitor, test, poll, configure, analyze, evaluate,
and control the network and element resources to meet the
real-time, operational performance, and Quality of Service
requirements at a reasonable cost."

Network Layer: 5-6

 Components of network
management
Managed device:
Managing server: agent data equipment with
application, managing manageable,
typically with server/controller configurable hardware,
network managed device
data software components
managers (humans)
in the loop Data: device
agent data
Network “state”
agent data
management managed device
configuration
protocol: used by data, operational
managing server to managed device data, device
query, configure, agent data statistics
manage device; used agent data
by devices to inform
managing server of managed device
managed device
data, events.
Network Layer: 5-7
Network operator approaches to management

CLI (Command Line Interface)

• operator issues (types, scripts) direct
agent data
to individual devices (e.g., vis ssh)
managing
server/controller
SNMP/MIB data managed device

• operator queries/sets devices

data (MIB) using Simple Network agent data
Management Protocol (SNMP)
agent data
managed device
NETCONF/YANG
• more abstract, network-wide, holistic managed device
• emphasis on multi-device configuration agent data
management. agent data
• YANG: data modeling language
• NETCONF: communicate YANG- managed device
managed device
compatible actions/data to/from/among
remote devices
Network Layer: 5-8
SNMP protocol
Two ways to convey MIB info, commands:

managing data data

managing
server/ server/
controller controller

request

response trap message

agent data agent data

managed device managed device

request/response mode trap mode

Network Layer: 5-9
SNMP protocol: message types

Message type Function

GetRequest manager-to-agent: “get me data”
GetNextRequest (data instance, next data in list,
GetBulkRequest block of data).

SetRequest manager-to-agent: set MIB value

Response Agent-to-manager: value, response

to Request

Trap Agent-to-manager: inform manager

of exceptional event

Network Layer: 5-10

SNMP protocol: message
formats
Get/set header Variables to get/set
PDU Error
Request Error
message types 0-3 type Status Name Value Name Value ….
ID Index
(0-3) (0-5)

Trap header Trap info

PDU Trap
message type 4 type Enterprise Agent Type
Specific Time
Name Value ….
Addr code stamp
4 (0-7)

SNMP PDU

Network Layer: 5-11

SNMP: Management Information
Base (MIB)
 managed device’s operational (and some configuration) data agent data

 gathered into device MIB module

• 400 MIB modules defined in RFC’s; many more vendor-specific MIBs

 Structure of Management Information (SMI): data definition language

 example MIB variables for UDP protocol:

Object ID Name Type Comments

1.3.6.1.2.1.7.1 UDPInDatagrams 32-bit counter total # datagrams delivered
1.3.6.1.2.1.7.2 UDPNoPorts 32-bit counter # undeliverable datagrams (no
application at port)
1.3.6.1.2.1.7.3 UDInErrors 32-bit counter # undeliverable datagrams (all other
reasons)
1.3.6.1.2.1.7.4 UDPOutDatagrams 32-bit counter total # datagrams sent
1.3.6.1.2.1.7.5 udpTable SEQUENCE one entry for each port currently in use
Network Layer: 5-12
Network layer: Summary
we’ve learned a lot!
 approaches to network control plane
• per-router control (traditional)
• logically centralized control (software defined networking)
 traditional routing algorithms
• implementation in Internet: OSPF , BGP
 SDN controllers
• implementation in practice: ODL, ONOS
 Internet Control Message Protocol
 network management
next stop: link layer!
Network Layer: 5-13
Network layer, control plane: Done!

 introduction
 routing protocols
 link state
 distance vector
 intra-ISP routing: OSPF
 routing among ISPs: BGP 
network management,
 SDN control plane configuration
 Internet Control • SNMP
Message Protocol • NETCONF/YANG

Network Layer: 5-14