High-Performance

Communication
Networks
SECOND
EDITION
T h e Morgan K a u f m a n n Series i n N e t w o r k i n g
Series Editor, David Clark

High-Performance Communication Networks, 2e

J e a n Walrand a n d Pravin Varaiya

Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, 2e

Larry Peterson a n d Bruce Davie

Internetworking Multimedia
J o n Crowcroft, Mark H a n d l e y , Ian W a k e m a n

Understanding Networked Applications: A First Course

David G. M e s s e r s c h m i t t

Integrated Management of Networked Systems: Concepts, Architectures,

and their Operational Application
Heinz-Gerd Hegering, Sebastian Abeck, a n d B e r n h a r d N e u m a i r

Virtual Pnvate Networks: Making the Right Connection

D e n n i s Fowler

Networked Applications: A Guide to the New Computing Infrastructure

David G. M e s s e r s c h m i t t

Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications

Walter Ciciora, J a m e s Farmer, a n d David Large

Switching in IP Networks: IP Switching, Tag Switching, and Related Technologies

Bruce S. Davie, Paul Doolan, a n d Yakov Rekhter

Wide Area Network Design: Concepts and Tbols for Optimization

Robert S. C a h n

Optical Networks: A Practical Perspective

Rajiv R a m a s w a m i a n d K u m a r Sivarajan

Practical Computer Network Analysis and Design

J a m e s D. McCabe

Frame Relay Applications: Business and Technology Case Studies

J a m e s P. C a v a n a g h

For a list of forthcoming titles, p l e a s e visit o u r website at

http://www. mkp. com/publish/mann/networking. htm
High-performance
Communication
Networks
SECOND
EDITION

Jean Walrand
Pravin Varaiya
U n i v e r s i t y of California,
Berkeley

Ì l i
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
San Francisco, California
Sponsonng Editor Jennifer Mann
Director of Production and Manufacturing Yonie Overton
Production Editor Heather Collins
Editorial Assistant Karyn Johnson
Cover Design Ross Carron Design
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Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

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© 2000 by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

03 02 01 00 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Walrand, Jean.
High-performance communication networks / Jean Walrand, Pravin Varaiya.
- 2 n d ed.
p. cm.—(The Morgan Kaufmann series in networking)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-55860-574-6
1. Computer networks. 2. Multimedia systems. 3. High performance computing.
4. Asynchronous transfer mode. 5. Wireless communications systems. I. Varaiya, P.P.
(Pravin Pratap) II. Title. III. Series.
TK5105.5 .W353 2000
621.382 l-dc21
/
99-047341
CIP
 We dedicate this b o o k

to Annie a n d Isabelle a n d Julie,

a n d to Ruth
This page intentionally left blank
 Contents

Preface xvii

1 Overview 1
1.1 History of C o m m u n i c a t i o n Networks
1.1.1 Telephone Networks 6
1.1.2 Computer Networks 10
1.1.3 Cable Television Networks 17
1.1.4 Wireless Networks 19
1.2 N e t w o r k i n g P r i n c i p l e s 21
1.2.1 Digitization 21
1.2.2 Economies of Scale 24
1.2.3 Network Externalities 25
1.2.4 Service Integration 26
1.3 Future Networks 27
1.3.1 The Internet 27
1.3.2 Pure ATM Network 29
1.3.3 Cable TV 29
1.3.4 Wireless 30
1.3.5 And the Winner Is . . . 30
1.4 Summary 32
1.5 Notes 33
1.6 Problems 33
 Contents
viii

2 Network Services and Layered Architectures 39

2.1 A p p l i c a t i o n s 41
2.1.1 World Wide Web 42
2.1.2 Audio or Video Streams 42
2.1.3 Voice over Packets and Videoconferences 43
2.1.4 Networked Games 43
2.1.5 Client/Server 43
2.2 Traffic Characterization a n d Quality of Service 44
2.2.1 Constant Bit Rate 45
2.2.2 Variable Bit Rate 46
2.2.3 Messages 46
2.2.4 Other Requirements 47
2.3 Network Services 47
2.3.1 Connection-Oriented Service 48
2.3.2 Connectionless Service 48
2.4 High-Performance Networks 49
2.4.1 Traffic Increase 49
2.4.2 High-Performance 50
2.5 Network E l e m e n t s 51
2.5.1 Principal Network Elements 51
2.5.2 Network Elements and Service Characteristics 53
2.5.3 Examples 54
2.6 Basic Network M e c h a n i s m s 56
2.6.1 Multiplexing 58
2.6.2 Switching 63
2.6.3 Error Control 68
2.6.4 Flow Control 77
2.6.5 Congestion Control 78
2.6.6 Resource Allocation 79
2.7 Layered Architecture 80
2.7.1 Layers 81
2.7.2 Implementation of Layers 82
2.8 O p e n Data Network Model 86
2.9 Network Architectures 89
2.10 Network B o t t l e n e c k s 91
2.11 Summary 93
2.12 Notes 93
2.13 Problems 93
Contents
ix

3 Packet-Switched Networks 103

3.1 OSI a n d I P M o d e l s 104
3.1.1 Layer 1: Physical Layer 104
3.1.2 Layer 2: Data Link Layer 105
3.1.3 Sublayer 2a: Media Access Control 106
3.1.4 Sublayer 2b: Logical Link Control 107
3.1.5 Layer 3: Network Layer 109
3.1.6 Layer 4: Transport Layer 110
3.1.7 Layer 5: Session Layer 111
3.1.8 Layer 6: Presentation Layer 112
3.1.9 Layer 7: Application Layer 113
3.1.10 Summary 113
3.2 E t h e r n e t (IEEE 802.3) 114
3.2.1 Physical Layer 115
3.2.2 MAC 118
3.2.3 LLC 121
3.2.4 LAN Interconnection 122
3.3 T o k e n R i n g (IEEE 802.5) 127
3.3.1 Physical Layer 128
3.3.2 MAC 128
3.3.3 LLC 130
3.4 FDDI 131
3.5 DQDB 135
3.6 F r a m e Relay 138
3.7 SMDS 142
3.7.1 Internetworking with SMDS 145
3.8 Summary 147
3.9 Notes 149
3.10 Problems 149

4 The Internet and TCP/IP Networks 155

4.1 The Internet 155
4.2 O v e r v i e w of I n t e r n e t P r o t o c o l s 158
4.3 I n t e r n e t P r o t o c o l 160
4.3.1 IPv4 160
4.3.2 Multicast IP 173
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χ

4.3.3 Reliable Multicast 174

4.3.4 Mobile IP 175
4.3.5 IPv6 176
4.4 TCP a n d U D P 178
4.4.1 Applications 180
4.4.2 FTP 181
4.4.3 SMTP, rlogin, TFTP, and HTTP 182
4.5 Internet Success a n d L i m i t a t i o n 183
4.6 Performance of TCP/IP Networks 186
4.6.1 Window Adjustment in TCP 186
4.6.2 Suggested Improvements for TCP 188
4.6.3 Suggested Improvements for IP 190
4.6.4 Queuing Algorithms 190
4.6.5 Label Switching 191
4.6.6 Suggested Improvements for Other Protocols 193
4.7 Summary 196
4.8 Notes 197
4.9 Problems 198

5 Circuit-Switched Networks 205

5.1 Performance of Circuit-Switched Networks 208
5.2 SONET 211
5.2.1 SONET Frame Structure 215
5.3 D e n s e Wave-Division M u l t i p l e x i n g ( D W D M ) 223
5.4 Fiber to t h e H o m e 225
5.4.1 The Optical Loop Carrier System 225
5.4.2 Passive Optical Networks (PONs) 226
5.4.3 Passive Photonic Loop (PPL) 230
5.4.4 Hybrid Scheme 231
5.5 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) 232
5.5.1 ISDN 232
5.5.2 ADSL 235
5.6 I n t e l l i g e n t Networks 239
5.6.1 Service Examples 239
5.6.2 Intelligent Network Architecture 241
5.6.3 Functional Components 243
5.7 CATV 244
5.7.1 Layout 245
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xi

5.7.2 CATV Layered Network 247

5.7.3 Services over CATV 249
5.7.4 MPEG 250
5.8 Summary 252
5.9 Notes 253
5.10 Problems 254

6 Asynchronous Transfer Mode 257

6.1 M a i n Features of ATM 258
6.1.1 Connection-Oriented Service 259
6.1.2 Fixed Cell Size 262
6.1.3 Statistical Multiplexing 266
6.1.4 Allocating Resources 267
6.2 Addressing, Signaling, a n d Routing 269
6.2.1 ATM Addressing 269
6.2.2 Signaling 270
6.2.3 PNNI Routing 272
6.3 ATM H e a d e r Structure 277
6.3.1 VCI and VPI 278
6.3.2 Other Fields 280
6.3.3 Reserved VCI/VPI 281
6.4 ATM Adaptation Layer 282
6.4.1 Type 1 283
6.4.2 Type 2 283
6.4.3 Type 3/4 284
6.4.4 Type 5 285
6.5 M a n a g e m e n t a n d Control 285
6.5.1 Fault Management 287
6.5.2 Traffic and Congestion Control 290
6.5.3 Network Status Monitoring and Configuration 291
6.5.4 User/Network Signaling 292
6.6 BISDN 293
6.7 I n t e r n e t w o r k i n g w i t h ATM 294
6.7.1 Multiprotocol Encapsulation over AAL5 295
6.7.2 LAN Emulation over ATM 295
6.7.3 IP over ATM 297
6.7.4 Multiprotocol over ATM (MPOA) 300
6.7.5 FR and SMDS over ATM 301
6.8 Summary 301
6.9 Notes 302
6.10 Problems 303

Wireless Networks
7.1 I n t r o d u c t i o n 306
7.1.1 History of Wireless Networks 306
7.1.2 Wireless Data Vision 309
7.1.3 Technical Challenges 312
7.2 T h e W i r e l e s s C h a n n e l 315
7.2.1 Path Loss 316
7.2.2 Shadow Fading 317
7.2.3 Multipath Flat-Fading and Intersymbol Interference 318
7.2.4 Doppler Frequency Shift 321
7.2.5 Interference 321
7.2.6 Infrared versus Radio 322
7.2.7 Capacity Limits of Wireless Channels 323
7.3 L i n k Level D e s i g n 324
7.3.1 Modulation Techniques 324
7.3.2 Channel Coding and Link Layer Retransmission 325
7.3.3 Flat-Fading Countermeasures 326
7.3.4 Intersymbol Interference Countermeasures 328
7.4 C h a n n e l Access 331
7.4.1 Multiple Access 332
7.4.2 Random Access 334
7.4.3 Spectral Etiquette 337
7.5 N e t w o r k D e s i g n 337
7.5.1 Architecture 337
7.5.2 Mobility Management 339
7.5.3 Network Reliability 340
7.5.4 Internetworking 341
7.5.5 Security 341
7.5.6 A New Paradigm for Wireless Network Design 342
7.6 W i r e l e s s N e t w o r k s Today 343
7.6.1 Cellular Telephone Systems 344
7.6.2 Cordless Phones 348
7.6.3 Wireless LANs 349
7.6.4 Wide Area Wireless Data Services 351
7.6.5 Paging Systems 352
7.6.6 Satellite Networks 352
7.6.7 Other Wireless Systems and Applications 353
7.7 Future Systems a n d Standards 354
7.7.1 Wireless LANs 354
Contents
xiii

7.7.2 Ad Hoc Wireless Networks 355

7.7.3 IMT-2000 356
7.7.4 High-Speed Digital Cellular 357
7.7.5 Fixed Wireless Access 357
7.7.6 HomeRF and Bluetooth 358
7.8 Summary 358
7.9 Notes 359
7.10 Problems 360

8 Control of Networks 363

8.1 Objectives a n d M e t h o d s of Control 364
8.1.1 Overview 365
8.1.2 Control Methods 365
8.1.3 Time Scales 367
8.1.4 Examples 368
8.1.5 Quality of Service 369
8.2 Circuit-Switched Networks 372
8.2.1 Blocking 372
8.2.2 Routing Optimization 374
8.3 Datagram Networks 378
8.3.1 Queuing Model 378
8.3.2 Key Queuing Result 379
8.3.3 Routing Optimization 381
8.3.4 Congestion Control 387
8.4 ATM Networks 392
8.4.1 Control Problems 393
8.4.2 Deterministic Approaches 395
8.4.3 Statistical Procedures 405
8.4.4 Deterministic or Statistical? 422
8.5 Summary 424
8.6 Notes 425
8.7 Problems 426

9 Control of Networks: Mathematical Background 431

9.1 Markov C h a i n s 431
9.1.1 Overview 431
9.1.2 Discrete Time 432
9.1.3 Continuous Time 438
 Contents
xiv

9.2 Circuit-Switched Networks 443

9.2.1 Single Switch 443
9.2.2 Network 446
9.3 Datagram Networks 450
9.3.1 M / M / l Queue 450
9.3.2 Discrete-Time Queue 453
9.3.3 Jackson Network 456
9.3.4 Buffer Occupancy for an MMF Source 459
9.3.5 Insensitivity of Blocking Probability 462
9.4 ATM Networks 465
9.4.1 Deterministic Approaches 466
9.4.2 Large Deviations of iid Random Variables 470
9.4.3 Straight-Line Large Deviations 474
9.4.4 Large Deviation of a Queue 475
9.4.5 Bahadur-Rao Theorem 480
9.5 Summary 482
9.6 Notes 483
9.7 Problems 483

10 Network Economics 489

10.1 Derived D e m a n d for Network Services 491
10.1.1 Information Goods 492
10.1.2 Site Rents 493
10.2 Internet Service Providers 494
10.2.1 A Subscriber Demand Model 497
10.2.2 Empirical Evidence 501
10.3 Network Charges: T h e o r y a n d Practice 504
10.3.1 A Resource Model 505
10.3.2 Economic Principles 506
10.3.3 Charges in Practice 509
10.3.4 Vulnerability of the Internet 510
10.4 A Billing a n d P r o v i s i o n i n g S y s t e m for I n t e r n e t C o n n e c t i o n s 511
10.4.1 User Experience 512
10.4.2 Demand for Variable Quality 513
10.4.3 The INDEX Billing and Provisioning System 515
10.4.4 Flexibility of INDEX Pricing and Provisioning 517
10.5 P r i c i n g a Single Resource 518
10.5.1 Usage-Based Prices 520
Contents

10.5.2 Congestion Prices 523

10.5.3 Cost Recovery and Optimum Link Capacity 526
10.6 P r i c i n g for ATM Services 528
10.6.1 A Model of ATM Resources and Services 529
10.6.2 Revenue Maximization 533
10.7 Summary 535
10.8 Notes 536
10.9 Problems 536

11 Optical Networks 541

11.1 Optical Links 542
11.1.1 Transmitter 543
11.1.2 Receiver 544
11.1.3 Fiber 546
11.1.4 Subcarrier Multiplexing 554
11.2 WDM S y s t e m s 556
11.3 Optical Cross-Connects 557
11.4 Optical LANs 561
11.4.1 Single-hop LANs 561
11.4.2 Multihop LANs 563
11.5 Optical Paths a n d Networks 565
11.5.1 Static Wavelength Assignment 565
11.5.2 Dynamic Wavelength Assignment and Blocking 568
11.5.3 Ring Networks 569
11.5.4 Hierarchical Mesh Networks 570
11.5.5 Optical Networks 571
11.6 Summary 572
11.7 Notes 572
11.8 Problems 573

12 Switching 575
12.1 Switch P e r f o r m a n c e Measures 576
12.2 Time- and Space-Division Switching 580
12.3 Modular Switch D e s i g n s 582
12.4 Packet S w i t c h i n g 588
 Contents
xvi

12.5 D i s t r i b u t e d Buffer 593

12.5.1 Impact of Hot Spots 596
12.5.2 Input Buffers 598
12.5.3 Combating Hot Spots 601
12.5.4 Multicasting 605
12.6 S h a r e d Buffer 605
12.6.1 Multicasting 607
12.6.2 Queuing Analysis 607
12.7 O u t p u t Buffer 608
12.7.1 Multicasting 608
12.7.2 Knockout 609
12.8 Input Buffer 610
12.8.1 HOL Blocking 611
12.8.2 Overcoming HOL Blocking 613
12.8.3 Multicasting 614
12.9 Summary 615
12.10 N o t e s 616
12.11 P r o b l e m s 617

13 Toward a Global Multimedia Network 619

13.1 A t t r i b u t e s of t h e G l o b a l N e t w o r k 620
13.2 T e c h n o l o g y A r e a s 622
13.2.1 Architecture 623
13.2.2 Networking 624
13.2.3 Signal Processing 625
13.2.4 Applications 626
13.3 C h a l l e n g e s 626
13.3.1 Architecture 627
13.3.2 Quality of Service 628
13.3.3 Mobility 632
13.3.4 Heterogeneity 636
13.3.5 Scalability and Configurability 637
13.3.6 Extensibility and Complexity Management 639
13.3.7 Security 641

Bibliography 643

Index 655
 Preface

M u c h h a s c h a n g e d in t h e n e t w o r k i n g world since 1995 w h e n w e w r o t e t h e

first edition. O n l i n e " a n d "Web" j o i n e d "Internet" in t h e p o p u l a r vocabulary.
Cellular p h o n e s b e c a m e as c o m m o n as t h e t e l e p h o n e . T h e "fast" 56 Kbps
m o d e m i n t r o d u c e d w i t h m u c h publicity in 1998 w a s quickly s u r p a s s e d b y t h e
megabit-per-second access delivered at h o m e b y cable TV a n d ADSL. A n d at
work, 100 Mbps E t h e r n e t c a m e to t h e d e s k t o p .
T h e ongoing p r o c e s s of n e t w o r k c o n v e r g e n c e t o d a y is s e e n i n t h e multi-
billion-dollar acquisitions of cable TV o p e r a t o r s a n d data n e t w o r k s b y t e l e p h o n e
c o m p a n i e s . Service providers a n d e q u i p m e n t m a n u f a c t u r e r s are b e g i n n i n g to
c o m p e t e in t h e delivery of quality of service or QpS. T h a t c o m p e t i t i o n will
s h a p e t h e future of ATM a n d IP.
Advances in wireless c o m m u n i c a t i o n p r o m i s e s o o n to b r i n g "anytime, any-
w h e r e " connectivity. Within a d e c a d e optical n e t w o r k i n g will provide orders of
m a g n i t u d e i n c r e a s e s in b a n d w i d t h . T h e s e a d v a n c e s will sustain t h e n e t w o r k i n g
b o o m of t h e 1990s. T h e social c o n s e q u e n c e s of t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s are diffi-
cult to predict, b u t t h e technological t r e n d s are in place. We w r o t e t h e s e c o n d
edition to explain t h e s e a n d r e l a t e d technological a d v a n c e s , s o m e u n e x p e c t e d ,
o t h e r s already e v i d e n t in 1995.

Audience
This b o o k is a u n i q u e l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e s t u d y of t h e major c o m m u n i c a t i o n
n e t w o r k s : data, t e l e p h o n e , cable TV, a n d wireless. We describe t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s
t h a t h e l p create t h e s e n e t w o r k s , explain t h e protocols a n d control m e c h a n i s m s
t h a t o p e r a t e t h e m , a n d analyze t h e e c o n o m i c p r i n c i p l e s t h a t r e g u l a t e t h e i r u s e
 Preface
xviii

a n d evolution. We w r o t e t h e b o o k for t h e professionals a n d s t u d e n t s w h o w a n t

s u c h a c o m p r e h e n s i v e view of n e t w o r k i n g .
T h e professionals are t h o s e in i n d u s t r y w h o m u s t evaluate t h e i r decisions
in t h e context of t h e w i d e role t h a t n e t w o r k i n g plays in t h e i r organizations.
T h e y m a y b e n e t w o r k i n g e n g i n e e r s a n d c o m p u t e r scientists a n d t h e i r m a n -
agers, corporate n e t w o r k m a n a g e r s a n d administrators, o p e r a t i o n s r e s e a r c h
a n d s y s t e m e n g i n e e r s e n g a g e d in n e t w o r k design a n d o p e r a t i o n s or in u p -
grading n e t w o r k i n g infrastructure. T h e i r decisions often will r e q u i r e a n u n d e r -
standing of alternative technologies a n d p e r f o r m a n c e evaluation a n d a s e n s e
of t h e p a c e a n d direction of i n n o v a t i o n . We believe this b o o k will h e l p gain
such an understanding.
College seniors a n d g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s c o m e to n e t w o r k i n g w i t h t r a i n i n g
in electric e n g i n e e r i n g , c o m p u t e r science, or o p e r a t i o n s r e s e a r c h . T h e y are at-
tracted to t h e field b e c a u s e of its c a r e e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s or b e c a u s e a familiarity
w i t h n e t w o r k i n g is n o w n e c e s s a r y for t h e i r o w n specialization in c o m m u n i -
cations or software e n g i n e e r i n g or control. T h e y m a y h a v e t a k e n at m o s t o n e
or, m o r e likely, n o u n d e r g r a d u a t e course in n e t w o r k i n g . This b o o k will m e e t
t h e diverse n e e d s of t h e s e s t u d e n t s a n d give t h e m a wider, m o r e sophisticated
appreciation of this exciting field t h a n o t h e r b o o k s w i t h a n a r r o w v i e w of net-
working.
T h e distinction b e t w e e n t h e s e two i n t e n d e d a u d i e n c e s is o n l y n o m i n a l .
Tbday's professional w a s y e s t e r d a y ' s s t u d e n t , a n d t h e astonishing p a c e of tech-
nical c h a n g e will t o m o r r o w m a k e h i m or h e r a s t u d e n t again. Tb cope well w i t h
t h a t p a c e r e q u i r e s a c o m p r e h e n s i v e view, a n d t h a t is w h a t w e b e l i e v e this b o o k
offers.

Approach
We h a v e c o n d u c t e d r e s e a r c h in n e t w o r k i n g for t w e n t y years. For t h e p a s t fifteen
y e a r s w e h a v e taught a n i n t r o d u c t o r y g r a d u a t e course in n e t w o r k i n g to s t u d e n t s
from electrical e n g i n e e r i n g , c o m p u t e r science, a n d o p e r a t i o n s r e s e a r c h . For
m o r e t h a n t e n y e a r s w e h a v e offered short courses to professionals from t h e
t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r y a n d to m a n a g e r s in charge of n e t w o r k i n g in
t h e i r c o m p a n i e s . For t h e past five y e a r s w e h a v e h a d i n t e n s e i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h
industry, as c o n s u l t a n t a n d t e c h n i c a l adviser (PV, JW) a n d as e n t r e p r e n e u r
(JW). This e x p e r i e n c e in research, teaching, a n d i n d u s t r y h a s s h a p e d o u r book.
In all t h r e e contexts w e find t h e n e e d for c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s of coverage a n d
m u l t i p l e perspectives.
Most b o o k s take a n a r r o w v i e w of t h e subject a n d a p p r o a c h n e t w o r k i n g
from a single perspective. Typically, it is identified w i t h t h e I n t e r n e t or ATM
Preface
xix

n e t w o r k s a n d described t h r o u g h t h e associated protocols. Or n e t w o r k s are

m o d e l e d as n e t w o r k s of q u e u e s , w h o s e o p e r a t i o n is e x p l a i n e d t h r o u g h r o u t i n g
algorithms a n d q u e u i n g analyses. Or n e t w o r k s are d e s c r i b e d t h r o u g h t h e i r
e n a b l i n g technology: wireless c o m m u n i c a t i o n , optics, or switching.
We p r e s e n t a c o m p r e h e n s i v e study, discussing n e t w o r k s as t h e n e e d arises
from t h e basis of first p r i n c i p l e s from c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e n g i n e e r i n g , c o m p u t e r
science, o p e r a t i o n s research, a n d e c o n o m i c s . We h a v e m i n i m i z e d t h e u s e of
a d v a n c e d c o n c e p t s from t h e s e disciplines. It is o u r h o p e t h a t t h e r e a d e r c a n t h u s
gain a greater a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h e s e m u l t i p l e views a n d a d e e p e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g
of h o w n e t w o r k s are built, h o w t h e y are used, a n d w h o will p a y for t h e m . We
discuss q u e s t i o n s of n e t w o r k p e r f o r m a n c e a n d control in a n intuitive m a n n e r
and, in a s e p a r a t e chapter, w e p r e s e n t t h e rigorous m a t h e m a t i c a l a r g u m e n t .

Highlights of the
Second Edition
In addition to c h a n g e s a n d u p d a t e s w e h a v e m a d e t h r o u g h o u t t h e m a n u s c r i p t ,
w e w o u l d like to highlight four major e n h a n c e m e n t s in t h e n e w edition. First,
in t h e p r e v i o u s edition t h e I n t e r n e t w a s t r e a t e d s i m p l y as a n e x a m p l e of
packet-switched n e t w o r k s . T h e r e is n o w a c o m p l e t e s t u d y of t h e I n t e r n e t ,
including t h e T C P / I P protocol suite a n d t h e a d v a n c e s p r o p o s e d to i m p r o v e
its p e r f o r m a n c e or provide quality of service.
Second, wireless c o m m u n i c a t i o n , a b s e n t from t h e p r e v i o u s edition, n o w
receives a n e x t e n d e d discussion. T h e growing i m p o r t a n c e of wireless tele-
p h o n e access a n d its potential for u s e in data transfer m a n d a t e d its inclusion.
Third, rapid a d v a n c e s in t h e last five y e a r s in wave-division m u l t i p l e x i n g
a n d wave-selective switching h a v e b r o u g h t forward t h e era of optical n e t w o r k -
ing. T h e s e a d v a n c e s will e v e n t u a l l y c h a n g e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s of n e t w o r k de-
sign, operations, a n d e c o n o m i c s , a n d so t h e y are d e s c r i b e d h e r e .
Lastly, quality of service (QpS) is likely to b e c o m e a n i m p o r t a n t d i m e n s i o n
of c o m p e t i t i o n a m o n g providers. T h e ability to o p e r a t e n e t w o r k s t h a t c a n give
QoS g u a r a n t e e s is also k e y to service integration. T h e e c o n o m i c s of QoS a n d
t h e m e c h a n i s m s n e e d e d to g u a r a n t e e QoS receive m u c h a t t e n t i o n in t h e n e w
edition.

Contents
We give a c h a p t e r b y c h a p t e r outline, p o i n t i n g out t h e c h a n g e s in t h e n e w
edition. C h a p t e r 1 c o n t a i n s a brief historical a c c o u n t a n d explains t h e p r i n c i p l e s
 Preface

of n e t w o r k i n g . Added are r e c e n t e s t i m a t e s of t h e size, growth, a n d t r e n d s in

t h e t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r y . C h a p t e r 2 explains h o w n e t w o r k services are
p r o d u c e d b y l a y e r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e s . A n e w section s u m m a r i z e s applications t h a t
are driving n e t w o r k i n g d e m a n d .
C h a p t e r 3 discusses packet-switched n e t w o r k s u s i n g t h e OSI m o d e l , a n d
t h e i m p o r t a n t LAN i m p l e m e n t a t i o n s . T h e 100-Mbps E t h e r n e t , a n d t h e replace-
m e n t of E t h e r n e t h u b s b y intelligent E t h e r n e t switches t h a t c a n c r e a t e virtual
local area n e t w o r k s or VLANS, h a v e reorganized e n t e r p r i s e n e t w o r k i n g . De-
scriptions of t h e s e i n n o v a t i o n s a n d gigabit E t h e r n e t s are a d d e d .
A unified t r e a t m e n t of t h e I n t e r n e t a n d T C P / I P n e t w o r k s o c c u p i e s Chap-
t e r 4. Advances in I n t e r n e t t e c h n o l o g y in addressing, faster switching, i m p r o v e -
m e n t s in t h e T C P / I P protocol suite, a n d protocol proposals t h a t s e e k b e t t e r
control are discussed.
Circuit-switched n e t w o r k s is t h e subject of C h a p t e r 5. SONET c o n t i n u e s to
receive e m p h a s i s . T h e m o s t significant addition is t h e discussion of b r o a d b a n d
access n e t w o r k s : cable TV a n d ADSL, a n d E u r o p e a n proposals a d v a n c i n g
passive optical n e t w o r k s . W i d e s p r e a d d e p l o y m e n t of t h e s e t e c h n o l o g i e s will
s p u r c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t of b r o a d b a n d services.
C h a p t e r 6 u p d a t e s t h e e x p l a n a t i o n of ATM w i t h i m p o r t a n t r e c e n t work,
including i n t e r n e t w o r k i n g protocols MPOA, a n d m o r e detailed specifications
of PNNI r o u t i n g a n d UNI signaling. M u c h of this w o r k is focused o n m o r e
efficient ATM s u p p o r t of IP. H o w ATM a n d IP will c o m p e t e a n d c o o p e r a t e to
provide QpS r e m a i n s u n r e s o l v e d .
Wireless access h a s exploded w o r l d w i d e over t h e last five y e a r s . Primarily
u s e d for voice a n d short m e s s a g e transfers, wireless c o m m u n i c a t i o n is begin-
n i n g to b e u s e d for data. C h a p t e r 7 explains t h e characteristics of wireless links
a n d t h e challenges t h e s e characteristics p o s e for n e t w o r k i n g . T h e discussion
explains w h y , u n l i k e t h e c o n v e r g e n c e e x p e r i e n c e d in w i r e l i n e n e t w o r k s , wire-
less n e t w o r k i n g is f r a g m e n t e d a n d w i d e s p r e a d a d o p t i o n of wireless t e c h n o l o g y
for data r e m a i n s u n c e r t a i n .
C h a p t e r 8 provides a n accessible discussion, a n d C h a p t e r 9 explains t h e
m a t h e m a t i c a l derivations, of n e t w o r k p e r f o r m a n c e a n d control. T h e t r e a t m e n t
covers circuit-switched, packet-switched, a n d ATM n e t w o r k s . Resource allo-
cation ( b a n d w i d t h a n d priority a s s i g n m e n t ) to a c h i e v e QpS g u a r a n t e e s u s i n g
w i n d o w a n d rate control algorithms are discussed t h e r e . T h e t r e a t m e n t of con-
gestion control is novel.
C h a p t e r 9, d e v o t e d to e c o n o m i c s , n o w h a s a focus b a s e d o n a f o r m u l a t i o n of
d e m a n d for n e t w o r k services. I m p l e m e n t a t i o n of QpS g u a r a n t e e s will r e q u i r e
pricing of QpS-differentiated services—a major d e p a r t u r e from t h e c u r r e n t
practice of flat-rate tariffs for n e t w o r k access. T h e r e are a n a l y s e s of data a b o u t
h o w u s e r s value service quality in t e r m s of t h e i r willingness to pay. T h e data
are o b t a i n e d from a m a r k e t trial at Berkeley t h a t b e g a n in April 1998.
Five y e a r s ago, wave-division m u l t i p l e x i n g (WDM) w a s l i m i t e d to labo-
ratory d e m o n s t r a t i o n s . I b d a y , b a c k b o n e optical links are b e i n g u p g r a d e d b y
installing WDM e q u i p m e n t . WDM links w i t h 1 terabit p e r s e c o n d s p e e d (equal
to t h e traffic carried b y t h e e n t i r e I n t e r n e t today) will b e sold n e x t year. Ad-
v a n c e s in optical r o u t i n g a n d switching in less t h a n t e n y e a r s will c u l m i n a t e in
all-optical n e t w o r k s , offering o r d e r s of m a g n i t u d e h i g h e r s p e e d s w i t h a small
i n c r e a s e in cost. T h i s could i n a u g u r a t e a n o t h e r r e v o l u t i o n in c o m m u n i c a t i o n s .
WDM a n d optical switching are d i s c u s s e d in C h a p t e r 10. T h e t r e a t m e n t of op-
tical links in t h e first edition h a s b e e n abridged.
C h a p t e r 11 u p d a t e s t h e discussion o n fast p a c k e t switching to i n c o r p o r a t e
m u l t i c a s t i n g a n d s o m e r e c e n t w o r k o n fast table search. C h a p t e r 12 gives a
revised version of t h e future of n e t w o r k i n g .

How To Use This Book

T h i s b o o k c a n b e u s e d b y i n d u s t r y professionals, or as a text for u n d e r g r a d u a t e
or g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s . Professionals m a y s t u d y a topic as t h e y n e e d it to facili-
tate u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a p a r t i c u l a r d e v e l o p m e n t . A n i n t e r e s t i n g u n d e r g r a d u a t e
course c a n b e t a u g h t a r o u n d C h a p t e r s 1 t h r o u g h 3 a n d e i t h e r C h a p t e r s 4 a n d 6,
if t h e a u d i e n c e is p r i m a r i l y from c o m p u t e r science, or C h a p t e r s 5 a n d 7, if t h e
s t u d e n t s are p r i m a r i l y from electrical e n g i n e e r i n g .
We ourselves h a v e u s e d this m a t e r i a l in two w a y s . At Berkeley, w e h a v e
t a u g h t a one-semester, 45-hour i n t r o d u c t o r y g r a d u a t e course to s t u d e n t s from
electrical e n g i n e e r i n g , c o m p u t e r science, a n d o p e r a t i o n s r e s e a r c h . ( T h e course
always attracts s o m e seniors.) S t u d e n t s n e e d n o prior e x p o s u r e to c o m m u -
nication n e t w o r k s — t h e e m p h a s i s is o n descriptive b r e a d t h t h a t c o n v e y s t h e
e x c i t e m e n t of t h e technological a d v a n c e s a n d t h e c h a l l e n g e s p o s e d b y speed,
distance, a n d d e m a n d i n g applications. T h r e e or four t i m e s e a c h y e a r w e h a v e
t a u g h t a short course to practitioners, b e t w e e n 8 a n d 20 h o u r s long. T h e a i m
t h e r e is to provide a n o v e r v i e w of r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s , to d e c i p h e r t r e n d s ,
a n d to s p e c u l a t e a b o u t o p p o r t u n i t i e s .

Support Materials
O u r o w n l e c t u r e s m a k e h e a v y u s e of t h e figures in t h e book. Postscript files of
t h e figures are available from t h e Web page for o u r b o o k at http://www.rnkp.
com.
 Preface
xxii

Each c h a p t e r of t h e b o o k e n d s in p r o b l e m s t h a t test u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e
m a t e r i a l a n d challenge t h e r e a d e r to u s e t h a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g in situations t h a t
m a y arise in practice. We will k e e p a d d i n g to t h e s e p r o b l e m s a n d post t h e m at
t h e Web site. A solutions m a n u a l is also available from t h e publisher.

Acknowledgments
T h i s b o o k s y n t h e s i z e s t h e different v i e w p o i n t s of n e t w o r k i n g specialists w h o
k n o w m o r e a b o u t e a c h view t h a n w e do. Inevitably, errors of fact a n d j u d g m e n t
a n d b a l a n c e of t r e a t m e n t h a v e c r e p t into t h e book. We w o u l d b e v e r y grateful
to o u r r e a d e r s for b r i n g i n g t h o s e e r r o r s to o u r a t t e n t i o n a n d for providing u s
w i t h feedback a b o u t t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s in l e a r n i n g or t e a c h i n g from this book.
We c a n b e r e a c h e d via e-mail at {voir, varaiya}@eecs.berkeley.edu. We will post
corrections a n d c o m m e n t s at t h e Web site http://www.mkp.com. I n this s e c o n d
edition w e h a v e i n c o r p o r a t e d c o m m e n t s from instructors w h o h a v e u s e d t h e
first edition.
A n d r e a Goldsmith's c h a p t e r o n wireless c o m m u n i c a t i o n s discusses a v e r y
i m p o r t a n t t e c h n o l o g y t h a t w a s entirely m i s s i n g in t h e first edition. We are
greatly i n d e b t e d to h e r for t h e excellent discussion of a rapidly evolving field.
She c a n b e r e a c h e d at [email protected].
A draft of t h e e n t i r e m a n u s c r i p t for t h e s e c o n d edition w a s r e v i e w e d b y
Vijay Bhagavath, AT&T Labs; Scott J o r d a n , N o r t h w e s t e r n University; Ivy Hsu,
Nortel Networks; a n d R a m e s h Rao, UC, San Diego. A n t h o n y E p h r e m i d e s , Uni-
versity of Maryland, r e v i e w e d C h a p t e r 7; Kevin Fall, UC, Berkeley, r e v i e w e d
C h a p t e r 4; Riad Hartani, Nortel Networks, r e v i e w e d C h a p t e r 6; a n d E y t a n Me-
diano, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, r e v i e w e d C h a p t e r 10.
We are i m m e n s e l y grateful to t h e m for t h e i r criticisms as well as t h e i r
suggestions for i m p r o v i n g t h e book. Most of t h o s e suggestions h a v e b e e n
incorporated.
O u r editor, J e n n i f e r M a n n , p r o v i d e d t h e e n c o u r a g m e n t a n d friendly coax-
ing t h a t w e n e e d e d to start w o r k o n t h e s e c o n d edition a n d to b r i n g it to
c o m p l e t i o n . H e r assistant, Karyn J o h n s o n , h e l p e d w i t h logistics a n d w i t h h e r
e n t h u s i a s m . Finally, o u r t h a n k s to o u r p r o d u c t i o n editor, H e a t h e r Collins, w h o
s o m e h o w m a n a g e d a v e r y tight s c h e d u l e .
 1 I Overview
CHAPTER

i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y is c h a n g i n g t h e world e c o n o m y , society, a n d daily

life. T h e c h a n g e p r o c e e d s in waves, originating w i t h t h e n e w technologies,
growth, a n d r e s t r u c t u r i n g of t h e affected industries. Next c o m e c h a n g e s in
o t h e r b u s i n e s s e s as t h e y absorb t h o s e technologies. N e w b u s i n e s s e s are started,
a n d traditional practices are o v e r t h r o w n . Societies a n d g o v e r n m e n t s t r y to
a d a p t to shifts in t h e d e m a n d for goods a n d services, i n v e s t m e n t , a n d skilled
workers. Millions of u s c h a n g e o u r daily r o u t i n e s in w o r k a n d r e c r e a t i o n a n d
t h e w a y w e interact w i t h others, as w e adapt, willingly or u n d e r p r e s s u r e , to
t h e n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s of t h e World Wide Web.

Telecommunications Industry According to t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tele-

c o m m u n i c a t i o n U n i o n (ITU), t h e total t r a d e in t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e q u i p -
m e n t a n d services w o r l d w i d e r e a c h e d $1 trillion in 1998. T h e t r a d e is growing
at 7% a n n u a l l y , twice t h e rate of t h e world e c o n o m y . I n t e r n a t i o n a l traffic
d o u b l e d b e t w e e n 1990 a n d 1996 to 70 billion t e l e p h o n e m i n u t e s .
Technological a d v a n c e s in fiber optic c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d i n c r e a s e d com-
petition are dramatically r e d u c i n g costs of r a w b a n d w i d t h . According to British
Ifelecom, e q u i p m e n t a n d installation cost p e r voice p a t h o n t h e transpacific
r o u t e fell from $73,000 in 1975 to $2,000 in 1996, $200 in 1999, a n d is likely
to r e a c h a m e r e $5 in 2010. T h e average charge for a t h r e e - m i n u t e peak-rate
U.S.-Europe p h o n e call fell in five y e a r s from $4 to $1.50 in 1998 a n d will r e a c h
50Φ b y 2000. D e m a n d for access is insatiable. In 1996, forty-eight million n e w
fixed l i n e s w e r e installed b r i n g i n g t h e global installed b a s e to 741 million. T h e
 Overview
2

n u m b e r of cellular subscribers g r e w b y 50% in 1997 to r e a c h 200 million in

1998.
T h e traffic m i x is changing. T h e n u m b e r of c o m p u t e r s o n t h e I n t e r n e t
g r e w from 1 million in early 1993, to 5 million in 1995, 16 million in 1997,
a n d over 50 million in 1999. T h e I n t e r n e t Society e s t i m a t e s t h a t t h e n u m b e r
of I n t e r n e t u s e r s will r e a c h 300 million b y t h e e n d of 2000. T h a t is 5% of t h e
world population. By 2047 t h e world p o p u l a t i o n will r e a c h 11 billion, a n d if
25% b e c o m e s c o n n e c t e d to t h e I n t e r n e t , t h a t is n e a r l y 3 billion p e o p l e . Data
traffic in t h e t r a n s a t l a n t i c corridor is doubling e a c h y e a r a n d s u r p a s s e d voice
traffic in S e p t e m b e r 1997. By 2000, it m a y a c c o u n t for 75% of all traffic. T h e
c h a r a c t e r of t h e 100-year-old t e l e p h o n e i n d u s t r y will c h a n g e as it a t t e m p t s to
m e e t t h e shift in d e m a n d .
U n d e r p r e s s u r e s from users, suppliers, a n d a worldwide m o v e m e n t for
deregulation, t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m o n o p o l i e s are e n d i n g . T h e 1997 World
Tirade Organization a g r e e m e n t o n t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s services, signed b y 69
c o u n t r i e s w i t h m o r e t h a n 90% of all t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s trade, calls for t h e
liberalization of n e a r l y all m a r k e t s b y 2000 or soon after. In Europe, t h e o p e n i n g
of m o s t m a r k e t s in J a n u a r y 1998 b r o u g h t in its w a k e n e w e n t r a n t s a n d large
i n v e s t m e n t s . T h i s w a s foreshadowed b y t h e 1996 T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Act in
t h e U.S.
T h e i m p a c t of t h e 1996 Act is still w o r k i n g itself out. AT&T, t h e world's
largest long-distance carrier, set a n e w course for itself, w h e n it a c q u i r e d
two large cable TV operators, TCI a n d M e d i a O n e , as p a r t of its strategy to
b e a n integrated provider of TV, data, a n d p h o n e services. A g r o u p of on-
line service providers is challenging AT&T, urging Congress a n d t h e FCC to
e x t e n d t h e Act to i n c l u d e "open access" to cable TV n e t w o r k s . T h e r e p o r t e d
$58 billion price tag for MediaOne, a m o u n t i n g to $10,000 for e a c h of its five
million c u s t o m e r s , suggests t h a t AT&T is anticipating a n a n n u a l r e v e n u e of at
least $2,000 p e r customer. T h e regional t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n i e s are s e e i n g t h e i r
m o n o p o l i e s e r o d e b y c o m p e t i t i v e local exchange carriers or CLECs a n d b y cable
TV c o m p a n i e s . Several of t h e s e c o m p a n i e s are m e r g i n g (NYNEX/Bell Atlantic,
SBC/Pacific B e l l / A m e r i t e c h ) as p a r t of a strategy to e n t e r long-distance m a r k e t s
in exchange for t h e i r m o n o p o l y position in local m a r k e t s .
A less noticed b u t potentially significant c h a n g e m a y b e initiated b y t h e
u s e of ATM switches in place of t h e large a n d expensive time-division circuit
switches u s e d in t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k s e v e r y w h e r e . ATM switches are cheaper,
c a n b e d e p l o y e d in s m a l l e r sizes, a n d are m o r e versatile since ATM s u p p o r t s
a n y form of traffic. T e l e p h o n e c o m p a n i e s , b u r d e n e d b y t h e i r large installed
infrastructure a n d m o n o p o l y heritage, are likely to b e further t h r e a t e n e d b y
n e w e n t r a n t s t h a t offer ATM-based services initially catering to n i c h e m a r k e t s .
Overview
3

Yesterday's n i c h e t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m a r k e t m a y grow into a large m a r -

k e t tomorrow. Mobile subscribers i n c r e a s e d from 10 million i n 1990 to 200
million i n 1998. WWW applications h a v e t r a n s f o r m e d b u s i n e s s n e t w o r k s into
i n t r a n e t s — i n t e r n a l c o r p o r a t e n e t w o r k s b a s e d o n I n t e r n e t protocols. U n k n o w n
in 1994, b y 1997 over half of all large c o r p o r a t i o n s h a d i m p l e m e n t e d i n t r a n e t s .

Economy and Society Advances i n t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s are felt i n t h e

rest of t h e e c o n o m y . Long skeptical a b o u t t h e productivity b e n e f i t s of informa-
tion technology, m a n y e c o n o m i s t s n o w attribute to it a productivity i n c r e a s e
of 1%. For t h e $8.5 trillion U.S. e c o n o m y , this a m o u n t s to a n additional $85
billion of "free" o u t p u t e a c h year. I n v e s t m e n t in c o m p u t i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a -
tions e q u i p m e n t h a s q u a d r u p l e d over t h e last decade, a c c o u n t i n g for 5 3 % of
all b u s i n e s s s p e n d i n g o n e q u i p m e n t . T h e r e a r e similar i n c r e a s e s i n s p e n d i n g
o n software, consulting, t e c h n i c a l support, a n d training.
Some e c o n o m i s t s b e l i e v e e v e n this productivity g r o w t h is u n d e r s t a t e d
b e c a u s e g o v e r n m e n t statistics do n o t a d e q u a t e l y define a n d m e a s u r e o u t p u t
in t h e fast-growing service sector, i n c l u d i n g b a n k i n g , finance, h e a l t h care, a n d
education.
While "hot" I n t e r n e t e - c o m m e r c e c o m p a n i e s gain m e d i a attention, it is i n
t h e m u n d a n e , b a c k office o p e r a t i o n s of invoicing, p u r c h a s i n g , a n d i n v e n t o r y
control t h a t t h e i m p a c t of i n t r a n e t s a n d i n t e r n e t s is m o s t profound. Business-
to-business c o m m e r c e over t h e I n t e r n e t is projected to j u m p from $48 billion
in 1998 to $1.5 trillion b y 2003, according to Forrester Research, I n c . D u r i n g
t h e s a m e period, c o n s u m e r sales over t h e I n t e r n e t will rise from $3.9 billion
to $108 billion.
Some believe t h a t t o m o r r o w ' s c o r p o r a t i o n s will b e "virtual"—defined n o t
b y t h e i r location b u t b y t h e i r ability to a c q u i r e k n o w l e d g e , organize informa-
tion, a n d o r c h e s t r a t e i n d e p e n d e n t contractors a n d s u p p l i e r s worldwide. I n t h e
process, b u s i n e s s e s a n d professions a r e d i s a p p e a r i n g . C u s t o m e r s a r e leaving
travel a g e n t s a n d o t h e r retailing i n t e r m e d i a r i e s , preferring to m a k e t h e i r reser-
vations a n d p u r c h a s e s on-line.
T h e world of w o r k is changing. More t h a n t h r e e - q u a r t e r s of w o r k e r s i n t h e
U.S. today a r e "information workers." T h e r e is a global shortage of w o r k e r s i n
information m a n a g e m e n t a n d t e c h n o l o g y . S p u r r e d b y h i g h labor costs, U.S.
c o m p a n i e s a r e h i r i n g p r o g r a m m e r s a n d e n g i n e e r s in India, E a s t e r n Europe,
a n d Russia. We m a y b e w i t n e s s i n g t h e next p h a s e i n w h i c h capital s e a r c h e s
for o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n India, Israel, a n d e l s e w h e r e . At t h e s a m e t i m e t h e r e is
i n c r e a s e d e m p l o y m e n t i n s e c u r i t y as c o r p o r a t i o n s shift t h e i r d e m a n d for skilled
labor in t h e face of c o m p e t i t i v e p r e s s u r e to c h a n g e t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s .
 Overview
4

With m o r e t h a n a million pages a d d e d e a c h day, t h e Web is n o w a n

infinitely large b u l l e t i n board. Media Metrix e s t i m a t e s t h a t 61 million p e o p l e
worldwide visited t h e top 50 Web sites in t h e U.S. in April 1999. T h e Web is
c h a n g i n g o u r habits. A m e r i c a O n l i n e ' s 14 million u s e r s are s e n d i n g 15 million
e-mails e a c h d a y a n d s p e n d i n g o n average 21 h o u r s on-line e a c h m o n t h . By
c o m p a r i s o n , t h e average p e r s o n in t h e U.S. w a t c h e s TV 25 h o u r s p e r week.

Problems and Opportunities Technologies o p e n u p possibilities t h a t

c a n create p r o b l e m s . T h e p r o b l e m s suggest o p p o r t u n i t i e s for further advances.
T h e r e are n o w several million Web sites. Tb navigate this w o r l d w i d e b u l l e t i n
board, s e a r c h e n g i n e s w e r e i n v e n t e d . T h e y crawl t h r o u g h t h e s e sites m a i n -
taining, for e v e r y word, a list of all Web pages c o n t a i n i n g t h a t word. But this
is n o t always satisfactory. A s e a r c h for " m o d e m " in Alta Vista r e t u r n e d 2 mil-
lion pages, a s e a r c h for "DSL m o d e m " r e t u r n e d 800 pages, still too large. This
creates t h e o p p o r t u n i t y for s e a r c h facilities t h a t c a n b e t t e r figure o u t w h a t t h e
v i e w e r is looking for.
Some p e o p l e are t r o u b l e d b y t h e g r o w t h of on-line p o r n o g r a p h y a n d vio-
l e n c e . Technological solutions are b e i n g offered t h a t provide services t h a t rate
Web sites a n d m e a n s to p r e v e n t access to u n d e s i r e d sites.
T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e n a b l e s giant m e d i a c o m p a n i e s to m a n u f a c t u r e a n d
s p r e a d a worldwide m a s s culture, erasing local b o u n d a r i e s a n d sensibilities.
But t h e t e c h n o l o g y also gives o p p o r t u n i t i e s for creative resistance. T h e copying
m a c h i n e a n d t h e fax m a c h i n e b r o u g h t o r d i n a r y citizens t h e m e a n s to p u b l i s h
a n d p r o p a g a t e t h e i r o w n views. O v e r t h e last 10 y e a r s t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
h a s vastly i n c r e a s e d t h e r e a c h a n d l o w e r e d t h e cost of d i s s e m i n a t i n g n e w s
a n d ideas. Geographically isolated, l i k e - m i n d e d individuals are forming small
groups to p u r s u e t h e i r c o m m o n i n t e r e s t s a n d to b u i l d n e w cultural islands
outside m a s s culture. A m o v e m e n t s u c h as this w o u l d h a v e b e e n impossible a
d e c a d e ago. F u r t h e r in t h e future lies t h e possibility t h a t e d u c a t i o n will b e c o m e
a truly lifelong process, e n a b l i n g a m u c h fuller d e v e l o p m e n t of o u r potential.
It is difficult to predict t h e l o n g - t e r m i m p a c t of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n revolution.
But t h e technologies t h a t u n d e r l i e t h e revolution c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d u s i n g t h e
l a n g u a g e a n d c o n c e p t s of t h e n e t w o r k engineer, t h e c o m p u t e r scientist, a n d
t h e e c o n o m i s t . T h e s e technologies c o m p r i s e a d v a n c e s in c o m p u t e r s , c o m m u -
nications, signal processing, a n d t h e i r applications in diverse d o m a i n s . T h e w a y
t h e s e c o m b i n e to form a d v a n c e s in n e t w o r k i n g form t h e s u b s t a n c e of this b o o k .
T h i s b o o k provides a system-level u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e n e t w o r k i n g tech-
nologies a n d t h e actual n e t w o r k s t h a t p r o m o t e t h e i n f o r m a t i o n revolution. You
will l e a r n t h a t while t h e r e are m a n y details, only a few p r i n c i p l e s are sufficient
to grasp t h e field of n e t w o r k i n g . You will t h e n k n o w w h a t q u e s t i o n s to ask in
1.1 History of Communication Networks
5

o r d e r to c o m p a r e different n e t w o r k s , a n d i n m a n y i n s t a n c e s y o u will k n o w
h o w t h o s e q u e s t i o n s s h o u l d b e a n s w e r e d . If y o u w o r k in a n organization, y o u
will h a v e t h e basis to j u d g e h o w well different n e t w o r k i n g solutions will m e e t
t h e n e e d s of t h e organization, n o w a n d i n t h e future. If y o u are a s t u d e n t , y o u
will b e able to critically r e a d m a n y of t h e r e c e n t r e s e a r c h c o n t r i b u t i o n s to net-
working, a n d y o u will gain t h e s e n s e of w h a t directions of r e s e a r c h are likely
to b e fruitful.
Advances in n e t w o r k i n g t e c h n o l o g y feed on, a n d are c o n s t r a i n e d by, t h e
c u r r e n t state of n e t w o r k i n g . Within t h o s e constraints, t h e a d v a n c e s are g u i d e d
b y w i d e r technological a n d e c o n o m i c forces. T h i s c h a p t e r p r e s e n t s a h i g h l y
abbreviated history of t h e k e y i n n o v a t i o n s in t e l e p h o n e , data, cable TV, a n d
wireless n e t w o r k s , a n d t h e p r i n c i p l e s t h a t c a n serve as a c o m p a s s for j u d g i n g
w h i c h directions of technological a d v a n c e are likely to b e m o r e successful. By
t h e e n d of t h e c h a p t e r y o u will b e a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e m a i n c o n t e n d e r s for t h e
role of "network of t h e future," a n d y o u will a p p r e c i a t e t h a t n o single n e t w o r k
t e c h n o l o g y will b e t h e w i n n e r : t h e future n e t w o r k will i n t e g r a t e all of t h e major
n e t w o r k i n g solutions.
In section 1.1 w e r e v i e w t h e history of t h e t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k , c o m p u t e r
or data n e t w o r k s , cable television or CATV, a n d wireless n e t w o r k s . In t h e
past, t h e s e n e t w o r k s u s e d different t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t w e r e well s u i t e d to t h e
information services t h e y provided.
In section 1.2 w e explain t h e four p r i n c i p l e s t h a t u n d e r l i e t h e forces driving
t h e i n d u s t r y toward c o n v e r g e n c e a n d l e a d i n g to t h e i n t e r p e n e t r a t i o n of t h e s e
networks.
In section 1.3 w e discuss s o m e plausible s c e n a r i o s for n e t w o r k s of t h e
future. T h e s e future n e t w o r k s will offer services r a n g i n g from t e l e p h o n e to
interactive video to high-speed file transfers.

1.1 HISTORY OF
COMMUNICATION
NETWORKS

C o m m u n i c a t i o n n e t w o r k s e n a b l e u s e r s to transfer i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e form
of voice, video, electronic mail or e-mail, a n d c o m p u t e r files. Users r e q u e s t
t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n service t h e y n e e d b y m e a n s of s i m p l e p r o c e d u r e s u s i n g a
t e l e p h o n e h a n d s e t or cellular p h o n e , set-top TV box, or t h r o u g h applications
r u n n i n g o n a h o s t c o m p u t e r s u c h as a PC or w o r k s t a t i o n . I n t h e following
sections, w e identify t h e major s t e p s in t h e evolution of c o m m u n i c a t i o n
 Overview
6

AiL—^ Telephone network around 1890. The transmissions are analog, and the
GU RE switches are manually operated.

n e t w o r k s t h a t provide t h e services u s e r s w a n t . T h e r e w e r e m a n y o t h e r in-

novations, b u t t h e steps e m p h a s i z e d h e r e w e r e decisive.

1Λ Λ Telephone Networks
T h e k e y i n n o v a t i o n s in t e l e p h o n y are circuit switching, digitization, s e p a r a t i o n
of call control from voice transfer, optical links, a n d service integration.
In 1876, Alexander G r a h a m Bell i n v e n t e d a pair of t e l e p h o n e s . A r o u n d
1890, simple n e t w o r k s c o n n e c t e d t e l e p h o n e s b y m a n u a l l y o p e r a t e d switches.
In s u c h a network, as s h o w n in Figure 1.1, t h e signal is analog, as indicated b y
t h e letter A o n t h e links. Tb call a n o t h e r t e l e p h o n e , a c u s t o m e r first rings t h e
operator a n d provides t h e p h o n e n u m b e r of t h e o t h e r party. T h e operator t h e n
d e t e r m i n e s t h e line t h a t goes e i t h e r directly to t h e o t h e r p a r t y or to a n o t h e r
operator along a p a t h to t h e o t h e r party. I n t h e latter case, t h e operators talk
to e a c h other, decide h o w to h a n d l e t h e call, a n d t h e p r o c e d u r e of c o n s t r u c t i n g
t h e p a t h to t h e o t h e r p a r t y c o n t i n u e s , possibly involving o t h e r operators.
Eventually, o n e operator rings t h e destination, and, if t h e t e l e p h o n e is picked
up, t h e two parties are c o n n e c t e d . T h e parties r e m a i n c o n n e c t e d for t h e
d u r a t i o n of t h e conversation a n d are d i s c o n n e c t e d b y t h e operators at t h e e n d
of t h e conversation.
Note h o w t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n lines are allocated to t h e p h o n e conversation.
T h i s is a c c o m p l i s h e d b y circuit switching, w h e r e "circuit" refers to t h e capability
of t r a n s m i t t i n g o n e t e l e p h o n e conversation along o n e link. Tb set u p a call, a
set of circuits h a s to b e c o n n e c t e d , j o i n i n g t h e two t e l e p h o n e sets. By modifying
t h e connections, t h e operators c a n switch t h e circuits. Circuit switching occurs
at t h e b e g i n n i n g of a n e w t e l e p h o n e call. Operators w e r e later r e p l a c e d b y
m e c h a n i c a l switches and, 100 y e a r s later, b y electronic switches.
1.1 History of Communication Networks

1.2 Telephone network around 1988. The transmissions are analog (A) or digital
IMX^LWIJ....!.. ^ The switches are electronic and exchange control information b y using a
data network called c o m m o n channel signaling (CCS).

Figure 1.2 illustrates t h e t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k a r o u n d 1988. O n e major de-

v e l o p m e n t at this stage is t h a t t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of t h e voice signals b e t w e e n
switches is digital, as i n d i c a t e d b y t h e l e t t e r D, i n s t e a d of analog.
A n electronic interface in t h e switch c o n v e r t s t h e analog signal traveling
o n t h e link from t h e t e l e p h o n e set to t h e switch into a digital signal, called a
bit stream. T h e s a m e interface c o n v e r t s t h e digital signal t h a t travels b e t w e e n
t h e switches into a n analog signal before s e n d i n g it from t h e switch to t h e
telephone.
T h e switches t h e m s e l v e s are c o m p u t e r s , w h i c h m a k e s t h e m v e r y flexible.
T h i s flexibility allows t h e t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n y to modify c o n n e c t i o n s b y send-
ing specific i n s t r u c t i o n s to t h e c o m p u t e r . Figure 1.2 also s h o w s a n o t h e r major
d e v e l o p m e n t — c o m m o n channel signaling (CCS). CCS is a data c o m m u n i c a t i o n
n e t w o r k t h a t t h e switches u s e to e x c h a n g e control information. T h i s "conver-
sation" b e t w e e n switches serves t h e s a m e function as t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n t h a t
took place b e t w e e n operators in t h e m a n u a l n e t w o r k . T h u s CCS s e p a r a t e s t h e
functions of call control from t h e transfer of voice. C o m b i n e d w i t h t h e flexi-
ble c o m p u t e r i z e d switches, this s e p a r a t i o n of function facilitates n e w services
s u c h as call waiting, call forwarding, a n d call back.
In c u r r e n t t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k s , t h e bit s t r e a m s in t h e t r u n k s (lines con-
n e c t i n g switches) a n d access links (lines c o n n e c t i n g subscriber t e l e p h o n e s
to t h e switch) are organized in t h e digital signal (DS) h i e r a r c h y . T h e links
t h e m s e l v e s — t h e "hardware"—are called digital carrier systems. T h i n k capacity
is divided into a h i e r a r c h y of logical c h a n n e l s . In N o r t h A m e r i c a t h e s e chan-
nels, listed in Tkble 1.1, are called DS-1, . . . , DS-4 a n d h a v e r a t e s r a n g i n g from
1.544 to 274.176 Mbps (megabits p e r s e c o n d ) . T h e b a s i c u n i t is set b y t h e DS-0
c h a n n e l , w h i c h carries 64 Kbps (kilobits p e r s e c o n d ) a n d a c c o m m o d a t e s o n e
voice circuit. Larger-capacity c h a n n e l s m u l t i p l e x several voice c h a n n e l s . T h e
 Overview
8

No. of
Rate in Mbps
voice
Medium Signal circuits North America Japan Europe

T-l paired cable DS-1 24 1.5 1.5 2.0

T-l C paired cable DS-1C 48 3.1
T-2 paired cable DS-2 96 6.3 6.3 8.4
T-3 coax, radio, DS-3 672 45.0 34.0 32.0
fiber
Coax, waveguide, DS-4 4032 274.0
radio, fiber

11 Digital carrier systems. This is the hierarchy of digital signals that the
TABLE telephone network uses. Note that the bit rate of a DS-1 signal is greater than
24 times the rate of a voice signal (64 Kbps) because of the additional framing
bits required.

rates in J a p a n a n d E u r o p e are different. T h e m o s t c o m m o n c h a n n e l s are DS-1

a n d DS-3.
Observe in t h e table t h a t t h e rates are n o t m u l t i p l e s of o n e a n o t h e r : t h e
DS-1 signal carries 24 DS-0 c h a n n e l s , b u t its rate is m o r e t h a n 24 t i m e s 64 Kbps.
T h e additional bits are u s e d to a c c o m m o d a t e DS-0 c h a n n e l s w i t h r a t e s t h a t
deviate from t h e n o m i n a l 64 Kbps b e c a u s e t h e signals are g e n e r a t e d u s i n g
clocks t h a t are n o t perfectly s y n c h r o n i z e d .
Since t h e 1980s t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n links of t h e t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k h a v e b e e n
c h a n g i n g to t h e SONET, or S y n c h r o n o u s Optical Network, standard. SONET
rates are a r r a n g e d in t h e STS ( S y n c h r o n o u s Transfer Signal) h i e r a r c h y s h o w n
in T&ble 1.2. In N o r t h A m e r i c a a n d J a p a n t h e basic SONET signal, STS-1, h a s
a rate of 51.840 Mbps. (In E u r o p e t h e basic signal is STS-3 a n d h a s a rate of
155.52 Mbps. T h e h i e r a r c h y is called S y n c h r o n o u s Digital Hierarchy, or SDH.)
T h e m o s t c o m m o n links in t h e b a c k b o n e today are OC-3, OC-12, a n d OC-48.
OC-192 links are n o w c o m i n g into service. Wave-division m u l t i p l e x i n g n o w
e n a b l e s a single optical fiber to c a r r y 100 OC-192 links for a n aggregate rate of
1 terabit p e r second.
Two differences are i m m e d i a t e l y a p p a r e n t w h e n c o m p a r i n g t h e STS a n d
DS hierarchies. First, SONET signals h a v e m u c h h i g h e r bit rates, t h a n k s to t h e
m u c h h i g h e r rates t h a t optical links c a n s u p p o r t c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e c o p p e r
links of t h e c u r r e n t n e t w o r k . Second, t h e STS-n rate is exactly η t i m e s t h e
STS-1 rate. Because all clocks in a SONET n e t w o r k are s y n c h r o n i z e d to t h e
s a m e m a s t e r clock, it is possible to c o m p o s e a n STS-n signal b y m u l t i p l e x i n g
1.1 History of Communication Networks
9

Carrier Signal Rate in Mbps

OC-1 STS-1 51.840

OC-3 STS-3 155.520
OC-9 STS-9 466.560
OC-12 STS-12 622.080
OC-18 STS-18 933.120
OC-24 STS-24 1244.160
OC-36 STS-36 1866.240
OC-48 STS-48 2488.320
OC-192 STS-192 9853.280

1.2 SONET rates. The rates of multiplexed STS-1 signals are exact multiples; no
riimiiiiiHii iiiii additional framing bits are used.

exactly η STS-1 signals. As a result, m u l t i p l e x i n g a n d d e m u l t i p l e x i n g e q u i p m e n t

for STS signals is less c o m p l e x t h a n for DS signals.
T h e last major i n n o v a t i o n in t e l e p h o n y is t h e i n t e g r a t i o n of voice a n d
data signals t h r o u g h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e Integrated Services Digital Network
(ISDN), illustrated in Figure 1.3. T h e ISDN b a s i c access offered to a c u s t o m e r
consists of two Β c h a n n e l s a n d o n e D c h a n n e l (both Β a n d D c h a n n e l s are dig-
ital). Each Β c h a n n e l is a bidirectional, or full-duplex, c h a n n e l at 64 Kbps. O n e
Β c h a n n e l c a n c a r r y e i t h e r a circuit-switched c o n n e c t i o n , a packet-switched

1.3 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). The basic access provides two
FIGURE bidirectional 64-Kbps links and one 16-Kbps link. These links can be used to
transmit voice or data.
 Overview

t r a n s m i s s i o n service (described below), or a p e r m a n e n t digital c o n n e c t i o n .

T h e D c h a n n e l carries a 16-Kbps packet-switched service. ISDN m a k e s avail-
able to subscribers t h e digital t r a n s m i s s i o n facilities t h a t w e r e p r e v i o u s l y u s e d
b e t w e e n t h e switches of t h e n e t w o r k , t h u s e x t e n d i n g t h e digital t r a n s m i s s i o n all
t h e w a y to t h e users. Applications of t h e ISDN services i n c l u d e c o m p u t e r com-
m u n i c a t i o n , high-speed facsimiles, r e m o t e m o n i t o r i n g of buildings, videotex,
a n d low bit rate v i d e o p h o n e s . With ISDN, t h e t e l e p h o n e s y s t e m is t r a n s f o r m e d
into a n e t w o r k t h a t c a n transfer i n f o r m a t i o n in m a n y forms, if at m o d e s t s p e e d s .
A n e w t e c h n o l o g y for t r a n s m i s s i o n of data over u n t w i s t e d or twisted pair
cables for distances u p to 4,000 m will displace ISDN. T h e t e c h n o l o g y u s e s
existing t e l e p h o n e subscriber l i n e s in a m a n n e r similar to ISDN. A l t h o u g h t h e
t e l e p h o n e voice c h a n n e l is l i m i t e d to a b a n d w i d t h of 3 kHz, t h e twisted pair
cable itself w h i c h c o n n e c t s to t h e central office h a s a b a n d w i d t h of m o r e t h a n
1 MHz, l i m i t e d b y signal a t t e n u a t i o n a n d noise. A s y m m e t r i c Digital Subscriber
Line (ADSL) service n o w offered b y t h e t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n i e s c a n provide u p to
1.5 Mbps or m o r e d o w n s t r e a m (to t h e h o m e ) a n d u p to 1.5 Mbps u p s t r e a m (from
t h e h o m e ) , in addition to r e g u l a r analog t e l e p h o n e service. It is e s t i m a t e d t h a t
66% of subscriber loops in t h e U n i t e d States c a n s u p p o r t t h e ADSL t e c h n o l o g y .

1Λ 2 Computer Networks
T h i s section discusses t h e following k e y i n n o v a t i o n s in c o m p u t e r or data net-
works: organization of data in packets, p a c k e t switching, t h e I n t e r n e t Protocol
hierarchy, m u l t i p l e access m e t h o d s , a n d service integration.
We b e g i n o u r historical sketch in 1969 w i t h t h e RS-232-C s t a n d a r d for t h e
serial port of c o m p u t e r devices, illustrated in Figure 1.4. T h i s s t a n d a r d is for
low bit rate t r a n s m i s s i o n s ( u p to 38 Kbps) over short distances (less t h a n 30 m ) .
Serial t r a n s m i s s i o n p r o c e e d s o n e c h a r a c t e r at a t i m e . T h e c o m p u t e r devices
e n c o d e e a c h c h a r a c t e r into s e v e n bits, to w h i c h t h e y c a n add a p a r i t y bit for
e r r o r detection, a n d successive c h a r a c t e r s are s e p a r a t e d b y s o m e t i m e interval.
W h e n t h e receiver d e t e c t s t h e b e g i n n i n g of a n e w character, it starts a clock
t h a t t i m e s t h e s u b s e q u e n t bits. Both bit rate a n d distance m u s t b e k e p t small,
b e c a u s e t r a n s m i s s i o n s take place over u n t w i s t e d wires, w h i c h c a n i n t r o d u c e
errors d u e to cross-talk. Cross-talk b e c o m e s m o r e severe as t h e rate a n d t h e
distance increase.
A serial link is often u s e d to attach a c o m p u t e r to a modem. A m o d e m ,
or modulator-demodulator, t r a n s m i t s data b y c o n v e r t i n g bits into t o n e s t h a t
c a n b e t r a n s p o r t e d b y t h e t e l e p h o n e n e t w o r k as if t h e y w e r e voice signals.
T h e receiving m o d e m t h e n c o n v e r t s t h e s e t o n e s b a c k into bits, t h u s e n a b l i n g
two c o m p u t e r s w i t h c o m p a t i b l e m o d e m s to c o m m u n i c a t e over t h e t e l e p h o n e
1.1 History of Communication Networks

1.4 The RS-232-C standard for the serial line specifies the transfer of one 8-bit
FIGURE character at a time, separated b y time intervals. The speed and distance of
the serial line are limited.

n e t w o r k as if t h e y w e r e directly c o n n e c t e d b y a serial link. In 1999 m o s t

m o d e m s r u n at a s p e e d of 28,800 b p s . M o d e m s c o n f o r m i n g to t h e n e w V.90
s t a n d a r d c a n t r a n s m i t 56,000 b p s in t h e d o w n s t r e a m direction.
Figure 1.5 illustrates t h e synchronous transmission s t a n d a r d s i n t r o d u c e d in
t h e 1970s to increase t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n rate a n d t h e u s a b l e l e n g t h of trans-
m i s s i o n links. T h e s e s t a n d a r d s are k n o w n as SDLC ( S y n c h r o n o u s Data Link
Control). A n u m b e r of s t a n d a r d s are b a s e d o n SDLC, i n c l u d i n g HDLC (High-
Level Data Link Control), LAPB (Link Access P r o c e d u r e B), LAPD, a n d LAPM.
T h e m a i n idea of SDLC is to avoid t h e t i m e w a s t e d b y RS-232-C c a u s e d b y gaps
b e t w e e n successive characters. Tb e l i m i n a t e t h a t lost time, SDLC g r o u p s m a n y
data bits into packets. A p a c k e t is a s e q u e n c e of bits p r e c e d e d b y a special bit
p a t t e r n called t h e header a n d followed b y a n o t h e r special bit p a t t e r n called t h e
trailer. T h e n u m b e r of bits in a p a c k e t m a y b e fixed or variable.
T h e receiver is s y n c h r o n i z e d b y a p r e a m b l e c o n t a i n e d in t h e h e a d e r (H) of
t h e p a c k e t a n d b y a self-synchronizing code t h a t c o n t a i n s t h e t i m i n g informa-
tion in addition to t h e data. Moreover, SDLC u s e s a n error-detection code called
t h e cyclic redundancy check, or CRC, t h a t is m o r e efficient a n d m o r e powerful

I Η I Data | CRC |

1.5 The Synchronous Data Link Control and related standards transmit long
GURE packets of bits. The header (H) contains the preamble that starts the receiver
clock, which is kept in phase b y the self-synchronizing encoding of the bits.
The receiver uses the cyclic r e d u n d a n c y check (CRC) bits to verify that the
packet is correctly received.
 Overview

1JL„... Store-and-forward transmissions proceed b y sending the packet successively

GURE along links from the source to the destination. The packet h e a d e r specifies
the source and destination addresses (A and E, for example) of the packet.
When it receives a packet, a computer checks a routing table to find out on
which link it should next send the packet.

t h a n t h e single parity bit of RS-232-C. Two c o m p u t e r s , t h e n , c a n e x c h a n g e in-

formation over a t r a n s m i s s i o n link u s i n g e i t h e r RS-232-C or SDLC. But w h a t if
m a n y c o m p u t e r s are to b e i n t e r c o n n e c t e d ? In t h e early 1960s, c o m m u n i c a t i o n
e n g i n e e r s p r o p o s e d t h e store-and-forward packet-switching m e t h o d illustrated in
Figure 1.6.
This figure s h o w s c o m p u t e r s c o n n e c t e d b y point-to-point links. Tb s e n d
a p a c k e t to c o m p u t e r E, c o m p u t e r A p u t s t h e source a d d r e s s A a n d t h e des-
t i n a t i o n address Ε into t h e p a c k e t h e a d e r a n d s e n d s t h e p a c k e t to c o m p u t e r
B. W h e n Β gets t h e p a c k e t from A, it r e a d s t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a d d r e s s a n d deter-
m i n e s t h a t it m u s t forward t h e p a c k e t to D. W h e n D gets t h e packet, it r e a d s
t h e destination address a n d forwards t h e p a c k e t to E. In this s c h e m e , w h e n a
n o d e receives a packet, it m u s t first store it, t h e n forward it to a n o t h e r n o d e (if
n e c e s s a r y ) . H e n c e t h e n a m e store-and-forward given to this switching m e t h o d .
W h e n c o m p u t e r s u s e store-and-forward p a c k e t switching, t h e y u s e a given
link only w h e n t h e y s e n d a packet. As a result, t h e s a m e links c a n b e u s e d
efficiently b y a large n u m b e r of i n t e r m i t t e n t t r a n s m i s s i o n s . T h i s m e t h o d for
sharing a link a m o n g t r a n s m i s s i o n s is called stanstical multiplexing. Statistical
multiplexing contrasts w i t h time-division multiplexing-based circuit switching,
w h i c h r e s e r v e s circuits for t h e d u r a t i o n of t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n e v e n t h o u g h t h e
parties c o n n e c t e d b y t h e circuit m a y n o t t r a n s m i t c o n t i n u o u s l y .
1.1 History of Communication Networks

Starting in t h e late 1960s, t h e U.S. D e p a r t m e n t of Defense A d v a n c e d Re-

s e a r c h Projects A g e n c y (DARPA) b e g a n p r o m o t i n g t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of packet-
switched n e t w o r k s . T h e resulting n e t w o r k , ARPANET, b e g a n o p e r a t i o n s in 1969
b y c o n n e c t i n g four c o m p u t e r s . T h e r u l e s of operations, or protocols, ARPANET
u s e d w e r e p u b l i s h e d in t h e o p e n literature. By i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e s e protocols,
e n g i n e e r s in m a n y r e s e a r c h a n d e d u c a t i o n a l institutions a t t a c h e d t h e i r com-
p u t e r s to t h e ARPANET.
T h r o u g h t h e ARPANET protocols, e n g i n e e r s a g r e e d o n a single p a c k e t
format s t a n d a r d a n d a c o m m o n a d d r e s s i n g s c h e m e . T h i s allowed n e t w o r k s
t h a t c o n f o r m e d to this p a c k e t format to b e easily i n t e r c o n n e c t e d . T h e benefits
of i n t e r c o n n e c t i v i t y soon b e c a m e obvious, a n d t h e ARPANET evolved into t h e
I n t e r n e t , w h i c h today is u s e d to i n t e r c o n n e c t a large n u m b e r of c o m p u t e r s a n d
local area n e t w o r k s t h r o u g h o u t t h e world. In 1983, only 500 "host c o m p u t e r s "
h a d I n t e r n e t access. In 1999, t h e r e w e r e 50 million s u c h c o m p u t e r s b e i n g u s e d
b y 300 million people.
T h e single p a c k e t format of t h e I n t e r n e t Protocol offered t w o advantages.
O n t h e o n e h a n d , t h e format could b e s u p p o r t e d b y a v a r i e t y of physical net-
works, including local area n e t w o r k s (LANs) s u c h as E t h e r n e t a n d t o k e n ring, as
well as b y point-to-point links. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , e n g i n e e r s a n d c o m p u t e r sci-
entists could d e v e l o p c o m m u n i c a t i o n s applications a s s u m i n g t h a t data w o u l d
b e t r a n s p o r t e d in p a c k e t s of a s t a n d a r d i z e d format. T h e ARPANET implicitly
i m p l e m e n t e d a t h r e e - l a y e r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e consisting of (1) t h e physical net-
w o r k t h a t transfers bits, (2) g r o u p s of data e n c a p s u l a t e d into p a c k e t s w i t h
a c o m m o n format a n d a d d r e s s i n g s c h e m e , a n d (3) applications t h a t a s s u m e
transfer of p a c k e t s w i t h n o regard to t h e u n d e r l y i n g physical n e t w o r k . T h i s
implicit l a y e r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y e l a b o r a t e d a n d formalized in
t h e O p e n Systems I n t e r c o n n e c t i o n , or OSI, m o d e l .
In t h e late 1960s a n d early 1970s, e n g i n e e r s p r o p o s e d a n e w m e t h o d for
c o n n e c t i n g c o m p u t e r s . This m e t h o d is called multiple access. It d r a m a t i c a l l y
r e d u c e d t h e cost of i n t e r c o n n e c t i n g n e a r b y c o m p u t e r s in a LAN as well as t h e
cost of access to a w i d e area n e t w o r k (WAN).
Figure 1.7 illustrates a p o p u l a r i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of m u l t i p l e access called
Ethernet. In a n E t h e r n e t n e t w o r k , c o m p u t e r s are a t t a c h e d to a c o m m o n coaxial
cable via a n interface t h a t today consists of a small c h i p set m o u n t e d o n t h e
m a i n b o a r d . W h e n c o m p u t e r A w a n t s to s e n d a p a c k e t to c o m p u t e r E, it p u t s
t h e source a d d r e s s A a n d t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a d d r e s s Ε into t h e p a c k e t h e a d e r a n d
t r a n s m i t s t h e p a c k e t o n t h e cable. All t h e c o m p u t e r s r e a d t h e packet, b u t only
t h e c o m p u t e r w i t h t h e d e s t i n a t i o n a d d r e s s i n d i c a t e d o n t h e p a c k e t copies it.
T h e original E t h e r n e t t r a n s m i s s i o n rate w a s 10 Mbps; n o w 100-Mbps a n d 1000-
Mbps E t h e r n e t are available.