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The operation of LAN and WAN hardware and protocols

The operation of LAN and WAN hardware and protocols · WAN, there are many different types of WAN technology available. ... l Cable television systems were introduced in the USA in

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Page 1: The operation of LAN and WAN hardware and protocols · WAN, there are many different types of WAN technology available. ... l Cable television systems were introduced in the USA in

OpenLearn Works

The operation of LAN and WAN

hardware and protocols

Page 2: The operation of LAN and WAN hardware and protocols · WAN, there are many different types of WAN technology available. ... l Cable television systems were introduced in the USA in

Contents1 Introduction to Wide Area Networks 32 Digital Subscriber Line 43 Cable 74 Fibre optic 85 Wireless 106 Municipal WiFi 107 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access 118 Cellular wireless 129 Sending data across the LAN 1310 Sending data to the WAN 1711 Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet 2212 Activity 2413 End of course quiz 2414 Acknowledgements 24

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1 Introduction to Wide Area Networks

l At home, your Local Area Network (LAN) might connect together devices over adistance measured in tens of metres. At work or school, the LAN might connectdevices over hundreds of metres. A Wide Area Network (WAN) operates over amuch larger area, as they interconnect LANs to allow them to exchange data.

Figure 1

l For example, in the diagram above a large business network needs to provide aconnection to a remote branch office, and to employees who work from home(telecommuters) and who are travelling (remote users). This connection is providedby a WAN. WANs are operated by a service provider, and businesses pay them a feein order to gain access.

l WAN service providers are businesses that provide WAN services using a variety oftechnologies, including the telephone network, cable and satellite. The WAN allowsemployees to connect to the business network in order to carry out work relatedtasks – the connection is not primarily for accessing the Internet.

l Why doesn’t the company set up its own WAN to save money? Traditionally, due tothe distance that WANs operate over, setting one up would cost a substantial amountof money as the business would need to purchase the necessary cabling, fibre andsatellite systems. Setting up a WAN would therefore prove to be extremely expensiveand time-consuming, so most businesses prefer to rent WAN services from anestablished service provider.

1 Introduction to Wide Area Networks

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l Consider your home network, which probably provides you with access to theInternet. You too are paying for WAN services as your Internet Service Provider (ISP)is a business that specialises in connecting households to the Internet. They haveinvested a considerable amount of money in creating a suitable WAN infrastructurethat allows thousands of domestic users (who pay a fee) to connect.

ActivityDo you know who your ISP is? How much do they charge for Internet access?

l Domestic networks are primarily connected to an ISP for Internet access, unlikebusiness WANs. Because there are a great many different reasons for creating aWAN, there are many different types of WAN technology available. Most commonly abusiness WAN needs to support its employees and remote offices, and it will have adifferent set of requirements to a home user requiring just Internet access.Traditionally, businesses and home users have used different types of WANtechnology to provide connectivity.

l As the need to access the Internet has become more widespread, broadbandtechnology has been introduced to provide connections for home, school and smallbusiness users. This technology utilises a wide band of frequencies, transmitted overa single transmission media (coaxial, UTP, fibre, wireless), to provide an Internetservice that is always on and has a high data rate.

l Broadband provides the connection between a home, school or small business andthe ISP. Once within the ISP, different WAN technology will be used to transfer thedata around the ISP network and between other ISPs.

l However, it is becoming increasingly common for even large businesses to connectto the Internet to provide connection between their LANs, as opposed to using moretraditional WAN solutions. Thus, many businesses are also using broadbandconnectivity to provide WAN connectivity.

l There are four main types of broadband WAN connectivity available via UK ISPs:1 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)2 cable3 fibre optic4 wireless.

2 Digital Subscriber Line

l DSL technology is an always-on connection technology that uses existing twisted-pair telephone lines to transport high bandwidth data and provide IP services tosubscribers.

l Multiple DSL subscriber lines are multiplexed into a single, high-capacity link using aDSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) which is installed in the local telephone exchangeby the service provider. The digital multiplexed output can then be transportedthrough the service provider’s network by whichever WAN technology they havechosen to implement.

2 Digital Subscriber Line

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Figure 2

l The diagram above shows a home office worker connecting to their ISP using DSL.This provides them with a connection to the Internet and to the business WAN of theiremployer.

l DSL provides high-speed connections over the copper wires installed for thedomestic public switched telephone network (PSTN) or ‘plain old telephone service’(POTS). The existing phone system only uses frequencies between 0 and 4 KHz, butDSL can use the additional bandwidth available between 4 KHz and 1 MHz for high-speed data services.

l DSL divides the 4 KHz to 1 MHz bandwidth into different transmit (upstream) andreceive (downstream) channels, which it uses to connect the home to the ISP. Thediagram below shows a DSL system with more downstream channels than upstreamchannels, meaning that it can support higher download than upload speeds. This isreferred to as asynchronous DSL (ADSL), and is ideal for home users connecting tothe Internet, as the majority download rather than upload content.

2 Digital Subscriber Line

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Figure 3

l Another form of DSL provides equal upload and download speeds, and is referred toas symmetric DSL (SDSL). SDSL is popular with businesses which chose to createWAN connections between their sites using the Internet as opposed to moretraditional WAN solutions.

l There are many varieties of DSL, including some that support data rates exceeding100 Mbps. Regardless of the variety used, the data rates are dependent on theactual length of the physical cabling between the user and the local telephoneexchange. For satisfactory ADSL service, the cabling must be less than 5.5 km.

l ISPs provide home users with a router capable of connecting to a telephone systemline socket. The home router will use an internal modem to create the requiredupstream and downstream channels, allowing its WAN port to communicate with theDSLAM at the local telephone exchange over the phone line (local loop):

Figure 4

2 Digital Subscriber Line

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l There is a gap called a guard band between the telephone voice signal and themodulated DSL signal, which is intended to prevent interference. However, mostDSL connections still utilise a filter, connected into the telephone socket, to preventthe DSL signal being picked up by the telephone.

l A filter is also used at the exchange to separate the telephone signal, which is fed tothe telephone exchange, and the DSL signal, which is sent to the DSLAM and thentowards the ISP WAN for connection to the Internet.

l In the UK, all ISPs must be able to install their DSLAM equipment within a localexchange, allowing them to offer their services to domestic customers connected viathe copper cabling installed and owned by BT/Openreach.

3 Cable

l Cable television systems were introduced in the USA in the late 1940s as a means ofdistributing television programs received by a single antenna to users in remoteareas with poor reception. Cable systems have now grown in popularity as a meansof distributing a wide number of television channels to users within cities without theneed for individual homes to have external antenna systems.

Figure 5

l Modern cable systems can provide two-way communication between homes and thecable system operators, and now offer advanced telecommunications services, suchas a telephone service and high-speed Internet access, alongside the usual digitalcable television.

l Cable system providers traditionally used coaxial cable to connect devicesthroughout their network. Because of the increase in demand for bandwidth by theservice now available to home users, most cable providers use fibre optic cablingwithin the trunks used to connect together their network and only utilise coaxial cable

3 Cable

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to provide the link from their local junction box (normally a green, steel street cabinet)to the household. This is called a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) system.

Figure 6

l Home users are normally provided with a cable modem which connects to thecoaxial cable used to deliver the television, telephone and Internet services. Thecable modem provides suitable output for the devices required – TV to the television,voice services to the telephone, and data to the home router.

l Typical cable modems use Ethernet to provide the connection to the home routerWAN port. Thus, home routers designed for DSL and cable systems are notcompatible, as their WAN ports are designed to support different signals.

l Although cable providers generally offer a higher speed Internet service than DSL,the speed depends on the number of local customers, and as the number of usersincreases, the data rate decreases. Cable customers must use the ISP services ofthe cable provider as cable operators are not required to open up their network tocompetitors.

4 Fibre optic

l Fibre optic transmission media consists of a glass core surrounded by a slightly lessoptically dense cladding material. Pulses of light, representing binary digits, are

4 Fibre optic

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transmitted into the fibre using laser or LEDs and propagate along its length due torefraction at the core/cladding interface.

l Fibre optic provides extremely high data rates over great distances, and fibre opticcables are used to provide telecommunication links between continents using cableslaid across the seabed. Because many WAN connections need high data rate linksbetween service providers based in different countries, fibre optics are commonlyused.

l As service providers need to use a common, standardised interface to exchangedata, their fibre networks use either Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) orSynchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) standards. These standards define how data istransferred over high data rate circuits stretching over thousands of kilometres.

Figure 7

l A newer fibre optic technique used for long distance communications is densewavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), shown above. This allows a single fibre tosupport multiple channels (around 80, only 4 shown) by using different wavelengths(i.e colours) of light, with each channel supporting a data rate of 10 Gbps.

l DWDM fibre optic technology is now used in all the submarine cables laid betweenthe continents.

l Some home users are also able to benefit from the high data rates available fromfibre optic through a number of changes to the existing network. For example, fibre tothe home (FTTH) is replacing the copper cabling that used to provide the ‘local loop’connection between households and service providers, and offers data rates ofapproximately 1 Gbps. Another upgrade involves the use of fibre to the cabinet

4 Fibre optic

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(FTTC), where fibre optic is run from the service provider to the local street cabinet,which is then connected to individual properties using copper cabling.

l Because FTTC still utilises copper, the data rate decreases as the distance betweenthe cabinet and the household increases. By around 1500 m the data rate will havedropped to 15 Mbps in a fibre/DSL system. Cable FTTC uses coaxial cable to thehome, which supports higher data rates of between 50–150 Mbps.

l Although both cable and DSL operators have started to offer FTTH/FTTC, it isexpensive and time-consuming to roll out, so availability is currently limited.

5 Wireless

l The use of radio frequencies to support broadband access for home and smallbusiness users has been limited by the low transmission range typically associatedwith the available wireless technology. However, new developments in broadbandwireless technology are available that provide improved connectivity:l municipal WiFil Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)l cellular.

6 Municipal WiFi

l Many cities (such as London) have begun setting up municipal WiFi networksutilising the same range technology that is used within homes. Most of thesenetworks are provided to allow the emergency services to access data serviceswhen attending an incident, but often allow residents to access the network forInternet connectivity too.

5 Wireless

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Figure 8

l Most municipal wireless networks utilise a mesh topology, as shown in the figureabove. In this topology the access points are all interconnected wirelessly andseveral access points provide coverage for the same area. The use of a wirelessmesh reduces the amount of cabling required to implement it and the overlappingcoverage is able to maintain service even if several access points fail.

l Note that the access points connect to a wired router (backhaul node), whichprovides connectivity to a service provider for Internet access.

l Because subscribers to municipal WiFi are connecting to access points that may belocated quite a distance from their home, they require WiFi modems with improvedreceivers and directional antenna to optimise the weak signal that they receive.

l Some UK based ISPs offer a form of municipal WiFi by allowing their customers toaccess the Internet by connecting to other subscriber’s home routers via WiFiwherever they happen to be in the UK.

7 Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access

l WiMAX operates in a similar manner to WiFi, but provides a higher data rate over amuch wider coverage area to more customers.

l The WiMAX standard (802.16) provides data rates up to 70 Mbps, and operates overa range of frequency bands from 2 to 6 GHz.

7 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

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l WiMAX uses a network of towers, similar to those used for cellular telephones, whichprovide a broadband connection to customers within 50km. The towers themselvesprovide point-to-point wireless connectivity to the service provider’s premises, whereit is routed to the Internet. WiMAX is thus able to provide coverage to rural areasbeyond the range of DSL and cable broadband services.

Figure 9

l WiMAX, as shown above, can provide both point-to-point links between towers andfull mobile cellular type access to subscribers, and is likely to supersede municipalWiFi as the preferred wireless broadband technology. WiMAX customers connect tothe service using a variety of WiMAX capable devices, such as home routers, ormobile devices with integrated WiMAX technology.

8 Cellular wireless

l Cellular or mobile telephony provides telephone services using wireless technology,allowing users to place calls from a wide range of handsets (smart phones, laptops,tablets) to a network of fixed base stations (or cell towers). The base stations areconnected to the cellular service provider’s network either by point-to-point or wired

8 Cellular wireless

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links, allowing calls to be placed to other cellular users and telephones within thePSTN.

Figure 10

l Cellular providers also support connectivity for data services such as email and websurfing, and cellular wireless has become an increasingly popular way of accessingInternet based services for mobile users. Because of the comprehensive cellularcoverage of all but the most remote areas of the UK, it can also be used to provideInternet WAN services for domestic subscribers using cellular-capable home routers.

l The data rate, wireless frequencies and coverage areas available via cellular WANsdepend on the technology utilised. This is referred to as ‘generations’, with eachpassing generation providing an improved service when compared to its successor.

l Common cellular industry terms include:l 3G wireless, or third generation cellular access, is a range of technologies

supporting wireless Internet access. 3G systems can support data rates ofbetween 7.2 and 42 Mbps, depending on the actual technology.

l 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE), or fourth generation cellular access, can supporta theoretical maximum data rate of 150 Mbps.

l The data rate actually achieved via cellular WAN is extremely variable as there aremany factors that can significantly reduce the rate from the theoretical maximum,such as distance from the cell tower, movement and electromagnetic interference.

9 Sending data across the LAN

l Your home network provides access to both the devices you have installed withinyour house, and to the Internet via the WAN connection provided by your ISP. Beforeconsidering how data is sent to and from the WAN, we will examine how deviceswithin the home network exchange data.

l Consider the home network shown below, where PC1 is sending a file to a printerconnected to the network:

9 Sending data across the LAN

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Figure 11

l Both PC1 and the printer are using IP addresses within the private range ofaddresses in IP network 19.168.0.0/24. The printer is listening on a registered port of9100 and the PC has selected registered port 1024 to identify its TCP session withthe printer. Both devices are fitted with an Ethernet NIC card, which havemanufacturer assigned MAC addresses.

l PC1 first performs a check on the planned source and destination addresses to seewhich IP networks they are within:

Figure 12

l PC1 uses its own subnet mask (/24 – 255.255.255.0) to determine the IP networkthat it is within. The mask identifies the first three octets of the IP address asbelonging to the IP network address: 192.168.0. It then simply adds a ‘0’ to the end tocomplete the address: 192.168.0.0. PC1 then uses the same subnet mask to seewhich IP network the destination address is within and achieves the same result,192.168.0.0.

l PC1 recognises that the source and destination IP addresses are within the same IPnetwork, so there is no requirement to forward them to a default gateway (the homerouter) for delivery to a different IP network.

l PC1 encapsulates the print information into a succession of TCP segments, whichare then encapsulated in appropriately addressed IP packets. The source addressidentifies PC1 (192.168.0.101) and the destination address identifies the printer(192.168.0.102):

9 Sending data across the LAN

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Figure 13

l The packet needs to be encapsulated within an Ethernet frame by the NIC on PC1.This appears to be straightforward until you consider the destination MAC addressfield. How does PC1 learn the MAC address burnt into another device’s NIC?

Figure 14

9 Sending data across the LAN

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l At this point, PC1 is unable to identify the correct MAC address to place in thedestination field of the frame, so the frame cannot be transmitted to the printer.Consequently PC1 initiates a broadcast communication to all the devices in its IPsubnet using the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), requesting information aboutthe MAC address associated with the device using IP address 192.168.0.102:

Figure 15

l Note the destination address used by the ARP is FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF – this is abroadcast address, which is flooded by the Ethernet switch from all its ports (apartfrom the one the address was received on). Thus, all the devices within the LANreceive the ARP query, but only the printer responds as the query contains its IPaddress. It returns an ARP response, identifying its assigned MAC address:

Figure 16

l PC1 uses the MAC address received in the ARP response to complete thedestination MAC address field in the frame it is using to send data to the printer:

9 Sending data across the LAN

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Figure 17

l Because ARP uses a broadcast destination address it can have a large impact onthe operation of Ethernet switches, which are required to flood multiple copies of itfrom all their ports. To ease this burden, PC1 creates a local table called an ARPcache in which it stores all the IP address/MAC address pairings it has learnt. As aresult, subsequent frames created by PC1 addressed to the printer will use the ARPcache to find the required destination address instead of using ARP.

l The entries in the ARP cache have a lifetime associated with them, which isconstantly updated while the device is sending frames using the entries. Once thedevice stops sending frames the entries will timeout and be removed from the cache.This prevents the cache becoming full of outdated MAC address information.

10 Sending data to the WAN

l When your home devices forward data towards the Internet, they use source anddestination IP addresses that sit within different IP networks, so the data must beforwarded via the default gateway (home router). Consider the network shown below,where PC1 wishes to access the WWW server:

10 Sending data to the WAN

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Figure 18

l PC1 performs a check on the planned source and destination addresses to seewhich IP networks they are within by comparing them with its own subnet mask:

Figure 19

l PC1 recognises that the destination address is on a different IP network and that itmust send packets via the default gateway it has been configured to use:192.168.0.1. PC1 encapsulates the webpage request into a succession of TCPsegments, which are then encapsulated in appropriately addressed IP packets. Thesource address identifies PC1 (192.168.0.101) and the destination address identifiesthe web server (211.100.100.1):

10 Sending data to the WAN

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Figure 20

l Why doesn’t PC1 use the address of the default gateway (192.168.0.1) as thedestination of the packet? Remember that IP addresses are used to provide end-to-end connectivity between devices located on different IP networks – they are notused to identify any intermediate devices through which the packet is forwarded.PC1 therefore encapsulates the packet within an Ethernet frame and uses itsdestination MAC address to deliver the frame to the default gateway.

l Once again, PC1 uses ARP to determine the MAC address being used by theinterface with IP address 192.168.0.1:

Figure 21

l The ARP query generated by PC1 is sent in a broadcast frame and delivered to allthe devices in the home LAN. R1 recognises its own IP address within the ARPquery and returns an ARP response providing its MAC address:

10 Sending data to the WAN

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Figure 22

l PC1 uses the MAC address it received in the ARP response to complete thedestination MAC address field in the frame it is using to send data to the defaultgateway:

Figure 23

l The frame is delivered across the local network to the gigabit interface of the homerouter, R1. Because the destination MAC address of the frame matches the MACassigned to the interface, the router accepts the frame and de-encapsulates it torecover the packet. The router then tries to match the destination IP address with anentry within its own routing table so it can make a forwarding decision:

10 Sending data to the WAN

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Figure 24

l The image above shows the home router in slightly more detail, including the routingtable which contains two entries. The devices within the home network areconnected to the router via the G0/0 interface, so network 192.168.0.0/24 appearsdirectly connected. The second entry shows a default route, connected to theexternal WAN interface G0/1. It may look strange as it consists of an all zero IPaddress and subnet mask. However, this means that it will match all possibledestination IP addresses and forward them from interface G0/1 towards the ISP.

l Why is a default route required? Remember, a router will only forward a packet if itfinds a match for its destination IP address within the local routing table. If the homerouter did not use a default route it would need to have an entry for every possibledestination network within the Internet, and it simply does not have enough memoryto do that.

l By using the default route to forward all packets to the ISP, home users are relyingupon the routers within the service provider’s network having sufficient routinginformation to be able to deliver their packets to the required destination networks.

l Once the router has determined that the packet needs to be forwarded from G0/1, ithas three tasks:l switch the packet to interface G0/1l perform Network Address Translation (NAT) on the source address of the

packetl encapsulate the packet in an appropriately addressed frame.

10 Sending data to the WAN

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Figure 25

l The diagram above shows more detail about the connection between the homerouter and the ISP. The G0/1 interface is connected via whichever broadbandtechnology is being used (DSL, cable or wireless) to a router within the ISP, which isconfigured with IP and MAC addresses.

l Referring to the diagram, note that the source IP address of the packet has beenconverted by NAT to 87.100.100.10, which is the public IP address that uniquelyidentifies the home router within the Internet.

l The packet is then encapsulated within an Ethernet frame, which uses the MACaddress of home router interface G0/1 as its source and the MAC address of the ISProuter interface as its destination.

l Subsequent routers that forward the packet towards the WWW server will notchange the source IP address, otherwise reply packets would not be able to locatethe home router.

l The packet will be encapsulated in a new frame every time it is forwarded by a router.The frames that are used may not be Ethernet – it depends on the type of WANtechnology that is utilised by the devices which forward the packet to its destination.

l Another function provided by routers is to limit the spread of broadcast traffic such asARP. Imagine what would happen if ARP could be propagated across the Internet –every time an ARP was generated, on any device, it would be sent to every otherdevice in the world. This is obviously extremely undesirable and router interfacescreate a broadcast domain – they will examine broadcast traffic, but they will notforward it onto other networks.

11 Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet

l So far, you have looked at the network access layer protocol Ethernet and its role intransporting frames between devices within networks. It is also important to note that

11 Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet

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a wide variety of other network access protocols are utilised within service providernetworks, some of which include:l High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC)l Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)l Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

l You will not encounter these protocols within a home network, but some of thefunctions of PPP are utilised to support the connection between a home router and aservice provider.

l PPP functions include the ability to assign addresses to remote devices (in a similarmanner to DHCP) and to authenticate devices attempting to connect to a network.Authentication is the process in which a user provides information, such as ausername and password, to identify themselves to the service provider. Authenti-cation is obviously very important from a service provider’s point of view, as it allowsthem to restrict access to their network to genuine (paying) subscribers.

l Many ISPs use Ethernet framing to connect households and their own networks, butEthernet on its own cannot support authentication. This leads to the development ofPoint-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE), which is a network access protocolcapable of encapsulating PPP frames within Ethernet frames:

Figure 26

l Because the PPP frame is included within the data payload area, it reduces the roomavailable for carrying packets. PPPoE allows ISPs providing ADSL broadband to usethe functions of PPP, particularly authentication, while still providing an Ethernetservice.

l Another option for connecting a home router to an ISP is PPP over ATM (PPPoA),which provides essentially the same function as PPPoE for service providers whohave implemented ATM routing within their WAN.

l The main difference between the two protocols from a home user’s point of viewrests in authentication. PPPoA requires the home router to be configured with ausername and password in order for it to connect to the ISP. Any home device thatconnects to the home router is then able to access the Internet via the ISP. PPPoEoffers the same service but, additionally, it can be installed as a client application onindividual devices, allowing them to establish separate, authenticated sessions withthe ISP.

11 Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet

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12 Activity

Activity: Understand the devices and protocols used in LAN and WANnetworks (Packet Tracer)This module has explored the interaction between devices located on the LAN as theyaccess WAN services in theory. Try this activity to see the interaction in action.You will need:

l Lab Book: Understand the Devices and Protocols Used in LAN and WANNetworks

l Packet Tracerl CASBIT.pkz

13 End of course quizNow it’s time to test what you’ve learned in a quiz.

14 AcknowledgementsGrateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:Figure 1: CiscoFigure 2: CiscoFigure 3: CiscoFigure 4: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 5: CiscoFigure 6: CiscoFigure 7: CiscoFigure 8: CiscoFigure 9: CiscoFigure 10: CiscoFigure 11: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 12: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 13: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 14: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 15: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 16: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 17: Birmingham City University (BCU)

12 Activity

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Figure 18: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 19: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 20: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 21: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 22: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 23: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 24: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 25: Birmingham City University (BCU)Figure 26: Birmingham City University (BCU)Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any have been inadvertentlyoverlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the firstopportunity.

14 Acknowledgements

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