📡 Telecom Networks

// ELTE study guide & cheatsheets

Network Models & Characterization

The Two Layering Models

OSI Reference Model (7 layers)

# Layer PDU Role Examples
7 Application Message User-facing services HTTP, FTP, SMTP, DNS
6 Presentation Data format conversion (endianness, encoding)
5 Session Access mgmt, synchronization
4 Transport Segment End-to-end delivery TCP, UDP
3 Network Packet Global routing IP, IPv6
2 Data Link Frame Local hop delivery, MAC Ethernet, WiFi
1 Physical Bit Transfer bits over medium Copper, Fiber, Radio

TCP/IP Hybrid Model (5 layers)

Layer Protocols Device
Application HTTP, SMTP, FTP, SIP End host
Transport TCP, UDP End host
Network IP (the glue!) Router (L3 gateway)
Link Ethernet, WiFi, ADSL Switch (L2 gateway)
Physical Twisted pair, fiber, coax NIC, cable

IP is the "narrow waist" — the single protocol that unifies all networks above and below.


Encapsulation

Each layer wraps the layer above with its own header:

Application:  [HTTP header | data]
Transport:    [TCP header | HTTP header | data]
Network:      [IP header  | TCP header | HTTP header | data]
Link:         [Eth header | IP header  | TCP header | HTTP header | data | Eth trailer]

Routers strip/read up to L3; switches only L2; end hosts read all layers.


Circuit Switching vs. Packet Switching

Feature Circuit Switching Packet Switching
Resource Reserved in advance On-demand
Multiplexing Flow-level Packet-level
Efficiency Low (idle circuits waste bandwidth) High
Predictability High (guaranteed bandwidth) Low (variable delay)
Example Landline phone (PSTN) Internet

Key insight: P/A = peak-to-average ratio.
- Voice: P/A ≈ 3 → reservation is OK
- Data: P/A > 100 → reservation wastes resources → use packet switching

Circuit switching problems: - Bursty traffic leaves circuits idle most of the time - Short flows: setup overhead (T1 + T3) can exceed transfer time (T2) - Failures require re-establishing a new circuit


Network Characterization: Delay, Loss, Throughput

Types of Delay

Total delay = Transmission + Propagation + Processing + Queueing
Type Formula Depends on
Transmission packet size (bits) / link bandwidth (bps) Link speed, packet size
Propagation link length (m) / signal speed (m/s) Distance (speed of light ≈ 2×10⁸ m/s in fiber)
Processing ~ ns Router hardware
Queueing statistical — varies per packet Traffic intensity La/R

Example: 100B packet, 1 Mbps link, 1 ms propagation: - Transmission: 800 bits / 10⁶ = 800 μs - Propagation: 1 ms - Total ≈ 1.8 ms

Same packet on 1 Gbps link: - Transmission: 800 ns → propagation dominates → ≈ 1.0008 ms

Queueing Delay & Traffic Intensity

Traffic intensity = La/R
  L = packet size (bits)
  a = arrival rate (packets/sec)
  R = link transmission rate (bps)
  • La/R < 1 → queue is manageable
  • La/R > 1 → queue grows without bound → infinite delay

Golden rule: Design so traffic intensity stays well below 1.

Loss

Queues are finite. When persistently overloaded, packets are dropped (lost).

Throughput

Throughput = data size / transfer time   [bits/sec]

Determined by the bottleneck link — the slowest link along the path.
CDNs move content closer to users to reduce propagation delay.


ISP Hierarchy

Tier Role
Tier-1 Global backbone; no upstream provider (~few dozen)
Tier-2 National; buys transit from Tier-1 (~thousands)
Tier-3 Local/access ISP; buys from Tier-2 (~85-90% of all ISPs)

Peering: Two ISPs connect directly to avoid paying their common provider.
IXP (Internet Exchange Point): Physical location where many ISPs peer to reduce costs (e.g. DE-CIX Frankfurt).


Internet History Timeline

Year Event
1969 ARPANET — first packet-switched network
1971 NCP (predecessor of TCP/IP)
1973 Ethernet invented
1974 TCP/IP paper (Cerf & Kahn)
1983 NCP → TCP/IP switch; DNS introduced
1989 WWW (Tim Berners-Lee, CERN)
1998 IPv6 standardized; Google
2007 Netflix streaming; first iPhone
2009 Bitcoin genesis; 4G/LTE