Activity 1 ece 583L Data Comm
- 1. ACTIVITY 1: Standards, Standards Organization and Introduction to the OSI Reference Model Learning Objectives Upon completion of this experiment, the student shall be able to: Explain the standardization process Explain the importance of standards in data communication Enumerate organizations and their contributions in the field of data communication Explain the functions of the different Layers of the OSI Reference Model Requirements Internet Access Background During the 1970's and 1980's data and computer networking is growing exponentially. Furthermore the increasing demands for support services have disturbed the stability of the market over the years. For this reason, a process called standardization is introduced. As a result International, regional, and national organizations have worked together to speak the same language. Standardization enabled the market to be stable by allowing vendors to manufacture equipments compatible with any other equipment including a specific standard. For example home and business networkers are looking to buy wireless local area network (WLAN) routers and they end up in array of choices like D-link, Linksys, Trendnet, etc and yet all of those equipments conform to an IEEE 802.11x standard. Standards have been adopted by most communication companies and carriers to provide quality service worldwide. These are the list of the principal advantages and disadvantages during the standard- making process: Advantages: a. A standard assures that there will be a large market for a particular piece of equipment or software. This encourages mass production and, in some case, the use of large-scale-integration (LSI) or very-large-scale- integration (VLSI) techniques, resulting in lower costs. b. A standard allows product from multiple vendors to communicate, giving the purchaser more flexibility in equipment selection and use. Disadvantages: a. A standard tends to freeze the technology. By the time a standard is developed, subjected to review and compromise, and promulgated, more efficient techniques are possible. b. There are multiple standards for the same thing. This is not a disadvantage of standards per se, but of the current way things are done. Fortunately, in recent years the various standards-making organizations have begun to cooperate more closely. Nevertheless, there are still areas where multiple conflicting standards exist. Data communication standards fall into two categories: de facto (by fact or by convention) and de jure (by law or regulation) De facto: Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but have been adopted as standards through widespread use are de facto standards. Such were established originally by the manufacturers to define the functionality of a new product or technology. De jure: Standards that have legislated by an officially recognized body are de jure standards. I. Standardization Process: An Example A step in a Standardization process includes having a recommendation from IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for the advancement of the protocol, and ratification of IAB (Internet Architecture Board). Moreover, a standardization process must be finished at a minimum practical time. A proposed standard must remain for at least six months and a draft standard for at least four months for the allotment of time for revisions. An experimental comment known as RFC (Request for Comment) is published for protocol/s or specifications that are not considered ready for standardization. However, it may be resubmitted after further work by implementation and operational experience with consideration of stability and significance to provide worldwide service, then a RFC number will be assigned to the proposed standard. On the other hand, when a protocol becomes out of date, it is assigned to the historic state.
- 2. Questions: 1.1 Discuss the importance of having a standard. 1.2 Why can it take up to four years or more for the ITU to adopt a recommendation? 1.3 What is a RFC (Request for Comment)? Explain II. Standards Organization Standards are developed through the cooperation of standards creation committees, forums and government regulatory agencies. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) the ISO is a multinational body whose membership is drawn mainly from the standard creation committees of various governments throughout the world. It is active in developing cooperation in realms of scientific, technological and economic activity. Log on to the homepage of ISO (http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm). Look at the About ISO section, then click The ISO System. 2.1 As abbreviated, the International Organization for Standardization was given the acronym ISO. How was the acronym derived? 2.2 How are standards developed by ISO? 2.3 What are the three categories of membership to the ISO? Describe each category. Is the Philippines a member body of the ISO? If so, what governing body represents the Philippines to the ISO? 2.4 Return to the homepage of the ISO. At the Standards Development Section, click the Technical Committees link. Look at the list of the ISO technical committees and complete the table below:
- 3. One of ISO’s greatest contributions in the field of data communications is the Open Systems Interconnection Model (ISO 7498) since ISO7498 is not a free document, one may learn the highlights of the OSI model through the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). Proceed to the wiki site and answer the following: 2.5 Describe the layering approach as a means of analyzing network architecture. 2.6 In order, what are the layers of the OSI model? 2.7 Associate the following services/processes/protocols to their corresponding OSI layer: International Telecommunications Union the ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. To know more of the ITU, log-on to the ITU site (http://www.itu.int/net/about/). Briefly answer the following. 2.8 What are the three sectors of the ITU and describe the functions of each sector. ITU-T Recommendations are defining elements in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. Whether we exchange voice, data or video messages, communications cannot take place without standards linking the sender and the receiver. In data communications, the most notable recommendations include the V, X, I, G, H and the Q- series recommendations. View the recommendation page (http://www.itu.int/ITUT/publications/recs.html) to complete the table below:
- 4. To get an insight of some of the ITU-T recommendations mostly used in data communications, see the ITU-T recommendations page (http://www.itu.int/itu-t/recommendations/index.aspx). Complete the table below with the following recommendations: 2.9 Comparatively, the OSI model can be compared to what ITU-T standard? Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) By far, the IEEE is considered as the largest professional organization for electrical, electronics, and computing engineers. Notably, IEEE is highly acclaimed in the data communications industry because of their efforts in the development of the IEEE802 standards. To get an overview of the IEEE802 standards, please view their portfolio on this web link http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/portfolio.html Answer the following questions: 2.10 Identify the following names of the following IEEE802 active working groups: 2.11 Click the link of the IEEE802 Working groups. What are the two inactive working groups? Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a non-profit trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the United States. EIA is accredited by ANSI to help develop standards on electronic components, consumer electronics, electronic information, telecommunications, and Internet security. The recommended standards (formerly designated as RS-#, currently EIA-#) are designed so that manufacturer’s equipment can be interchanged and compatible. Some of the well-known recommendations made by the EIA include the EIA-232, EIA-449 and EIA-530. To have a glimpse of the EIA-232, proceed to the wiki site as provided (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232). Answer the following questions: 2.11 What four specifications does the EIA-232C of 1969 define?
- 5. Proceed to the Connectors Section to answer this question. 2.12 RS-232 devices may be classified as Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) or Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (DCE). What type of connector should be used for devices with DTE pin functions? With DCE pin functions? In the RS-232 specification, the pin connector is composed of how many pins? Internet Society (ISOC) Internet standards are developed by group of organizations which operate under the auspices of the Internet Society (ISOC). Log-on to the standards section of the ISOC (http://www.isoc.org/standards/) and answer this question. 2.13 What are the three key areas of the standards and technology priorities of the ISOC? Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) The IETF is a large, open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual. The IETF's technical work is performed by working groups, organized into major topic areas. The IETF's official products are documents, published free of charge as Request for Comments (RFC). The IETF is as the group of people who work together to improve the technology of the Internet on a daily basis. As well as producing RFCs, the IETF is a forum where network operators, hardware and software implementers, and researchers talk to each other to ensure that future protocols, standards and products will be even better. To have an overview of RFC, log on to IETF’s RFC page (http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html). On the IETF Repository Retrieval, type 1918, then click Go. Browse the document to answer the following questions: 2.14 What does RFC 1918 describe? 2.15 How do you differentiate hosts that require private from public IP addresses? 2.16 According to RFC1918, what are the three blocks of IP private addresses space reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for private internets?