Chapter 15.

Connecting LANs, Backbone Networks,

and Virtual LANs

15.1 Connecting devices

15.2 Backbone networks
15.3 Virtual LANs

Computer Networks 15-1

 Five Categories of Connecting Devices

• Below the physical layer: passive hub

• At the physical layer: repeater or active hub
• At the physical and data link layers: bridge or two-layer switch
• At the physical, data link, network layers: router or three-layer switch
• At all five layers: gateway
Computer Networks 15-2
 Repeater
• A repeater operates only in the physical layers
• A repeater connects segments of a LAN
• A repeater forwards every frame; it has no filtering capability
• The repeater is a two-port device that extends the LANs’ physical length

Computer Networks 15-3

 Function of a Repeater
• A repeater is a regenerator, not an amplifier

Computer Networks 15-4

 Active Hubs
• An active hub is actually a multiport repeater
• It is normally used to create connections between stations in a star topology
• Hubs can also be used to create multiple levels of hierarchy; removing the
length limitation of 10Base-T (100m)

Computer Networks 15-5

Repeaters/Hubs

Computer Networks 15-6

 Bridges
• A bridge operates in both physical and data link layers
• A bridge has filtering capability: Having a table used in filtering decisions
• A bridge can check, does not change the physical (MAC) addresses in a frame

Computer Networks 15-7

 Bridges
• Transparent bridges
– A bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of the bridge’s
existence
– Three criteria for a transparent bridge
• Frames must forward from one station to another
• The forwarding table is automatically made by learning frame
movements in the network
• Loops in the system must be prevented
• Source routing bridges
– A sending station defines the bridges that the frame must visit
– Not very common today
– It can prevent loops in a system with redundant bridges

Computer Networks 15-8

Transparent Bridges: Learning

Computer Networks 15-9

Loop Problem in a Learning Bridge

Computer Networks 15-10

 Transparent Bridges: Spanning Tree
• Spanning tree is a graph in which there is no loop
• To solve the looping problem, IEEE spec requires that bridges use the
spanning tree algorithm

1. Select the root bridge

• The one with the smallest built-in ID
2. Select the root port of each bridge
• The port with the least-cost path from the bridge to the root bridge
3. Choose a designated bridge for each LAN
• The bridge with the least-cost path from the LAN to the root bridge
• The corresponding port is the designated port
4. Mark the root port and designated port as forwarding port, others as
blocking port

Computer Networks 15-11

Spanning Tree: Graph Representation

Computer Networks 15-12

Spanning Tree:Finding the Shortest Path

Computer Networks 15-13

Spanning Tree: Forwarding and
Blocking Ports

Computer Networks 15-14

 Bridges Connecting Different LANs
• Many technical issues to connect LANs using different protocols at
the data link layer
• Frame format
• Maximum data size
• Data rate
• Bit order
• Security
• Multimedia support and QoS

Computer Networks 15-15

Two-Layer (Layer 2) Switch
• Layer 2 switch is an N-port bridge
• Ethernet switch or LAN switch
• Switched Ethernet (←)
• Full-duplex switched Ethernet (↓)

Computer Networks 15-16

 Two-Layer and Three-Layer Switch
• Two-Layer Switch : bridge with many ports
– Filtering based on the MAC address of the frame it received
– Builds switching table by “learning” host addresses from source addresses
of incoming packets
– Unknown destination addresses are flooded out other ports
– Broadcast frames are flooded out other ports
• Router
– Three-layer device that routes packets based on their logical (network
layer) address.
– Builds routing table by neighbor routers using routing protocols
– Unknown IP packets are discarded
– Broadcast frames are discarded
• Three-Layer Switch : a router, but a faster and more sophisticated
– Router and three-layer switch interchangeably

Computer Networks 15-17

Broadcast and Collision Domains

Computer Networks 15-18

LAN Segmentation

Computer Networks 15-19

 Backbone Network: Bus Backbone
• The topology of the backbone is a bus
• To connect different buildings in an organization

Computer Networks 15-20

 Star Backbone
• Collapsed or switched backbone
• The topology of the backbone is a star; the backbone is just one switch
• Mostly used as a distribution backbone inside a building

Computer Networks 15-21

 Connecting Remote LANs
• When a company has several offices with LANs
• Remote bridges
• A point-to-point link acts as a LAN in a remote backbone connected by
remote bridges

Computer Networks 15-22

 Virtual LANs
• LAN configured by software, not by physical wiring
• VLANs create broadcast domains

Computer Networks 15-23

 Example
• Membership is characterized by port numbers, MAC addresses, IP addresses,
multicast IP addresses or a combination of the above

Computer Networks 15-24

 VLAN
• Membership
– Membership is characterized by port numbers, MAC addresses, IP addresses,
Multicast IP addresses, or a combination of the above
• Configuration
– VLAN can be configured in one of three ways: manual, semiautomatic, and
automatic
• Communication between switches
– Each switch must know not only which station belongs to which VLAN, but also
the membership of stations connected to other switches
– Three methods are devised: table maintenance, frame tagging, and TDM
• Advantages of VLAN
– Cost and time reduction
– Creating virtual workgroups
– Security

Computer Networks 15-25