UNIT - V

TRANSPORT LAYER
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 2

AGENDA
Transport Layer
• Process to Process Delivery
• User Datagram Protocol
• Transmission Control Protocol
Application Layer
• Domain Name Space
• DNS in the Internet
• Electronic Mail
• File Transfer
• WWW Architecture
• HTTP
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 4

PROCESS TO PROCESS DELIVERY

• The Transport Layer is the second layer in the TCP/IP model and the fourth layer in the OSI model.

• The end-to-end layer provides a direct connection between the source and destination hosts to deliver
services reliably.

• The unit of data encapsulation in the Transport Layer is a segment.

• The data link layer is responsible for the delivery of frames between two neighboring nodes over a link.
This is called node-to-node delivery.

• The network layer is responsible for the delivery of datagrams between two hosts. This is called host-to-
host delivery.

• The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery—the delivery of a packet, part of a
message, from one process to another. Two processes communicate in a client/server relationship.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 5

PROCESS TO PROCESS
DELIVERY

• Client/Server Paradigm

• Multiplexing and Demultiplexing

• Connectionless Versus Connection-Oriented Service

• Reliable Versus Unreliable

• Three Protocols
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 6

CLIENT/SERVER PARADIGM
• The most common way to achieve process-to-process communication is through the
client/server paradigm.
• A process on the local host, called a client, needs services from a process usually on the remote
host, called a server. For communication, we must define the following:

• 1. Local host
• 2. Local process
• 3. Remote host
• 4. Remote process
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 7

ADDRESSING
• When delivering something to a specific destination, we need an
address.
• At the data link layer, a MAC address is necessary to choose one
node among several if the connection is not point-to-point.
• IP addresses and port numbers play different roles in selecting the
final destination of data.
• The destination IP address defines the host, and the port number
defines one of the processes on this host.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 8

IANA RANGES
• The IANA (Internet Assigned Number Authority) has divided the port numbers into three ranges:
well-known, registered, and dynamic (or private).
• Well-known ports. The ports ranging from 0 to 1023 are assigned and controlled by lANA.

• Registered ports. The ports ranging from 1024 to 49,151 are not assigned or controlled by lANA.
They can only be registered with lANA to prevent duplication.
• Dynamic ports. The ports ranging from 49,152 to 65,535 are neither controlled nor registered. They
can be used by any process. These are the ephemeral ports.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 9

SOCKET ADDRESSES
• Process-to-process delivery needs two identifiers, IP address and the port number, at each end to
make a connection.
• The combination of an IP address and a port number is called a socket address.

• The client socket address defines the client process uniquely just as the server socket address defines
the server process uniquely
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 10

MULTIPLEXING AND DEMULTIPLEXING

• Multiplexing: At the sender site, there may be several processes that need to send packets one
transport layer protocol at any time. This is a many-to-one relationship and requires multiplexing.
• Demultiplexing: At the receiver site, the relationship is one-to-many and requires demultiplexing.
The transport layer receives datagrams from the network layer then the transport layer delivers each
message to the appropriate process based on the port number.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 11

CONNECTIONLESS VERSUS CONNECTION-

ORIENTED

Connectionless Service
• In a connectionless service, packets are sent without connection establishment or release. They are
not numbered and may be delayed, lost, or arrive out of sequence. There is no acknowledgment.
Connection-Oriented Service
• In a connection-oriented service, a connection is first established between the sender and the
receiver. Data are transferred. At the end, the connection is released.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 12

RELIABLE VERSUS UNRELIABLE

• The transport layer service can be reliable or unreliable.
• If the application layer program needs reliability, we use a reliable transport layer protocol,
which provides flow and error control.
• The network layer in the Internet is unreliable, so we need to implement reliability at the
transport layer.
• On the Internet, there are three common different transport layer protocols:
• UDP is connectionless and unreliable; TCP and SCTP are connection-oriented and reliable.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 13

THREE PROTOCOLS
• The original TCP/IP protocol suite specifies two protocols for the transport layer: UDP and TCP. A
new transport layer protocol, SCTP, has been designed.
The process to process delivery of the entire message is the responsibility of the _____________ layer.
14
1. Network
2. Application
3. Transport
4. Physical

Which of the following best describes the client/server paradigm?

1. A method where all processes are equal and communicate directly.
2. A framework that eliminates the need for IP addresses.
3. A system that requires multiple servers to handle a single client.
4. A model where a local process requests services from a remote process.

What is the primary function of port numbers in data communication?

1. To manage the bandwidth of a network.
2. To define the specific process on a host.
3. To establish a secure connection.
4. To identify the host in a network.

What is a socket address?

1. A unique identifier for a MAC address.
2. A combination of an IP address and a port number.
3. A protocol used for establishing connections.
4. An address used only in local networks.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
In the context of process-to-process communication, what does multiplexing refer to?
15
• The method of separating data streams at the receiver's end.
• The technique of sending data without establishing a connection.
• The requirement for a single process to handle multiple connections.
• The process of combining multiple data streams into one.
Which of the following statements about connection-oriented services is true?
• They do not guarantee data delivery.
• They require a connection to be established before data transfer.
• They are used exclusively for video streaming.
• They are always faster than connectionless services.
Which statement accurately describes the difference between UDP and TCP?
• UDP is connection-oriented and reliable, while TCP is connectionless and unreliable.
• UDP and TCP serve the same purpose in data delivery.
• UDP is connectionless and unreliable, while TCP is connection-oriented and reliable.
• Both UDP and TCP are connection-oriented and reliable.
What is the role of the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) regarding port numbers?
• IANA regulates the bandwidth allocation for different services.
• IANA manages the encryption of data packets.
• IANA controls the assignment of well-known and registered port numbers.
• IANA is responsible for assigning IP addresses to hosts.

Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,

USER DATAGRAM
PROTOCOL (UDP)
✓ Well-Known Ports for UDP
✓ User Datagram
✓ Checksum
✓ UDP Operation
✓ Use of UDP
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 17

WELL-KNOWN PORTS FOR UDP

Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 18

USER DATAGRAM
UDP packets, known as user datagrams, have a fixed-size 8-byte header and include the
following fields:
• Source port number: a 16-bit field representing the port number of the process on the
source host.
• Destination port number: a 16-bit field representing the port number of the process on the
destination host.
• Length: a 16-bit field defining the total length of the user datagram (header plus data).

• Checksum: used to detect errors over the entire user datagram (header plus data).
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 19

USER DATAGRAM
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 20

CHECKSUM
• The UDP checksum consists of three sections:
• A pseudo-header, the UDP header, and the data from the application layer.
• The pseudo-header is part of the IP packet's header in which the user datagram will be
encapsulated, with certain fields filled with zeros.
• The pseudoheader as well as the padding will be dropped when the user datagram is delivered
to IP.
• When the user datagram is delivered to IP, the pseudo-header along with the padding will be
removed.
• If the checksum is not calculated, the field will be filled with ones.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
21

CHECKSUM
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 22

UDP OPERATION
• Connectionless Services: UDP provides a connectionless service. This means that each user datagram
sent by UDP is an independent datagram. There is no relationship between the different user
datagrams.
• Flow Control: UDP is a very simple, unreliable transport protocol. There is no flow control and
hence no window mechanism. The receiver may overflow with incoming messages.
• Error Control: There is no error control mechanism in UDP except for the checksum. This means
that the sender does not know if a message has been lost or duplicated.
• Encapsulation and Decapsulation: To send a message from one process to another, the UDP
protocol encapsulates and decapsulates messages in an IP datagram.
• Queuing: When a process starts at the client site, it requests a port number from the operating
system.
• Some implementations create both incoming and outgoing queues for each process, while others
only create an incoming queue.
• The client's queues are usually identified by ephemeral port numbers and are destroyed when the
process terminates."
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 23

UDP OPERATION - QUEUING

• The client process can send messages to the outgoing queue by using the source port number specified in the
request.
• UDP removes the messages one by one and, after adding the UDP header, delivers them to IP.
• An outgoing queue can overflow. If this happens, the operating system can ask the client process to wait before
sending any more messages.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 24

USE OF UDP
• UDP is suitable for a process that requires simple request-response communication with little concern for flow
and error control. It is not usually used for a process such as FTP that needs to send bulk data.

• UDP is suitable for a process with internal flow and error control mechanisms. For example, the Trivial File
Transfer Protocol (TFTP) process includes flow and error control. It can easily use UDP.

• UDP is a suitable transport protocol for multicasting. Multicasting capability is embedded in the UDP software
but not in the TCP software.

• UDP is used for management processes such as SNMP.

• UDP is used for some route updating protocols such as Routing Information Protocol (RIP).
1. What is the total size of the header in a UDP packet, which is crucial for understanding its structure?
A. 4 bytes 25
B. 8 bytes
C. 16 bytes
D. 12 bytes
2. What is the purpose of the Source port number field in a UDP packet?
A. To identify the destination host
B. To detect errors in the datagram
C. To represent the port number of the source process
D. To define the total length of the datagram
3. Which field in a UDP packet defines the total length of the user datagram?
A. Destination port number
B. Length
C. Source port number
D. Checksum
4. What is the primary function of the Checksum in a UDP packet?
A. To specify the source IP address
B. To detect errors over the entire user datagram
C. To indicate the type of data being sent
D. To define the destination IP address
5. How many sections does the UDP checksum consist of?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
• What role does the pseudo-header play in the UDP checksum?
• It is not part of the UDP packet
26
• It contains the source and destination IP addresses
• It helps in error detection
• It is used to encapsulate the UDP packet
• What is the significance of the pseudo-header in the context of UDP?
• It specifies the protocol type
• It defines the maximum transmission unit
• It is used to calculate the checksum
• It provides additional data for the application layer
• What does it mean that UDP provides a connectionless service?
• Each datagram is sent independently without a connection.
• UDP establishes a session before sending any data.
• UDP requires a constant connection to send data.
• Datagrams are sent in a sequence and must be acknowledged.
• What is the primary error control mechanism used in UDP?
• No error control mechanisms are used.
• Automatic retransmission of lost messages.
• A checksum to detect errors.
• A comprehensive error correction protocol.
• In the context of UDP, what does encapsulation refer to?
• Wrapping messages in an IP datagram for sending.
• The method of encrypting data before sending.
• Breaking down messages into smaller packets.
• The process of compressing data for transmission.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
• Which protocol is an example of a process that can use UDP due to its internal flow and error control mechanisms? 27

• Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)

• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
• Which of the following statements about UDP and TCP is true?
• TCP is better suited for real-time applications.
• UDP includes flow control mechanisms.
• UDP is slower than TCP.
• Multicasting capability is embedded in UDP software.
• What is one of the key advantages of using UDP for multicasting?
• It is more secure than TCP.
• It provides a connection-oriented service.
• It allows for sending data to multiple recipients simultaneously.
• It guarantees delivery of packets.
• Which route updating protocol is known to utilize UDP?
• Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
• Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
• Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)
• Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,

TRANSMISSION CONTROL
PROTOCOL (TCP)
✓ TCP Services
✓ TCP Features
✓ Segment
✓ A TCP Connection
✓ Flow Control
✓ Error Control
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 29

TCP SERVICES: WELL - KNOWN PORTS USED BY TCP

 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 30

STREAM DELIVERY SERVICE

• TCP is a stream-oriented protocol that allows the sending process to deliver data as a stream of bytes and the
receiving process to obtain data as a stream of bytes.

• It creates an environment with an imaginary "tube" that carries data across the Internet, with the sending
process producing (writes) the bytes and the receiving process consuming (reads) them.

• Sending and Receiving Buffers: The sending and the receiving processes may not write or read data at the same
speed, TCP needs buffers for storage.

• The white section contains empty chambers. The gray area holds bytes that have been sent but not yet
acknowledged. The colored area contains bytes to be sent by the sending TCP.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 31

TCP SERVICE
Full-Duplex Communication
• TCP offers full-duplex service, in which data can flow in both directions at the same time.
• Each TCP then has a sending and receiving buffer, and segments move in both directions.
Connection-Oriented Service
• TCP is a connection-oriented protocol. When a process at site A wants to send and receive data from another
process at site B, the following occurs:
1. The two TCPs establish a connection between them.
2. Data are exchanged in both directions.
3. The connection is terminated.
Reliable Service
• TCP is a reliable transport protocol. It uses an acknowledgement mechanism to check the safe and sound
arrival of data.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 32

TCP FEATURES
Numbering System: The TCP software keeps track of the segments being transmitted or received, with two fields
called the sequence number and the acknowledgement number. These two fields refer to the byte number and
not the segment number.

Byte Number: TCP numbers all data bytes that are transmitted in a connection. The bytes of data being
transferred in each connection are numbered by TCP. The numbering starts with a randomly generated number.

Sequence Number: After numbering the bytes, TCP assigns a sequence number to each segment that is being sent.
This number represents the first byte in the segment.

Acknowledgement Number: Each party uses an acknowledgement number to confirm the bytes it has received.
However, the acknowledgement number defines the number of the next byte that the party expects to receive
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 33

SEGMENT
• A packet in TCP is called a segment.
• The segment consists of a 20- to 60-byte header, followed by data from the application program.
Source port address. This is a 16-bit field that defines the
port number of the application program in the host that is
sending the segment.
Destination port address. This is a 16-bit field that defines
the port number of the application program in the host that
is receiving the segment.
Sequence number. This 32-bit field defines the number
assigned to tell the destination which byte in this sequence
comprises the first byte in the segment.
Acknowledgment number. This 32-bit field defines the byte
number that the receiver of the segment is expecting to
receive from the other party.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 34

SEGMENT
• Header length. This 4-bit field indicates the number of 4-byte words in the TCP header. The length of the
header can be between 20 and 60 bytes. Therefore, the value of this field can be between 5 (5 x 4 =20) and 15
(15 x 4 =60).
• Reserved. This is a 6-bit field reserved for future use.
• Control. This field defines 6 different control bits or flags.
• Window size. This field defines the size of the window, in bytes, the length of this field is 16 bits, which
means that the maximum size of the window is 65,535 bytes.
• Checksum. This 16-bit field contains the checksum. The inclusion of the checksum for TCP is mandatory.
• Urgent pointer. This l6-bit field, which is valid, only if the urgent flag is set, is used when the segment
contains urgent data.
• Options. There can be up to 40 bytes of optional information in the TCP header.

Control Field
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 35

A TCP CONNECTION
• TCP is connection-oriented. A connection-oriented transport protocol
establishes a virtual path between the source and destination.
1. Connection Establishment: TCP transmits data in full-duplex mode. When
two TCPs in two machines are connected, they are able to send segments to
each other simultaneously.
Three-Way Handshaking:
• The connection establishment in TCP is called three way handshaking.
• An application program, called the client, wants to make a connection
with another application program, called the server, using TCP as the
transport layer protocol.
• A SYN segment cannot carry data, but it consumes one sequence number.
• A SYN +ACK segment cannot carry data, but does consume one
sequence number.
• An ACK segment, if carrying no data, consumes no sequence number.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 36

A TCP CONNECTION
2. Data Transfer
• After the connection is established, bidirectional data transfer can take place. The client and server can both send
data and acknowledgements. The acknowledgment is piggybacked with the data.
• Pushing Data: The sending TCP uses a buffer to store the stream of data coming from the sending application
program. The sending TCP can select the segment size.
3. Connection Termination
• Any of the two parties involved in exchanging data (client or server) can close the connection.
• Most implementations today allow two Options for connection termination: three-way handshaking and four-way
handshaking with a half-close option.
1. The FIN segment consumes one sequence number if it does not carry data.
2. The FIN +ACK segment consumes one sequence number if it does not carry data.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 37

FLOW CONTROL
• TCP uses a sliding window to handle flow control. The sliding window protocol used by TCP, however, is
something between the Go-Back-N and Selective Repeat sliding window.
• The window is opened, closed, or shrunk. These three activities, as we will see, are in the control of the receiver
(and depend on congestion in the network), not the sender. The sender must obey the commands of the receiver
in this matter.
• A sliding window is used to make transmission more efficient as well as to control the flow of data so that the
destination does not become overwhelmed with data. TCP sliding windows are byte-oriented.
• The window can be opened or closed by the receiver, but should not be shrunk.
• The destination can send an acknowledgment at any time as long as it does not result in a shrinking window.
• The receiver can temporarily shut down the window; the sender, however, can always send a segment of 1 byte
after the window is shut down.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 38

ERROR CONTROL
• TCP provides reliability using error control. Error control includes mechanisms for detecting corrupted segments,
lost segments, out-of-order segments, and duplicated segments. Error control also includes a mechanism for
correcting errors after they are detected. Error detection and correction in TCP is achieved through the use of
three simple tools: checksum, acknowledgment, and time-out.
Checksum: Each segment includes a checksum field which is used to check for a corrupted segment. If the segment is
corrupted, it is discarded by the destination TCP and is considered as lost.
Acknowledgment: TCP uses acknowledgments to confirm the receipt of data segments. Control segments that carry
no data but consume a sequence number are also acknowledged. ACK segments are never acknowledged.
• ACK segments do not consume sequence numbers and are not acknowledged.
Retransmission: The heart of the error control mechanism is the retransmission of segments. When a segment is
corrupted, lost, or delayed, it is retransmitted.
1. Which of the following best describes the nature of TCP as a protocol?
A. It is a packet-oriented protocol. 39

B. It is a stream-oriented protocol.
C. It is a message-oriented protocol.
D. It is a connectionless protocol.
2. What does TCP primarily use to manage the difference in speed between sending and receiving processes?
A. Data packets
B. Connections
C. Buffers
D. Segments
3. How does TCP ensure that data is transmitted reliably?
A. By establishing a connection before data exchange.
B. By using an acknowledgment mechanism.
C. By sending data in large packets.
D. By using checksums only.
4. In TCP, what does the sequence number indicate?
A. The number of segments transmitted.
B. The first byte in a segment.
C. The last byte in a segment.
D. The total number of bytes sent.
5. What is the role of the source and destination port addresses in TCP?
A. To identify the type of data being sent.
B. To define the application programs involved in the communication.
C. To encrypt the data being transmitted.
D. To manage the flow control of data.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
What is the structure of the TCP header primarily used for?
A. To include essential fields for data transmission. 40
B. To manage the flow of data.
C. To encrypt the data.
D. To compress the data
What is the primary purpose of TCP as a transport protocol?
A. To facilitate one-way data transfer only.
B. To provide a connection-oriented transport protocol that establishes a virtual path.
C. To establish a connectionless communication channel.
D. To ensure data is sent without any sequence control.
What is the process called for establishing a connection in TCP?
A. Data encapsulation
B. Connection pooling
C. Three-way handshaking
D. Two-way handshake
Which of the following statements is true regarding a SYN segment in TCP?
• A SYN segment consumes one sequence number.
• A SYN segment can carry data.
• A SYN segment is used for connection termination.
• A SYN segment is optional in the connection establishment process.
What does the FIN segment do in TCP?
• It initiates the connection establishment.
• It consumes one sequence number if it does not carry data.
• It confirms the receipt of data segments.
• It is used to retransmit lost segments. Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
 41
• What role does the checksum play in TCP?
• It establishes a connection between two endpoints.
• It manages the flow of data packets.
• It checks for corrupted segments.
• It is used to confirm the receipt of data segments
• What is the purpose of acknowledgments in TCP?
• To initiate a connection.
• To confirm the receipt of data segments.
• To terminate a connection.
• To encrypt data during transmission.
• What happens when a TCP segment is corrupted or lost?
• It is sent again without any acknowledgment.
• It is permanently deleted.
• It is retransmitted.
• It is ignored and the connection continues.
• What does the acknowledgment number in TCP signify?
• The total bytes sent.
• The first byte in the next segment.
• The last byte received.
• The next byte expected to be received.
Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET,
 UNIT - V
APPLICATION LAYER
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 43

DNS
• Domain Name System (DNS) is a collection of databases that translate hostnames to IP addresses .
• DNS is often referred to as the internet's phone book because it converts easy-to-remember hostnames like
www.google.com, to IP addresses like 216.58.217.46.
DNS in the Internet:
• DNS is a protocol that can be used in different platforms. In the Internet, the domain name space is divided into
three sections are
1. Generic domains
2. Country domains and
3. Inverse domain
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 44

DNS
Generic domain:
• There are 14 generic domains, each specifying an organization type. The generic domain defines registered hosts
according to their generic behavior. Each node in the tree defines a domain, which is an index to the domain mane
space data base.

Country domains:
• Each country domain specifies a country. This
section follows the same format as the generic
domains but uses two-character country
abbreviations in place of three character
organizational abbreviations.
Inverse domain:
• The inverse domain finds a domain name for a
given IP address. This is called address-to-name
resolution. It is used to map an address to a name.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 45

DOMAIN NAME SPACE

• DNS can be pictured as an inverted hierarchical tree structure with one root node at the top and a maximum of
128 levels.
• Labels: Each node in the tree has a label, which is string with a maximum of 63 characters.
Domain Name:
• Each node in the tree has a domain name. A full domain name is a sequence of labels separated by dots (.).
Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN):
• A FQDN is a domain name consisting of labels beginning with the host and going back through each level to the
root node. Exà Challenger.atc.fh.da.Edu
Partially Qualified Domain Name (PQDN):
• In PQDN is a domain name that does not include all the levels between the host and the root node. Exà
Challenger.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 46

ELECTRONIC MAIL
• One of the most popular Internet services is electronic mail (e-mail).Electronic mail is often referred to
as E-mail and it is a method used for exchanging digital messages.
• Electronic mail is mainly designed for human use. It allows a message to includes text, image, audio as
well as video.
Architecture:
First Scenario: The sender and the receiver of the e-mail are users (or application programs) on the same
system; they are directly connected to a shared system.
Second Scenario: The sender and the receiver of the e-mail are users (or application programs) on two
different systems. The message needs to be sent over the Internet. Here we need user agents (UAs) and
message transfer agents (MTAs).
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 47

ELECTRONIC MAIL
• Third Scenario: Sender as in the second scenario, is directly connected to his system. Receiver is
separated from her system. Receiver is connected to the system via a point-to-point WAN, that uses one
mail server for handling e-mails-all users need to send their messages to this mail server.
• Fourth Scenario: Sender is also connected to his mail server by a WAN or a LAN. After the message has
arrived at sender mail server, he needs to retrieve it. Here we need message access agents (MAAs) to
retrieve his messages. The client sends a request to the MAA server, which is running all the time, and
requests the transfer of the messages.
User Agent:
• The first component of an electronic mail system is the user agent (VA). It provides service to the user
to make the process of sending and receiving a message easier.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 48

ELECTRONIC MAIL
Services Provided by a User Agent:
Composing Messages A user agent helps the user compose the e-mail message to be sent out.
Reading Messages The second duty of the user agent is to read the incoming messages. Each e-mail
contains the following fields.
1. A number field. 2. A flag field 3. The size of the message.
4. The sender. 5. The optional subject field.
Replying to Messages After reading a message, a user can use the user agent to reply to amessage
Forwarding Messages Forwarding is defined as sending the message to a third party. A user agent allows
the receiver to forward the message, with or without extra comments, to a third party.
 Ms. Merla Agnes Mary, M.Sc., M.Phil., NET, 49

ELECTRONIC MAIL
Message Transfer Agent: SMTP
• The actual mail transfer is done through message transfer agents.
• To send mail, a system must have the client MTA, and to receive mail, a system must have a server MTA.
• The formal protocol that defines the MTA client and server in the Internet is called the Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP).
• SMTP is used two times, between the sender and the sender's mail server and between the two mail servers
• SMTP simply defines how commands and responses must be sent back and forth.
• Commands are sent from the client to the server. SMTP defines 14 commands.
• Responses are sent from the server to the client. A response is a three digit code thatmay be followed by additional
textual information.
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ELECTRONIC MAIL
Message Access Agent:
• Two message access protocols are available: Post Office Protocol, version 3 (POP3) and Internet Mail Access
Protocol, version 4 (IMAP4).
POP3:
• POP is a simple protocol that only allows downloading messages. It does not allow a user to sync emails.
• In POP3 the mail can only be accessed from a single device at a time.
• In delete mode, the mail is deleted and in keep mode, the mail remains from the mailbox after retrieval.
IMAP4:
• Allows the user to see all the folders on the mail server.
• Messages can be accessed across multiple devices
• The mail content can be read partially before downloading.
• The user can create, delete or rename an email on the mail server.
• It allows a user to sync their emails.
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FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP)

File Transfer:
• Transferring files from one computer to another is one of the most common tasks expected from a networking is
due to file transfer.
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP/IP for copying a file from one host to
another.
• FTP establishes two connections between the hosts. One connection is used for data transfer, the other for control
information (commands and responses).
• The control connection uses very simple rules of communication. The data connection needs more complex rules
due to the variety of data types transferred.
• Port 21 is used for the control connection, and port 20 is used for the data connection.
• The client has three components: user interface, client control process, and the client data transfer process.
• The server has two components: the server control process and the server data transfer process.
• The control connection is made between the control processes. The data connection is made between the data
transfer processes.
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FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP)

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FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (FTP)

Communication over Control Connection:
• FTP uses the same approach as SMTP to communicate across the control connection. It uses the 7-bit ASCII
character set.
• Communication is achieved through commands and responses.

Communication over Data Connection:

• File transfer occurs over the data connection under the control of the commands sent over the control connection.
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HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL (HTTP)

• The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a protocol used mainly to access data on the World Wide Web.
• HTTP functions as a combination of FTP and SMTP. It is similar to FTP because it transfers files and uses the
services of TCP.
• The format of the messages is controlled by MIME-like headers.
• HTTP uses the services of TCP on well-known port 80.
HTTP Transaction:
• HTTP itself is a stateless protocol. The client initializes the transaction by sending a request message. The server
replies by sending a response.
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HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL (HTTP)

Messages:The formats of the request and response messages are similar.
• A request message consists of a request line, a header, and sometimes a body. Request and Status Lines The first
line in a request message is called a request line.
• A response message consists of a status line, a header, and sometimes a body and the first line in the response
message is called the status line.
Request type: This field is used in the request message. In version1.1of HTTP, several request types are defined.
Version: The most current version of HTTP is 1.1.
Status code: This field is used in the response message. The status code field is similar to those in the FTP and the
SMTP protocols. It consists of three digits.
Status phrase: This field is used in the response message. It explains the status code intext form.
Header: The header exchanges additional information between the client and the server. The header can consist of one
or more header lines. Each header line has a header name, a colon, a space, and a header value.
Body: The body can be present in a request or response message. Usually, it contains the document to be sent or
received.
THANK YOU