Hands-on Networking with Internet Technologies

by Comer, Douglas E

• ISBN13: 9780131486966
• ISBN10: 0131486969
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-05-12
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Acclaimed author Douglas E. Comer'sbook, Hands-On Networking with Internet Technologies,upholds the assertion that the best way to learn is by doing. Through laboratory experimentation, students and professionals gain a better understanding of how computer networks and Internet technologies operate in practice.      Organized into sections that focus on the hardware and software platforms of different lab facilities, this book systematically constructs and augments a practical knowledge of networking. From single computer applications to advanced network systems engineering, a broad spectrum of hands-on experiments addresses a variety of difficulty levels, and guides the user to a deeper comprehension of the functionality and subtleties of networking in action.

Author Biography

Douglas E. Comer is a professor at Purdue University, where he develops and teaches courses in computer networking and internetworking

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xv
Introduction And Overview	p. 1
The Fundamental Need For A Laboratory	p. 1
The Spectrum Of Possible Lab Facilities	p. 1
A Word About Simulation	p. 3
Organization Of The Book	p. 3
A Single Computer
Hardware And Software On A Single Computer	p. 7
The Two Types Of Support And Their Uses	p. 7
Support For Network Access	p. 7
Support For Network Programming	p. 7
Recommendations	p. 8
Summary	p. 8
Using A Single Computer For Probing And Testing	p. 9
Using A Single Computer To Probe The Internet	p. 9
Using A Single Computer To Develop And Test Network Applications	p. 9
Stress Testing Applications With An Emulated Internet	p. 10
Transport Protocol Development On A Single Computer	p. 11
Summary	p. 12
Network Programming On A Set Of Shared Workstations
Hardware And Software For A Shared Workstation Lab	p. 15
Consequences Of Sharing	p. 15
Example Shared Lab Technologies	p. 15
Architecture Of A Shared Lab	p. 16
Using A Shared Lab In A Networking Course	p. 16
Broadcast Domain Assumption	p. 16
Summary	p. 17
Network Programming Experiments Using A Simplified API	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
Obtaining Software For The API	p. 20
Compile, test, and extend example Echo software	p. 21
Compile, test, and extend example Chat software	p. 23
Build a simple file transfer service	p. 25
Network Programming Experiments Using The Socket API	p. 27
Introduction	p. 27
Information About Sockets	p. 27
A Note About The Difficulty Of Socket Programming	p. 28
Summary	p. 28
Compile, link, and run a socket program	p. 29
Write an echo client and server using sockets	p. 31
Build a web server using sockets	p. 33
Build a library for a network API	p. 35
Concurrent Network Programming Experiments	p. 37
Introduction	p. 37
Build a concurrent server (threads)	p. 39
Build a concurrent file transfer server (processes)	p. 41
Build a multiservice server	p. 43
Protocol Design Experiments	p. 45
Introduction	p. 45
Stress Testing Protocols	p. 45
Internet Emulation With A Gateway	p. 45
Emulation Behavior	p. 46
Gateway Details	p. 46
Gateway Registration Message	p. 47
Packet Exchange	p. 48
Error Processing	p. 49
Gateway Semantics And Defaults	p. 49
Possible Extensions	p. 50
Summary	p. 50
Build an internet emulation gateway	p. 51
Design a clock synchronization protocol	p. 53
Design a reliable data transfer protocol	p. 55
Design a sliding window protocol	p. 57
Experiments With Protocols From The TCP/IP Suite	p. 59
Introduction	p. 59
Difficulties And Rewards	p. 59
Summary	p. 60
Build a client for the Time protocol	p. 61
Build a domain name system client program	p. 63
Build a DHCP client	p. 65
Measurement And Packet Analysis On Augmented Workstations
Hardware And Software For An Augmented Shared Lab	p. 69
The Ideal Measurement Lab	p. 69
Alternatives To An Isolated Network	p. 69
Augmentation	p. 70
Protecting The Production Network	p. 70
Computers On A Private Network	p. 70
Summary	p. 71
Network Measurement Experiments	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Measuring Throughput	p. 73
Summary	p. 73
Compile and test ttcp	p. 75
Measure 10 and 100 Mbps network throughput	p. 77
Compare throughput of a switch and a hub	p. 79
Packet Capture And Analysis Experiments	p. 81
Introduction	p. 81
Promiscuous Mode And Hubs	p. 81
Manual Packet Inspection	p. 81
Summary	p. 82
Capture and decode ethernet frames	p. 83
Decode an IP header	p. 85
Decode TCP segment headers	p. 87
Build a packet analyzer	p. 89
Protocol Observation Experiments	p. 91
Introduction	p. 91
Protocol Sequences At Each Layer	p. 91
Summary	p. 91
Capture and reassemble IP fragments	p. 93
Extract data from a TCP stream	p. 95
Observe concurrent TCP connections	p. 97
Configuration Experiments In A Dedicated Intranet Lab
Hardware And Software For A Dedicated Intranet Lab	p. 101
Dedicated Vs. Production Facilities	p. 101
Characteristics Of A Dedicated Intranet Lab	p. 101
Example Equipment In A Dedicated Lab	p. 102
Summary	p. 102
Internet Address Configuration Experiments	p. 103
Introduction	p. 103
Organization Of Chapters	p. 103
Summary	p. 103
Configure IP addresses	p. 105
Assign fixed-length IP subnet addresses	p. 107
Assign IP addresses using CIDR	p. 109
Web Technology Configuration Experiments	p. 111
Introduction	p. 111
Web Technologies	p. 111
Summary	p. 112
Configure an Apache web server	p. 113
Download and configure a Squid cache	p. 115
Configure and test a web load balancer	p. 117
IP Routing And IP Forwarding Experiments	p. 119
Introduction	p. 119
Indirect Vs. Direct Observation	p. 119
Summary	p. 119
Use netstat to examine a routing table	p. 121
Use SNMP to probe a routing table	p. 123
Configure and run rip software	p. 125
Configure and run OSPF software	p. 127
Virtual And Protected Internet Environment Experiments	p. 129
Introduction	p. 129
Flexible Abstractions	p. 129
Summary	p. 129
Configure a DNS server	p. 131
Install and configure a NAT box	p. 133
Install and configure a VPN	p. 135
Protocol Stack Implementation In A Special-Purpose Lab
Hardware And Software For A Special-Purpose Protocol Development Lab	p. 139
Introduction	p. 139
The Need For Two Computers	p. 139
Front-End and Back-End Computers In A Lab	p. 140
Functional Requirements	p. 140
An Example Architecture	p. 141
Operation Of the Author's Lab	p. 142
Automated Recovery	p. 143
Organization Of The Lab Software	p. 144
Reset Controller Hardware	p. 145
Scaling The Architecture	p. 146
Virtual Lab	p. 147
Summary	p. 148
Further Details	p. 148
Protocol Stack Development Experiments	p. 149
Introduction	p. 149
The Value Of Building A Stack	p. 149
Summary	p. 150
Interface with a network device driver	p. 151
Build an IP forwarding mechanism	p. 153
Implement an IP router	p. 155
System Design In A Network System Engineering Lab
Hardware And Software For A Network System Engineering Lab	p. 159
Network Processors	p. 159
Facilities Needed	p. 160
Hardware For An Example Lab	p. 160
A Network Processor Testbed	p. 160
Software For The Example Lab	p. 161
Relationship To Previous Lab Architectures	p. 162
Summary	p. 162
Network Systems Engineering Experiments	p. 163
Introduction	p. 163
Compile and dowhload network processor code	p. 165
Implement packet classification with a network processor	p. 167
Index	p. 169
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Network engineers, managers, programmers, professors and students have all asked how they can gain a deeper understanding of computer networks and internets. This book answers the question. It asserts that the best way to learn is by doing--there is no good substitute for hands-on experience with a real network. Interconnecting hardware, configuring network systems, measuring performance, observing protocols in action, and creating client-server programs that communicate over a network all help sharpen one's understanding and appreciation.What hardware and software facilities are required for hands-on experimentation? Instead of specifying an exact platform, this book is organized into six sections that each consider a hardware platform and outline experiments that can be carried out using the hardware. The first section begins by considering the smallest possible facility, a single stand-alone computer. Successive sections describe increasingly more powerful (and more expensive) facilities and the experiments they support. The last sections document advanced hardware and software facilities used for protocol development and network systems engineering. The point is that experimentation is always possible--although the facilities at hand determine the types of experiments that can be performed, even low-cost, general-purpose facilities offer opportunities.The broadest distinction among facilities concerns isolation. Early sections of the book describe experiments that can be carried out on conventional, general-purpose computers connected to a production network. Later sections describe experiments such as packet capture, intranet configuration, and protocol development that require a special, dedicated facility. Industry often uses the termstestbedortestnetto describe a separate dedicated facility; academia usually uses the term laboratory. An industrial testbed can serve two purposes. Like an academic laboratory, a testbed provides an environment that supports training. In addition the testbed provides a safe environment in which new or upgraded network systems can be configured, measured, and tested before being installed in the company's production network. Although we use the academic term laboratory throughout the book, many of the experiments are designed with industrial testbeds in mind. In the section on configuration, for example, experiments specify using an isolated facility to configure hosts, routers, and a firewall to form an intranet.In addition to a wide variety of topics, the experiments in this book cover a wide range of difficulty. Some experiments, especially those near the beginning of each chapter, are straightforward and may require less than a half hour to perform. Other experiments are both difficult and lengthy. For example, the IP router experiment described in Chapter 20 is taken from a second-year graduate class that I teach at Purdue. Students work in teams and require most of a semester to build a working IP router. Most experiments list optional extensions that suggest ways to go beyond the basics. The best students in my classes work through all the options, and sometimes invent options of their own.Networking professionals who are working alone can pick and choose among experiments in various chapters. Programmers will focus on the client-server experiments in Parts I and II; system administrators will focus on the configuration experiments in Part IV. Engineers who implement and optimize network systems and protocol stacks will focus on the performance measurements in Part III or protocol development experiments in Parts V and VI.Professors teaching networking courses can choose experiments appropriate to the class. Most colleges and universities cram all of networking and internetworking into a single one-semester overview course. In such a course, students should see a wide range of experiments to acquaint them with all as