Just saw this pop up on Engadget. Wireless repeaters that go for 1.5 miles (2.4km).
I'm thinking large stadia or live sites where you'd need to move a bunch of signals around but it would be impractical to run Cat5 across the ground, or events like the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks where there are barges spread out across the harbour...
Press-release and first thoughts:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/24/amped-wireless-gives-your-wifi-1-5-mile-range-never-lose-signal/
Company Signal:
http://www.ampedwireless.com/
This is a story of technology and the people it serves.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Layers of the Internet - Part 4
If you are new to this area, or are looking for the first three parts of this series, please use the following links:
Layer 1 - Link Layer
Layer 2- Internet Layer
Layer 3- Transport Layer
To recap quickly, the Link layer is the physical connection between devices (be it wireless, electrical or optical).
The Internet Layer is the layer that deals with the virtual separation of the entire Layer 1 network into smaller, virtual networks, and also allows traffic to be routed from one side of the planet to another.
The Transport Layer deals with two main things; where the data goes inside the devices that receive it, and also how the packets are passed around the networks (e.g. error correction protocols - re-sending a packet that never arrived at the destination.
Layer 4 - The Application Layer
For a second, let's think about what we are trying to achieve with a data network. We are trying to move information (be it computer data, an image, live audio... anything) from one point to another. If we look at what we've done in layers 1-3, we can see that we've done nothing but move the data from one end of the earth to the other.
.
But before any data can be delivered, we have to actually work out what data we are going to transport, why we around going to transport it and then what we are going to do with it at the other end. Data is useless unless we actually do something with it. For example, you could send a friend a photo, but if they can't view it then there was no point to transferring the data in the first place.
This is where the application layer comes in. It is the layer of the Internet that interfaces with the Users, but it is also the layer where we actually change the information that we are sending.
But Layer 4 isn't all about the Users, there's a lot of background processes involved. Let's have a quick look at a simple internet action; checking this blog:
So, from your 31 keystrokes (including the "enter" key at the end) your browser and the Server have been communicating at Layer 4. You'll notice that I barely mentioned the Layer 1-3 protocols; and that is because at Layer 4, just like all of the layers below it, the lower levels are transparent. It doesn't matter that I'm on a wireless connection and the server is on a optical fibre connection; they are connected up to Layer 3, and that's all that matters.
I'll be doing little write-ups on the various protocols as I continue to write this blog, so please stay tuned to the Glossary. Once I write an article on each protocol I will link it from the Glossary.
Layer 1 - Link Layer
Layer 2- Internet Layer
Layer 3- Transport Layer
To recap quickly, the Link layer is the physical connection between devices (be it wireless, electrical or optical).
The Internet Layer is the layer that deals with the virtual separation of the entire Layer 1 network into smaller, virtual networks, and also allows traffic to be routed from one side of the planet to another.
The Transport Layer deals with two main things; where the data goes inside the devices that receive it, and also how the packets are passed around the networks (e.g. error correction protocols - re-sending a packet that never arrived at the destination.
Layer 4 - The Application Layer
For a second, let's think about what we are trying to achieve with a data network. We are trying to move information (be it computer data, an image, live audio... anything) from one point to another. If we look at what we've done in layers 1-3, we can see that we've done nothing but move the data from one end of the earth to the other.
 |
| Layers! Layer 4 is like the river and the clouds above; they rely on the lower layers of the earth, but they don't really care about them |
.
But before any data can be delivered, we have to actually work out what data we are going to transport, why we around going to transport it and then what we are going to do with it at the other end. Data is useless unless we actually do something with it. For example, you could send a friend a photo, but if they can't view it then there was no point to transferring the data in the first place.
This is where the application layer comes in. It is the layer of the Internet that interfaces with the Users, but it is also the layer where we actually change the information that we are sending.
But Layer 4 isn't all about the Users, there's a lot of background processes involved. Let's have a quick look at a simple internet action; checking this blog:
- Step 1: You open your browser and type "http://arts-comms.blogspot.com". This is the start of the process; you enter a small amount of data; 30 characters. It's not much when you think about it.
- Step 2: Your browser tries to find the address of this page. If you were going to send a letter to a friend you couldn't just write their name on an envelope, post it, and hope for the best. The "Human-readable" Universal Resource Locator (URL) is similar to you friend's name; you can use it to describe them and look them up, but it isn't exactly an address. So, before your browser starts downloading this page, it looks out for a Domain Name Server (DNS) that will translate the URL into a TCP/IP Address.This address combines the Layer 2 and 3 addresses for the webpage. In this case the IP part of the address is 74.125.71.132, and the port is 80. This could be written 74.125.71.132:80.
- Step 3: Your browser now requests a session with the blogspot.com webserver. Now that your browser knows where to look, it will send a request to 74.125.71.132:80 to ask if it can start talking to the Server. The server will normally check that there are no bans on your device, or any other reasons that it wouldn't want to talk to you.
- Step 4: The Server opens a port and allows a session to begin. Should everything in Step 3 check out, the server will allocate a port number (this can be random, or fixed; it depends on the server) and then sends the information to your browser, letting it know that it's all good to go.
- Step 5: Your Browser requests the Webpage. Now that the Server and your browser are talking, the browser finally asks for this page, sending along with the request any additional information that might be required (e.g. your login details, or which exact page you're requesting).
- Step 6: The Server retrieves the webpage from its hard drive, and then transmits it as a series of packets. If you were to send a entire webpage as a single packet, it would be huge, and that would slow it down through the Internet. So the Server splits up the webpage into a number of small packets, adds a bit of information to let your browser know the order of the packets, and then transmits them through the network.
- Step 7: Your browser assembles the webpage, checking for errors as it goes. There is always a chance that some packets will get lost in transit. However, since the server has added information for your browser, it will know if anything is missing. If something doesn't make it then your browser will re-request the missing pieces.
- Step 8: Close the Session. Once everything has been checked, and you're happily reading away, the browser sends a message to the Server to finish off the session that was opened in Step 4. Once this is closed the connection disappears from the internet.
So, from your 31 keystrokes (including the "enter" key at the end) your browser and the Server have been communicating at Layer 4. You'll notice that I barely mentioned the Layer 1-3 protocols; and that is because at Layer 4, just like all of the layers below it, the lower levels are transparent. It doesn't matter that I'm on a wireless connection and the server is on a optical fibre connection; they are connected up to Layer 3, and that's all that matters.
I'll be doing little write-ups on the various protocols as I continue to write this blog, so please stay tuned to the Glossary. Once I write an article on each protocol I will link it from the Glossary.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Layers of the Internet - Part 3
Before I start I would like to make a minor classification.
The "Layers" to which I am referring are the Internet Protocol layers, as specified in RFC 1122. I feel this model is more appropriate to the topics that I cover in this blog.
For those of you that wish to delve further into Networking as a subject, please refer to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. This model is the one that you would study in a networking degree, however it is slightly too specific for the purposes of this blog.
Layer 3 - The Transport Layer
In the previous two parts of this section of the blog, we looked at Layer 1 - The Link Layer and Layer 2 - The Internet Layer. In those layers, we say that each device was physically connected to all others, but with a bit of technology, we could divide up that huge network into smaller little sections.
As we have now connected on Layers 1 and 2, we can assume that our two devices are talking to each other. At this point it doesn't matter how that happens, or how many switches the packets have gone through in order to get from A to B. The tunnel through the Internet has been made, and for all intents and purposes, it isn't broken until the connection is shut off.
Layer 3 tells us two things; how a packet will move through a network, and where it will go when it gets there. In order to understand this we will examine two of the main Layer 3 Protocols, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). And yes, if you noticed that the "TCP" looks very similar to the "TCP" in "TCP/IP", you'd be correct. Since TDP is the most common Layer 3 Protocol, and IP is the most common Layer 2 protocol, people refer to this model as the TCP/IP suite of protocols. However, due to the complexity of the protocol, I will start off with the UDP.
User Datagram Protocol
Take a moment to think about how many different network-enabled programs you are running now. On my machine I have two browsers with a few tabs in each, Skype, two email clients, a couple of automatic software updaters.... the list goes on. Now think about a lonely packet headed my way. It has the MAC address (from Layer 1) so it knows where my computer is. It has my IP address (from Layer 2) so it knows how to find me on the network. But once that packet finds its way into my wireless adaptor, where does it go? Is it a part of a webpage, or a message from a friend via Skype, or an email?
Both the UDP and TCP use a number, called a "Port," to direct a packet to the program that it needs to arrive at. Your network adaptor reads the Port number and forwards the data to the appropriate program for processing.
A UDP packet contains a bit of information that identifies it as a UDP packet and a Port number. That's about it. The advantage of this is that you have a smaller packet, which means faster transmission times. We'll look into this a bit later.
Transmission Control Protocol
Whilst a UDP packet basically only has the Port number, a TCP packet contains a lot of additional information. TCP packets can contain information relating to tracking and delivery protocols. For example, a TDP packet could identify that it was the 15th packet in a sequence, and that the receiving device should send notification of receipt.
This information can be used to make sure that packets that have been lost due to network errors can be re-requested and re-transmitted. Packets that take too long can killed off. Devices can send packets to each other to check the speed and path of the transmission.
All of this extra information makes the packets bigger, and hence slightly slower. However, in any non-real-time application this extra transmission time doesn't make much difference. Since very few transmissions actually require real-time transmission, the more Robust TCP is more common than UDP.
The main place we see UDP packets in the Arts industry is in audio/video transmissions, like Dante or AVB. UDP also requires less programming, and thus it is more common in smaller applications, so you may come across UDP systems in some control software.
"Layer 3 Switches"
Normally a switch will read the Layer 2 information (the IP Address) in order to find out where to send the packet. As we saw in the Layer 2 article, this is used to prevent every device receiving every packet on the network. If a switch only does this, then it is known as a Layer 2 switch.
However, some switches can be programmed to read the Layer 3 information. Switches can read the TCP information to adjust flow control (e.g. if the switch is over capacity, it can request the sending device to slow down the transmission rates). This can also allow for the ability for a switch to send more important packets before standard packets (e.g. Telephone or real-time audio is transmitted before a webpage).
The "Layers" to which I am referring are the Internet Protocol layers, as specified in RFC 1122. I feel this model is more appropriate to the topics that I cover in this blog.
For those of you that wish to delve further into Networking as a subject, please refer to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. This model is the one that you would study in a networking degree, however it is slightly too specific for the purposes of this blog.
Layer 3 - The Transport Layer
In the previous two parts of this section of the blog, we looked at Layer 1 - The Link Layer and Layer 2 - The Internet Layer. In those layers, we say that each device was physically connected to all others, but with a bit of technology, we could divide up that huge network into smaller little sections.
 |
| I'll admit, it's difficult to visualise the Transport Layer. Here's some model trains. |
As we have now connected on Layers 1 and 2, we can assume that our two devices are talking to each other. At this point it doesn't matter how that happens, or how many switches the packets have gone through in order to get from A to B. The tunnel through the Internet has been made, and for all intents and purposes, it isn't broken until the connection is shut off.
Layer 3 tells us two things; how a packet will move through a network, and where it will go when it gets there. In order to understand this we will examine two of the main Layer 3 Protocols, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). And yes, if you noticed that the "TCP" looks very similar to the "TCP" in "TCP/IP", you'd be correct. Since TDP is the most common Layer 3 Protocol, and IP is the most common Layer 2 protocol, people refer to this model as the TCP/IP suite of protocols. However, due to the complexity of the protocol, I will start off with the UDP.
User Datagram Protocol
Take a moment to think about how many different network-enabled programs you are running now. On my machine I have two browsers with a few tabs in each, Skype, two email clients, a couple of automatic software updaters.... the list goes on. Now think about a lonely packet headed my way. It has the MAC address (from Layer 1) so it knows where my computer is. It has my IP address (from Layer 2) so it knows how to find me on the network. But once that packet finds its way into my wireless adaptor, where does it go? Is it a part of a webpage, or a message from a friend via Skype, or an email?
Both the UDP and TCP use a number, called a "Port," to direct a packet to the program that it needs to arrive at. Your network adaptor reads the Port number and forwards the data to the appropriate program for processing.
A UDP packet contains a bit of information that identifies it as a UDP packet and a Port number. That's about it. The advantage of this is that you have a smaller packet, which means faster transmission times. We'll look into this a bit later.
Transmission Control Protocol
Whilst a UDP packet basically only has the Port number, a TCP packet contains a lot of additional information. TCP packets can contain information relating to tracking and delivery protocols. For example, a TDP packet could identify that it was the 15th packet in a sequence, and that the receiving device should send notification of receipt.
This information can be used to make sure that packets that have been lost due to network errors can be re-requested and re-transmitted. Packets that take too long can killed off. Devices can send packets to each other to check the speed and path of the transmission.
All of this extra information makes the packets bigger, and hence slightly slower. However, in any non-real-time application this extra transmission time doesn't make much difference. Since very few transmissions actually require real-time transmission, the more Robust TCP is more common than UDP.
The main place we see UDP packets in the Arts industry is in audio/video transmissions, like Dante or AVB. UDP also requires less programming, and thus it is more common in smaller applications, so you may come across UDP systems in some control software.
"Layer 3 Switches"
Normally a switch will read the Layer 2 information (the IP Address) in order to find out where to send the packet. As we saw in the Layer 2 article, this is used to prevent every device receiving every packet on the network. If a switch only does this, then it is known as a Layer 2 switch.
However, some switches can be programmed to read the Layer 3 information. Switches can read the TCP information to adjust flow control (e.g. if the switch is over capacity, it can request the sending device to slow down the transmission rates). This can also allow for the ability for a switch to send more important packets before standard packets (e.g. Telephone or real-time audio is transmitted before a webpage).
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