The concept of a service boundary is fundamental in communication protocols. It represents the dividing line between different protocol layers, specifically between a protocol machine (PM) and the PM or application it serves, the (N+1)-PM. This boundary is where data is exchanged.
There are four types of interactions a protocol can have. One of these interactions is with a peer protocol. To exchange its state information with the peer, the protocol uses Protocol Data Units (PDUs). A PDU is essentially a block of information, which may be referred to by various names (e.g., frame, packet, segment) by various protocols.
A protocol’s purpose is to provide a service to another protocol in the same system. Generally, the serviced protocol is in the layer above the servicing protocol’s.
There are two types of information exchange between protocols: Interface Communication and Protocol Communication.
Protocols play a crucial role in ensuring seamless and efficient data exchange between two entities in a communication system. For two parties to communicate, they must have a common language, some common understanding about what symbols in the language stand for, and what rules are used for communication. Consequently, a communication protocol is a set of rules and conventions that allows two or more entities within a communication system to exchange information. The protocol defines the shared schema that includes the rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication.
gNMIc is a gNMI CLI client that provides full support for gNMI RPCs. Nokia developed the gNMIc and donated it to the open-source community, OpenConfig. gNMIc is widely used by the open-source community, developers, and networking vendors. To understand how gNMIc works, let’s introduce gNMI. What is gNMI? gNMI (gRPC… Read more »
Note: This article has been initially appeared on LinkedIn. I have been asked this question a lot lately by students who are confused about the terms. Perhaps, because the IT industry uses the terms interchangeably in many ways. I have been teaching Network Design for about 17 years and for… Read more »
Introduction The market is flooded with many home automation products that includes environmental sensors, smart light bulbs, smart switches and others. The technologies that connect these devices include Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-wave, or Wi-Fi. The common pattern of using these products is to use a mobile app to access the sensors…. Read more »
Batfish is an open source network configuration validation and verification software. The article reviews and demonstrates some major features of the software by using it to analyze configuration files of three small networks.
Professionals in any discipline need a common language to convey messages and exchange ideas. This language may be in verbal, written, and/or visual form. Engineers, for example, use technical drawings to describe a product or a component. The purpose of these drawings is to convey all information necessary to fully… Read more »
Keep it simple, stupid (KISS) is a design principle that requires a system’s design to be as simple as possible. Complex design may be expensive to build and maintain. Also, unnecessary features or components increase the potential for failures. From a management perspective, network designs should be simple enough for… Read more »