Chapter 7
Internetworks and Network Layer
Concepts and Components
In Chapters 4, 5, and 6, we introduced many of the concepts and hardware components
related to layers 1 and 2 of the OSI model. Our discussion in these chapters also was rela-
tive to local area networks. In this chapter, we extend our previous discussions to wide
area links. As part of this presentation, we introduce the concept of internetworking from a
WAN perspective and discuss the third layer of the OSI model—the network layer. An out-
line of the main topics we address follows.
• The Concept of Internetworking (Questions 1–4)
• WAN Circuits (Questions 5–12)
• SONET (Questions 13–15)
• Layer 3 Concepts and Issues (Questions 16–18)
• Router Protocols and Routing Algorithms (Questions ...