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| SAS/OR: The netWorks Application |
The LAN environment of the netWorks application focuses on modeling broadcast network architectures within a single autonomous system (or routing domain), and therefore its protocol requirements are necessarily reduced.
Most computer networks and networking software are architected using a hierarchical model with each layer offering service to the layer built on top of it. Machines connected to the network logically communicate to each other on a layer-to-layer basis (that is, layer 5 of machine 1 communicates to layer 5 of machine 2) using layer specific protocols. A protocol is a predefined set of rules, formats, and conventions that machines agree to follow when attempting to carry on a conversation.
Two common network architectures are the OSI Reference Model and the TCP/IP Reference Model. (See Figure A.1.)
The details of these reference models can be found in [Tanenbaum 1996] and [Perlman 1992]. The netWorks application provides simulations for some of the protocols used in the data link/host-to-network layers and the Network/Internet layers.
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