Service Advertisements The application layer provides a large group of network services.

These services may include:

File Services : - store, move control access to, and retrieve files Print services : send data to local or network printers Message services - transfer text, graphics, audio, and video over a network E-mail Device management Application services - process applications locally or through distributed processing Database services - allow a local computer to access network services

Services to Applications Network Utilities

OSI FTAM (File transfer, access, and management like TCP/IP FTP and NFS) VT (Virtual terminal protocol like TCP/IP telnet) MHS (Message handling system like TCP/IP SMTP and other email protocols) DS (Directory services , later modified for the TCP/IP stack as LDAP , Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol like TCP/IP SNMP)
TCP/IP FTP (File Transfer Protocol) SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) TELNET (Terminal Network) DNS (Domain Name Service) SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol)

The Application layer advertises any services that are being offered and determines whether requests made by the client should be processed locally or remotely (through another network resource). The method used to advertise and control access to these services is one of the most important functions of the application layer. Service advertisements are sent out by servers. These advertisements tell clients what services are available to them. There are two forms of advertisements.

Passive Service Advertisements Active Service Advertisements

These advertisements occur when a server registers its service and address with a directory. The directory keeps track of all of the services and addresses provided. A client that needs a service looks in the directory for the name of the service and the address.

An example of a passive service advertisement would be the Yellow Pages phone book. The Yellow Pages provide an index in alphabetical order, and then sorted on company name of the services provided. This makes it easy to find a specific service.

Servers can list their services and the addresses with a central service registry that provides details to clients upon request

These advertisements occur when the server periodically broadcasts its availability to clients. Each client takes in the broadcast and adds it to a table. A client that needs a specific service, looks up the name and address of the service in the table.

To keep the table active, a network protocol may require a service advertisement to be transmitted every 10 minutes to make sure the service is still available. Every client receives this transmission every 10 minutes. If the service does not broadcast its service, the service is removed from the clients table. An example of an active service advertisement would be a television or radio commercial.

When servers broadcast messages announcing the availability of their services across the network for clients. Protocols consider these advertisements valid for a limited time before discarding them from their service table if not refreshed. Clients can also request specific services via a broadcast message. Servers return a list of available services.

Before a service can be used on the network, it must make itself available to the local operating system. There are three ways this can be done.

OS Call Interception Remote Operation Collaborative Computing

When this method is used, the local operating system is unaware that network services are present.

For example, when a file is read from the network, the application reading the file thinks the file is local. The workstation client software intercepts this before it gets to the local operating system. The software then processes the request and sends out a request for network file services.

Without network support, a request for a service is normally sent to the Operating System, which handles the request by accessing the service locally. With OS call interruption, the system is monitored and OS calls are intercepted, read and if for the network, sent appropriately. If for the OS, the call is sent to the OS. This can provide network services on a client with a non-network aware operating system.

With the remote operating method, the local operating system is aware that the network exists. The local operating system is responsible for sending out network requests. The big difference is that the server does not recognize the client. The server cannot tell if the commands were generated from the server or somewhere across the network.

An example of this would be the use of the RCONSOLE utility provided by NetWare 3.x and 4.x.

The OS has network capabilities built in. It accesses the server by remote operation. A call for services on the network is sent directly from the OS to the server without the server realizing the request is from a client. E.g. the server does not realize clients exist.

This method is used by operating systems that are network aware. If the device functions as both a client and a server (as in a peer-to-peer network), the service requester and providers work together to coordinate service use. Remember, with collaborative computing, each operating system must know about the other operating systems available and work with them to complete the tasks needed. The ability for server and clients to share services and processing. A high level of cooperation must be achieved for this to take place and is used in high end systems.

Another application layer function is file transfer. Different file systems have different file naming conventions, different ways of representing text lines, and so on. Transferring a file between two different systems requires handling these and other incompatibilities. This work, too, belongs to the application layer.

It makes sure the resources needed to carry out a session are present. It matches the application to the appropriate communication protocol or service. It synchronizes the transmission of data between the application and its protocol.

The Application Layer handles network services;

File and printing Name resolution Redirector services.

Name resolution is the process of mapping an IP address to a humanreadable name.

You may be familiar with the name Google more so than the IP address of Google. Without name resolution, we would have to remember four octets of numbers for each website we wanted to visit- not very friendly is it?

A redirector, otherwise known as a requester, is a service that is largely taken for granted. It is a handy little service that looks at requests a user may make: if it can be fulfilled locally, it is done so. If the request requires a redirection to another computer, then the request is forwarded onto another machine. This enables users to access network resources just like they were an integral part of the local system. A user could browse files on another computer just like they were located on the local computerobviously redirector services are fairly powerful. Lastly we have file and print services. If a computer needs to access a file server or a printer, these services will allow the computer to do so.

The application layer contains a variety of protocols that are commonly needed.

For example, there are hundreds of incompatible terminal types in the world. Consider the plight of a full screen editor that is supposed to work over a network with many different terminal types, each with different screen layouts, escape sequences for inserting and deleting text, moving the cursor, etc.

One way to solve this problem is to define an abstract network virtual terminal for which editors and other programs can be written to deal with. To handle each terminal type, a piece of software must be written to map the functions of the network virtual terminal onto the real terminal.

For example, when the editor moves the virtual terminal's cursor to the upper left-hand corner of the screen, this software must issue the proper command sequence to the real terminal to get its cursor there too. All the virtual terminal software is in the application layer.

Every time you use a Ping, Arp, or traceroute command, you are taking full advantage of the Application Layer. Its quite convenient that the Application Layer is located on the top of the TCP/IP stack. We can send a Ping and, if successful, can verify that the TCP/IP stack is successfully functioning. Its a good idea to commit each utility to memory, as they are very useful for maintaining, configuring, and troubleshooting networks.

ARP - Arp stands for Address Resolution Protocol. It is used to map an IP address to a physical address found on your NIC card. Using this command can tell us what physical address belongs to which IP address. Netstat - Netstat is a handy tool that displays local and remote connections to the computer. It displays IP addresses, ports, protocol being used, and the status of the connection.

Ping - Ping is a simple diagnostic tool that can check for connectivity between two points on a network. It is one of the most used TCP/IP utilities when setting up a network or changing network settings.

TraceRT - Tracert, or traceroute, is a command that will show the path that packets of data take while being sent. Its handy for checking to see where a possible network failure lies, or even for ensuring that data packets are taking the fastest route possible on a network. FTP / TFTP - FTP and TFTP are both used for transferring files. It is important to note that FTP is a TCP utility, while TFTP is a UDP utility. TFTP tends to be less secure than FTP, and is generally only used for transferring non-confidential files over a network when speed is concerned. Hostname - Hostname is a simple command that displays the hostname of the current computer. Simple, yet effective.

Whois - Whois information is just like an online phonebook. It shows the contact information for owners of a particular domain. By using a Whois search, you will find that Google is based in California.

Domain ID:D13287-AFIN Domain Name:SICSR.AC.IN Created On:03-Jan-2003 20:49:26 UTC Last Updated On:26-Feb-2009 10:41:09 UTC Expiration Date:28-Feb-2014 05:00:00 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:Ernet (R9-AFIN) Status:OK Registrant ID:R-R03010204402 Registrant Name:Symbiosis Institute of computer Studies & Research Registrant Street1:II Floor, Atur Centre, Gokhale Cross Road, Registrant Street2:Model Col. Registrant City:Pune Registrant State/Province:Maharashtra

The Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) allows service-providing nodes -- such as file servers, print servers, gateway servers, and application servers -- to advertise their services and addresses. SAP makes the process of adding and removing services on an internetwork dynamic. As servers are booted up, they advertise their services using SAP; when they are brought down, they use SAP to indicate that their services will no longer be available.

Through SAP, clients on the network can determine what services are available on the network and obtain the internetwork address of the nodes (servers) where they can access those services. This is an important function, because a workstation cannot initiate a session with a service provider without first having that server's address. A gateway server, for instance, will broadcast a SAP packet every 60 seconds (the period defined for all servers advertising with SAP) onto the network segment to which it is connected. The SAP agent in each router on that segment copies the information contained in the SAP packet into an internal table called the server information table. Because the SAP agent in each router keeps up-to-date information on available servers, a client wanting to locate the gateway server can access a nearby router for the correct IP address.