Skip to main content

Difference between In Band and Out of Band Protocols

In band
In-band control is a characteristic of network protocols with which data control is regulated. In-band control passes control data on the same connection as main data.In Band Protocols
Protocols that use in-band control include HTTP and SMTP.
SMTP is in-band because the control messages, such as “HELO” and “MAIL FROM”, are sent in the same stream as the actual message content.

Out of Band
In computer networking, out-of-band data (called “urgent data” in TCP) looks — to the application — like a separate stream of data from the main data stream. This can be useful for separating two different kinds of data. Note that just because it is called “urgent data” does not mean that it will be delivered any faster or with higher priority than data in the in-band data stream. Also beware that unlike the main data stream, the out-of-band data may be lost if the application cannot keep up with it. “Urgent data” notifies the receiving connection that the separate stream is more important than the main stream. Therefore it must first check the separate stream in order to process the main stream normally.

To Understand this, cosider the file transfer through FTP Protocol (an Out of Band Protocol)

FTP operates on the application layer of the OSI model, and is used to transfer files using TCP/IP. In order to do this an FTP server needs to be running and waiting for incoming requests. The client computer is then able to communicate with the server on port 21. This connection, called the control connection, remains open for the duration of the session, with a second connection, called the data connection, either opened by the server from its port 20 to a negotiated client port (active mode) or opened by the client from an arbitrary port to a negotiated server port (passive mode) as required to transfer file data.
The control connection is used for session administration (i.e., commands, identification, passwords) exchanged between the client and server using a telnet-like protocol.

For example “RETR filename” would transfer the specified file from the server to the client. Due to this two-port structure, FTP is considered an out-of-band protocol.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to import Putty Saved Connections to mRemoteNG

Just started using mRemoteNG and its being very cool to connect to different remote connection with different protocols e.g Window Remote Desktop, VNC to Linux, SSH, HTTP connection etc. from a single application. As new user I configured some remote desktop connection which was quite easy to figure out. But when I wanted to add SSH connections, it came in my mind to import all of the saved connections in the putty. But I couldn't figure it out how can it be done, though it was quite easy and here are the steps. Open your mRemoteNG Create a folder if you want segregation of multiple networks Create a new connection Enter the IP address of remote server under connection in Config pane Under the config pane, select protocol " SSH version 2 ".  Once you select protocol to SSH version 2 you are given option to import putty sessions, as shown in the snap below. In the above snap, I have imported CSR-AWS session from my saved sessions in Putty.

Authoritative DNS Servers Delegation and Internal DNS Explained

DNS (Domain Name System) plays a critical role in how users and systems find resources on the internet or within internal networks. Whether it's managing an internal domain in an enterprise or delegating parts of a domain for traffic distribution, DNS setups vary widely depending on needs. In this blog post, we’ll break down the different types of DNS setups, including authoritative DNS servers, DNS delegation, and how internal DNS functions within organizations. 1. Authoritative DNS Server An Authoritative DNS server is the final source of truth for a specific domain. When someone queries a domain (e.g., example.com ), the authoritative DNS server for that domain holds the DNS records (A records, CNAME, MX, etc.) and responds with the corresponding IP address. Key Points: Who can host it? Authoritative DNS servers are often hosted by domain registrars (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap) or cloud DNS providers (e.g., AWS Route 53, Cloudflare). However, organizations can also host their ...

SSL VPN vs IPSec VPN: Understanding the Key Differences

When it comes to securing communication over the internet, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a cornerstone of modern networking. Two popular types of VPNs are SSL VPN and IPSec VPN . While both serve to encrypt and secure data, they differ significantly in terms of technology, use cases, and implementation. This blog post will help you understand these differences and choose the right solution for your needs. What is SSL VPN? An SSL VPN uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or its successor, Transport Layer Security (TLS) , to create a secure connection. It operates at the Application Layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model and is designed to provide secure access to specific resources over the internet. Key Features of SSL VPN: Ease of Use: Accessible via a standard web browser without the need for dedicated client software. Granular Access Control: Allows users to access specific applications or resources rather than the entire network. Port Usage: Uses TCP port 443, which is rarely...