Musings

2008-09-30T08:52:00.001-07:00

OSI: physical, datalink, network, transport, session, presentation, application
TCP/IP: physical, network interface (SLIP and PPP), internet (IP, ICMP and routing protocols), transport (TCP and UDP) and application (http, ftp, smtp, snmp, dhcp and dns)

IP -> addressing, delivery, datagram packaging, fragmentation and reassembly.
TCP/UDP -> encapsulating user data and managing connections

TCP/IP suite is client/server network communication

PPP is connection-oriented and runs on top of physical link (serial, dialup, ISDN..)
+ encapsulating higher layer protocol datagrams
+ LCP: setup, maintain and terminate link b/w two devices and many configuration parameters to be exchanged to ensure that both devices agree on how the link will be used
+ NCP: PPP supports the encapsulation of many different layer three datagram types. Some of these require additional setup before the link can be activated. After the general link setup is completed with LCP, control is passed to the PPP Network Control Protocol (NCP) specific to the layer three protocol being carried on the PPP link. For example, when IP is carried over PPP the NCP used is the PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP).

LCP support protocols: CHAP and PAP
LCP optional feature protocols: the PPP Compression Control Protocol (CCP) allows compression of PPP data, the PPP Encryption Control Protocol (ECP) enables datagrams to be encrypted for security, and the PPP Multilink Protocol (PPP MP) allows a single PPP link to be operated over multiple physical links

LCP: Configure-Request
Configure-Ack: all options in Configure-Request are recognizable and okay to end B
Configure-Nak: all options are recognizable but some values are not okay to end B. This msg includes those options end B doesnt like
Configure-Reject: some options or not recognizable or non negotiable for end B. msg includes all those options.

Echo-Request --> for loopback test -- to test the link
Echo-Reply

Terminate-Request
Terminate-Ack

PAP (Password Authentication Protocol):
Authenticatie-Request: contains user name password in clear text; sent by end A which is initiating the link.
Authenticate-Ack
Authenticate-Nak

CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol):
Challenge: sent by end B after LCP; simple text message called challenge text
Response: end A uses its password and encrypts the challenge text and sends it in Response
Success/Failure: end B does the same. Informs end A success or failure.

PPP general header format:
Flag (1 byte): indicates start of the frame; always has the value 0x7e
Address (1 byte): as it is point-to-point, this is always 0xff
Control (1 byte): always 0x03
Protocol (2 bytes): identifies the protocol of the datagram encapsulated (for IP, it is 0x0021; for IPCP, it is 0x8021)
Information(variable):
Padding(variable):
FCS (2 or 4 bytes): checksum
Flag(1 byte): indicates end of the frame; always 0x7e

PPP control header format:
Code: type of the control msg (configure-request, configure-ack...)
Identifier: new id is generated for each new request. ack/nak/reject copies id from request.
Length: total length of the control msg
Data: data of the msg

IP addressing schemes:
Classful: dividing line occurs only in one of a few locations: on octet boundaries. Three main classes of addresses, A, B and C are differentiated based on how many octets are used for the network ID and how many for the host ID. For example, class C addresses devote 24 bits to the network ID and 8 to the host ID.
+ address follows rules of A, B, C or D classes
Subnetted Classful Addressing: In the subnet addressing system, the two-tier network/host division of the IP address is made into a three-tier system by taking some number of bits from a class A, B or C host ID and using them for a subnet identifier. The network ID is unchanged. The subnet ID is used for routing within the different subnetworks that constitute a complete network. For example, consider a class C address that normally uses the first 24 bits for the network ID and remaining 8 bits for the host ID. The host ID can be split into, say, 3 bits for a subnet ID and 5 for the host ID.
The dividing line between the subnet ID and the “sub-host” ID is indicated by a 32-bit number called a subnet mask. In the example above, the subnet mask would be 27 ones followed by 5 zeroes—the zeroes indicate what part of the address is the host. In dotted decimal notation, this would be 255.255.255.224.
Classless Addressing: The division between the network ID and host ID can occur at an arbitrary point, not just on octet boundaries like in the “classful” scheme.

The dividing point is indicated by putting the number of bits used for the network ID, called the prefix length, after the address (recall that the network ID bits are also sometimes called the network prefix, so the network ID size is the prefix length). For example, if 227.82.157.177 is part of a network where the first 27 bits are used for the network ID, that network would be specified as 227.82.157.160/27. The “/27” is conceptually the same as the 255.255.255.224 subnet mask, since it has 27 one bits followed by 5 zeroes.

Software Routing:
If a host has interfaces to two or more different networks, then could it not pass IP datagrams between them? Of course, it certainly could, if it had the right software running on it. If it does this, wouldn't that make the host a router, of sorts? In fact, that is exactly the case! A multihomed host with interfaces to two networks can use software to function as a router. This is sometimes called software routing.
Using a host as a router has certain advantages and disadvantages compared to a hardware router. A server that is multihomed can perform routing functions and also, well, act as a server. A dedicated hardware router is designed for the job of routing and usually will be more efficient than a software program running on a host.
Suppose you have two PCs networked together and a single phone line to connect to the Internet. One computer dials up to your Internet Service Provider, and runs software such as Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to let the other computer access the Internet. Millions of people do this every day—they have a multihomed system (the one connecting to the Internet and the other PC) with ICS acting in the role of a software router (though there are some technical differences between ICS and a true router, of course.)

IP header format: 20 bytes is standard
Version
IP Header Length
Type Of Service: Precedence, D (Delay - 0 for normal delay in delivery and 1 for low delay delivery), T (Throughput - 0 for normal delivery throughput; 1 for higher throughput delivery), R (Reliability - 0 for normal reliablity; 1 for higher reliablity delivery)
Total Length
Identification - common to each of the fragments belonginging to a particular msg.
Flags - DF: Dont Fragment - upper layers use this flag to test MTU of a link by setting this flag; MF: More Fragments - if 0, indicates last fragment. if 1, more fragments are coming
Fragment Offset
Time To Live
Protocol: higher layer protocol
Header Checksum
Source Address
Destination Address
Options
Padding
Data

Mobile IP:
in the computer world, when a device travels using Mobile IP, things are more complicated. Suppose our consultant flies to Tokyo, turns on his notebook and plugs it in to the network. When the notebook is first turned on, it has no clue what is going on. It has to figure out that it is in Tokyo. It needs to find a foreign agent in Tokyo. It needs to know what address to use while in Tokyo. It needs to communicate back with its home agent back in London to tell it that it is in Tokyo and to start forwarding datagrams. Furthermore, it must accomplish its communication without any “telephone”.

To this end, Mobile IP includes a host of special functions that are used to set up and manage datagram forwarding. To see how these support functions work, we can describe the general operation of Mobile IP as a simplified series of steps:

Agent Communication: The mobile node finds an agent on its local network by engaging in the Agent Discovery process. It listens for Agent Advertisement messages sent out by agents and from this can determine where it is located. If it doesn't hear these messages it can ask for one using an Agent Solicitation message.

Network Location Determination: The mobile node determines whether it is on its home network or a foreign one by looking at the information in the Agent Advertisement message.
If it is on its home network it functions using regular IP. To show how the rest of the process works, let's say the device sees that it just moved to a foreign network. The remaining steps are:

Care-Of Address Acquisition: The device obtains a temporary address called a care-of address. This either comes from the Agent Advertisement message from the foreign agent, or through some other means. This address is used only as the destination point for forwarding datagrams, and for no other purpose.

Agent Registration: The mobile node informs the home agent on its home network of its presence on the foreign network and enables datagram forwarding, by registering with the home agent. This may be done either directly between the node and the home agent, or indirectly using the foreign agent as a conduit.

Datagram Forwarding: The home agent captures datagrams intended for the mobile node and forwards them. It may send them either directly to the node or indirectly to the foreign agent for delivery, depending on the type of care-of address in use.
Datagram forwarding continues until the current agent registration expires. The device can then renew it. If it moves again, it repeats the process to get a new care-of address and then registers its new location with the home agent. When the mobile node returns back to its home network, it deregisters to cancel datagram forwarding and resumes normal IP operation.

Foreign Agent Care-Of Address
This is a care-of address provided by a foreign agent in its Agent Advertisement message. It is, in fact, the IP address of the foreign agent itself. When this type of care-of address is used, all datagrams captured by the home agent are not relayed directly to the mobile node, but indirectly to the foreign agent, which is responsible for final delivery.

Co-Located Care-Of Address
This is a care-of address assigned directly to the mobile node using some means external to Mobile IP. For example, it may be assigned on the foreign network manually, or automatically using DHCP. In this situation, the care-of address is used to forward traffic from the home agent directly to the mobile node. The co-located care-of address has the advantage that traffic can be forwarded directly from the home agent to the mobile node. In this type of arrangement, it is possible for a Mobile IP device to travel to a foreign network where there is no Mobile-IP-aware router to act as a foreign agent. This does mean, however, that the Mobile IP implementation must include all the functions of communicating with the home agent that the foreign agent normally performs.

Mobile nodes are required to accept and process Agent Advertisements. They distinguish these from regular Router Advertisements by looking at the size of the message.

-> listen for agent advertisements
-> if not, send agent solicitation messges
-> by looking at the size of the msg, node learns it is regular icmp or icmp msgs with mobile ip extension
-> agent advt contains one or more care-of-addresses
-> register with home agent of the home network with the new care-of-address to establish mobility binding in ha (Registration-Request and Registratino-Reply: these are not icmp, but UDP messages on port 434)
-> need to re-register before expiry or de-register
-> The home agent will intercept datagrams intended for the mobile node as they are routed to its home network, and forward them to the mobile node. This is done by encapsulating the datagrams and then sending them to the node's care-of address.

The default encapsulation process used in Mobile IP is called IP Encapsulation Within IP, defined in RFC 2003 and commonly abbreviated IP-in-IP. It is a relatively simple method that describes how to take an IP datagram and make it the payload of another IP datagram.
In addition to IP-in-IP, two other encapsulation methods may be optionally used: Minimal Encapsulation Within IP, defined in RFC 2004, and Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE), defined in RFC 1701. To use either of these, the mobile node must request the appropriate method in its Registration Request and the home agent must agree to use it. If foreign agent care-of addressing is used, the foreign agent also must support the method desired.

---> The encapsulation process creates a LOGICAL construct called a tunnel between the device that encapsulates and the one that decapsulates.
Normally, the tunnel described above is used only for datagrams that have been sent to the mobile node and captured by the home agent. When the mobile nodes wants to send a datagram, it doesn't tunnel it back to the home agent; this would be needlessly inefficient. Instead it just sends out the datagram directly using whatever router it can find on its current network, which may or may not be a foreign agent. When it does this, it uses its own home address as the source address for any requests it sends. As a result, any response to those requests will go back to the home network. This sets up a “triangle” of sorts for these kinds of transactions:

The mobile node sends a request from the foreign network to some third party device somewhere on the internetwork.

The third party device responds back to the mobile node. However, this sends the reply back to the mobile node's home address on its home network.

The home agent intercepts the response on the home network and tunnels it back to the mobile node.

--> There may be situations where it is not feasible or desired to have the mobile node send datagrams directly to the internetwork using a router on the foreign network as we just saw. In this case, an optional feature called reverse tunneling may be deployed, if it is supported by the mobile node, the home agent and if relevant, the foreign agent.
All transmissions from the mobile node are tunneled back to the home network where the home agent transmits them over the internetwork
--> One situation where reverse tunneling may be required is if the network where the mobile node is located has implemented certain security measures that prohibit the node from sending datagrams using its normal IP address. In particular, a network may be set up to disallow outgoing datagrams with a source address that doesn’t match its network prefix. This is often done to prevent “spoofing”

Difficulties with mobileIP and ARP:
What happens when a local device on the home network itself wants to transmit to a mobile node that has traveled elsewhere? Remember that this device may not be mobile itself and probably knows nothing about Mobile IP. It will follow the standard process for deciding what to do with a datagram it needs to send as explained in the topic discussing direct and indirect delivery of IP datagrams. It will compare its network ID to that of the mobile node and realize it doesn't need to route its datagram; it can send it directly to the mobile node.

The local host will attempt to use ARP to find the data link layer address of the mobile node so it can send the datagram to it directly. It will start by looking in its ARP cache and if it finds the node's data link layer address there, will use it to send at layer two. Of course the mobile node is no longer on the local network segment so the message will never be received. If there is no ARP cache entry, the host on the home network will attempt to send an ARP Request to the mobile node to determine its layer two address. Again, the mobile node has traveled away, so this request will go unanswered.

Solving this problem requires the intervention of, you guessed it, the home agent. It must perform two tasks to enable local hosts to send to the mobile node:

ARP Proxying: The home agent must listen for any ARP Requests sent by nodes on the same network as any of the mobile nodes that are currently registered to it. When it hears one, it replies in the mobile node's stead, and specifies its own data link layer address as the binding for the mobile node's IP address. This will cause hosts on the home network to send any datagrams intended for the mobile node to the home agent where they can be forwarded. This process is illustrated in Figure 135.

“Gratuitous” ARP: Proxying helps with ARP Requests but what about devices that already have cache entries for the mobile node? As soon as the mobile node leaves the network, these become automatically stale. To correct them, the home agent sends what is called a gratuitous ARP message that tells devices on the local network to associate the mobile node's IP address with the home agent's data link layer address. The term “gratuitous” refers to the fact that the message isn't being sent in order to perform an actual address resolution but merely to cause caches to be updated. It may be sent more than once to ensure that every device “gets the message”.

NAT:
Network Address Port Translation: Source address and source port are translated. Checksum is recalculated for ip and tcp headers.

UDP:
Message format:
Source Port -- usually ephemeral (temporary) port
Destination Port -- well-known/registered port
Length
Checksum -- instead of calculating the checksum over just the fields in the UDP datagram itself, the UDP software first constructs a “fake” additional header that contains the following fields: The IP Source Address field, The IP Destination Address field, The IP Protocol field, The UDP Length field. The total length of this “pseudo header” is 11 bytes. It is padded to 12 bytes with a byte of zeroes and then prepended to the real UDP message. The checksum is then computed over the combination of the pseudo header and the real UDP message, and the value is placed into the Checksum field. The pseudo header is used only for this calculation and is then discarded; it is not actually transmitted. The UDP software in the destination device creates the same pseudo header when calculating its checksum to compare to the one transmitted in the UDP header. Computing the checksum over the regular UDP fields protects against bit errors in the UDP message itself. Adding the pseudo header allows the checksum to also protect against other types of problems as well, most notably the accidental delivery of a message to the wrong destination.
Data

TCP:
TCP is said to treat data coming from an application as a stream; thus, the description of TCP as stream-oriented. Each application sends the data it wishes to transmit as a steady stream of octets (bytes). It doesn't need to carve them into blocks, or worry about how lengthy streams will get across the internetwork. It just “pumps bytes” to TCP. Of course, TCP must take these bytes and send them using a network-layer protocol, meaning the Internet Protocol. IP is a message-oriented protocol, not stream-oriented. Thus, we have simply “passed the buck” to TCP, which must take the stream from the application and divide it into discrete messages for IP. These messages are called TCP segments. They are placed into IP datagrams and transmitted to the destination device. The recipient unpackages the segments and passes them to TCP, which converts them back to a byte stream to send to the application.
-- each byte will have sequence id
-- tcp breaks the byte stream into segments
-- receiving end acks with the sequence # of the last byte in the last segment it received

type of TCP control messages:
SYN: A synchronize message, used to initiate and establish a connection. It is so named since one of its functions is to synchronizes sequence numbers between devices.

FIN: A finish message, which is a TCP segment with the FIN bit set, indicating that a device wants to terminate the connection.

ACK: An acknowledgment, indicating receipt of a message such as a SYN or a FIN.

--> socket 'bind': Server creates Transmission Control Block during passive open (socket opens; listens to well-known port; waits for connections). When SYN is received from client, It then binds the socket number of the client to the TCB for the passive OPEN as part of the connection process

Connection Establishment:
client server
CLOSED CLOSED
(passive open; create TCB) -> LISTEN
(active open; create TCB; send SYN) -> SYN-SENT
SYN-RECEIVED -> after receiving SYN, it sends SYN+ACK in the same segment
ESTABLISHED (receives SYN+ACK, sends ACK)
ESTABLISED

--> Client: Sequence Number X is sent with SYN
Server: in its SYN+ACK msg, sends Acknowledgement Number as X+1 and its own Sequence Number Y
Client: Sends ACK msg with Acknowledgement Number as Y+1

--> SYN messages are used to exchange MSS (Maximum Segment Size) -- Each device sends the other the MSS that it wants to use for the connection, if it wishes to use a non-default value. When receiving the SYN, the server records the MSS value that the client sent, and will never send a segment larger than that value to the client. The client does the same for the server. The client and server MSS values are independent, so a connection can be established where the client can receive larger segments than the server or vice-versa.

Connection Termination: termination isn't a three-way handshake like establishment: it is a pair of two-way handshakes. The states that the two devices in the connection move through during a normal connection shutdown are different because the device initiating the shutdown must behave differently than the one that receives the termination request. In particular, the TCP on the device receiving the initial termination request must inform its application process and wait for a signal that the process is ready to proceed. The initiating device doesn't need to do this, since the application is what started the ball rolling in the first place.
client server
ESTABLISHED ESTABLISHED
receives close signal from upper layer app
(send FIN) FIN-WAIT-1
(receive FIN; send ACK; tell app to close) CLOSE_WAIT
(receive ACK) FIN-WAIT-2
wait for app to close
app is ready to close
(send FIN) LAST-ACK
(FIN received; send ACK) TIME-WAIT
(ACK received) CLOSED
wait for double Maximum Segment Lifetime
to ensure the ACK it sent was received
(standard says it is 120 sec)

CLOSED

TCP header format:
Source Port
Destination Port
Sequence Number -- For normal transmissions, the sequence number of the first byte of data in this segment. In a connection request (SYN) message, this carries the initial sequence number (ISN) of the source TCP
Acknowledgement Number
Data Offset
Rserved
Control Bits -- URG (urgent bit - priority data transfer), ACK, PSH (data be immediately pused to app on receving side), RST (sender encoutered a prob so want to reset the connection), SYN, FIN
Window -- Indicates the number of octets of data the sender of this segment is willing to accept from the receiver at one time.
Checksum
Urgent Pointer
Options -- includes MSS and others
Padding
Data

PDSN:
The A10/A11 (also known as R-P interface) provides a signaling (A11) and user data (A10) path between the CDMA2000 Radio Access Network (CDMA2000 or HRPD 1xEV-DO) and the PSDN using the Internet Protocol (IP).
The A10 interface is a connection-oriented interface and one A10 connection is set up for each packet data call/session. The A10 connection is set up and released using A11 signaling as described in IS-2001. Once the A11 registration process for connection set up is successful, the user IP/PPP data is carried using GRE headers over IP on the A10 connection.

the R-P interface connection is set up
using A11 signaling defined in IS-2001. Once the A11 registration
process is successful, the user PPP data is carried over IP using
GRE encapsulation. For Simple IP service, the PDSN establishes a
PPP link to the mobile station and in the process assigns a dynamic
IP address to the mobile station. The address could be a dynamic IP
address taken from a local pool every time the user sets up a PPP
link. It could also be a static IP address associated with the user
profile, which is received from the USIS in the access accept
message and assigned to the mobile station at the time of IPCP
negotiation.

-> mobile station sends an Origination/Connection Request
Message with Layer 2 Ack required indication over the Access
Channel to the BS.
-> The BSS acknowledges the receipt of the Message with a Base
Station Ack to the mobile.
-> The BSS constructs a CM Service Request message, places it in
the Complete Layer 3 Information message, sends the message
to the MSC
-> The MSC sends an Assignment Request message to the BSS
requesting assignment of radio resources
-> The BSS and the mobile station perform radio
resources setup procedures if the mobile is not already on a
traffic channel
-> The BSS recognizes that no A10 connection associated with this
mobile is available and selects a PDSN for this call. The BSS
sends an A11-Registration Request message to the selected
PDSN.
-> The A11-Registration Request is validated and the PDSN
accepts the connection by returning an A11-Registration Reply
message. Both the PDSN and the BSS create a binding record for the A10
connection.
-> The service negotiation is done and service connect and RLP
setup has taken place, and A10 connection are set up. The BSS
sends an Assignment Complete message to the MSC.
-> The mobile station and the PDSN establish the link layer (PPP)
connection. In the PPP negotiation phase, the mobile station
indicates whether it requires Mobile IP or Simple IP service
-> After PPP link setup and, in the case of Mobile IP service, after
completion of Mobile IP registration, the mobile can send/receive
data via GRE encapsulation of PPP packets over the A10
connection.

===> The physical layer of the A10/A11 interface between CRAN and the PDSN
is implemented with a combination of OC3 and Fast Ethernet. CRAN
has an ATM PVC connection (over OC3) to the first-hop router along
the route to the PDSN. The PDSN supports Fast Ethernet interface
for user data only. CRAN and the PDSN are assumed to connect
using a private network.

C++
// classes example
#include
using namespace std;
class CRectangle {
int x, y;
public:
void set_values (int,int);
int area () {return (x*y);}
};

void CRectangle::set_values (int a, int b) {
x = a;
y = b;
}

int main () {
CRectangle rect;
rect.set_values (3,4);
cout << "area: " << rect.area(); return 0;
}

operator of scope (::, two colons) is used to define a member of a class from outside the class definition itself. You may notice that the definition of the member function area() has been included directly within the definition of the CRectangle class given its extreme simplicity, whereas set_values() has only its prototype declared within the class, but its definition is outside it. In this outside declaration, we must use the operator of scope (::) to specify that we are defining a function that is a member of the class CRectangle and not a regular global function. The scope operator (::) specifies the class to which the member being declared belongs, granting exactly the same scope properties as if this function definition was directly included within the class definition. For example, in the function set_values() of the previous code, we have been able to use the variables x and y, which are private members of class CRectangle, which means they are only accessible from other members of their class. basic concept of object-oriented programming: Data and functions are both members of the object. We no longer use sets of global variables that we pass from one function to another as parameters, but instead we handle objects that have their own data and functions embedded as members. Notice that we have not had to give any parameters in any of the calls to rect.area or rectb.area. Those member functions directly used the data members of their respective objects rect and rectb.

constructor and destructor:
// example on constructors and destructors
#include
using namespace std;
class CRectangle {
int *width, *height;
public:
CRectangle (int,int);
~CRectangle ();
int area () {return (*width * *height);}
};

CRectangle::CRectangle (int a, int b) {
width = new int;
height = new int;
*width = a;
*height = b;
}

CRectangle::~CRectangle () {
delete width;
delete height;
}

int main () {
CRectangle rect (3,4), rectb (5,6);
cout << "rect area: " << rect.area() << endl;
cout << "rectb area: " << rectb.area() << endl;
return 0;
}

C vs C++
Classes can be defined not only with keyword class, but also with keywords struct and union.
The concepts of class and data structure are so similar that both keywords (struct and class) can be used in C++ to declare classes (i.e. structs can also have function members in C++, not only data members). The only difference between both is that members of classes declared with the keyword struct have public access by default, while members of classes declared with the keyword class have private access. For all other purposes both keywords are equivalent.

after a long time!

2007-10-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

So busy with Tanvi - our angel.
Tanvi and Vasavi went to India for Nani's marriage.
Lets see if I can blog my adventures with cooking while they are away.

October 15th Baby shower!

2005-10-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Conducted babyshower today.
For the decoration, I had the following in mind: A banner that says babyshower. A keepsake sign-in sheet. And ribbons and ballooons.
Not sure if I can find out everything.
I set out to search the shops that has these on Friday evening around 5pm. First went to DestinationDollar on Queen Mary st.
But all they have was stuff related to Birthday.. Almost thought of buying the neutral stuff that just says 'congratulations' but in the last minute, decided to try at DollarShop on Plamondon.. My luck smiled on me. I found whatever I hoped. A beautiful banner. More cuter sign-in sheet. Great ribbons and balloons.
I saw a door-sheet that can be put on the door that says "happy birthday".. thought it would be great if I could find something similar that says 'Babyshower'.. But I could not find it. Then decided to buy the gift-wrap sheet and affix to the door. But not sure if I can find one that says babyshower. I just put my hand arbitararily on the rack that has gift-wrappers and one fell onto the group. It has a cute tweety bird and a cuter stroller and has words 'Baby shower'... without blinking, I bought two of them.
Started decorating. Everything turned out great.
The function started around 8pm.
The usually late Shyam and Renuka arrived first!
Then came Padma and Madhu.
Then Swetha
Then Sri Latha
Then Hema and Neha
Then Ramko
Then Satya and Amar.
Everything went perfect!
Ordered 6 medium Dominos pan crust pizzas with black olives, green pepper and mushrooms (78$).
Everyone stayed until 11.
Amazing night! So happy that I could beat the expectations of Vasavi.
Hope everything works out this great in the future too.

October 4th Doctor's appointment

2005-10-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Weight 180lbs
Heartbeat 152bpm
Group B Prep test conducted

October 14th - doctor's visit - first contraction!

2005-10-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Heartbeat is 150bpm
Weight is 185 lbs
Doctor said everything looks okay and said Vasavi is having contractions.
It is just hardening of tummy.
We noticed it few days back but thought that as the baby is getting bigger, we felt the hardness.
But, knowing that contractions has started is a great feeling.

October 9th - Grand parents arrived

2005-10-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

My father and mother arrived today.
They started 9th October, 2:55AM in Hyderabad, India.
They had transit at Frankfut, Germany. The transit time is only 1 hour.
Vishali, Naresh's wife, also traveling to St Louis and she also travels to Frankfurt in the same flight.
Flight is supposed to land at 12:20pm. They were out by 1pm
Had cab to drive from the airport to the house
They had lunch
Now I can have less pressure.. and concentrate more on work.

October 18th - Ultrasound

2005-10-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Appt is at 11:20
Ovo clinic on Decarie
Same operator as before.
Great 3-d pictures this time.
Baby is very chubby. Vasavi had pain during the ultrasound
Weight is whopping 4.2kgs!! So we both start to worry as big babies tend to make delivery difficult. Have to talk to the doctor to see what she suggests.
Great day!

September 13th - Hospital Walking tour

2005-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Jewish General Hospital
At 7pm
until 9pm!

September 6th - doctor's appointment

2005-09-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

Appointment is at 1230
Called in around 1245
Sugar test was okay
Vasavi weighed 172 lbs - 7 lbs gain since the last visit
Baby heartbeat hovered around 159
Doctor said it is normal to have swollen feet and suggested to rest feet bit high using pillows while sleeping.
Baby was moving visibly when the doctor was getting heartbeat..

August 23rd - doctor's appointment

2005-08-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

At 1140, had to wait until 12:40 and then were called in.

Weight: 165 lbs - 6 lb gain in 3 weeks..

Doctor said it is exactly 30 weeks.

Heartbeat is at 153

Vasavi mentioned about the apprehension that baby is too low and about the u/s operator's concern that there might be premature birth in such cases.
Doctor checked Vasavi and said baby is going to be there full-time and it will be regular birth and assured us not to worry.

Went to pushaps and stuffed ourselves with palak panneer and mixed veg curry.

Disctinct moves

2005-08-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

These days we can clearly see/feel baby moving. Its like feeling the baby inside a blanket...
Looks like baby has a knack for mom's touch. It seems as soon as vasavi places her hand on the tummy, baby responds at the same spot with a kick. ;-)
Looks like baby loves music too..

August 15th - argument

2005-08-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Big argument with vasavi about food - leaving completely upto her from today onwards.
I would not make her eat anything.
My policy is one has to eat whatever is the capacity. There are some unfortunate souls who can not afford to buy and eat. But we are fortunate and this is the right time the baby needs more nutrients.
Two eggs per day, carrots and almods everyday; one soy juice, orange juice, one V8, milk twice per day and fruits upto the liking. And to the time.
Vasavi is feeling I am un-necessarily forcing her eat much and I am over-acting.
She says if the mom gains weight it is tough to shed it later.. But come on! we have gym in the lobby and she does not care to go to school, she can easily work out in the gym and reduce the weight.. in the worst case, who cares if she is heavy? Baby has to be with good health.. She also says an over-weight baby makes delivery tough.
She feels I am over the board by asking her to check the weight everyday and record it.
So, I am stopping for today onwards asking her to record the weight.
Also she makes faces whenever I remind her its time to eat (lunch or dinner) - So, decided to leave it completely to her.
I had lot of dreams on what/how to eat and I feel sorry that I am not able to make her to follow.
My apologies to the baby!

August 17- 3-d ultrasound

2005-08-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

At ovo clinic on Decarie at 4:20pm
Went in at 5:10PM, out by 5:40pm
Heartbeat is 151
Technician's name is Roselle.
Baby's weight is 1542 gm.. Baby's head is very low in the mom's tummy

August 4th - Doctor's visit

2005-08-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Weight was 159 lbs - should control it a bit
PAP test report is good
Heart beat was good
Took prescription for massage
Baby movements - should be 10 per day.. baby sleeps so sometimes, there may not be any movements
Sugar test - have to go to hospital
Ignore comments that baby is big - until the delivery, no one can tell
For constipation, try prune juice
Took copies of blood reports, ultrasound report and PAP test report
Took letter from doctor for visitor visa of grand parents

July 28th - Bought scrap book

2005-08-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

at Hallmarks, Cavendish mall

August 2nd - Shopping spree at Gap Kids

2005-08-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Bought shirts, pants and a wrapping towel for the baby at GapKids, Cavendish Mall
Entered around 2:10 PM and done with the shopping by 2:50 PM
Total bill: 275$

July 23rd - moved to 2 bdrm apartment

2005-08-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

Moved to 6595, Mackle Road, #805, Cote St-Luc

July 15th - felt baby karate kicks

2005-07-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Watching TV around 8PM, Vasavi placed my hand on the tummy. Felt big kicks by the baby. They are hard.

June 27th - saw the baby kicking!

2005-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

While watching a movie on teluguone.com, Vasavi felt the baby moving. I could clearly see small nudges on the tummy when the baby is moving!! I saw two of them and then may be the baby is back to sleep ;-)
Wow!!!!

June 16th - felt baby kicks

2005-06-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

A feeling to cherish: while watching TV, Vasavi felt the baby. She has been feeling baby kicking a while now, but now they are distinct. I placed my hand on mommy's tummy and felt tiny tiny nudges.
Hope baby is healthy and active!
Still searching for names: Tanvi sounds good - it is easy to pronounce.
Tejaswini also is good - bit lengthy but situational: as baby is giong to be born in Diwali week.
Have to look out for more suggestions.

Sagar and Geeta left Montreal for good today. Goodluck for them. They were given Oct 31 st as due date. Their boy seem to be very very active - thats what was told by ultrasound technician.
That is cool. Geeta is eating good. So, that is not surprising.

Ultrasound day - June 13 2005

2005-06-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

The moment of truth is finally here. We had our ultrasound appointment at 2pm at Jewish general hospital B-20 today.
As usual for any hospital visit, Vasavi was hesitant. We had our lunch around 1230 and went to Jewish around 115. I had to roam a while to find a parking place. It is becoming very irritating for each visit to the hospital with the parking problem. Finally found one few blocks away and found B-20, the ultrasound room. Submitted the medical card and hospital ID cards around 145PM and we were told to wait. There were couple of to-be moms who were waiting and one of them had a cute girl. Time was past looking at her and with the anticipation of whether we are going to have a boy or girl. Paid 10$ for 3 ultrasound pics.
We were called in around 215PM. The ultrasound operator was Cynthia. She was very good, very detailed and very patient.
Vasavi was laid on the bench, opposite to her there is a small tv screen on which we can see what Cynthia was seeing.
The first glimpse of the our baby was exhilerating. The baby was head down. It was all grainy. Cynthia showed us baby's legs, spinal cord, feet, hands, head, and everything. Baby was moving also. We saw the baby's heart beating.
It was one amazing sight and the feeling is beyond expressive in words.
Cynthia asked Vasavi to clear the bladder and then she said she is going to find the baby's gender.
So, there is 5 minutes of waiting. Vasavi is back and Cynthia looked at couple of snaps. As we held our breath, she said, 'are you ready'? We could barely manage saying 'yes'.. she said 'it is a girl'. That was one shocking moment for both of us. We tried so many combinations and premutations and tried lot of online theories and compared Vasavi's symptoms (severe nausea, stomach size and others) and came to the conclusion that it is going to be boy this time and we were expecting the baby a boy! When we were told it is a girl we could not believe our eyes. It is simply a miracle for us. Thank god!
Cynthia said she could not look at the baby's skull/brain as the baby is head down so she asked us to wait for couple of minutes so that she could try again. She gave three grainy photos of the baby and we were out. We were on could nine and everyone around us could see it. Few people asked 'pretty exciting?' and we responded a big 'yes!'.
After sinking in the great feeling of parents of a girl, we were called in by Cynthia. She was able to look at the baby's head and she took all the measurements.
She said everything looks fine and she confirmed that the due date is November 2nd.
We came out and I enquired about the official tour of the birting center. Reception said one is going to be on 14th, around 7pm and asked us to be present at B106
Vasavi want to have a cake but the hospital bakery was closed. So we decided to go to pushaps. As usual, the service was slow but we were not complaining. We were still enjoying the truth that we are going to have a girl!
We had pakoda; palak with chapathi. As usual, food was great.
By the time we are back at home, it is 445 so, I decided to skip the office.
And I am onto kitchen while vasavi went to bed.
So, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GIRL!!!

June 7th - doctor's appointment

2005-06-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today was good. Appointment was at 9:15 but got a call from doctors' office saying they have to prepone it to 815 as Doctor has some thing came up.
First weight check - Vasavi gained 6 pounds!! The scale read 146 pounds!! Thats great. She has to keep it up until November!
Then, doctor came and tried the doppler. Got the heartbeat easily. I didnt felt any difference but Vasavi did - thats what mothers are for! She noticed that the beat was not faster like before. Doctor said it is normal as the baby grows, beat slows down. The baby moved and Doctor had to move the doppler aswell to get the beat again. Got it and she said it sounds good.
She was in a hurry and left. We were bit disappointed as vasavi has couple of questions to ask. We have to try next time.
Waiting for the big day - 13th - the ultrasound day. We will know if it is boy or girl.

May 30th - interesting week!

2005-05-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

This week has been hectic and tense.
First things first: Vasavi is feeling lot better - she even gained just a tiny bit of weight. She now consistently clocking at 64.2 kgs. I think she was around 63.6kgs last month. So, it is big change. But she still continues to be nauseatic: twice a day! May be cereals making her vomit. Have to switch to a new breakfast. She is taking diclectin and ..
Been to Angrignon mall with Geeta and Sagar on Sunday 29th May for maternity clothing shopping. There was only one shop. But it does not have many varieties. They didnt fit properly. Tried at Sears but surprising Sears does not have maternity cloth line!
But we came across beautiful Cribs! Initially I was apprehensive that cribs are very heavy and moving would be a herculean task. But by looking at different models of Cribs in Sears, it looks like not a big task. There were wood and plastic models. But wooden ones seem to be more comfortable for the baby. It can be used even when the baby is around 3 years old. Plastic ones seem to be fancy with lot of electronic flashes but they seem to be small. Once the baby reaches 2 years old, they might be small for the baby.
Looking at them and thinking about the baby was one sweet memory.
So, decided that whatever might be the effort with the moving, would go with wood cribs!

Then, this decision of trying out at IPI. Initially decided to just stay in Montreal but Geeta and Sagar reasoned it would be better off in US. Had bit of discussion with Vasavi, half-heartedly decided to apply for IPI.
Good things would be baby would become US citizen, hospital care would be better and more money.
On the flip side, what happens if IPI decided to lay off? We might loose the Canadian PR. If we live here for another 2 yeras, we can become citizens and we have more flexibility to move anywhere in the world. Also, hospital care seem to be fine in Jewish general. Have not heard one bad thing about Jewish general. But one thing is for sure - US hospital care would definitely be better as it is private!
In the end, US-born baby and better hospital care for the baby out-weighed everything and talked to Alberto. Alberto said IPI is not safe and I am in his good books and even in the worst case, my job is safe. But I told him that I want to see what IPI offers and if I dont like the offer I will just stick to LMC. Also I dont want to be in a position of regreting in future that I did not try to get into IPI when things are turbulent in LMC. He is okay, he said I would be needed until July 1st.
Send a mail to Tariq and Keith and waiting to hear back from them.

May 21st - bad weekend

2005-05-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

Been to Amar's place for dinner. It was okay during the party but once we returned, Vasavi threw up a lot. The chicken curry has strong flavor of Mint and that caused the worst. Had to resort to Diclectin to control the vomits.
Decided to not to go for any more parties as any changes in the food are causing lot of trouble.
Just stay at home, stick to the basic menu; dont try new things!
Menu is every wednesday and Sunday - spinach
Every thursday - chicken.
Once in a week, Pizzahut extra-cheese, pan crust pizza with Black-olives, mushrooms and green pepper.

May 19th - Anticipation grews

2005-05-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Sagar and Geeta have returned from India. News is that they are going to have a baby-boy! That was a surprise. As all the indications before were leading to a girl. After knowing this, Vasavi and myself wondering may be Saibaba might bless us with a girl. Because Geeta's and Vasavi's symptoms are QUITE opposite. But.. that very fact might be very misleading.
Have to wait until June 13th!!!

May 5th - Second visit to Dr Nguyen

2005-05-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Vasavi is feeling much better but throwing up twice or thrice a day. I have become bit accostomed to kitchen.
Second visit was at around 945AM and had to wait for 45 minutes before seeing the doctor.
Dr Nguyen first checked the weight - Vasavi didnt gain any weight. That is something we need to be concerned and make an effort to make her gain weight.
She again tried the doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat. And it was fantastic again to listen to it. The baby moved while doppler is being tried. And the doctor has to re-adjust the doppler.
Great!!
Doctor said blood reports are looking good. And asked us to see her again in one month.
We then went to Jewish general hospital to reserve room on November 2nd

April 1st - First visit to Dr Nguyen

2005-05-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Vasavi was threwing a lot. I am trying hard to cook right: sometimes I am okay other times, I suck big time to even my taste. Though Diclectin helped a lot in controlling nausea, Vasavi could not take more food.
The day has finally arrived to see Dr Nguyen. The appointment was at 1130AM. Her office is at Cote-Des-Neiges.
She called us in sharp at 1130. She did some physical checkup. She seemed good. She asked Vasavi some questions. She spoke good english. And then she tried doppler!! She tried to find heartbeat. This another golden moment! Vasavi literally had tears while listening to the FAST heartbeat of the baby. I was speech/motion/sense-less. Thank you god for this wonderful gift. Hope everything will be okay and we will have a healthy and intelligent baby!!
Dr Nguyen asked us to give for the blood report at Jewish general.
Feeling great we went to Jewish general hospital and Vasavi registered as a patient and gave blood. They took six samples of blood. We pray to god that everything will be okay.

March 17th - first visit to a doctor

2005-05-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

St Mary's hospital finally called after four days. A doctor by name Dr Singwi was assigned to Vasavi and the appointment was today around 1030AM.
Did quite a research on good OB/GYN. Thanks to a post by Lina Stavrakis in babycenter.com, I decided to call Dr Nguyen as I could not get appointment with my first choice Dr Lachapalle. Got the appointment with Dr Nguyen on April 1st. Dr Nguyen asked to get a referral letter so, we have decided to see Dr Singwi.
It was snowing lightly and had bit tough time to locate the general medicine department at St Mary's. Found it and had to wait for couple of minutes as Dr Singwi was attending to some emergency. Having heard lot of bad things about hospitals, we were plesantly surprised the way St Mary's worked. They assigned us two great nurses and gave list of tests to be done at the hospital itself.
Finally around 1115AM, Dr Singwi called us. He was very young but he sure sounded like good. He asked Vasavi all kinds of very good questions and health history and both of us very impressed. BUT he said he is leaving in another three months and someone else in St Mary's will look after Vasavi. We almost decided to stick with Dr Singwi and ditch Dr Nguyen but his leaving in three months made us to change our minds. Its not good to start all again with a new doctor and that too friends said lady GYN would be more comfortable. Another factor was Dr Singwi was not GYN but a general practitioner.
So, we asked him for the referral and told him that we want to see Dr Nguyen. He was very much okay with it and gave the referral.
One great thing he did was to prescribe Diclectin for nausea. This medicine was simply great. Had it not been for Diclectin we would have scared out of our wits.
Thank you Diclectin!!

March 10th - The Judgement day!!

2005-05-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Vasavi throwing up a lot and all symptoms sure looked like pregnancy!!! whoohoo!!!
Having bad experiences with the pregnancy tests we decided to see the doctor. Went to Cote-des-Neiges walk-in clinic but the receptionist said we have to wait for two hours. So, decided on checking the CLSC cavendish. Went to CLSC cavendish around 1130 AM, waited for 30 minutes. There was no doctor but a great nurse. She was very compassionate, very good. She asked all questions and said it sure looked like pregnancy. We held our breath. She said she is going to try urine test. I prayed Sai again to make it the moment we dreamt of. The test showed positive result and man!! what an exhilerating and amazing moment it was!! The nurse said it sure is pregnancy and we are cloud 9!!
The nurse asked Vasavi to take prenatal vitamins everyday and gave me list of hospitals to call to get an appt with OB/GYN.
We were so relieved and at the same time apprehensive of the new roles as parents! I insisted vasavi to call our homes. Called Satya at the office to recharge the reliance prepaid card. Using the cell phone, vasavi called ponnur and guntur and conveyed the good news.
Had lunch at McDonalds in the Cavendish mall.
Called St Mary's hospital and asked for doctor. They said they would call in a couple of days.
Talked to our neighbor who recently had a baby and took some doctors names.
Also, checked the internet. Google pointed to babycenter.com and there was a message board regarding montreal and some of the posts gave good reviews on two doctors:
one is Dr France Lachapalle and the other is Dr Nguyen. Both are affiliated to Jewish general hospital. Need to search more and have to decide on the doctor soon.

March 7th - the day it all started!!

2005-05-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Felt like talking to Vasavi around 2pm and while talking she ran to threw up. That was the moment of exhileration!! Looks like the first sign of the much anticipated moment. But at the same time bit afraid that this might turn as another false alarm.
Anyway, after going home asked Vasavi to take the pregnancy test but she was hellbent on not trying it and want to wait. She threw up couple of times that night.
So I tried to cook and made a whole mess! Cooking is indeed tough.
I prayed Sai to make the miracle to happen.

2005-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hmm! Saw about this in tollywoodinfo.com and felt fascinated.
Online dairy!!
Main reason not maintaining a dairy is the need to maintain a book and writing!
Writing has become a big task these days.. and that too keep in track of the dairy!!
So, with no such head-aches, this oline blogger sounds interesting.. need to see how long I can keep it up.
Well!
Yesterday was fun.. Ramko and Satya came to our house. As usual, had fun with Neha baby.
What a pleasure to play with her!! I wish I had a baby like that!!
After the dinner, went to drop Ramko and Radha.
Stayed there for tea and came back home at 12AM!!
Today? Nothing special. No work. Spent time in browsing.
Should buy the Tea-Table today from WalMart.
No decision has been made - it seems - about the voucher prepaid feature.. so, had to look at the TRs..
Looks like Sagar is going to US for sure. Good for him!
Not sure what to do... Shall I look at US for jobs or live here for another two years?
On one hand, Vasavi finally got the urge to study and we have good university here; And in another two years, I can be citizen and Vasavi can complete certificate courses. Not sure if that is possible in US..
On the other hand, savings are less and quality of life is not that fantastic..
Need to think..
Might go for a movie tonight!

February 22, 2005

2005-02-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hello World!!