Chapter 2: Study Guide

1. What are the different types of application architectures?

Host-Based, Client-Based, Client-Server, Cloud Computing, Peer-to-Peer - Architectures
2. Describe the four basic functions of an application software package.
 Data storage: Store and retrieve data
 Data access logic: e.g. SQL
 Application logic: Simplex or complex
 Presentation logic: Acceptance of users commands and presenting info to user
3. Suppose your organization was contemplating switching from a host-based architecture to client-server.
What problems would you foresee? Use of software from different vendors can be difficult
4. Which is less expensive: host-based networks or client-server networks? Explain.
 Host based is more expensive because of its upgrade cost
5. How does a thin client differ from a thick client?
 Thin: little to no application logic. Easier manageable -> Future
 Thick: All or almost all application logic
6. For what is HTTP used? What are its major parts?
Standard protocol for communication between web server and web browser. Request line (Command, URL,
Version number), request header (optional information such as used web browser, date) and request body
(information sent to server, e.g. filled out form)
12. What roles do SMTP, POP, and IMAP play in sending and receiving e-mail on the Internet?
 SMTP: email standard for message transmitting between mail sender and server, and server to server.
Receivers communicate with their server via POP or IMAP.
13. What is cloud computing? Outsourcing of infrastructure and/or software

Chapter 3: Study Guide

1. How does a multipoint circuit differ from a point-to-point circuit?
 Multiport: Many devices share the same circuit
 Point-to-point: Dedicated connection between two machines
2. Describe the three types of data flows.
 Simplex trans.: one way
 Half-duplex trans.: two way, not simultaneously
 Full-duplex trans.: two way, simultaneously possible
3. Describe three types of guided media.
 Twisted-pair cable: Most common, cheap, twisted pairs of cable for minimizing electromagnetic
interferences
 Coaxial cable: Additionally shielded, too expensive, disappearing, copper core
 Fiber-optic cable: light instead of electricity used for transmitting data, shielded, expensive, long range,
fastest
4. How does analog data differ from digital data?
 Digital has only two states, 1 or 0. Analog signal continuously varies in wave-like pattern
5. Clearly explain the differences among analog data, analog transmission, digital data, and digital
transmission.

6. Explain why most telephone company circuits are now digital: Faster, use infrastructure for multiple things,
better manageable
7. What is coding?
 Mutual agreed standard system between sender and receiver for representing the letters, numbers and
symbols
8. Briefly describe three important coding schemes.
 Unipolar: Voltage either positive all the time or negative all the time
 Bipolar: Plus voltage or minus voltage
 Manchester: Ethernet, change of voltage generates 0 or 1, not time
9. What feature distinguishes serial mode from parallel mode? Parallel mode can transmit multiple bits at
the same time

10. What is bandwidth? What is the bandwidth in a traditional North American telephone circuit?
 Difference between the highest and the lowest frequency. 4000 – 300 – 700 = 3000
11. Describe how data could be transmitted using amplitude modulation, and frequency modulation?
 Shape of sound waves represent different values. agreement between sender and receiver on amplitude
and frequency
12. Is the bit rate the same as the symbol rate? Explain
 Symbol rate: How many symbols transmitted per second
 Bit rate: How many bits per second
13. What is a modem? Converts digital signals to analog for transmission over analog circuit
14. What is quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)?
 Splitting symbols into 8 phases and 2 amplitudes to achieve 16 different possible values
15. Explain how pulse code modulation (PCM) works
 Input voice signal samples 8000x/sec and generates 8 bits. 8x8000 = 64.000 bps transmission speed

16. What is the term used to describe the placing of two or more signals on a single circuit?
 Multiplexing is the term used to describe the placing of two or more signals on a single circuit.
17. What is the purpose of multiplexing?
 A multiplexer puts two or more simultaneous transmissions on a single communication circuit.
18. How does DSL (digital subscriber line) work?
 Uses high-speed bandwidth connection on existing telephone network, can use internet while phone calls
19. Of the different types of multiplexing, what distinguishes:
a. Frequency division multiplexing (FDM)? Divide circuit horizontally so that many signals can go
through the circuit simultaneously.
b. Time division multiplexing (TDM)? Signals take turns, dividing the circuit vertically
c. Statistical time division multiplexing (STDM)? Doesn’t require the same amount of sender as receiver
circuits (like FDM). Can have higher transmission because it uses the not used speed from other circuits.
20. What is the function of inverse multiplexing (IMUX)? Inverse multiplexing (IMUX) combines several low
speed circuits to make them appear as one high-speed circuit to the user.

Chapter 4: Study Guide

1. What does the data link layer do?

 The data link layer controls the way messages are sent on the physical media. The data link layer
handles three functions: media access control, message delineation, and error control.
2. What is media access control, and why is it important?
 Media access control handles when the message gets sent. Media access control becomes important
when several computers share the same communication circuit, such as a point-to-point configuration
with a half- duplex line that requires computers to take turns, or a multipoint configuration in which
several computers share the same circuit. Here, it is critical to ensure that no two computers attempt to
transmit data at the same time -- or if they do, there must be a way to recover from the problem. Media
access control is critical in local area networks.
3. Under what conditions is media access control unimportant? With point-to-point full duplex configurations,
media access control is unnecessary because there are only two computers on the circuit and full duplex
permits either computer to transmit at any time. There is no media access control.
4. Compare and contrast roll-call polling, hub polling (or token passing), and contention:
 Contention is the opposite of controlled access. Computers wait until the circuit is free (i.e., no other
computers are transmitting), and then transmit whenever they have data to send. Contention is commonly
used in Ethernet local area networks.
5. Which is better, controlled access or contention? Explain: The key consideration for which is better is
throughput -- which approach will permit the largest amount of user data to be transmitted through the
network. Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches permit point-to-point circuits
6. Define two fundamental types of errors: Human Errors and network errors (corrupted data and lost data)
7. Errors normally appear in ________BURSTS__________, which is when more than one data bit is changed
by the error-causing condition.
8. Is there any difference in the error rates of lower-speed lines and of higher-speed lines?
 Yes, normally lower speed lines have higher error rates because (1) leased lines can be conditioned to
prevent noise, but dial-up lines can not and (2) dial-up lines have less stable transmission parameters.

9. Briefly define noise: Noise consists of undesirable electrical signals, or, in the instance of fiber optic cable,
undesirable light. Noise is typically introduced by equipment or natural disturbances, and it can seriously
degrade the performance of a communication circuit. Noise manifests itself as extra bits, missing bits, or
bits that have been "flipped," (i.e., changed from 1 to 0 or vice versa).
10. Describe four types of noise. Which is likely to pose the greatest problem to network managers?
The following list summarizes the major sources of error. The first six are the most important; the last three
are more common in analog rather that digital circuits.
Line outages are a catastrophic cause of errors and incomplete transmission. Occasionally, a communication
circuit fails for a brief period.
White noise or gaussian noise (the familiar background hiss or static on radios and telephones) is caused
by the thermal agitation of electrons and therefore is inescapable. White noise usually is not a problem unless
it becomes so strong that it obliterates the transmission. In this case, the strength of the electrical signal is
increased so it overpowers the white noise; in technical terms, we increase the signal to noise ratio.
Impulse noise (sometimes called spikes) is the primary source of errors in data communications. Some of
the sources of impulse noise are voltage changes in adjacent lines, lightning flashes during thunderstorms,
fluorescent lights, and poor connections in circuits.
Cross-talk occurs when one circuit picks up signals in another. It occurs between pairs of wires that are
carrying separate signals, in multiplexed links carrying many discrete signals.
Echoes can cause errors. Echoes are caused by poor connections that cause the signal to reflect back to the
transmitting equipment. If the strength of the echo is strong enough to be detected, it causes errors. In
networks, echo suppressors are devices that reduce the potential for this type of error. Echoes can also occur
in fiber optic cables when connections between cables are not properly aligned.
Attenuation is the loss of power a signal suffers as it travels from the transmitting computer to the receiving
computer.
Intermodulation noise is a special type of cross-talk. The signals from two circuits combine to form a new
signal that falls into a frequency band reserved for another signal.
Jitter may affect the accuracy of the data being transmitted because minute variations in amplitude, phase,
and frequency always occur.

11. What is a repeater? Repeaters are commonly used on digital circuits. A repeater receives the incoming
signal, translates it into a digital message, and retransmits the message. Because the message is re-created
at each repeater, noise and distortion from the previous circuit are not amplified.
12. What are three ways of reducing errors and the types of noise they affect?
  Shielding (protecting wires by covering them with an insulating coating) is one of the best ways to
prevent impulse noise, cross-talk and intermodulation noise.
 Moving cables away from sources of noise (especially power sources) can also reduce impulse noise
cross-talk and intermodulation noise. For impulse noise, this means avoiding lights and heavy
machinery. Locating communication cables away from power cables is always a good idea. For cross-
talk, this means physically separating the cables from other communication cables.
 Cross-talk and intermodulation noise is often caused by improper multiplexing. Changing multiplexing
techniques (e.g., from FDM to TDM), or changing the frequencies or size of the guardbands in frequency
division multiplexing can help.
13. Describe three approaches to detecting errors, including how they work, the probability of detecting an
error, and any other benefits or limitations.
 Three common error detection methods are parity checking, longitudinal redundancy checking,
and polynomial checking (particularly checksum and cyclic redundancy checking).
 Polynomial checking adds a character or series of characters to the end of the message based on a
mathematical algorithm. With the checksum technique, a checksum (typically one byte) is added to
the end of the message.
14. Briefly describe how even parity and odd parity work.
 Even parity is when the seven bits of an ASCII character have an even (2, 4, or 6) number of 1s, and
therefore a 0 is placed in the eighth parity position. Odd parity is when the seven bits of an ASCII
character have an odd (1, 3, 5, or 7) number of 1s, and therefore a 1 is placed in the eighth parity position.
15. Briefly describe how checksum works.
 Checksum is a byte that is added to the end of a message. Add up the decimal value of each character
and divide the sum by 255. Remainder is the checksum. Receiver and sender compare.
16. How does cyclical redundancy checking (CRC) work?
 Error checking. Adds bits to message. Message treated as one long number. Before transmission, divide
number by fixed binary number.
17. Compare and contrast stop-and-wait ARQ and continuous ARQ.
 With stop-and-wait ARQ, the sender stops and waits for a response from the receiver after each message
or data packet. After receiving a packet, the receiver sends either an acknowledgment (ACK) if the
message was received without error, or a negative acknowledgment (NAK) if the message contained an
error. If it is an NAK, the sender resends the previous message. If it is an ACK, the sender continues
with the next message. Stop-and-wait ARQ is by definition, a half duplex transmission technique.
 With continuous ARQ, the sender does not wait for an acknowledgment after sending a message; it
immediately sends the next one. While the messages are being transmitted, the sender examines the
stream of returning acknowledgments. If it receives an NAK, the sender retransmits the needed
messages. Continuous ARQ is by definition a full duplex transmission technique, because both the
sender and the receiver are transmitting simultaneously (the sender is sending messages, and the receiver
is sending ACKs and NAKs).
18. How long is an Ethernet address in bits and bytes? 48 bits and 6 byte
19. What is transmission efficiency?
 Transmission efficiency is defined as the total number of information bits (i.e., bits in the message
sent by the user) divided by the total bits in transmission (i.e., information bits plus overhead bits).
20. How do information bits differ from overhead bits?
 Information bits are those used to convey the user’s meaning. Overhead bits are used for purposes
such as error checking, and marking the start and end of characters and packets.
Are stop bits necessary in asynchronous transmission? Yes. put behind every character
21. Under what conditions does a data link layer protocol need an address?
 At some point in the networking process, the device’s data link layer must be addressed by the layer
3 protocol, no matter what the particular data link layer protocol that is running on the network.
22.Are large frame sizes better than small frame sizes?Less meta data but higher effort in case of resending data
Chapter 5: Study Guide

1. What does the network layer do? The network layer performs three important functions: addressing,
routing, and breaking long messages into smaller packets for transmission by the data link layer. The network
layer sits between the application layer and the data link layer. The network layer accepts messages from the
application layer and formats and addresses them for transmission by the data link layer. The network layer
also accepts individual messages from the data link layer and organizes them into coherent messages that it
passes to the application layer.
Connectionless routing means each packet is treated separately and makes its own way through the network.
It is possible that different packets will take different routes through the network depending upon the type
of routing used and the amount of traffic. Because packets following different routes may travel at different
speeds, they may arrive out of sequence at their destination. The sender’s network layer therefore puts a
sequence number on each packet, in addition to information about the message stream to which the packet
belongs. The network layer must reassemble them in the correct order before passing the message to the
application layer.
2. What is a subnet and why do networks need them?
Each organization must assign the IP addresses it has received to specific computers on its networks. In
general, IP addresses are assigned so that all computers on the same local area network have a similar
addresses. For example, suppose a university has just received a set of Class B addresses starting with
128.184.x.x. It is customary to assign all the computers in the same LAN numbers that start with the same
first three digits, so the Business School LAN might be assigned 128.184.56.x while the Computer Science
LAN might be assigned 128.184.55.x (see Figure 6-8). Likewise, all the other LANs at the university and
the backbone network that connects them, would have a different set of numbers. Each of these LANs are
called a TCP/IP subnet because they are logically grouped together by IP number. Knowing whether a
computer is on your subnet or not it very important for message routing.
3. What is a subnet mask?
While it is customary to use the last byte of the IP address to indicate different subnets, it is not required.
Any portion of the IP address can be designated as a subnet by using a subnet mask. Every computer in a
TCP/IP network is given a subnet mask to enable it to determine which computers are on the same subnet
(i.e., LAN) as it is, and which computers are outside of its subnet. The subnet mask is a number that each
routing device on a network can use to compare the routing packet to in order to determine if the packet
stays in that portion or the network, or should be routed on to the next portion of the network.
For example, a network could be configured so that the first two bytes indicated a subnet (e.g., 128.184.x.x)
so all computers would be given a subnet mask giving the first two bytes as the subnet indicator. This would
mean that a computer with an IP address of 128.184.22.33 would be on the same subnet as 128.184.78.90,
and that the message stays within that network. On the other hand, if the subnet comparison shows that the
message is not on that particular subnet, then the routing device will move the packets on in their journey.
4. Explain how the client computer in Figure 5.14 (128.192.98.xx) would obtain the data link layer
address of its subnet gateway.
When a computer is installed on a TCP/IP network (or dials into a TCP/IP network), it knows the IP
address of its subnet gateway. This information can be provided by a configuration file or via a bootp or
DHCP server. However, the computer does not know the subnet gateway’s Ethernet address (data link
layer address). Therefore, TCP would broadcast an ARP request to all computers on its subnet, requesting
that the computer whose IP address is 128.192.98.1 to respond with its Ethernet address.
All computers on the subnet would process this request, but only the subnet gateway would respond with
an ARP packet giving its Ethernet address. The network layer software on the client would then store this
address in its data link layer address table.
5. Convert 32-bit binary IP address to a decimal dotted format

6. Change the following IPv4 addresses from binary notation to dotted-decimal notation.
a. 10000001 00001011 00001011 11101111
b. 11000001 10000011 00011011 11111111
c. 11100111 11011011 10001011 01101111
d. 11111001 10011011 11111011 00001111
Solution: We replace each group of 8 bits with its equivalent decimal number (see Appendix B) and
add dots for separation:
a. 129.11.11.239
b. 193.131.27.255
c. 231.219.139.111
d. 249.155.251.15
7.

8.
1. Assuming Classful routing, how many bit positions to borrow from, to
subnet 199.67.67.0 into 5 subnets.

2. Write down the modified subnet mask of the network address 199.67.67.0
from Q.1

3. Identify the subnet address the following IP address 199.67.67.49

belongs to.

4. Which protocol is used to resolve a given IP address to its Ethernet

address?

5. The network layer is responsible for end-to-end delivery of the

message. T/F

6. Write down the broadcast address for the network:210.23.45.0

7. Write down the broadcast address for the network:169.67.0.0

8. Assuming Classful routing, how many bit positions to borrow from, to
subnet 169.67.0.0 into 5 subnets.

9. Write down the modified subnet mask of the network address 169.67.0.0
from Q.4

10.An ARP request is _________ to all devices on the network.

11.An ARP reply is ___________ to the host requesting the address.

12.Given the IP address of a host: 205.101.55.66, and its subnet mask

255.255.255.192 compute the subnet address in the decimal dotted
format, and the broadcast address.

13._________ is a specially formatted request used to perform IP address

to data link address resolution.

a. Address Resolution Protocol

b. Domain Service Request
c. HTTP request
d. Link state request
14.For a Class C network address 205.101.55.0, that needs to support 2
subnets, the subnet mask in binary is:
a. 1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.0000 0000
b. 1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111
c. 1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.1100 0000
d. 1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.1000 0000

15.For a Class C network address 205.101.55.0, that needs to support 2

subnets, the subnet mask in decimal form is:
a. 255.255.255.0
b. 255.255.255.182
c. 255.255.255.192
d. 255.255.255.128

16.Given the IP address of a host: 205.101.55.66, compute the subnet

address in the decimal dotted format using the correct subnet mask from
your selection in question 24 or 25:
a. 205.101.55.0
b. 205.101.55.62
c. 205.101.55.64
d. 205.101.55.255

17.In a Class B network address, the network address field

a. 8 bits
b. 16 bits
c. 24 bits
d. 32 bits