Computer Networking and Data Communication Solved Question Paper
Computer Networking and Data Communication Solved Question Paper
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1. Define Network?
A network is a set of devices connected by physical media links. A network is recursively is
a connection of two or more nodes by a physical link or two or more networks connected
by one or more nodes.
2. What is a Link?
At the lowest level, a network can consist of two or more computers directly connected by
some physical medium such as coaxial cable or optical fiber. Such a physical medium is
called as Link.
3. What is a node?
A network can consist of two or more computers directly connected by some physical
medium such as coaxial cable or optical fiber. Such a physical medium is called as Links
and the computer it connects is called as Nodes.
4. What is a gateway or Router?
A node that is connected to two or more networks is commonly called as router or
Gateway. It generally forwards message from one network to another.
5. What is point-point link?
If the physical links are limited to a pair of nodes it is said to be point-point link.
6. What is Multiple Access?
If the physical links are shared by more than two nodes, it is said to be Multiple Access.
7. What are the advantages of Distributed Processing?
a. Security/Encapsulation
b. Distributed database
c. Faster Problem solving
d. Security through redundancy
e. Collaborative Processing
8. What are the criteria necessary for an effective and efficient network?
a. Performance
It can be measured in many ways, including transmit time and response time. b.
Reliability
It is measured by frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a failure,
and the network's robustness.
c. Security
Security issues includes protecting data from unauthorized access and virues.
9. Name the factors that affect the performance of the network?
a. Number of Users
b. Type of transmission medium
c. Hardware
d. Software
10. Name the factors that affect the reliability of the network?
a. Frequency of failure
b. Recovery time of a network after a failure
11. Name the factors that affect the security of the network?
a. Unauthorized Access
b. Viruses
12. What is Protocol?
A protocol is a set of rules that govern all aspects of information communication.
13. What are the key elements of protocols?
The key elements of protocols are
a. Syntax
It refers to the structure or format of the data, that is the order in which they are
presented.
b. Semantics
It refers to the meaning of each section of bits.
c. Timing
Timing refers to two characteristics: When data should be sent and how fast they can be
sent.
14. What are the key design issues of a computer Network?
a. Connectivity
b. Cost-effective Resource Sharing
c. Support for common Services
d. Performance
15. Define Bandwidth and Latency?
Network performance is measured in Bandwidth (throughput) and Latency (Delay).
Bandwidth of a network is given by the number of bits that can be transmitted over the
network in a certain period of time. Latency corresponds to how long it t5akes a message
to travel from one end off a network to the other. It is strictly measured in terms of time.
16. Define Routing?
The process of determining systematically hoe to forward messages toward the destination
nodes based on its address is called routing.
17. What is a peer-peer process?
The processes on each machine that communicate at a given layer are called peer-peer
process.
retransmission of those frames by the sender. In the data link layer, the term error control
refers primarily to methods of error detection and retransmission.
66. What Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)?
Error control is both error detection and error correction. It allows the receiver to inform
the sender of any frames lost or damaged in transmission and coordinates the
retransmission of those frames by the sender. In the data link layer, the term error control
refers primarily to methods of error detection and retransmission. Error control in the data
link layer is often implemented simply: Any time an error is detected in an exchange,
specified frames are retransmitted. This process is called automatic repeat request (ARQ).
67. What is Stop-and-Wait Protocol?
In Stop and wait protocol, sender sends one frame, waits until it receives confirmation
from the receiver (okay to go ahead), and then sends the next frame.
68. What is Stop-and-Wait Automatic Repeat Request?
Error correction in Stop-and-Wait ARQ is done by keeping a copy of the sent frame and
retransmitting of the frame when the timer expires.
69. What is usage of Sequence Number in Relaible Transmission?
The protocol specifies that frames need to be numbered. This is done by using sequence
numbers. A field is added to the data frame to hold the sequence number of that frame.
Since we want to minimize the frame size, the smallest range that provides unambiguous
communication. The sequence numbers can wrap around.
70. What is Pipelining ?
In networking and in other areas, a task is often begun before the previous task has
ended. This is known as pipelining.
71. What is Sliding Window?
The sliding window is an abstract concept that defines the range of sequence numbers that
is the concern of the sender and receiver. In other words, he sender and receiver need to
deal with only part of the possible sequence numbers.
72. What is Piggy Backing?
A technique called piggybacking is used to improve the efficiency of the bidirectional
protocols. When a frame is carrying data from A to B, it can also carry control information
about arrived (or lost) frames from B; when a frame is carrying data from B to A, it can
also carry control information about the arrived (or lost) frames from A.
73. What are the two types of transmission technology available?
(i) Broadcast and (ii) point-to-point
74. What is subnet?
A generic term for section of a large networks usually separated by a bridge or router.
75. Difference between the communication and transmission.
Transmission is a physical movement of information and concern issues like bit polarity,
synchronisation, clock etc.
Communication means the meaning full exchange of information between two
communication media.
76. What are the possible ways of data exchange?
(i) Simplex (ii) Half-duplex (iii) Full-duplex.
77. What is SAP?
Series of interface points that allow other computers to communicate with the other layers
of network protocol stack.
78. What do you meant by "triple X" in Networks?
The function of PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) is described in a document known as
X.3. The standard protocol has been defined between the terminal and the PAD, called
X.28; another standard protocol exists between hte PAD and the network, called X.29.
Together, these three recommendations are often called "triple X".
79. What is frame relay, in which layer it comes?
Frame relay is a packet switching technology. It will operate in the data link layer.
80. What is terminal emulation, in which layer it comes?
Telnet is also called as terminal emulation. It belongs to application layer.
81. What is Beaconing?
The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems. The stations on the
network notify the other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the
transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and FDDI networks.
82. What is redirector?
Redirector is software that intercepts file or prints I/O requests and translates them into
network requests. This comes under presentation layer.
83. What is NETBIOS and NETBEUI?
NETBIOS is a programming interface that allows I/O requests to be sent to and received
from a remote computer and it hides the networking hardware from applications.
NETBEUI is NetBIOS extended user interface. A transport protocol designed by microsoft
and IBM for the use on small subnets.
Signals are usually transmitted over some transmission media that are broadly classified in
to two categories.
a.) Guided Media: These are those that provide a conduit from one device to another that
include twisted-pair, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of
these media is directed and is contained by the physical limits of the medium. Twisted-pair
and coaxial cable use metallic that accept and transport signals in the form of electrical
current. Optical fiber is a glass or plastic cable that accepts and transports signals in the
form of light.
b.) Unguided Media: This is the wireless media that transport electromagnetic waves
without using a physical conductor. Signals are broadcast either through air. This is done
through radio communication, satellite communication and cellular telephony.
95. What is Project 802?
It is a project started by IEEE to set standards to enable intercommunication between
equipment from a variety of manufacturers. It is a way for specifying functions of the
physical layer, the data link layer and to some extent the network layer to allow for
interconnectivity of major LAN protocols.
It consists of the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
at physical layer. It receives the signal in the network before it becomes weak,
regenerates the original bit pattern and puts the refreshed copy back in to the link.
Bridges: These operate both in the physical and data link layers of LANs of same
type. They divide a larger network in to smaller segments. They contain logic that
allow them to keep the traffic for each segment separate and thus are repeaters
that relay a frame only the side of the segment containing the intended recipent
and control congestion.
3. Routers: They relay packets among multiple interconnected networks (i.e. LANs
4.
of different type). They operate in the physical, data link and network layers. They
contain software that enable them to determine which of the several possible paths
is the best for a particular transmission.
Gateways: They relay packets among networks that have different protocols (e.g.
between a LAN and a WAN). They accept a packet formatted for one protocol and
convert it to a packet formatted for another protocol before forwarding it. They
operate in all seven layers of the OSI model.
A
B
C
D
E
0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255
- 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255
- 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
- 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
- 240.0.0.0 - 247.255.255.255
103. What is the difference between TFTP and FTP application layer protocols?
The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) allows a local host to obtain files from a remote
host but does not provide reliability or security. It uses the fundamental packet delivery
services offered by UDP.
The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP / IP for
copying a file from one host to another. It uses the services offer by TCP and so is reliable
and secure. It establishes two connections (virtual circuits) between the hosts, one for
data transfer and another for control information.
104. What are major types of networks and explain?
2. Peer-to-peer network: computers can act as both servers sharing resources and
as clients using the resources.
105. What are the important topologies for networks?
The most common two letter combinations are called as digrams. e.g. th, in, er, re and an.
The most common three letter combinations are called as trigrams. e.g. the, ing, and, and
ion.
121. Expand IDEA.
IDEA stands for International Data Encryption Algorithm.
122. What is wide-mouth frog?
Wide-mouth frog is the simplest known key distribution center (KDC) authentication
protocol.
123. What is Mail Gateway?
It is a system that performs a protocol translation between different electronic mail
delivery protocols.
124. What is IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol)?
It is any routing protocol used within an autonomous system.
125. What is EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol)?
It is the protocol the routers in neighboring autonomous systems use to identify the set of
networks that can be reached within or via each autonomous system.
126. What is autonomous system?
It is a collection of routers under the control of a single administrative authority and that
uses a common Interior Gateway Protocol.
127. What is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)?
It is a protocol used to advertise the set of networks that can be reached with in an
autonomous system. BGP enables this information to be shared with the autonomous
system. This is newer than EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol).
128. What is Gateway-to-Gateway protocol?
It is a protocol formerly used to exchange routing information between Internet core
routers.
129. What is NVT (Network Virtual Terminal)?
It is a set of rules defining a very simple virtual terminal interaction. The NVT is used in
the start of a Telnet session.
130. What is a Multi-homed Host?
It is a host that has a multiple network interfaces and that requires multiple IP addresses
is called as a Multi-homed Host.
When were OSI model developed and why its standard called
802.XX and so on?
OSI model was developed in February1980 that why these also known as 802.XX Standard
(Notice 80 means ==> 1980, 2means ==> February)
What is IP?
It's a unique 32 bits software address of a node in a network.
What is APIPA?
Automatic private IP addressing (APIPA) is a feature mainly found in Microsoft operating
systems. APIPA enables clients to still communicate with other computers on the same
network segment until an IP address can be obtained from a DHCP server, allowing the
machine to fully participate on the network. The range of these IP address are the
169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254 with a default Class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0.
In simple words Computer Network is a system in which all computers are connected to share
information and resources. This connection can be client/server or peer-peer connection. In
sWhat
is a computer Network?
Types of Networks:
LANs (Local Area Networks)
A network is any collection of independent computers that communicate with one
another over a shared network medium. LANs are networks usually confined to a
geographic area, such as a single building or a college campus. LANs can be small,
linking as few as three computers, but often link hundreds of computers used by
thousands of people. The development of standard networking protocols and media
has resulted in worldwide proliferation of LANs throughout business and educational
organizations.
Wide area networking combines multiple LANs that are geographically separate. This
is accomplished by connecting the different LANs using services such as dedicated
leased phone lines, dial-up phone lines (both synchronous and asynchronous), satellite
links, and data packet carrier services. Wide area networking can be as simple as a
modem and remote access server for employees to dial into, or it can be as complex as
hundreds of branch offices globally linked using special routing protocols and filters
to minimize the expense of sending data sent over vast distances.
Internet
The Internet is a system of linked networks that are
worldwide in scope and facilitate data
communication services such as remote login, file
transfer, electronic mail, the World Wide Web and
newsgroups.
With the meteoric rise in demand for connectivity, the Internet has become a
communications highway for millions of users. The Internet was initially restricted to
military and academic institutions, but now it is a full-fledged conduit for any and all
forms of information and commerce. Internet websites now provide personal,
educational, political and economic resources to every corner of the planet.
Intranet
With the advancements made in browser-based software for the Internet, many private
organizations are implementing intranets. An intranet is a private network utilizing
Internet-type tools, but available only within that organization. For large
organizations, an intranet provides an easy access mode to corporate information for
employees.
VPN uses a technique known as tunneling to transfer data securely on the Internet to a
remote access server on your workplace network. Using a VPN helps you save money
by using the public Internet instead of making longdistance phone calls to connect
securely with your private network. There are two ways to create a VPN connection,
by dialing an Internet service provider (ISP), or connecting directly to Internet.
Categories of Network:
Network
can
Peer-to-peer.
Server based.
Network management.
location of application function. The user often does not know where a specific
operation is executing. The entire function may execute in either the PC or server, or
the function may be split between them. This masking of application function
locations enables system implementers to upgrade portions of a system over time with
a minimum disruption of application operations, while protecting the investment in
existing hardware and software.
The OSI
Model:
Open System Interconnection
(OSI) reference model has become
an International standard and serves
as a guide for networking. This
model is the best known and most
widely used guide to describe
networking environments. Vendors
design network products based on
the specifications of the OSI model.
It provides a description of how network hardware and software work together in a
layered fashion to make communications possible. It also helps with trouble shooting
by providing a frame of reference that describes how components are supposed to
function.
There are seven to get familiar with and these are the physical layer, data link layer,
network layer, transport layer, session layer, presentation layer, and the application
layer.
Physical Layer, is just that the physical parts of the network such
as wires, cables, and there media along with the length. Also this
layer takes note of the electrical signals that transmit data
throughout system.
don't want to forget that these are also called nodes in the network.
Another thing to consider in this layer is will also allow and define
the error detection and correction schemes that insure data was
sent and received.
Session Layer, this layer helps out with the task to carry
information from one node (workstation) to another node
(workstation). A session has to be made before we can transport
information to another computer.
Network Architectures:
Ethernet
Ethernet is the most popular physical layer LAN technology in use today. Other LAN
types include Token Ring, Fast Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI),
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and LocalTalk. Ethernet connection is popular
because it strikes a good balance between speed, cost and ease of installation. These
benefits, combined with wide acceptance in the computer marketplace and the ability
to support virtually all popular network protocols, make Ethernet an ideal networking
technology for most computer users today. The Institute for Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE) defines the Ethernet standard as IEEE Standard 802.3. This
standard defines rules for configuring an Ethernet network as well as specifying how
elements in an Ethernet network interact with one another. By adhering to the IEEE
standard, network equipment and network protocols can communicate efficiently.
Fast Ethernet
For Ethernet networks that need higher transmission speeds, the Fast Ethernet
standard (IEEE 802.3u) has been established. This standard raises the Ethernet speed
limit from 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 100 Mbps with only minimal changes to
the existing cable structure. There are three types of Fast Ethernet: 100BASE-TX for
use with level 5 UTP cable, 100BASE-FX for use with fiber-optic cable, and
100BASE-T4 which utilizes an extra two wires for use with level 3 UTP cable. The
100BASE-TX standard has become the most popular due to its close compatibility
with the 10BASE-T Ethernet standard. For the network manager, the incorporation of
Fast Ethernet into an existing configuration presents a host of decisions. Managers
must determine the number of users in each site on the network that need the higher
throughput, decide which segments of the backbone need to be reconfigured
specifically for 100BASE-T and then choose the necessary hardware to connect the
100BASE-T segments with existing 10BASE-T segments. Gigabit Ethernet is a future
technology that promises a migration path beyond Fast Ethernet so the next
generation of networks will support even higher data transfer speeds.
Token Ring
Token Ring is another form of network
configuration which differs from Ethernet in that
all messages are transferred in a unidirectional
manner along the ring at all times. Data is
transmitted in tokens, which are passed along the
ring and viewed by each device. When a device
sees a message addressed to it, that device copies
the message and then marks that message as being read. As the message makes its
way along the ring, it eventually gets back to the sender who now notes that the
message was received by the intended device. The sender can then remove the
message and free that token for use by others.
Various PC vendors have been proponents of Token Ring networks at different times
and thus these types of networks have been implemented in many organizations.
FDDI
Protocols:
Network protocols are standards that allow computers to communicate. A
protocol defines how computers identify one another on a network, the form that the
data should take in transit, and how this information is processed once it reaches its
final destination. Protocols also define procedures for handling lost or damaged
transmissions or "packets." TCP/IP (for UNIX, Windows NT, Windows 95 and other
platforms), IPX (for Novell NetWare), DECnet (for networking Digital Equipment
Corp. computers), AppleTalk (for Macintosh computers), and NetBIOS/NetBEUI (for
LAN Manager and Windows NT networks) are the main types of network protocols
in use today.
Although each network protocol is different, they all share the same physical cabling.
This common method of accessing the physical network allows multiple protocols to
peacefully coexist over the network media, and allows the builder of a network to use
common hardware for a variety of protocols. This concept is known as "protocol
independence,"
Some Important Protocols and their job:
Protocol
Point-To-Point
Acrony
m
TCP/IP
Its Job
The backbone
protocol of the
internet. Popular
also for intranets
using the internet
Transmission Control
TCP/IP
The backbone
Protocol/internet
protocol of the
Protocol
internet. Popular
This is a standard
Exchange/Sequenced
Packet Exchange
Network
Operating System
NetBIOS Extended
NetBEUI
User Interface
This is a Microsoft
protocol that
doesn't support
routing to other
networks
FTP
HTTP
Protocol
Allows network
nodes or
workstations to
access files and
drives as if they
were their own.
SMTP
Used to send
Email over a
network
Telnet
Used to connect
to a host and
emulate a
terminal that the
Introduction to TCP/IP
Networks:
TCP/IP-based networks play an increasingly important role in computer
networks. Perhaps one reason for their appeal is that they are based on an open
specification that is not controlled by any vendor.
What Is TCP/IP?
TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and IP stands for Internet
Protocol. The term TCP/IP is not limited just to these two protocols, however.
Frequently, the term TCP/IP is used to refer to a group of protocols related to the TCP
and IP protocols such as the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), File Transfer Protocol
(FTP), Terminal Emulation Protocol (TELNET), and so on.
Shielded
Twisted
Pair
(STP)
Is more common in highspeed networks. The biggest
difference you will see in the
UTP and STP is that the STP
use's metallic shield wrapping
to protect the wire from
interference.
-Something else to note about these cables is that they are defined in numbers also.
The bigger the number the better the protection from interference. Most networks
should go with no less than a CAT 3 and CAT 5 is most recommended.
-Now you know about cables we need to know about connectors. This is pretty
important and you will most likely need the RJ-45 connector. This is the cousin of the
phone jack connector and looks real similar with the exception that the RJ-45 is
bigger. Most commonly your connector are in two flavors and this is BNC (Bayonet
Naur Connector) used in thicknets and the RJ-45 used in smaller networks using
UTP/STP.
Ethernet Cabling
Now to familiarize you with more on the Ethernet and it's cabling we need to look at
the 10's. 10Base2, is considered the thin Ethernet, thinnet, and thinwire which uses
light coaxial cable to create a 10 Mbps network. The cable segments in this network
can't be over 185 meters in length. These cables connect with the BNC connector.
Also as a note these unused connection must have a terminator, which will be a 50ohm terminator.
10Base5, this is considered a thicknet and is used with coaxial cable arrangement
such as the BNC connector. The good side to the coaxial cable is the high-speed
transfer and cable segments can be up to 500 meters between nodes/workstations.
You will typically see the same speed as the 10Base2 but larger cable lengths for
more versatility.
10BaseT, the T stands for twisted as in UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) and uses
this for 10Mbps of transfer. The down side to this is you can only have cable lengths
of 100 meters between nodes/workstations. The good side to this network is they are
easy to set up and cheap! This is why they are so common an ideal for small offices or
homes.
100BaseT, is considered Fast Ethernet uses STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) reaching
data transfer of 100Mbps. This system is a little more expensive but still remains
popular as the 10BaseT and cheaper than most other type networks. This on of course
would be the cheap fast version.
10BaseF, this little guy has the advantage of fiber optics and the F stands for just that.
This arrangement is a little more complicated and uses special connectors and NIC's
along with hubs to create its network. Pretty darn neat and not to cheap on the wallet.
An important part of designing and installing an Ethernet is selecting the appropriate
Ethernet medium. There are four major types of media in use today: Thickwire for
10BASE5 networks, thin coax for 10BASE2 networks, unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
for 10BASE-T networks and fiber optic for 10BASE-FL or Fiber-Optic InterRepeater Link (FOIRL) networks. This wide variety of media reflects the evolution of
Ethernet and also points to the technology's flexibility. Thickwire was one of the first
cabling systems used in Ethernet but was expensive and difficult to use. This evolved
to thin coax, which is easier to work with and less expensive.
Network Topologies:
What is a Network topology?
A network topology is the geometric arrangement of nodes and cable links in a LAN,
There are three topology's to think about when you get into networks. These are the
star, rind, and the bus.
Star, in a star topology each node has a dedicated set of wires connecting it to a
central network hub. Since all traffic passes through the hub, the hub becomes a
central point for isolating network problems and gathering network statistics.
Ring, a ring topology features a logically closed loop. Data packets travel in a single
direction around the ring from one network device to the next. Each network device
acts as a repeater, meaning it regenerates the signal
Bus, the bus topology, each node (computer, server, peripheral etc.) attaches directly
to a common cable. This topology most often serves as the backbone for a network. In
some instances, such as in classrooms or labs, a bus will connect small workgroups
Collisions:
Ethernet is a shared media, so there are rules for sending packets of data to avoid
conflicts and protect data integrity. Nodes determine when the network is available
for sending packets. It is possible that two nodes at different locations attempt to send
data at the same time. When both PCs are transferring a packet to the network at the
same time, a collision will result.
Minimizing collisions is a crucial element in the design and operation of networks.
Increased collisions are often the result of too many users on the network, which
results in a lot of contention for network bandwidth. This can slow the performance of
the network from the user's point of view. Segmenting the network, where a network
is divided into different pieces joined together logically with a bridge or switch, is one
way of reducing an overcrowded network.
Ethernet Products:
The standards and technology that have just been discussed help define the specific
products that network managers use to build Ethernet networks. The following text
discusses the key products needed to build an Ethernet LAN.
Transceivers
Transceivers are used to connect nodes to the various Ethernet media. Most
computers and network interface cards contain a built-in 10BASE-T or 10BASE2
transceiver, allowing them to be connected directly to Ethernet without requiring an
external transceiver. Many Ethernet devices provide an AUI connector to allow the
user to connect to any media type via an external transceiver. The AUI connector
consists of a 15-pin D-shell type connector, female on the computer side, male on the
Network
Interface
Cards:
Network interface cards,
commonly referred to as NICs,
and are used to connect a PC to
a network. The NIC provides a
physical connection between the networking cable and the computer's internal bus.
Different computers have different bus architectures; PCI bus master slots are most
commonly found on 486/Pentium PCs and ISA expansion slots are commonly found
on 386 and older PCs. NICs come in three basic varieties: 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit.
The larger the number of bits that can be transferred to the NIC, the faster the NIC can
transfer data to the network cable.
Many NIC adapters comply with Plug-n-Play specifications. On these systems, NICs
are automatically configured without user intervention, while on non-Plug-n-Play
systems, configuration is done manually through a setup program and/or DIP
switches.
Cards are available to support almost all networking standards, including the latest
Fast Ethernet environment. Fast Ethernet NICs are often 10/100 capable, and will
automatically set to the appropriate speed. Full duplex networking is another option,
where a dedicated connection to a switch allows a NIC to operate at twice the speed.
Hubs/Repeaters:
Hubs/repeaters are used to connect together two or more Ethernet segments of any
media type. In larger designs, signal quality begins to deteriorate as segments exceed
their maximum length. Hubs provide the signal amplification required to allow a
segment to be extended a greater distance. A hub takes any incoming signal and
repeats it out all ports.
Ethernet hubs are necessary in star topologies such as 10BASE-T. A multi-port
twisted pair hub allows several point-to-point segments to be joined into one network.
One end of the point-to-point link is attached to the hub and the other is attached to
the computer. If the hub is attached to a backbone, then all computers at the end of the
twisted pair segments can communicate with all the hosts on the backbone. The
number and type of hubs in any one-collision domain is limited by the Ethernet rules.
These repeater rules are discussed in more detail later.
Max Nodes
Max Distance
Per Segment
Per Segment
10BASE-T
100m
10BASE2
30
185m
10BASE5
100
500m
10BASE-FL
2000m
Network Type
Adding Speed:
While repeaters allow LANs to extend beyond normal distance limitations, they still
limit the number of nodes that can be supported. Bridges and switches, however,
allow LANs to grow significantly larger by virtue of their ability to support full
Ethernet segments on each port. Additionally, bridges and switches selectively filter
network traffic to only those packets needed on each segment - this significantly
increases throughput on each segment and on the overall network. By providing better
performance and more flexibility for network topologies, bridges and switches will
continue to gain popularity among network managers.
Bridges:
The function of a bridge is to connect separate networks together. Bridges connect
different networks types (such as Ethernet and Fast Ethernet) or networks of the same
type. Bridges map the Ethernet addresses of the nodes residing on each network
segment and allow only necessary traffic to pass through the bridge. When a packet is
received by the bridge, the bridge determines the destination and source segments. If
the segments are the same, the packet is dropped ("filtered"); if the segments are
different, then the packet is "forwarded" to the correct segment. Additionally, bridges
do not forward bad or misaligned packets.
Bridges are also called "store-and-forward" devices because they look at the whole
Ethernet packet before making filtering or forwarding decisions. Filtering packets,
and regenerating forwarded packets enable bridging technology to split a network into
separate collision domains. This allows for greater distances and more repeaters to be
used in the total network design.
Ethernet
Switches:
Ethernet switches are an expansion of the concept in Ethernet bridging. LAN
switches can link four, six, ten or more networks together, and have two basic
architectures: cut-through and store-and-forward. In the past, cut-through switches
were faster because they examined the packet destination address only before
forwarding it on to its destination segment. A store-and-forward switch, on the other
hand, accepts and analyzes the entire packet before forwarding it to its destination.
It takes more time to examine the entire packet, but it allows the switch to catch
certain packet errors and keep them from propagating through the network. Both cutthrough and store-and-forward switches separate a network into collision domains,
allowing network design rules to be extended. Each of the segments attached to an
Ethernet switch has a full 10 Mbps of bandwidth shared by fewer users, which results
in better performance (as opposed to hubs that only allow bandwidth sharing from a
single Ethernet). Newer switches today offer high-speed links, FDDI, Fast Ethernet or
ATM. These are used to link switches together or give added bandwidth to hightraffic servers. A network composed of a number of switches linked together via
uplinks is termed a "collapsed backbone" network.
Routers:
Routers filter out network traffic by specific protocol rather than by packet address.
Routers also divide networks logically instead of physically. An IP router can divide a
network into various subnets so that only traffic destined for particular IP addresses
can pass between segments. Network speed often decreases due to this type of
intelligent forwarding. Such filtering takes more time than that exercised in a switch
or bridge, which only looks at the Ethernet address. However, in more complex
networks, overall efficiency is improved by using routers.
Copper
Fiber
No Repeaters
100m
412m*
One Class I
200m
272m
Repeater
200m
272m
One Class II
205m
228m
Repeater
Two Class II
Repeaters
* Full Duplex Mode 2 km
Types of Servers:
Device Servers
A device server is defined as a specialized, network-based hardware device designed
to perform a single or specialized set of server functions. It is characterized by a
minimal operating architecture that requires no per seat network operating system
license, and client access that is independent of any operating system or proprietary
protocol. In addition the device server is a "closed box," delivering extreme ease of
installation, minimal maintenance, and can be managed by the client remotely via a
Web browser.
Print servers, terminal servers, remote access servers and network time servers are
examples of device servers which are specialized for particular functions. Each of
these types of servers has unique configuration attributes in hardware or software that
help them to perform best in their particular arena.
Print Servers
Print servers allow printers to be shared by other users on the network. Supporting
either parallel and/or serial interfaces, a print server accepts print jobs from any
person on the network using supported protocols and manages those jobs on each
appropriate printer.
Print servers generally do not contain a large amount of memory; printers simply store
information in a queue. When the desired printer becomes available, they allow the
host to transmit the data to the appropriate printer port on the server. The print server
can then simply queue and print each job in the order in which print requests are
received, regardless of protocol used or the size of the job.
Access Servers
While Ethernet is limited to a geographic area, remote users such as traveling sales
people need access to network-based resources. Remote LAN access, or remote
access, is a popular way to provide this connectivity. Access servers use telephone
services to link a user or office with an office network. Dial-up remote access
solutions such as ISDN or asynchronous dial introduce more flexibility. Dial-up
remote access offers both the remote office and the remote user the economy and
flexibility of "pay as you go" telephone services. ISDN is a special telephone service
that offers three channels, two 64 Kbps "B" channels for user data and a "D" channel
for setting up the connection. With ISDN, the B channels can be combined for double
bandwidth or separated for different applications or users. With asynchronous remote
access, regular telephone lines are combined with modems and remote access servers
to allow users and networks to dial anywhere in the world and have data access.
Remote access servers provide connection points for both dial-in and dial-out
applications on the network to which they are attached. These hybrid devices route
and filter protocols and offer other services such as modem pooling and
terminal/printer services. For the remote PC user, one can connect from any available
telephone jack (RJ45), including those in a hotel rooms or on most airplanes.
IP Addressing:
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifier for a node or host connection
on an IP network. An IP address is a 32 bit binary number usually represented as 4
decimal values, each representing 8 bits, in the range 0 to 255 (known as octets)
separated by decimal points. This is known as "dotted decimal" notation.
Example: 140.179.220.200
It is sometimes useful to view the values in their binary form.
Address Classes:
There are 5 different address classes. You can determine which class any IP address is
in by examining the first 4 bits of the IP address.
Class A addresses begin with 0xxx, or 1 to 126 decimal.
Class B addresses begin with 10xx, or 128 to 191 decimal.
Class C addresses begin with 110x, or 192 to 223 decimal.
Class D addresses begin with 1110, or 224 to 239 decimal.
Class E addresses begin with 1111, or 240 to 254 decimal.
Addresses beginning with 01111111, or 127 decimal, are reserved for loopback and
for internal testing on a local machine. [You can test this: you should always be able
to ping 127.0.0.1, which points to yourself] Class D addresses are reserved for
multicasting. Class E addresses are reserved for future use. They should not be used
for host addresses.
Now we can see how the Class determines, by default, which part of the IP address
belongs to the network (N) and which part belongs to the node (n).
Class A -- NNNNNNNN.nnnnnnnn.nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn
Class B -- NNNNNNNN.NNNNNNNN.nnnnnnnn.nnnnnnnn
Class C -- NNNNNNNN.NNNNNNNN.NNNNNNNN.nnnnnnnn
In the example, 140.179.220.200 is a Class B address so by default the Network part
of the address (also known as the Network Address) is defined by the first two octets
(140.179.x.x) and the node part is defined by the last 2 octets (x.x.220.200).
In order to specify the network address for a given IP address, the node section is set
to all "0"s. In our example, 140.179.0.0 specifies the network address for
140.179.220.200. When the node section is set to all "1"s, it specifies a broadcast that
is sent to all hosts on the network. 140.179.255.255 specifies the example broadcast
address. Note that this is true regardless of the length of the node section.
Private Subnets:
There are three IP network addresses reserved for private networks. The addresses are
10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16. They can be used by anyone setting up
internal IP networks, such as a lab or home LAN behind a NAT or proxy server or a
router. It is always safe to use these because routers on the Internet will never forward
packets coming from these addresses
Subnetting an IP Network can be done for a variety of reasons, including
organization, use of different physical media (such as Ethernet, FDDI, WAN, etc.),
preservation of address space, and security. The most common reason is to control
network traffic. In an Ethernet network, all nodes on a segment see all the packets
transmitted by all the other nodes on that segment. Performance can be adversely
affected under heavy traffic loads, due to collisions and the resulting retransmissions.
A router is used to connect IP networks to minimize the amount of traffic each
segment must receive.
Subnet Masking
Applying a subnet mask to an IP address allows you to identify the network and node
parts of the address. The network bits are represented by the 1s in the mask, and the
node bits are represented by the 0s. Performing a bitwise logical AND operation
between the IP address and the subnet mask results in the Network Address or
Number.
For example, using our test IP address and the default Class B subnet mask, we get:
10001100.10110011.11110000.11001000 140.179.240.200 Class B IP Address
11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000 255.255.000.000 Default Class B Subnet
Mask
10001100.10110011.00000000.00000000 140.179.000.000 Network Address
The use of a CIDR notated address is the same as for a Classful address. Classful
addresses can easily be written in CIDR notation (Class A = /8, Class B = /16, and
Class C = /24)
It is currently almost impossible for an individual or company to be allocated their
own IP address blocks. You will simply be told to get them from your ISP. The reason
for this is the ever-growing size of the internet routing table. Just 5 years ago, there
were less than 5000 network routes in the entire Internet. Today, there are over
90,000. Using CIDR, the biggest ISPs are allocated large chunks of address space
(usually with a subnet mask of /19 or even smaller); the ISP's customers (often other,
smaller ISPs) are then allocated networks from the big ISP's pool. That way, all the
big ISP's customers (and their customers, and so on) are accessible via 1 network
route on the Internet.
It is expected that CIDR will keep the Internet happily in IP addresses for the next few
years at least. After that, IPv6, with 128 bit addresses, will be needed. Under IPv6,
even sloppy address allocation would comfortably allow a billion unique IP addresses
for every person on earth
In an IP network, `ping' sends a short data burst - a single packet - and listens for a
single packet in reply. Since this tests the most basic function of an IP network
(delivery of single packet), it's easy to see how you can learn a lot from some `pings'.
To stop ping, type control-c. This terminates the program and prints out a nice
summary of the number of packets transmitted, the number received, and the
percentage of packets lost, plus the minimum, average, and maximum round-trip
times of the packets.
Sample ping session
PING localhost (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=255 time=2 ms
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=255 time=2 ms
localhost ping statistics
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 2/2/2 ms
meikro$
The Time To Live (TTL) field can be interesting. The main purpose of this is so that
a packet doesn't live forever on the network and will eventually die when it is deemed
"lost." But for us, it provides additional information. We can use the TTL to
determine approximately how many router hops the packet has gone through. In this
case it's 255 minus N hops, where N is the TTL of the returning Echo Replies. If the
TTL field varies in successive pings, it could indicate that the successive reply
packets are going via different routes, which isn't a great thing.
The time field is an indication of the round-trip time to get a packet to the remote
host. The reply is measured in milliseconds. In general, it's best if round-trip times are
under 200 milliseconds. The time it takes a packet to reach its destination is called
latency. If you see a large variance in the round-trip times (which is called "jitter"),
you are going to see poor performance talking to the host
NSLOOKUP
NSLOOKUP is an application that facilitates looking up hostnames on the network.
It can reveal the IP address of a host or, using the IP address, return the host name.
It is very important when troubleshooting problems on a network that you can verify
the components of the networking process. Nslookup allows this by revealing details
within the infrastructure.
NETSTAT
NETSTAT is used to look up the various active connections within a computer. It is
helpful to understand what computers or networks you are connected to. This allows
you to further investigate problems. One host may be responding well but another
may be less responsive.
IPconfig
This is a Microsoft windows NT, 2000 command. It is very useful in determining
what could be wrong with a network.
This command when used with the /all switch, reveal enormous amounts of
troubleshooting information within the system.
Windows 2000 IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : cowder
Traceroute
Traceroute on Unix and Linux (or tracert in the Microsoft world) attempts to trace the
current network path to a destination. Here is an example of a traceroute run
to www.cumbuco-car-rental.com:
$ traceroute www.cumbuco-car-rental.com
traceroute to amber.www.cumbuco-car-rental.com (128.32.25.12), 30 hops max, 40
byte packets
1 sf1-e3.wired.net (206.221.193.1) 3.135 ms 3.021 ms 3.616 ms
2 sf0-e2s2.wired.net (205.227.206.33) 1.829 ms 3.886 ms 2.772 ms
3 paloalto-cr10.bbnplanet.net (131.119.26.105) 5.327 ms 4.597 ms 5.729 ms
4 paloalto-br1.bbnplanet.net (131.119.0.193) 4.842 ms 4.615 ms 3.425 ms