Maseno University: Schoo of Mathematics Statistics and Actuarial Science BSC. Mathematics & Computer Science
Maseno University: Schoo of Mathematics Statistics and Actuarial Science BSC. Mathematics & Computer Science
Maseno University: Schoo of Mathematics Statistics and Actuarial Science BSC. Mathematics & Computer Science
4. What is meant by failure domain of a network and how can this domain size be limited?
Answer
A failure domain is the physical or logical area of the infrastructure of a network
that is impacted when a critical device or network service experiences some
failure.
How to limit the Size of Failure Domains
In order to best limit the size of a failure domain, routers or multilayer switches
can be deployed in pairs by the use of the building switch block approach.
Installing redundant power supplies may protect a single device from a power
failure, but if that device suffers from another type of problem, a redundant
device would have been a better solution. If a collapsed core design is used, the
core and distribution are collapsed into a single device, increasing the chance of
a devastating outage.
Because a failure at the core layer of a network can have a potentially large
impact, the network designer often concentrates on efforts to prevent failures
which greatly increase the cost of implementing the network. In the hierarchical
design model, it is easiest and usually least expensive to control the size of a
failure domain in the distribution layer. In the distribution layer, network errors
can be contained to a smaller area, thus affecting fewer users. When using Layer
3 devices at the distribution layer, every router functions as a gateway for a
limited number of access layer users.
Therefore, at the networking layer, we can have our network engineer ensure
that the necessary failsafe designs are in place to prevent routing issues, switch
issues, and multiple uplinks to the external network provider for better
resiliency for network connectivity.
8. What is the purpose of establishing a network performance baseline and at what point in the
Answer
Its purpose is to record the characteristics of a network during normal
operations in order to determine when a network is performing abnormally.
Measurements that are performed during particular circumstances (such as
main network device restart or after working hours) will result in an inaccurate
set of characteristics for the purpose of a baseline.
A Denial of Service attack might cause abnormal network performance, but
once it is blocked, network performance should return to normal, so there is no
immediate need to measure performance in order to establish a baseline.
12. A networked PC is having trouble accessing the Internet, but can print to a local printer and
ping other computers in the area. Other computers on the same network are not having any
Answer
Since other computers on the same network work properly, the default gateway
router has a default route and the link between the workgroup switch and the
router works. Therefore, the PC has a missing or incorrect default gateway.
17. A company needs to interconnect several branch offices across a metropolitan area. The network
engineer is seeking a solution that provides high-speed converged traffic, including voice, video, and
data on the same network infrastructure. The company also wants easy integration to their existing
Ethernet LAN infrastructure in their office locations. Which technology should be recommended?
Answer
Ethernet WAN Why? Ethernet WAN connects easily to existing Ethernet LANs
because it uses many Ethernet standards. It provides a switched, high-
bandwidth Layer 2 network capable of managing data, voice, and video all on
the same infrastructure. ISDN, while capable of supporting both voice and data,
does not provide high bandwidth.
19. Explain how the hidden station and exposed station problems make it impossible to use
CSMA/CD in WLANs.
Answer
The hidden terminal problem occurs when a terminal is visible from a wireless
access point (APs), but not from other nodes communicating with AP. This
situation leads the difficulties in medium access control sub-layer over wireless
networking. In a formal way hidden terminals are nodes in a wireless network
that are out of range of other node or a collection of nodes. The transmission
range of lets sayaccess point A reaches at B, but not at access point C, similarly
transmission range of access point C reaches B, but not at A. These nodes are
known as hidden terminals. The problem occurs when nodes A and C start to
send data packets simultaneously to the access point B. Because the access
points A and c are out of range of each other and resultant they cannot detect a
collision while transmitting, Carrier sense multiple access with collision
detection (CSMA/CD) does not work, and collisions occur, which then corrupt
the data received by the access point B due to the hidden terminal problem.
21. Use a suitable illustration to explain why the use of Network Allocation Vector (NAV) in
26. A DHCP server is used to assign IP addresses dynamically to the hosts on a network. The
address pool is configured with 192.168.10.0/24. There are 3 printers on this network that
need to use reserved static IP addresses from the pool. How many IP addresses in the pool are
255.255.255.248. How many usable host addresses will this subnet provide?
The mask 255.255.255.248 is equivalent to the /29 prefix. This leaves 3 bits for
hosts, providing a total of 6 usable IP addresses that is 23 = 8 – 2 = 6.
List the addresses.
Usable host addresses available for subnetting are six which are;
1. 255.255.255.249
2. 255.255.255.250
3. 255.255.255.251
4. 255.255.255.252
5. 255.255.255.253
6. 255.255.255.254
32. How many host addresses are available on the network 172.16.128.0 with a subnet mask of
255.255.252.0?
Answer
A mask of 255.255.252.0 is equal to a prefix of /22. A /22 prefix provides 22 bits
for the network portion and leaves 10 bits for the host portion. The 10 bits in
the host portion will provide 1022 usable IP addresses (210 – 2 = 1022).
Answer:
number of users in the area
location of the Access Point
location of walls and any other obstacles in the office
44. A network installation team is assigned to replace all core fast Ethernet switches in an existing
data center.
a. What procedure would you advise them to follow in to upgrade to gigabit Ethernet?
1. Check if Gigabit Ethernet is available in that area.
Gigabit Ethernet is still fairly new, and it still may not be available in all areas.
This is especially true in small towns and rural areas. They should check with their
internet service provider to make sure they are able to provide internet speeds of
up to 1000 Mbps in that area.
it’s also worth taking a glance at the Ethernet cables themselves. They should
be at least Cat5e or higher to support these speeds: They should go for Cat 6
cables if possible, which will have a better chance at delivering gigabit speeds.
4. Make sure the devices connected to the data center support the latest Wi-Fi
standards
The team should check to see what Wi-Fi standards it supports. The official
gigabit-compatible Wi-Fi standard is 802.11ac, which have officially moved on to
the 802.11ax standard, Wi-Fi 6. If they are buying a brand new router for the
same that needs to last for years, then it’s a good idea to look for a model with
the Wi-Fi 6 label so it will be prepared for the future.
Many routers are now dual-band, which means they support the typical 2.4GHz
band and the less-used 5GHz band. 5GHz option may not have as much range at
the original band, but there’s a lot less “noise,” or wireless tech chatter, at 5GHz.
That means the 5GHz band can provide a more precise signal, and help you draw
closer to those sweet gigabit-level speeds.
Even if every other part of their network is upgraded to Gigabit standard, if their
router and switch are still Fast Ethernet, they will bottleneck their network. They
should Check the user's manual for your router or switch to make sure it is rated
for 1000 Mbps.
They Check to see if there is an internet service provider in that area that doesn't
have data download limits, or has really large limits.
Running a test before they upgrade will help them find an average baseline of
their current speeds to compare to their gigabit speeds after the upgrade. They
should Rerun the tests with gigabit internet, and boast about the difference!
If they get gigabit internet and their speeds don’t change very much , they know
that they need to investigate further to see what’s causing the bottleneck. They
can also check how speed varies between wireless and wired. If the difference is
considerable, they can make decisions about which devices need to be wired for
the best performance. They can also identify wireless dead spots that might need
to be fixed. If they are unable to reach the speeds they are promised,they should
contact their internet service provider.
Wi-Fi 6 because its much faster than gigabit Ethernet. They should also virtualize their server.