Lesson 7: Understanding Wide Area Networks

Multiple Choice

1. What routing protocol is the most popular distance-vector routing algorithm used to determine
the best routes within a network?
a) RIP
b) OSPF
c) BGP
d) IGMP

Answer: a
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Identifying Static and Dynamic Routing
Explanation: Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a dynamic protocol that uses distance-vector
routing algorithms to decipher which route to send data packets. In packet-switched networks, a
distance-vector routing protocol uses the Bellman-Ford algorithm to calculate where and how
data will be transmitted.

2. What routing protocol is the most popular link-state protocol used within a large organization?
a) RIP
b) OSPF
c) BGP
d) IGMP

Answer: b
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Identifying Static and Dynamic Routing
Explanation: Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a link-state protocol that monitors the network
for routers that have a change in their link state, meaning they were turned off, turned on, or
restarted.

3. What technology takes data and breaks them into packets and sends them over a network,
sometimes using different routes for each packet?
a) circuit switching
b) connection switching
c) packet switching
d) network switching

Answer: c
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining Packet Switching
Explanation: Packet switching is how data packets are moved over switched wide area networks.

4. X.25 and Frame Relay are examples of what type of WAN technology?
a) circuit switching
b) connection switching
c) packet switching
d) network switching

Answer: c
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining Packet Switching
Explanation: Types of packet-switching services include X.25 and Frame Relay.

5. What device acts as a high-speed modem for a LAN?

a) analog modem
b) telco incoming router
c) packet switcher
d) CSU/DSU

Answer: d
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Packet Switching
Explanation: The CSU/DSU is the equivalent of the modem for the entire LAN. It is known as
data communications equipment (DCE).

6. What does X.25 use as its DTE device?

a) telco incoming router
b) packet switcher
c) analog modem
d) PAD

Answer: d
Difficulty: Hard
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: With X.25, the PAD (or router) is known as data-terminating equipment (DTE).

7. What part of the network is the point where the responsibility of the administrator ends and the
telecommunications provider’s responsibility begins?
a) last mile
b) demarc
c) router array
d) PAD interface

Answer: d
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: The demarc is the point where your responsibility as an administrator ends and the
telecommunications or data communications provider’s responsibility begins. The demarc can
also be a network interface device or simple networking jack.
8. What is the primary disadvantage of X.25?
a) digital circuit
b) small data payloads
c) circuit switching
d) slow speeds

Answer: d
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: X.25 is a legacy technology that involves a maximum 56K or 64K line.

9. When a packet traverses a network, each router is a _____.

a) jump point
b) CSU/DSU
c) jump switch
d) hop

Answer: d
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: As packets transverse a network, the packet is dissembled and reassembled at each
router. Each stop is a router, which is known as a hop.

10. When you have multiple circuits connected to a site, the entire circuit is known as a
___________.
a) virtual circuit
b) emulated circuit
c) joined circuit
d) multitasked circuit

Answer: a
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: A PSE has thousands of circuits from which to choose. These are known as a
circuit set. Therefore, a typical message of ten packets could be spread over five circuits.
Because multiple circuits are being used (and not just one), the entire circuit set is known as the
virtual circuit.

11. What replaced X.25?

a) Frame Relay
b) ATM
c) ISDN BRI
d) DSL

Answer: a
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining Frame Relay
Explanation: Frame Relay is the advancement of X.25 packet switching. It is a newer form of
packet switching designed for faster connections.

12. At what speed does a T3 line run?

a) 1.5 Mbps
b) 4.5 Mbps
c) 44.7 Mbps
d) 128 Mbps

Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining T-Carriers
Explanation: T3 stands for trunk carrier 3 and is the equivalent of 28 T1s. It runs at 44.736
Mbps, using 672 64 Kbps B channels.

13. In Europe, what circuit would be similar to the T1 found in the United States?
a) E1
b) J1
c) T2
d) F1

Answer: a
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Defining T-Carriers
Explanation: T1 and T3 are the names used in the United States. In Japan, they are also known as
J1/J3, and in Europe, they are denoted E1/E3. Different from a T1, E1 runs at 2.048 Mbps.

14. How many B channels does an ISDN PRI support?

a) 2
b) 8
c) 23
d) 48

Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Other WAN Technologies and Internet Connectivity
Explanation: A primary rate ISDN (PRI) is 1.536 Mbps, and it runs on a T1 circuit. PRI has 23
equal 64 Kbps B channels for data, along with one 64 Kbps D channel for timing.

15. What speed does FDDI use?

a) 10 Mbps
b) 44 Mbps
c) 54 Mbps
d) 100 Mbps
Answer: d
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Other WAN Technologies and Internet Connectivity
Explanation: Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) is a standard for transmitting data on optical
fiber cables at a rate of around 100 Mbps.

16. What topology does FDDI use?

a) bus
b) star
c) ring
d) mesh

Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Other WAN Technologies and Internet Connectivity
Explanation: FDDI uses the ring topology.

17. What technology uses wires from the telephone company to provide broadband Internet
connection?
a) cable
b) DSL
c) FDDI
d) Frame Relay

Answer: b
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Digital subscriber line (DSL) is a family of technologies that provides data
transmissions over local telephone networks.

Fill in the Blank

18. _________ is used to send packets from one network to another network.

Answer: Routing
Difficulty: Easy
Section Reference: Understanding Routing
Explanation: Routing is the process of moving data across networks or internetworks between
hosts or between routers themselves. Information is transmitted according to the IP networks and
individual IP addresses of the hosts in question.

19. _________ is a route that must be manually defined on each router.

Answer: Static route

Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Understanding Routing
Explanation: Static routing refers to the manual configuration of a router. For example, when a
routing entry is manually entered into the routing table with the route add command, this is
known as static routing.

20. _________ uses a clocking circuit to control the timing of communications between two
WAN devices such as routers.

Answer: Static route

Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining X.25
Explanation: Digital lines have speeds of 64K or greater. It is also synchronous, which means
that a clocking circuit controls the timing of communications between the different routers.

21. A ________ is the guaranteed certain amount of information provided by a circuit or line.

Answer: CIR
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Frame Relay
Explanation: With Frame Relay, you must commit to a certain amount of information over time.
This is the committed information rate (CIR). The CIR is assigned to each PVC that services the
organization’s account. Because this transmission is full duplex, each PVC can have two CIRs.
In addition to the CIR are Burst Rate (Br), which is equal to the CIR, and Burst Excess Rate
(Be), which is 50percent above the Br.

Short Answer

22. What speed does a T1 run at?

Answer: 1.544 Mbps

Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining T-Carriers
Explanation: A T1 is an actual trunk carrier circuit that is brought into a company. It can run as a
dedicated high-speed link or have other shared technologies running on top of it, such as Frame
Relay and ISDN. It is considered 1.544 Mbps, but only 1.536 Mbps of that is for data. The
remaining 8 Kbps is for T1 trimming/overhead.

23. How fast is a DS0 circuit?

Answer: 64 Kbps
Difficulty: Medium
Section Reference: Defining Other WAN Technologies and Internet Connectivity
Explanation: A T-carrier or telecommunications carrier system is a cabling and interface system
designed to carry data at high speeds. The most common of these is the T1. The basic data
transfer rate of the T-carrier system is 64 Kbps, which is known as DS0, which is the digital
signaling scheme.