Week 4 Individual Assignment NTC/242 Michael Blevins September 19, 2011 Fernando Casafranca

1. Identify the functions of a CSU/DSU. How are they used in a corporate environment A Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit or CSU/DSU is a small device, around the size of an external modem, that is used to take the digital data frames from a LAN and turn it into a frame that is more suited for use on a WAN, and then vice versa. This means, that if you have a small business that exists in two cities, that you would take the information forming from a LAN at one location, put the frames into a CSU/DSU and from there, the converted frames would enter the WAN (such as a Fiber Network or T1/3 line) and then enter a CSU/DSU at the other office where it is converted back into a frame for use on that LAN. The difference between a CSU and DSU is that the CSU or Channel Service Unit is responsible for receiving and transmitting signal to and from a WAN while providing a barrier for electrical interference as well. The DSU on the other hand, is responsible for managing the line control, handles timing and timing errors, and is responsible for converting the input and output frames from the LAN.

2. Integrated services digital networks (ISDN) are sometimes used in locations that do not support DSL or cable modem connections. Your choices may be analog modems or an ISDN connection in those remote locations. Describe three benefits ISDNs have over regular dial-up modem connections. ISDN lines are a great solution to users in areas where connection types available are limited. In those situations, the only choices tend to be ISDN and Dial-up. These are three reasons that ISDN connections are far superior to dial-up. Faster Connection Establishment With dial-up modems, it can take up to 5 minutes to establish a connection to the ISP (Internet Service Provider), and even longer if the lines are busy such as at peak usage times. With an ISDN line, the connection can be established and validated in as little as 5 seconds which can be a major benefit to businesses needing information on the fly. Speed and Bandwidth The speed of a typical dial-up modem is anywhere from 14kbps to 56 kbps with the average being approximately 42kbps. This can suffice for those who only want to check email or look at a quick website. However, many users and business use their internet for much more than and can benefit from the 128kbps to 384kbps connection speeds. Network Reliability ISDN lines are 100% digital and therefore are more dependable connections due to their stronger and more error free transmissions. Also, ISDN lines have much less noise if any, when compared to their telephone counterparts.

3. Compare and contrast packet and circuit switching. Which is more commonly used? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Circuit switching is a networking technology that establishes a dedicated connection between two nodes before those nodes can communicate. The advantages of this is that it operates the entire bandwidth of the line, so there is no loss of packets and the transmissions are faster due to the connection being dedicated so there is no need to examine the packet headers. The downside to Circuit Switching is that the current connection essentially monopolizes the line and allows for no multiplexing and can often times corrupt the bandwidth. Packet switching on the other hand, is digital in nature and effectively groups all data into blocks of data called packets. This allows the data to be send over a shared network by effectively buffering and queuing the packets at each point (switch, router, and other network devices) resulting in a sort of delay. The major advantage to this type of switching is that there is no depletion of bandwidth because packet switching manages every provision of the connection. Also, a dynamic path is established to minimize network collisions and data loss. The only major downside to this however, is that the data or packet may not reach the receiving end in the same order they were transmitted, or there may be a loss of the packets all together. Currently, Circuit switching is more commonly used, as the telephone companies still used this as the primary way to establish a connection for a call. However, as times change and technology advances, the packet switching is becoming a more viable options as used by VOIP services to offer a much cheaper alternative to the expensive circuit switching services of the old phone companies.

4. Describe the three main types of firewalls. Explain how each type protects the network. Determine which firewall is the most efficient and why. Packet filtering firewall This is the first generation of firewall. It works by examining the source and destination address of the packets and authorizes or blocks them based of protocols set by the network administrator. They are simple to manage and implement, and are easily understood by the end user due to their simple nature. Application Firewalls These firewalls establish a proxy connection to allow communication with secures systems. This prevents any data or server information from being intercepted. By monitoring the application data itself being sent out, this prevents every hacker with a false identity of gaining authorization to a secured network. Also, because they operate at the application layer, they can be utilized to authenticate network keys and passwords. SPI Firewalls SPI or stateful packet inspection firewalls are the BEST and most advantageous firewall. By use of SMLI or Stateful Multi-Layer Inspections, the firewall offers strong and user friendly protection that is affordable to users. Through use of

various protocol boundries, there is a lot to be offered here with the firewalls making them the most common and most protective choice for a firewall.