MC 7301 COMPUTER NETWORKS QUESTION BANK

UNIT - I NETWORK FUNDAMENTALS

Two Mark Questions

1. What is network? What are the three criteria necessary for an effective and efficient
network?
Network is a connected group of autonomous computers that are abided by some rules and also
where functionality is shared.
The most important criteria are performance, reliability and security.
Performance of the network depends on number of users, type of transmission medium, and the
capabilities of the connected h/w and the efficiency of the s/w.
Reliability is measured by frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from the failure and
the network's robustness in a catastrophe.
Security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access and viruses.

2. What is meant by data communication?

Data communication is the exchange of data (in the form of 1s and 0s) between two devices via
some form of transmission medium (such as a wire cable).

3. What are the three fundamental characteristics determine the effectiveness of the data
communication system?
The effectiveness of the data communication system depends on three fundamental characteristics:
Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination.
Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately.
Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner.

4. What are the advantages of distributed processing?

Advantages of distributed processing include security/encapsulation, distributed databases, faster
problem solving, security through redundancy and collaborative processing.

5. What are the types of network?

LAN, MAN and WAN

6. What are some of the factors that determine whether a communication system is a LAN,
MAN, or WAN?
Size, Ownership, the distance it covers and its physical structure

7. What is a protocol? Why are standards needed?

In networks, communication occurs between the entities in different systems. Two entities cannot just
send bit streams to each other and expect to be understood. For communication, the entities must agree
on a protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communication.
Co-ordination across the nodes of a network is necessary for an efficient communication. If there
are no standards, difficulties arise. A standard provides a model or basis for development to which
everyone has agreed.

1
8. For n devices in a network, what is the number of cable links required for a mesh and ring
topology?
Mesh topology - n (n-1)/2
Ring topology - n

9. What is the difference between a passive and an active hub?

An active hub contains a repeater that regenerates the received bit patterns before sending them out.
A passive hub provides a simple physical connection between the attached devices.

10. Distinguish between peer-to-peer relationship and a primary-secondary relationship.

Peer-to-peer relationship: All the devices share the link equally.
Primary-secondary relationship: One device controls traffic and the others must transmit through it.

11. Assume 6 devices are arranged in a mesh topology. How many cables are needed? How many
ports are needed for each device?
Number of cables=n (n-1)/2=6(6-1)/2=15
Number of ports per device=n-1=6-1=5

12. Group the OSI layers by function.

The seven layers of the OSI model belonging to three subgroups. Physical, data link and network
layers are the network support layers; they deal with the physical aspects of moving data from one
device to another. Session, presentation and application layers are the user support layers; they allow
interoperability among unrelated software systems. The transport layer ensures end-to-end reliable
data transmission.

13. What are header and trailers and how do they get added and removed?
Each layer in the sending machine adds its own information to the message it receives from the
layer just above it and passes the whole package to the layer just below it. This information is added in
the form of headers or trailers. Headers are added to the message at the layers 6,5,4,3, and 2. A trailer is
added at layer2. At the receiving machine, the headers or trailers attached to the data unit at the
corresponding sending layers are removed, and actions appropriate to that layer are taken.

14. The transport layer creates a communication between the source and destination. What are
the three events involved in a connection?
Creating a connection involves three steps: connection establishment, data transfer and connection
release.

15. What is the DC component?

Direct current is a zero-frequency signal with constant amplitude.

16. How does NRZ-L differ from NRZ-I?

In the NRZ-L sequence, positive and negative voltages have specific meanings: positive for 0 and
negative for 1. in the NRZ-I sequence, the voltages are meaningless. Instead, the receiver looks for
changes from one level to another as its basis for recognition of 1s.

17. What are the functions of a DTE? What are the functions of a DCE?
Data terminal equipment is a device that is an information source or an information sink. It is
connected to a network through a DCE.
2
 Data circuit-terminating equipment is a device used as an interface between a DTE and a network.

18. What does the electrical specification of EIA-232 describe?

The electrical specification of EIA-232 defines that signals other than data must be sent using OFF
as less than -3 volts and ON as greater than +3 volts. The data must be transmitted using NRZ-L
encoding.

19. Discuss the mode for propagating light along optical channels.
There are two modes for propagating light along optical channels, multimode and single mode.
Multimode: Multiple beams from a light source move through the core in different paths.
Single mode: Fiber with extremely small diameter that limits beams to a few angles, resulting in an
almost horizontal beam.

20. What is refraction?

The phenomenon related to the bending of light when it passes from one medium to another.

21. How are the guided media differing from unguided transmission media?
Guided transmission media Unguided transmission media

1. Guided indicate, medium is contained 1.Unguided medium does not have any
within physical boundary Physical boundary
2. Transmission takes place through wire. 2. It is a wireless transmission.

22. What are the disadvantages of optical fiber as a transmission medium?

The disadvantages of optical fiber are
• Very expensive.
• Installation and maintenance is difficult. • Fragility.
23. What are the criteria used to evaluate transmission medium?
The criteria used to evaluate transmission medium are
• Throughput
• Propagation speed • Propagation time
• Wavelength
24. Give the relationship between propagation speed and propagation time?
Propagation time = distance / propagation speed
The time required for a signal or a bit to travel from one point to another is called Propagation time.
Propagation speed is the distance, a signal or a bit travel through a medium in one second.

25. Explain cross talk and what is needed to reduce it?

Effect of one wire on another is called as cross talk. One wire will be the sending antenna and the other
wire will be the receiving antenna. We can use the shielded twisted pair cable or coaxial cable for
transmission, which contains metal foil to reduce cross talk.

3
16 Mark Questions

1. Explain Communication model in detail

Communication model
Communication tasks
Classification of communication network

2. Explain ISO/OSI reference model.

Physical layer
Data link layer
Network layer
Transport layer
Session layer
Presentation layer
Application layer

3. Explain the topologies of the network.

Mesh topology Star topology Tree topology Bus topology Ring topology

4. Explain the categories of networks.

Local Area Network (LAN)
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
Wide Area Network (WAN)

5. Explain coaxial cable & fiber optics.

Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable standards
Coaxial cable connectors
Fiber optics
Propagation modes
Fiber sizes
Cable composition
Light sources for optical cable
Fiber optic connectors
Advantages & disadvantages of optical fiber

4
 UNIT II DATA LINK LAYER
Two Mark Questions

1. What are the responsibilities of data link layer?

Specific responsibilities of data link layer include the following.
a) Framing
b) Physical addressing
c) Flow control d) Error control
e) Access control

2. Mention the types of errors.

There are 2 types of errors
a) Single-bit error. b) Burst-bit error.
3. Define the following terms.
a) Single bit error: The term single bit error means that only one bit of a given data unit
(such as byte character/data unit or packet) is changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.
b) Burst error: Means that 2 or more bits in the data unit have changed from 1 to 0 from 0
to 1.

4. What is redundancy?
It is the error detecting mechanism, which means a shorter group of bits or extra bits may
be appended at the destination of each unit.

5. List out the available detection methods.

There are 4 types of redundancy checks are used in data communication.
a) Vertical redundancy checks (VRC).
b) Longitudinal redundancy checks (LRC).
c) Cyclic redundancy checks (CRC).
d) Checksum.

6. Write short notes on VRC.

The most common and least expensive mechanism for error detection is the vertical redundancy
check (VRC) often called a parity check. In this technique a redundant bit called a parity bit, is
appended to every data unit so, that the total number of 0's in the unit (including the parity bit)
becomes even.

7. Write short notes on LRC.

In longitudinal redundancy check (LRC), a block of bits is divided into rows and a redundant row
of bits is added to the whole block.

8. Write short notes on CRC.

The third and most powerful of the redundancy checking techniques is the cyclic redundancy
checks (CRC) CRC is based on binary division. Here a sequence of redundant bits, called the
CRC remainder is appended to the end of data unit.

9. Write short notes on CRC generator.

A CRC generator uses a modulo-2 division.
a) In the first step, the 4 bit divisor is subtracted from the first 4 bit of the dividend.
5
b) Each bit of the divisor is subtracted from the corresponding bit of the dividend without
disturbing the next higher bit.

10. Write short notes on CRC checker.

A CRC checker functions exactly like a generator. After receiving the data appended with the
CRC it does the same modulo-2 division. If the remainder is all 0's the CRC is dropped and the
data accepted. Otherwise, the received stream of bits is discarded and the dates are resent.

11. Give the essential properties for polynomial.

A polynomial should be selected to have at least the following properties.
a) It should not be divisible x.
b) It should be divisible by(x+1).

12. Define checksum.

The error detection method used by the higher layer protocol is called checksum. Checksum is
based on the concept of redundancy.

13. What are the steps followed in checksum generator?

The sender follows these steps
a) The units are divided into k sections each of n bits.
b) All sections are added together using 2's complement to get the sum.
c) The sum is complemented and become the checksum.
d) The checksum is sent with the data.

14. List out the steps followed is checksum checker side.

The receiver must follow these steps
a) The unit is divided into k section each of n bits.
b) All sections are added together using 1's complement to get the sum.
c) The sum is complemented.
d) If the result is zero.

15. Write short notes on error correction.

It is the mechanism to correct the errors and it can be handled in 2 ways.
a) When an error is discovered, the receiver can have the sender retransmit the entire data unit.
b) A receiver can use an error correcting coder, which automatically corrects certain errors.

16. Mention the types of error correcting methods.

There are 2 error-correcting methods.
a) Single bit error correction b) Burst error correction.

17. What is the purpose of hamming code?

A hamming code can be designed to correct burst errors of certain lengths. So the simple strategy
used by the hamming code to correct single bit errors must be redesigned to be applicable for
multiple bit correction.

18. Define flow control.

Flow control refers to a set of procedures used to restrict the amount of data. The sender can send
before waiting for acknowledgment.

6
19. What is a buffer?
Each receiving device has a block of memory called a buffer, reserved for storing incoming data
until they are processed.

20. Mention the categories of flow control.

There are 2 methods have been developed to control flow of data across communication links.
a) Stop and wait- send one from at a time.
b) Sliding window- send several frames at a time.
21. What is the function of stop and wait flow control?
In this method, the sender sends one frame and waits for an acknowledgement before sending.

22. Mention the advantage and disadvantage of stop and wait flow control.
Advantage: simplicity
Disadvantage: inefficiency.

23. Define ARQ.

Error control in the data link layer is based on Automatic repeat request (ARQ), which means
retransmission of data in 3 cases.
a) Damaged frame
b) Lost frame
c) Lost acknowledgment.

24. Mention the function of go-back N-ARQ.

It is the popular mechanism for continuous transmission error control. In the method, if our frame
is lost or damaged, all frames sent since the last frame acknowledged are retransmitted.

25. What is selective reject ARQ?

In selective reject ARQ only the specific damaged or lost frame is retransmitted. If a frame is
corrupted in transit, a NAK is returned and the frame is resent out of sequence.

26. Define HDLC.

It is a bit-oriented data link protocol designed to support both half-duplex and full duplex
communication over point to point and midpoint links.

27. List the types of stations is HDLC.

HDLC differentiates between 3 types of stations.
a) Primary b) Secondary c) Combined

28. Define configuration.

The bond configuration refers to the relationship of hardware devices on a link.

29. List the various ways of station configuration.

The stations are configured in 3 ways
a) Unbalanced configuration b) Symmetrical configuration c) Balanced configuration

30. What are the different communication modes in HDLC?

HDLC supports 3 modes of communication between stations.
a) Normal response mode (NRM) b) Asynchronous response mode (ARM) c) Asynchronous
balanced mode (ABM)
7
31. Mention the types of frames in HDLC.
There are 3 types of HDLC frames.
a) Information frames (I-frames) b) Supervisory frames (S-frames) c) Unnumbered frames (U-
frames)

32. Give the usage of I, S, U frames.

I frames - used to transport user data and control information relating to user data. S frames - used
only to transport control information, primarily data link layer and error controls. U frames -
reserved for systems management.

33. Write the types of frame fields contained in HDLC.

Each frame in HDLC may contain up to 6 fields.
a) Beginning flag field b) An address field c) A control field d) An information field
e) A frame check sequence (FCS) field f) An ending flag field.

34. What is meant by bit stuffing?

Bit stuffing is the process of adding one extra 0 whenever there are 5 consecutive in the
data so that the receiver doesn't mistake the data for a flag.

35. Define LAN.

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a data communication system that allows a number of
independent devices to communicate directly with each other in a limited geographic area.

36. Mention the various architecture in a LAN.

LAN is dominated by 4 architectures.
a) Ethernet b) Token bus c) Token ring d) Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI)
37. Define a standard 802.3
IEEE 802.3 supports a LAN standard originally developed by Xerox and later extended
by a joint venture between digital equipment corporations. Intel Corporation and Xerox. This was
called 'Ethernet'.

38. List the most command kinds of Base band 802.3 LAN.
a) 10 Base 5 b) 10 Base 2 c) 10 Base T d) 1 Base 5 e) 100 Base T

39. Mention the different kinds of Ethernet networks.

a) Switched Ethernet
b) Fast Ethernet
c) Gigabit Ethernet

40. Write short notes on FDDI.

Fiber distributed data interface is a local areas. Network protocol standardized by ANSI and
ITU-7. It supports data rates of 100 Mbps and provides a high-speed alternative to Ethernet
and token ring access method used here is token passing.

41. Describe the three HDLC station types?

The three HDLC station types are:
Primary station: The primary station has the complete control of the link. The Primary
station sends commands to the secondary station.
8
 Secondary station: The secondary station sends responses.
Combined station: The combined station is one which acts either as a primary or a
Secondary, depending upon the nature and direction of the transmission. Combined station
sends both commands and responses.

42. What is piggy backing?

Piggy backing means combining data sent and acknowledgement of the frame received in one
single frame.
Piggy backing can save bandwidth because the overhead from a data frame and an ACK frame can
be combined into just one frame

43. Name the four types of S-frames?

The four types of S-frames are
Receive ready(RR).The value of the code sub field is 00
Receive not ready(RNR). The value of the code sub field is 10
Reject(REJ). The value of the code sub field is 01
Selective reject(SREJ). The value of the code sub field is 11

44. Name the categories of U-frames?

The five categories of U-frames are
Mode setting, Unnumbered exchange Disconnection. Initialization mode and Miscellaneous mode

16 Mark Questions

1. Explain error detection and error correction techniques.

Types of errors
Single bit error
Burst error
Error detection
Vertical redundancy check(VRC)
Longitudinal redundancy check(LRC)
Cyclic redundancy check(CRC)
Checksum
Error correction
Single-bit error correction
Hamming code
Burst error correction

2. Explain error control mechanism.

Stop and wait ARQ
Sliding window ARQ
Go back-n
Selective-reject

3. Explain the flow control mechanism

Stop and wait
Sliding window.

9
4. Explain the timers and time registers in FDDI.
Time registers
Synchronous allocation(SA)
Target token rotation time(TTRT)
Absolute maximum time(AMT)
Timers
Token rotation timer(TRT) Token holding timer(THT)

5. Explain about Ethernet.

Access method :CSMA/CD
Addressing
Electrical specification
Frame format
Implementation:
10 base 5 :Thick Ethernet
10 base 2 :Thin Ethernet
10 base T :Twisted-pair Ethernet
1 base 5 :Star LAN

6. Explain the frame format for token ring and token bus.
Access method: Token passing
Priority and reservation
Time limits
Monitor stations

7. Explain about HDLC.

Station types:
Primary station
Secondary station
Configurations:
Unbalanced configuration Symmetrical configuration
Balanced configuration
Modes of communication:
Normal Response Mode(NRM)
Asynchronous Response Mode(ARM) Asynchronous Balanced Mode(ABM)
Frames :
Flag field
Address field Control field
Information field
FCS field

10
 UNIT III NETWORK LAYER

Two Mark Questions

1. What are network support layers?

Network support layers:
The network support layers are Physical layer, Data link layer and Network layer.
These deals with electrical specifications, physical connection, transport timing and reliability.

2. What are the user support layers?

User support layers:
The user support layers are: Session layer, Presentation layer, Application layer.
These allow interoperability among unrelated software system.

3. With down the relationship of IEEE Project to the OSI model?

The IEEE has subdivided the data link layer into two sub layers:
* Logical link control (LLC)
* Medium access control (MAC)
LLC is non-architecture specific. The MAC sub layer contains a number of distinct modules ,each
carries proprietary information specific to the LAN product being used.

4. What are the functions of LLC?

The IEEE project 802 model takes the structure of an HDLC frame and divides it into 2 sets of
functions. One set contains the end user portion of the HDLC frame - the logical address, control
information, and data. These functions are handled by the IEEE 802.2 logical link control (LLC)
protocol.

5. What are the functions of MAC?

MAC sub layer resolves the contention for the shared media. It contains synchronization,
flag, flow and error control specifications necessary to move information from one place to
another, as well as the physical address of the next station to receive and route a packet.

6. What are headers and trailers and how do they get added and removed?
The control data added to the beginning of a data is called headers. The control data added to
the end of a data is called trailers. At the sending machine, when the message passes through the
layers each layer adds the headers or trailers. At the receiving machine, each layer removes the data
meant for it and passes the rest to the next layer.

7. What are the responsibilities of network layer?

The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of packet across
multiple network links. The specific responsibilities of network layer include the following:
• Logical addressing.
• Routing.
8. What is a virtual circuit?
A logical circuit made between the sending and receiving computers. The connection is
made after both computers do handshaking. After the connection, all packets follow the same route
and arrive in sequence.

11
9. What are data grams?
In datagram approach, each packet is treated independently from all others. Even when one
packet represents just a place of a multipacket transmission, the network treats it although it existed
alone. Packets in this technology are referred to as datagram.

10. What are the two types of implementation formats in virtual circuits?
Virtual circuit transmission is implemented in 2 formats.
• Switched virtual circuit
• Permanent virtual circuit.
11. What is meant by switched virtual circuit?
Switched virtual circuit format is comparable conceptually to dial-up line in circuit switching.
In this method, a virtual circuit is created whenever it is needed and exits only for the duration of
specific exchange.

12. What is meant by Permanent virtual circuit?

Permanent virtual circuits are comparable to leased lines in circuit switching. In this method,
the same virtual circuit is provided between two uses on a continuous basis. The circuit is dedicated
to the specific uses.

13. Define Routers.

Routers relay packets among multiple interconnected networks. They Route packets from one
network to any of a number of potential destination networks on internet routers operate in the
physical, data link and network layer of OSI model.

14. What is meant by hop count?

The pathway requiring the smallest number of relays, it is called hop-count routing, in which
every link is considered to be of equal length and given the value one.

15. How can the routing be classified?

The routing can be classified as,
• Adaptive routing
• Non-adaptive routing.
16. What is time-to-live or packet lifetime?
As the time-to-live field is generated, each packet is marked with a lifetime, usually the
number of hops that are allowed before a packet is considered lost and accordingly, destroyed.
The time-to-live determines the lifetime of a packet.

17. What is meant by brouter?

A brouter is a single protocol or multiprotocol router that sometimes acts as a router and
sometimes act as a bridge.

18. Write the keys for understanding the distance vector routing.
The three keys for understanding the algorithm are
• Knowledge about the whole networks
• Routing only to neighbors
• Information sharing at regular intervals
12
19. Write the keys for understanding the link state routing.
The three keys for understanding the algorithm are
• Knowledge about the neighborhood.
• Routing to all neighbors.
• Information sharing when there is a range.
20. How the packet cost referred in distance vector and link state routing?
In distance vector routing, cost refer to hop count while in case of link state routing, cost is
a weighted value based on a variety of factors such as security levels, traffic or the state of the link.

21. How the routers get the information about neighbor?

A router gets its information about its neighbors by periodically sending them a short
greeting packets. If the neighborhood responds to the greeting as expected, it is assumed to be alive
and functioning. If it dose not, a change is assumed to have occurred and the sending router then alerts
the rest of the network in its next LSP.

22. What are the four internetworking devices?

The four internetworking devices are,
• Repeaters, Bridges, Router and Gateway .
23. Define IP address.
IP address is the 3-bit number for representing a host or system in the network. One portion
of the IP address indicates a networking and the other represents the host in a network.

24. What is Token Bus?

Token Bus is a physical bus that operates as a logical ring using tokens. Here stations
are logically organized into a ring. A token is passed among stations. If a station wants to send data, it
must wait and capture the token. Like Ethernet, station communicates via a common bus.

25. What is token passing?

Stations may attempt to send data multiple times before a transmission makes it onto
a link. This redundancy may create delays of indeterminable length if the traffic is heavy. Token
ring resolves this uncertainty by requiring that stations take turns sending data. Each station may
transmit only during its turn and may send only one frame during each turn. The mechanism that
coordinates this rotation is called token passing.

26. Define Masking?

Masking is the process that extracts the address of the physical network from an IP
address.

27. What are the rules of boundary-level masking?

The rules of boundary-level masking
• The bytes in the IP address that corresponds to 255 in the mask will be repeated in the
subnetwork address
• The bytes in the IP address that corresponds to 0 in the mask will change to 0 in the
subnetwork address

28. What are the rules of nonboundary-level masking?

13
 • The bytes in the IP address that corresponds to 255 in the mask will be repeated in the
subnetwork address
• The bytes in the IP address that corresponds to 0 in the mask will change to 0 in the subnetwork
address
• For other bytes, use the bit-wise AND operator
29. Define Gateway.
A device used to connect two separate networks that we different communication protocols.

30. What is LSP?

In link state routing, a small packet containing routing information sent by a router to all other
router by a packet called link state packet.

16 Mark Questions

1. Explain the two approaches of packet switching techniques.

Datagram approach
Virtual circuit approach
Switched virtual circuit(SVC)
Permanent virtual circuit(PVC)
Circuit - switched connection versus virtual - circuit connection
Path versus route
Dedicated versus shared

2. Explain IP addressing method.

Internetwork protocol (IP)

Datagram
Addressing
Classes
Dotted decimal notation
A sample internet

3. Define routing & explain distance vector routing and link state routing.
Distance vector routing
Sharing information
Routing table
Creating the table
Updating the table
Updating algorithm
Link state routing
Information sharing
Packet cost
Link state packet
Getting information about neighbors
Initialization
Link state database

14
4. Define bridge and explain the type of bridges.
Bridges
Types of bridges
Simple bridge
Multiport bridge
Transparent bridge

5. Explain subnetting
Subnetting
Three levels of hierarchy
Masking
Masks without subnetting
Masks with subnetting
Finding the subnetwork address
Boundary level masking
Non-boundary level masking

6. Write short notes about repeaters, routers and gateways.

Repeaters
Routers
Routing concepts
Least-cost routing
Non adaptive routing
Adaptive routing
Packet lifetime
Gateways

15
 UNIT IV TRANSPORT LAYER
Two Mark Questions

1. What is function of transport layer?

The protocol in the transport layer takes care in the delivery of data from one application program on one
device to an application program on another device. They act as a link between the upper layer protocols and
the services provided by the lower layer.

2. What are the duties of the transport layer?

The services provided by the transport layer
End-to- end delivery
Addressing
Reliable delivery
Flow control Multiplexing

3. What is the difference between network layer delivery and the transport
layer delivery?
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of packet across multiple
network links.
The transport layer is responsible for source-to-destination delivery of the entire message.

4. What are the four aspects related to the reliable delivery of data?
The four aspects are,
Error control
Sequence control
Loss control
Duplication control

5. What is meant by segment?

At the sending and receiving end of the transmission, TCP divides long transmissions into
smaller data units and packages each into a frame called a segment.

6. What is meant by segmentation?

When the size of the data unit received from the upper layer is too long for the network layer
datagram or data link layer frame to handle, the transport protocol divides it into smaller usable blocks.
The dividing process is called segmentation.

7. What is meant by Concatenation?

The size of the data unit belonging to a single session are so small that several can fit together
into a single datagram or frame, the transport protocol combines them into a single data unit. The combining
process is called concatenation.

8. What are the types of multiplexing?

The types of multiplexing are,
Upward multiplexing
Downward multiplexing

16
9. What are the two possible transport services?
Two basic types of transport services are,
Connection service
Connectionless services

10. The transport layer creates the connection between source and destination.
What are the three events involved in the connection?
For security, the transport layer may create a connection between the two end ports. A
connection is a single logical path between the source and destination that is associated ith all packets
in a message. Creating a connection involves three steps:
• Connection establishment
• Data transfer & Connection release.
11. What are the techniques used in multiplexing?
The three basic techniques of multiplexing are,
Frequency-division multiplexing
Time-division multiplexing
Wave-division multiplexing

12. What is meant by congestion?

Congestion in a network occur if user send data into the network at a rate greater than that
allowed by network resources.

13. Why the congestion occur in network?

Congestion occurs because the switches in a network have a limited buffer size to store arrived packets.

14. How will the congestion be avoided?

The congestion may be avoided by two bits
BECN - Backward Explicit Congestion Notification
FECN - Forward Explicit Congestion Notification

15. What is the function of BECN BIT?

The BECN bit warns the sender of congestion in network. The sender can respond to this warning
by simply reducing the data rate.

16. What is the function of FECN?

The FECN bit is used to warn the receiver of congestion in the network. The sender and receiver
are communicating with each other and are using some types of flow control at a higher level.

17. What is meant by quality of service?

The quality of service defines a set of attributes related to the performance of the connection. For
each connection, the user can request a particular attribute each service class is associated with a set of
attributes.
18. What are the two categories of QoS attributes?
The two main categories are
User Oriented
Network Oriented
17
19. List out the user related attributes?
User related attributes are
SCR - Sustainable Cell Rate
PCR - Peak Cell Rate
MCR- Minimum Cell Rate
CVDT - Cell Variation Delay Tolerance

20. What are the networks related attributes?

The network related attributes are,
Cell loss ratio (CLR)
Cell transfer delay (CTD)
Cell delay variation (CDV)
Cell error ratio (CER)

21. What is frame?

A frame consists of one complete cycle of time slots, including one or more slot dedicated to each
sending device.

22. What is interleaving?

The switch moves from device to device at a constant rate and fixed order. This process is called
interleaving.

23. What is framing bits?

One or more synchronization bits are usually added to the beginning of each frame. These bitts
are called framing bits.

24. What is the difference between service point address, logical address and
physical address?

Transport layer header includes a type of address called a service point address or port address which
makes a data delivery from a specific process on one computer to a specific process on another computer.
If a packet passes the network boundary we need another addressing to differentiate the source and
destination systems. The network layer adds a header, which indicates the logical address of the sender and
receiver.
If the frames are to be distributed to different systems on the network, the data link layer adds the header,
which defines the source machine's address and the destination machine's address.

16 Mark Questions

1. Explain the duties of transport layer.

End to end delivery
Addressing
Reliable delivery
• Error control
• Sequence control
18
 • Loss control
• Duplication control
Flow control
Multiplexing

2. Explain socket in detail.

• Introduction
• Explanation
• program
3. Explain UDP & TCP.
User Datagram Protocol(UDP)
Source port address
Destination port address
Total length
Checksum
Transmission Control Protocol(TCP)
Source port address
Destination port address
Sequence number
Acknowledgement number
Header length
Reserved
Control
Window size
Check sum
Urgent pointer
Options and padding

4. Explain about congestion control.

Congestion avoidance
BECN FECN
Four situations
Discarding

5. Explain leaky bucket and token bucket algorithm

Leaky bucket algorithm

Leaky bucket
Switch controlling the output rate
Flowchart

19
 UNIT - V APPLICATIONS
Two Mark Questions

1. What is the purpose of Domain Name System?

Domain Name System can map a name to an address and conversely an address to name.

2. Discuss the three main division of the domain name space.

Domain name space is divided into three different sections: generic domains, country domains &
inverse domain.
Generic domain: Define registered hosts according to their generic behavior, uses generic suffixes.
Country domain: Uses two characters to identify a country as the last suffix.
Inverse domain: Finds the domain name given the IP address.

3. Discuss the TCP connections needed in FTP.

FTP establishes two connections between the hosts. One connection is used for data transfer, the other
for control information. The control connection uses very simple rules of communication. The data
connection needs more complex rules due to the variety of data types transferred.

4. Discuss the basic model of FTP.

The client has three components: the user interface, the client control process, and the client data transfer
process. The server has two components: the server control process and the server data transfer process.
The control connection is made between the control processes. The data connection is made between the
data transfer processes.

5. What is the function of SMTP?

The TCP/IP protocol supports electronic mail on the Internet is called Simple Mail Transfer (SMTP). It
is a system for sending messages to other computer users based on e-mail addresses. SMTP provides mail
exchange between users on the same or different computers.

6. What is the difference between a user agent (UA) and a mail transfer agent
(MTA)?
The UA prepares the message, creates the envelope, and puts the message in the
envelope. The MTA transfers the mail across the Internet.

7. How does MIME enhance SMTP?

MIME is a supplementary protocol that allows non-ASCII data to be sent through SMTP. MIME
transforms non-ASCII data at the sender site to NVT ASCII data and deliverers it to the client SMTP to be
sent through the Internet. The server SMTP at the receiving side receives the NVT ASCII data and
delivers it to MIME to be transformed back to the original data.

8. Why is an application such as POP needed for electronic messaging?

Workstations interact with the SMTP host which receives the mail on behalf of every host in the
organization, to retrieve messages by using a client-server protocol such as Post Office Protocol , version
3(POP3). Although POP3 is used to download messages from the server, the SMTP client still needed on
the desktop to forward messages from the workstation user to its SMTP mail server.

20
9. Give the format of HTTP request message.

Request Line

Headers

Blank Line

Body
(present only in
some messages)

10. Give the format of HTTP response message.

Status Line

Headers

Blank Line

Body

11. Write down the three types of WWW documents.

The documents in the WWW can be grouped into three broad categories: static, dynamic and active.
Static: Fixed-content documents that are created and stored in a server.
Dynamic: Created by web server whenever a browser requests the document. Active: A program to be run at
the client side.

12. What is the purpose of HTML?

HTML is a computer language for specifying the contents and format of a web document. It allows
additional text to include codes that define fonts, layouts, embedded graphics and hypertext links.

13. Define CGI.

CGI is a standard for communication between HTTP servers and executable programs. It is used in
crating dynamic documents.

14. Name four factors needed for a secure network.

Privacy: The sender and the receiver expect confidentiality.

21
Authentication: The receiver is sure of the sender's identity and that an imposter has not sent the message.
Integrity: The data must arrive at the receiver exactly as it was sent.
Non-Reputation: The receiver must able to prove that a received message came from a specific sender.

15. How is a secret key different from public key?

In secret key, the same key is used by both parties. The sender uses this key and an encryption
algorithm to encrypt data; the receiver uses the same key and the corresponding decryption algorithm to
decrypt the data.
In public key, there are two keys: a private key and a public key. The private key is kept by the receiver.
The public key is announced to the public.

16. What is a digital signature?

Digital signature is a method to authenticate the sender of a message. It is similar to that of signing
transactions documents when you do business with a bank. In network transactions, you can create an
equivalent of an electronic or digital signature by the way you send data.

17. What are the advantages & disadvantages of public key encryption?
Advantages:
a) Remove the restriction of a shared secret key between two entities. Here each entity can create a pair of
keys, keep the private one, and publicly distribute the other one.
b) The no. of keys needed is reduced tremendously. For one million users to communicate, only two
million keys are needed.
Disadvantage:
If you use large numbers the method to be effective. Calculating the cipher text using the long keys takes a
lot of time. So it is not recommended for large amounts of text.

18. What are the advantages & disadvantages of secret key encryption?
Advantage:
Secret Key algorithms are efficient: it takes less time to encrypt a message. The reason is that the key is
usually smaller. So it is used to encrypt or decrypt long messages.
Disadvantages:
a) Each pair of users must have a secret key. If N people in world want to use this method, there needs to
be N (N-1)/2 secret keys. For one million people to communicate, a half-billion secret keys are needed.
b) The distribution of the keys between two parties can be difficult.

19. Define permutation.

Permutation is transposition in bit level.
Straight permutation: The no. of bits in the input and output are preserved.
Compressed permutation: The no. of bits is reduced (some of the bits are dropped).
Expanded permutation: The no. of bits is increased (some bits are repeated).

20. Define substitutional & transpositional encryption.

Substitutional: A character level encryption in which each character is replaced by another character in the
set.
Transpositional: A Character level encryption in which the characters retain their plaintext but the position
of the character changes.

22
16 Mark Questions

1. Explain the functions of SMTP.

• System for sending messages to other computer users based on e-mail
addresses. SMTP provides mail exchange between users on the same
or different computers.
• User Agent
• Mail Transfer Agent
• Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
• Post Office Protocol
2. Write short notes on FTP.
• Transfer a file from one system to another.
• TCP connections
• Basic model of FTP
3. Explain about HTTP.
• HTTP transactions
• HTTP messages
• URL
4. Explain the WWW in detail.
• Hypertext & Hypermedia
• Browser Architecture
• Categories of Web Documents
• HTML
• CG I • Java
5. Explain the type of encryption/decryption method.
Conventional Methods:
• Character-Level Encryption: Substitutional & Transpositional
• Bit-Level Encryption: Encoding/Decoding, Permutation,
Product, Exclusive-Or & Rotation
Public key Methods

6. Explain about RSA algorithm.

• Public key Encryption technique.
• Encryption algorithm • Decryption algorithm
• Security in RSA
7. Explain about secret key encryption algorithm.
• Data Encryption Standard
• Algorithm
• Sub key generation

23