Set – 1:

Q: What is Computer Networking? What is the difference

between Network and Networking?
Answer: "Networking" and "network" are related terms, but they
have slightly different meanings in the context of information
technology.

Computer networking is the practice of connecting computers and

other devices to share resources and information. This field
encompasses various technologies, protocols, and services that
facilitate communication and data exchange between devices over
different types of networks.

Feature Network Networking

Definition A collection of The process of
interconnected devices or establishing and
nodes. managing networks.
Components Routers, switches, Configuration,
computers, servers, etc. maintenance, and
operation activities.
Types LAN, WAN, MAN, PAN, Social, professional,
SAN, etc. technical, etc.
Purpose To share resources and To create, optimize,
information. and sustain network
connections.
Examples Internet, intranet, Network
corporate networks. administration,
network security,
social networking.
Related Telecommunications, IT Network engineering,
Fields infrastructure. network
 administration,
cybersecurity.
Scope Physical and logical Practical application
structure. and strategy.
Primary Hardware and protocols. Interaction and
Focus connectivity
management.

Q: Define Data Communication and telecommunication

Answer: Data communication refers to the transmission of
information between two or more concerned authorities using some
specific medium and some specific pattern (0,1 &1’s)
understandable to that medium and easy to propagate over it.
Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance
for the purpose of communication. In modern times, this process
almost always involves the use of electromagnetic waves by
transmitters and receivers.
Q: Explain Five components of Data Communication System.
Answer: Data communication refers to the exchange of data
between two or more networked or connected devices. These
devices must be capable of sending and receiving data over a
communication medium.
The five components in data communication are -
1. Sender: A sender is a computer or any such device which is
capable of sending data over a network. It can be a computer,
mobile phone, smartwatch, walkie-talkie, video recording device,
etc.
2. Receiver: A receiver is a computer or any such device which is
capable of receiving data from the network. It can be any computer,
printer, laptop, mobile phone, television, etc.
3. Message: It is the data or information that needs to be exchanged
between the sender and the receiver.
4. Communication media: It is the path through which the message
travels between source and destination.
5. Protocols: It is a set of rules that need to be followed by the
communicating parties in order to have successful and reliable data
communication.
Q: Explain the criteria necessary for an effective and efficient
network.
Answer: To be considered effective and efficient, a network must
meet a number of criteria. The most important of these are
performance, reliability, and security.
Performance: Performance is a measurement of various factors
such as the amount of time requires for messages to travel from one
device to another, the time it requires to get a response starting from
an inquiry. Performance of a network, however also depends on a
number of factors such as number of active users, type of the
transmission medium, capabilities of the connected hardware and
efficiency of the software etc.
Reliability: Network reliability is measured by the frequency of
failure, time it takes to recover from failure, the network’s
robustness. If a network isn’t reliable it would be hard to transfer big
data as the connection might loss in the midway and can make
longer delay than expected.
Security: Network must be secured. The data that is sent should
reach its destination safely without any third-party reading or
altering or destroying the data in the midway. Along with this, a
network must have secured procedures to recover from data losses
and breaches.
Q: Explain Fundamental characteristics of data communication.
Answer: The effectiveness of a data communications system
depends on four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy,
timeliness, and jitter.
Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination.
Data must be received by the intended device or user.
Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately. Data that have
been altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data
delivered late are useless. This characteristic is responsible for real-
time transmission.
Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the
uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.
Q: Explain Point to point and Multipoint connection of a
computer network.
Point to Point – A point to point connection provides a dedicated
link between two devices in which one device acts as transmitter
and other one acts as receiver.
Multipoint –A multipoint connection is one in which more than two
specific devices share a single link. Its orientation is multiple
recipients of single transmission.

Q: Explain different types of topology in brief.

Answer: The term physical topology refers to the way in which a
network is laid out physically. Two or more devices connect to a link;
two or more links form a topology.
There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus and ring.
Besides these some others topologies also used like point to point,
Tree and Hybrid topology.
Mesh: In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point to
point link to every other device. The term dedicated means that the
link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects.
Advantages of Mesh Topology
• Communication is very fast between the nodes.
• Mesh Topology is robust.
• The fault is diagnosed easily. Data is reliable because data is
transferred among the devices through dedicated channels or
links.
• Provides security and privacy.
Drawbacks of Mesh Topology:
• Installation and configuration are difficult.
• The cost of cables is high as bulk wiring is required, hence
suitable for less number of devices.
• The cost of maintenance is high.
Bus Topology: The simplest type of topology is called a bus
topology, in which network communication takes place over a
single bus or channel. There are numerous taps and drop lines
connected to the bus, each node is connected to a single
transmission line.
The following are the benefits of Bus topology:
• Easy to install and use.
• Other nodes won't be impacted if one node fails.
• Less wiring is needed.
 • Economical to implement.
The following are Bus topology drawbacks:
• Efficiency decreases as nodes increase (strength of signal
decreases).
• A bus failure will result in network failure.
• The bus's limited length means that only a certain number of
nodes can connect to it.
• As messages are broadcast to all nodes, there are more
security concerns and risks.
Ring Topology: When two computers are connected to form a ring,
the topology is known as a ring topology. The message passing is
circular and unidirectional. A fixed amount of time is allotted for
each computer to access the network for transmission in this
deterministic network topology. Each node is a part of a closed loop.
Ring topology has the advantages listed below:
• Simple installation
• Fewer Cables are needed.
• Minimizes the possibility of data collision.
• An easy problem to solve.
• The access time is the same for every node.
The following are some drawbacks to ring topology:
• The network as a whole will collapse if one node fails.
• Slow data transfer rate as each message has to go through the
ring path.
• Getting more difficult to reconfigure.
Star Topology: A computer network topology known as a star
topology connects each node to a central hub. The hub or switch
acts as a bridge between the nodes. Any node making a service
request or offering a service must first get in touch with the hub. The
other connected devices function as clients in a star topology, while
the hub and switch serve as a server.
The benefits of the star topology are as follows:
• Less costly.
• Centralized management.
• Simple to scale.
• Other nodes won't be impacted if one node fails.
• Easy to upgrade and reconfigure.
The following are some drawbacks of the star topology:
• If the concentrator (hub) on which the whole topology relies
fails, the whole system will crash down.
• The cost of installation is high.
• Performance is based on the single concentrator i.e. hub.

Set IP Addressing :
Q 1. What is IP address ? Write the difference between MAC ,
IPV4 and IPV6.
Answer: IP address stands for internet protocol address; it is an
identifying number that is associated with a specific computer
or computer network. When connected to the internet, the IP
address allows the computers to send and receive information.
Definition: MAC - Unique identifier for network interfaces
IPV4 - Internet Protocol version 4
IPV6- Internet Protocol version 6
Format: Six groups of two hexadecimal digits | Four decimal
numbers separated by periods | Eight groups of four hexadecimal
digits separated by colons.
Length: 48 bits (6 bytes) | 32 bits (4 bytes) | 128 bits (16 bytes)
Example: 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E | 192.168.1.1 |
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
Q 2: Explain classes of IPV4.
Answer: Class A: IP addresses belonging to class A are assigned to
the networks that contain a large number of hosts. The network ID is
8 bits long. The host ID is 24 bits long. IP addresses belonging to
class A ranges from 0.0.0.0 – 127.255.255.255.
Class B: IP address belonging to class B is assigned to networks
that range from medium-sized to large-sized networks. The network
ID is 16 bits long. The host ID is 16 bits long. IP addresses belonging
to class B ranges from 128.0.0.0 – 191.255.255.255.
Class C: IP addresses belonging to class C are assigned to small-
sized networks. The network ID is 24 bits long. The host ID is 8 bits
long. IP addresses belonging to class C range from 192.0.0.0 –
223.255.255.255.
Class D: IP address belonging to class D is reserved for multi-
casting. The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses
belonging to class D is always set to 1110. The remaining bits are for
the address that interested hosts recognize.
Class D does not possess any subnet mask. IP addresses belonging
to class D range from 224.0.0.0 – 239.255.255.255.
Class E: IP addresses belonging to class E are reserved for
experimental and research purposes. IP addresses of class E range
from 240.0.0.0 – 255.255.255.254. This class doesn’t have any
subnet mask. The higher-order bits of the first octet of class E are
always set to 1111.
Q 3: What is classful and classless IP?
Answer: Classful Addressing: Introduced in 1981, A classful IP
address refers to an IP address that follows the original
classification system for IP addresses, which divides the address
space into five classes (A, B, C, D, and E). This system was used in
the early days of the Internet to simplify IP address assignment and
routing.
Classless Addressing: Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) is
another name for classless addressing. An IP address allocation and
routing methodology that allows for variable-length subnet masking
(VLSM). CIDR eliminates the rigid boundaries of the classful IP
addressing system, enabling more efficient use of the IP address
space. CIDR notation, which specifies an IP address followed by a
slash and a prefix length (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24). The prefix length
indicates the number of bits used for the network portion of the
address.
Q 4: Difference between public IP and private IP
Answer: The differences between private and public IP addresses at
a glance:
1. The scope of Private IP is local. | The scope of Public IP is
global.
2. It is used to communicate within the network. | It is used to
communicate outside the network.
3. Private IP addresses of the systems connected in a network
differ in a uniform manner. | Public IP may differ in a uniform or
non-uniform manner.
4. It works only on LAN. | It is used to get internet service.
5. It is used to load the network operating system. | It is controlled
by ISP.
6. It is available free of cost. | It is not free of cost.
Range - Private IP address ranges: 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255,
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255,
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 | Any IP address that isn’t within a
private IP address range.
Q 5: What is CIDR? Consider the CIDR address in
192.168.10.0/26 the find the number of network, number of IP
addresses on each network, number of host in each network,
subnet mask, broadcast ID, starting and ending IP address.
Answer: CIDR Notation: 192.168.10.0/26; Prefix Length: 26 bits
Subnet Mask: The subnet mask for a /26 prefix is:
• Binary: 11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000
• Decimal: 255.255.255.192
Number Subnet/Network: A /24 network (which is the original
network) can be divided into subnets with a /26 prefix. So after 3rd
octet we have taken 2 additional bit so the number of network will
be 22 = 4
Number of IP Addresses per Network: The number of IP addresses
in a /26 network is 232-26=26=64
Usable IP Addresses per Network: Subtracting the network
address and the broadcast address, the number of usable IP
addresses is 64−2=62.
Summary

• Number of Networks: 4 subnets

• Number of IP Addresses per Network: 64 IP addresses
• Number of Usable IP Addresses per Network: 62 IP addresses
• Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.192
 • Broadcast ID and IP Ranges:
o Subnet 1:
▪ Network Address: 192.168.10.0
▪ Broadcast Address: 192.168.10.63
▪ Starting IP: 192.168.10.1
▪ Ending IP: 192.168.10.62
o Subnet 2:
▪ Network Address: 192.168.10.64
▪ Broadcast Address: 192.168.10.127
▪ Starting IP: 192.168.10.65
▪ Ending IP: 192.168.10.126
o Subnet 3:
▪ Network Address: 192.168.10.128
▪ Broadcast Address: 192.168.10.191
▪ Starting IP: 192.168.10.129
▪ Ending IP: 192.168.10.190
o Subnet 4:
▪ Network Address: 192.168.10.192
▪ Broadcast Address: 192.168.10.255
▪ Starting IP: 192.168.10.193
▪ Ending IP: 192.168.10.254

Q 6: Explain even and odd parity.

Answer: A parity is an error coding method to find errors in digital
data. A parity bit is an extra bit which is added in binary message to
make total number of 1’s either even or odd.
An even parity
check works by
ensuring that the
total number of
ones in the data, including parity bit is even. If in any case the total
number of 1 in the data bit is odd then a single 1 will be added to
make total number of 1 even else 0 will be appended (if total
number of 1 are already even). Hence, if any error occurs, the parity
check circuit will detect it at the receiver’s end.
Odd parity, on the other
hand, functions similarly
but ensures that the total
number of ones in the
data, including the parity bit, is odd. If total number of 1 in the given
binary string are even then 1 is appended to make the total count of
1 as odd else 0 is appended.

Q 7: What is Hamming code? Explain hamming code structure.

Answer: In Picture

Set QoS and Congestion:

Q 1: What is congestion? Show it graphically.
Answer: A state
occurring in
network layer
when the
message traffic is
so heavy that it
slows down
network response
time.

Effects of Congestion: As delay increases, performance decreases.

If delay increases, retransmission occurs, making situation worse.
Figure 1 delay as a function load Figure 2 throughput as a function of delay

Q 2: Explain different types of traffic descriptors with proper

diagram.
Answer: In data communication, traffic descriptors are parameters
that define the characteristics and behavior of data flows in a
network. These descriptors help manage network resources and
ensure Quality of Service (QoS). Here are some common types of
traffic descriptors:

1. Peak Data Rate (PDR): The maximum rate at which data can
be transmitted over a network for a specified period.
2. Sustainable Data Rate (SDR): The average rate at which data
can be transmitted over a network without exceeding a
specified limit over a long period.
3. Maximum Burst Size (MBS): The largest amount of data that
can be sent in a burst at the
peak data rate without
violating the network's QoS
policies.
4. Committed Information
Rate (CIR): The guaranteed
 average data rate that a network agrees to provide to a user.
5. Excess Information Rate (EIR): The additional data rate above
the CIR that the network can support if resources are
available.
6. Burst Tolerance (BT): The allowable deviation from the
committed data rate, providing flexibility in managing bursty
traffic.
7. Delay (Latency): The time it takes for data to travel from the
source to the destination.
8. Jitter: The variation in delay for packets belonging to the same
data flow, which can affect real-time applications like VoIP
and video conferencing.
9. Packet Loss Rate: The percentage of packets lost during
transmission, affecting the reliability and quality of the
communication.
10. Minimum Policed Unit (MPU): The smallest unit of data
that can be transmitted and monitored by the network.
11. Cell Loss Priority (CLP): A priority level assigned to cells
in ATM networks indicating the likelihood of cell discard under
congestion.
12. Service Data Unit (SDU) Size: The size of the data units
delivered by the higher layer to the lower layer for
transmission.

Each of these traffic descriptors plays a crucial role in designing,

managing, and optimizing network performance to meet the
requirements of various applications and services.

Q 1: Explain Open loop and close loop congestion control.

Answer: Congestion control refers to the techniques used to control
or prevent congestion. Congestion control techniques can be
broadly classified into two categories:
- Open-Loop
- Close-Loop
Open Loop Congestion Control: Open loop congestion control
policies are applied to prevent congestion before it happens. The
congestion control is handled either by the source or the
destination.
Policies adopted by open loop congestion control –
Retransmission Policy − This type of policy is sometimes
unavoidable. If the sender feels that a packet is lost or corrupted,
then it thinks to retransmit. So, a retransmission policy can prevent
congestion.
Window Policy − In this type of window the sender may also affect
congestion. The selective repeat window is better than the Go-Back-
N window for congestion control. In the Go-Back-N window, when
the timer for a packet time out, a number of packets may be resent,
although some may have arrived safe and sound at the receiver.
Acknowledgement Policy − This policy imposed by the receiver
may also affect congestion. If the receiver does not acknowledge
every packet it receives, it may slow down the sender and help
prevent congestion. A receiver may send an acknowledgment only if
it has a packet to be sent or a special timer expires. A receiver may
decide to acknowledge only N packets at a time.
Discarding Policy − A discarding policy by the routers prevents
congestion and at the same time may not harm the integrity of the
transmission.
Admission Policy − An admission policy is a quality-of-service
mechanism, which prevents congestion in virtual circuit networks.

Closed Loop Congestion Control: Closed loop congestion control

techniques are used to treat or alleviate congestion after it happens.
Several techniques are used by different protocols; some of them
are:
1. Backpressure :
Backpressure is a technique in
which a congested node stops
receiving packets from upstream
node. This may cause the upstream node or nodes to become
congested and reject receiving data from above nodes.
Backpressure is a node-to-node congestion control technique that
propagate in the opposite direction of data flow. The backpressure
technique can be applied only to virtual circuit where each node
has information of its above upstream node.
In above diagram the 3rd node is congested and stops receiving
packets as a result 2nd node may be get congested due to slowing
down of the output data flow. Similarly, 1st node may get
congested and inform the source to slow down.

2. Choke Packet Technique

:
Choke packet technique is
applicable to both virtual
networks as well as
datagram subnets. A choke packet is a packet sent by a node to
the source to inform it of congestion. Each router monitors its
resources and the utilization at each of its output lines. Whenever
the resource utilization exceeds the threshold value, which is set
by the administrator, the router directly sends a choke packet to
the source giving it a feedback to reduce the traffic. The
intermediate nodes through which the packets have traveled are
not warned about congestion.

3. Implicit Signaling:
In implicit signaling, there is no communication between the
congested nodes and the source. The source guesses that there is
congestion in a network. For example when sender sends several
packets and there is no acknowledgment for a while, one
assumption is that there is a congestion.

4. Explicit Signaling:
In explicit signaling, if a node experiences congestion it can
explicitly sends a packet to the source or destination to inform
about congestion. The difference between choke packet and
explicit signaling is that the signal is included in the packets that
carry data rather than creating a different packet as in case of
choke packet technique.
Explicit signaling can occur in either forward or backward
direction.
• Forward Signaling: In forward signaling, a signal is sent in
the direction of the congestion. The destination is warned
about congestion. The receiver in this case adopts policies
to prevent further congestion.
• Backward Signaling: In backward signaling, a signal is sent
in the opposite direction of the congestion. The source is
warned about congestion, and it needs to slow down.

Q 1: What is traffic shaping? Explain leaky Bucket algorithm for

congestion control.
Answer: Traffic Shaping is a mechanism to control the amount and
the rate of traffic sent to the network. Approach of congestion
management is called Traffic shaping. Traffic shaping helps to
regulate the rate of data transmission and reduces congestion.
Leaky Bucket Algorithm
• The leaky bucket algorithm discovers its use in the context
of network traffic shaping or rate-limiting.
• A leaky bucket execution and a token bucket execution are
predominantly used for traffic shaping algorithms.
• This algorithm is used to control the rate at which traffic is
sent to the network and shape the burst traffic to a steady
traffic stream.
• The disadvantages compared with the leaky-bucket
algorithm are the inefficient use of available network
resources.
• The large area of network resources such as bandwidth is
not being used effectively.

Let us consider an example to understand

Imagine a bucket with a small hole in the bottom. No matter at

what rate water enters the bucket, the outflow is at constant rate.
When the bucket is full with water additional water entering spills
over the sides and is lost.
Similarly, each network interface contains a leaky bucket and the
following steps are involved in leaky bucket algorithm:
1. When host wants to send packet, packet is thrown into the
bucket.
2. The bucket leaks at a constant rate, meaning the network
interface transmits packets at a constant rate.
3. Bursty traffic is converted to a uniform traffic by the leaky
bucket.
4. In practice the bucket is a finite queue that outputs at a
finite rate.