CS310 Computer Networks

Mid Semester Test (Flexi School Dec 2018)

Total marks: 32
Answer ALL questions.
Assume that k stands for 1000 (103) and not 1024 (210)
Speed of light is: 3*108 m/s

Name:___________________________ ID:_______________________

1) Host A sends a packet of length 15000 bits to host B. There is one packet switch
between host A and host B. The hosts are connected to the packet switch by fiber optic
links. Each link is 500km long. The transmission rates for the two legs of route are
500kbps, and 200kbps respectively.

500kbps 200kbps

Assuming that the switch uses store-and-forward packet switching, what is the total
end-to-end delay to send the packet. (Ignore queuing and processing delays). [2 marks]
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2) Consider applications which transmit data in bursts (infrequent and small intervals).
Would a packet-switched network or a circuit-switched network be more
appropriate for such applications? Why? [2 marks]
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3) Circuit switched links involve either Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) or Time
Division Multiplexing (TDM). Sketch and explain how the bandwidth is divided in both
these cases. [2 marks]

4) Why is P2P architecture more scalable compared to client-server architecture?

P2P systems are scalable by design: the fact that each peer [2 marks]
potentially acts as a server avoids the bottleneck of most distributed
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systems by causing the number of servers to increase linearly with
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the number of clients
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5) Network protocols are arranged in layers in a protocol stack. Discuss one advantage of
layering the network protocols in a protocol stack. [2 marks]
The division of network protocols and services into layers not only
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helps simplify networking protocols by breaking them into smaller,
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more manageable units, but also offers greater flexibility. By dividing
protocols into layers, protocols can be designed for interoperability.
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6) A web client requests a web page with links to 15 images from a web server. How many
round trips (RTT) are needed to get the page and the 15 images from the web server
using persistent and non-persistent connection. (Ignore closing down of connection)
[2 marks]

7) What is the web server’s response if the client resends a request for an object in the
client’s cache, which has not been modified? [1 mark]
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8) Explain how a DNS query is encapsulated as it passes down the protocol stack. Be sure
to mention what each layer refers to their unit of data (packet). For each of the layers
indicate what type of address is recorded in the headers. [4 marks]
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9) Transport layer protocols facilitate process-to-process communication running on hosts

over the network. List two fields of information that uniquely identifies such a process
[1 mark]
IP Address & Port Number
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10) Which layer of the Internet protocol stack is responsible for each of the given
functions: [3 marks]
route determination _______________________
flow control _______________________
interface to transmission media _______________________
responsibility for carrying frames between adjacent nodes _______________________
de-multiplexing _______________________
packet forwarding _______________________

11) a) Explain why packets sent in a given order on the Internet, can arrive out of order at
the receiver? [2 marks]
Packets can arrive out of order. That can happen especially if two packets follow
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different paths to the destination. Packets can be corrupted, which means that for some
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reason, the received data no longer matches the originally sent data
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b) What mechanisms are needed on the receiving host to re-order these packets?
[1 marks]
TCP includes mechanisms to solve many of the problems that arise from packet-based
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messaging, such as lost packets, out of order packets, duplicate packets, and corrupted packets.
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12) Differentiate between TCP flow control and congestion control. [2 marks]
In Flow Control, Traffic is controlled and Traffic represents flow from sender to
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receiver. In Congestion Control also, Traffic is controlled and Traffic represents
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flow entering into the network. Data link and Transport layers handles flow control.
Network and Transport layers handles congestion control.
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13) Suppose the SMTP protocol was designed to run over UDP instead of TCP, with sound
reasoning describe what a user might experience when sending and receiving emails.
[2 marks]
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14) Consider sending data packets over an unreliable channel, which corrupts and at times
loses packets. Explain what the sender and receiver will do to implement a reliable data
transfer in order to recover from the following situations.
a) Host A sends a packet, which arrives corrupted at host B. [2 marks]
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b) Host A sends a packet, which arrives intact and host B sends an acknowledgment for
that packet. However the acknowledgment goes missing on its way to host A.
[2 marks]
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The End