TEST : ONE
MODULE DESCRIPTION : COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
MODULE CODE : BICT322
FACULTY : AGRICULTURE & NATURAL SCIENCES
QUALIFICATION : BACHELOR IN ICT
TEST DATE : SEPTEMBER 2024
SESSION STARTS AT : 08:00
DURATION (IN MINUTES) : 90
TOTAL MARKS : 57
PAGES : 05 (Including the cover page)
ADDENDUMS : NONE
EXAMINER : Ms DZ Masuku
MODERATOR : MR R. Hlangwani
INSTRUCTIONS :
¯ READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER STRICTLY AS INDICATED.
¯ THE QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF THREE(3) QUESTIONS, ANSWER ALL OF THEM
¯ EACH QUESTION CONSIST OF A SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION RELATED TO IT, ANSWER
THE QUESTION ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTION.
¯ THE GENERAL UNIVERSITY OF MPUMALANGA POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND RULES
PERTAINING TO WRITTEN ASSESSMENTS APPLY TO THIS ASSESSMENT.
Question 1 (12)
Multiple-choice: choose a correct answer
1.1) Which layer of the hierarchical network design model is refered to as the high- (1)
speed backbone of the internetwork, where high availability and redundancy are
critical?
A) access layer
B) core layer
C) data-link layer
D) distribution layer
E) network layer
ANSWER: B
1.2) In a new network design, an organization has decided to manage all of its (1)
wireless access points using a wireless network controller. In which network
design block of the campus network architecture would the centralized wireless
network controllers be found?
A) network services
B) internet edge
C) data center
D) WAN edge
ANSWER: A
1.3) Which of the following best characterizes OSPF's Area 0? (1)
A. Used to hide data packets
B. Root or the backbone for the network
C. Inverse mask bits
D. Route selection bits
Answer: B
1.4) The maximum hop count for RIP by default is (1)
A. 16
B. 15
C. 110
D. 100
Answer: B
1.5) A static route is entered from which command prompt? (Select one.) (1)
A. router(config)#
B. router(config#)
C. router#
D. router>
E. router(config-static)#
Answer: A
1.6) Which hierarchical design characteristic would be recommended at both the core (1)
and distribution layers to protect the network in the case of a route failure?
A) PoE
B) redundancy
C) aggregation
D) access lists
ANSWER: B
1.7) Which router command can be used to check whether the router interfaces are (1)
properly configured?
A. router# show ip interface brief
B. router> show interface ip brief
C. router(config)# show ip interface brief
D. router(config-router)# show interface ip brief
Answer: A
1.8) What is the administrative distance for OSPF in Cisco networking? (1)
A. 10
B. 90
C. 110
D. 120
Answer: C
1.9) What is the number 10 in the command router ospf 10? (1)
A. Tag
B. Process ID
C. AS number
D. Metric
Answer: B
1.10) You want to configure OSPF on five interfaces all in the 10.X.X.X network (1)
range using a single command. What command does this?
A. network 10.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 area 0
B. network 10.0.0.0 0.255.255.255 area 0
C. network 10.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 area 0
D. network 10.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 area 0
Answer: B
1.11) Which STP priority configuration would ensure that a switch would always be (1)
the root switch?
A. spanning-tree vlan 10 priority 0
B. spanning-tree vlan 10 priority 61440
C. spanning-tree vlan 10 priority 4096
D. spanning-tree vlan 10 root primary
ANSWER: A
1.12) On a campus network, personnel who are located in a five site college have (1)
access to servers found in one location. In which network block of the campus
network architecture would these servers be found?
A. WAN edge
B. data center
C. Internet edge
D. network services
ANSWER: B
Question 2 (30)
2.1) What is the root bridge in STP? (6)
The designated bridge with the lowest bridge ID, which acts as the central point
for forwarding traffic.
2.2) What is the significance of the "show ip interface brief" command? (2)
This command provides a concise overview of the status of all interfaces on a
device
2.3) What are the different types of OSPF areas (4)
Backbone area (Area 0)
Stub area
Totally stub area
NSSA (Non-Stop Forwarding Shortest Path Area)
2.4) Suppose a router in an organization uses a routing protocol to declare that a (3)
given destination is ten hops away when the destination is only three hops away.
Is the declaration necessarily an error? Explain.
No, it’s not necessarily an error. It’s usually used for reliability. In case the
shortest path to destination is not available, then an alternative longer route may
be used.
2.5) Describe route summarization, and how does it benefit the routing table? (4)
Reduced Size of Routing Tables
Improved Network Performance
Decreased Bandwidth
Simplified Network Management
2.6) Cisco routers derive the router ID in three (3) ways. List them (3)
IP address configured with the OSPF router-id command.
Highest IP address of any of the router’s loopback addresses.
Highest active IP address on any of the router’s physical interfaces.
2.7) Configure a backbone area in OSPF using IP addresses of your choice (4)
Router(config)# router ospf 1
Router(config-router)# network 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0 Router(config-router)#
network 10.0.0.0 0.0.0.255 area 0 Router(config-if)# no shutdown
2.8) You are an administrator managing a network with both RIP and OSPF running. A new (4)
link is added to the network, and both protocols discover the route. However, RIP selects
a different path than OSPF. Why is RIP not using the same path as OSPF? RIP and
OSPF use different metrics for path selection:
• RIP uses hop count as its metric, and it considers a route with fewer hops
better, regardless of the bandwidth or delay on the links.
• OSPF uses cost, which is typically based on bandwidth. OSPF selects the route
with the lowest cost, which generally favors high-bandwidth li nk
Question 3 (18)
3.1) Configure a backbone area in OSPF using IP addresses of your choice (4)
Router(config)# router ospf 1
Router(config-router)# network 192.168.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0 Router(config-
router)# network 10.0.0.0 0.0.0.255 area 0 Router(config-if)# no shutdown
3.2) What is redundancy in the context of computer networks, and why is it (4)
important?
In computer networks, redundancy is the incorporation of supplementary or
backup components, such as hardware, software, or communication links,
which are specifically intended to assume control in the event of a malfunction
of the main system. The primary objective of redundancy is to enhance fault
tolerance and guarantee uninterrupted functioning of a network or system, even
in the occurrence of a malfunction or failure.
Ensuring redundancy is crucial for preserving the high availability and reliable
performance of network services. Deploying redundant links between routers
or switches in a network can effectively mitigate the risk of single points of
failure. This ensures that in the event of a link failure, another link can assume
control to sustain connectivity. The absence of redundancy in a network or
system can lead to periods of inactivity, loss of data, or interruptions in
service, which can have significant financial implications for enterprises,
particularly those that depend on round-the-clock operations.
3.3) Describe any four (4) key characteristics to consider when choosing a routing (4)
protocol?
Maintainability, Scalability, Classful or classless (use of VLSM), Speed of
convergence and Resource usage:
3.4) What are the two basic approaches used to perform a distributed route (4)
computation, and how does each work?
Answer: There are two basic approaches used to perform distributed route
computation:
• Link-State Routing (LSR), which uses Dijkstra’s algorithm: In LSR
routing, packet switches periodically send messages across the
network that carry the status of a link between two packet switches.
Each status message is broadcast to all switches. Every switch runs
software that collects incoming status messages and uses them to
build a graph of the network.
Distance-Vector Routing (DVR), which uses another approach: Each link in
the network is assigned a weight, and the distance to a destination between
two packet switches is defined to be the sum of weights along the path
between the two. In DVR scheme, a router send a complete list of
destinations and the current cost of reaching each network that can be
reached.
3.5) Describe route summarization, and how does it benefit the routing table? (4)
Reduced Size of Routing Tables
Improved Network Performance
Decreased Bandwidth
Simplified Network Management
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