CS 200 Fundamentals of Information Technology

Module 3 Data Communications and Networks

Assignment 6

1). You read about Peer-to-peer networks in the online content. Summarize the advantages and
disadvantages of P2P (do a little Internet research to answer this question). Describe 2 popular P2P
networks.
2). You read about reliable verses unreliable network protocols and you also read about network layers.
Since Ethernet and IP are both unreliable protocols how do we establish a reliable connection between
two host computers?
3). Why do some employers require employees to use a VPN to connect to corporate networks?
4). Authentication is based on something that a person knows, has, or is. Do some Internet research to
determine an example of an authentication mechanism for each of these three criteria.
5). Different network architectures were described in this module to illustrate how networks are used by
applications. This question asks you to think about the load (demand) each architecture places on the
network. Assume that you are sitting at a personal computer running an application on the network.
Complete the following table with whether the load is light, moderate, or heavy for uploads (transfers
from your machine into the network) and downloads (transfers from another machine to your machine)
on each architecture. Also, add a reason for your choice of load.

Architecture Upload Download
Host based
Client Based
Client Server
Multi-tier
Peer to Peer

Rev 1