Home Work-1

CAP306: Computer Networks

SUBMITTED TO :- SUBMITTED BY:-

Jasleen SURENDRA

MCA 3nd SEM

ROLL NO- D3804A15

REGD NO- 10806601

 PART A

1. Networks provide the benefits to the user. Is there any area where networks are not
beneficial?
ANSWER:
There are two basic types of networks: peer-to-peer and client/server. A peer-to-peer network
(1) A network of computers configured to allow certain files and folders to be shared with
everyone or with selected users. Peer-to-peer networks are quite common in small offices
that do not use a dedicated file server. Is a system of interconnected personal computers?
Each computer in the network acts as both client and server, enabling the computers to
exchange files and electronic mail directly with every other computer. Access to personal
files can be controlled by each individual user.

"Peer-to-Peer networking makes it easier for people to collaborate. It is the best choice for
small businesses". They are cheaper than server-based networks but cannot easily handle the
exchange of large amounts of data. Nor do they generally have the security and
administration capabilities of server-based networks. Peer-to-peer networks are connected
with cables and the proper networking software.

Client/server networks (1) a communications network that uses dedicated servers. In this
context, the term is used to contrast it with a peer-to-peer network, which allows any client to
also be a server.

(2) A network that is processing applications designed for client/server architecture. Are
indispensable for businesses with over 25 users who share files and resources. Server-based
networking software is more costly than peer-to-peer and is best suited for larger
organizations with extensive computing needs. In a client/server network a high-powered
central computer, the server, is the focal point focal point n.
See focus. Of the network. The server is connected to many less powerful client or
workstation computers. Clients run programs that are stored on the server, and they can
easily access this data.

Whatever the needs of your particular organization, as it continues to grow, it's wise to take a
look at installing a networked system--if you haven't already. Cost-effectiveness is the key.
Networking will have a beneficial effect on the bottom line of any organization that values
the sharing of information and collaboration between staff members.

2. What does negotiation mean while discussing network protocols? Give example.
 ANSWER:
Negotiation refers to the speed of data transmission. A pre-boot multicast addresses
management protocol for a computer network. This novel protocol includes an address conflict-
clearing process that ensures that the same multicast address is not given to separate clients
desiring different boot information. This address conflict-clearing technique alleviates any
addressing conflicts and addresses duplication problems and enables multiple boot negotiation
server processes to be present on the same network. The novel protocol of the present invention
also provides a means for a boot negotiation server process and a multicast files server process to
communicate in a bi-directional manner. Thus, the boot negotiation server process and the
multicast file server process can communicate by sending messages and responses back and forth
between each other. This communication feature allows the boot negotiation server process and
the multicast file server process to reside on separate computers within the network.

Since this is so important, the SCSI protocol builds in support for a method by which the host
adapter can interrogate all devices on the bus to find out what speeds they support. This process
is called negotiation and is one of the first tasks performed by the SCSI host adapter when the
system power is applied. Under conventional SCSI rules, this negotiation is done with each
device; the host adapter records the maximum transfer speed that each device claims to support,
and then uses that information when the device is accessed.

Regular negotiation just "trusts" that everything will work at the speed the hardware decides is
possible, but it may not actually work. If there are difficulties, they may manifest themselves in
the form of data errors or reliability problems.

To improve negotiation the SPI-3 standard introduced a new feature called domain validation,
sometimes abbreviated DV. After a device tells the host adapter that it is capable of transfers at
a particular speed, the host adapter tests the device by sending write requests to the device's
internal buffer at that speed.

3. How does data transfer takes place between two end users?
ANSWER:
Files are transferred only via the data connection. The control connection is used for the transfer
of commands, which describe the functions to be performed, and the replies to these commands.
Several commands are concerned with the transfer of data between hosts. These data transfer
commands include the MODE command which specify how the bits of the data are to be
transmitted, and the structure and TYPE commands, which are used to define the way in which
the data are to be represented. The transmission and representation are basically independent but
the "stream" transmission mode is dependent on the file structure attribute and if "Compressed"
transmission mode is used, the nature of the filler byte depends on the representation type.
 ME
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SENDER
sender MEDIUM

4.
Match the following functions with different layers of OSI model.(with reason)
a) Segmentation.
b) Provide security.
c) Error control.
d) Syntax and semantics
e) Multiplexing.
ANSWER:

Segmentation: The transport layer provides transparent transfer of data between end users,
providing reliable data transfer services to the upper layers. The transport layer controls the
reliability of a given link through flow control, segmentation/desegmentation, and error control.
Some protocols are state and connection oriented. This means that the transport layer can keep
track of the segments and retransmit those that fail.

The transport layer provides:

• Message segmentation: accepts a message from the (session) layer above it, splits
the message into smaller units (if not already small enough), and passes the
smaller units down to the network layer. The transport layer at the destination
station reassembles the message.

• Message acknowledgment: provides reliable end-to-end message delivery with

acknowledgments.

• Message traffic control: tells the transmitting station to "back-off" when no

message buffers are available.

• Session multiplexing: multiplexes several message streams, or sessions onto one

logical link and keeps track of which messages belong to which sessions (see
session layer).
Typically, the transport layer can accept relatively large messages, but there are strict message
size limits imposed by the network (or lower) layer. Consequently, the transport layer must break
up the messages into smaller units, or frames, prepending a header to each frame.

Provide Security:

The presentation layer provides:

Character code translation: for example, ASCII to EBCDIC.

Data conversion: bit order, CR-CR/LF, integer-floating point, and so on.

Data compression: reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the network.

Data encryption: encrypt data for security purposes. For example, password encryption.

Error control:
The data link layer provides:
• Link establishment and termination: establishes and terminates the logical link between
two nodes.
• Frame traffic control: tells the transmitting node to "back-off" when no frame buffers are
available.
• Frame sequencing: transmits/receives frames sequentially.
• Frame acknowledgment: provides/expects frame acknowledgments. Detects and recovers
from errors that occur in the physical layer by retransmitting non-acknowledged frames
and handling duplicate frame receipt.
• Frame delimiting: creates and recognizes frame boundaries.
• Frame error checking: checks received frames for integrity.
Syntax and Semantics:
Physical layer provides:

• Data encoding: modifies the simple digital signal pattern (1s and 0s) used by the
PC to better accommodate the characteristics of the physical medium, and to aid in bit
and frame synchronization.
• Transmission technique: determines whether the encoded bits will be transmitted by
baseband (digital) or broadband (analog) signaling.
• Physical medium transmission: transmits bits as electrical or optical signals appropriate
for the physical medium, and determines:

o What physical medium options can be used

o How many volts/db should be used to represent a given signal state, using a given
physical medium
 PART B

1. Under what circumstances you will use TCP/IP protocol suite and under what
circumstances you will use OSI model. Compare and contrast both these models and
which model is better and why?

ANSWER:

TCP/IP Architecture Model: 4-Layers vs. OSI 7 Layers

TCP/IP architecture does not exactly follow the OSI model. Unfortunately, there is no universal
agreement regarding how to describe TCP/IP with a layered model. It is generally agreed that
TCP/IP has fewer levels (from three to five layers) than the seven layers of the OSI model. We
adopt a four layers model for the TCP/IP architecture.

TCP/IP architecture omits some features found under the OSI model, combines the features of
some adjacent OSI layers and splits other layers apart. The 4-layer structure of TCP/IP is built as
information is passed down from applications to the physical network layer. When data is sent,
each layer treats all of the information it receives from the upper layer as data, adds control
information (header) to the front of that data and then pass it to the lower layer. When data is
received, the opposite procedure takes place as each layer processes and removes its header
before passing the data to the upper layer.

The TCP/IP 4-layer model and the key functions of each layer are described below:
Application Layer

The Application Layer in TCP/IP groups the functions of OSI Application, Presentation Layer
and Session Layer. Therefore any process above the transport layer is called an Application in
the TCP/IP architecture. In TCP/IP socket and port are used to describe the path over which
applications communicate. Most application level protocols are associated with one or more port
number.

Transport Layer

In TCP/IP architecture, there are two Transport Layer protocols. The Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP) guarantees information transmission. The User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
transports datagram swithout end-to-end reliability checking. Both protocols are useful for
different applications.

Network Layer

The Internet Protocol (IP) is the primary protocol in the TCP/IP Network Layer. All upper and
lower layer communications must travel through IP as they are passed through the TCP/IP
protocol stack. In addition, there are many supporting protocols in the Network Layer, such as
ICMP, to facilitate and manage the routing process.

Network Access Layer

In the TCP/IP architecture, the Data Link Layer and Physical Layer are normally grouped
together to become the Network Access layer. TCP/IP makes use of existing Data Link and
Physical Layer standards rather than defining its own. Many RFCs describe how IP utilizes and
interfaces with the existing data link protocols such as Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, HSSI, and
ATM. The physical layer, which defines the hardware communication properties, is not often
directly interfaced with the TCP/IP protocols in the network layer and above.
 TCP/IP ARCHITECTURE MODEL: 4-LAYERS VS. OSI 7 LAYERS

The OSI model has seven layers, each of which has a different level of abstraction and
performs a well-defined function. The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven
layers are as follows :
A layer should be created where a different level of abstraction is needed.
Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining
internationally standardized protocols.
The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across
the interfaces.
The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be
thrown together in the same layer out of necessary, and small enough that the
architecture does not become unwieldy.
The seven OSI layers are defines as follows:
7. Application: Provides different services to the application
6. Presentation: Converts the information
5. Session: Handles problems which are not communication issues
4. Transport: Provides end to end communication control
3. Network: Routes the information in the network
2. Data Link: Provides error control
1. Physical: Connects the entity to the transmission media

Which model is best:

On OSI:

OSI's major contribution to networking theory is in its distinct separation between three
fundamental concepts:

• 1. Services: A service defines what a layer does, but abstracts the details of
implementation from higher levels in the protocol stack.
 • 2. Interfaces: The interface makes the layer available to higher layers. It defines the
conventions of communication - what to send and what to expect, but also does not deal
with implementation details.
• 3. Protocols: These are private methods of implementation which the higher layers have
no access to or knowledge of. Thus, they can be changed (i.e. to allow adding support for
a new hardware technology) without altering the basic functioning of higher layers.

On TCP/IP:

TCP/IP's differences from the OSI model stem from its design requirements:

• A common application set

• Implicit support for dynamic routing
• Connectionless networking level
• Implicit support for packet-switching
• Universal connectivity

Problems with OSI

OSI was a poor performer in implementation, and there are definite flaws in the protocols.
Flow control is a problem at every layer and error control must be implemented all layers as
well. Network management is problematic and was actually omitted from the original OSI
model. Semantic confusion about the Presentation and Application layers created so many major
headaches that data security and encryption were eventually taken out altogether!

Problems with TCP/IP:

Far from blameless, TCP/IP has some problems as well, the primary one being that it speaks only
its own language:

• It can't be used to intelligently describe another type of protocol stack (like SNA).
• Its network layer is more of an interface than a true layer of its own.
• There is no distinction between the Physical and Data Link layers. This is a poor choice
from an engineering standpoint.
• Many of the original protocol implementations were hacks (in the "oldskool" sense, of
course) with very limited usefulness and arbitrary constraints based on hardware
limitations or on simplifying the coding task.

The terminology of the OSI reference model is widely-used to describe behavior and design of
networks.

•The implementations of that model are basically crap.

•The protocols of TCP/IP are generally well-thought-out and widely-used.

•Those protocols are usually best described by the design terminology of the OSI reference
model.

2. If the unit at the data link layer means a frame and the unit at the network level is
packet. Do frames encapsulate packets or packets encapsulate frames?

ANSWER:

If the unit exchanged at the data link level is called a frame and the unit exchanged at the
Network layer level is called a packet.

When a packet arrives at the data link layer, the entire thing, header, data, and all, is used as
the data field of a frame. The entire packet is put in an envelope (the frame), so Frames
encapsulate packets.

3. Find out the kinds of networks used in the campus. Describe them on following
aspects network type, topologies and the kind of transmission media?

ANSWER:

Today when we speak of networks, we are generally referring to three primary categories:
local area networks, metropolitan area networks, and wide area networks. In the campus
mostly used network is LAN.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single
office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of
technology used, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone's home office, or
it can extend throughout a company and include voice, sound, and video peripherals. Currently,
LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
 Figure (4) - LAN
LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers or
workstations. The resources to be shared can include hardware e.g., a printer, software e.g., an
application program, or data. A common example of a LAN, found in many business
environments, links a work group of task-related computers, for example, engineering
workstations or accounting PCs. One of the computers may be given a large-capacity disk drive
and become a server to the other clients. Software can be stored on this central server and used as
needed by the whole group. In this example, the size of the LAN may be determined by licensing
restrictions on the number of users per copy of software, or by restrictions on the number of
users licensed to access the operating system.
In addition to size, LANs are distinguished from other types of networks by their
transmission media and topology. In general, a given LAN will use only one type of transmission
medium. The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star.
Traditionally, LANs have data rates in the 4 to 16 Mbps range. Today, however speeds are
increasing and can reach 100 Mbps with gigabit systems in development.

Wireless LAN is the newest evolution in LAN technology.

TOPOLOGY

The most common LAN topology is that of a "star." In a star topology, each computer, or
"node", is connected to a central hub. This is more reliable than a more classical "ring"
topology, because a node failing will not bring down the entire network. A bus topology is
arguably more reliable, but has poorer performance.
 In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central
controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to each other. Unlike a mesh
topology, a star topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. The controller acts as an
exchange. If one device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which
then relays the data to the other connected device.

Hub

Figure (5) - Star topology

A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only
one link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of others. This factor also makes it easy to
install and reconfigure. Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions
involve only one connection: between that device and the hub.
Other advantages include robustness. If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other
links remain active. This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification and fault isolation. As
long as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link problems and bypass defective links.
However, although a star requires far less cable than a mesh, each node must be linked to
a central hub. For this reason more cabling is required in a star than in some other topologies
(such as tree, ring, or bus).

Transmission Media

The three main types of transmission medium used in LANs are twisted pair, coaxial cable and
optic fiber.

Twisted pair is mostly used in connections of star and hub networks. It is easier to install twisted
pair than coaxial or optic fiber because it is more flexible and does not require new cable ducts.
Generally, twisted pair is used to connect DTEs to hubs and coaxial cable or optic fiber is used to
link the hub to the others.
There are some limitations on the length of twisted pair cable according to the bit rate used.
Normally at 1Mbps, the length limit is 100m. With additional circuits, 100m cable can be used at
10Mbps also.

Coaxial cable is one of the most important kinds of transmission medium used in LANS. It is
used mainly in bus networks with baseband or broadband transmission.

Baseband Transmission:

Two kinds of coaxial cables are used in baseband transmission: thin wire and thick wire.

Thin wire, also known as 10 Base 2, is of 0.25" diameter and 10Mbps bit rate where thick wire,
also known as 10 base 5, is of 0.5" diameter and 10Mbps bit rate. The length limit of thin wire is
200m between repeaters. Thick wire has greater signal attenuation and the length limit is 500m
for thick wire.

Thin wire is usually used for interconnecting DTEs which are close to each other. Physically,
thin wire is directly connected to the DTEs with connectors. As an example, the computers in the
same lab can be interconnected with thin wire.

Thick wire is not useful for DTEs that are close to each other because it is not as flexible as thin
wire. It can be installed as a main line in a corridor and the DTEs can be connected to it with
drop cables and transceivers that are used as transmit and receive devices, but this is rather
expensive. Other than that, thick wire is used between different offices and for interconnecting
thin wires in baseband transmission.

Broadband Transmission:

In broadband transmission, with the help of rf modems, the whole frequency width of the cables
are used for transmission. Length limits are very high in broadband transmission.

One of the most well-known applications of broadband transmission is the community antenna
television(CATV). Using broadband transmission, lots of TV channels are transmitted on a
single cable. TV users tune their TV to the appropriate frequency to select the channel from the
ones transmitted on the cable.

Optic fiber is the fastest transmission medium among the ones listed. Unlike the others, the data
is not transferred using electric pulses but it is transferred using beams of light. This requires us
to use special converter electronics are used at the ends of optic fiber to convert electrical pulse
to optical and vice versa.

Despite being a fast transmission medium, optic fibers are expensive. The cable itself, the
converter and tapping electronics cost much more than other solutions. That is why optic fibers
are used in hub configurations, high speed rings and fast point-to-point transmissions.
 4. Is an oil pipeline a simple, half duplex or full duplex or none of the above system?

ANSWER: A simple duplex is that which provide the communication only one direction.
So the pipeline is a simple duplex system. A another example of simple duplex is radio.

5. Discuss different networking devices with the appropriate layer they fall in OSI
Model. Also give their limitations.

ANSWER:

There are following devices which fall in OSI model.

Device OSI layer

Gateway Application-transport layer

NIC Physical layer

Hub Physical layer

Router Network layer

IEEE 802.x Physical and data-link layers

GATEWAY:
A device that connects multiple computers to a single cable or DSL line for Internet access. It
includes a broadband router and an Ethernet switch for attaching four or more computers by
wire. Also called a "residential gateway," "home gateway" and "Internet gateway," the device
may also include an access point for wireless transmission as well as the cable or DSL modem.

A router provides:

IP address routing

network address translation (NAT)

DHCP functions

firewall functions

LAN connectivity like a Network switch

Most routers are self-contained components, using internally-stored firmware. They are generally
OS-independent (i.e. can be used with any operating system).

Wireless routers perform the same functions as a router, but also allows connectivity for wireless
devices with the LAN, or between the wireless router and another wireless router. (The wireless
router-wireless router connection can be within the LAN or can be between the LAN and a
WAN.)

A modem (e.g. DSL modem, Cable modem) provides none of the functions of a router. It merely
allows Ethernet traffic to be transmitted across telephone lines, cable wires, optical fibers, or
wireless radio frequencies. On the receiving end is another modem that re-converts the
transmission format back into digital data packets.

This allows network bridging using telephone, cable, optical, and radio connection methods. The
modem also provides handshake protocols, so that the devices on each end of the connection are
able to recognize each other. However, a modem generally provides few other network
functions.

A USB modem plugs into a single PC and allow connection of that single PC to a WAN. If
properly configured, the PC can also function as the router for a home LAN.

An internal modem can be installed on a single PC (e.g. on a PCI card), also allowing that single
PC to connect to a WAN. Again, the PC can be configured to function as a router for a home
LAN.

A wireless access point can function in a similar fashion to a modem. It can allow a direct
connection from a home LAN to a WAN, if a wireless router or access point is present on the
WAN as well.
The IEEE 802.x Standard
The bottom two layers of the OSI reference model pertain to hardware: the NIC and the network
cabling. To further refine the requirements for hardware that operate within these layers, the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed enhancements specific to
different NICs and cabling. Collectively, these refinements are known as the 802 project.

The 802 specifications set standards for:

• Network interface cards (NICs).

• Wide area network (WAN) components.

• Components used to create twisted-pair and coaxial cable networks.