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Question 1 Briefly explain (i) Coaxial Cable and (ii) Optical Fiber.
Answer - (i) Coaxial Cable - Coaxial cable is the most common cable used for
transmitting video signals. Coaxial cable is called "coaxial" because it includes one physical
channel that carries the signal surrounded (after a layer of insulation) by another concentric
physical channel, both running along the same axis. The outer channel serves as a ground.
Many of these cables or pairs of coaxial tubes can be placed in a single outer sheathing and,
with repeaters, can carry information for a great distance. The name "coaxial" refers to the
common axis of the two conductors. A coaxial cable has a solid copper or copper-clad-steel
centre conductor surrounded by a non-conductive dielectric insulating material. The
dielectric is surrounded by foil shield/s and/or copper braid/s which form the outer
conductor and also shield against electromagnetic interference (EMI). The outer
conductor/shield is encased in a PVC jacket. One advantage of coaxial over other types of
radio transmission line is that it provides protection of the signal from external
electromagnetic interference.
(ii) Optical Fiber - Optical fiber refers to the medium and the technology
associated with the transmission of information as light pulses along a glass or plastic strand
or fiber. Optical fiber carries much more information than conventional copper wire and is
in general not subject to electromagnetic interference and the need to retransmit signals.
Most telephone company long-distance lines are now made of optical fiber. Transmission
over an optical fiber cable requires repeaters at distance intervals. The glass fiber requires
more protection within an outer cable than copper. A type of fiber known as single mode
fiber is used for longer distances and multimode fiber is used for shorter distances. Optical
fiber lines are strands of optically pure glass as thin as a human hair that carry digital
information over long distances. They are also used in medical imaging and mechanical
engineering inspection. The light in an optical fiber cable travels through the core by
constantly bouncing from the cladding using a principle called total internal reflection.
Because the cladding does not absorb any light from the core, the light wave can travel
great distances. However, some of the light signal degrades within the fiber, mostly due to
impurities in the glass. The extent that the signal degrades depends on the purity of the
glass and the wavelength of the transmitted light.


Question 2 - Define LAN, WAN and differentiate them.
Answer - LAN - Local Area Networks, which are generally referred to as LAN is a
computer network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, school, or group of
buildings.
WAN - Wide Area Network, which are generally referred to as WAN is a
computer network that covers a broad area (e.g., any network whose communications links
cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries over a long distance).
Differences between LAN and WAN are discussed below:-
1) LAN offers high data transfer rates whereas WAN has lower data transfer rates
due to congestion.
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2) LANs use technologies such as Ethernet and Token Ring to connect to other
networks whereas WAN uses technologies such as MPLS, ATM, Frame Relay and
X.25 for data connection over greater distances.
3) LANs tend to have fewer problems associated with them whereas WANs have
more problems due to the large amount of system and data that is present.
4) LAN Experiences fewer data transmission errors while WAN experiences more
data transmission errors as compared to LAN.
5) LAN networks can be owned up private companies or people that set it up at
homes whereas WAN are not owned up any one organization but exist under
collective or distributed ownership and management over long distances.
6) The LAN network is spread to a very small location whereas the WAN network is
spread worldwide.
7) LAN set-up costs are low as the devices required to set up the networks are
cheap whereas WAN Set-up costs are high, especially in remote locations where
set-up is not done. However, WANs using public networks are cheap.
8) LANs have a small geographical range and do not need any leased
telecommunication lines while WANs have a large geographical range generally
spreading across boundaries and need leased telecommunication lines.


Question 3 - Explain the TCP/IP Reference Model with diagram.
Answer - The TCP/IP reference model is the network model used in the current
internet architecture. It was created in the 1970s by DARPA for use in developing the
internets protocols, and the structure of the internet is still closely reflected by the TCP/IP
model. It is considered as the grandfather of the internet, the ARPANET. This was a research
network sponsored by the Department of Defence in the United States. A goal was of
continuing the conversation between the source and the destination even if the
transmission went out of operation. The reference model was named after two of its main
protocols, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol). No document
officially specifies the model. Different names are given to the layers by different
documents, and different numbers of layers are shown by different documents. There are
versions of this model with four and five layers.
The original four-layer version of this model has layers as shown in the figure below.
It consists of the following four layers.






Application
Transport
Internetwork
Host to Network
TCP/IP Reference Model
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Layer 4 Process Layer or Application Layer: This is where the higher level
protocols such as FTP, HTTP, etc. operate. The original TCP/IP specification described a
number of different applications that fit into the top layer of the protocol stack. These
applications include Telnet, FTP, SMTP and DNS.
Layer 3 Host-To-Host (Transport) Layer: This is where flow control and connection
protocol exists, such as TCP. This layer deals with opening and maintaining connections,
ensuring that packets are in fact received. The transport layer is the interface between the
application layer and complex hardware of the network.
Layer 2 Internet or internetworking Layer: This layer defines IP addresses, with
many routing schemes for navigating packets from one IP address to another. The job of the
network layer is to inject packets into any network and have them travel independently to
the destination. The layer defines IP for its official packet format and protocol. Packet
routing is a major job of this protocol.
Layer 1 Network Access Layer: This layer describes the physical equipment
necessary for communications, such as twisted pair cables, the signalling used on that
equipment, and the low-level protocols using that signalling. The Host-To-Network layer
interfaces the TCP/IP protocol stack to the physical network.


Question 4 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of layered architecture in a
network?
Answer - The advantages of layered architecture in a network are:
Layered architecture enables teams to work on different parts of the application
parallely with minimal dependencies on other teams.
Layered architecture enables develop loosely coupled systems.
Different components of the application can be independently deployed,
maintained, and updated, on different time schedules.
Layered architecture also makes it possible to configure different levels of security to
different components deployed on different boxes.
Layered architecture also helps you to test the components independently of each
other.

The disadvantages of layered architecture in a network are:
There might be a negative impact on the performance as we have the extra
overhead of passing through layers instead of calling a component directly.
Development of user-intensive applications can sometime take longer if the layering
prevents the use of user interface components that directly interact with the
database.
The use of layers helps to control and encapsulate the complexity of large
applications, but adds complexity to simple applications.
Changes to lower level interfaces tend to percolate to higher levels, especially if the
relaxed layered approach is used.
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Question 5 - Write notes on (i) Non-Persistent CSMA (ii) 1-Persistent CSMA.
Answer - (i) Non-Persistent CSMA: Non persistent CSMA is less aggressive compared
to P persistent protocol. In this protocol, before sending the data, the station senses the
channel and if the channel is idle it starts transmitting the data. But if the channel is busy,
the station does not continuously sense it but instead of that it waits for random amount of
time and repeats the algorithm. Here the algorithm leads to better channel utilization but
also results in longer delay compared to 1 persistent. The algorithm is given below:
1. Sense the channel.
2. IF the channel is idle, THEN transmit.
3. If the channel is busy, THEN wait a random amount of time and start over.

(ii) 1-Persistent CSMA: When the sender is ready to transmit data, it checks if
the transmission medium is busy. If so, it then senses the medium continually until it
becomes idle, and then it transmits the message. In case of a collision, the sender waits for a
random period of time and attempts to transmit again. 1-persistent CSMA is used in
CSMA/CD systems including Ethernet. 1-Persistent CSMA is selfish. The algorithm is given
below:
1. Sense the channel.
2. IF the channel is idle, THEN transmit.
3. IF the channel is busy, THEN continue to listen until channel is idle. Now transmit
immediately.


Question 6 - Describe Circuit switching and message switching.
Answer - A circuit switching network is one that establishes a dedicated circuit
between nodes and terminals before the users may communicate. Each circuit that is
dedicated cannot be used by other callers until the circuit is released and a new connection
is set up. Even if no actual communication is taking place in a dedicated circuit then, that
channel still remains unavailable to other users. Channels that are available for new calls to
be set up are said to be idle. Circuit switching is used for ordinary telephone calls. It allows
communication equipment and circuits, to be shared among users. Each user has sole
access to a circuit during network use.

Switching Office
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Circuit switching can be relatively inefficient because capacity is wasted on
connections which are set up but are not in continuous use (however momentarily). On the
other hand, the connection is immediately available and capacity is guaranteed until the call
is disconnected.
Communication using circuit switching involves three phases discussed below:
1) Connection Establishment: Before any signal can be transmitted, an end to end
circuit must be established.
2) Data transfer: Information can now be transmitted from source through the
network to the destination using the dedicated path established.
3) Termination: After some period of data transfer, the connection is terminated.

Message switching was the precursor of packet switching, where messages were
routed in their entirety and one hop at a time. It was first introduced by Leonard Kleinrock
in 1961. Message switching systems are nowadays mostly implemented over packet-
switched or circuit-switched data networks.
E-mail is an example of a message switching system. When this form of switching is
used, no physical path is established in advance in between sender and receiver. Instead,
when the sender has a block of data to be sent, it is stored in the first switching office (i.e.
router) then forwarded later at one hop at a time. Each block is received in its entity form,
inspected for errors and then forwarded or re-transmitted. It is a form of store-and-forward
network. Data is transmitted into the network and stored in a switch. The network transfers
the data from switch to switch when it is convenient to do so, as such the data is not
transferred in real-time. Blocking cannot occur, however, long delays can happen. The
source and destination terminal need not be compatible, since conversions are done by the
message switching networks.