HW5

True/False Questions
1. TCP/IP is a data link protocol that is used on the Internet. FALSE
2. The transport layer process running on the destination computer, reassembles the fragmented
application message before passing it up to the application layer TRUE
3. IP is responsible for error-free delivery of packets on a TCP/IP network. FALSE
4. The source port identifier in the TCP header tells the TCP software on the destination computer,
which application on the destination it should pass the packet to. FALSE
5. Because there is a limit on the length of a frame that the data link layer can transmit from node to
node, the transport layer breaks up the message from the application layer into several smaller
segments. TRUE
6. An example of an application layer address is www.indiana.edu. TRUE
7. Subnet masks tell computers what part of an IP address is to be used to determine whether a
destination is in the same subnet or in a different subnet. TRUE
8. Translating an application layer address to a network layer address and finally to a data link layer
address is called address resolution. TRUE
9. The Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol is an interior routing protocol originally developed
by Cisco. TRUE
10. Connections on a router, to the Internet and other routers for example, are called applications.
FALSE
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The ____________ layer links the application layer with the network layer is responsible for end-toend delivery of messages.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

physical
transport
session
presentation
data link

2. _______ is the dominant network protocol today and is in use in virtually every LAN and WAN in the
world.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

SDLC
SNA
IPX/SPX
TCP/IP
X.25

3. The older version of IP has a ________ header of control information.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

128-bit
192-bit
1024-bit
120-bit
320-bit

4. The newer form of IP, version 6 (IPv6):

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Is running out of address space to support the growth of the Internet

has a 20 byte header
has an increased address size from 32 bits to 128 bits
does not include version number in its header
does not include hop limit in its header

5. A TCP three-way handshake is used to establish a ___________ messaging method.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

asynchronous
connection-oriented
frequency division
application net
connectionless

6. UDP is not commonly used for:

a. network management control messages
b. RIP messages
c. DHCP addressing messages
d. HTTP requests
e. DNS requests
7. ICANN:
a. developed the IPX/SPX network layer protocol
b. assigns data link layer addresses
c. approves which network layer addresses (usually, approved or assigned in groups or classes)
can be used by an organization for its computers that will connect to the Internet
d. developed X.25 network layer protocol
e. refers to Interchange Computer Addressing Networks and Nodes
8. A subnet mask of ___________ means that all computers with only the same first two bytes in their
IPv4 addresses are on the same subnet.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

11111111.0.0.0
255.255.255.0
255.0.0.0
255.255.0.0
255.255.255.255

9. When TCP/IP translates an application layer address into an IP address, it sends a special __________
to the nearest DNS server.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

broadcast message
DNS request packet
SNA packet
IPX message
X.25 packet

10. IPv4 provides ___________ IP addresses.

a. 4.3 billion
b. 144 million
c. 64 billion
d. 3.14 billion
e. 1 million
Essay and Short answer Questions
1. What does the network layer do? Where does it sit in relationship to the other four layers of our
simplified network model?
The network layer determines the best route through the network to the final destination. On the basis of
this routing, the network layer identifies the data link layer address of the next computer to which the
message should be sent. If the data link layer is running Ethernet, then the network layer IP address would
be translated into an Ethernet address. Network layer addresses are generally assigned by software. Every
network layer software package usually has a configuration file that specifies the network layer address
for that computer. Network managers can assign any network layer addresses they want.

Network layer is layer 3 of TCP/IP model, performs two functions Routing and Addressing. The transport
and network layers are so closely coupled that sometimes these layers are called the internetwork layer.
2. What is a subnet and why do networks need them? What is a subnet mask?

Each organization must assign the IP addresses it has received to specific computers on its networks. To
make the IP address assignment more functional, we use an addressing hierarchy. The first part of the
address defines the network, and the second part of the address defines a particular computer or host on
the network. However, it is not efficient to assign every computer to the same network. Rather,
subnetworks or subnets are designed on the network that subdivide the network into logical pieces.
Routers connect two or more subnets so they have a separate address on each subnet. Without routers, the
two subnets would not be able to communicate.
Although it is customary to use the first 3
bytes of the IP address to indicate different
subnets, it is not required. Any portion of the
IP address can be designated as a subnet by
using a subnet mask.
Subnet masks tell computers what part of an
Internet Protocol (IP) address is to be used to
determine whether a destination is on the same
subnet or on a different subnet. A subnet mask
is a 4-byte binary number that has the same format
as an IP address and is not routable on the
network. A 1 in the subnet mask indicates that
that position is used to indicate the subnet. A
zero indicates that it is not. Therefore, a mask
can only contain a continuous stream of ones.
A subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 means that
the first three bytes indicate the subnet; all
computers with the same first three bytes in
their IP addresses are on the same subnet. This
because 255 expressed in binary is 11111111.

is

In contrast, a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 indicates that the first two bytes refer to the same subnet.
Things get more complicated when we use partial-byte subnet masks. For example, suppose the subnet
mask was 255.255.255.128. In binary numbers, this is expressed as:
11111111.11111111.11111111.10000000
This means that the first three bytes plus the first bit in the fourth byte indicate the subnet address.
Likewise, a subnet mask of 255.255.254.0 would indicate the first two bytes plus the first seven bits of
third byte indicate the subnet address, because in binary numbers, this is:
11111111.11111111.11111110.00000000
The bits that are ones are called network bits because they indicate which part of an address is the
network or subnet part, whereas the bits that are zeros are called host bits because they indicate which
part is unique to a specific computer or host.

3. Compare and contrast unicast, broadcast, and multicast messages. Explain how multicasting works.
The most common type of message in
a network is the transmission between
two computers. One computer sends a
message to another computer. This is
called a unicast message. Broadcast
message is sent to all computers on a
specific LAN or subnet. A third type
of message called a multicast message
is used to send the same message to a
group of computers.
Unicast: This would work but would
require lot of network capacity.
Broadcast: This would reduce
network traffic, but every computer
on the network would process it,
distracting
from
other
tasks.
Broadcast messages usually are
transmitted only within the same
LAN or subnet, so this would not
work if one of the computers were
outside the subnet.
Multicasting:

This

reduces

the

problem which appeared in unicast and broadcast.

Computers wishing to participate in a multicast send a message to the sending computer or some other
computer performing routing along the way using a special type of packet called Internet Group
Management Protocol. Each multicast group is assigned a special IP address to identify the group. Any
computer performing routing knows to route all multicast messages with this IP address onto the subnet
that contains the requesting computer. The routing computer sets the data link layer address on multicast
messages to a matching multicast data link layer address. Each requesting computer must inform its data
link layer software to process incoming messages with this multicast data link layer address. When the
multicast session ends, the client computer sends another IGMP message to the organizing computer or
the computer performing routing to remove it from the multicast group.

4. What is a routing table? What is the simplest form of a routing table?

Routing is the process of selecting the route or path through the network that a message will travel from
the sending computer to the receiving computer. With centralized routing, one computer performs all the
routing decisions. With static routing, the routing table is developed by the network manager and remains

unchanged until the network manager updates it. With dynamic routing, the goal is to improve network
performance by routing messages over the fastest
possible route; an initial routing table is
developed by the network manager but is
continuously
updated to reflect changing network conditions, such as
message traffic. BGP, RIP,
ICMP, EIGRP, and OSPF are examples of dynamic routing
protocols.
Routing Table: Every router has a routing table that
messages
will
travel
through the network. In its
simplest form, the routing
table is a two-column
table. The first column
lists every network or
computer that the router
knows about and the
second column lists the
interface that connects to
it.

specifies

how

The first entry in R1s

routing table says that any
message with an IP
address in the range from 10.10.51.0 to 10.10.51.255 should be sent out on interface 1.
A router uses its routing table to decide where to send the messages it receives. Suppose a computer in the
10.10.43.x subnet sends an HTTP request for a Web page that is located on the companys Web server,
which is in the 10.10.20.x subnet (lets say the Web server has an IP address of 10.10.20.10). The
computer would send the message to its router, R2. R2 would look at the IP address on the IP packet and
search its routing table for a matching address. It would search through the table, from top to bottom, until
it reached the third entry, which is a range of addresses that contains the Web servers address
(10.10.20.10). The matching interface is number 2, so R2 would transmit the message on this interface.

5. What is DHCP and why would network managers want to use it?
The most common standard for dynamic addressing is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
DHCP does not provide a network layer address in a configuration file. Instead, there is a special software
package installed on the client that instructs it to contact a DHCP server to obtain an address. The DHCP
server can be configured to assign the same network layer address to the computer each time it requests
an address, or it can lease the address to the computer by picking the next available network layer
address from a list of authorized addresses. Dynamic addressing greatly simplifies network management
in non-dial-up networks, too. With dynamic addressing, address changes need to be made only to the
DHCP server, not to each individual computer. The next time each computer connects to the network or
whenever the address lease expires, the computer automatically gets the new address.