Chapter 1 exam questions

list the layers in the OSI model and provide one function and protocol for each layer.

the layers of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model, along with one
function and one protocol mentioned for each layer:

•Physical Layer:

◦Function: To move the individual bits within a frame from one network element to an
adjacent network element1 .

◦Protocol: Protocols in this layer are link-dependent and depend on the actual
transmission medium of the link, for example, protocols for twisted-pair copper wire,
single-mode fibre optics2 as used by Ethernet2 .

•Data Link Layer (Link Layer):

◦Function: To deliver a datagram to the next node along the route3 and to move entire
frames from one network element to an adjacent network element1 .

◦Protocol: Examples include Ethernet, WiFi, and the cable access network’s DOCSIS
protocol4 .

•Network Layer:

◦Function: Responsible for moving network-layer packets known as datagrams from

one host to another5 . It also includes routing protocols that determine the routes that
datagrams take6 .

◦Protocol: The celebrated IP (Internet Protocol), which defines the fields in the datagram
and how end systems and routers act on these fields6 .

•Transport Layer:

◦Function: Transports application-layer messages between application endpoints7 . It can

provide reliable delivery of application-layer messages to the destination and flow
control8 .

◦Protocol: TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), which provides a connection-oriented

service8 , and UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which provides a connectionless service8 .
•Session Layer:

◦Function: Provides for delimiting and synchronisation of data exchange, including the
means to build a checkpointing and recovery scheme9 .

◦Protocol: The sources do not explicitly mention a protocol for the session layer.

•Presentation Layer:

◦Function: To provide services that allow communicating applications to interpret the

meaning of data exchanged. These services include data compression and data
encryption10 .

◦Protocol: The sources do not explicitly mention a protocol for the presentation layer.

•Application Layer:

◦Function: This is where network applications and their application-layer protocols

reside11 . It includes functions such as Web document request and transfer, transfer of
e-mail messages, and transfer of files12 .

◦Protocol: Examples include HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) for Web document
transfer, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for e-mail transfer, and FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) for file transfer12 . The Domain Name System (DNS) is also an application-layer
protocol used for the translation of human-friendly names to network addresses

List four access technologies. Comment on whether the transmission rate is shared or
dedicated

Here are four access technologies discussed in the sources, along with comments on
whether their transmission rates are shared or dedicated:

•DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): Residential DSL Internet access typically uses the existing
telephone line1 .... The source mentions that the residential telephone line carries data
and traditional telephone signals simultaneously using different frequency bands,
suggesting a form of dedicated bandwidth allocation per service type over the same
physical medium3 .... While hundreds or even thousands of households might connect to a
single DSLAM4 , the bandwidth between the home and the DSLAM over the twisted-pair
copper wire appears to be dedicated for each user's data and voice at any given time, albeit
with asymmetric downstream and upstream rates5 .

•Cable Internet Access: Cable Internet access utilises the cable television company's
infrastructure, often a hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) network6 .... A key characteristic of cable
internet access is that it is a shared broadcast medium8 . Every packet sent by the head
end travels downstream to every home on every link, and every packet sent by a home
travels upstream to the head end8 . Therefore, the downstream and upstream channels are
shared among multiple users, and the actual rate experienced by each user can be lower if
many users are active simultaneously8 ....

•FTTH (Fiber To The Home): FTTH provides an optical fiber path directly from the central
office (CO) to the home10 .

In the Passive Optical Network (PON) architecture, which is a common FTTH

implementation, a single fiber from the OLT in the CO is shared by multiple homes
(typically less than 100) via a splitter ....

While the fiber itself is shared from the OLT to the splitter, the final connection to each
home via a dedicated optical fiber from the splitter to the ONT suggests a more dedicated
bandwidth after the splitting point.

However, the initial shared segment implies that the total capacity is distributed among the
connected homes. The source mentions that all packets sent from the OLT to the splitter
are replicated at the splitter, similar to a cable head end, further suggesting a shared
aspect of the downstream transmission before the dedicated fiber to the home.

•Ethernet: In enterprise, university, and increasingly home networks, Ethernet is a

prevalent access technology. Ethernet users typically connect to an Ethernet switch using
twisted-pair copper wire. The connection between the end system and the Ethernet switch
often provides a dedicated bandwidth, for example, 100 Mbps to the switch14 . The switch
then connects to the larger network. While the link to the switch is typically dedicated, the
connection from the switch to the institution's router and onwards to the ISP will be shared
by all users connected to that switch or network of switches14 .... Therefore, the
transmission rate to the immediate switch is generally dedicated, but beyond that, it
becomes part of a shared infrastructure.

Compare circuit-switched networks and packet-switched networks, give example for each
type.

Based on the sources, here is a comparison between circuit-switched networks and

packet-switched networks, along with examples of each type:

Circuit-Switched Networks

In circuit-switched networks, the resources needed along a path, such as buffers and link
transmission rate, are reserved for the entire duration of the communication session
between the end systems. Before data can be sent, the network must establish a
dedicated end-to-end connection or "circuit" between the sender and the receiver. The
switches on the path maintain a connection state for this specific communication. Once
the circuit is established, a constant transmission rate is reserved on the network's links
for the duration of the connection, guaranteeing a constant data transfer rate.

• Multiplexing in Circuit-Switched Networks: A circuit in a link can be implemented

using either frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) or time-division multiplexing
(TDM). With FDM, the frequency spectrum of a link is divided into frequency bands,
with each connection getting a dedicated band. With TDM, time is divided into
frames with fixed time slots, and each connection is allocated a dedicated time slot
in every frame.

• Efficiency Considerations: Proponents of packet switching argue that circuit

switching can be wasteful because the dedicated circuits remain idle during silent
periods. Additionally, establishing end-to-end circuits and reserving capacity is
described as complicated and requiring complex signaling software.

• Example: The traditional telephone network is a prime example of a circuit-

switched network. When you make a phone call, the network establishes a
dedicated circuit between your phone and the recipient's phone, reserving a
constant transmission rate for the duration of your call.

Packet-Switched Networks

In packet-switched networks, resources are not reserved. Instead, when a source end
system wants to send a message, it breaks the long message into smaller chunks of
data known as packets. Each packet travels through communication links and packet
switches (routers and link layer switches) independently. Packets are transmitted over
each link at the full transmission rate of that link. Packet switches typically use store-and-
forward transmission, meaning they must receive the entire packet before they can begin
transmitting it onto the outbound link.

• Forwarding: Routers in packet-switched networks use the destination IP address

in the packet's header to determine the appropriate outbound link to forward the
packet onto, based on their forwarding tables. These forwarding tables are often
set automatically by routing protocols.

• Queuing and Potential Loss: Packet switches have output buffers (queues) for
each attached link. If an arriving packet needs to be transmitted onto a busy link, it
must wait in the output buffer, leading to queuing delays. Since buffer space is
finite, packet loss can occur if a buffer becomes full.
 • Efficiency Advantages: Packet switching is considered more efficient because it
allocates link use on demand. Link transmission capacity is shared on a packet-
by-packet basis only among users who have packets to transmit, unlike circuit
switching which pre-allocates resources regardless of demand. This can lead to
better sharing of transmission capacity, especially when traffic is bursty.

• Delay Characteristics: A criticism of packet switching is the potential for variable

and unpredictable end-to-end delays, primarily due to variable queuing delays.

• Example: The Internet is an example of a packet-switched network. When you

send an email or browse a website, your data is broken down into packets that are
routed through the network independently, without a dedicated path being
established beforehand.

Key Differences Summarised

Feature Circuit-Switched Networks Packet-Switched Networks

Resource Reserved for the duration of Not reserved, used on demand

Allocation the connection

Connection Dedicated end-to-end circuit No dedicated circuit, packets

established routed independently

Transmission Constant rate guaranteed Rate can vary depending on network

Rate during the connection congestion and link sharing

Delay Generally more predictable Can be variable and unpredictable

once the circuit is set up due to queuing

Efficiency Can be wasteful during idle Generally more efficient for bursty
periods data

Complexity More complex signalling for Simpler resource allocation, but

circuit establishment requires routing mechanisms

Example Traditional Telephone Network Internet

The trend in telecommunication networks is towards packet switching, with even many
circuit-switched telephone networks gradually migrating in that direction, especially for
long-distance portions of calls.
Name the two major categories of transmission media and states the types of each
category?

Based on the information in the sources, the two major categories of physical transmission
media are guided media and unguided media. The types within each category are as
follows:

• Guided Media: These are media where the waves are guided along a solid medium.
Examples of guided media mentioned in the sources include:

o Twisted-pair copper wire

o Coaxial cable

o Multimode fiber-optic cable

o Optical fiber (also mentioned as a path in FTTH)

• Unguided Media: These are media where the waves propagate in the atmosphere
and in outer space. Examples of unguided media mentioned in the sources include:

o Terrestrial radio spectrum (used for wireless LANs and cellular access
technologies)

o Satellite radio spectrum (used for satellite links for internet access)

Some content providers have created their own networks. Describe YouTube's network.
What motivates content providers to create these networks?

YouTube's Network

YouTube has created its own Content Delivery Network (CDN) infrastructure to efficiently
deliver video content to users worldwide. This network consists of:

• Distributed data centers strategically located around the globe

• Edge servers/caching servers placed close to end users

• High-capacity backbone connections between major data centers

• Peering arrangements with ISPs to reduce transit costs

• Advanced traffic management and load balancing systems

• Video transcoding capabilities to optimize content for different devices and

connection speed
Based on the sources, there isn't a specific description of YouTube's network. However,
Source introduces the concept of content provider networks using Google as a leading
example. This allows us to infer some characteristics and motivations that might also apply
to other large content providers like YouTube.

According to Source, as of 2012, Google had an estimated 30 to 50 data centres

distributed globally, interconnected via Google’s private TCP/IP network, which is
separate from the public Internet. This private network primarily carries traffic to and from
Google servers. To optimise traffic flow and reduce costs, the Google private network
attempts to "bypass" the upper tiers of the Internet by peering (settlement free) with
lower-tier ISPs, either through direct connections or at Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).
However, because many access ISPs can still only be reached via tier-1 networks, Google's
network also connects to tier-1 ISPs and pays them for the traffic exchanged.

The motivations for content providers like Google (and presumably other large ones such
as YouTube) to create their own networks are highlighted in Source:

• Reducing payments to upper-tier ISPs: By establishing their own network and

peering directly with lower-tier ISPs, content providers can minimise the amount
they need to pay higher-level ISPs for transit of their content to end users.

• Gaining greater control over service delivery: Having their own network
infrastructure allows content providers to have more control over how their
services are ultimately delivered to end users. This can potentially lead to
improved performance, reliability, and user experience.

In summary, while the sources don't detail YouTube's specific network, they illustrate that
major content providers like Google have established their own private networks with
globally distributed data centres. These networks aim to reduce costs by peering with
lower-tier ISPs and enhance control over the delivery of their services to end users.
This model and these motivations are likely to be relevant to understanding the network
strategies of other large content platforms like YouTube.

Your Laptop can connect to internet by different access technologies. List six of them?

Based on the information in the sources, here are six access technologies that your laptop
can use to connect to the internet:

• DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): Residences can obtain DSL internet access from the
local telephone company using the existing telephone line (twisted pair copper wire)
to connect to a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) in the telco's central office.
 • Cable: Cable internet access utilises the cable television company's existing cable
television infrastructure, often employing a hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) system. A cable
modem is required for this type of connection.

• FTTH (Fibre to the Home): This technology provides an optical fibre path directly
from the central office to the home, offering the potential for very high internet
access rates.

• WiFi: Wireless LAN access, based on IEEE 802.11 technology (WiFi), allows laptops
to connect to an access point that is connected to a wired network, providing
internet access within a few tens of metres of the access point.

• Ethernet: In enterprise, university, and increasingly home settings, a local area

network (LAN) using Ethernet technology connects an end system to the edge router
via twisted-pair copper wire and an Ethernet switch.

• 3G and LTE (Long-Term Evolution): These are wide-area wireless access

technologies used by mobile devices like laptops with cellular capabilities to send
and receive packets through base stations operated by cellular network providers.
These technologies provide connectivity over a wider area compared to WiFi.

Here is a summary of the six internet access technologies for your laptop, indicating
whether they are generally shared or dedicated, based on our previous conversation
[implied from conversation history]:

• DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): While the physical line uses frequency-division
multiplexing (FDM) to separate data and voice, providing essentially dedicated
bandwidth within each frequency band for the duration of use for that specific
purpose, the capacity of the DSLAM at the central office is shared among many
households [implied from conversation history].

• Cable: Cable internet access is a shared broadcast medium. The bandwidth is

shared among the users connected to the same neighbourhood junction [implied
from conversation history,].

• FTTH (Fibre to the Home): In PON architectures, the optical fibre from the central
office to the splitter is shared by a number of homes. Each home then has a
dedicated optical fibre from the splitter to their ONT. Thus, the initial segment is
shared, while the final link to the home is dedicated [implied from conversation
history,].
 • WiFi: Wireless LAN (WiFi) provides a shared transmission rate. Multiple devices
connecting to the same access point share the available wireless bandwidth
[implied from conversation history,].

• Ethernet: The connection between a laptop and an Ethernet switch port is generally
dedicated, providing the full bandwidth of that port to the connected device.
However, the subsequent connection to the wider internet via a router is shared
among all devices on the local network [implied from conversation history,].

• 3G and LTE (Long-Term Evolution): These wide-area wireless access technologies

use radio spectrum that is a shared resource among multiple users in the cell.
Individual users experience shared capacity that can vary [implied from
conversation history].

• A. What is the difference between a host and an end

system? List different types of end systems? Is a
Web server an end system
Drawing on the information in the sources, the terms host and end system are used
interchangeably in computer networking jargon. Source explicitly states, "Throughout this
book we will use the terms hosts and end systems interchangeably; that is, host = end
system." Both terms refer to the computers and other devices connected to the Internet.
They are called end systems because they sit at the edge of the Internet.

The sources list several different types of end systems, including:

• Desktop computers (e.g., desktop PCs, Macs, and Linux boxes)

• Servers (e.g., Web and e-mail servers)

• Mobile computers (e.g., laptops, smartphones, and tablets)

• An increasing number of non-traditional devices, some examples of which are:

o Video game consoles (e.g., Microsoft’s Xbox)

o Internet-ready televisions

o Digital picture frames that download and display digital pictures

o Washing machines

o Refrigerators

o Toasters
Regarding whether a Web server is an end system, the sources explicitly state that servers
(e.g., Web and e-mail servers) are included in the Internet’s end systems. Furthermore,
these end systems, including Web servers, are also referred to as hosts because they host
(that is, run) application programs such as Web server programs. Source further
elaborates by noting that servers tend to be more powerful machines that store and
distribute Web pages. Therefore, a Web server is indeed an end system (and also a host).

What is the difference between viruses and worms?

Drawing on the information provided in the sources, the key difference between a virus and
a worm lies in their method of propagation. Both are types of malware.

• Viruses are defined as malware that require some form of user interaction to
infect the user’s device. The classic example provided is an e-mail attachment
containing malicious executable code; if a user receives and opens such an
attachment, they inadvertently run the malware on their device. Typically, e-mail
viruses are self-replicating once executed, meaning the virus may send an identical
message with the malicious attachment to contacts in the user's address book.

• Worms, on the other hand, are malware that can enter a device without any
explicit user interaction. An example given is a user running a vulnerable network
application. An attacker can send malware to this application, and in some cases,
without the user doing anything, the application may accept and run the malware,
thus creating a worm. Once a device is infected, the worm then scans the Internet,
searching for other hosts running the same vulnerable network application.
When it finds such hosts, it sends a copy of itself to them, allowing it to spread
without further user intervention.

In summary, viruses rely on a user's action (like opening a malicious file) to infect a
device, whereas worms can spread automatically by exploiting vulnerabilities in
network applications without requiring any user interaction.

List the available residential access technologies in your city?

• DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)

• Ethernet

• Wi-Fi (802.11 standards)

• HFC (Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial

Drawing on the information in the sources and our previous conversation, here are the
residential access technologies:
 • DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): This technology allows residences to connect to the
internet using existing telephone lines. A DSL modem at the home exchanges data
with a DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) in the telephone company's central office.
The existing phone line carries data and traditional phone signals simultaneously
using different frequency bands.

• Cable: Cable internet access uses the existing cable television infrastructure, often
a hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) system, to provide internet connectivity to homes. It
requires a cable modem at the residence, which connects to the cable modem
termination system (CMTS) at the cable head end.

• FTTH (Fibre to the Home): This access technology provides an optical fibre path
directly from the central office to the home. In a Passive Optical Network (PON)
architecture, common in FTTH deployments like Verizon's FIOS, a shared optical
fibre from the central office connects to a neighbourhood splitter, which then
provides dedicated optical fibre connections to individual Optical Network
Terminators (ONTs) at each home.

• Dial-Up: This is an older technology where a home modem connects over a

traditional phone line to a modem in the Internet Service Provider (ISP). It is
significantly slower than broadband options.

• Satellite: In areas where wired broadband options like DSL, cable, and FTTH are not
available (e.g., rural settings), a satellite link can provide internet access to a
residence.

These residential access technologies are ways that end systems located in homes
connect to the access network. The access network is the network that physically
connects an end system to the first router (edge router) on the path to the wider internet. As
mentioned previously, these end systems in a home context could include desktop
computers, laptops, smartphones, and other internet-enabled devices.

The difference between residential access technologies and access technologies in

general is that residential access technologies are specifically those used to connect
homes to the internet. Access technologies is a broader term that encompasses all the
different ways any end system (not just those in residences) can connect to the first router
on its path to the internet.

The sources illustrate this broader concept of access technologies by also mentioning:
 • Ethernet: This is a prevalent access technology used in enterprise and university
campuses, and increasingly in home settings, where end systems connect to an
Ethernet switch using twisted-pair copper wire.

• WiFi: This wireless LAN technology, based on IEEE 802.11 standards, allows devices
to connect wirelessly to an access point that is connected to a wired network (often
Ethernet), providing internet access within a limited range. While also used in
homes, its deployment extends to various other locations like universities, offices,
and public spaces.

• 3G and LTE (Long-Term Evolution): These are wide-area wireless access

technologies used by mobile devices like smartphones and potentially laptops with
cellular capabilities to connect to the internet through base stations operated by
cellular network providers. These provide connectivity over a much wider
geographical area than WiFi.

Therefore, while residential access technologies are focused on home internet

connectivity, the general term "access technologies" includes these and other methods
used in different environments (like businesses and on the move) to connect end systems
to the internet.