Task
Provide short answers to the following six questions. Your answers should be clear, concise and to the point. Prepare a single document (MS Word or PDF, NOT both) along with title page and submit it online using EASTS.
Question 1: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of star, bus, and mesh physical topologies. Provide real examples of each type. (5 marks)
Question 2: Explain why the OSI model is better than the TCP/IP model. Why hasn't it taken over from the TCP/IP model? (5 Marks)
Question 3: Calculate the approximate bit rate and signal level(s) for a 3.5 MHz bandwidth system with a signal to noise ratio of 133 (5 Marks)
Question 4: Compare IPv4 and IPv6 private addressing. Discuss address ranges and relative sizes. Why don't the same private addresses in different locations cause conflict on the Internet? (5 Marks)
Question 5: According to RFC1939, a POP3 session is one of the following states: closed, authorization, transaction or update. Draw a diagram to show these four states and how POP3 moves between them. (5 Marks)
Question 6: What is a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) and how is it used in P2P networks? Briefly explain how a DHT works with an example of a P2P network. (5 Marks)
Rationale
This assessment consists of six questions assessing a basic understanding of network & data communication models, next generation IP and application layer paradigm. This assessment covers the following learning objectives:
• define and explain various Internet technologies;
• describe and analyse the role and importance of Internet technologies in the modern world; and
• explain how different application layer services such as client-server and peer-to-peer paradigms work in the Internet.