BSIT 63 (Advanced Computer Networks)

CHAPTER-1 (Application Layer)

1. List the functions of application layer.?
Answer-
The functions of the application layer are:
It is responsible for facilitating interaction between many applications like WWW, EMAIL, T!,
an" #$%, an" ser&ers like mail ser&er an" T! ser&er'
It interfaces "irectly to an" performs common application ser&ices for the application processes( it
also issues re)uests to the presentation layer'
2. What is DNS?
Answer-
#$% is a name resolution ser&ice that resol&es host names to the I! a""resses' #$% has a hierarchical an"
"istribute" "atabase that contains mappings of host names with the correspon"ing I! a""resses'
3. Explain the working of DNS with an example.
Answer-
#$% is a name resolution ser&ice that resol&es host names to I! a""resses' A #$% ser&er resol&es host
names to I! a""resses for #$% )ueries sent by the #$% clients' These )ueries can be in the form of a name
resolution )uery or a resource recor"' The resol&er sen"s a *ser #atagram !rotocol +*#!, packet to the
local #$% ser&er' The #$% ser&er searches its table an" returns the I! a""ress, which matches the "omain
name' #$% has a hierarchical an" "istribute" "atabase that contains mappings of host names with the
correspon"ing I! a""resses'
-esource recor"s are store" in a specific portion of the #$% "atabase calle" the #$% .one' A #$% .one
contains resource recor"s along with the owner names'
or e/ample, an application program calls a proce"ure with its "omain name as parameter' The proce"ure
sen"s an *#! packet to the local #$% ser&er' The #$% ser&er searches its table an" returns the I! a""ress
which matches the #omain name' The program can now establish a T0! connection or sen" *#! packets'
4. What is iterative resolution? Give example.
Answer-
Iterati&e resolution refers to the name resolution techni)ue in which a ser&er sen"s back the information to a
client or sen"s the name of the ser&er that has the information' The client then iterates by sen"ing a re)uest
to this referre" ser&er' This ser&er may return the information itself or sen" the name of another ser&er' This
process continues till the time the client recei&es the re)uire" information'
5. What are the functions of the user agent in the Email architecture?
Answer-
In the e-mail architecture, the user agent helps users to interact with the e-mail systems' The functions of the
user agent in e-mail architecture are:
Composition: It refers to writing the mail' 1ere users type the message that they want to con&ey'
The users ha&e to mention the recipient2s e-mail a""ress'
Receiving: It refers to retrie&ing the e-mails from the !3!4 ser&er'
Replying to messages: It refers to replying to a recei&e" e-mail' To reply to the e-mail, the user has
to click reply, type the message, an" sen" it back'
Support manipulation of mail box: It refers to customi.ation of the mail bo/' 1ere users can create
fol"ers an" manage the mail accor"ing to the sen"er'
6. Discuss the sending and receiving process in Email?
Answer-
The prere)uisites for sen"ing an" recei&ing an e-mail are:
5oth the sen"er an" recipient shoul" ha&e an e-mail account'
The sen"er must pro&i"e the "estination a""ress an" write a message'
The following is the se)uence of the e-mail sen"ing process:
6' When the sen"er clicks send, the machine establishes a connection with the %MT! ser&er by using
port 78'
7' An %MT! configure" e-mail "aemon9process uses this port' This "aemon9process accepts incoming
connections an" sen"s the mails to its appropriate "omain' or e/ample if you sen" the mail from
yahoo'com to hotmail'com, the mail goes to the yahoo %MT! ser&er, an" then the %MT! ser&er
sen"s it to the !3!4 ser&er of hotmail'com'
4' If a message cannot be "eli&ere", an error report containing the first part of the un"eli&erable
message is returne" to the sen"er'
In the implementations of !3!4, the ser&er maintains a collection of te/t files, one for each e-mail
account' When a message arri&es, the !3!4 ser&er simply appen"s it to the bottom of the recipient:s file'
The following is the se)uence of the e-mail recei&ing process:-
6' The e-mail client connects to the !3!4 ser&er by using port 66;' The !3!4 ser&er re)uires an
account name an" a passwor"'
7' After pro&i"ing a &ali" username an" passwor", the user gets &erifie" by the !3!4 ser&er'
4' If the username an" passwor" are &ali", the !3!4 ser&er opens your te/t file an" allows you to
access it'
7. Write a brief note on SMTP?
Answer-
%MT! is a protocol that transfers mail reliably an" efficiently' %MT! is in"epen"ent of a particular
transmission subsystem an" nee"s only a reliable or"ere" "ata stream channel' An important feature of
%MT! is its capability to relay mail across transport ser&ice en&ironments'
8. Discuss the working of POP3 in an Email system? What are its limitations?
Answer-
When users check their e-mail, the e-mail client connects to the !3!4 ser&er by using port 66;' The !3!4
ser&er re)uires an account name an" a passwor"'
The !3!4 ser&er issues a series of comman"s to bring copies of user e-mail messages to user2s local
machine' <enerally, it will then "elete the messages from the ser&er +unless the user chooses the not to
option in the e-mail client,' 3nce the connection has been establishe", the !3!4 protocol goes through three
stages in se)uence:
6' Authori.ation
7' Transactions
4' *p"ate
The authori.ation state "eals with the user log in' The transaction state "eals with the user collecting e-mail
messages an" marking them for "eletion from the mailbo/' The up"ate state causes the e-mail messages to
be "elete"' #uring the authori.ation state, at times, when the ser&er is set for three passwor"s trials, if you
gi&e the wrong passwor" thrice, your mail bo/ will get locke"'
!3!4 ser&ers ha&e certain limitations such as :-
There is no fol"er structure for sorting e-mail messages that are sa&e" on the !3!4 ser&er' The
ser&er has only one fol"er for incoming mails, which is the inbo/'
$o rules can be set at the !3!4 ser&er' All rules are set at the client en" only' If a user2s machine
crashes, e-mail messages can only be reco&ere" if a copy of them is left on the ser&er'
To check e-mail, users ha&e to "ownloa" them first an" only then they can &iew their mails on the
e-mail client software' *ser cannot see mails first an" then "ownloa" the re)uire" mails' If there are
spam e-mail messages in the inbo/ that can be "angerous for the computer, these will also get
"ownloa"e" an" the user has to "elete them'
9. What is www?
Answer-
WWW is a hyperte/t-base" system that pro&i"es a uniform an" a user-frien"ly interface for accessing the
resources on the Internet' It is an information space in which the items of interest, referre" to as resources,
are i"entifie" by global i"entifiers calle" *niform -esource I"entifiers +*-I,'
10. Discuss the architecture of WWW?
Answer-
The architecture of WWW is two tiere"' It consists of the client an" the ser&er' The client +web browser,
re)uests for a web page' This page is retrie&e" from the ser&er' The architecture "epen"s on three key
stan"ar"s: 1TML for enco"ing "ocument content, *niform -esource Locator +*-L, for naming remote
information ob=ects in a global namespace, an" 1TT! for staging the transfer' The following figure shows
the two-tiere" architecture of WWW

-e)uest
0LIE$T ------------------ > %E-?E-
@--------------
-esponse
Two-Tier Architecture of WWW
If the web pages are interacting with the "atabase, then the architecture becomes three-tiere", as shown in
the following figure'
-e)uest
CLIENT ---------------> SERVER -----------------> DATA BASE
@--------------- @----------------
-esponse

three-Tier Architecture of WWW
11. Explain the client side and server side events when a user click on a URL?
Answer-
The client si"e e&ents when a user clicks on a *-L are as follows:
6' The browser locates the *-L'
7' The browser asks #$% for the I! a""ress'
4' #$% replies with the I! a""ress'
A' The browser makes the Transmission 0ontrol !rotocol +T0!, connection to !ort B; on the machine
with the abo&e I! a""ress'
8' The browser sen"s a re)uest for the specific file'
C' The ser&er sen"s the re)uire" file'
D' The T0! connection is close"'
B' The browser "isplays all te/t information'
E' The browser "isplays all images'
When a user clicks on a *-L, the ser&er si"e e&ents are as follows:
6' %er&er accepts a T0! connection from a client'
7' %er&er searches the file associate" with the web page'
4' ile from the "isk is retrie&e"'
A' The web page is returne" to the client'
8' T0! connection is release"'
12. Explain what is a server farm? Give an example.
Answer-
A ser&er farm is a group of networke" ser&ers that are house" in one location' A ser&er farm streamlines
internal processes by "istributing the workloa" between the in"i&i"ual components of the farm an"
e/pe"ites computing processes by harnessing the power of multiple ser&ers' The farms rely on loa"
balancing software that accomplishes the following tasks:
Tracking "eman" for processing power from "ifferent machines'
!rioriti.ing the tasks'
%che"uling an" resche"uling tasks "epen"ing upon priority an" "eman" that users put on the
network'
When one ser&er in the farm fails, another can step in as a backup'
0ombining ser&ers an" processing power into a single entity has been relati&ely common for many
years in research an" aca"emic institutions' To"ay, more an" more companies are utili.ing ser&er
farms as a way of han"ling the enormous amount of computeri.ation of tasks an" ser&ices that they
re)uire'
%er&er farm, or web farm, refers to either a web site that runs on more than one ser&er or an Internet
%er&ice !ro&i"er +I%!, that pro&i"es web hosting ser&ices by using multiple ser&ers'
%er&er compute farms are making their way into large manufacturing en&ironments for electronic
"esign automation, an" to accelerate processes an" complete tasks'
A ser&er farm accomplishes this by harnessing computing power from multiple machines an"
combining that power' E/ample of a ser&er farm inclu"es <oogle' <oogle2s ser&ices run on se&eral
ser&er farms
--------------------
CHAPTER-2 (Routing Protocols)
1. What is Routing? Discuss direct and indirect Routing?
Answer-
-outing is the process of mo&ing information across an internetwork from a source router to a "estination
router' -outing occurs at the thir" layer of the 3pen %ystem Interconnect +3%I, mo"el, known as the
network layer' -outing protocols use metrics to e&aluate what path will be the best for a packet to tra&el'
The "ifferences between "irect routing an" in"irect routing are as follows'
6' In "irect routing, packet "eli&ery occurs when the source an" "estination of the packet is locate" on
the same physical network or if the packet "eli&ery is between the last router an" the "estination
host A$# In in"irect routing, the packet goes from router to router until it reaches the router
connecte" to the same physical network as its final "estination'
7' In "irect routing, the a""ress mapping is between the I! a""ress of the final "estination an" the
physical a""ress of the final "estination A$# In an in"irect routing, the a""ress mapping is between
the I! a""ress of the ne/t router an" the physical a""ress of the ne/t router'
4' A packet "eli&ery always in&ol&es one "irect routing A$# A packet "eli&ery may or may not
in&ol&e in"irect routing'
2. Discuss different approaches used to make the routing table more efficient?
Answer-
There are many approaches to make a routing table efficient such as:
Next hop routing: In this techni)ue, the routing table hol"s only the a""ress of the ne/t hop instea"
of hol"ing information about the complete route' -outing tables are thereby consistent with each
other'
Network specific routing: In this techni)ue, routing tables are ma"e smaller so that the search
process becomes simpler' Instea" of ha&ing an entry for e&ery host connecte" to the same physical
network, we ha&e only one entry to "efine the a""ress of the network itself'
3. Name RIP`s various stability features.
Answer-
The stability features of -I! are:
Hop-count limit: This feature limits the number of hops allowe" in a path from source to
"estination' The ma/imum number of hops in a path is 68' If for some reasons the router recei&es a
routing up"ate that contains a new or change" entry, an" if increasing the metric &alue by 6 causes
the metric to be infinity +that is, 6C,, the network "estination is consi"ere" unreachable'
Hold-down timers: This feature is useful in pre&enting routing information from floo"ing the
network when network links are unstable'
Split horizons: This feature pre&ents routing loops within the network'
4. What is the purpose of the timeout timer?
Answer-
The purpose of the route timeout timer is to help purge in&ali" routes from a -I! no"e' -outes that are not
refreshe" for a gi&en perio" of time are likely to be in&ali" because of some change in the network' Thus,
-I! maintains a timeout timer for each known route' When a route:s timeout timer e/pires, the route is
marke" in&ali" but is retaine" in the table until the route-flush timer e/pires'
5. What two capabilities are supported by RIP 2 but not RIP?
Answer-
Two capabilities, which are supporte" by -I!7 but not by -I!6, are:
-I!6 cannot increase the network "iameter or "isseminate network bit masks nee"e" to properly
interpret routes' Therefore, using -I!6 is a poor choice for mo"ern networks' An up"ate" &ersion of
-I!6, known as -I!&7 +-I!7, can "o this' -I! ?ersion 7 +-I!&7, a""s a Fnetwork maskF an" Fne/t
hop a""ressF fiel" to the original -I! packet while remaining completely compatible with -I!' Thus
-I!&7 routers can coe/ist with -I! routers without any problems'
The other impro&ement that -I!&7 offers o&er -I!6 is authentication, which "efines the passwor"
authentication mechanism for -I!&7 routers to pre&ent acci"ental up"ates for wrongly configure"
hosts'
6. What is the maximum network diameter of a RIP network?
Answer-
The ma/imum network "iameter of a -I! network is 68 hops'
7. When using OSPF, can you have two areas attached to each other where only one AS has an
interface in Area 0?
Answer-
Ges, you can' This "escribes the use of a &irtual path' 3ne area has an interface in Area ; +legal,, an" the
other A% is brought up an" attache" off an A5- in Area 6, so you can call it Area 7' Area 7 has no interface
in Area ;, so it must ha&e a &irtual path to Area ; through Area 6' When this is in place, Area7 looks like it
is "irectly connecte" to Area ;' When Area 6 wants to sen" packets to Area 7, it must sen" them to Area ;,
which in turn re"irects them back through Area 6 by using the &irtual path to Area 7'
8. Area 0 contains five routers (A, B, C, D, and E), and Area 1 contains three routers (R, S, and T).
What routers does Router T know exists? Router S is the ABR.
Answer-
-outer T knows about routers - an" % only' Likewise, -outer % only knows about - an" T, as well as
routers to the A5- in Area ;' The A%2s separate the areas so that router up"ates contain only information
nee"e" for that A%'
9. Can IBGP be used in place of an IGP (RIP, IGRP, EIGRP, OSPF, or ISIS)?
Answer-
*se of I5<! in place of I<! is con"itional' The ne/t-hop information from E5<! is carrie" into I5<!' If
I5<! "oes not ha&e a route to reach the ne/t hop, then the route will be "iscar"e"' Typically, an I<! nee"s
to be use" to e/change routes to the ne/t hop, but this can be achie&e" by using static routes on all the
routers running I5<!' %o, the answer is yes if you want to use an" maintain static routes' 3therwise, you
can not use I5<! in place of I<!'
10. Assume that a BGP router is learning the same route from two different EBGP peers. The
AS_path information from peer 1 is 2345,86,51], and the AS_path information from peer 2 is
2346,51]. What BGP attributes could be adjusted to force the router to prefer the route advertised
by peer 1?
Answer-
Weight an" local preference are two 5<! attributes that make a"=ustments to force the router to prefer the
route a"&ertise" by peer 6' 5oth ha&e a higher preference than A%Hpath length'
11. Can BGP be used only by Internet service providers?
Answer-
$o' 5<! can also be use" to scale large enterprise networks' A large network can be "i&i"e" into segments,
with each segment running an I<!' -outing information between segments coul" then be e/change" by
using 5<!'
12. If a directly connected interface is redistributed into BGP, what value will the origin attribute
have for this route?
Answer-
Any re"istribute" route will ha&e an incomplete &alue of origin'
--------------------
CHAPTER-3 (Multimedia Networking)
1. What is multimedia? Give examples of multimedia data.
Answer-
Multime"ia "efines applications an" technologies that manipulate te/t, "ata, images, an" &oice an" full
motion &i"eo ob=ects' 0lassic e/ample of multime"ia is the games a&ailable on 0#s or songs an" music
a&ailable on sites'
2. What is an audio? What is a video?
Answer-
Audio: It "eals with only &oice' or e/ample, a song or a lecture on any uni&ersity site'
Video: It has got both &oice an" li&e image, such as a mo&ie, a song, or a clipping of a lecture'
3. What is streaming?
Answer-
%treaming is the process of recei&ing store" au"io9&i"eo application from a ser&er where they are place"' A
client begins to play either an au"io or a &i"eo once the me"ia player of the client2s !0 begins recei&ing the
au"io or &i"eo file from the ser&er' #uring the process, the client will be playing au"io9&i"eo from one
location in the file while it is recei&ing the remaining parts of the file from the ser&er' In other wor"s,
streaming a&oi"s long "ownloa" times an" the nee" to store the entire file on the user:s computer'
4. List the drawbacks of the current internet to drive the multimedia data?
Answer-
The Internet has some "rawbacks with regar" to multime"ia "ata' or e/ample, the me"ia player "oes not
communicate with the streaming ser&er "irectly' This "elay, before play-out begins, is typically
unacceptable for au"io9&i"eo clips of mo"erate length' or this reason, au"io9&i"eo streaming
implementations typically ha&e the ser&er sen" the au"io9&i"eo file "irectly to the me"ia player process' In
other wor"s, a "irect socket connection is ma"e betwen the ser&er process an" the me"ia player process'
5. How the existing internet can be made to port multimedia data?
Answer-
or making the e/isting Internet portable to multime"ia "ata, the following mo"ifications nee" to be "one:
6' A protocol is re)uire" that reser&es ban"wi"th on behalf of the streaming ser&er applications'
7' The sche"uling policies in the router )ueues shoul" be mo"ifie" so that the ban"wi"th reser&ations
can be "one' With the new sche"uling policies, not all packets get e)ual treatment, instea" the
packets from the multime"ia pro&i"er sites that reser&e an" pay more, get more ban"wi"th'
4' The applications must gi&e the network a "escription of the traffic that they inten" to sen" to the
network'
A' The ban"wi"th an" switching capacity shoul" be enhance" to pro&i"e satisfactory "elay an" packet
loss performance within the network'
8' 0aches must be installe" in the networks' 0aches bring store" content +web pages as well as store"
au"io an" &i"eo, closer to users, thereby re"ucing the traffic in the higher-tier I%!s'
C' 0ontent pro&i"ers that pay for a 0ontent #istribution $etworks +0#$, ser&ice shoul" "eli&er
content faster an" more effecti&ely'
D' Multicast o&erlay networks can be "eploye"' A multicast o&erlay network consists of ser&ers
scattere" throughout the I%! network an" potentially throughout the entire Internet' %er&ers an" the
logical links between ser&ers collecti&ely form an o&erlay network, which multicasts traffic from a
source to millions of users'
6. Explain the Why Audio and Video need to be compressed?
Answer-
0ompression is re)uire" to re"uce the si.e of au"io an" &i"eo so that they can be easily transmitte" o&er the
Internet' or e/ample, a single image consisting of 6;7A pi/el I 6;7A pi/els, with each pi/el enco"e" into
7A bits re)uires 4 M5 of storage without compression' There are eight bits, three each for the colors re",
green, an" blue' It woul" take appro/imately se&en minutes to sen" the image o&er a CA kbps link' If the
image is compresse" at a mo"est 6;:6 compression ratio, the storage re)uirement is re"uce" to 4;; Jbytes
an" the transmission time also "rops by a factor of 6;'
7. Explain audio streaming process?
Answer-
Au"io streaming is the transfer of au"io-enco"e" packets that are "eco"e" an" sent to the client2s soun"car"
upon reception' The host si"e is responsible for enco"ing an" packeti.ing the au"io stream' The client si"e
is responsible for "eco"ing the packets an" sen"ing the "eco"e" au"io to the soun" car"' There are "elays
inherent in the o&erall system' These "elays are contribute" by the enco"e9"eco"e "elay, transfer "elay,
buffer "elay, mo"em "elay, soun" car" "elay, an" other "elays' As long as the "elays are kept constant, then
the au"io will be "eli&ere" uninterrupte"'
8. What is a streaming server?
Answer-
%treaming ser&ers are meant for the au"io9&i"eo streaming applications' *pon client re)uest, a ser&er "irects
an au"io or a &i"eo file to the client by sen"ing the file into a socket' 5oth the T0! an" *#! socket
connections are use"' 5efore sen"ing the au"io9&i"eo file to a network, the file is segmente", an" the
segments are typically encapsulate" with special hea"ers appropriate for au"io an" &i"eo traffic' %treaming
ser&ers sen" "igital &i"eo for news, entertainment, or e"ucational content o&er the Internet by using
-T!9-T%!' A multime"ia file gets uploa"e" on the ser&er an" streaming ser&ers enco"es content in the
latest me"ia formats inclu"ing M!E<- A +Mo&ing !icture E/pert <roup, an" the AA0 +A"&ance" Au"io
0o"er, au"io'
9. What are the limitations of the best effort service? Explain.
Answer-
Limitations of the best effort ser&ice are:
Packet loss: As a I! "atagram crosses through a network o&er *#!, it passes through buffers in the
routers in or"er to access outboun" links' It is possible that one or more of the buffers in the route
from sen"er to recei&er is full an" cannot a"mit the "atagram' In this case, the I! "atagram is
"iscar"e", ne&er to arri&e at the recei&ing application' Loss coul" be eliminate" by sen"ing the
packets o&er T0! rather than o&er *#!'
Excessive end-to-end delay: En"-to-en" "elay is the accumulation of transmission, processing, an"
)ueuing "elays in routers, propagation "elays in the links, an" en"-system processing "elays'
Packet jitter: A crucial component of en"-to-en" "elay is the ran"om )ueuing "elays in the routers'
5ecause of these &arying "elays within the network, the time from when a packet is generate" at the
source until it is recei&e" at the recei&er can fluctuate from packet to packet' This phenomenon is
calle" =itter'
10. Discuss the features of Real Time Protocol?
Answer-
The features of -eal Time !rotocol +-T!, are:
6' -T! pro&i"es en"-to-en" "eli&ery ser&ices for "ata with real-time characteristics such as interacti&e
au"io an" &i"eo' 1owe&er, -T! itself "oes not pro&i"e any mechanism to ensure timely "eli&ery' It
nee"s support from the lower layers of 3%I mo"el that actually ha&e control o&er resources in
switches an" routers' -T! "epen"s on -esource -eser&ation !rotocol +-%?!, to reser&e resources
an" to pro&i"e the re)ueste" )uality of ser&ice'
7' -T! pro&i"es timestamps, se)uence numbers as hooks for a""ing reliability, flow, an" congestion
control for packet "eli&ery, but implementation is totally left to the application'
4' -T! is a protocol framework that is "eliberately not complete' It is open to new payloa" formats an"
new multime"ia software' 5y a""ing new profile an" payloa" format specifications, one can tailor
-T! to new "ata formats an" new applications'
A' The flow an" congestion control information of -T! is pro&i"e" by -eal-Time 0ontrol !rotocol
+-T0!, sen"er an" recei&er reports'
8' -T!9-T0! pro&i"es functionality an" control mechanisms necessary for carrying real-time content'
5ut -T!9-T0! itself is not responsible for the higher-le&el tasks like assembly an" synchroni.ation'
These ha&e to be "one at the application le&el'
11. Explain how does the helper application get the data from a streaming server?
Answer-
<etting "ata from streaming ser&er to helper application like the me"ia player re)uires at least two ser&ers
where "ata is place"' 3ne ser&er is the 1TT! ser&er, an" the secon" ser&er is the streaming ser&er' or
e/ample, when a user &isits any songs9news web site, the web browser communicates with the web ser&er
where the user chooses the file that has music or news' The moment the user clicks any me"ia file( me"ia
player re)uests for the me"ia file to the streaming ser&er an" user recei&es the me"ia file on the me"ia
player'
12. Explain RTSP?
Answer-
-T%! is a protocol that enables a me"ia player to control the transmission of a me"ia stream' -T%!
messages use the port number 8AA from the me"ia stream' The -T%! specification, -0 747C, permits
-T%! messages to be sent o&er T0! or *#!' -T%! ser&er keeps a track of the state of the client for each
ongoing -T%! session' or e/ample, the ser&er keeps track of whether the client is in an initiali.ation state,
a play state, or a pause state' The session an" se)uence numbers, which are part of each -T%! re)uest an"
response, help the ser&er to keep track of the session state' The session number is fi/e" throughout the entire
session( the client increments the se)uence number each time it sen"s a new message( the ser&er echoes
back the session number, an" the current se)uence number'
--------------------
CHAPTER-4 (Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN))
1. What are WLANs?
Answer-
WLA$ is a network that uses high-fre)uency ra"io wa&es rather than wires to communicate between no"es'
WLA$ technologies enable users to establish wireless connections within a local area such as within a
corporate or campus buil"ing, or in a public space like airport' IEEE appro&e" the B;7'66 stan"ar" for
WLA$s, which specifies a "ata transfer rate of 6-7 Mbps'
2. What is modulation?
Answer-
Mo"ulation is the a""ition of information or the signal to an electronic or optical signal carrier' There are
se&eral reasons to mo"ulate a signal before transmitting signal in a me"ium' This inclu"es the ability of
&arious users sharing a me"ium an" making the signal properties physically compatible with the
propagation me"ium'
3. What is a carrier signal?
Answer-
A carrier signal is a specific fre)uency in an analog communication channel that is mo"ulate" with an
information-carrying signal' 0arrier signals are commonly use" in Amplitu"e Mo"ulation +AM,, re)uency
Mo"ulation +M,, an" other ra"io transmissions to "ifferentiate among channels' Gou turn a ra"io "ial to
select a carrier fre)uency' The ra"io then amplifies the signal carrie" on the selecte" fre)uency' In AM,
mo"ulation changes the strength or amplitu"e of the carrier signal' In M, the fre)uency of the carrier signal
is mo"ulate"'
4. Define SNR?
Answer-
%$- stan"s for %ignal-to-$oise -atio' It is the ratio between the typical signal le&el an" the softest signal
that can be pro"uce" accurately'
5. What is BW?
Answer-
5W stan"s for ban"wi"th, which is the range within a ban" of fre)uencies or wa&elengths' 5W can also be
"efine" as the amount of "ata that can be transmitte" in a fi/e" amount of time' or "igital "e&ices,
ban"wi"th is usually e/presse" in bits per secon" or bytes per secon" +bps,' or analog "e&ices, ban"wi"th
is e/presse" in cycles per secon" or 1ert. +1.,'
6. Compare 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and blue tooth.
Answer-
Feature -- 802.11a -- 802.11b -- 802.11g -- Bluetooth
Data rate -- 54-72Mbps-- 11Mbps 54Mbps-- 721Kbps--56 Kbps
Frequency --5Ghz -- 2.4Ghz-- 2.4Ghz-- 2.4Ghz
Modulation-- OFDM-- DSSS/CCK -- DSSS/PBCC-- FHSS
Channels -- 12/8 -- 11/3 -- 11/3-- 79 ( 1Mhz wide)
Bandwidth Available--300--83.5-- 83.5(22MHz per channel)--83.5
Power -- 40-800mW -- 100mW -- 100mW -- 100mW
7. List out the advantages and disadvantages of WLAN?
Answer-
The a"&antages of WLA$ are:
Flexibility: Within ra"io co&erage, no"es can communicate without further restriction' -a"io wa&es
can penetrate walls, an" sen"ers an" recei&ers can be place" anywhere'
Easy to use: The wireless networks are easy to set-up an" use' Kust plug-in a base station an" e)uip
your laptops with WLA$ car"s'
Robustness: Wireless networks can sur&i&e "isasters' $etworks re)uiring a wire" infrastructure will
break "own completely some time' If one base station goes "own, users may be able to physically
mo&e their !0s to be in range of another'
The "isa"&antages of WLA$ are:
Quality of Service (QoS): WLA$s typically offer lower )uality than wire" networks' The main
reasons for offering low )uality are lower ban"wi"th "ue to limitations in ra"io transmission, higher
error rates "ue to interference +6;-A instea" of 6;-6; for fiber optics,, an" higher "elay9"elay
&ariation'
Vulnerable to interference: If a powerful transmitter operating in the same ban" as the wireless
network is nearby, the wireless network coul" be ren"ere" completely useless'
Speed: #ata spee"s "rop as the user mo&es further away from the access point'
Operation within limited distance: #e&ices will only operate at a limite" "istance from an access
point' 3bstacles between the access point an" the user such as walls, glass, water, trees an" lea&es
can also "etermine the "istance of operation'
Safety and security: *sing ra"io wa&es for "ata transmission might interfere with other high-tech
e)uipment' A""itionally, the open ra"io interface makes ea&es"ropping much easier in WLA$s than
in the case of fiber optics'
8. Compare Infrared and Radio transmission?
Answer-
Comparision of Infrared and Radio transmission
6' Infrare" transmission cannot penetrate walls or other obstacles A$# -a"io transmission can co&er
larger areas an" can penetrate walls, furniture, plants, an" so on'
7' Infrare" is or goo" transmission )uality an" high "ata rates, typically a L3% is nee"e" between the
sen"er an" the recei&er' A$# -a"io transmission "oes not typically nee" a "irect line of sight +L3%,
to e/ist between the recei&er an" the sen"er if the fre)uencies are not too high'
4' Infrare" transmission offers lower transmission rates' The pro"ucts using the latest &ersion of
Infrare" #ata Association interface support "ata transfer rates up to A Mbps A$# -a"io
transmission offers &ery high "ata transfer rates than Infrare"' 0urrent ra"io-base" pro"ucts offer
transmission rates up to 6; Mbps'
A' In this case, shiel"ing is &ery simple' Therefore, electrical "e&ices "o not interfere with infrare"
transmission A$# In this case, shiel"ing is not so simple' Therefore, ra"io transmission can interfere
with other sen"ers an" electrical "e&ices can "estroy "ata transmission &ia ra"io'
8' $o licenses are re)uire" for infrare" technology 5*T -a"io transmission is only permitte" in certain
fre)uency ban"s' ?ery limite" ranges of license-free ban"s are a&ailable worl"wi"e, an" those
a&ailable are typically not the same in all countries'
C' Infrare" technology is normally use" for "e&ices like !#As, laptops, notebooks, mobile phones, an"
so on A$# -a"io transmission is use" for wi"e area networks +WA$, such as microwa&e links an"
mobile cellular phones'
D' In Infrare" 3nly IEEE B;7'66 makes use of this type of transmission A$# In -a"io transmission
WLA$ technologies such as IEEE B;7'66, 1I!E-LA$, an" 5luetooth make use of this type of
transmission'
9. Discuss the architecture of WLAN?
Answer-
WLA$ architecture consists of three components:
6' Wireless en" stations
7' Access points
4' 5asic ser&ice sets +5%%,
The wireless en" station can be any "e&ice that can communicate using the B;7'66 stan"ar"' These "e&ices
inclu"e laptops, workstations, an" !#As, as well as printers an" scanners'
The access point +A!, is a "e&ice' It acts as a network platform for connections between WLA$s or to a
wire" LA$ an" as a relay between stations attache" to the same A!'
5%% is the logical component of wireless architecture' In general, it is a set of wireless stations controlle" by
a single management function an" has two configuration options that is, Infrastructure 5%% +I5%%, an"
E/ten"e" %er&ice %et +E%%,'
In an I5%%, the stations communicate "irectly to one another without the nee" for an access point' An E%%
is a set of infrastructure 5%%s that appear as a single 5%%' This is important for connection re"un"ancy but
has some security issues that nee" to be a""resse"'
10. Briefly explain the WLAN protocol architecture?
Answer-
In a typical WLA$ setup, the IEEE B;7'66 stan"ar" WLA$ +Access !oint, gets connecte" to an IEEE
B;7'4 stan"ar" Ethernet +%witch91*5, &ia a bri"ge' The higher layers +application, T0!, I!, look the same
for the wireless no"e as for the wire" no"e' The IEEE B;7'66 stan"ar" only co&ers the physical layer +!1G,
an" me"ium access layer +MA0, like the other B;7'/ LA$s "o' The physical layer is sub "i&i"e" into the
!hysical Layer 0on&ergence !rotocol +!L0!, an" the !hysical Me"ium #epen"ent %ub Layer' The basic
tasks of the MA0 layer comprise me"ium access, fragmentation of user "ata, an" encryption' The !L0!
sublayer pro&i"es a carrier sense signal calle" 0lear 0hannel Assessment +00A,, an" pro&i"es a common
!1G interface for the MA0, which is in"epen"ent of the transmission technology'
11. Write a note on DSSS?
Answer-
#irect %e)uence %prea" %pectrum +#%%%, is the alternati&e sprea" spectrum metho", in which the signal is
sprea" o&er a wi"e range of fre)uencies using a chipping co"e' In the case of IEEE B;7'66 #%%%, sprea"ing
is achie&e" by using the 66-chip se)uence +L6,-6,L6,L6,-6,L6,L6,L6,-6,-6,-6,, which is also calle" the
5arker co"e'
12. Discuss MAC layer of WLAN.
Answer-
MA0 layer controls me"ium access, an" also offers support for roaming, authentication, an" power
conser&ation' The ser&ices offere" by MA0 are man"atory asynchronous "ata ser&ice an" an optional time-
boun"e" ser&ice'
--------------------
CHAPTER-5 (Crytography and Network Security)
1. What is cryptography?
Answer-
0ryptography is the science of using mathematics to encrypt an" "ecrypt "ata' 0ryptography enables us to
store or transmit sensiti&e information across insecure networks +like the Internet, so that unauthori.e" users
e/cept the inten"e" recipient cannot rea" it'
2. Explain cryptographic algorithms.
Answer- A cryptographic algorithm, also referre" to as cipher, is a mathematical function use" in the
encryption an" "ecryption process' A cryptographic algorithm works in combination with a key' The key
may be a wor", number, or phrase use" to encrypt the plain te/t, also calle" a message' The plain te/t
encrypts to cipher te/t with "ifferent keys' The security of encrypte" "ata is entirely "epen"ent on the
strength of the cryptographic algorithm an" the secrecy of the key'
3. Explain different types of attacks.
Answer-
Attacks are of two types' The types are:
1.Passive attack: In this attack, the goal of the unauthori.e" user is to obtain information that is being
transmitte"' !assi&e attacks ha&e two subtypes, release of message contents an" traffic analysis'
The release of message contents inclu"es con&ersation o&er the phone or through email or
transferring a file from one place to another, which might contain sensiti&e information'
The traffic analysis is more "elicate' %uppose that we ha" a way of masking the contents of
messages or other information traffic so that unauthori.e" users coul" not e/tract the information
from the message' The common techni)ue for masking contents is encryption' If we ha" encryption
protection in place, an opponent might still be able to obser&e the pattern of these messages' The
opponent coul" "etermine the location an" i"entity of communication hosts, an" coul" obser&e the
fre)uency an" length of messages being e/change"' This information might be useful in guessing the
nature of the communication that was taking place'
!assi&e attacks are &ery "ifficult to "etect because they "o not in&ol&e any alteration of the "ata' The
emphasis in "ealing with passi&e attacks is to pre&ent the attack rather than to "etect it'
2.Active attacks: These attacks in&ol&e some mo"ification of the "ata stream or the creation of a false
stream' These attacks are "i&i"e" into four categories such as mas)uera"e, replay, mo"ification of
messages, an" "enial of ser&ice +#o%,'
Masquerade: It takes place when an entity preten"s to be "ifferent than the other entity' This
inclu"es one of the other forms of an acti&e attack, which is mo"ification of messages or "enial of
ser&ice'
Replay: It in&ol&es the passi&e capture of a "ata unit an" its subse)uent retransmission to pro"uce an
unauthori.e" effect'
Modification of messages: It implies that some portion of the message is altere" or messages are
"elaye" or reor"ere" to pro"uce an unauthori.e" effect'
DoS: It pre&ents or inhibits the normal use or the management of communications facilities' This
type of attack has a specific target' or e/ample, an entity may suppress all messages "irecte" to a
particular "estination' Another form of #o% is the "isruption of an entire network, either by "isabling
the network or by o&erloa"ing it with messages to "egra"e the performance of the network'
Acti&e attacks posses opposite characteristics than that of passi&e attacks' Acti&e attacks are "ifficult to
pre&ent because physical protection of all communications facilities an" paths at all times is re)uire"'
Instea", the goal is to "etect acti&e attacks an" to restore the network from any "isruption or "elays cause"
by them'
4. Explain briefly on security mechanisms.
Answer-
Mechanisms that ensure security of an organi.ation are known as security mechanisms' Encryption or
encryption like transformations of information is the most common means of pro&i"ing security'
There are certain common information integrity functions to secure network9"ata like i"entification,
&ali"ation, authori.ation, time of occurrence, signature, authenticity, concurrence, ownership, receipts,
registration, en"orsement, pri&acy, access, an" en"orsement'
5. Explain conventional encryption model?
Answer-
5efore the "e&elopment of public key encryption, the con&entional encryption +single-key encryption, was
a&ailable to secure the networks'
There are two types of encryption, classical encryption an" mo"ern encryption techni)ues' These are key
base" algorithms known as symmetric an" public key algorithms'
In con&entional algorithms, the encryption key can be calculate" from the "ecryption key' Alternati&ely, the
"ecryption key can be calculate" from the encryption key' In these algorithms, the encryption key an" the
"ecryption key are same' These algorithms are also calle" secret key algorithms, or the one key algorithm'
In this encryption techni)ue, the sen"er an" recei&er agree to use a key before they communicate securely'
The security of the symmetric algorithm rests in the key' The key allows users to encrypt an" "ecrypt
messages by using any encryption an" "ecryption algorithms'
6. What is STEGANOGRAPHY?
Answer-
%teganography is a techni)ue that is use" to hi"e the secret message in other messages'
A few e/amples of steganography are:-
Character marking: %electe" letters of printe" or type written te/t are o&erwritten in pencil' The
marks are or"inarily not &isible unless the paper on which te/t is printe" or type written is hel" at an
angle to bright light'
Invisible ink: A number of substances can be use" for writing but the ink lea&es no &isible trace
until heat or a specific chemical is applie" to the paper'
Pin punctures: %mall pin punctures on selecte" letters are or"inarily not &isible unless the paper is
hel" up in front of a light'
Typewriter correction ribbon: This is a black ribbon use" between type" lines type"' The results
of typing with the correction tape are &isible only in goo" light'
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-:...Best Of Luck...:-