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Computer Networks Question Paper
Computer Networks
Course:Bachelor Of Science In Information Technology
Institution: Kca University question papers
Exam Year:2011
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2010/2011
FIRST YEAR STAGE EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR
OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 1305: COMPUTER NETWORKS
DATE: APRIL 2011 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer question ONE and any other TWO questions
QUESTION ONE
a) Courses delivered using network or Internet resources are often called online learning experiences,
or e-learning. The availability of e-learning courseware has multiplied the resources available to
students many times over. Discuss the benefits of the e-learning courseware. (6 Marks)
b) What are unicast, broadcast and multicast transmissions? (3 Marks)
c) (i) How does the NIC of a receiving PC use the destination MAC address? (3 Marks)
(ii) How long is a MAC address and how is it written? (2 Marks)
d) What are the two varieties of cut-through switching, and how do they work? (5 Marks)
e) Answer the following questions regarding an Ethernet frame:
(i) In an Ethernet frame, which field comes immediately after the start frame delimiter, and
how long is this field? (2 Marks)
(ii) What is the purpose of the Length/Type field? (2 Marks)
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(iii) How long is the data field, and why is a pad sometimes needed? (3 Marks)
f) State any four duties of a network manager . (4 Marks)
QUESTION TWO
a) The most common packet-switching technologies used in today''s enterprise WAN networks
include Frame Relay, ATM, and legacy X.25. Describe how ATM works (7 Marks)
b) Define the following terms as used in computer networks:
(i) Computer Network (1 Mark)
(ii) Attenuation (1 Mark)
(iii) Transmission Medium (1 Mark)
(iv) Cross-talk (1 Mark)
(v) Protocol (1 Mark)
c) Briefly discuss the characteristics of a good data communication system. (3 Marks)
d) List five (5) factors that could be used to compare different data encoding schemes.
(5 Marks)
QUESTION THREE
a) How does a switch build its MAC address table? (3 Marks)
b)
i) What does a switch do if a frame arrives and the destination MAC address is not in its
MAC address table? (1 Mark)
ii) What does a switch do with a broadcast frame? (1 Mark)
iii) You replace a hub with a layer 2 switch. How does this affect collision domains?
(2 Marks)
iv) You replace a hub with a layer 2 switch. How does this affect broadcast domains?
(1 Mark)
c) Why can switch based latency be a problem if cheap switches are used on a busy network?
(3 Marks)
d) i) Why do routers typically add more latency than switches? (3 Marks)
ii)Why does a router split a network into separate broadcast domains? (1 Mark)
e) How is shared memory buffering better than port-based memory buffering? (5 Marks)
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QUESTION FOUR
a) Explain five factors to consider when choosing a network operating system (5 Marks)
b) The WAN access physical layer describes the physical connection between the company network
and the service provider network. Describe the following as commonly used to describe physical
WAN connections:
(i) Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) (2 Marks)
(ii) Data Communications Equipment (DCE) (2 Marks)
(iii) Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) (2 Marks)
(iv) Central Office (CO) (2 Marks)
c) Discuss the internal factors that affect network communication. (4 Marks)
d) Define the following terms:
(i) Network Administration (1 Mark)
(ii) MAC Address (1 Mark)
(iii) Noise (1 Mark)
QUESTION FIVE
a) Explain how TCP uses windows to provide flow control. (5 Marks)
b) Your organization is migrating to a private IP addressing scheme defined via RFC b1918.
i) Discuss the use of private IP addresses. (4 Marks)
ii) Which three address ranges are used for internal private address blocks as defined by
RFC 1918? (3 Marks)
c) List four (4) functions that are performed by a Network Interface Card (NIC). (4 Marks)
d) Briefly discuss any four (4) reasons/advantages associated with digital communication as
compared to analogue communication. (4 Marks)
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