| What are the two network toplogies? | Star and bus |
| What is a computer not connected to any other computing device called? | Standalone |
| Define a LAN | two or more computers connected together within a small geographical area |
| What is the definition of a network topology | A network topology is the arrangement of the various computing devices which make up a computer network |
| Give the 5 defining factors of a bus topology | All nodes are connected to a single backbone cable
Each end of the backbone is connected to either a terminator or a computer which stops signals ‘bouncing back’
Each node is passive
Data is sent in one direction at a time only
Only one computer can transmit successfully at any one time |
| What are the advantages of a bus topology? | Cheap to set up
Easy to set up
Devices can easily be added
Good for small networks |
| What are the disadvantages of a bus topology? | Main cable is a point of failure
Only one device can send a signal at time
Limited cable length
Performance degrades with heavy use, owing to data “collisions”
Poor security |
| Whta are the fundamentals to a star toplogy | Computers are connected to a central node |
| Explain what the difference between a hub and a switch is | A switch sends each communication to the specific computer it is intended for wheras a hub broadcasts the message to every computer on the LAN |
| What is a MAC adress | Hardcoded adress given to a networked device |
| What are the advantages of a star network | Easy to isolate problems
Good performance
More secure if a switch is used as data is sent only to the recipient |
| What are the disadvatages of a star network | Can be expensive to set up because of the length of cable required
Central device is point of failure |
| What does a physical topology define? | The physical topology of a network defines how the devices are physically connected |
| What does the logical toplology define | The logical topology defines how the devices communicate across the physical topologies
In other words how the data is transmitted |
| Explain the operation of a star network | • Each device has its own cable connected to a hub or switch |
| Explain the operation of a bus network | Each device is connected to the main cable |
| Describe some tasks that the transport layer performs | Provides reliability of transmission // check transmission successful;
Error detection and correction // error handling
A either detection or correction;
Acknowledgement of received packets;
Retransmission of packets if necessary;
Flow control / congestion avoidance / congestion
management;
Packet sequencing;
Adding TCP headers;
Pass data to correct process in application layer;
Allocates port numbers;
Dividing data into packets / reassembles data from packets; NE “chunks”, transports packets
Connection establishment / maintenance;
Creation of virtual circuits // creating an end-to-end connection |
