ITECH1102 Assignment: Content Analysis And Problem Sheet EPortfolio

Timelines and Expectations

This assignment has three major aims:

• To help students gain a good understanding of all ITECH1102 theoretical and practical material.
• To encourage students to use content analysis summaries to prepare for tests, examinations and to help their understanding of theoretical concepts.
• To encourage students to conduct an independent investigation into networking related topics from books, the Internet and through practical investigation. 

Engagement with this assignment should help students to prepare for the laboratory test (10%) in week 7, the theory test (0%) in week 8 and the end of semester examination (60%).

Timelines and Expectations 

Students are required to analyse the weekly lecture material of topics 1 to 8, based on the classification given in (a) and create concise content analysis summaries of the theoretical concepts contained in the course lecture slides. The content analysis for each topic should not exceed approximately four (4) A4 sides of the paper if those topics content were printed. 

In addition, students need to complete the selected questions from the problem sheet associated with each week from 1 to 8, based on the classification given in (b). The selected questions from the problem sheet are given in Appendix A.  

• Each student is required to submit the content from three topics. The specific topics depend on your surname:

    Surnames starting with A - G     Topics 4, 6 & 8

    Surnames starting with H - Z     Topics 3, 5 & 7 

• Each student is required to submit the solution to the questions (see Appendix A) from the problem sheet from three topics. The specific topics depend on your surname:

    Surnames starting with A - G     Topics 3, 5 & 7

    Surnames starting with H - Z     Topics 4, 6 & 8 

Where the lab content or information contained in technical articles from the Internet or books helps to fully describe the lecture slide content, discussion of such theoretical articles or discussion of the lab material should be included in the content analysis ePortfolio.

Suggestions as to possible inclusions in your content analysis ePortfolio will appear in weekly Work Plan documents on Moodle.

The ultimate aim of this assessment task is to help ITECH1102 students to fully comprehend the course material and hence help them to pass tests and the examination.

Mahara ePortfolio 

Students are required to create their content analysis and problem sheet documentation as an ePortfolio in Mahara. 

Each week’s topic should be on a separate ePortfolio page in order to separate the content into logical sections. 

For Instance, if your surname starts with B, then your ePortfolio pages will be as follows: 

1. ePortfolio problem sheet page for Topic 3
2. ePortfolio content analysis page for Topic 4
3. ePortfolio problem sheet page for Topic 5
4. ePortfolio content analysis page for Topic 6
5. ePortfolio problem sheet page for Topic 7
6. ePortfolio content analysis page for Topic 8

By the end of week 10 (due date) all students should submit their content analysis and problem sheet ePortfolio pages through Moodle for marking.

All the steps required to create and submit the ePortfolio pages can be found at the following link:  

More guidelines on the use of Mahara ePortfolios is available in the Resources section of the ITECH1102 Moodle site.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:

• Describe and explain the role and function of network connectivity in current computing.
• Describe and explain the principles of communication in networks.
• Describe the role and functionality of hardware and software entities that contribute to the network
   communications.
• Describe and explain the protocols and interactions that implement network communications.
• Describe fundamental aspects of cloud computing.
• Apply networking architecture knowledge to analyze the networking needs of business.

Assessment Details

All work submitted must be authored by the student submitting the work or where material from other sources is included it must be referenced using APA referencing. 

Students found to have plagiarised will be dealt with according to university regulations.

Submission

Students are required to submit their ePortfolio to Moodle by 5:00 pm on Friday 18^th May 2018.

Marking Guidelines

	Content precisely presented based on references for Content Analysis topics.	25 Marks
	Presentation (Layout, no grammatical errors and reads well etc.) for Content Analysis topics.	10 Marks
	Cited References in Content Analysis topics.	5 Marks
Total marks for each Content Analysis ePortfolio Page		40 Marks
Total marks for each Problem sheet ePortfolio Page with correction solution for each question. (Please note: All questions in Appendix A carries equal marks)		10 Marks

 In this assignment, each student will have to do three content analysis pages and three problem sheet pages. Based on this, the total marks for this assignment is 150 (= 40 x 3 + 10 x 3) and 15% Weighting for the course.

The marks will be available in Moodle and in FDLMarks by the end of week 12 of the semester.

Applications uses network to interact with thousands of services and devices on the internet. The following are the examples of services which applications interact over the internet.

• Facebook
• File Transfer Protocol
• Google services such as maps, search engine etc.

Application layer at the local level enable the following local user applications include:

• Ability for applications to interact with printers.
• Enable faxes to access network
• Enable to access network storages
• Enable users to access shared network resources in the network

Sneaker Net. This involves an approach that’s users shared data by transporting from source to the destination using floppy disk. This happens if the source and destination of computers does not have network which will enable them to share directly.

Categories of Application Interactions

Client Server Architecture

This type of architecture have one or more clients consuming resources. The server is dedicated to produce resources that are being consumed by the client. The host that is server host and manages the resources for the client(s).

Example of Client Server Application include:

• Email Client
• FTP Client
• Web Client

Role of Server in this Architecture

• Respond to client requests
• Authenticate clients requesting for resources

Peer to Peer Architectures

In this model a machine a machine in a network can act as a server and client at the same time. All the peers’ machine in the network can share shared resources hosting by another peer. Therefore does not requires a dedicated server in the network. The server roles can be shared among peers in the network.

Advantages of Peer and Peer Network and Client Server Architectures

• Peer to Peer network work well in small network
• Administrative roles are distributed among peers
• Client Server work well in complex network that requires central resources management
• Client Server offer the control of resource for each machine in the network hence role distinctions

Disadvantages of Peer to Peer and Client Server Architectures

• Peer to Peer Architecture does not work in complex network where resources are centralized
• Client Server requires a dedicated network therefore if network fails the client will suffer from getting resources from the host.

Host Based Architectures

This involves mainframe computers which are powerful and have attached dummy terminals for inputting jobs and outputting. The mainframe will process jobs instructed to do through terminals for example Citrix server.

Cloud Based Architectures

This involves cloud operators giving resources such as platforms, applications, operating system and network services to the organization which consumes by using their infrastructure. The resources consumed by the organization will be charged. The following are the examples of cloud providers include:

• Microsoft Azure
• Google
• Amazon AWS

Infrastructure as a service

This involves cloud providers managing hardware and networking component as services while the organization is responsible for providing Softwares such as operating system which are responsible to run on the hardware. The organization are responsible to provide virtualization if they want to use in the organization.

Platform as Services

This involves cloud providers offering hardware, software, and base database and any other software. The organization manages their own data and custom applications.

Software as a Services

This involves cloud providers providing infrastructure and Softwares to the client. Organization only modify the application to suit their own needs.

Common Internet Application

• Web Browsers
• Email Client
• FTP Client
• Phone Apps.

Mahara ePortfolio

Network Protocols
Protocols are set standard of rules which applications must adhere in order to communicate in the network for example Web Applications uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol.

Application Layer Protocol

• NTP
• POP
• SSH
• SMB

Role of Application Layer Protocol

• Establish rule between sender and receiver thought the communication
• It specify how messages are structured between source and destination
• It determine which one communicate first before the other.

Basic Aim of Networking

Data being sent in the network must remain intact without being changed.

Protocol Headers

Data passes protocol stack in the network. Each protocol stack add data to the header at each layer for example:

• The transport layer normally adds a TCP header.
• The network layer adds an IP header.
• The Data Link layer add an Ethernet header.

The headers supply information to the associated layer of the destination machine. The information in these headers informs the destination where the data came from and other essential details.

Internet Network Layer

Address Resolution Protocol determines MAC address of local machine in the network with a specific IP address attached. ARP sends broadcast message asking for the owner of IP address.  If the computer owning the IP address respond the MAC address is created by entering into ARP Cache. ARP entries are created when communication is established in the network. ARP entries age out depending on the operating system platforms.

IP Addressing

There are two types of IP address:

• IPv4 address
• IPv6 address

In the network one IP address is allocated to one machine.

How Computers Get Ip address in a network

Manual Administration. This involves assigning IP to computer using static methods. The administrator will keep track of IP Address in the spreadsheet. Though this method is tedious in a complex network which have many users.

Automatic Administration. This involves using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol to allocate IP address, gateway and DNS settings dynamically to the computer in network.

Network / Node components of an IP address

An IP address has two components include:  Network Bit which identify the network subnet which host is in it. Node bit this is a unique to each unique computer in the network and it is used to identify each computer in the network. Subnet Mask a subnet mask applies to all machines (hosts) on an IP network.

Determining the network address of an IP address

• Replacing all node bits of an IP address with zeros
• Doing a bitwise of the IP address with the subnet mask
• using CIDR notation

Type of IP Address include

• Private IP Address This are local IP address which are used in local area network and not accessible over the internet.
• Public IP Address This are IP addresses which are accessible over the internet.

Network Address Translation

NAT provide internet to computers in local area network. This is achieved through NAT translating local IP address to the router IP address.

Role of Router

It move the packet from one path to its destination. Router is intelligent device in the network that communicate with one another to ensure all routers know about network changes.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)

Learning Outcomes Assessed

IANA is the overseeing body for the naming of Internet domains. IANA delegates naming for different geographical regions of the world to other naming authorities.

Physical Layer

This is the connections of physical devices in the network.

Type of data

• Digital data. They are data which are stored in digital format that is 0 and 1.
• Analog data. This are data which transmitted for example voice.

Data Transmissions

Point to Point Circuit This involves connections between two devices in the network.

Multipoint Circuit.  This involves one media being shared by several devices in the network for example WIFI.

Data Flow

Simplex Data Flow This involves sending data in one direction.

Half Duplex Data Flow. This involves data moving from both direction but one at a time.

Full Duplex Data Flow. This involves data moving in both direction at the same time.

Multiplexing

This involves dividing communication channels so that it allow several connection at the same time.

Methods of Multiplexing

• Time Division Stations transmit at different time.
• Frequency Division Different channel transmits using different frequency.
• Wavelength Division Different wavelength are sent at the same time. For example fiber cables.

Digital Transmission of Data. This involves data being send by a sender to receiver through a media of communication.

Example of Transmission media

• Twisted Pair Cable (Shielded and Unshielded)
• Coaxial Cable
• Microwave 

Topics Questions

Topic 4

5. The LLC is sometimes described as providing a multiplexed service to upper layer protocols. Describe what this statement means and try to give an example of this in action.

LLC receives the frames from the physical Layer below and hand over the datagram to L3 protocol at the network layer above.

7. Describe why routers require at least 2 network cards.

One of router NIC is connected to the local area network while the other one is connected to the other networks. This will ensure router to perform NAT.

19. Describe when entries are added and removed from the ARP cache.

When there is local traffic new ARP entries are created so IP Address and Mac address are added as an entry. ARP entries are removed from cache when the period has expired. Expiry period of ARP cache varies from different Operating System

20. As a Data Link frame moves through an internetwork, the Ethernet frame header is modified at each step. Describe why this must happen at each router.

Because next hope must know the packet details such as source, destination and type of data to be exchange between the sender and receiver. The headers supply information to the associated layer of the destination machine. The information in these headers informs the destination where the data came from and other essential details.

Topic 6

5. How many bits are used in a UDP header to store the destination port number?

    16 bits

Explain how you arrived at this number.

 8 *2 = 16 bits

8. It is commonplace for two tabs on a browser to be concurrently connected to the same web server.

Discuss how the data meant for one browser tab is never mixed up with that of the other tab.

Each browser tab have unique port number which will be used to combine the host IP address and a unique port number for every request to be made therefore data are isolated from mixing up.

14. Describe the 3-way handshake process. Your description should make it clear the Flags that are exchanged at each step and the meaning of each of those flags.

Client sends a SYN packet data to server through internet protocol. If the server has an open port then it accept the connection and acknowledge the client that it has accepted through a SYN/ACK packet data. Then client respond back to the server with ACK data packet acknowledging that the connection has been initiated.

15. Describe how flow control is achieved in a TCP connection.

TCP uses sender buffer to store packets needed to be send and TCP receiver will use receiver buffer to extract all the packets.

Topic 8

5. Describe the differences between type 1 and type 2 Virtualization.

Type 1 virtualization run directly on a hardware while Type 2 run on the operating system.

8. The switching technologies used for mobile communications has changed throughout the mobile phone technologies 1G through to 4G.

Describe the changes that have occurred.

1G only supported voice. 2G Supported Voice and Simple data such text message. 3G supports Web browsing, email, video downloading, picture sharing. 4G speed range between 100Mbps and 1Gbps.

9. Describe the roles of the following elements of the mobile phone network:

Cell is responsible for transmitting and receiving signal. Base station is responsible for sends and receives radio signals and is responsible for forming the cell area. Mobile switching center. This is where call set up and switching for mobile takes place.

10. Describe the roles of the Base station and the Mobile switching center as a mobile phone moves from one cell to another.

Base station is responsible for handing over a mobile phone to another base station when user is leaving a radius that base station can cover and approaching another radius of another base station. Mobile switching is responsible for call set up and switching and routing mobile phone to another route of new base station.

References

What is a Base Station Controller? - Definition from Techopedia. (2018). 

Cellular Base Stations - Engineering and Technology History Wiki. (2018). 

Cellular Base Stations – Cellular Sites. (2018).

Quick Tips: Flush the ARP cache in Windows 7. (2018). 

An Inside Look at TCP Headers and UDP Headers. (2018). 

What is a Three-Way Handshake? - Definition from Techopedia. (2018). 

profile, V. (2018). Circuit Switching, Packet Switching, and Message Switching. 

What's the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors?. (2018). 

TCP Flow Control. (2018). 

Functions of LLC and MAC sub-layers of Data Link Layer | Computer Networking Demystified. (2018).