Interview Questions:

Networking:
1. Difference between Modem, Router and switch and hub.

Answer 1: Have you ever wondered what the difference is among these boxes? Learn the difference
between a router, a switch and a hub.
Some technicians have a tendency to use the terms routers, hubs and switches interchangeably. One minute they're
talking about a switch and discussing router settings the next. Throughout the conversation, however, they're still
looking at only one box. Have you ever wondered what the difference is among these devices?

Hub, Switch and Router Defined

The functions of the three devices the hub, switch and router are all quite different from one another, even if at
times they are all integrated into a single device. Which one do you use when? Let's take a look...
Hub

A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of aLAN.
A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of
the LAN can see all packets.
Switch

In networks, a device that filters and forwards packets between LAN segments. Switches operate at the data link
layer (layer 2) and sometimes the network layer (layer 3) of the OSI Reference Model and therefore support any
packet protocol. LANs that use switches to join segments are called switched LANs or, in the case of Ethernet
networks, switched Ethernet LANs.
Router

A device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly
two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP.s network. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more
networks connect. Routers use headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets,
and they use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two
hosts.

The Differences Between Hubs, Switches, and Routers on the

Network
Today most routers have become something of a Swiss Army knife, combining the features and functionality of a
router and switch/hub into a single unit. So conversations regarding these devices can be a bit misleading
especially to someone new to computer networking.
The functions of a router, hub and a switch are all quite different from one another, even if at times they are all
integrated into a single device. Let's start with the hub and the switch since these two devices have similar roles on
the network.

The Hub and Switch Have Similar Roles

Each serves as a central connection for all of your network equipment and handles a data type known as frames.
Frames carry your data. When a frame is received, it is amplified and then transmitted on to the port of the
destination PC. The big difference between these two devices is in the method in which frames are being delivered.

In a hub, a frame is passed along or "broadcast" to every one of its ports. It doesn't matter that the frame is only
destined for one port. The hub has no way of distinguishing which port a frame should be sent to. Passing it along to
every port ensures that it will reach its intended destination. This places a lot of traffic on the network and can lead to
poor network response times.

Additionally, a 10/100Mbps hub must share its bandwidth with each and every one of its ports. So when only one PC
is broadcasting, it will have access to the maximum available bandwidth. If, however, multiple PCs are broadcasting,
then that bandwidth will need to be divided among all of those systems, which will degrade performance.

A switch, however, keeps a record of the MAC addresses of all the devices connected to it. With this information, a
switch can identify which system is sitting on which port. So when a frame is received, it knows exactly which port to
send it to, without significantly increasing network response times. And, unlike a hub, a 10/100Mbps switch will
allocate a full 10/100Mbps to each of its ports. So regardless of the number of PCs transmitting, users will always
have access to the maximum amount of bandwidth. It's for these reasons a switch is considered to be a much better
choice than a hub.

Routers are Completely Different Devices

Routers are completely different devices. Where a hub or switch is concerned with transmitting frames, a router's job,
as its name implies, is to route packets to other networks until that packet ultimately reaches its destination. One of
the key features of a packet is that it not only contains data, but the destination address of where it's going.

A router is typically connected to at least two networks, commonly two Local Area Networks (LANs) or Wide Area
Networks (WAN) or a LAN and its ISP's network . for example, your PC or workgroup and EarthLink. Routers are
located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect. Using headers and forwarding tables, routers
determine the best path for forwarding the packets. Router use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each
other and configure the best route between any two hosts.

Features of Integrated Routers

Today, a wide variety of services are integrated into most broadband routers. A router will typically include a 4 - 8 port
Ethernet switch (or hub) and a Network Address Translator (NAT). In addition, they usually include a Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Domain Name Service (DNS) proxy server and a hardware firewall to protect
the LAN from malicious intrusion from the Internet.

All routers have a WAN Port that connects to a DSL or cable modem for broadband Internet service and the
integrated switch allows users to easily create a LAN. This allows all the PCs on the LAN to have access to the
Internet and Windows file and printer sharing services.
RECOMMENDED READING: Did You Know...All About Broadband/ICS Routers

Routers might have a single WAN port and a single LAN port and are designed to connect an existing LAN hub or
switch to a WAN. Ethernet switches and hubs can be connected to a router with multiple PC ports to expand a LAN.
Depending on the capabilities (kinds of available ports) of the router and the switches or hubs, the connection
between the router and switches/hubs may require either straight-thru or crossover (null-modem) cables. Some
routers even have USB ports, and more commonly, wireless access points built into them.

Some of the more high-end or business class routers will also incorporate a serial port that can be connected to an
external dial-up modem, which is useful as a backup in the event that the primary broadband connection goes down,
as well as a built in LAN printer server and printer port.

Besides the inherent protection features provided by the NAT, many routers will also have a built-in, configurable,
hardware-based firewall. Firewall capabilities can range from the very basic to quite sophisticated devices. Among the
capabilities found on leading routers are those that permit configuring TCP/UDP ports for games, chat services, and

the like, on the LAN behind the firewall.

So, in short, a hub glues together an Ethernet network segment, a switch can connect multiple Ethernet segments
more efficiently and a router can do those functions plus route TCP/IP packets between multiple LANs and/or WANs;
and much more of course.
Did You Know... Routers are also the only one of these three devices that will allow you to share a single IP address
among multiple network clients.

Answer 2: Routers: these devices connect different networks, operating at Layer 3 (the
network layer) of the OSI model. They maintain routing tables which map IP
addresses (more correctly, IP prefixes) to anoutgoing interface. Note that an interface may
contain one or more ports (See below).
Switches: these maintain forwarding tables which map MAC addresses to physical ports,
operating at Layer 2 (the data link layer) of the OSI model. This is not necessarily a oneto-one mapping; many MAC addresses can be bound to the same physical port. This is the
case where you have multi-layer switched networks (think a Netgear or Belkin switch
plugged into your office or university network), or a hub connected to a switch port.
Hubs: these are essentially multi-port signal repeaters, operating at Layer 1 (the phyiscal
layer) of the OSI model. They can be either unpowered (simply providing a physical
connection for the existing signal to propagate along), or powered, where they actually
regenerate and/or amplify the signal they receive. The point to note here is that hubs are a
single collision domain. A collision domain represents a set of devices all connected to the
same physical transmission medium, such that only one of them can transmit at any given
time (ignoring multiplexing technologies like wavelength division multiplexing, frequencydivision multiplexing, time-division multiplexing, etc etc.).
In practice, hubs are found less and less in today's data networks, as they have poor
performance (as only one user can transmit at a time) and poor security (anyone connected
to the same hub can hear everything all other users transmit and receive).
Modems: MOdulator-DEModulator. Responsible for establishing a digital channel over an
analogue medium, most commonly the telephone network. Modems again operate at Layer
2 (the data link layer), but use different protocols than Ethernet to communicate. They then
offer protocols such asPPP to the network layer, to allow IP traffic to flow over their links.

2. IP Class.
A 1-126
B 128-191
C 192-223
D 224-239
E 240-255

IP Address Class A, B and C Network

and Host Capacities
Answer 1 :

In the preceding topics I introduced the concepts of IP address classes and

showed how the classes related to ranges of IP addresses. Of the five
classes, D and E are dedicated to special purposes, so I will leave those
alone for now. Classes A, B and C are the ones actually assigned for normal
(unicast) addressing purposes on IP internetworks, and therefore the primary
focus of our continued attention.
As we've seen, they differ in the number of bits (and octets) used for the
network ID compared to the host ID. The number of different networks
possible in each class is a function of the number of bits assigned to the
network ID, and likewise, the number of hosts possible in each network
depends on the number of bits provided for the host ID. We must also take
into account the fact that one, two or three of the bits in the IP address is used
to indicate the class itself, so it is effectively "excluded" from use in
determining the number of networks (though again, it is still part of the
network ID).
Based on this information, we can calculate the number of networks in each
class, and for each class, the number of host IDs per network. Table 45 shows
the calculations.

Table 45: IP Address Class Network and Host Capacities

IP
Address

Total # Of
Bits For

First
Octet of

# Of
Network

Usable # Number of
Of
Possible

# Of Host
IDs Per

IP
Address

ID Bits
Used To
Identify
Class

Network
ID Bits

Network
IDs

Network ID

8 / 24

0xxx xxxx

8-1 = 7

27-2 = 126

224-2 =
16,277,214

Class B

16 / 16

10xx xxxx

16-2 = 14

214 =
16,384

216-2 =
65,534

Class C

24 / 8

110x xxxx

24-3 = 21

221 =
2,097,152

28-2 = 254

Class

Network
ID / Host
ID

Class A

Let's walk through one line of this table so we can see how it works. I'll stick
with class B since it's "in the middle". The basic division is into 16 bits for
network ID and 16 bits for host ID. However, the first two bits of all class B
addresses must be "10, so that leaves only 14 bits to uniquely identify the
network ID. This gives us a total of 214 or 16,384 class B network IDs. For
each of these, we have 216 host IDs, less two, for a total of 65,534.
Why less two? For each network ID, two host IDs cannot be used: the host ID
with all zeroes and the ID with all ones. These are addresses with "special
meanings" as described in the topic that follows. You will also notice that 2 has
been subtracted from the number of network IDs for class A. This is because
two of the class A network IDs (0 and 127) are reserved. There are actually
several other address ranges that are set aside in all three of the classes that
I haven't shown here. They are listed in the topic on reserved, private and
loopback addresses. (The exclusion of 0 and 127 from class A is probably the
best-known address range reservation which is why I am explicit with that one
in the table above.)

Answer 2: INTERNET

PROTOCOL CLASSES NETWORK & HOST ID

WRITTEN BY ADMINISTRATOR. POSTED IN IP PROTOCOL

4.1578947368411111 Rating 4.16 (38 Votes)

inShare
This article explained the 'Network-ID' and 'Host-ID' concept found in IP addressing and subnetting. We
analyse the structure of IP addresses and network classes and show their Network-IDs and Host-IDs in
binary format to make evident how the system works.
Closing, win the network class analysis, we show examples of well-known ip address ranges and
calculate their valid networks and hosts depending on their class and subnetmask.
The information provided in this article is extremely important for engineers who want to really understand
IP addressing and subnetting.
Every protocol suite defines some type of addressing that identifies computers and networks. IP
Addresses are no exception to this "rule". There are certain values that an IP Address can take and these
have been defined by the IEEE committee (as most things).
A simple IP Address is a lot more than just a number. It tells us the network that the workstation is part of
and the node ID. If you don't understand what I am talking about, don't let it worry you too much because
we are going to analyse everything here :)

IP ADDRESS CLASSES AND STRUCTURE

When the IEEE committee sat down to sort out the range of numbers that were going to be used by all
computers, they came out with 5 different ranges or, as we call them, "Classes" of IP Addresses and
when someone applies for IP Addresses they are given a certain range within a specific "Class"
depending on the size of their network.
To keep things as simple as possible, let's first have a look at the 5 different Classes:

In the above table, you can see the 5 Classes. Our first Class is A and our last is E. The first 3 classes ( A,
B and C) are used to identify workstations, routers, switches and other devices whereas the last 2
Classes ( D and E) are reserved for special use.
As you would already know an IP Address consists of 32 Bits, which means it's 4 bytes long. The first
octec (first 8 Bits or first byte) of an IP Address is enough for us to determine the Class to which it
belongs. And, depending on the Class to which the IP Address belongs, we can determine which portion
of the IP Address is the Network ID and which is the Node ID.
For example, if I told you that the first octec of an IP Address is "168" then, using the above table, you
would notice that it falls within the 128-191 range, which makes it a Class B IP Address.

UNDERSTANDING THE CLASSES

We are now going to have a closer look at the 5 Classes. If you remember earlier I mentioned that
companies are assigned different IP ranges within these classes, depending on the size of their network.
For instance, if a company required 1000 IP Addresses it would probably be assigned a range that falls
within a Class B network rather than a Class A or C.
The Class A IP Addresses were designed for large networks, Class B for medium size networks and
Class C for smaller networks.

INTRODUCING NETWORK ID AND NODE ID CONCEPTS

We need to understand the Network ID and Node ID concept because it will help us to fully understand
why Classes exist. Putting it as simply as possible, an IP Address gives us 2 pieces of valuable
information:
1) It tells us which network the device is part of (Network ID).

2) It identifies that unique device within the network (Node ID).

Think of the Network ID as the suburb you live in and the Node ID your street in that suburb. You can tell
exactly where someone is if you have their suburb and street name. In the same way, the Network ID tells
us which network a particular computer belongs to and the Node ID identifies that computer from all the
rest that reside in the same network.
The picture below gives you a small example to help you understand the concept:

Explanation:
In the above picture, you can see a small network. We have assigned a Class C IP Range for this
network. Remember that Class C IP Addresses are for small networks. Looking now at Host A, you will
see that its IP Address is 192.168.0.2. The Network ID portion of this IP Address is in blue, while the Host
ID is in orange.
I suppose the next question someone would ask is: How do I figure out which portion of the IP Address is
the Network ID and which is the Host ID ?
That's what we are going to answer next.

THE NETWORK AND NODE ID OF EACH CLASS

The network Class helps us determine how the 4 byte, or 32 Bit, IP Address is divided between network
and node portions.
The table below shows you (in binary) how the Network ID and Node ID changes depending on the Class:

Explanation:
The table above might seem confusing at first but it's actually very simple. We will take Class A as an
example and analyse it so you can understand exactly what is happening here:
Any Class A network has a total of 7 bits for the Network ID (bit 8 is always set to 0) and 24 bits for the
Host ID. Now all we need to do is calculate how much 7 bits is:
2 to the power of 7 = 128 Networks and for the hosts : 2 to the power of 24 = 16,777,216 hosts in each
Network, of which 2 cannot be used because one is the Network Address and the other is the Network
Broadcast address (see the table towards the end of this page). This is why when we calculate the "valid"
hosts in a network we always subtract "2". So if I asked you how many "valid" hosts can you have a on
Class A Network, you should answer 16,777,214 and NOT 16,777,216.
Below you can see all this in one picture:

The same story applies for the other 2 Classes we use, that's Class B and Class C, the only difference is
that the number of networks and hosts changes because the bits assigned to them are different for each
class.
Class B networks have 14 bits for the Network ID (Bits 15, 16 are set and can't be changed) and 16 bits
for the Host ID, that means you can have up to '2 to the power of 14' = 16,384 Networks and '2 to the
power of 16' = 65,536 Hosts in each Network, of which 2 cannot be used because one is the Network
Address and the other is the Network Broadcast address (see the table towards the end of this page). So
if I asked you how many "valid" hosts can you have a on Class B Network, you should answer 65,534 and
NOT 65,536.

Class C networks have 21 bits for the Network ID (Bits 22, 23, 24 are set and can't be changed) and 8
bits for the Host ID, that means you can have up to '2 to the power of 21' = 2,097,152 Networks and '2 to
the power of 8' = 256 Hosts in each Network, of which 2 cannot be used because one is the Network
Address and the other is the Network Broadcast address (see the table towards the end of this page). So
if I asked you how many "valid" hosts can you have a on Class C Network, you should answer 254 and
NOT 256.
Now, even though we have 3 Classes of IP Addresses that we can use, there are some IP Addresses that
have been reserved for special use. This doesn't mean you can't assign them to a workstation but in the
case that you did, it would create serious problems within your network. For this reason it's best that you
avoid using these IP Addresses.
The following table shows the IP Addresses that you should avoid using:
IP Address
Network 0.0.0.0

Network 127.0.0.0

Function
Refers to the default route. This route is to simplify routing tables used by IP.

Reserved for Loopback. The Address 127.0.0.1 is often used to refer to the local host. Using
this Address, applications can address a local host as if it were a remote host.

IP Address with all hostbits

Refers to the actual network itself. For example, network 192.168.0.0 (Class C) can be used
set to "0" (Network
to identify network 192.168.0. This type of notation is often used within routing tables.
Address) e.g 192.168.0.0
IP Address with all node
IP Addresses with all node bits set to "1" are local network broadcast addresses and
bits set to "1" (Subnet /
mustNOT be used.Some examples: 125.255.255.255 (Class A) , 190.30.255.255 (Class B),
Network Broadcast) e.g
203.31.218.255 (Class C). See "Multicasts" & "Network Broadcasts" for more info.
192.168.255.255
IP Address with all bits set
to "1" (Network Broadcast) The IP Address with all bits set to "1" is a broadcast address and must NOT be used. These
are destined for all nodes on a network, no matter what IP Address they might have.
e.g 255.255.255.255

Now make sure you keep to the above guidelines because you're going to bump into a lot of problems if
you don't !
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is imperative that every network, regardless of Class and size, has a Network Address (first IP Address e.g

192.168.0.0 for Class C network) and a Broadcast Address (last IP Address e.g 192.168.0.255 for Class C network), as mentioned in
the table and explanation diagrams above, which cannot be used.
So when calculating available IP Addresses in a network, always remember to subtract 2 from the number of IP Addresses within
that network.

Next, is the Subnetting section, and before you proceed, make sure you're comfortable with the new
concepts and material we have covered, otherwise subnetting will be very hard to understand.

Next - Subnetting Introduction

3. ISO Layers

Answer 1:

The 7 Layers of the OSI Model

Related Terms

OSI - Open System Interconnection

MAC Layer - Media Access Control Layer
IEEE 802 standards
Logical Link Control layer
routing switch
Modbus protocol
protocol stack
X.400
DLC
modeling
Updated September 29, 2015 / Posted September 24, 1999
By Vangie Beal

The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model defines a networking framework to implement protocols in
seven layers. Use this handy guide to compare the different layers of the OSI model and understand how
they interact with each other.

The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model defines a networking framework to

implement protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the application layer in
one station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy.
There is really nothing to the OSI model. In fact, it's not even tangible. The OSI model doesn't perform any functions
in the networking process. It is a conceptual framework so we can better understand complex interactions that are
happening.
The OSI model takes the task of internetworking and divides that up into what is referred to as a vertical stack that
consists of the following layers.

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Physical (Layer 1)
This layer conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal through the network at the electrical and
mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a carrier, including defining
cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232, and ATM are protocols with physical layer components.
Layer 1 Physical examples include Ethernet, FDDI, B8ZS, V.35, V.24, RJ45.

Data Link (Layer 2)

At this layer, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission protocol knowledge and
management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame synchronization. The data link layer is
divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The
MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The
LLC layer controls frame synchronization, flow control and error checking.
Layer 2 Data Link examples include PPP, FDDI, ATM, IEEE 802.5/ 802.2, IEEE 802.3/802.2, HDLC, Frame
Relay.

Network (Layer 3)
This layer provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits, for
transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well
as addressing,internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing.
Layer 3 Network examples include AppleTalk DDP, IP, IPX.

Transport (Layer 4)
This layer provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is responsible for end-to-end
error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer.
Layer 4 Transport examples include SPX, TCP, UDP.

Session (Layer 5)
This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer sets up,
coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications at each end. It deals
with session and connection coordination.
Layer 5 Session examples include NFS, NetBios names, RPC, SQL.

Presentation (Layer 6)
This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating from
application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into the form that the
application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a network, providing freedom
from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer.

Layer 6 Presentation examples include encryption, ASCII, EBCDIC, TIFF, GIF, PICT, JPEG, MPEG, MIDI.

Application (Layer 7)
This layer supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are identified, quality of service is
identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data syntax are identified.
Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer provides application services for file transfers,e-mail, and
other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications that exist entirely in the application level. Tiered
application architectures are part of this layer.

Answer 2: The ISO Layering Model

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created a Reference
Model of Open System Interconnection consisting of seven layers to describe
networked systems. As a reference model, one should look at it as a means of
comparing systems rather than a methodology for constructing systems. If one
has N items to compare and one makes direct comparisons between each pair of items,
one ends up with about N squared comparisons. On the other hand, if one has a
standard of comparison (a ruler for measuring length, for example), one need only
make N comparisons of items to the standard to get the same information.
Layer 7

Application

Message Passing

Layer 6

Presentation

Encoding

Layer 5

Session

Authentication & Encryption

Layer 4

Transport

Streams & Segments

Layer 3

Network

Datagrams

Layer 2

Data Link

Frames & Packets

Layer 1

Physical Hardware

Signaling & Wiring

Figure 5: The 7 Layers of the ISO Reference Model

The ISO Reference Model was created for the OSI Network Protocol Suite. The OSI
suite is actually typically implemented with 10 layers. We will not be studying the

OSI Network Protocol Suite in detail, since it never gained great popularity in the
United States. Essentially, it is a collection of standards created on paper by an
international committee primarily of European telephone company representatives. It
is not clear to me if they ever managed to create working systems for ordinary
computers that conformed to the OSI standards and interconnected a variety of
operating systems.
Physical Hardware Connection

Layer 1 deals primarily with the signaling and wiring standards. For signaling, a
standard typically specifies things such as the voltages used to signal a binary digit or
special information such as the beginning or end of a data frame. For wiring, a
standard typically specifies things like the shape of the connectors at the end of the
wires, the electrical properties of the wire. In the case of the standard for 10BASE-5
Ethernet, the wiring standard not only specifies a one half inch diameter for the
coaxial cable, but suggests that the outer insulation be orange. Furthermore, it
suggests that it be marked every few meters where taps may be placed.
Repeaters are the most interesting category of networking devices that operate
exclusively at layer 1. They are capable of receiving a somewhat distorted analog
signal for a bit and transmitting a cleaner analog signal for the bit. Repeaters permit
the wiring to span greater lengths than would otherwise be possible, but also
contribute a small, non-negligible delay to the signal that may contribute to other
problems. For example, according to the standard a coaxial 10BASE-2 Ethernet cable
may not extend for more than 200 meters. Inserting a repeater in the middle of a 300
meter cable brings a non-conforming and possible non-functional cable back into
conformance with the standard. The standard also specifies that the signal must
propagate from any device to any other device in less than 5 microseconds. A repeater
adds a delay on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds and each 200 meter wire cable
has a propagation time of about a microsecond or so. Hence, it is typically
recommended that one never place more than 3 repeaters between any two devices in
such an Ethernet.
Another category of networking devices that operate at layer 1 are media converters.
Many actual networks are built using a variety of types of wiring and may include a
mixture of optical signal carriers and electrical media (generically called "wiring"
even when one may include glass fiber in the set of things one is talking about). In

order to connect different types of media to each other, one uses a media converter
which performs the same basic function as a repeater: it takes a signal from one
medium and converts it, bit by bit, into a signal for another medium.
Data Link / Hardware Interface

Layer 2 deals primarily with frames and packets. Layer 1 exclusively deals with
hardware, but layer 2 deals with a combination of hardware and software. Layer 1 is
essentially for the media that connect networking devices whereas layer 2 deals with
the circuitry inside the networking device as well as the software that may control it.
A frame is a group of bits traveling across the physical connection. A frame may be
referred to as a cell in a system where the grouping of bits is of small, fixed size. A
frame may contain information at its beginning, sometimes called a preamble, that is
not relevant to the software controlling the interface. A frame may also contain
information at its end, sometimes called a trailer, that is likewise not important to the
software part of the interface. For example, an Ethernet frame trailer contains a
checksum of the contents of the frame to verify that it was not garbled in transmission.
A packet is a frame with the preamble and trailer (if either or both exist in the
particular system) removed. A packet is the part of the frame that is passed to the
software part of an interface. Since a packet and a frame contain essentially the same
information, the terms are often used interchangeably.
Layer 2 devices deal with packets as a whole and include things like bridges and
switches which can filter and forward packets from one group of wires to another.
This process is fairly simple and can be accomplished without using a sophisticated
general-purpose CPU. Typically, such devices are controlled with special purpose
CPUs and firmware or they may be constructed out of very large scale integrated
(VLSI) application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The VLSI/ASIC approach
generally yields a device with fewer "bells and whistles" but which is much cheaper
when mass produced. For example, the Ball State Computer Science Department just
purchased an Ethernet switch for under $2,000 with a VLSI/ASIC design instead of a
functionally similar software controlled switch that would have cost about $15,000.
For very high speed devices such as an ATM switch, the VLSI/ASIC approach is the
only one currently practical.
Network

Layer 3 deals with the delivery of datagrams in a media-independent

manner. Datagrams are a group of data that travels as a single package from a sending
computer's operating system to a receiving computer's operating system. Standards
must specify datagrams are to be inserted into frames for transport across a
communication link.
Datagrams also contain addressing information. A layer 3 protocol will assign an
address to each layer 3 device. The receiver's address needs to be attached to the
datagram and the sender's address is also typically required to be present. The layer 3
addresses may or may not be related to any layer 2 address in any direct way. The
addressing information is typically contained in a datagram header separate from the
message data being delivered from one computer to another.
Sending and receiving computers might not be directly connected by a
communication link. In that case, they would depend on the services of layer 3 device
called a router. A router is a device which connects to more than one network and
offers its services to computers on those networks as a mechanism to forward
datagrams from one network to another network. The joining of two or more networks
in this way is called internetworking and the networks formed in this way are
called internets.

 Figure 6: A datagram may travel from sender (left) to receiver

(right) via a router (middle). In doing so, the router may
engage separate layer 1 and 2 devices and media which may
differ in type from each other.
Transport

Layer 4 deals with communication between programs on computers, as opposed to

layer 3 which deals with communication between operating systems. Some layer 4
protocols merely add program identification information to the information sent by
the layer 3 protocol so the message data can be delivered to the destination program
by the operating system on the receiving computer. Other layer 4 protocols are much
more elaborate and deal with pathological conditions such as layer 3 datagrams being
lost or delivered out of order.
>Typically the transport layer is the boundary between system services and the
application programs that use them. Higher layers are not typically built in to the
computer's operating system and depend on separate software libraries.
Session

Layer 5 deals with establishing and maintaining a context for a sequence of messages
delivered by layer 4. A network session is directly analogous to a terminal session
where a user logs in, sends keystrokes and receives text characters, and then logs out.
The session layer is responsible for maintaining the context in which layer 4 data is
interpreted, just as a login session maintains a context for the incoming keystrokes. In
establishing this context, the session layer may need to verify the identity of the party
at the other end of the communication path. The process of establishing this identity is
calledauthentication, since it is intended to demonstrate that the data is authentic.
Authentication is separate from, but often related to authorization, which is the
process of determining if some action is allowed.
Since the session layer typically not part of the package delivered with an operating
system, it is somewhat less standardized and well developed. In many cases, it is a
null layer. That is, no attempt is made to provide the services this layer should
provide. Only in the last few years have serious standards been proposed and adopted
in a widespread manner.
Presentation

Layer 6 is the one charged with interpreting the meaning of the bits sent from one
program to another via encoding standards. Different machines may represent
numbers and characters with different bit patterns. IBM mainframes often use the
EBCDIC encoding of characters, whereas most other modern systems use the ASCII
encoding. Many machines use the 2's compliment representation of signed integers,
but may differ in the number of bits used to represent them. Even machines that use a
32-bit IEEE representation of numbers may differ in the order in which the 8-bit bytes
are stored internally.
More significant problems result when one considers how to transmit data types that
are not built in to typical hardware such as something as simple as a date or time. At
one extreme, all data can be converted into a text string by the sender and parsed or
interpreted by the receiver. This wastes bandwidth and CPU cycles. At the other
extreme, all data can be transmitted in some standardized binary format that may or
may not be equivalent to the internal format used by the parties to the communication.
Either case leads to format conversions that may not be precise and may consume a
fair number of CPU cycles.

During the early development of networking standards, processing the presentation

protocol was often slower than the transmission of data across a local area network.
Hence, they were often ignored since they were only required if the systems
communicating where actually different. Since then, however, CPU speed has
increased faster than network speed, so it is now quite practical to incorporate nontrivial presentation protocols.
Application

The top layer, layer 7, builds on the lower layers to actually get something useful to
end user's accomplished. One must be careful, however, to distinguish between
application protocols and applications. Often, the application that uses a given
protocol has the same name as the protocol. For example, the "File Transfer Protocol,"
FTP, is often employed by a program named "ftp." The confusion between application
layer protocols and application has lessened with the advent of the World Wide Web.
A typical Web browser will employ several application layer protocols such as HTTP,
FTP, POP, and SMTP.

 Figure 7: The actual and virtual communication paths used to

move data from one application to another with multiple
intermediate networking devices. From left to right, the devices
represented are: the sender, a repeater, a bridge, a router,
another router, a repeater, and the receiver.
4. Cross cable vs straight cable
Answer 1:

What are Straight and Crossover cable

Common Ethernet network cable are straight and crossover cable. This Ethernet network
cable is made of 4 pair high performance cable that consists twisted pair conductors that
used for data transmission. Both end of cable is called RJ45 connector.
The cable can be categorized as Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat
6 UTP cable. Cat 5 UTP cable can support 10/100
Mbps Ethernet network, whereas Cat 5e and Cat 6 UTP cable can support Ethernet network
running at 10/100/1000 Mbps. You might heard about Cat 3 UTP cable, it's not popular
anymore since it can only support 10 Mbps Ethernet network.
Straight and crossover cable can be Cat3, Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 UTP cable, the only
difference is each type will have different wire arrangement in the cable for serving different
purposes.

Straight Cable
You usually use straight cable to connect different type of devices. This type of cable will be
used most of the time and can be used to:
1) Connect a computer to a switch/hub's normal port.
2) Connect a computer to a cable/DSL modem's LAN port.
3) Connect a router's WAN port to a cable/DSL modem's LAN port.
4) Connect a router's LAN port to a switch/hub's uplink port. (normally used for expanding
network)
5) Connect 2 switches/hubs with one of the switch/hub using an uplink port and the other
one using normal port.

If you need to check how straight cable looks like, it's easy. Both side (side A and side B)
of cable have wire arrangement with same color. Check out different types of straight
cable that are available in the market here.

Crossover Cable
Sometimes you will use crossover cable, it's usually used to connect same type of devices. A
crossover cable can be used to:
1) Connect 2 computers directly.
2) Connect a router's LAN port to a switch/hub's normal port. (normally used for expanding
network)
3) Connect 2 switches/hubs by using normal port in both switches/hubs.
In you need to check how crossover cable looks like, both side (side A and side B) of
cable have wire arrangement with following different color . Have a look on
these crossover cables if you plan to buy one. You can also find more network cable choices
and information from Comtrad Cables.

In case you need to make a crossover cable yourself! You can use thiscrimper to do it.
Lastly, if you still not sure which type of cable to be used sometimes, try both cables and
see which works.
Note: If there is auto MDI/MDI-X feature support on the switch, hub, network card or
other network devices, you don't have to use crossover cable in the situation which I
mentioned above. This is because crossover function would be enabled automatically when
it's needed.

Answer 2 :
What is the defference between Cross Cable and Straight Cable
Now days, LAN card has intelligence, so that both cables can work.
They have a feature on lots of switches and hubs etc called "auto-mdix" or "auto mdi/mdix",
that is the new thing where it doesnt matter what kind of cable you use, it will just auto
detect the proper connection type no matter which cable you use.
The cable can be categorized as Cat 5, Cat 5e, and Cat 6 UTP cable. Cat 5 UTP cable can
support 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network, whereas Cat 5e and Cat 6 UTP cable can support
Ethernet network running at 10/100/1000 Mbps. You might hear about Cat 3 UTP cable, it's
not popular anymore since it can only support 10 Mbps Ethernet network.

Straight and crossover cable can be Cat3, Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 UTP cable, the only
difference is each type will have different wire arrangement in the cable for serving different
purposes.
Ethernet network cables are straight and crossover cable. This Ethernet network cable is
made of 4 pair high performance cable that consists of twisted pair conductors that used for
data transmission. Both end of cable is called RJ45 connector.
There are two types of network cables commonly used in PC networks - Straight-through and
cross-over.

Straight Cable
Usually use straight cable to connect different type of devices. This type of cable will be
used most of the time and can be used to:
1) Connect a computer to a switch/hub's normal port.
2) Connect a computer to a cable/DSL modem's LAN port.
3) Connect a router's WAN port to a cable/DSL modem's LAN port.
4) Connect a router's LAN port to a switch/hub's uplink port. (Normally used for expanding
network)
5) Connect two switches/hubs with one of the switch/hub using an uplink port and the other
one using normal port.
If you need to check how straight cable looks like, it's easy. Both sides (side A and side B) of
cable have wire arrangement with same color.

Crossover Cable
Sometimes you will use crossover cable, it's usually used to connect same type of devices. A
crossover cable can be used to:
1) Connect two computers directly.
2) Connect a router's LAN port to a switch/hub's normal port. (Normally used for expanding
network)
3) Connect two switches/hubs by using normal port in both switches/hubs.

In you need to check how crossover cable looks like, both side (side A and side B) of cable
have wire arrangement with following different color.
This cable (either straight cable or cross cable) has total 8 wires (or we can say lines), i.e.
four twisted pairs (4x2=8) with different color codes. Right now just forget about color
codes. It doesnt matter what color is given to the cable (but there is a standard).
In straight cable connectivity is like as follows
RJ451 Connected to RJ452
Pin1------------------------------------- Pin1
Pin2------------------------------------- Pin2
Pin3------------------------------------- Pin3
Pin4------------------------------------- Pin4
Pin5------------------------------------- Pin5
Pin6------------------------------------- Pin6
Pin7------------------------------------- Pin7
Pin8------------------------------------- Pin8

In cross cable connectivity is like as follows

RJ451 Connected to RJ452
Pin1------------------------------------- Pin3
Pin2------------------------------------- Pin6
Pin3------------------------------------- Pin1
Pin4------------------------------------- Pin4
Pin5------------------------------------- Pin5
Pin6------------------------------------- Pin2
Pin7------------------------------------- Pin7
Pin8------------------------------------- Pin8

Purpose of this cross cable is RX (receiving terminal) connects to TX (transmitting) of one pc

to another PC and vice versa.
As we use two PCs (same devices), straight cable will connect TX to TX and RX to RX of two
computers, so cross cable is required. If you use HUB or switch, then straight cable will work
because it has internal arrangement like cross cable. So note that use cross cable to connect
two similar devices.
A straight cable will not work to connect two computers together.
Crossover used to connect to PCs directly together, also used for connecting networking
devices together like Switch to Switch etc.
Straight cables connect two DIFFERENT types of devices. Whereas crossover cables connect
two of the SAME type

Now do this (if possible): connect cross cable between switch and PC and see what
happens..!

Hub
Hub

Switch

Router

Crossove Crossove Straight

Workstatio
n
Straight

Switch

Crossove Crossove Straight

r
r

Straight

Router

Straight

Straight

Crossove Crossover
r

Workstation

Straight

Straight

Crossove Crossover
r

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Communication between Switches and Workstations

When a workstation connects to a LAN, it transmits data independently of the other devices
connected to the LAN media. The workstation simply transmits data frames from a NIC to
the network medium.
If desired, the workstation can be attached directly to another workstation by using a
crossover cable. Crossover cables connect the following devices:
Workstation to workstation
Switch to switch
Switch to hub
Hub to hub
Router to router
Router to PC
Straight-through cables connect the following devices:
Switch to router
Switch to workstation or server
Hub to workstation or server
Many modern switches now automatically adjust the port pinout to support the particular
cable attached, whether it is a crossover or straight-through cable.
Switches, which are Layer 2 devices, use intelligence to learn the MAC addresses of the
devices that are attached to its ports. This data is entered into a switching table. After the
table is complete, the switch can read the destination MAC address of an incoming data
frame on a port and immediately forward it. Until a device transmits, the switch does not
know its MAC address.
Switches provide significant scalability on a network. Switches are normally connected to
each other by way of trunk links.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. What is an IP Address
6. Static Ip address vs dynamice Ip address
7. APIPA Automatic Private IP Addressing
APIPA enables clients to still communicate with other computers on the same network segment
until an IP address can be obtained from a DHCP server, allowing the machine to fully participate
on the network. The range of these IP address are the 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254 with a
default Class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0.

8. Proxy server

In computer networks, a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application) that

acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client
connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or
other resource available from a different server and the proxy server evaluates the request as a
way to simplify and control its complexity. Today, most proxies are web proxies, facilitating access
to content on the World Wide Web.
9. What is VPN?
10. What are different versions of ipconfig?
11. Why ping/tracert/pathping/dnslookup/whoami commands used for?
12. What is the difference b/w Ipv4 and Ipv6
13. What is subnetting and DNS.
14. How to increase network speed of computer(Duplex,Half duplex,simplex)
15. What are different ports for FTP/Telnet/SMTP/HTTP etc.

Windows
1. How to start and stop windows services.
2. How to access Windows System Registry.
3. Location of temp files

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp (%temp)
C:\Windows\Temp (temp)
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

What is Bit locker/Snipping tool?

What is safe mode/Last known good config?
What is device manager/Msconfig.
What is diff bwtween cold boot/warm boot
What is Disk Cleanup/Defragmentation?
What would you do if your system is running slow ?
1.Empty Recycle Bin.
2.Empty Windows Temp folder.
3.Run Scandisk.
4.Run Defragmenter.
5.Full System Virus scan
10.What are Plug & Play devices ?
They are peices of computer hardware that already have the software for
them in you system. simply put, you just have to plug it in and you computer
does the rest
11.Difference between XP and Windows 7.
12.Diff b/w Last know good config and system restore.
13.Diff b/w 32 bit os and 64 bit os

What are imp port numbers in Windows

HTTP - 80
FTP 20,21
TelNet - 23
SMTP - 25
DNS 53
SNMP - 161
14.Min xp requirements
Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)
At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

Keyboard and a Microsoft Mouse or some other compatible pointing device

Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution
Sound card
Speakers or headphones
Windows 7

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher drive

Windows 8

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more
info)

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

15.What is direct X?
16.Different File system Fat 32 vs NTFS
17.What are diff file partiotions.

Desktop
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is CPU.
What is cache
Different types of RAM
Diff bw RAM and ROM

5. Types of Hard disk IDE/SATA/Solid State

6. What is Intel Turbo Boost technology
7. Different PORTS in PC
8. Power Flee.
9. AGP vs PCI Express.
10.SATA vs IDE.
11.Types of USB.
12.Type of Printer
Character Printer Dot matrix
Line Printer InkJet /Laser Printer
13.HDMI/VGA/DVI
14.Different type of BIOS
Outlook:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is PST and OST and differentiate b/w them.

What is the limit of PST size?
Default location of PST and OST.
What are the diff versions of Outlook?

How To Questions:
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How

to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to

configure an exchange account in outlook.

add additional mailbox in outlook.
Set Up an Out of Office in Outlook.( KB0012286)
Create an Email Signature in Outlook.(KB0012283)
Back Up or Copy Your Outlook Mail, Contacts and Other Data.
Export Your Outlook Contacts to a CSV File and vice versa.
create Mailing list from existing Outlook Contacts.
Archive Old Mail in Outlook and move emails from one PST to another. (KB0012296)
Change the Default Font in Outlook.
Add Bcc Recipients in Outlook.
Insert an Image Inline in an Email with Outlook.
Increase the Font Size While Reading Mail in Outlook.
Delete an Address from the Outlook Auto-Complete List.
Make Links Work in Outlook.
Restore Outlook Mail, Contacts and Other Data from a Backup.
Schedule Emails in Outlook.
Use Word as Your Default Email Editor in Outlook.
Add/Remove a Background Image to a Message in Outlook.
Filter One Sender's Mail to a Certain Folder Automatically in Outlook.
Set the Default Account in Outlook.
Enable/Disable the Outlook Reading Pane.
Request a Delivery Receipt for a Message in Outlook.
Change the New Mail Sound in Outlook.
Change the Way Unread Messages are Highlighted in Outlook.
Forward a Message as an Attachment with Outlook.
setup rules in Outlook.
book a Conference room through Outlook.(not sure if this done by users in inventiv)

How
How
How
How
How

to
to
to
to
to

delete an old meeting from Outlook.

setup meetings/Appointments.
share mailbox folder/Calendars
set up the voting option.
set up an auto reply.

Issues:
Not able to send/recieve mails.( KB0012287)
Outlook is showing Offline/Not connected.
Outlook keep prompting for username/password.
Outlook profile is not launching due to profile corruption.
Outlook is not launching when clicking on Outlook icon.
Not able to save emails in PST file/Archive.
Recover Deleted items
Not able to find archive folder in Outlook.
PST file is corroupted.
Email addreess/name not resolving in outlook.
Genuine emails goin to junk mail folder.
Outlook Reminder not appearing.
New mail notification not coming.
Outlook slow response.(KB0012290)
Outlook Rules not working.

Blackberry:
How
How
How
How
How
How
How
How

to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to

add a user to Blackberry server.

guide user for Enterprise Activation for exchange account?
troubleshoot SOS status on BB device.
delete user from Blackberry Server.
provide an Activation password for Blackberry server.
Lock and disable/Wipe handheld from server.
send service book/Re-Inforce Policy to the Blackberry Device.
set a device password.

Activ Sync:
Configure iPhone, iPads and Android phones using Active Sync.