Name: Mbalenhle Ndaba

Unique No: 640309

1.  Describe the functionality provided by the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) 

TCP is a connection-oriented, guaranteed-delivery protocol used to send data

packets between devices over a network such as the internet. It is part of the
internet protocol suite. IT is responsible for breaking data into segments,
reassembling them at the other end, resending data lost in transit and resequencing
data. It sends data, waits for an acknowledgement and retransmits if necessary.

2. Compare and contrast the application protocols SMTP and HTTP

- SMTP is a communicating protocol for formatting and sending email messages

from a client to a server or between servers.

- HTTP enables clients to interact with websites by allowing them to connect to

and retrieve from a server. It defines the format and transmission of messages as
well as what actions web servers and clients’ browsers should take in response to
different commands.

- Both SMTP and HTTP work in the Application Layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model.
- HTTP uses port 80 for communicating with web clients and servers and runs on
TCP.
- SMTP uses port 25 or 587 for standard communications and port 465 for
encrypted communications and runs on TCP.

3. For each of the following pairs of terms, explain each term, making sure to identify
the similarities (if any) and the key differences between the two terms.

(a) “DNS” (“Domain Name Service”) and “ARP” (“Address Resolution Protocol”) –

The Domain Name System is a hierarchical and decentralized naming system for
computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private
network while the ARP is a procedure for mapping a dynamic Internet Protocol
address to a permanent physical machine address in a local area network. DNS
translates domains to IP addresses while ARP translates IP addresses to MAC
addresses.
(b) “IPv4 address” (“Internet Protocol (v4)”) and “MAC address” (“Medium Access
Control”) –
 A MAC address is a unique 48-bit hexadecimal hardware-level address assigned
to every networking device by its manufacturer. An IPv4 address is a 32-bit
address assigned to a device so that it can communicate with other devices on a
TCP/IP network by the administrator of a network or Internet Service Provider.

(c) “Internet checksum" and “Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)" -

An internet checksum is a 16-bit arithmetic sum used in data validation. It is used by

IP, TCP/UDP. Cycle Redundancy check is used by ethernet and Wi-Fi and uses
polynomial code to compute R from M/G using modulo-2 (XOR).

4. There are two popular technologies for Local Area Network (LAN) design, namely
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet and IEEE 802.11 WiFi. Use your knowledge of these
technologies to answer the following questions.

(a) What Datalink Layer service model is provided by each of these LAN
technologies, how are they similar and how are they different?

They provide a connection-less DLL service model for both. Ethernet is

unacknowledged while Wi-Fi is acknowledged.

(b) Briefly discuss three similarities about Logical Link Control (LLC) frames in
Ethernet and WiFi.

It uses 48-bit MAC addresses for source and destination, uses CRC-32 checksum
for error detection in trailer of frame, supports variable size frames and transmits
on a shared broadcast channel using a CSMA protocol.

(c) Which of these two LAN technologies has the higher bit error rate, and why?

Wi-Fi has a higher bit-error rate because of unguided transmission over the ‘air
interface’ which is subject to a lot of ambient interference and noise. It is also
usually half-duplex, with multi-path fading and limited RF power.

(d) Which LAN technology provides better support for mobile users, and how?

Wi-Fi provides better support for mobile users because wireless RF signals
propagate unidirectionally, allowing roaming. Devices automatically associate
with the best AP signal strength and multiple Aps can be configured as an
extended service set.
 (e) Explain any two other features of WiFi technology that are not available (or
even possible) in Ethernet LANs.
-can adapt data rate based on signal quality
-MAC-layer retransmission of unacknowledged frames

5. Why are the layers of the OSI model important to the network administrator?

The network administrator uses the OSI model to troubleshoot network problems by
verifying functionality of each layer. In many cases, troubleshooting the network
problem requires the network administrator to isolate at which layer the network
problem occurs.

6. Identify and discuss three techniques in preventing threats to a network security.

Install a firewall
Ensure proper access controls
Use IDS/IPS to track potential packet floods