Assignment 1 (100 points)

Due at 11:59PM on Sep. 13 (Tuesday)

Chapter 1
Problem 1 (20 points). What advantage does a circuit-switched network have over a packet-
switched network? Also, what advantage does a packet-switched network have over a circuit-
switched network?

Problem 2 (20 points). Assume that a packet has a length of L bits, the link’s distance is d km,
propagation speed is s m/s, and transmission rate is R bps. What’s the propagation delay here?
What is the end-to-end delay (ignoring the queuing delay and processing delay)?

Problem 3 (60 points). Consider two end systems, A and B, connected by a single link. Let dprop
and dtrans be the propagation delay and transmission time of the packet.
(a) Suppose end system A begins to transmit the packet at time t = 0. At time t = dtrans, where is
the last bit of the packet?
(b) Suppose dprop is greater than dtrans. At time t = dtrans, where is the first bit of the packet?
(c) Suppose dprop is less than dtrans. At time t = dtrans, where is the first bit of the packet?
(d) Suppose s = 2.5 · 108 m, L = 120 bits, and R = 56 kbps. Find the distance m so that dprop
equals dtrans.