Technological Institute of the Philippines

938 Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City

College of Computer Studies

CS 004 – NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Midterm Period
NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Name: Mata, Francis Joy M. Date: 11/09/2023

Program / Section: CS31S3 Instructor: Ma’am Karren
Discussion 4.3 Introduction to MAN and WAN

1. What are the main differences between a local area network and a wide area
network?
- Computers can be connected to one another through two different
types of computer networks: wide area networks (WANs) and local
area networks (LANs). WANs cover a wider region, such as a country,
a continent, or even the entire planet, whereas LANs are smaller
networks that cover a restricted geographical area, such as a home,
office, or building. Although WANs provide for more extensive
connectivity, LANs are usually faster and more secure.
Example:One example of a LAN is a home network, while one example of a
WAN is the Internet.
2. How does a metropolitan area network differ from a wide area network? How
are they similar?
- An area as large as a city or a number of buildings, such a college
campus, can be served by a metropolitan area network (MAN), a type
of network that goes between 5 and 50 kilometers in length. A MAN
operates primarily in Layer 2, or the data connection layer, of the OSI
model. It is bigger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, and it typically
provides communications via fiber optic cable. A MAN and a WAN are
similar in that they connect many LANs across a long distance to
enable devices to communicate over a vast region, but a MAN covers a
smaller area than a WAN.

3. What are the two types of technology that support metropolitan area
 networks?

Metropolitan area networks are supported by two different types of

technology:
● Wireless technology: To connect devices across a wide region, MANs can
also make use of wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, satellite, and microwaves.
● Fiber optic cables: These cables are perfect for MANs because they use light
to send data quickly and over great distances.
Example:WiMAX, or "Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access," is a
wireless broadband technology that can connect networks and offer high-
speed Internet access in urban areas.
4. What is Metro Ethernet, and how does it relate to metropolitan area networks?
Metro Ethernet is a kind of metropolitan area network (MAN) that transports
high-speed data over a metropolitan region using Ethernet technology.
Connecting numerous LANs over a vast region, it is an affordable substitute
for conventional WAN technologies like Frame Relay or T1. Multi-protocol and
multi-application support are features of Metro Ethernet, a layer 2 service
operating at the OSI model's data link layer.
5. What is a sub network, or network cloud, and how does it differ from a wide
area network?
A subnetwork, sometimes known as a network cloud, is a section of a larger
network that is divided by a switch or router. It is a logical arrangement of
devices with a shared network address that can be used to break up a big
network into more manageable, smaller sections. A wide area network (WAN)
is a kind of network that may connect numerous LANs and MANs over great
distances and spans a sizable geographic area, such as a nation or continent.
Example:The Internet is an example of a wide area network (WAN), and a firm
with numerous departments can utilize subnetworks to divide the devices
within those departments into logical groupings.
6. What is the difference between a station and a node?
In networking, the terms "station" and "node" are frequently used
synonymously to describe a network-connected device. However, a node is
any equipment that is linked to a network, such as routers, switches, and
servers, but a station usually refers to a device that may start a communication
session, like a computer or phone.
 Example:One example of a station is a computer, and one example of a node
is a router.
7. What are the main characteristics of a circuit-switched network? What are its
advantages and disadvantages?
A circuit-switched network's primary features are as follows: prior to data
transfer starting, two devices establish a dedicated communication path; this
communication path is maintained throughout the session even in the absence
of data transfers; and at the conclusion of the session, the communication
path is released.
Circuit-switched networks have the advantages of guaranteed quality of
service and being appropriate for real-time applications like video and audio.
Their non-scalability and inefficiency in data transfer are the drawbacks.
Example: Analog telephone network: When a call is made from one telephone
to another, switches within the telephone exchanges create a continuous wire
circuit between the two telephones, for as long as the call lasts
8. How does a weighted network graph differ from a network graph?
A weighted network graph is a particular kind of graph in which every edge or
link connecting nodes is given a cost or weight. The weight serves as a gauge
for the importance or strength of the link between the nodes. In contrast, a
network graph is a kind of graph in which a network of nodes and edges is
represented without any weights or costs applied to the edges.
Example: Food web network: An edge connecting species A and B indicates
that species A consumes species B. The nodes in a food web network
represent species. The number of times A eats B can be represented by the
weight of the edge.
9. For a weighted network graph, how many different definitions of weight can
you list?
Depending on the use case, several weight definitions can be applied to a
weighted network graph. Typical definitions of weight include: Cost or time;
Distance or length: The weight denotes the actual distance or length of the
edge connecting two nodes;
Example: An airline network is an illustration of a weighted network graph. An
airport is represented by each node in this network, and an airline that
connects two airports is represented by each directed edge. The weight of the
edge can represent the number of flights between the two airports or the
 distance between them
10. What are the basic goals of Dijkstra’s least-cost algorithm?
Dijkstra's least-cost algorithm's two main objectives are to ascertain the path's
weight or cost and to locate the shortest path between two nodes in a network.
The algorithm selects the node with the lowest tentative cost iteratively and
updates the costs of its neighbors. It does this by keeping track of all unvisited
nodes and their estimated costs.
Example: Dijkstra's algorithm can be used to Identifying the minimum cost
between two cities in a transportation network.
11. How can flooding be used to transmit a data packet from one end of the
network to another?
By broadcasting the data packet to every node in the network, flooding can be
used to transfer data packets across network boundaries. Upon receiving the
packet, every node forwards it to all of its neighbors—aside from the one from
which it originated—until it arrives at its intended destination.
Example:An emergency message can be sent via flooding to every device in
the affected area.
12. How are the hop count and the hop limit used to control flooding?
By capping the number of times a packet can be forwarded, the hop count and
hop limit help prevent flooding. A packet's hop count indicates how many
nodes it has passed through, whereas a packet's hop limit is the maximum
number of hops it can take before being rejected.
Example:The maximum number of times a packet can be forwarded within a
network is 10 hops.
13. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of:
-Centralized routing
-Distributed routing
-Adaptive routing

In centralized routing, the network's entire routing configuration is decided by

a single entity. Although it offers a worldwide view of the network and is simple
to manage, it is not scalable and may become a single point of failure. Every
network node makes its own routing choices when routing is distributed.
Although it can be difficult to manage, it is fault-tolerant and scalable.
Adaptive routing modifies routing paths dynamically in response to network
conditions. Although it is adaptable to changing network conditions, putting it
 into practice can be challenging.

14. What can cause network congestion?

Numerous factors, such as excessive traffic volume, subnet management
issues, broadcast storms, multicasting, obsolete hardware, and
oversubscription, can result in network congestion. Packet loss, poor network
performance, and other problems can result from congestion.

15. How can network congestion be avoided?

By prioritizing network traffic and ensuring that critical applications receive the
necessary bandwidth, techniques like traffic shaping, load balancing, and
quality of service (QoS) policies help prevent network congestion.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dijkstra%27s_algorithm
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-lan-and-wan/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_network
https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/circuit-switched
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/types-of-area-networks-lan-man-and-wan/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Ethernet

https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/subnet

https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/circuit-switched
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighted_network

https://testbook.com/gate/flooding-in-computer-networks-
notes#:~:text=Flooding%20in%20computer%20networks%20is%20a
%20simple%20yet,link%20excluding%20the%20one%20from%20which
%20it%20arrived.

https://thisvsthat.io/centralized-routing-vs-distributed-routing

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/what-is-network-congestion-common-
causes-and-how-to-fix-them/