1.2 Explain the characteristics of network topologies and network types.

Question 1

What is a Mesh network topology?

Answer 1

Each node is interconnected with every other node, providing high redundancy and reliability

Question 2

What is a Star/hub-and-spoke network topology?

Answer 2

Connects all devices to a central hub or switch.

It is easy to manage and troubleshoot but relies on the central hub’s functionality.

Question 3

What is a Bus network topology?

Answer 3

Connects all devices along a single cable, known as a bus.

Data sent by one device is available to all devices, but if the bus fails, the network is disrupted.

Question 4

What is a Ring network topology?

Answer 4

Connects devices in a circular sequence.

Each device has exactly two neighbors for communication purposes.

Data travels in one or both directions around the ring.

Often used in MAN and WANs

Question 5

What is a Hybrid network topology?

Answer 5

Combines two or more different types of topologies,

such as star and mesh, to form a more complex network structure

Question 6

What is a Peer-to-peer network?

Answer 6

Allows each device to act as both a client and a server.

It is decentralized and each device shares resources directly with others.

Question 7

What is a Client-server network?

Answer 7

Has centralized servers that provide resources and services to client devices.

Clients request resources, and servers respond to those requests.

Question 8

What is a Local Area Network (LAN)?

Answer 8

Covers a small geographic area, like a single building or campus, providing high-speed connectivity within that area.

Question 9

What is a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)?

Answer 9

Spans a larger geographic area than a LAN,

such:
city
large campus

Question 10

What is a Wide Area Network (WAN)?

Answer 10

Spans a large geographic area, often a country or continent,

Connects multiple LANs and MANs.

Question 11

What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)?

Answer 11

802.11

Uses wireless communication technologies,

such as:
Wi-Fi

Limited distance

Question 12

What is a Personal Area Network (PAN)?

Answer 12

Small network used for connecting devices in an individual’s workspace, typically within a range of a few meters.

Bluetooth

Question 13

What is a Campus Area Network (CAN)?

Answer 13

Connects multiple LANs within a limited geographic area,

university campus corporate campus

Question 14

What is a Storage Area Network (SAN)?

Answer 14

Provides access to consolidated block-level storage, enhancing performance and accessibility of storage resources.

Question 15

What is a Software-defined Wide Area Network (SDWAN)?

Answer 15

Uses software to manage and control network resources and services across a WAN, optimizing performance and reducing costs.

No central point

Example: Cloud

Question 16

What is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)?

Answer 16

Directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses

Easy routing

Question 17

What is Multipoint Generic Routing Encapsulation (mGRE)?

Answer 17

Remote sites can communicate with each other using a tunnel.

Dynamic Mesh

Question 18

What is a demarcation point?

Answer 18

is the physical point where the public network of a telecommunications company ends

the private network of a customer begins.

Question 19

What is a smartjack?

Answer 19

Device that provides diagnostics to troubleshoot and monitor the performance of a telecommunications line.

Question 20

What is a virtual switch (vSwitch)?

Answer 20

Is a software-based switch that allows virtual machines (VMs) to communicate with each other and with physical network devices.

Question 21

What is a virtual network interface card (vNIC)?

Answer 21

Is a virtualized version of a physical network interface card, providing network connectivity to virtual machines.

Question 22

What is Network Function Virtualization (NFV)?

Answer 22

Replaces physical network devices with virtual versions

Question 23

What is a hypervisor?

Answer 23

Is software that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs) by abstracting hardware resources.

Question 24

What is AD HOC network?

Answer 24

Devices connected directly to each other.

Question 25

Advantages of a mesh topologies?

Answer 25

Able to self heal

Many devices can connect to each other

High Fault Tolerance

Question 26

Advantages of Peer to Peer?

Answer 26

Easy to deploy

Low Cost

Question 27

Disadvantages of Peer to Peer?

Answer 27

Difficult to administer

Difficult to secure

Question 28

Advantages of Client-server network?

Answer 28

Better Performance

Easier Administration

Question 29

Disadvantages of Client-server network?

Answer 29

High Cost

Complex to setup

Question 30

What is a NAS?

Answer 30

Connects shared stored devices across a network.

File level access

Question 31

What are the Advantages of NFV?

Answer 31

Easy to deploy

Easy to manage from an Hypervisor

Question 32

When to use Satellite networks?

Answer 32

When you have a remote site that is difficult to access.

Question 33

What are some cons of Satellite?

Answer 33

High Latency

High Cost

High frequencies that can be absorbed by rain- 2GHZ

250 ms up
250 ms down

Question 34

Pros of Copper

Answer 34

Easy to install
Cheap

Question 35

What devices commonly use Copper cables?

Answer 35

Cable modem
DSL

Question 36

Cons of Copper?

Answer 36

Limited bandwidth

Question 37

What uses DSL?

Answer 37

Telephone Lines

Question 38

What is Cable Broadband?

Answer 38

Transmit multiple frequencies across

Question 39

Tell me about Fiber?

Answer 39

High speed

Higher cost

Great for long distance

Difficult to repair