9: Fundamentals of Communication & Networking Flashcards
Serial Transmission Method
Data bits are sent one at a time over a single wire
Parallel Transmission Method
Several bits are sent simultaneously over multiple wires
Serial over Parallel Transmission (4)
- Cheaper due to needing fewer wires
- Does not suffer from crosstalk as there is only one transmission line
- Does not suffer from data skewing as only one bit is transmitted at a time
- Can be used over longer distances due to needing fewer wires, there being only one transmission line and only one bit transmitted at a time
Synchronous Transmission (3)
- Streams of bits are transferred over a communication channel at a constant rate
- The transmitter and receiver are synchronised to a common clock signal
- There is no need for start and stop bits so more information is sent per unit time
Asynchronous Transmission (3)
- There’s no common clock signal so start and stop bits are used to control communication
- The start bit synchronises the clock in the receiver to the transmitter clock
- The stop bit provides time for the receiver to process the received data and allows the next start bit to be recognised
Baud Rate
Number of signal changes per second
Bit Rate
Number of bits transmitted over a channel per unit time
Bandwidth
The range of frequencies that can be transmitted across a network connection
Latency
Delay from the time the signal is sent to when it is received
Protocol
A set of rules that allow two devices to communicate
Differentiation between Baud Rate & Bit Rate (2)
- Bit rate can be higher than baud rate if more than one bit is encoded in each signal change
- Bit rate = Baud rate x Bits per signal change
Bit Rate is ____ to Bandwidth
Directly proportional
Physical Star Topology (4)
- Every device is directly connected to a central node
- Every device sends data via the central node
- The switch sends packets of data to the intended recipient only
- The hub sends every packet of data to every device
Logical Bus Topology (4)
- A node broadcasts data to the entire network
- All nodes on the network receive the data
- A node examines the received data to check if it is the intended recipient
- Only one node can successfully transmit data at a time as nodes use a shared transmission medium
Peer-to-Peer Networking (4)
- Each computer has equal status
- Resources stored on any computer
- No centralised management of security
- The same resource can be shared from multiple computers
Client-Server Networking (5)
- One or more computer(s) nominated as server(s), other computers are clients
- Clients access resources from server(s)
- Centralised management of security
- Resources cannot be accessed if server(s) turned off
- Hardware and software on server(s) can be optimised for providing services
WiFi (2)
- A wireless local area network that is based on international standards
- Used to enable devices to connect to a network wirelessly
Components Required for Wireless Networking (2)
- Wireless network adapter
- Wireless access point
Wireless Network Adapter
Adds wireless connectivity to a device, allowing it to connect to a wireless network
Wireless Access Point
Creates the wireless network by sending and receiving data signals with devices over a radio wave communication channel
How Wireless Networks are Secured (3)
- Strong encryption of transmitted data using WPA (WiFi Protected Access) / WPA2
- SSID (Service Set Identifier) broadcast disabled
- MAC (Media Access Control) address white list
WPA / WPA2
WiFi Protected Access are protocols, that encrypt all data, which is transmitted on the network
SSID Broadcast Disabled
Broadcasting of SSIDs can be disabled so only clients, who know the SSID, can find the network. However, it is still possible to discover an SSID maliciously
MAC Address Whitelist (3)
- MAC addresses of authorised devices are added to a whitelist on the wireless access point
- When a device tries to connect to the network, the wireless access point checks the MAC address of the device
- If the MAC address is on the whitelist, the device is allowed to connect
CSMA / CA (3)
- Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance is a protocol for preventing data collision on a wireless network
- A transmitting device listens to the communication channel. If it is idle, it sends the data. Otherwise, it waits a random amount of time and retries
- The hidden node problem is where multiple devices are out of each other’s broadcast range but have the wireless access point in their broadcast ranges. If node A is transmitting, node B would not be able to detect it. Thus, they could be transmitting simultaneously but unable to see that the channel isn’t idle so their data signals would collide at the wireless access point and be unable to be received
CSMA / CA with RTS / CTS (9)
- Carrier Sense Multiple Access over Collision Avoidance with Request To Send / Clear To Send is a protocol, which alleviates the hidden node problem
- Transmitting device checks for traffic
- If a signal is present, then the transmitter continues to wait
- If the channel is detected as idle, the transmitter would send an RTS
- WAP responds to one RTS signal with a CTS signal
- If CTS is not received, the transmitter would wait a random amount of time before resending the RTS
- When CTS is received, the transmitter begins transmitting data
- Receiver sends acknowledgement (ACK) if all data is received
- If no ACK is received then data is resent
SSID
Service Set Identifier is a locally unique ID for a network. A wireless client must use the same SSID as the one put in the access point to join
Structure of the Internet
A group of WANs across the globe connected by various mediums
URL
A uniform resource locator is a full address of a file on the Internet
Domain Name
Identifies the organisation on the Internet, where a resource resides
FQDN
A fully qualified domain name is the domain name preceded by its server
IP Address
Identifies every device that sends and receives data on a network and the internet
Domain Name Organisation
They contain the organisation name, type of organisation and then the country the organisation is registered to
Packet Switching
Where data packets with the same end points go through different routes based on what is fastest at the time
Router (4)
- A networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks
- Routers are used in homes, small and large businesses and ISP networks
- Core routers are part of the Internet backbone and can forward a packet to many interfaces so it arrives quickly at its destination
- Each router has a routing table, which is a set of rules used to to determine the best router-to-router hop a packet should take
Gateway (3)
- Used when packets are passed between networks with different protocols
- Convert a packet to a different protocol
- The header data is modified to the format of the new protocol
Firewall
Sits between a trusted and untrusted (such as the Internet) network and performs packet filtering or stateful inspection to block unwanted incoming or outgoing traffic