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Computer Science > 9. Fundamentals of Communications and Networking > Flashcards

9. Fundamentals of Communications and Networking Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 2 types of networks?

A

Local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN)

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2
Q

What are the 2 types of network topologies?

A

Bus and star

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3
Q

Describe the set up of a bus topology.

A

Nodes are connected in a daisy chain along a single central communications channel.

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4
Q

Describe the set up of a star network.

A

A central node of hub provides a common connection point.

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5
Q

What are the features of a bus network?

A
  • Requires CSMA/CD technology to prevent crashes- Data sent in one direction at a time- Terminator connected to the end of the backbone to prevent signals bouncing back
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6
Q

What is the difference between a hub and a switch?

A

The hub broadcasts the messages to everyone on the LAN, whereas the switch only broadcasts to the intended recipient

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7
Q

What is a server?

A

A powerful computer which provides services or resources requested by clients. Like the waiter.

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8
Q

What is a client?

A

Computer which does the requesting.

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9
Q

What are the 2 types of networks?

A

Client-server, and P2P

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10
Q

What are the features of a client server network?

A
  • Central server is used to manage security- Some files are held on the central server to save retrieval time- Some of the processing is done by the server- Client requests- Requires specialist to administer network
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11
Q

What are the features of a P2P network?

A
  • Suitable for small computers- No central servers- All computers can easily see each others files- No server required for comms- Data is futile
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12
Q

What is P2P commonly used for?

A

Illegal data streaming (torrent)/file sharing sites

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13
Q

What is the cloud?

A

A remote server run by organisations such as Dropbox or Microsoft

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14
Q

What is a common serial data cable?

A

USB

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15
Q

What is a common parallel data cable?

A

Ribbons used to connect internal components.

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16
Q

What are the features of serial transmission?

A

Bits are sent one by one in a single direction along a single data line.

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17
Q

What are the features of parallel transmission?

A
  • Several bits are sent at once along separate lines- Only works well up to 2m- Skew and crosstalk are disadvantages
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18
Q

What is skew?

A

When the bits of data are sent along parallel transmission cables and arrive at different times due to faults in wires - data is received corrupted

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19
Q

What is crosstalk?

A

EM interference corrupting the data during transmission (more common in parallel to the amount of wires)

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20
Q

What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous transmission?

A

In sync, all data is transmitted in time with the clock. In async, bytes of data is sent as soon as there is available space.

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21
Q

What is the issue with async?

A

Although cheaper, the transmission is slower.

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22
Q

What is the pro of async?

A

Includes a parity bit, which provides error detection.

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23
Q

What is latency?

A

The delay between the first byte being sent and received.

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24
Q

What are some common elements of protocol?

A
  • Rate of transmission- Data format- Error checking
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25
Q

How do you calculate the bit rate?

A

Bit rate = baud rate x number of bits per signal

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26
Q

What are the key elements of networked devices?

A

WAP (+ router + modem), NIC, MAC, SSID

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27
Q

What is a WAP?

A

Wireless network access point.

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28
Q

What is a NIC?

A

Network interface card.

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29
Q

What is the SSID?

A

Name of the network (e.g. BT-PWTSK)

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30
Q

How are collision prevented?

A

With the use of CSMA/CD

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31
Q

What feature does CSMA include?

A

RTS/CTS (request to send, clear to send)

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32
Q

How can you secure networks?

A

Using WPA, WPA2 or MAC address whitelists

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33
Q

Describe a client server network.

A

Where networked computers (clients) are connected to one of more powerful computers (servers) that handle service requests and has resources.

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34
Q

Describe a logical bus topology.

A

A network arrangement where every host computer is connected to a single main data cable

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35
Q

Describe a peer-to-peer network.

A

A network where computers are connected to each other with equal status and share resources and workloads without any central server.

36
Q

Describe a physical star topology.

A

A network arrangement where every host computer has a dedicated connection to a central hub or switch.

37
Q

What are firewalls?

A

A security checkpoint application that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic

38
Q

What are internet registries?

A

Organisations responsible for distributing domain names and IP addresses.

39
Q

What is a digital certificate?

A

An electronic document proving ownership of a public key and hence authorising your identity.

40
Q

What is a digital signature?

A

A mathematical scheme for producing a unique signature that verifies the authenticity of encrypted digital messages.

41
Q

What is a gateway?

A

A device that allows data to flow form one network to another.

42
Q

What is a MAC address?

A

A hardware ID number assigned to the NIC to uniquely identify a device on a network for communication purposes.

43
Q

What is a packet?

A

A block of data.

44
Q

What is a router?

A

A device used to direct packets being transmitted between networks.

45
Q

What is an IP address?

A

A numerical address assigned to any device communicating via the internet.

46
Q

What is asymmetric encryption?

A

An encryption technique where a public key available to everyone is used to encrypt the data, but decrypted with a private key known only to the recipient.

47
Q

What is bandwidth?

A

The range of frequencies at which data can be transmitted through a channel, measured in Hz.

48
Q

What is baud rate?

A

The number of signal changed per second.

49
Q

What is bit rate?

A

The number of bits transmitted per second.

50
Q

What is CSMA/CD?

A

A wireless protocol where computers avoid collisions by transmitting only once the channel is idle.

51
Q

What is packet switching?

A

A method for sending data over a network by breaking data into several data packets which are sent independently and then reassembled once they arrive.

52
Q

What is protocol?

A

A common set of rules followed during data transmission.

53
Q

What is RTS/CTS?

A

Request to send/clear to send - A protocol to prevent collision during wireless transmission, involving an additional RTS and CTS signal being sent for idle confirmation.

54
Q

What is symmetric encryption?

A

A encryption technique where the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt. A copy of the key must be sent between both parties.

55
Q

What is the DNS?

A

Domain name server - A naming system for computer systems connected to the internet. Contains the IP addresses of all domain names on the internet.

56
Q

What is the internet?

A

A global network of computer systems using TCP/IP

57
Q

What is Wi-Fi?

A

A wireless local area network that is based on international standards.

58
Q

What is WPA/WPA2?

A

A security certification program that secures wireless networks by encrypting transmitted data.

59
Q

What is a trojan?

A

A malware that hides within another file and misleads the user of its true intent.

60
Q

What is a virus?

A

A program that attaches itself to another computer file to infect a computer system by replicating itself and inserting its code into other files.

61
Q

What is a worm?

A

A standalone virus capable of spreading and infecting a computer without being attached to a file.

62
Q

What is TCP/IP stack?

A

A suit of networking protocols that allow networked computers to communicate, consisting of four layers.

63
Q

Email server

A

A computer system on a network designated to handle emails being sent and received by other computers on the network.

64
Q

File transfer protocol (FTP)?

A

Used for downloading or uploading files from a computer system.

65
Q

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)?

A

Used to fetch, render and transmit webpages.

66
Q

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)?

A

An encrypted version of HTTP

67
Q

Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3)?

A

An application layer standard protocol used to receive emails from a server.

68
Q

Secure Shell (SSH)?

A

A cryptographic network protocol for secure and remote access to computers.

69
Q

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)?

A

Internet standard communication protocol for sending emails.

70
Q

What is a web browser?

A

An application software used to view webpages a computer system has requested from a web server.

71
Q

What is a web server?

A

A computer system on a network designated to handle web requests through HTTP(S).

72
Q

What does an IP address consist of?

A

Host and network identifiers.

73
Q

What is a subnet?

A

A smaller network that forms a subset of a whole network.

74
Q

What is a non-routable IP address?

A

A private IP address used for devices on a private network hidden behind a router or a firewall.

75
Q

What is a routable IP address?

A

A public IP address that is register under the DNS.

76
Q

What is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)?

A

A protocol for allocating unique dynamic IP addresses for computers on local networks when the local network attempts to connect to the internet.

77
Q

What is Network Address Translation (NAT)?

A

Mapping a private IP address to a public IP address by modifying address information in the packet header when it is being sent through the router.

78
Q

What is port forwarding?

A

Routing data through additional port to allow a server in a non-routable network to provide services to the internet.

79
Q

What is a client-server model?

A

A model where the client send requests to the server and the server responds with a response message.

80
Q

What is a CRUD application?

A

A web application with create, retrieve, update and delete functionality.

81
Q

What is Extension Markup Language (XML)?

A

A markup language for econding documents to be sent over a network in a human and machine readable format.

82
Q

What is JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)?

A

A human readable file format used for transmitting information in attribute-value pairs and arrays.

83
Q

What is REST?

A

A representational state transfer method used to map a networks functionality to database operations.

84
Q

What is Web Socket Protocol?

A

A protocol defining an API, establishing a full-duplex ‘socket’ connection between a web browser and a server over TCP. This create a persistent connection between client and server.

85
Q
A

Computer Science (2 decks)

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