Chapter 2 - Hardware and Networking Basics

Question 1

What is a CPU and why do we care about it (when picking a new computer?)

Answer 1

• “Central Processing Unit”
• The speed of the CPU is dependent on the unit’s clock speed (aka processor speed)

Question 2

What unit is used to measure a computer’s CPU clock speed? What does it measure?

Answer 2

• Hertz (cycles per second)

Question 3

“You’re such a hard worker”

Answer 3

• Mommy

Question 4

What is the benefit of a computer having multiple physical cores?

Answer 4

Your computer can multitask, actually!

Question 5

When a single-core processor seems to be running mulitiple things at once, what is it actually doing?

Answer 5

It is multi-threading. That means that it is interweaving two processes to create the illusion of multi-tasking.

Question 6

What is multi-threading?

Answer 6

One processor interweaving time slices from separate programs to create the illusion of multiple programs running at once.

Question 7

What is hyper-threading?

Answer 7

One physical core is assigned to virtual cores, or logical cores. Each logical core is assigned a thread. The cores break each program into parts to gain efficiency in the order of operations.

Question 8

What is the more common term for “primary storage” ?

Answer 8

Memory

Question 9

Primary memory is volatile, true or false?

Answer 9

True

Question 10

What does it mean for storage to be “volatile” ?

Answer 10

Everything stored in memory is lost if the power is turned off.

Question 11

What is cache memory?

Answer 11

Holds the information between the RAM and the computer so the CPU doesn’t have to sit around waiting for the RAM to load. It’s the quickest-to-access storage.

Question 12

What is RAM? Bonus points: what does it stand for?

Answer 12

The decently easy-access storage on a computer.
Stands for Random-Access Memory (because you can access any part of it as easily as the next)

Question 13

How does secondary storage differ from primary storage? (3 main ways)

Answer 13

Secondary:
- Non-volatile
- Must be loaded before it can be accessed
- Takes way longer to retrieve (think booting up a computer)

Question 14

What are the two main types of secondary storage? (full names & acronyms)

& what are the main differences between the two?

Answer 14

• Hard-Disk Drives (HDDs)
• Solid-state Drives (SSDs)

HDDs are slower, cost less, and are easier to break.

Question 15

What is a CPU’s sequence for accessing data?

Answer 15

1. Check the cache
2. Check the RAM
   
   • If it IS in the RAM, overwrite the cache with the new information
3. If it is NOT in the RAM, go to secondary storage

Question 16

What are the two base units for measuring data quantity?

Answer 16

A bit
A byte = 8 bits

A byte looks like this, for context:
00110101

Each one of those numbers is a bit.

Question 17

What are the commonly used prefixes in IS and what do they mean?

Answer 17

Kilo: Thousand
Mega: Million
Giga: Billion
Tetra: Trillion

Question 18

What is a local area network and how does it relate to a wide-area network?

Answer 18

• A Local Area Network (LAN) is a set of two or more computers physically connected
• A Wide-Area Network (WAN) is a mama LAN -> computers connected across nearby cities.

Question 19

What does HTTP stand for and what is it?

Answer 19

• “Hypertext Transfer Protocol”
• Language used to transfer web-based information

Question 20

Tell me a bit about the World Wide Web why dontcha

Answer 20

• WWW is NOT the only service that runs on the internet (they are not interchangeable words)
• It is a collected of interconnected documents and other web resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs

(If you are still confused, Julia, there is a great diagram about the differences and similarities between the two in figure 2.11 in ch 2.5 Networking Concepts)

Question 21

What is “the cloud” ?

Answer 21

Some of the servers connected to the Internet that offer specific services/functions

Question 22

What does TCP/IP stand for and what does it do?

Answer 22

• “Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol”
• It specifies how files should be chopped up into “packets” and delivered

Question 23

What is an IP address?

Answer 23

Gives every single device connected to the internet a unique location (like a home address)

Question 24

What is the value of a VPN? (And what does it stand for?)

Answer 24

• “Virtual Private Network”
• Allows two devices to connect over internet utilizing encryption to prevent unauthorized access to the data being shared
• You need a shared encryption key. Kind of cool.

Question 25

What are the three main communication mediums?

Answer 25

• Coaxial Cable
• Twisted-Pair Cable
• Fiber Cable (fasted form… sends photons through a tube like Koopa Cape)