Chapter 6: Telecommunications and Networking

Question 1

What are the primary business reasons for using networks?

3 reasons

Answer 1

1. Networked computer systems enable organizations to become more flexible so they can adapt to rapidly changing business conditions.
2. Networks allow companies to share hardware, computer applications, and data across the organization and among different organizations.
3. Networks make it possible for geographically dispersed employees and workgroups to share documents, ideas, and creative insights

Question 2

What Is a Computer Network? Bandwidth?

Answer 2

Computer network: is a system that connects computers and other devices (e.g., printers) through communications media so that data and information can be transmitted among them.

Bandwidth: refers to the transmission capacity of a network; it is stated in bits per second.The ‘speed’ of the network (how muchy information can flow at a given time)

Question 3

What are the differences between LANs and WANs?

Answer 3

Local area network (LAN): connects two or more devices in a limited geographical region, usually within the same building, so that every device on the network can communicate with every other device

Wide area network (WAN): is a network that covers a large geographical area. WANs typically connect multiple LANs

Question 4

Describe an enterprise network

Answer 4

Enterprise network: Organizations today have multiple LANs and may have multiple WANs.
“the organization’s backbone”

• allows the transfer of only business-specific-data, not open to anyone

Question 5

Define Communications Channel. Then, compare and contrast the three wireline communications channels.

Answer 5

Communications Channel: Communicating data from one location to another requires some form of pathway or medium

Twisted-Pair Wire
* Inexpensive and widely used, easy to use
* Slow (low bandwidth)

Coaxial Cable
* higher bandwidth
* expensive and inflexible
* difficult to use

Fibre Optics
* *Very high bandwidth *
* inexpensive
* difficult to use

Question 6

Describe the various technologies that enable users to send high-volume data over any network.

define Ethernet and Transmission Control/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Answer 6

Ethernet: It specifies how data should be transmitted and received using electrical signals through network cables.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): the protocol of the internet.
(1) It manages the movement of data packets between computers by establishing a connection between the computers,
(2) it sequences the transfer of packets,
(3) it acknowledges the packets that have been transmitted.

Question 7

Describe the Ethernet and TCP/IP protocols.

first define Internet Protocol (IP)

Answer 7

Internet Protocol (IP): is responsible for disassembling, delivering, and reassembling the data during transmission.

The process:
* Before data are transmitted over the Internet, they are divided into small, fixed bundles called packets. The transmission technology that breaks up blocks of text into packets is called packet switching.

• Each packet carries the information that will help it reach its destination—the sender’s IP address, the intended recipient’s IP address, the number of packets in the message, and the sequence number of the particular packet within the message.
• Each packet travels independently across the network and can be routed through different paths in the network. When the packets reach their destination, they are reassembled into the original message.

Question 8

Describe the various ways that you can connect to the Internet.

Answer 8

Connecting through an Online Service
Internet service provider (ISP): is a company that provides Internet connections for a fee. Large Canadian ISPs include Bell
Canada and Rogers Communications

Connecting through Other Means

• Internet kiosks have been located in such public places as libraries and airports for use by people who do not have their own computers.

Connecting through Satellite

Question 9

Identify each part of an Internet address.

also define Internet Protocol (IP) address, also explain domain names

Answer 9

Internet Protocol (IP) address: Each computer on the Internet has an assigned address, that distinguishes it from all other computers.

• The IP address consists of sets of numbers, in four parts, separated by dots.
  
  • Ex. IP address of one computer might be 135.62.128.91

Domain names: consist of multiple parts, separated by dots that are read from right to left.
* Ex. “.ca” indicate that this is a Canadian site. “.org” is organization

Question 10

Describe the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Answer 10

World Wide Web (the Web or WWW): is a system of universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information through a client/server (servers provide computing services for PCs (‘Clients’)) architecture.

Internet (“the Net”): is a global WAN that connects approximately 1 million organizational computer networks in more than 200 countries in all continents

Question 11

Intranet vs Extranet

(in an organization context)

Answer 11

Intranet is a network that uses Internet protocols so that users can take advantage of familiar applications and work habits.

• Intranets support communication and collaboration inside an organization

Extranet connects parts of the intranets of different organizations. It also enables business partners to communicate securely over the Internet using virtual private networks (VPNs)

Question 12

What are the functions of browsers?

Answer 12

Browsers: provide a graphical front end that enables users to point and click their way across the Web, a process called surfing

• Ex. Google Chrome was the leading browser

Question 13

Differentiate between search engines and metasearch engines.

Answer 13

Search engine: is a computer program that searches for specific information by keywords and then reports the results.

• searches and displays results from its own database

Metasearch engines: search several engines at once and then integrate the findings to answer users’ queries.

• searches and displays results from multiple databases

Question 14

Describe the various reasons that portals are useful to us.

Answer 14

Portal: is a web-based, personalized gateway to information and knowledge that provides relevant information from different IT systems and the Internet using advanced search and indexing techniques

Commercial (public) portal: is the most popular type of portal on the Internet. It is intended for broad and diverse audiences, and it offers routine content

• Ex. Yahoo

Affinity portal: offers a single point of entry to an entire community of affiliated interests, such as a hobby group or a political party

• Ex. Your university most likely has an affinity portal for its alumni

Corporate portal: offers a personalized, single point of access through a web browser to critical business information located inside and outside an organization.

• Ex. Gap inc. employee portal

Industrywide: portal serves entire industries.

• Ex. Canadian Trucking Alliance a portal for the trucking industry and the trucking community

Question 15

What are some reasons why the publication of material in a number of languages is so important?

Answer 15

• Companies invest resources to make their websites accessible in multiple languages as a result of the global nature of the business environment.
• When companies are disseminating information around the world, getting that information correct is essential.

Question 16

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electronic mail.

Answer 16

Electronic mail (email) is the largest-volume application running over the Internet.

• most used method of communicating
• However, the amount of email that managers receive has become overwhelming. The problem is
  that too many emails can actually make a business less productive.

Question 17

Why are many companies bringing their call centres back to their country of origin?

Answer 17

Some companies are moving their call centre operations back to their country of origin for several reasons:

1. They believe they have less control of their operations when the centres are located overseas. They must depend on the vendor company to uphold their standards, such as quality of service.
2. Difficulty is language differences, which can create serious communication problems.
3. Companies that manage sensitive information risk breaching customer confidentiality and security.

Question 18

Describe Voice-over-Internet Protocol.

Answer 18

Internet telephony, also known as Voice-over- Internet Protocol or VoIP, phone calls are treated as just another kind of data. That is, your analog voice signals are digitized, sectioned into packets, and then sent over the Internet.

• Ex. Skype

Question 19

What are the advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting to you as an individual?

Answer 19

Telecommuting: Distributed workers are those who have no permanent office at their companies, preferring to work in home offices

Telecommuting offers a number of potential advantages for employees, employers, and society.

• For employees, the benefits include reduced stress and improved family life
• increased productivity, the ability to retain skilled employees, and the ability to attract employees who do not live within commuting distance

However, telecommuting also has some potential disadvantages.

• Feelings of isolation, possible loss of fringe benefits, lower pay, no workplace visibility, lack of socialization, and the potential for slower promotions

Question 20

Describe virtual collaboration and why it is important to you.

Answer 20

Virtual collaboration: (or e-collaboration) refers to the use of digital technologies that enable organizations or individuals who are geographically dispersed to collaboratively plan, design, develop, manage, and research products, services, and innovative applications

• Ex. Slack

Question 21

Define crowdsourcing, and provide two examples of crowdsourcing not mentioned in this section.

Answer 21

Crowdsourcing, in which an organization outsources a task to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call

• ex. Wikipedia - relies on volunteers from around the world to create and edit articles.

*not crowdfunding

Question 22

Identify the business conditions that have made videoconferencing more important.

Answer 22

Videoconference: participants in one location can see participants, documents, and presentations at other locations

• The latest version of videoconferencing, called telepresence, enables participants to seamlessly share data, voice, pictures,
  graphics, and animation by electronic means.

Question 23

Describe the differences between e-learning
and distance learning.

Answer 23

E-learning refers to learning supported by the Web. It can take place inside classrooms as a support to conventional teaching, such as when students work on the Web during class.

Distance learning refers to any learning situation in which teachers and students do not meet face to face

Question 24

What are virtual universities? Would you be willing to attend a virtual university? Why or why not?

Answer 24

Virtual universities are online universities in which students take classes on the Internet either at home or in an offsite location