1BTSE4

I Semester B.Tech (SE) Examination, January 2018

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Advances in Computer Networks
Time: 3 Hours Max.Marks: 60

Part-A
Answer all of the following: (2X10=20)

1. What is mean by data communication?

Data communications refers to the transmission of this digital data

between two or more computers and a computer network or data
network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to
exchange data. The physical connection between networked computing
devices is established using either cable media or wireless media. The
best-known computer network is the Internet.

2. What are the three criteria necessary for an effective and efficient
network?
The factors that can make a computer network effective and efficient are as
follows:-

i) Performance: There are many ways to measure performance including

access time, response time, the amount of time required for message travel
from one device to another device.

ii) Security: Protecting data from unauthorized access and virus can be
resolved by using a firewall and by using internet security antivirus.

iii) Reliability: Accuracy of delivery and frequency of failure can measure the
network reliability. It also depends on a frequency of failure and recovery time

3. Why are protocols needed?

Network protocols made the modernization of the Internet possible. Such protocols
allow computers to communicate with other computers without users having to know
what is happening in the background.
 Network protocols are sets of rules for exchanging information. This exchange
usually occurs much like a dialog between two computers. The exchange often
begins with the client sending a signal to the server, providing key information about
what kind of data is being requested.

4. What does 10Base-T mean?

10Base-T is the Ethernet wiring standard for 10 Mbps (megabits per

second) for a maximum distance of approximately 100 meters per segment
over unshielded twisted pair cables terminated with RJ-45 connectors.

5. What is OSI and what role does it play in computer networks?

OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It has been developed by ISO –
‘International Organization of Standardization‘, in the year 1974. It is a 7 layer
architecture. All these 7 layers work collaboratively to transmit the data from one
person to another across the globe.

6. What is the advantage of address sharing?

By using address translation instead of routing, address sharing provides an

inherent security benefit.

That’s because host PCs on the Internet can only see the public IP address of
the external interface on the computer that provides address translation and not
the private IP addresses on the internal network.

7. What common software problems can lead to network defects?

Software related problems can be any or a combination of the following:
– client server problems
– application conflicts
– error in configuration
– protocol mismatch
– security issues
– user policy and rights issues

8. Mention the various architecture in a LAN.

 Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol
 Network Topology
 Network operating system software
9. Write short notes on FDDI.

Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), which is an optical data communication

standard used for long distance networks provides communication with fiber optic
lines up to 200 kilometers at a speed of 100 megabit per second (Mbps). FDDI has
dual primary and secondary communication rings. The primary ring works alongside
the network, and the secondary ring remains idle and available for backup.

10. What do mean by tunnel mode?

This is a mode of data exchange wherein two communicating

computers do not use IPSec themselves. Instead, the gateway that is
connecting their LANs to the transit network creates a virtual tunnel
that uses the IPSec protocol to secure all communication that passes
through it.

Tunnel mode is most commonly used between gateways, or at an

end-station to a gateway, the gateway acting as a proxy for the hosts
behind it.

Tunnel mode is most commonly used to encrypt traff

11. What is a node?

A node is a point of intersection/connection within a network. In an environment

where all devices are accessible through the network, these devices are all
considered nodes. The concept of nodes works on several levels, but the big-picture
view defines nodes as the major centers through which Internet traffic is typically
routed. This usage is somewhat confusing, as these same Internet nodes are also
referred to as Internet hubs.

12. What are proxy servers and how do they protect computer
networks?
A proxy server verifies and forwards incoming client requests to other servers for
further communication. A proxy server is located between a client and a server where
it acts as an intermediary between the two, such as a Web browser and a Web
server. The proxy server's most important role is providing security.

13. What are different ways of securing a computer network?

Use firewall, filter and access control capabilities to enforce network access policies
between these zones using the least privileged concept. Require strong passwords
to prevent guessing and/or machine cracking attacks, as well as other
strong formsof authentication.
14. Distinguish between peer-to-peer relationship and a primary-
secondary relationship.

15. What are header and trailers and how do they get added and
removed?
The control data added to the beginning of a data is called headers. The control
data added to the end of a data is called trailers. At the sending machine, when
the message passes through the layers each layer adds the headers or trailers.
At the receiving machine, each layer removes the data meant for it and passes
the rest to the next layer.

16. Write short notes on cyclic redundancy checks CRC.

In the cyclic redundancy check, a fixed number of check bits, often called a
checksum, are appended to the message that needs to be transmitted. The data
receivers receive the data and inspect the check bits for any errors. Mathematically,
data receivers check on the check value attached by finding the remainder of the
polynomial division of the contents transmitted. If it seems that an error has occurred,
a negative acknowledgement is transmitted asking for data retransmission.

17. What are the steps followed in checksum generator?

The sender follows these steps

a) The units are divided into k sections each of n bits.
b) All sections are added together using 2’s complement to get the sum.
c) The sum is complemented and become the checksum.
d) The checksum is sent with the data.

18. What are the different communication modes in HDLC?

HDLC supports 3 modes of communication between stations.

a) Normal response mode (NRM)
b) Asynchronous response mode (ARM)
c) Asynchronous balanced mode (ABM)

19. What can be done to fix signal attenuation problems?

 A common way of dealing with such a problem is to use repeaters and hub, because it
will help regenerate the signal and therefore prevent signal loss. Checking if cables are
properly terminated is also a must.

20. What is the role of IEEE in computer networking?

The IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Computer Communications

(TCCC) promotes activities, disseminates information, and furthers the growth of
those systems that integrate computing functions and telecommunications
facilities. TCCC sponsors the "802" series of Local and Metropolitan
Area NetworksStandards.

21. What are the functions of a DTE? What are the functions of a DCE?
Features of Data Terminal Equipment: With the help of link protocol, provides the
data communication control function to the digital data communication. It can be
single piece equipment or multiple pieces interconnected to perform the required
functions.

Data communications equipment (DCE) refers to computer hardware devices used to

establish, maintain and terminate communication network sessions between a data
source and its destination.

22. Discuss the mode for propagating light along optical channels.

There exist two modes for propagating light all along the optical channels:

i. Multimode

ii. Single mode

Multimode: In this mode, the numerous beams from the light source travel
through the core in several paths.

Single mode: In this mode, the fiber along with the extremely small diameter
which limits the beams to the few angles, which causes almost horizontal
beam.

23. What is redundancy?

Network redundancy is a process through which additional or alternate instances
of network devices, equipment and communication mediums are installed
within network infrastructure.

24. Write short notes on error correction.

 Error correction may generally be realized in two different ways: Automatic repeat
request (ARQ) (sometimes also referred to as backward error correction): This is
an error control technique whereby an error detection scheme is combined with
requests for retransmission of erroneous data.

25. What is the purpose of hamming code?

A hamming code can be designed to correct burst errors of certain lengths. So
the simple strategy used by the hamming code to correct single bit errors must be
redesigned to be applicable for multiple bit correction.

Part-B
Answer any four of the following: (4X10=40)

1. What is the significance of subnetting? Explain.

Subnetting identifies a network with a range of Internet Protocol addresses in the

Internet. It also allows large networks to be divided into smaller networks, each with
its own set of IP addresses.

Specification

The subnet mask is the value assigned during subnetting. If, for example, your Internet
Service Provider has given you an IP address of 192.168.0.1/24, it means that your subnet
mask is 255.255.255.0. The 24 value represents the 24 1's of the binary equivalent of
255.255.255.0, which is 11111111.11111111.11111111.0 A /32 subnet mask means that
there are 32 1's from left to right and is equivalent to 255.255.255.255.

Significance

Subnetting identifies how many computers with unique IP addresses can be available in the
network. This is determined, again, by its subnet mask. The number of computers is
determined by subtracting the last value in the subnet mask from 256. A 255.255.255.0
subnet mask has a last value of 0, thus there are 256 maximum computers available. A
255.255.255.240 can host a maximum of 16 computers.

Considerations

The first and the last IP addresses in a subnet are reserved. In reality, a /24 subnet can host a
maximum number of 254 computers. The maximum count is always minus 2 because the first
IP address is considered as the network ID, which is how a network is identified in the
Internet. The last IP address is the broadcast ID, which is used by computers inside the
network to forward or broadcast data.

2. Explain adaptive flow control in detail and its uses.

A method and system for directing data transfers between applications and devices
residing on different computers or devices using an adaptive flow control protocol has
been described. When an application or device requests to transfer data with another
application or device, adaptive flow control protocol adapts the way data is
transferred by observing when an application that is receiving data posts a receive
buffer and detects the receive buffer's size. Based upon the application's or device's
behavior, the adaptive flow control protocol transfers the data in a mode that is best
suited for the application.

Computer networking allows applications residing on separate computers or devices

to communicate with each other by passing data across the network connecting the
computers. Traditional network media, such as Ethernet and ATM, are not reliable for
application-to-application communication and provide only machine-to-machine
datagram delivery service. In order to provide reliable application-to-application
communication, transport protocol software run on the host machine must provide the
missing functionality.

Typically, the protocol software for network communication is implemented as a

combination of a kernel-mode driver and a user-mode library. All application
communication passes through these components. As a result, application
communication consumes a significant amount of the host processor's resources and
 incurs additional latency. Both of these effects degrade application communication
performance. This degradation significantly limits the overall performance of
communication intensive applications, such as distributed databases.

3. With a neat diagram explain in detail about the Network

architecture.

UML standard has no separate kind of diagrams to describe network architecture and
provides no specific elements related to the networking. Deployment diagrams could be
used for this purpose usually with some extra networking stereotypes. Network architecture
diagram will usually show networking nodes and communication paths between them.

The example of the network diagram below shows network architecture with configuration
called "two firewall demilitarized zone". Demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a host or network
segment located in a "neutral zone" between the Internet and an organization’s intranet
(private network). It prevents outside users from gaining direct access to an organization’s
internal network while not exposing a web, email or DNS server directly to the Internet.

Hub
Hub is a network device that links network components such as workstations and servers at
OSI layer 1 (L1). Hub contains a port for each network device and copies data received on
one port to every other port whether required or not. Because of this data transmissin
collisions are very likely.
Switch
Switch is a network device that moves network packets from one device to another at OSI
layer 2. Switching devices can determine MAC addresses of the packets destination devices
by monitoring network traffic. Once destination addresses are determined, switches can send
specific packets to the port that connects to the network adapter with a specific MAC address.
(Hubs send every packet to all the ports.)

Router
Router is a network device that moves data packets from one network segment to another
based on OSI layer 3 addresses. Routing devices are capable to exchange information with
other routers on the network to determine the most efficient path from one device to another.

Load Balancer
Load balancer is a network device that facilitates horizontal clustering, where multiple
servers are configured to perform the same function on the network. The load balancing
functionality may be provided by software or a hardware device in one of two ways:
Distributed - each node in the cluster receives every packet destined for the cluster.
Routed - load balancer receives every inbound packet destined for a cluster and determines
which host in the cluster to send the packet to.

Firewall
Firewall is a network device that controls the flow of traffic between network
segments using OSI layer 3 addresses in order to meet security requirements. Firewall
services could be implemented by a dedicated hardware device (particularly to protect the
boundary between the internal network and the Internet), or by a network host running
software firewall.
 4. Discuss in detail about the layers of OSI model.
The main concept of OSI is that the process of communication
between two endpoints in a network can be divided into seven
distinct groups of related functions, or layers. Each communicating
user or program is on a device that can provide those seven layers of
function.
In this architecture, each layer serves the layer above it and, in turn,
is served by the layer below it. So, in a given message between
users, there will be a flow of data down through the layers in the
source computer, across the network, and then up through the layers
in the receiving computer.

Layer 7 - Application
To further our bean dip analogy, the Application Layer is the one at the top - it’s what
most users see. In the OSI model, this is the layer that is the “closest to the end
user”. Applications that work at Layer 7 are the ones that users interact with directly.
A web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) or other app - Skype, Outlook,
Office - are examples of Layer 7 applications.

Layer 6 - Presentation
The Presentation Layer represents the area that is independent of data
representation at the application layer - in general, it represents the preparation or
translation of application format to network format, or from network formatting to
application format. In other words, the layer “presents” data for the application or the
network. A good example of this is encryption and decryption of data for secure
transmission - this happens at Layer 6.

Layer 5 - Session
When two devices, computers or servers need to “speak” with one another, a
session needs to be created, and this is done at the Session Layer. Functions at this
layer involve setup, coordination (how long should a system wait for a response, for
example) and termination between the applications at each end of the session.

Layer 4 – Transport
The Transport Layer deals with the coordination of the data transfer between end
systems and hosts. How much data to send, at what rate, where it goes, etc. The
best known example of the Transport Layer is the Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP), which is built on top of the Internet Protocol (IP), commonly known as
TCP/IP. TCP and UDP port numbers work at Layer 4, while IP addresses work at
Layer 3, the Network Layer.

Layer 3 - Network
Here at the Network Layer is where you’ll find most of the router functionality that
most networking professionals care about and love. In its most basic sense, this
layer is responsible for packet forwarding, including routing through different routers.
You might know that your Boston computer wants to connect to a server in
California, but there are millions of different paths to take. Routers at this layer help
do this efficiently.

Layer 2 – Data Link

The Data Link Layer provides node-to-node data transfer (between two directly
connected nodes), and also handles error correction from the physical layer. Two
sublayers exist here as well - the Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical
Link Control (LLC) layer. In the networking world, most switches operate at Layer 2.

Layer 1 - Physical
At the bottom of our OSI bean dip we have the Physical Layer, which represents the
electrical and physical representation of the system. This can include everything
from the cable type, radio frequency link (as in an 802.11 wireless systems), as well
as the layout of pins, voltages and other physical requirements. When a networking
problem occurs, many networking pros go right to the physical layer to check that all
of the cables are properly connected and that the power plug hasn’t been pulled from
the router, switch or computer, for example.
 5. How CSMA/CA differs from CSMA/CD? Explain.

CSMA/CD CSMA/CA

Stands for carrier sense Collision avoidance.

multiple access with collision
detection.

Here,device monitors the Here, device examines the

media for the presence of a media for the presence of a
data signal. data signal.

This method is used by 802.3 This method is used by

Ethernet network. 802.11 Ethernet network.

It can only detect error. It can detect error and also

solve the error.

It can achieve upto 70% Only achieve upto 30%.

efficiency and heavy load.

It does not take any often to can take.

prevent collision.

CSMA/CD is used at wired Wireless.

network.

CSMA/CD is more popular CSMA/CA is less popular than

than CSMA/CA. CSMA/CD.

6. Name the four basic network topologies and explain them giving all
the Relevant features.

Bus Topology
In case of Bus topology, all devices share single communication line or
cable.Bus topology may have problem while multiple hosts sending data
at the same time. Therefore, Bus topology either uses CSMA/CD
technology or recognizes one host as Bus Master to solve the issue. It is
one of the simple forms of networking where a failure of a device does
not affect the other devices. But failure of the shared communication line
can make all other devices stop functioning.
Both ends of the shared channel have line terminator. The data is sent in
only one direction and as soon as it reaches the extreme end, the
terminator removes the data from the line.

Star Topology
All hosts in Star topology are connected to a central device, known as
hub device, using a point-to-point connection. That is, there exists a
point to point connection between hosts and hub. The hub device can be
any of the following:

 Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater

 Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge

 Layer-3 device such as router or gateway

As in Bus topology, hub acts as single point of failure. If hub fails,

connectivity of all hosts to all other hosts fails. Every communication
between hosts, takes place through only the hub.Star topology is not
expensive as to connect one more host, only one cable is required and
configuration is simple.
Ring Topology
In ring topology, each host machine connects to exactly two other
machines, creating a circular network structure. When one host tries to
communicate or send message to a host which is not adjacent to it, the
data travels through all intermediate hosts. To connect one more host in
the existing structure, the administrator may need only one more extra
cable.

Failure of any host results in failure of the whole ring.Thus, every

connection in the ring is a point of failure. There are methods which
employ one more backup ring.

Mesh Topology
In this type of topology, a host is connected to one or multiple hosts.This
topology has hosts in point-to-point connection with every other host or
may also have hosts which are in point-to-point connection to few hosts
only.

Hosts in Mesh topology also work as relay for other hosts which do not
have direct point-to-point links. Mesh technology comes into two types:
  Full Mesh: All hosts have a point-to-point connection to every other host in
the network. Thus for every new host n(n-1)/2 connections are required. It
provides the most reliable network structure among all network topologies.

 Partially Mesh: Not all hosts have point-to-point connection to every other
host. Hosts connect to each other in some arbitrarily fashion. This topology
exists where we need to provide reliability to some hosts out of all.

Tree Topology
Also known as Hierarchical Topology, this is the most common form of
network topology in use presently.This topology imitates as extended
Star topology and inherits properties of bus topology.

This topology divides the network in to multiple levels/layers of network.

Mainly in LANs, a network is bifurcated into three types of network
devices. The lowermost is access-layer where computers are attached.
The middle layer is known as distribution layer, which works as mediator
between upper layer and lower layer. The highest layer is known as core
layer, and is central point of the network, i.e. root of the tree from which
all nodes fork.

7. Write short notes on TELNET.

Telnet is a protocol used on the Internet or local area network to provide a

bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a
virtual terminal connection. User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet control
information in an 8-bit byte oriented data connection over the Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP).
 Telnet was developed in 1969 beginning with RFC 15, extended in RFC 855, and
standardized as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Standard STD 8, one
of the first Internet standards. The name stands for "teletype network

Historically, Telnet provided access to a command-line interface (usually, of

an operating system) on a remote host, including most network equipment
and operating systems with a configuration utility (including systems based
on Windows NT). However, because of serious security concerns when using Telnet
over an open network such as the Internet, its use for this purpose has waned
significantly in favor of SSH.

The term telnet is also used to refer to the software that implements the client part of
the protocol. Telnet client applications are available for virtually all computer
platforms. Telnet is also used as a verb. To telnet means to establish a connection
using the Telnet protocol, either with command line client or with a programmatic
interface. For example, a common directive might be: "To change your password,
telnet into the server, log in and run the passwd command." Most often, a user will
be telnetting to a Unix-like server system or a network device (such as a router) and
obtaining a login prompt to a command line text interface or a character-based full-
screen manager

8. Discuss briefly about E.Mail(SMTP,MIME and IMAP).

E-mail Protocols are set of rules that help the client to properly transmit
the information to or from the mail server. Here in this tutorial, we will
discuss various protocols such as SMTP, POP, and IMAP.

SMPTP
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It was first proposed
in 1982. It is a standard protocol used for sending e-mail efficiently and
reliably over the internet.

Key Points:

 SMTP is application level protocol.

  SMTP is connection oriented protocol.

 SMTP is text based protocol.

 It handles exchange of messages between e-mail servers over TCP/IP

network.

 Apart from transferring e-mail, SMPT also provides notification regarding

incoming mail.

 When you send e-mail, your e-mail client sends it to your e-mail server which
further contacts the recipient mail server using SMTP client.

 These SMTP commands specify the sender’s and receiver’s e-mail address,
along with the message to be send.

 The exchange of commands between servers is carried out without

intervention of any user.

 In case, message cannot be delivered, an error report is sent to the sender

which makes SMTP a reliable protocol.

IMAP
IMAP stands for Internet Mail Access Protocol. It was first proposed
in 1986. There exist five versions of IMAP as follows:

1. Original IMAP

2. IMAP2

3. IMAP3

4. IMAP2bis

5. IMAP4

Key Points:

 IMAP allows the client program to manipulate the e-mail message on the
server without downloading them on the local computer.

 The e-mail is hold and maintained by the remote server.

 It enables us to take any action such as downloading, delete the mail without
reading the mail.It enables us to create, manipulate and delete remote
message folders called mail boxes.

 IMAP enables the users to search the e-mails.

  It allows concurrent access to multiple mailboxes on multiple mail servers.

MIME

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) media types were originally

devised so that e-mails could include information other than plain text.
MIME media types indicate the following things −

 How different parts of a message, such as text and attachments, are

combined into the message.

 The way in which each part of the message is specified.

 The way different items are encoded for transmission so that even software
that was designed to work only with ASCII text can process the message.

Now MIME types are not just for use with e-mail; they have been
adopted by Web servers as a way to tell Web browsers what type of
material was being sent to them so that they can cope with that kind of
messages correctly.

MIME content types consist of two parts −

 A main type

 A sub-type

9. Explain the frame format, operation and ring maintenance feature of

IEEE 802.5 MAC protocol.

IEEE 802.5 Frame:

Start Frame Delimiter and Control IEEE 802.5 packet FCS Frame Delimiter and Status

SFD, Start Frame Delimiter. 8 bits.

Js and Ks are infractions. Js of ones. Ks of zeros. Signals the start of a token or
packet.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
J K 0 J K 0 0 0

Access Control. 8 bits.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
P2 P1 P0 TI M PR2 PR1 PR0

 Priority bit. The first three bits are reserved to indicate the priority of the
token.
 Token Indicator bit. This bit indicates whether a token or packet.
 Monitor Count bit. Monitors for packets that continually loop through the
network.
 Priority Reservation bits. The last three bits reserves a token on a priority
basis.

Frame Control. 8 bits.

The frame contains data or control information.

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
F1 F0 0 0 PC3 PC2 PC1 PC0

 Frame Type bits. The first two bits indicates a data or command frame
type. The data frames contain upper-layer protocol information. The
command frames contain control information with no upper-layer protocol
information. This control information is: 00=MAC, 01=non-MAC, or
1x=reserved.
 Physical Control Field bits. This is only for MAC frames.

Value Physical Control Field

0 Normal Buffer.
1 Express Buffer.
2 Purge.
3 Claim Token.
4 Beacon.
5 Active Monitor.
6 Standby Monitor.

10. Explain the different approaches of framing in detail.

Framing is a point-to-point connection between two computers or devices consists of a wire

in which data is transmitted as a stream of bits. However, these bits must be framed into
discernible blocks of information. Framing is a function of the data link layer. It provides a
way for a sender to transmit a set of bits that are meaningful to the receiver. Ethernet, token
ring, frame relay, and other data link layer technologies have their own frame structures.
Frames have headers that contain information such as error-checking codes.

At data link layer, it extracts message from sender and provide it to receiver by providing
sender’s and receiver’s address. The advantage of using frames is that data is broken up into
recoverable chunks that can easily be checked for corruption.

Problems in Framing –

 Detecting start of the frame: When a frame is transmitted, every station must be able
to detect it. Station detect frames by looking out for special sequence of bits that marks
the beginning of the frame i.e. SFD (Starting Frame Delimeter).

 How do station detect a frame: Every station listen to link for SFD pattern through a
sequential circuit. If SFD is detected, sequential circuit alerts station. Station checks
destination address to accept or reject frame.
 Detecting end of frame: When to stop reading the frame.

Types of framing – There are two types of framing:

1. Fixed size – The frame is of fixed size and there is no need to provide boundaries to the
frame, length of the frame itself acts as delimiter.
 Drawback: It suffers from internal fragmentation if data size is less than frame size
 Solution: Padding

2. Variable size – In this there is need to define end of frame as well as beginning of next
 11. Explain the duties of Transport layer.
The transport layer is the layer in the open system interconnection (OSI)
model responsible for end-to-end communication over a network. It provides
logical communication between application processes running on different
hosts within a layered architecture of protocols and other network
components.

The transport layer is also responsible for the management of error correction,
providing quality and reliability to the end user. This layer enables the host to
send and receive error corrected data, packets or messages over a network
and is the network component that allows multiplexing.

Transport layers work transparently within the layers above to deliver and receive
data without errors. The send side breaks application messages into segments and
passes them on to the network layer. The receiving side then reassembles segments
into messages and passes them to the application layer.
The transport layer can provide some or all of the following services:

 Connection-Oriented Communication: Devices at the end-points of a network

communication establish a handshake protocol to ensure a connection is
robust before data is exchanged. The weakness of this method is that for
each delivered message, there is a requirement for an acknowledgment,
adding considerable network load compared to self-error-correcting packets.
The repeated requests cause significant slowdown of network speed when
defective byte streams or datagrams are sent.

 Same Order Delivery: Ensures that packets are always delivered in strict
sequence. Although the network layer is responsible, the transport layer can
fix any discrepancies in sequence caused by packet drops or device
interruption.

 Data Integrity: Using checksums, the data integrity across all the delivery
layers can be ensured. These checksums guarantee that the data transmitted
is the same as the data received through repeated attempts made by other
layers to have missing data resent.

 Flow Control: Devices at each end of a network connection often have no way
of knowing each other's capabilities in terms of data throughput and can
therefore send data faster than the receiving device is able to buffer or
 process it. In these cases, buffer overruns can cause complete
communication breakdowns. Conversely, if the receiving device is not
receiving data fast enough, this causes a buffer underrun, which may well
cause an unnecessary reduction in network performance.

 Traffic Control: Digital communications networks are subject to bandwidth and

processing speed restrictions, which can mean a huge amount of potential for
data congestion on the network. This network congestion can affect almost
every part of a network. The transport layer can identify the symptoms of
overloaded nodes and reduced flow rates.

 Multiplexing: The transmission of multiple packet streams from unrelated

applications or other sources (multiplexing) across a network requires some
very dedicated control mechanisms, which are found in the transport layer.
This multiplexing allows the use of simultaneous applications over a network
such as when different internet browsers are opened on the same computer.
In the OSI model, multiplexing is handled in the service layer.

 Byte orientation: Some applications prefer to receive byte streams instead of

packets; the transport layer allows for the transmission of byte-
oriented data streams if required.

12. Explain in details about circuit switching and packet switching.

Circuit Switching
In circuit switching network dedicated channel has to be established before
the call is made between users. The channel is reserved between the users till
the connection is active. For half duplex communication, one channel is
allocated and for full duplex communication, two channels are allocated. It is
mainly used for voice communication requiring real time services without any
much delay.
As shown in the figure 1, if user-A wants to use the network; it need to first ask
for the request to obtain the one and then user-A can communicate with user-
C. During the connection phase if user-B tries to call/communicate with user-D
or any other user it will get busy signal from the network.

Packet Switching
In packet switching network unlike CS network, it is not required to establish
the connection initially. The connection/channel is available to use by many
users. But when capacity or number of users increases then it will lead to
congestion in the network. Packet switched networks are mainly used for data
and voice applications requiring non-real time scenarios.

As shown in the figure 2, if user-A wants to send data/information to user-C

and if user-B wants to send data to user-D, it is simultaneously possible. Here
information is padded with header which contains addresses of source and
destination. This header is sniffed by intermediate switching nodes to
determine their route and destination.
In packet switching, station breaks long message into packets. Packets are
sent one at a time to the network. Packets are handled in two ways, viz.
datagram and virtual circuit.
In datagram, each packet is treated independently. Packets can take up any
practical route. Packets may arrive out of order and may go missing.

In virtual circuit, preplanned route is established before any packets are

transmitted. The handshake is established using call request and call accept
messages. Here each packet contains virtual circuit identifier(VCI) instead of
the destination address. In this type, routing decisions for each packet are not
needed.

13. Explain the following

(i)PGP
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an e-mail encryption scheme. It has become
the de-facto standard for providing security services for e-mail communication.

As discussed above, it uses public key cryptography, symmetric key cryptography, hash
function, and digital signature. It provides −

 Privacy
 Sender Authentication
 Message Integrity
 Non-repudiation
Along with these security services, it also provides data compression and key management
support. PGP uses existing cryptographic algorithms such as RSA, IDEA, MD5, etc., rather
than inventing the new ones.

Working of PGP

 Hash of the message is calculated. (MD5 algorithm)

  Resultant 128 bit hash is signed using the private key of the sender (RSA Algorithm).

 The digital signature is concatenated to message, and the result is compressed.

 A 128-bit symmetric key, KS is generated and used to encrypt the compressed

message with IDEA.

 KS is encrypted using the public key of the recipient using RSA algorithm and the
result is appended to the encrypted message.

(ii)SSH.

The salient features of SSH are as follows −

 SSH is a network protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP layer. It is designed to
replace the TELNET which provided unsecure means of remote logon facility.

 SSH provides a secure client/server communication and can be used for tasks such as
file transfer and e-mail.

 SSH2 is a prevalent protocol which provides improved network communication

security over earlier version SSH1.

SSH Services
SSH provides three main services that enable provision of many secure solutions. These
services are briefly described as follows −

 Secure Command-Shell (Remote Logon) − It allows the user to edit files, view the
contents of directories, and access applications on connected device. Systems
administrators can remotely start/view/stop services and processes, create user
accounts, and change file/directories permissions and so on. All tasks that are
feasible at a machine’s command prompt can now be performed securely from the
remote machine using secure remote logon.

 Secure File Transfer − SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is designed as an

extension for SSH-2 for secure file transfer. In essence, it is a separate protocol
layered over the Secure Shell protocol to handle file transfers. SFTP encrypts both
the username/password and the file data being transferred. It uses the same port as
the Secure Shell server, i.e. system port no 22.

 Port Forwarding (Tunneling) − It allows data from unsecured TCP/IP based

applications to be secured. After port forwarding has been set up, Secure Shell
reroutes traffic from a program (usually a client) and sends it across the encrypted
tunnel to the program on the other side (usually a server). Multiple applications can
transmit data over a single multiplexed secure channel, eliminating the need to open
many ports on a firewall or router.