ZIMBABWE OPEN UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF INFROMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DEPARTMENT SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

INTODUCTION TO COMPUTER NETWORKING –BITH271

3 HOURS

INSTRUCTION TO CANDIDATES

This paper carries five (5) questions. Answer ALL.

Marks are indicated in brackets at the end of each question. Total marks are 100.

Question 1

(a) Name and describe the purpose and functions of the devices named A to F in Figure 1
below. [12 marks]

Many businesses have adopted the use Internet in their day to day transactions. Whilst there
Describe the operation of RSA [10 marks]

Figure 1 Topology
A – server Network management software, shared data

B, F – switch Network access

C – IP phone Telephony

D, E – Router Connect multiple networks and forward packets destined either for its own
networks or other networks
 (b) Name and describe the layers of the ISO OSI reference model. [7 marks]

OSI Model Function Protocols

Application Provide the application, or interface HTTP,SMTP, FTP, Telnet, DNS,
between user and network ARP, HTTPs
Presentation Formatting and encryption of data JPEG,MPEG,DOCx
Session Establishing and maintaining sessions
Transport End to end delivery of data TCP, UDP
Network Routing and packet delivery IP, RIP, OSPF, BGP
Data Link Formatting to appropriate media and PPP, HDLC, ATM, Frame Relay,
error checking
Physical Transmission of bits on the physical
devices
[2] [4] 1

(c) What is the name of the protocol suite used in Internet communication. [1 marks]

TCP/IP

Question 2

You have been allocated a block of IP addresses 172.16.128.0/17. You are required to
address devices in this network:

Figure 2 ABC Company network

You are required to fill in the table below:
Table 1 Subnetting

Device Interface IP Address Subnet mask

R1 G0/0 172.16.143.254 255.255.248.0
R1 G0/1 - -
R2 G0/0 172.16.135.254 255.255.248.0
R2 G0/1 172.16.151.254 255.255.248.0
R3 G0/0 172.16.152.254 255.255.252.0
R3 G0/1 - -
R1 S0/0/0 172.16.153.1 255.255.255.252
R1 S0/0/1 172.16.153.5 255.255.255.252
R2 S0/0/0 172.16.153.2 255.255.255.252
R2 S0/0/1 172.16.153.9 255.255.255.252
R3 S0/0/0 172.16.153.6 255.255.255.252
R3 S0/0/1 172.16.153.10 255.255.255.252
PC-A N/A 172.16.128.1 255.255.248.0
PC-B N/A 172.16.136.1 255.255.248.0
PC-C N/A 172.16.144.1 255.255.248.0
PC-D N/A 172.16.152.1 255.255.252.0
Notes:

 PC-A is the first usable address in Production department.

 PC-B is the first usable address in Marketing and Sales department.
 PC-C is the first usable address in Administration and Finance department.
 PC-D is the first usable address in Human Resources department.
 N/A stands for Not Applicable.
[20 marks]

Add 3 marks to every script for missing instructions (R1, R2 and R3 are given the last
address in the subnet)

Question 3

(a) With the aid of a diagram, give a full description of the Ethernet frame. [10 marks]
 (b) Draw and label any cable used in networking. [7 marks]

Figure 3 optic fibre

Figure 4 UTP

Figure 5 Coaxial cable

(c) How many bits are there in:

i) IPv4 address 32
ii) IPv6 address 128
iii) MAC address 48 [3 marks]
Question 4

(a) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using the IEEE802.11 LAN.
Advantages [11 marks]
 The IEEE 802.11 is easy to installation.
 It has higher frequency range.
 It has efficient coding technique.
 The IEEE 802.11 has reduced wiring expense.
 It is less cost effective.
 Simultaneously use of equipment.
 It use unlicensed part of the radio spectrum.

Disadvantages
o It has traffic disruptions.
o Network security and the maintenance needed to stay secured.
o It is required periodic maintenance.
o Data transmitted over radio waves can be captured by any Wi-Fi ready devices in the
area.
o Unauthorized use.
o It has unauthorized uses.
o Frame spoofing.
o Session hijacking.

(b) Describe the four requirements that are addressed in network security. [4 marks]

 Confidentiality (encryption) - data confidentiality is vital. It can be attained by encrypting the

data before transmitting it across the network. This is the process of taking all the data that one
computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be
able to decode. If the communication is intercepted, it cannot be read by a hacker.

 Data Integrity - The receiver can verify that the data was transmitted through the Internet
without being changed or altered in any way. While it is important that data is encrypted over a
public network, it is just as important to verify that it has not been changed while in transit. If
tampering is detected, the packet is dropped.

 Authentication - Verify the identity of the source of the data that is sent. This is necessary to
guard against a number of attacks that depend on spoofing the identity of the sender.
Authentication ensures that the connection is made with the desired communication partner. The
receiver can authenticate the source of the packet by certifying the source of the information.

 Anti-Replay Protection - This is the ability to detect and reject replayed packets and helps
prevent spoofing. Anti-replay protection verifies that each packet is unique and not duplicated.
Packets are protected by comparing the sequence number of the received packets with a
sliding window on the destination host or security gateway. A packet that has a sequence
number that is before the sliding window is considered to be late or a duplicate packet. Late
and duplicate packets are dropped.

(c) What are the standards that define the following: [5 marks]
(i) Wireless LAN IEEE802.11
(ii) Bluetooth IEEE802.16
(iii) Wireless personal area networks (WPAN) IEEE802.15
(iv) MAC layer for token ring networks. IEEE802.5
(v) Ethernet MAC layer for bus networks that use CSMA/CD. IEEE802.3
Question 5

Figure 6 Dijkstra Least cost algorithm

a) Construct a Dijkstra Minimum Cost Path table for node A in Figure 3 above. [15 marks]

vertex u v w x y z
U 0 2u 5u 1u ∞ ∞
V 0 2u 5v 1u ∞ ∞
X 0 2u 4x 1u 2x ∞
Y 0 2u 3y 1u 2x 4y

b) Describe how the DHCP protocol works specifying at which layer it operates on. [5
marks]

1. DHCPDISCOVER: The client broadcasts a request for a DHCP server.

2. DHCPOFFER: DHCP servers on the network offer an address to the client.
3. DHCPREQUEST: The client broadcasts a request to lease an address from one
of the offering DHCP servers.
4. DHCPACK: The DHCP server that the client responds to acknowledges the
client, assigns it any configured DHCP options, and updates its DHCP database.
The client then initializes and binds its TCP/IP protocol stack and can begin
network communication.