The Institute of Management

Sciences
System And Network Administration
Assignment No. 1
Name: Syed Sibtain Haider Naqvi
ID: 183318
Date: July 1, 2022.
Submitted to: Sir Syed Ashraf Ali

Q#1: What is a Network Topology? Explain what are the types of

Network Topology?
Network topology is the way a network is arranged, including the physical or
logical description of how links and nodes are set up to relate to each other. The
configuration, or topology, of a network is key to determining its performance.
Network topology is the way a network is arranged, including the physical or
logical description of how links and nodes are set up to relate to each other. The
arrangement of a network that comprises nodes and connecting lines via sender
and receiver is referred to as network topology.
Network topology refers to the geometric arrangement of links and nodes in a
computing network. Alternately, network topology may describe how the data is
transferred between these nodes.
 There are two types of network topologies: physical and logical. Physical topology
emphasizes the physical layout of the connected devices and nodes, while the
logical topology focuses on the pattern of data transfer between network nodes
There are several different logical and physical network topologies from which
administrators can choose to build a secure, robust, and easily maintainable
topology. The most popular configurations include:
Star topology: The most common network topology, star topology connects each
device in the network to a central hub. Devices can only communicate with each
other indirectly through the central hub. 
Bus topology: It is also known as backbone network topology, this configuration
connects all devices to a main cable via drop lines. The advantages of bus network
topology lie in its simplicity, as there is less cable required than in alternative
topologies, which makes for easy installation.
Mesh topology: A dedicated point-to-point link connects each device on the
network to another device on the network, only carrying data between two
devices. 
Ring topology: Two dedicated point-to-point links connect a device to the two
devices located on either side of it, creating a ring of devices through which data is
forwarded via repeaters until it reaches the target device. 

Q#2: What is OSI Layer model? Explain how it is used in network

structure?
The open systems interconnection (OSI) model is a model created by the
International Organization for Standardization which enables diverse
communication systems to communicate using standard protocols. In simple
words, the OSI provides a standard for different computer systems to be able to
communicate with each other.

Although the modern Internet doesn’t strictly follow the OSI Model (it more
closely follows the simpler Internet protocol suite), the OSI Model is still very
useful for troubleshooting network problems. Whether it’s one person who can’t
get their laptop on the Internet, or a web site being down for thousands of users,
 the OSI Model can help to break down the problem and isolate the source of the
trouble.

If the problem can be narrowed down to one specific layer of the model, a lot of
unnecessary work can be avoided.

The OSI Model can be seen as a universal language for computer networking. It’s
based on the concept of splitting up a communication system into seven abstract
layers, each one stacked upon the last.

7. Application Layer
6. Presentation Layer
5. Session Layer
4. Transport Layer
3. Network Layer
2. Data Link Layer
1. Physical Layer

Q#3: What is the purpose of Network Layer in the OSI model?

The Main function of the network layer is routing packets by discovering the best
path across a physical network. It is responsible for packet forwarding, including
routing through different routers. It uses network addresses, normally IP addresses
(Internet Protocol addresses), to route packets to a destination node. The protocols
that are used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer protocols.
Example of such protocols are IP and Ipv6. This includes setting up the routes for
data packets to take, checking to see if a server in another network is up and
running, and addressing and receiving IP packets from other networks. This last
process is perhaps the most important, as the vast majority of Internet traffic is
sent over IP.
Logical Addressing: In order to identify each device on internetwork uniquely,
the network layer defines an addressing scheme. The sender & receiver’s IP
addresses are placed in the header by the network layer. Such an address
distinguishes each device uniquely and universally.
 Routing: The network layer protocols determine which route is suitable from
source to destination. This function of the network layer is known as routing.

Q#4: What is the TCP Protocol? Why it is used in Transport Layer?

TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol. In terms of the OSI model, TCP is
a transport-layer protocol. It provides a reliable virtual-circuit connection between
applications; that is, a connection is established before data transmission begins.
Data is sent without errors or duplication and is received in the same order as it is
sent. No boundaries are imposed on the data; TCP treats the data as a stream of
bytes. It is a connection-oriented protocol means the connection established
between both the ends of the transmission. For creating the connection, TCP
generates a virtual circuit between sender and receiver for the duration of a
transmission. It provides acknowledgement of the received packets and is also
reliable as it resends the lost packets. It is better than UDP but due to these
features it has an additional overhead. It is used by application protocols like
HTTP and FTP. 

Q#5: What are the features of TCP and UDP protocols? In which
cases TCP is preferred over UDP?
UDP:
UDP TCP
O UDP Stands for user datagram
protocol.
O UDP is a simple protocol and it
provides non sequenced transport
functionality.
o UDP is a connectionless protocol.
o This type of protocol is used when
reliability and security are less
important than speed and size.
o UDP is an end-to-end transport level
protocol that adds transport-level
addresses, checksum error control, and
length information to the data from the
upper layer.
o The packet produced by the UDP
protocol is known as a user datagram.
o TCP stands for Transmission Control
Protocol.
o It provides full transport layer services
to applications.
o TCP generates a virtual circuit
between sender and receiver for the
duration of a transmission
o TCP protocol transfers the data in the
form of contiguous stream of bytes.
TCP group the bytes in the form of
TCP segments and then passed it to
the IP layer for transmission to the
destination. 
o TCP assigns a sequence number to
each byte transmitted and expects a
positive acknowledgement from the
receiving TCP. If ACK is not received
within a timeout interval, then the data
is retransmitted to the destination. So,
no segment is missed.
o TCP is preferred over UDP where data
integrity is important. A single bit
cannot be lost and we need reliable
and secure data transfer. While UDP
drops data packets