GULU UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE
GIT 2202: Computer Networks and Data Communications
DATE: 16th July 2022 Time: 1 hour 20Min
Attempt all questions.
1. (a) Briefly describe two types of errors. (4 marks)
The errors can be divided into two types: Single-bit error and Burst error.
• Single-bit Error - The term single-bit error means that only one bit of given data unit (such as a byte,
character, or data unit) is changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.
• Burst Error - The term burst error means that two or more bits in the data unit have changed from 0
to 1 or vice-versa. Note that burst error doesn’t necessary means that error occurs in consecutive
bits.

(b) With illustrations explain the “go-back-n” method for managing the retransmission of lost or
corrupt PDUs. (3 marks)

(c) Describe another technique that can be used to solve the above problem. (3 marks)
 (d) Mention the disadvantages of the two techniques in 1 (b & c) above. (2 marks)
Go-back-n retransmission - is that some blocks will be retransmitted unnecessarily. This is a waste of
bandwidth

Selective retransmission – the receiver needs plenty of buffer (temporary storage) capacity in order to store
temporarily data blocks that have been received out of sequence
(e) Explain the difference between Idle Repeat request and continuous Repeat request. (2 marks)
In Idle RQ (or stop – and – wait RQ), the transmitter sends a block of data and then waits for an
acknowledgement from the receiver. The receiver checks what it has received. If there are no errors, it sends
back a positive acknowledgement (ACK). If the receiver finds an error, it discards the block and sends a
negative acknowledgement (NAK). If the block is completely lost or destroyed, there is no ACK. If the
transmitter receives an ACK, it sends the next block. If it receives a NAK, it sends the previous block again.
If the transmitter does not receive an ACK within a given time, there is a timeout and the block is resent.
Time is wasted while the sender waits for the receiver to acknowledge receipt of a block.

In Continuous RQ, data blocks are transmitted continuously so that there will be no idle time. The sender
sends off several data blocks in succession, without waiting for an acknowledgement. The sender gives
every block that is transmitted a sequence number. Every acknowledgement uses the correct sequence
such that the sender knows which data block is being acknowledged.

(f) How is the inefficiency of stop and wait protocol overcome in sliding window protocol?
(5 marks)
The Stop-and-Wait protocol is inefficient when large numbers of small packets are sent by the transmitter
since the transmitter has to wait for the acknowledgement of each individual packet before sending the next
one. This problem can be overcome by sliding window protocol. In sliding window protocol multiple frames
(up to a fixed number of frames) are sent before receiving an acknowledgement from the receiver.

(g) What do you understand by the term line discipline and how can it be implemented? (4 marks)
Refers to how efficient the system is, no device in it should be allowed to transmit until that device has the
evidence that the intended receiver is: –able to receive and –is prepared to accept the TX. it is implemented
through:
• Enquiry / Acknowledgement (ENQ/ACK)
• Poll / Select
2. (a) Why are guard bands used in Frequency Division Multiplexing? (2 marks)
In FDM, a number of signals are sent simultaneously on the same medium allocating separate frequency
band or channel to each signal. Guard bands are used to avoid interference between two successive
channels.
(b) How is the wastage of bandwidth in Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) overcome by statistical
TDM? (3 marks)
It dynamically allocates the time slots on demand to separate input channels, thus saving the channel
capacity. As with Synchronous TDM, statistical multiplexers also have many I/O lines with a buffer
associated to each of them. During the input, the multiplexer scans the input buffers, collecting data
until the frame is filled and send the frame. At the receiving end, the demultiplexer receives the
frame and distributes the data to the appropriate buffers.
In case of statistical TDM, the data in each slot must have an address part, which identifies the
source of data.

(c) One problem with TDM is how to handle a disparity in the input data rates. Explain three
strategies with illustrations that can be employed to overcome that challenge if the data rates are
not the same. (6 marks)
3. (a) How is a choke packet used for congestion control? (2 marks)
Choke packet scheme is a close loop mechanism where each link is monitored to examine how much
utilization is taking place. If the utilization goes beyond a certain threshold limit, the link goes to a warning
and a special packet, called choke packet is sent to the source. On receiving the choke packet, the source
reduced the traffic in order to avoid congestion.

(b) What do you understand by the term spread spectrum? (1 mark)

It is a form of wireless communication which transmits analog or digital data using analog signals in which
the frequency of the transmitted signal is deliberately varied, resulting into a much greater bandwidth than
the original signal.

(c) Explain two reasons why spread spectrum techniques are necessary? (2 marks)
• A signal whose frequency is constant is subject to catastrophic interference. This occurs when
another signal is transmitted on, or very near, the frequency of the desired signal.
• A constant-frequency signal is easy to intercept, and is therefore not well suited to applications in
which information must be kept confidential between the source (transmitting party) and destination
(receiving party).

(d) What is the relationship between the bandwidth of a signal before and after it has been encoded
using spread spectrum? (2 marks)
The bandwidth is wider after the signal has been encoded using spread spectrum
4. (a) Explain why collision is an issue in random access protocol but not in controlled access or
channelizing protocols. (3 marks)

In random access methods, there is no access control (as there is in controlled access methods) and there
is no predefined channel (as in channelization). Each station can transmit when it desires. This liberty may
create collision.

(b) Briefly describe three controlled access methods. (6 marks)

~Success~