Chapter 3

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Questions and Answers

What characterizes synchronous communication?

Messages are sent and received at different times.

Requires both sender and receiver to be active simultaneously. (correct)

Is only applicable to text-based interactions.

Occurs when the sender is less available than the receiver.

Which scenario is an example of asynchronous communication?

A live chat session.

A video conference with multiple participants.

Sending an email that the receiver reads later. (correct)

A phone call between two people.

What does the term 'point-to-point communication' refer to?

One sender communicates with one specific receiver. (correct)

Only occurs in broadcasting formats.

Distributing information to multiple recipients at once.

Communication meant for broad audiences.

How does the internet enhance communication?

By connecting all computers to support various communication types. Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of a client in a client/server interaction?

It is the computer that requests data from the server. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary way that the internet achieves point-to-point communication?

Point-to-point connections Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes how an ISP connection typically functions?

ISPs offer a modem that converts bits for carrier compatibility Signup and view all the answers

In the domain name system (DNS), what is the highest level in the hierarchy?

Top-level domains Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the authoritative name server (ANS)?

To provide the correct IP address for a specific domain Signup and view all the answers

How does caching benefit a computer's interaction with the DNS?

It reduces the need for redundant server queries Signup and view all the answers

What is redundancy in the context of internet server infrastructure?

Using multiple copies of information for reliability Signup and view all the answers

Which method connects computers within a local area network (LAN) to the internet?

Gateway connections through intranets Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about the DNS is true?

The DNS cannot resolve a domain if it is not registered with an ANS. Signup and view all the answers

Which protocol is often used for wireless LAN connections?

802.11 Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of root name servers in DNS?

To provide IP addresses for top-level domains Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of client software in communication between computers?

It breaks down signals into packets for transmission. Signup and view all the answers

How do cookies help maintain connections with users?

They store information about previous interactions on the client. Signup and view all the answers

What does an IP packet contain?

The IP address it is sent to and a sequence number. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of networks, what differentiates a WAN from a LAN?

WANs are broader networks, whereas LANs connect computers that are geographically closer. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of a switch in a network?

It decides the next router for an IP packet based on its destination. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'hops' refer to in networking?

The number of routers a packet passes through. Signup and view all the answers

What is true about IP packets and their routes?

They are independent and can take different routes. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Ethernet protocol?

Requires a dedicated connection for each device. Signup and view all the answers

What is required to identify the destination in point-to-point communications?

A unique IP address. Signup and view all the answers

During network communications, what is the significance of breaking down data into packets?

It allows independent delivery with higher resilience. Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by 'client-side activity' in web interactions?

User interface operations like displaying a calendar. Signup and view all the answers

In the TCP/IP model, how can you compare IP packets to postcards?

Each packet must be precisely addressed and can take different routes. Signup and view all the answers

What happens when two computers transmit simultaneously on a broadcast medium like Ethernet?

Only one computer is successful, and the other must retry. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Networking Basics

Communication Types:
- Synchronous: Sender and receiver active simultaneously (e.g., phone call, video chat).
- Asynchronous: Sending and receiving occur at different times (e.g., email, text message).
- Synchronous messages can become asynchronous (e.g., voicemail).
- Broadcast: One sender, many receivers (e.g., radio, TV).
- Multicast: Many receivers, but not the entire population (e.g., specialized magazines).
- Point-to-point: One specific sender, one specific receiver.
Internet Communication:
- The internet supports point-to-point, asynchronous communication.
- Connects computers, enabling synchronous, multimedia, and broadcast communication.
- Its effectiveness increases with more connected computers.

Client/Server Structure

Brief Encounters:
- Client-server interaction occurs when you click a web link. The user is the client, and the web page is the server.
- A client requests a service from a server; the server responds.
- The interaction is quick and efficient.
Many Brief Relationships:
- Servers handle multiple clients simultaneously.
- The server is engaged with a client only while processing the request.
Staying Connected:
- Cookies: Small files stored on the client's computer by the server, containing information to recognize the user.
- URL Parameters: Information added to a URL to provide additional details for the server (e.g., search terms).

Internet Addresses and Protocols

IP Addresses: Unique numerical addresses assigned to each internet-connected device.
IP Packets: Data units sent across the internet; include the destination IP address, sequence numbers, and payload (the data being transmitted).
Routing and Switching: Network infrastructure that directs IP packets based on the destination address, with packets potentially taking multiple paths and hop count.
Trace Route: A tool used to record the path taken by an IP packet through the internet, useful for analyzing network performance.
TCP/IP: The protocol used to send information over the internet, breaking down the data into packets for transmission and reassembling it at the destination.

Network Types

WAN (Wide Area Network): Networks designed to connect widely separated locations. The internet is a collection of WANs.
LAN (Local Area Network): Networks connecting computers in a limited area (e.g., a lab, building), using technologies like Ethernet (with broadcast communication to achieve point-to-point functionality, a key distinction; with ethernet, a computer can detect transmissions from all other computers connected to the wire.)
ISP (Internet Service Provider): Provides internet access; uses modems to convert computer signals into transmission formats compatible with the internet infrastructure.

Domain Name System (DNS)

Domain Names: Human-readable names assigned to computers. The system used to translate human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses.
Hierarchy: Organizational structure of domain names (e.g., spiff.cs.washington.edu).
Top-Level Domains (TLDs): The highest level of the domain name hierarchy (e.g., edu,com).
Authoritative Name Servers (ANS): Servers that store the mappings between domain names and IP addresses for a specific domain.
Root Name Servers: Servers that know the IP addresses of the authoritative name servers for TLDs.
Caching: Storing previously resolved domain-to-IP address mappings to speed up future lookups.
Redundancy: Multiple copies of DNS information to ensure system reliability.

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