3.

In a Table format, compare the Bandwidth, Distance, Interface Rating, Cost

and Security of (1) Twisted pair, (2) Coaxial cabling and (3) Fiber Optical
cabling.

Answer:

Cable Type Bandwidth Distance Interface Cost Security

Rating
Twisted Up to Up to 100m Poor $10.83 Less Secure
Pair 4700MHz
Coaxial 750MHz Up to 500m Better than $12.99 More secure
Cabling twisted pair than twisted
pair
Fiber Up to Up to 80km Best $5.65 Most Secure
Optical 4700MHz
Cabling

5. What is the main function of NVRAM? Why such function is important to

operate a router?

Answer:

 NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM): NVRAM is used to store the start-up configuration file
“startup config,” which is used during system startup to configure the software.
 This is due to the fact that NVRAM does not lose its content when the power is turned
off.
 In other words, the router’s configuration is not erased when the router is reloaded.
Thus, NVRAM is important to operate a router as the data remains in the router.

9. There are no input devices for router like a monitor, a keyboard, or a

mouse. How does a network administrator communicate with the router?
List all possible scenarios. What are the main differences between such
interfaces?

Answer:

Interfaces: Routers are accessed and connected to the external world via the
interfaces. There are several types of interfaces. The most common interfaces
include:

(a)  Console (Management) Interface: Console port or interface is the

management port which is used by administrators to log on to a router directly
(i.e., without using a network connection) via a computer with an RJ-45 or mini-
USB connector. This is needed since there is no display device for a router. The
console port is typically used for initial setup given the lack of initial network
connections such as SSH or HTTPS. A terminal emulator application (e.g.,
HyperTerminal or PuTTy) is required to be installed on the PC to connect to
router. Console port connection is a way to connect to the router when a router
cannot be accessed over the network.

(b)  Auxiliary Interface: Auxiliary port or interface allows a direct, non-network

connection to the router, from a remote location. It uses a connector type to
which modems can plug into, which allows an administrator from a remote
location to access the router like a console port. Auxiliary port is used as a way to
dial in to the router for troubleshooting purposes should regular connectivity fail.
Unlike the console port, the auxiliary port supports hardware flow control, which
ensures that the receiving device receives all data before the sending device
transmits more. In cases where the receiving device’s buffers become full, it can
pass a message to the sender asking it to temporarily suspend transmission. This
makes the auxiliary port capable of handling the higher transmission speeds of a
modem.

Much like the console port, the auxiliary port is also an asynchronous serial port
with an RJ-45 interface. Similarly, a rollover cable is also used for connections,
using a DB-25 adapter that connects to the modem. Typically, this adapter is
labeled “MODEM.”

(c)  USB Interface: It is used to add a USB flash drive to a router.

(d)  Serial Interfaces (Asynchronous and Synchronous): Configuring the serial

interface allows administrators to enable applications such as wide area net- work
(WAN) access, legacy protocol transport, console server, and remote network
management.

(e)  Ethernet Interface: Ethernet is the most common type of connection

computers use in a local area network (LAN).

11.What is the ratio of the number of addresses in IPv6 compared to IPv4?

Answer:

14.What are the major differences between Interior and Exterior Routing
Protocols?

Answer:

Routing is the process of moving data from one network to another. Routing is unnecessary

unless you have multiple networks on different address ranges. If you have different
combinations of IP addresses and subnet masks, you have separate networks. If you don't,
you need to perform bridging or switching. You don't need to run a routing protocol unless
you have multiple networks served by more than one router (and even then, manual static
routes are easier for small networks). Once you get beyond three routers, it's time to start
thinking about dynamic routing protocols. If you are connecting your networks to
the Internet, you will also need to think about running more than one kind of routing
protocol.
INTERIOR GATEWAY PROTOCOLS

Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs) handle routing within an Autonomous System (one routing
domain). IGP's figure out how to get from place to place between the routers you own.
These dynamic routing protocols keep track of paths used to move data from one end
system to another inside a network or set of networks that you administrate (all of
the networks you manage combined are usually just one Autonomous System). IGP's are
how you get all the networks communicating with each other.

IGP's fall into two categories:

  Distance Vector Protocols

     Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
     Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP)

  Link State Protocols

     Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
     Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS)
 

EXTERIOR GATEWAY PROTOCOLS

To get from place to place outside your network(s), i.e. on the Internet, you must use an
Exterior Gateway Protocol. Exterior Gateway Protocols handle routing outside an
Autonomous System and get you from your network, through your Internet
provider's network and onto any other network. BGP is used by companies with more than
one Internet provider to allow them to have redundancy and load balancing of their data
transported to and from the Internet.

Examples of an EGP:
    Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
    Exterior Gateway Protocol (Replaced by BGP)

15.What is distance vector protocol? Why is it called a Vector? Where is it

used?

Answer:

 Distance vector protocol is determining the best route for data packets based on distance.
A vector in distance vector routing contains both distance and direction to determine the
path to remote networks using hop count as the metric. A hop count is defined as the
number of hops to destination router or network.
 The name distance vector is derived from the fact that routes are advertised as vectors of
(distance, direction), where distance is defined in terms of a metric and direction is
defined in terms of the next-hop router.
 Routing Information Protocol is used in Local area networks. Border Gateway Protocol is
used on border router on internet which exchange information between routers through
TCP.
 16.When would you use Static Routing and when would use Dynamic Routing?
Why?

Answer:

There are two basic methods of building a routing table:

a. Static Routing

 A static routing table is created, maintained, and updated by a network administrator,

manually. A static route to every network must be configured on every router for full
connectivity.
 This provides a granular level of control over routing, but quickly becomes impractical
on large networks.
 Routers will not share static routes with each other, thus reducing CPU/RAM overhead
and saving bandwidth. However, static routing is not fault-tolerant, as any change to the
routing infrastructure (such as a link going down, or a new network added) requires
manual intervention. Routers operating in a purely static environment cannot seamlessly
choose a better route if a link becomes unavailable.
 Static routes have an Administrative Distance (AD) of 1, and thus are always preferred
over dynamic routes, unless the default AD is changed. A static route with an adjusted
AD is called a floating static route and is covered in greater detail in another guide.

b. Dynamic Routing

 A dynamic routing table is created, maintained, and updated by a routing protocol

running on the router. Examples of routing protocols include RIP (Routing Information
Protocol), EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol), and OSPF (Open
Shortest Path First).
 Specific dynamic routing protocols are covered in great detail in other guides.
 Routers do share dynamic routing information with each other, which increases CPU,
RAM, and bandwidth usage.
 However, routing protocols are capable of dynamically choosing a different (or better)
path when there is a change to the routing infrastructure.

18.We have mentioned that in TCP/IP networks, the entire route is not known
at the beginning of the journey. Instead, at each stop, the next hop router
is determined by matching the destination address within the packet with
an entry in the current router’s routing table using internal information. IP
does not provide for error reporting back to the source when routing
anomalies occur.

A. Which Internet Protocol provide error reporting?

Answer: Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

 B. List two other tasks that this protocol provide?

Answer: 1) Test Reachability 2) Trace a route.

23. What are the four different reasons for packet loss? List remediation for
each reason.

Answer:

1. Packet loss occurs when at least one packet of data travelling across a network fails
to reach its destination. In general, packets are dropped and consequently lost when
the network is congested (i.e., one of the network elements is already operating at
full capacity and cannot keep up with arriving packets). This is due to the fact that
both queues and links have finite capacities. Hence, a main reason for packet loss is
link or queue congestion (i.e., a link between two devices, and its associated queues,
is fully occupied when data arrives).

Remedy: Update software so that they will circle back for those discarded packets by
automatically resending the data or slowing down transfer speeds to give each packet a
chance to make it through. Check your connections: First, get rid of the obvious
options. Make sure your cables and ports are plugged incorrectly. Restart your
system: If you haven’t turned off your system routers or hardware in a while, now is the
time. This might give your network the jumpstart it needs to fix any tiny glitches or bugs.

2. Another reason for packet loss is router performance (i.e., links and queues have
adequate capacity, but the device’s CPU or memory is fully utilized and not able to
process additional traffic).

Remedy: Replace out-of-date hardware: The same concept applies to your network

infrastructure. Take some time to make sure your hardware is in good shape.

3. Less common reasons include faulty software deployed on the network device itself
and Faulty cables.

Remedy: Update your software: It’s time to stop putting off your software updates. An
up-to-date operating system is less likely to have bugs, which inevitably leads to fewer
opportunities for packet loss.

4. Security Threats: We also cannot ignore the possibility of someone deliberately

tampering with your network and causing packet loss. Packet drop attacks have become
popular with cybercriminals in recent years. Essentially, a hacker gets into your router
and tells it to drop packets. If you notice a sudden drop in packet success or a significant
slowdown in network speed, you could be in the midst of an attack.

Remedy: Use QoS settings: Quality of Service (QoS) settings help you manage packet
loss by triaging your network resources accordingly. This is especially important if your
network transmits resource-intensive data like streamed content, online games, video
calls, or VoIP. QoS settings will devote more network traffic to the places that need it.
 27. What is Traceroute? What does it typically report? What are the main
advantageous of trace route? What is the main difference between
Traceroute and Ping?

Answer:

 End-to-end delay is typically measured using Traceroute utility.

 Quite simply, a traceroute procedure allows you to find out precisely how a data
transmission traveled from your computer to another.

 Essentially, the traceroute compiles a list of the computers on the network that are
involved with a specific Internet activity.

 The traceroute identifies each computer/server on that list and the amount of time it
took the data to get from one computer to the next. If there was a hiccup or
interruption in the transfer of data, the traceroute will show where along the chain
the problem occurred.

 The Traceroute typically reports continuously collects data about delay, jitter,
response time, and packet loss.

 The main advantageous of trace route: A Traceroute utility’s output displays the
route taken between two end systems, listing all the intermediate routers across the
network.

 For each intermediate router, the utility also shows the roundtrip delay and time to
live.

 Traceroute utility advantages also includes troubleshooting (showing the net- work
administrator bottlenecks and why connections to a destination server are poor) and
connectivity (showing how systems are connected to each other and how a service
provider connects to the Internet).

 The main difference between Ping and Traceroute is that Ping is a quick and easy
utility to tell if the specified server is reachable and how long will it take to send and
receive data from the server whereas Traceroute finds the exact route taken to reach
the server and time taken by each step (hop).