August 2000
AN215 : ADVANCED NETWORKING

QUESTION 1 (Compulsory)

Total Marks: 30 Marks

• Question 2
• Question 3
• Question 4
• Question 5
• Cover Page

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SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
for Question 1

(a) Name the two sub-layers that make up the data-link layer. [2]

(b) Explain the difference between a full-duplex and a half-duplex connection. [2]

(c) What is the major problem associated with parallel transmission? Does this problem also affect serial transmission? Explain your answer. [3]

(d) Explain briefly the functional specifications of the RS232C standard. [3]

(e) Explain with the aid of a diagram the concept of amplitude modulation. [2]

(f) Despite the comparably high cost factor, what is it that makes fiber optics a
desirable medium? [2]

(g) Explain what is meant by noise in the context of data communications.
What type of noise is unavoidable, and why? [3]

(h) What is the relationship between encryption and compression? [2]

(i) What is the unit of transfer of the data-link layer? [1]

(j) Which layer of the OSI architecture is responsible for preserving the meaning of
data that is transferred between 2 different machines? [1]

(k) What is meant by CSMA/CA? How does this media access control scheme
work? Give an example of an area where this technique is used. [3]

(l) Assuming one start and one stop bit are used as delimiters in an asynchronous
transmission, what would be the effective utilization of this transmission? Justify your answer. [3]

(m) Is it accurate to say that a bridge cannot be used to connect two networks with differing MAC layer protocols? Explain your answer. [3]