Fundamentals of computer networks

Question 1

What is a computer network?

Answer 1

Two or more computers connected together in order to communicate

Question 2

What is a wired network?

Answer 2

A network which communicates through cables connecting
computing devices to a central router, hub, or switch

Question 3

What is a wireless network?

Answer 3

A network which communicates through radio waves

Question 4

What is a personal area network (PAN)?

Answer 4

Blue tooth networked devices

Question 5

What is an example of a personal area network (PAN)?

Answer 5

Wireless headphones

Question 6

What is a local area network (LAN)?

Answer 6

Covers a small geographical area such as a building or a campus.
LANs are typically managed by a single person or organisation

Question 7

What is an example of a local area network (LAN)?

Answer 7

School network and Home networks

Question 8

What is a wide area network?

Answer 8

Spans a wide geographical area (cities / countries) and is typically managed by multiple persons and organisations

Question 9

What is an example of a Wide area network (WAN)?

Answer 9

The internet

Question 10

What is a topology?

Answer 10

The layout and design of a computer network

Question 11

What is a bus network?

Answer 11

All computers are connected along a central backbone

Question 12

What is a star network?

Answer 12

All computers are connected to a central device such as a switch
or a hub

Question 13

What are the pros and cons of a star network?

Answer 13

Faster than bus, but if the central goes offline, the entire network may fail

Question 14

What is a protocol?

Answer 14

Agreed rules and signals for communication between devices

Question 15

What is ethernet (physical)?

Answer 15

A family of protocols relating to wired connections

Question 16

What is wifi (physical)?

Answer 16

Wireless fidelity – a wireless connection protocol

Question 17

What is TCP (connection)?

Answer 17

Transmission Control Protocol

Question 18

What is UDP (packets)?

Answer 18

User Datagram Protocol – used for streaming music/video

Question 19

What is IP (packets)?

Answer 19

Internet Protocol – Manages packets of data

Question 20

What is HTTP (websites)?

Answer 20

Hypertext Transfer Protocol – For download web pages

Question 21

What is HTTPS (websites)?

Answer 21

Hypertext Transfer Protocol – For download web pages but uses an encrypted connection

Question 22

What is FTP (files)?

Answer 22

Used by server owners to upload files to web servers

Question 23

What is SMTP (email)?

Answer 23

Simple Main Transfer Protocol – Used for sending emails

Question 24

What is IMAP (email)?

Answer 24

Internet Message Access Protocol – Used to download emails

Question 25

What is the application layer?

Answer 25

Where the network applications, such as web browsers and email programs operate

Question 26

What is the transport layer?

Answer 26

Sets up the communication between two networked devices where they can agree on the language to use and the size of the packets to send/receive

Question 27

What is the network layer?

Answer 27

Adds addresses to packets and gets ready to send data across the network

Question 28

What is the link layer?

Answer 28

The network interface card (NIC) and operating system drivers. Performs physical sending and receiving of data