FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
NETWORKS 511
ST
1 SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT
Name & Surname: _________________________________
ITS No: _______________________________
Qualification: ______________________ Semester: _____ Module Name: __________________________
Date Submitted: ____________________
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
QUESTION ONE
QUESTION TWO
QUESTION THREE
MARK
ALLOCATION
EXAMINER
MARKS
MARKS FOR CONTENT
30
30
30
TOTAL
90
MARKS FOR TECHNICAL ASPECTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
LAYOUT AND SPELLING
3
REFERENCES
5
TOTAL
10
TOTAL MARKS FOR ASSIGNMENT
100
Examiner’s Comments:
Moderator’s Comments:
Signature of Examiner:
Signature of Moderator:
MODERATOR
MARKS
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
1. All assignment must be typed, not handwritten.
2. Every assignment should include the cover page, table of contents and a reference list or
bibliography at the end of the document
3. A minimum of five current sources (references) should be used in all assignments and these
should reflect in both in-text citations as well as the reference list or bibliography
4. In-text citations and a reference list or bibliography must be provided. Use the Harvard Style for
both in-text citations and the reference list or bibliography
5. Assignments submitted without citations and accompanying reference lists will be penalised.
6. Students are not allowed to share assignments with fellow students. Any shared assignments will
attract stiff penalties.
7. The use of, and copying of content from websites such as chegg.com, studocu.com,
transtutors.com, sparknotes.com or any other assignment-assistance websites is strictly
prohibited. This also applies to Wiki sites, blogs and YouTube.
8. Any pictures and diagrams used in the Assignment should be properly labelled and referenced.
9. Correct formatting as indicated on the Cover Page should be followed (font-size 12, font-style
Calibri, line spacing of 1.0 and margins justified)
10. All Assignments must be saved in PDF using the correct naming-convention before uploading on
Moodle. Eg StudentNumber_CourseCode_Assignment (402999999_WBT512A_Assignment).
QUESTIONS
QUESTION ONE
[90 MARKS]
[30 MARKS]
A Network Topology is the arrangement with which computer systems or network devices are
connected to each other. Topologies may define both physical and logical aspect of the network.
Both logical and physical topologies could be same or different in a same network.
1.1 With the use of diagrams, discuss the structure of any five network topologies and their
advantages and disadvantages.
1.2 Differentiate between a logical topology and a physical topology.
QUESTION TWO
(25)
(5)
[30 MARKS]
John Doe, the Netcare Hospital's IT director, is in charge of network management. He has asked
for your assistance in developing a network solution that will meet the needs of the hospital. The
hospital is expanding, and the management of the hospital has made funds available for network
upgrades. The medical staff would like to be able to access medical systems from any of the
patient rooms using laptop computers. Access to patient medical records, x-rays, prescriptions,
and recent patient information should be available to doctors and nurses. John purchased new
servers for the data center and installed them. The wireless LAN (WLAN) has about 30 laptops,
with another 15 due in six months. The servers must be highly available. The hospital's patient
rooms are located on floors 6 through 10. Doctors should be able to roam and connect to the
network from any floor.
According to a radio-frequency report, a single access point located in each communication closet
can reach all of the rooms on each floor. The current network is comprised of ten segments that
connect to a single router that also serves the Internet. Routing Information Protocol Version 1
is used by the router (RIPv1). The new back-end servers are housed in the same segment as those
on floor 1. John mentions that users have complained about slow server access, he would like to
see a proposal for upgrading the network with faster switches and providing faster access to the
servers. The proposal should also include secure WLAN access on floors 6–10. Include an IP
addressing scheme that reduces the hospital's reliance on Class C networks. He wishes to reduce
the number of Internet service provider-leased networks (ISP).
2.1.1. What are the business requirements of Netcare Hospital?
(2)
2.1.2. Are there any financial constraints?
(1)
2.1.3. What are the technical requirements of the network?
(2)
2.1.4. What are the technical constraints of the network?
(2)
2.1.5. Draw a logical diagram of the existing network.
(8)
2.1.6. How would you improve the switching speed between floors?
(2)
2.1.7. What IP addressing scheme would you recommend based on the number of servers and
clients provided?
(1)
2.1.8. What are your recommendations for routing protocols?
(2)
2.1.9. What is your recommendation for WLAN access and network upgrades?
(2)
2.1.10. Create a diagram of the proposed network solution.
(8)
QUESTION THREE
[30 MARKS]
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model defines seven layers through which computer
systems communicate over a network. It was the first standard model for network
communications, and it was adopted in the early 1980s by all major computer and
telecommunications companies.
3.1 Describe how the 7 layers work together to ensure the integrity of data communication(5)
3.2 Describe the functions of each layer and their protocols.
(10)
3.3 In networking it is important to follow steps before we talk about TCP/IP protocol stack and IP
addressing we must know the difference between binary, decimal, and hexadecimal numbers and how
we convert from one format to the other.
Convert the following binary numbers into decimal numbers. Show all the steps involved.
3.2.1. 111010
(3)
3.2.2. 110001110
(3)
3.2.3. 01101110
(3)
3.2.4. 111011
(3)
3.2.5. 001100111
(3)
TOTAL: 100 MARKS
0
