Pointers in CSS2

1. Straight through is used to connect computers to hubs or switches.

a. Switch to router
b. Switch to PC or server
c. Hub to PC or server
2. Crossover cable is used to connect a computer to a computer
a. Switch to switch
b. Switch to hub
c. Hub to hub
d. Router to router
e. Router Ethernet port to PC NIC
f. PC to PC
Note: A RJ45 connector is a modular 8 position, 8 pin connector used for terminating Cat5e or Cat6 twisted pair cable. A pinout is a specific
arrangement of wires that dictate how the connector is terminated. There are two standards recognized by ANSI, TIA and EIA for wiring Ethernet
cables. The first is the T568A wiring standard and the second is T568B. T568B has surpassed 568A and is seen as the default wiring scheme for
twisted pair structured cabling. If you are unsure of which to use, choose 568B.
Windows 7 (codenamed Vienna, formerly Blackcomb is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft. It is a part of the Windows
NT family of operating systems. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009 and became generally available on October 22,
2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was
released at the same time.
Windows 7 System Requirements
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Resources Needed
Disc Installation
Windows 7 Setup Disc
Disc Drive
Compatible Computer
USB Installation
Clean Installation
USB Drive (4 GB minimum size)
Internet Connection (to download the ISO and USB extraction software)
A computer to extract the files to the USB drive on.
USB ports
Compatible Computer
Upgrade Installation
An existing installation of Windows (Windows XP or Vista recommended)
USB Drive (4 GB minimum size)
Internet Connection (to download the ISO and USB extraction software)
A computer to extract the files to the USB drive on.
USB ports
Compatible Computer
Installation
1. Insert the pen drive into the computer you want to install Windows 7 on
2. Reboot the computer and press the SETUP, BIOS, or BOOT key. 
3. Open the BOOT menu. 
4. Set your pen drive as the primary boot device. 
5. Save your changes and reboot your computer. 
6. Start the Windows Setup process. 
7. Select the "Custom Installation" when prompted. 
8. Choose the partition that you want to install Windows on. 
9. Wait while Windows installs. 
10. Create your user account. 
11. Enter your product key. 
12. Select "Use recommended settings" for Windows Update. 
13. Set your date and time. 
14. Choose your network type. 
15. Wait for setup to complete. Windows will begin preparing your desktop, which may take a few minutes. Once this is complete, you can
begin using Windows 7
To create a bootable USB flash drive
1. Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.
2. Open a Command Prompt window as an administrator.
3. Type diskpart.
4. In the new command line window that opens, to determine the USB flash drive number or drive letter, at the command prompt, type list
disk, and then click ENTER. The list disk command displays all the disks on the computer. Note the drive number or drive letter of the
USB flash drive.
5. At the command prompt, type select disk <X>, where X is the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive, and then click ENTER.
6. Type clean, and the click ENTER. This command deletes all data from the USB flash drive.
7. To create a new primary partition on the USB flash drive, type create part pri, and then click ENTER.
8. To select the partition that you just created, type select part 1, and then click ENTER.
9. To format the partition, type format fs=ntfs quick, and then click ENTER.
10. Type active, and then click ENTER.
11. Type exit, and then click ENTER.
12. When you finish preparing your custom image, save it to the root of the USB flash drive.
Network Design
Network planning and design is an iterative process, encompassing topological design, network-synthesis, and network-realization, and is aimed at
ensuring that a new telecommunications network or service meets the needs of the subscriber and operator.
Source: http://www.netlab.tkk.fi/opetus/s38145/s99/lectures/lect10.pdf
7-layer OSI MODEL
 The OSI (Open System Interconnection) model is developed by ISO in 1984 to provide a reference model for the complex aspects related to network
communication. It divides the different functions and services provided by network hardware and software in 7 layers. This facilitates modular
engineering, simplifies teaching and learning network technologies, helps to isolate problems and allows vendors to focus on just the layer(s) in
which their hardware or software is implemented and be able to create products that are compatible, standardized and interoperable.
The Application, Presentation and Session layer are known as the Upper Layer and are implemented in software. The Transport and Network layer
are mainly concerned with protocols for delivery and routing of packets to a destination and are implemented in software as well. The Data Link is
implemented in hard- and software and the Physical layer is implemented in hardware only, hence its name. These last two layers define LAN and
WAN specifications.
A more detailed description of each layer follows below, but here's what basically happens when data passes from Host A to Host B:
1. the Application, Presentation and Session layer take user input and converts it into data,
2. the Transport layer adds a segment header converting the data into segments,
3. the Network layer adds a network header and converts the segments into packets ,
4. the Data Link layer adds a frame header converting the packets into frames,
5. the MAC sublayer layer converts the frames into a bits which the Physical layer can put on the wire.
The steps are known as the 5 steps of data encapsulation. When the bits stream arrives at the destination, the Physical layer takes it of the wire and
converts it into frames, each layer will remove their corresponding header while the data flows up the OSI model until it is converted back to data and
presented to the user, this is known as decapsulation.
APPLICATION
The Application layer provides network services directly to the user's application such as a web browser, email software and Windows Explorer. This
layer is said to be "closest to the user". Protocols that operate on this layer include: TELNET, HTTP, FTP, TFTP, SMTP, NTP, SNMP, EDI.
PRESENTATION
This layer 'represents' the data in a particular format to the Application layer. It defines encryption, compression, conversion and other coding
functions. Specifications defined at this layer include: GIF, TIFF, JPEG, MPEG, MIME, and ASCII.
SESSION
Establishes, maintains and terminates end-to-end connections (sessions) between two applications on two network nodes. It controls the dialogue
between the source and destination node, which node can send when and how long. Also provides error reporting for the Application, Presentation
and Session layer. Protocols/API's that operate on this layer include: RPC, SQL, NETBIOS.
TRANSPORT
This layer converts the data received from the upper layers into segments. The Transport layer is responsible for end-to-end (also called source-to-
destination) delivery of entire messages. Provides end-to-end connectivity, it allows data to be transferred reliably and sequencing to guarantee that it
will be delivered in the same order that it was sent. Provides services such as error checking and flow control (software). Protocols that operate on
this layer: TCP, UDP, NETBEUI, SPX.
These protocols are either connectionless or connection-oriented:
1. Connection-oriented means that a connection (a virtual link) must be established before data can be exchanged. This can guarantee that data will
arrive, and in the same order it was sent. It guarantees delivery by sending acknowledgements back to the source when messages are received.
TCP is an example of an connection-oriented transport protocol. A common example of connection-oriented communication is a telephone call:
you call, the 'destination' picks up the phone and acknowledges and you start talking (sending data). When a message or a piece of it doesn't
arrive, you say: "What!?" and the sender will retransmit the data.
2. Connectionless is the opposite of connection-oriented; the sender does not establish a connection before it sends data, it just sends without
guaranteeing delivery. UDP is an example of an connectionless transport protocol.
NETWORK
This layer converts the segments from the Transport layer into packets (or datagrams) and is responsible for path determination,  routing, and the
delivery of these individual packets across multiple networks without guaranteed delivery. The network layer treats these packets independently,
without recognizing any relationship between those packets, it relies on upper layers for reliable delivery and sequencing.  This layer is responsible
for logical addressing (also known as network addressing or Layer 3 addressing) like IP addresses Examples of protocols defined at this layer: IP,
IPX, AppleTalk, ICMP, RIP, OSPF, BGP, IGRP, EIGRP, NLSP, ARP, RARP, X.25 Devices that operate on this layer: Routers, Layer 3 Switches.
Network layer addresses
Also known as Layer 3 or Logical addresses. These type of addresses are protocol-dependent, for example if the network protocol is IP, IP addressing
will be used which is made up of a network part and a host part and needs a subnet mask to determine the boundaries of these parts. An example of
an IP address is: 172.16.0.1 and a subnet mask: 255.255.0.0 Another example is Novell's IPX addressing, which uses a combination of a
hexadecimal network address + the layer 2 MAC address to form a network layer address, for example" 46.0010E342A8BC
DATA LINK 
The Data Links provides transparent network services to the Network layer so the Network layer can be ignorant about the physical network topology
and provides access to the physical networking media. Responsible for reassambling bits taken of the wire by the Physical layer to frames, makes
sure they are in the correct order and requests retransmission of frames in case an error occurs. Provides error checking by adding a CRC to the
frame, and flow control. Examples of devices that operate on this layer are switches, bridges, WAPs, and NICs.
IEEE 802 Data Link sub layers
Around the same time the OSI model was developed, the IEEE developed the 802-standards such as 802.5 Token Ring and 802.11 for wireless
networks. Both organizations exchanged information during the development which resulted in two compatible standards. The IEEE 802 standards
define physical network components such as cabling and net[work interfaces, and correspond to the Data Link and/or Physical layer of the OSI
model. The IEEE refined the standards and divided the Data Link layer into two sublayers: the LLC and the MAC sub layer.
- LLC sublayer
LLC is short for Logical Link Control. The Logical Link Control is the upper sublayer of the Data Link layer. LLC masks the underlying network
technology by hiding their differences hence providing a single interface to the network layer. The LLC sublayer uses Source Service Access Points
(SSAPs) and Destination Service Access Points (DSAPs) to help the lower layers communicate to the Network layer protocols acting as an
intermediate between the different network protocols (IPX, TCP/IP, etc.) and the different network types (Ethernet, Token Ring, etc.) This layer is
also responsible for frames sequencing and acknowledgements.The LLC sublayer is defined in the IEEE standard 802.2.
- MAC sublayer
The Media Access Control layer takes care of physical addressing and allows upper layers access to the physical media, handles frame addressing,
error checking. This layer controls and communicates directly with the physical network media through the network interface card. It converts the
frames into bits to pass them on to the Physical layer who puts them on the wire (and vice versa). IEEE LAN standards such as 802.3, 802.4, 802.5
and 802.10 define standards for the MAC sublayer as well as the Physical layer. Other standards on this layer include: X.25 and Frame Relay
Data Link layer addresses
Also known as layer 2 addresses, BIAs (Burned-in Address), physical address and commonly referred to as MAC address. This is a fixed address
programmed into a NIC or a router interface for example. 00-10-E3-42-A8-BC is an example of a MAC address. The first 6 hexadecimal digits (3
bytes) specify the vendor/manufacturer of the NIC, the other 6 digits (3 bytes) define the host. The layer 2 broadcast address is FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF.
PHYSICAL
This layer communicates directly with the physical media, it is responsible for activating, maintaining and deactivating the physical link. It handles a
raw bits stream and places it on the wire to be picked up by the Physical layer at the receiving node. It defines electrical and optical signaling, voltage
levels, data transmission rates and distances as well as mechanical specifications such as cable lengths and connectors, the amount of pins and their
function. Devices that operate on this layer: HUBs/concentrators, repeaters, NICs, and LAN and WAN interfaces such as RS-232, OC-3, BRI, V.24,
V.35, X.25 and Frame Relay.