Higher Nationals in Computing

Unit 2: Networking
ASSIGNMENT 1

Learner’s name: Tran Quoc Phat

ID: GCS190878

Class: GCS1007

Subject code: 1633

Assessor name: NGO QUOC ANH

Assignment due: Assignment submitted: 0 8 / 1 2 / 2 0 2 2

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 ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Computing

Unit number and title Unit 2: Networking Infrastructure

Submission date 08/12/2022 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Tran Quoc Phat Student ID GCS190878

Class GCS1007 Assessor name Ngo Quoc Anh

Student declaration

I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that
making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Student’s signature Phat

Grading grid

P1 P2 P3 P4 M1 M2 D1

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❒ Summative Feedback: ❒ Resubmission Feedback:

Grade: Assessor Signature: Date:

Lecturer Signature:

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 Assignment Brief 1 (RQF)
Higher National Certificate/Diploma in Computing
Student Name Tran Quoc Phat
ID Number: GCS190878
Unit Number and Title: Unit 2: Networking
Academic Year: 2022 – 2023
Unit Assessor:
Assignment Title: Networking Infrastructure
Issue Date: April 1st, 2021
Submission Date: 08/12/2022
Internal Verifier Name:
Date:

Submission Format:

Format:

● The submission is in the form of an individual written report. This should be written in a concise,
formal business style using single spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of
headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research
and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please also provide a bibliography using the
Harvard referencing system.
Submission

● Students are compulsory to submit the assignment in due date and in a way requested by the Tutor.

● The form of submission will be a soft copy posted on http://cms.greenwich.edu.vn/.

● Remember to convert the word file into PDF file before the submission on CMS.

Note:

● The individual Assignment must be your own work, and not copied by or from another student.

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 ● If you use ideas, quotes or data (such as diagrams) from books, journals or other sources, you must
reference your sources, using the Harvard style.
● Make sure that you understand and follow the guidelines to avoid plagiarism. Failure to comply this
requirement will result in a failed assignment.
Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO1 Examine networking principles and their protocols.

LO2 Explain networking devices and operations.

Assignment Brief and Guidance:

Assignment scenario
You are employed as a network engineer by Nguyen Networking Limited, a high-tech networking solution
development company, which has branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and Can Tho. The
company has been contracted to implement a networking project from a local educational institute. The
specification of the project is given below:

 People: 200 students, 15 teachers, 12 marketing and administration staff, 5 higher managers
including the academic heads and the programme managers, and 3 computer network
administrators.
 Resources: 50 student lab computers, 35 staff computers, and 3 printers.
 Building: 3 floors, all computers and printers are on the ground floor apart from the IT labs – one
lab located on the first floor and another located on the second floor.
Task 1
The CEO of the company, Mr. Nguyen, has asked you to investigate and explain networking principles,
protocols and devices and submit a report.
You will need to produce a report that includes the following:

 An introduction to provide an overview of your report.

 Benefits and constraints of different types of networks and networking standards.
 The impact of network topology, speed of communication and bandwidth requirements.
 Effectiveness of networking systems.
 Discussion on operating principles of networking devices and server types and networking software.
 Discuss the relationship of workstation hardware with networking software.
 Explore a range of server types and justify the selection of a server, considering a given scenario
regarding cost and performance optimization.
 For the given specification, identify the topology protocol for the efficient utilization of a
networking system.

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Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria (Assignment 1):
Learning Outcome Pass Merit Distinction
LO1 P1 Discuss the M1 Compare common D1 Considering a
benefits and networking principles given scenario,
constraints of different and how protocols identify the topology
network types and enable the protocol selected for
standards. effectiveness of the efficient utilization
networked systems. of a networking
P2 Explain the impact system.
of network topology,
communication and
bandwidth
requirements.
LO2 P3 Discuss the M2 Explore a range of
operating principles of server types and
networking devices justify the selection of
and server types. a server, considering a
given scenario
P4 Discuss the inter- regarding cost and
dependence of performance
workstation hardware optimization.
with relevant
networking software.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 6
I. Discuss the benefits and constraints of different network types and standards (P1)...........................6
1. Types of networks..............................................................................................................................7
1.1. The local Area Network (LAN).................................................................................................... 7
1.2. Wide area Network (WAN).........................................................................................................7
1.3. Other types of networks:............................................................................................................8
2. Network Protocol...............................................................................................................................8
3. Networking standards........................................................................................................................9
II. Explain the impact of network topology, communication and bandwidth requirements (P2)...........10
1. Network topology............................................................................................................................ 10
2. Communication............................................................................................................................... 10
3. Bandwidth........................................................................................................................................11
III. Discuss the operating principles of networking devices and server types (P3)...................................11
1. Networking devices......................................................................................................................... 11
2. Server types..................................................................................................................................... 13
IV. Discuss the inter-dependence of workstation hardware with relevant networking software (P4).. . .14
1. Define workstation hardware..........................................................................................................14
2. Define networking software............................................................................................................ 14
References.................................................................................................................................................. 15

Table of Figures
Figure 1. Networking.................................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2. LAN and WAN network.................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 3. Types of Network Topology......................................................................................................... 10
Figure 4. Example bandwidth..................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 5. Repeater Device...........................................................................................................................12
Figure 6. Hub.............................................................................................................................................. 12

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Introduction
Networking is referred as connecting computers electronically for the purpose of sharing information.
Resources such as files, applications, printers and software are common information shared in a
networking. The advantage of networking can be seen clearly in terms of security, efficiency,
manageability and cost effectiveness as it allows collaboration between users in a wide range. Basically,
network consists of hardware component such as computer, hubs, switches, routers and other devices
which form the network infrastructure. These are the devices that play an important role in data transfer
from one place to another using different technology such as radio waves and wires. There are many
types of networks available in the networking industries and the most common network are Local Area
Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN). LAN network is made up of two or more computers
connected together in a short distance usually at home, office buildings or school. WAN is a network that
covers wider area than LAN and usually covers cities, countries and the whole world. Several major LAN
can be connected together to form a WAN. As several devices are connected to network, it is important
to ensure data collision does not happened when these devices attempt to use date channel
simultaneously. A set of rules called Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision detection are used to detect
and prevent collision in networks.

I. Discuss the benefits and constraints of different network

types and standards (P1).
A network is a collection of computers, servers, mainframes, network devices, peripherals, or other
devices connected to allow data sharing. An example of a network is the Internet, which connects
millions of people all over the world.

Figure 1. Networking

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 1. Types of networks
There are two most common types of network infrastructures are:

1.1. The local Area Network (LAN)

LANs are the most frequently discussed networks, one of the most common, one of the most original
and one of the simplest types of networks. LANs connect groups of computers and low-voltage devices
together across. This types of networks are very useful for sharing data likes files, small or big document,
play network game etc.

- Benefit:
 Ability to share hardware and software resources
 Individual workstation might survive network failure
 Component and system evolution are possible
 Support for heterogeneous forms of hardware and software
 Access to other LANs and WANs
 Private ownership
 Secure transfers at high speeds with low error rates.
- Constraints:
 Limited number of systems can only be connected.
 Cannot cover large area.
 Network performance degrades as number of users exceeds.

1.2. Wide area Network (WAN)

Wide area Network (WAN) can contain multiple smaller networks such as LANs or MANs. The internet is
the best-know example of a public WAN.

- Benefit:
 WAN has no limit of area, so it is worldwide network.
 Many country’s organizations have facility to form their global integrated network through
WAN.
 WAN support global markets and global business.
 For a network database, WAN allows users all over a network to access and update a single,
consistent view of data.
 Constraints:
 WAN is very big and complex network.
 It is maybe slow in speed.
 WAN is not very much secured means not reliable.
 It is very costly because we have to pay every time for transferring data.
 Very much dependency on the third party because it is public network.

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 Figure 2. LAN and WAN network

1.3. Other types of networks:

- MAN: Metropolitan Area Network – MAN is larger than a LAN but smaller than WAN and often
used to connect several LANs together to form a bigger network.
- SAN: Storage-Area Network – As a dedicated high-speed network that connects shared pools of
storage devices to several servers, these types of networks do not rely on a LAN or WAN and
SANs can be accessed in the same fashion as a drive attached to a server.
- WLAN: Functioning like a LAN, WLANs use wireless network technology such as Wi-Fi.
- PAN – Personal Are Network
- CAN – Campus Area Network
- EPN – Enterprise Private Network
- VPN – Virtual Private Network
- POLAN – Passive Optical Local Area Network
 Example: WAN = LAN+LAN+LAN + (more)
INTERNET = WAN+WAN+WAN+ (more)

2. Network Protocol.
Network Protocol is a set of established rules that define how to format, transmit, and receive data
between network devices. The purpose is for computer network devices from the server and the router

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to the terminal to be able to communicate with each other, even if there are differences in equipment,
design or basic standards between them. they.

To successfully send and receive information, devices on both sides of a communication session must
accept and follow protocol conventions.

Standardized network protocols give network devices a common language. Without this language,
computers would not know how to communicate with each other.

The set of cooperative network protocols is called a protocol suite. The most commonly used protocol
set today for the server-client model is TCP/IP. This protocol includes the following:

 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): uses a set of rules to exchange messages with other internet
points at the packet level
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP): acts as an alternative communication protocol to TCP. Commonly
used for establishing low latency and loss tolerant connections between applications and the
internet
 Internet Protocol (IP): uses a set of rules to send and receive messages at the IP address level and
additional network protocols, including Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and File Transfer
Protocol (FTP), Each protocol has its own set of defined rules for exchanging and displaying
information.
 Domain Name System (DNS); used to convert domain names to IP addresses. The DNS hierarchy
consists of a root server, a TLD, and an authoritative server.
There are also other popular protocols such as: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol
(FTP), Secured Shell (SSH), Telnet protocol, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Internet Message
Access Protocol (IMAP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), ...

3. Networking standards
Ensure the interoperability of networking technology by defining the rules of communication among
networked devices. Networking standards exits to help ensure products of different vendors are able to
work together in a network without risk of incompatibility.

Example about networking standards:

 IEEE, ISO
 WPAN: Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1)
 WLAN: Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11)
 WWAN: GSM, 3G phone nets
 Internetwork: Internet Standards

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 II. Explain the impact of network topology, communication and
bandwidth requirements (P2).

1. Network topology
Network topology is the layout of the connection of a computer network. There are two main types of
topologies. Network topologies may be physical or logical.

- Physical topology means the physical design of a network including the devices, location and
cables.
- Logical topology is about how data actually move around in a network not its physical design.

Figure 3. Types of Network Topology

2. Communication
The Data communication refers to the transmission of the digital data between two or more computers
The physical connection between networked computing devices is established using either cable media
or wireless media.

- The communication has the rules:

 An identified sender and receiver.
 Agreed upon method of communicating.
 Common language and grammar.
 Speed and timing of delivery.
 Confirmation or acknowledgment requirements.
- The message source when was transmitting need to be encoded and decoded when receive

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 3. Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the maximum rate of date transfer across give path. Bandwidth may be characterized as
network bandwidth, data bandwidth or digital bandwidth

The maximum bandwidth of common Internet access technologies:

III.
Discuss
the

Figure 4. Example bandwidth

operating principles of
networking devices and server
types (P3).

1. Networking devices
 Repeater
A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same network
before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to extend the length to which the signal can be
transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about repeaters is that they do not
amplify the signal. When the signal becomes weak, they copy the signal bit by bit and regenerate it at the
original strength. It is a 2 port device.

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 Figure 5. Repeater Device

 Hub
A hub is basically a multiport repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming from different branches,
simply a convenient means of connecting host and extending segments of Ethernet and other broadcast
local network technologies. Hubs cannot filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices.

- Type of Hub:
 Passive Hub:
As the name suggests, this type works quite passively, and the network transmission performance is
not improved. Passive Hub simply performs the task of receiving data on one port and then
broadcasting to all ports.

 Active Hub:
Compared to Passive Hub, Active Hub is added with more advanced features. That is, the feature
monitors the process of data sent to the connected device. Through the use of store technology
(store technology) checks data before it is sent, to evaluate the priority of forwarding between
packets.

Figure 6. Hub

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  List network devices.
- Here is the common network device list:
 Switch
 Router
 Bridge
 Gateway
 Modem
 Access Point

2. Server types.
 Web Server
A web server powers the site you’re looking at right now. This genre of server focuses on serving web
content to clients.

Web servers simply take “GET” and “POST” requests from clients (among other verbs).

A “GET” request is when a client simply wants to retrieve information and doesn’t have any information
to submit to the server.

A “POST” request on the other hand is when a client does have information to share with the server and
expects a response back.

- For example, filling up a form on a web server and clicking the submit button is a “POST” request
from the client to the server.

 DNS Server
A DNS server, or “Domain Name Service” server, is used to translate domain names to their
corresponding IP addresses.

This server is what your browser references when you type in a domain name and press Enter. The idea
is that users don’t have to memorize IP addresses and organizations can have a fitting name.

Typically, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide DNS servers to their users. However, there are many
organizations that provide this lookup service for free, as well (such as the popular Google DNS server
with IP 8.8.8.8).

 List server types:

- Application Servers
- Client Servers
- Collaboration Servers

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 - FTP Servers
- List Servers
- Mail Servers
- Open-Source Servers
- Proxy Servers
- Real-Time Communication Server

IV. Discuss the inter-dependence of workstation hardware with

relevant networking software (P4).

1. Define workstation hardware

A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to
be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-
user operating systems. The term workstation has also been used loosely to refer to everything from a
mainframe computer terminal to a PC connected to a network, but the most common form refers to the
class of hardware offered by several current and defunct companies such as Sun Microsystems, Silicon
Graphics, Apollo Computer, DEC, HP, NeXT and IBM which opened the door for the 3D graphics
animation revolution of the late 1990s.

2. Define networking software

- Networking software is a foundational element for any network. It helps administrators deploy, manage
and monitor a network. Traditional networks are made up of specialized hardware, such as routers and
switches, that bundle the networking software into the solution. Software-defined networking (SDN)
separates that software from the hardware, making it easier to innovate and adapt the network to
quickly meet changing network demands. The separation of functions from hardware, such as firewalls
or load balancing, is called network functions virtualization (NFV).

- Discuss and explain the interdependencies of workstation hardware with networking software. Derive
an example form your discussion Inter-dependence of workstation hardware with relevant networking
software:

 A network file server is a computer system used for the purpose of managing the file system, the
network printer, handling network communication, and other functions. A server maybe
dedicated is such case all of its processing power is allocated to network function, or it may be
non-dedicated which means that a part of server functions allocated as a workstations or DOS
based system.

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  Network operating system: it is loaded into the servers’ hard disk along with the system
management tools and user utilities. When the system is started, NOS boots and other server
come under its control.
 Workstations: workstations or nodes are attached to the server through the network interfaces
card and the cable; workstations are normally intelligence systems, such as the IBM pc. But
DUMV terminals are used in main frame computers. The concept of distributed process depends
on the fact that personal computer are attached to the network performed their own processing
after loading programs and data from servers.
- Due to this a workstation is called an active device on the network. After processing, files are stored
back on the server where they can be used by others workstation.

 Network interface card-every device connected to a LA needs network interface card to plugin to
the LAN. For example, a PC needs to have an Ethernet card installed nit to connect to an Ethernet
LAN.
 Network cabling: once the server, workstations, and network interface cards are in place,
network cabling is used to network everything together. The most popular type of network
cables: Twisted pair wiring, Co-axial cable, Fiber-optic cable.
- That is some inter dependence of the workstation hardware with the relevant network software to
properly implement the network.

References
[1]. Network standardization (no date) Tutorials Point. Available at:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/Network-Standardization#:~:text=Networking%20standards
%20define%20the%20rules,of%20networking%20technologies%20and%20processes. (Accessed:
December 7, 2022).

[2]. Network standards (Data Communications and networking) (no date) whatwhenhow RSS. Available
at: http://what-when-how.com/data-communications-and-networking/network-standards-data-
communications-and-networking/. (Accessed: December 6, 2022).

[3]. Network devices (hub, repeater, Bridge, switch, router, gateways and Brouter) (2022) GeeksforGeeks.
Available at: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/network-devices-hub-repeater-bridge-switch-router-
gateways/. (Accessed: December 8, 2022).

[4]. Types of computer servers and how they function | indeed.com (no date). Available at:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-servers. (Accessed: December
6, 2022).

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[5]. What is network topology and types of network topology? (no date) AfterAcademy. Available at:
https://afteracademy.com/blog/what-is-network-topology-and-types-of-network-topology/.
(Accessed: December 8, 2022).

[6]. Workstation Hardware & Software (2022) Information Technology at Sonoma State University.
Available at: https://it.sonoma.edu/kb/computers-software-devices/workstation-hardware-software.
(Accessed: December 7, 2022).

[7]. Workstations and equipment (no date) Workstations and Equipment | Maine IT. Available at:
https://www.maine.gov/oit/service-catalog/client-technologies/workstations-equipment. (Accessed:
December 6, 2022).

[8]. Xfinity (2022) What is home networking?, Xfinity Help & Support. Available at:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/what-is-home-networking. (Accessed: December 7, 2022).

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