Chapter 5

Ethernet Standards

Standards for copper cable:

-10Base-T - uses a twisted pair cable with maximum lengths of 100 meters. The cable is thinner and more flexible than the coaxial cable used for the 10Base-2 or 10Base-5 standards.

-100Base-T (Fast Ethernet) - based on the older Ethernet standard. Because it is 10 times faster than Ethernet, it is often referred to as Fast Ethernet.

-1000Base-T - standard that defines 1 Gb/s data transfer over distances of up to 100 meters using four pairs of CAT-5 balanced copper cabling and a 5-level coding scheme.

-10GBase-T - standard for transmitting 10 Gbps over twisted pair, 10GBase-T. This standard was a breakthrough in pushing the limits of the twisted pair medium. To achieve such dramatic data transmission rates, however, 10GBase-T segments require Cat 6 or Cat 7 cabling. Still, as with other twisted pair Ethernet standards, the maximum segment length for 10GBase-T is 100 meters.

Standards for fiber-optic cable:

-100Base-FX - standard that specifies a network capable of 100-Mbps throughput
that uses baseband transmission and fiber-optic cabling. 100Base-FX requires multimode
fiber containing at least two strands of fiber.

-1000Base-LX - The 1000 in 1000Base-LX stands for 1000-Mbps—or 1-Gbps—throughput. Base stands for baseband transmission, and LX represents its reliance on long wavelengths of 1300 nanometers. (A nanometer equals 0.000000001 meters, or about the width of six carbon
atoms in a row.) 1000Base-LX has a longer reach than any other 1-gigabit technology
available today.

-1000Base-SX - similar to 1000Base-LX in that it has a maximum throughput
of 1 Gbps. However, it relies on only multimode fiber-optic cable as its medium. This
makes it less expensive to install than 1000Base-LX. Another difference is that 1000Base-SX
uses short wavelengths of 850 nanometers—thus, the SX, which stands for short. The maximum segment length for 1000Base-SX depends on two things: the diameter of the fiber and the modal bandwidth used to transmit signals.

Standards for 10-gigabit fiber-optic:

-10GBase-SR and 10GBase-SW 

-10GBase-LR and 10GBase-LW 

-10GBase-LR and 10GBase-LW 

Chapter 4

TCP/IP Core Protocols


Certain subprotocols of the TCP/IP suite, called TCP/IP core protocols, operate in the Transport or Network layers of the OSI model and provide basic services to protocols in other
layers. TCP and IP are the most significant protocols in the TCP/IP suite.


-TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) -  belongs to the Transport layer and provides reliable data delivery services.

-UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - sits in the Transport layer of the OSI model. UDP is a connectionless transport service.

-ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) -  notifies the sender that something has gone wrong in the transmission process and that packets were
not delivered.

-IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) - used to manage multicast transmissions. Routers use IGMP to determine which nodes belong to a multicast group, and nodes use IGMP to join or leave a multicast
group.

-IP (Internet Protocol) - belongs to the Network layer of the OSI model. It provides information about how and where data should be delivered, including the data's source and destination address. IP is the subprotocol that enables TCP/IP to traverse more than one LAN segment and more than one type of network through a router.

-ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) - that belongs in the Network layer of the OSI model. ARP obtains the MAC (physical) address of a host, or node, and then creates a local database that maps the MAC address to the host’s IP (logical) address.

-RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol) - belongs in the Network layer of the OSI model. RARP relies on a RARP table to associate the IP (logical) address of a node with its MAC (physical) address. RARP can be used to supply IP addresses to diskless workstations.

Chapter 3

There are several different types of cables used for transmitting data between computers. You have coaxial cabling, twisted pair cabling, and fiber-optic cabling. 

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable was the predecessor for Ethernet networks, but has now been replaced by twisted pair and fiber-optic cabling. The coaxial cable has a copper core that is wrapped in an insulating material that is wrapped in a braided shielding, which is covered by a jacket, which is a plastic material that protects the cable from being damaged.

Twisted Pair Cable

Twisted pair cabling is now the prominent cable used in networking. There are two types of twisted pair cables: STP (shielded twisted pair) and UTP (unshielded twisted pair). 

Shielded twisted pair cable is composed of pairs of twisted wires that are each insulated and covered in a metallic shielding, such as foil or braided copper, which provides a barrier to protect the signal from being affect by electromagnetic forces.

Unshielded twisted pair cable is almost identical to shielded twisted pair, except that it does not contain the shielding that the twisted pair contains. This allows it to be less expensive than STP, however makes it more vulnerable to electromagnetic interference.

Fiber-Optic Cable

Fiber-optic cable is a newer type of cabling that is rapidly growing in popularity due to the faster data speeds that it is capable of, however it is much more expensive than twisted pair due to the cost of materials. It has a core made up of either one or several glass or plastic fibers. The data is transmitted by pulsing light sent from a laser or an LED through the fiber core.The core is surrounded by a layer of plastic or glass known as the cladding. The cladding reflects the light back to the core in various patterns. The reflection allows the light to bend around corners without degrading the signal quality. There are two types of fiber-optic cables: SMF (single-mode fiber) and MMF (multimode fiber). The difference between the two is found in the diameter of the fiber core. Multimode fiber's core has a larger diameter which allows more pulses of light to pass through, allowing more data to be transmitted at a single instance than single-mode fiber.

Chapter 2

OSI Reference Model Map

        

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/osi.htm

Chapter 1, Case Study 1-1

Since Thrift Towne's owners are looking for a simple network, I would recommend a simple peer-to-peer network. This would be inexpensive and simple, yet capable of meeting their network needs. A basic router and straight-through cables would be enough for connecting the workstations. The computers would use a network drive for storing staff schedules and inventory information. All other important information could be placed on an encrypted folder that the manager would have access to. The workstations shouldn't need any upgrades as they are capable of performing the basic tasks that the employees will be doing day to day.

This YouTube video demonstrates how to set up a peer-to-peer network on Windows 7. However, this will also work on Windows XP, which is what Thrift Towne's workstations are currently running.

Dustin's Intro

My name is Dustin. I graduated from Alleghany High School in 2011. This is my fourth semester here at Dabney. I have been enrolled in the IST program since the first semester and I hope to someday work in the IT field.