Homework 2

 

This problem should be done in a small group with a maximum of two people, though you can do it by yourself.  You want your write ups to be a couple pages for each problem.  Succinctness is important, and you're likely to want to number your responses to coincide with the questions.  But try to use complete sentences when reasonable.

 

(30 PTS) 1.  You can make sue of a wireless home network for this problem.

  1. Draw a diagram of a relatively small wireless network focusing on a single AP
  2. Describe how this AP is connected to the larger internet
  3. How is security/access done?  Is there encryption?
  4. Have you seen the system get bogged down with too many users?  What is it like?
  5. Have you seen difficulties with losing the signal?  What sorts of things seem to be the source of these difficulties?
  6. Does the AP have an IP address? 
    1. Is it static?
  7. Do the client devices have IP addresses? 
    1. If they do, how are they assigned?
    2. If they don't how does the AP identify the client?

(70 PTS) 2.  You are likely to want to work on the same outside computer network as you did for homework 1.  But you need to work on a network other than Quinnipiac's.

  1. Identify the name and IP address of the main DNS server on this network.
  2. Identify the name and IP address of the default gateway for a particular computer on the network.
  3. Identify the type of network operating system and describe the overall approach used to set security through it.
    1. Identify the main server used for username and password validation
    2. Identify the servers used for username and password validation if there isn't just a single main server used for this.
    3. discuss how security is configured for making use of other services  For example,
      1. library databases
      2. specific application software
      3. database access
      4. servers that provide upgrades and fixes
  4. Describe how IP addresses are assigned to client machines on the network.
  5. Discuss the presence of subnets and the appropriate subnet mask if used.
  6. Describe how a web request from a client gets to the web server and back.
  7. Describe how the network is secured in terms of firewalls and/or routers.
  8. Describe strengths and weaknesses about the network, largely focusing on the issues you've developed in this homework assignments.