CST311.1 Module One

 

CST311.1 Module One

What I learned this week:

This week we were provided with a brief overview of what to expect for the upcoming weeks in our computer networking class. Which covered several topics of what consists of the Internet through two different outlooks. One viewpoint analyzed the internet and how it is composed of interconnected links and packet switches of which at the edge, reach hosts or end systems. when sending/recieving data through the internet, data is distributed through packets and is ultimately sent from a client-server through paths between routers, packet switches, ultimately reaching its destination at another client-server. Anotherr outlook is looking through the lens as a software developer, and how the internet provides it's services to applications.

We also covered different protocols, and how these protocols work similar to how we communicate amongst one another, dependent on responses indicate which action to move forward in the interaction. We covered different access networks such as DSL, Cable, FTTH and 5G and how they physically interact. Another focus was on the Network Core and how packet switching is superior to circuit switching since it allows more users to utilize provided the traffic comes in bursts and is less predictable.

Mathematically we covered the different delays: from processing, queuing, transmission and propagation delay, and how it affects the time it takes for a packet to travel from source to destination. We also went over how protocol layering is a beneficial framework for building, and how the protocol stack consists of: an application, transport, network, link and physical layer. And lastly we briefly went over the topic of security and the different types of attacks that can occur within a network.