Computer Network Viva Questions

There is a list of frequently asked Computer Network Viva Questions, and their
answers are given below:

1. Define a network
A network is a collection of networks joined together by physical media linkages.
Recursively, a network is any physical link connecting two or more nodes or any two or
more networks connected by one or more nodes.

2. How do links work?

Two or more computers connected directly to one another via a physical media, such
as a coaxial cable or optical fibre, can perform work at the lowest level. A link is an
example of a physical medium.

3. Describe a Node.
A network can be made up of two or more computers that are physically linked together,
such as by coaxial cable or optical fibre. Such physical media is known as a link,
and the computer that connects to it is referred to as a node.

4. What is a router or gateway?

A node linked to two or more networks is referred to as a gateway or router. In most
cases, it transmits the message from one network to another.

5. Describe the point-to-point link.

We refer to physical connections as point-to-point links if they can only connect two
nodes.

6. What is multiple access, exactly?

If two or more nodes share the physical links, it is referred to as multiple accesses.

7. What is the main purpose of a DNS server?

DNS stands for Domain Name Server. It translates Internet domains and
hostnames to IP addresses and vice versa
What is the protocol and port no of DNS?
Protocol – TCP/UDP
Port number- 53
What is a reverse proxy?
Reverse Proxy Server: The job of a reverse proxy server is to listen to
the request made by the client and redirect to the particular web server
which is present on different servers. This is also used to restrict the
access of the clients to the confidential data residing on particular servers.
Define piggybacking?
Piggybacking is used to improve the efficiency of the bidirectional
protocols. When a frame is carrying data from A to B, it can also carry
control information about arrived (or lost) frames from B; when a frame is
carrying data from B to A, it can also carry control information about the
arrived (or lost) frames from A.
Why do we need the pop3 protocol for e-mail?
Need of POP3: The Post Office Protocol (POP3) is the most widely used
protocol and is supported by most email clients. It provides a convenient
and standard way for users to access mailboxes and download
messages. An important advantage of this is that the mail messages get
delivered to the client’s PC and they can be read with or without
accessing the web.
49. Define the term Jitter?
Jitter is a “packet delay variance”. It can simply mean that jitter is
considered a problem when different packets of data face different delays
in a network and the data at the receiver application is time-sensitive, i.e.
audio or video data. Jitter is measured in milliseconds(ms). It is defined as
an interference in the normal order of sending data packets.

8. What are the names of the variables that impact the performance
of the network?
Hardware, software, users, and various transmission mediums are all factors.

9. What standards must a network meet to be effective and

efficient?
Reliability:

The amount of time it takes a link to recover from a failure, how often failures occur, and
how robust the network is are all indicators of how reliable a system is.

Security:

Security concerns include guarding data from viruses and illegal access.

Performance:

A network's performance can be evaluated in a number of ways, including through

metrics like reaction time and transmit time.

12. What is the protocol?

A protocol is a collection of guidelines that governs all facets of information
communication.

13. What is the essential component of protocol?

Key components of the protocol are:

Semantics:

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It speaks of the significance of each bit in a segment.

The format and structure of the data, or the manner in which they are presented, make
up a protocol's syntax.

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Timing:

It has the following two qualities:

o When should the information we send

o How quickly can data be sent?

15. What are latency and bandwidth?

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Latency and bandwidth are used to gauge the network's performance. The number of
beads that may be transmitted through the network in a specific amount of time is
referred to as the network's bandwidth. In contrast, latency describes the length of
time it takes a message to transit over a network in terms of bits.

16. Talk about routing.

The act of methodically forwarding a message to a destination node depending on its
address is known as routing in a network.

17. What is a peer-to-peer process?

Each process that communicates between machines at a specific network layer is
known as a peer-to-peer process.

18. What is the congested switch?

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A switch may receive packets quicker than a card link that can hold them and store them
in memory for a longer amount of time. If this occurs, the switch may eventually run out
of buffer space, forcing some packets from it to be lost in a particular state. The situation
of the network is referred to as the "congested condition of the network".

19. Address the network's semantic gap.

Understanding the requirement applications and being aware of the technological
constraints might help to define a useful channel. Therefore, the gap between
application characteristics and the underlying technology can be described as the
semantic gap in the network.

20. How long is the round trip?

The Round-trip time is the amount of time it takes to send a message from one end of
a network to the other and vice versa.

21. Talk about broadcasting, unicasting, and multicasting.

Multicasting is a method by which the message is sent to some subset of other nodes.

Unicasting is a method by which the message is sent from a source to a single

destination node.

Finally, broadcasting is a method by which the message is sent to all the nodes in the
network.

22. Talk about multiplexing.

Multiplexing is the process through which numerous signals are sent simultaneously
over a single data channel.

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23. Go over the different types of multiplexing.

There are several types of multiplexing, including:

A. Time division multiplexing

o Synchronous TDM
o Asynchronous TDM or statistical TDM
B. Frequency division multiplexing

C. Wave division multiplexing

28. What are the OSI layers?

There are several layers in the OSI Model, including,

1. Physical layer
2. Datalink layer
3. Network layer
4. Transport layer
5. Session layer
6. Presentation layer
7. Application layer

29. Which is the network-supported layer?

Network-supported layers are,

1. Network layer
2. Physical layer
3. Datalink layer

30. Which is the user-supported layer?

User-supported layers are,

1. Application layer
2. Presentation layer
3. Session layer

31. Which layer in the OSI stack connects the user-supported

and network-supported layers?
The user-supported layer and the network-supported layer are connected via the
transport layer.

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32. Talk about the issues with the physical layer.

The physical layer coordinates the operations necessary for the transmission of a
bit stream across a physical medium.

1. Representation of bits
2. physical characteristics of interfaces and media
3. data rate
4. bits synchronization
5. a line configuration
6. transmission mode
7. physical topology

33. Discuss the responsibilities of the data link layer.

The data link layer transmits information to the physical layer. The data link layer
is in charge of node-to-node distribution and conveys a raw facility to a
dependable link.

o physical addressing
 o flow control
o framing
o error control
o access control

34. Explain the functions of the network layer.

Several functions of the network layer are,

1. The network layer is responsible for routing and logical addressing.

2. The network layer is in charge of delivering packets from source to
destination, maybe through several networks.

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35. Explain the functions of the transport layer.

The transport layer is in charge of sending the full message from source to
destination. Some other functions of the transport layer are,

1. Connection control
2. error control
3. segmentation and reassembly
4. service point addressing
5. flow control

36. Explain the function of the session layer.

The network dialogue controller is treated as a session layer. It upholds,
establishes, and synchronizes communication between systems.

o Synchronization
o Dialogue management

37. Explain the responsibilities of the presentation layer role.

The presentation layer is in charge of sharing information on the syntax and
semantics between two systems. Other functions include translation, encryption,
and compression.

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38. Describe the responsibility of the application layer.
The application layer decides whether software or humans will access the
network. The application layer provides user interfaces and supports, like shared
database management, e-mail, and other types of distributed Information
Services.

39. What are the two categories of hardware components?

There are two categories of hardware components, i.e., Nodes and Links.

40. What different kinds of links can be employed to construct a

computer network?
o leased lines
o Cables
o last mile links
o wireless links

41. Discuss the various categories of transmission media.

There are various categories of transmission media, including:

I) guided media

A) twisted pair cable

1. shielded TP
2. Unshielded TP

B) coaxial cable

C) fiber optics cable

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II) unguided media

1. terrestrial microwave
2. Satellite communication

42. What kinds of errors are there?

There are mainly two types of error, including:

o Single bit error: In this error, only one bit in the data unit is altered.
o Burst error: two or more data bits will be altered in this error.

43. What is computer network error detection, and what are its
methods?
During transmission, there may be the possibility of corruption of data. For reliable
communication, errors must be deducted and corrected. The concept of redundancy is
used by error detection in a computer network, which means adding extra bits to detect
errors at the destination. There are some common error detection methods which are as
follows

o Longitudinal redundancy check

o Vertical redundancy check
o Cyclic redundancy check
o Checksum

44. Describe redundancy.

Redundancy is a method by which we might transmit more information merely for
comparison purposes.

47. What does cyclic redundancy check mean?

It is one of the most powerful redundancy-checking methods. The cyclic redundancy
check is based on binary division.

48. What is the checksum?

The checksum approach is used by higher layer protocols to assist with error
detection.

49. Describe the steps involved in creating the checksum.

o The data is divided into sections
o Using 1's complement arithmetic, these sections are added together
 o Finally, the complement is taken for the final sum. It is the checksum.

50. Describe the data link protocols.

Data link protocols refer to the set of specifications required to implement the data link
layer. The following are some categories of data link protocols:

A. Asynchronous protocol

B. Synchronous protocol

1. Character-oriented protocol
2. Bit oriented protocol

51. What is the difference between error correction and error

detection?
Error detection is easy and simple than error correction, and it is examined for error
detection when any error occurs. Additionally, only the corrupted bits are verified during
error correction. The number of mistakes and the size of the messages is key
components in key correction.

52. Define forward error correction.

Forward error detection is the method through which the receiver makes an attempt to
understand the message using redundant bits.

53. What is retransmission?

Retransmission is the process by which a message is requested to be sent again after
an error has been found by the recipient. The message is sent again and again until it is
received and the recipient accepts it as an error-free transmission.

54. Define data words.

The messages are separated into blocks when using block coding. A data word is
referred to as each of the K beats. Block coding is a one-to-one method, and the
same data word is consistently encoded using the same code word.
55. What are code words?
Each block is given an additional "r" redundant bit to make the length n = k + r. These
resultant n-bit blocks are known as codewords. The codewords 2n and 2k are rarely
used, and these terms have no legitimate use.

56. Define linear block code.

A linear block code is one in which another valid code word is created by
the exclusive OR of two valid code words.

57. What is cyclic code?

It is a particular variety of additional linear block code. A code word will yield another
code word if it is rotated or sorted in cyclic code.

58. What is an encoder?

It is a program or device that applies specified algorithms to video or audio data to
compress or encode it for usage in storage or transmission. Analog video to digital video
conversion is accomplished with this circuit.

59. What is a decoder?

The encoded data is translated into its original format by a program or device. This
expression is frequently used to describe MPEG-2 sound and video data, which needs
to be encoded before output.

60. What is framing?

Framing is the process by which the data connection layer divides a message into its
additional centre address and destination address while it is being sent from one source
to another or from one destination to another. The sender address enables the recipient
to acknowledge receipt of the packet, and the destination address specifies where the
packet must go.

61. What is fixed-size framing?

In fixed-size framing, the frame borders are not specified. A delimiter could be the size
itself.

62. What is character stuffing?

The character stuffing or bite stuffing approach involves adding a special kind of byte
to the frame's data section along with a character or pattern that matches the flag. The
data area is filled with the aid of an additional byte. This bite is frequently referred to as
the escape character, which has a predetermined bit pattern. When the receiver comes
across the escape character, it is deleted from the data section and it sees the following
character as data rather than a delimiting indicator.

63. What is bit stuffing?

It is a process in which one extra 0 is added when five consecutive 1 s follow a 0 in the
data, get there will be no mistake when the receiver makes a pattern 0111110 for a flag.

64. How does flow control work?

Flow control refers to a collection of methods that is used to limit how much data a
sender can send before having to wait for an acknowledgment.

65. Define error control.

Error control is the combination of error detection and correction. It allows the
receiver to inform the sender of any frames lost or damaged and transmission, and it
coordinates the transmission of those frames by the sender. In the data link layer, error
detection is referred to as "error control and retransmission methods".

66. Define automatic repeat request.

Error control is the combination of error detection and correction. The data link layer
frequently implements error control. When an exchange error is discovered, the required
programmes are sent again. An automatic repeat request (ARQ) is the name given to
the entire process.

67. Define stop-and-wait protocol.

In the stop-and-wait protocol, the sender sends the first frame and waits for the
receiver to affirm, "OK, go ahead", before sending the next frame.

68. What is an automatic stop-and-wait repeat request?

By keeping the copy of the sent frame, the error correction is done in a stop-and-wait
automatic repeat request, and when the timer expires, the transmission of the frame is
done.

69. What is the use of sequence number in reliable transmission?

This protocol stipulates that each frame must have a unique number. This method is
done with the help of sequence numbers. The data frame is given a pill to carry the
frame's sequence number. We wish to reduce its frame size, so the smallest range
offers clear communication. The numbers in the series can circle.

70. Discuss pipelining.

Pipelining is a networking technique or other application where a task frequently
starts before the previous activity has finished.

71. What is a sliding window?

The range of sequence numbers is described by an abstract idea. Also, it is a concern
of the sender and receiver. On the other hand, the receiver and the sender should deal
with it if they only have access to a portion of the possible sequence number.

72. Discuss piggybacking.

Piggybacking is the term for the method that is used to increase the effectiveness of
more extensive external treatments. A frame can control information about lost frames
from Q when it conveys data from P to Q, and it can control information about the
arrived frame from P when it carries data from Q to P.
73. What are the types of transmission technology available?
There are two types of transmission technology, including:

1. Point to point
2. Broadcast

74. Define subnet.

The subnet is a generic term that is used for the section of a large network, usually
separated by a bridge or a router.

75. What are the differences between transmission and

communication?
Communication defines the full exchange of information between two communication
media.

76. Describe the possible ways of data exchange.

There are several ways of data exchange, including:

1. Simplex
2. Half duplex
3. Full duplex

77. Define SAP.

It is a series of interface points that allows other computers to communicate with other
network protocol stack layers.

86. What is cladding?

It is a layer of glass that encircles the central fibre of glass in a fibre optic cable.

87. Define point-to-point protocol.

It is a communication protocol. It is used to connect computers to remote networking
services, including Internet service providers.

88. How is the gateway different from routers?

At the upper levels of the OSI model, a gateway always operates, and it translates
information between two completely different data formats or network architectures.

89. What is a Mac address?

For a device, the address is defined at the media access control (Mac) layer in the
network architecture. Mac address is unique. It's usually stored in ROM on the network.

90. What is the difference between bit rate and baud rate?
The number of bits transmitted during one second is called as Bit rate. At the same
time, the number of signal units per second required to represent those bits is called
the baud rate.

Baud rate = bit rate/ N

Where N is the number of bits represented by its signals shift.

91. Discuss the types of transmission media.

Usually, signals are transmitted over some transmission media. These transmission
media are basically classified into two categories;

A. Guided media:

In guided media, it conducts conduction between one device to another, including

twisted pair, fiber optic cable, and a coaxial cable. The signal which travels along any of
these media is directed and is contained by the physical limits of the medium. Coaxial
cable and twisted pair use metallic that accepts and transports signals in the form of
electrical current. In the form of light, the optical fiber, which is a Plastic or a glass cable,
transports under accepted signals?
B. Unguided media:

It is a wireless media. It transports electromagnetic waves without the help of a physical

conductor. These are done through satellite communication, radio communication, and
cellular telephony.

94. Discuss the different types of networking or networking devices.

There are various types of networking or networking device, including:

A. Repeater:

The Repeater is also called a regenerator. It is an electronic device that operates only
at the physical layer. Before it becomes weak, it receives the signal in the network,
regenerates the signal bit pattern, and puts the refreshed copy back into the link.

B. Bridges:

Bridges operate in both the data link layer and physical layer of lans of the same type. A
large network is divided by the bridges into smaller segments. Bridges contain logic that
allows them to keep the traffic for each segment separate, and for that, the repeaters
relay frame inside the segment containing the intended recipient and control congestion.

C. Routers:

Among multiple interconnected networks, the packets are relayed by the routers.
Routers operate in data link, physical, and network layers. Router's content software
enables them to the determination of several possible paths, i.e., which path is best for a
particular transmission.

D. Gateway:

A gateway is a networked device that acts as an entry point into another network when
discussing networking (network devices gateway). For example, a wireless router is
typically utilized as the default gateway in a home network. In a nutshell, a gateway
serves as a messenger agent, receiving data from one network, interpreting it, and
transmitting it to another. Gateways may function at any layer of the OSI model and are
also known as protocol converters.

95. Define ICMP.

ICMP stands for "Internet control message protocol". It is a network layer protocol of
the TCP/IP protocol that is used by hosts and gateways for sending notifications of
datagram problems back to the sender. ICMP uses an echo test or reply to test whether
a destination is reachable and responding. ICMP handles both control and error
messages.
96. Describe the data units at different TCP/ IP protocol suite
layers.
The message is the data unit that is created at the application layer. A segment or a user
datagram is the data unit that is created at the transport layer. At the network layer, the
datagram unit is created. At the data link layer, the datagram is encapsulated and finally
transmitted as signals along the transmission media.

97. Describe the difference between ARP and RARP?

Basically, the address resolution protocol (ARP) is used for the association of the 32-
bit IP address with the 48-bit physical address. By sending an ARP query packet, it is
used by a host or a router to find the physical address of another host on its network,
which includes The IP address of the receiver.

On the other hand, The reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) permits a host to
discover its Internet address when it knows only its physical address.

98. What is the minimum and maximum length of the header in the
TCP segmentand the IP datagram?
There should be a minimum length of the header of up to 20 bytes, and the length can
have a maximum of 60 bytes.

99. What is the range of addresses in the class of Internet address?

Class A - 0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255

Class B - 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255

Class C - 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255

Class D - 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255

Class E - 240.0.0.0 - 247.255.255.255

102. Describe the important topologies for networks.

There are several topologies for networks, including:

1. Star topology:

In the star topology network, all computers had connected using a central hub. It can be
inexpensive. It is very easy to install, and then we can easily reconfigure it, and it is very
easy to detect physical problems.

2. Bus topology:

In this topology network, each computer is directly connected to a primary network cable
with the help of a single line. It is also inexpensive, and it is very easy to install. We can
understand it simply, and they can extend easily.

3. Ring topology:

In this topology, all the computers are connected in a loop. In this, the computers have
equal access to network media. In this system, the installation process is simple. As
much as in other topologies, the signal does not degrade because each computer
regenerates it.

103. What is a mesh network?

In the mesh network, there are multiple network links available. This network links the
computers to provide multiple paths to travel for the data.

104. Describe the differences between broadband and

basebandtransmission.
According to broadband transmission on multiple frequencies, the signals are sent by
allowing multiple signals simultaneously.

On the other hand, a single cable consumes the entire bandwidth of the cable in
baseband transmission.

107. Describe the difference between non-routable and routable

protocols.
A routing protocol is a network protocol that transports data from one network to another
via a router and is delivered to a system on that remote network. On the other hand, the
data from a non-routable protocol cannot be routed through a router. It is primarily due to
the protocol's lack of capacity.
108. What is the importance of the OSI reference model?
OSI reference model provides a framework for discussing network design and
operations.

109. Describe the logical link control.

The logical link control (LLC) is the highest sublayer of the data link layer in the open
system interconnections (OSI) data transmission reference model. It serves as an
interface between the network layer and the data link layer's media access control
(MAC) sublayer.

110. Define the virtual channel.

It is a connection from one source to one destination. However, multicast connections
are also permitted. The circuit is another name for a virtual channel.

111. Define the virtual path.

A group of virtual circuits can be grouped together along any transmission path from a
given source to the destination. This destination path is called a virtual path.

112. Define packet filtering.

Packet filtering is a firewall technique that is utilized for controlling network access by
monitoring outgoing and incoming packets and enabling them to pass or fail based on
the source and destination IP addresses, protocols, and ports.

113. Define multicasting routing.

Multicast routing is a networking technique for distributing one-to-many traffic efficiently.
A multicast source transmits traffic to a multicast group in a single stream like a live
video conference. Receivers in the multicast group include computers, gadgets, and IP
phones.
114. Define silly window syndrome.
Silly Window Syndrome is a problem caused by bad TCP implementation. It reduces
TCP throughput and renders data delivery wasteful.