Solution and Answer Guide: Jill West, Data Communications Computer Networks: A Business Users Approach 2023,

Solution and Answer Guide: Jill West, Data Communications & Computer Networks: A Business User’s Approach 2023, 9780357504406; Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications and Computer Networks

• © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible

website, in whole or in part.Solution and Answer Guide Jill West, Data Communications & Computer Networks: A Business User’s Approach 2023, 9780357504406; Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications and Computer Networks Table of Contents Review Questions Answers ........................................................................................................ 1 Hands-On Project Solutions ....................................................................................................... 6 Reflection Discussion 1 Rubric ................................................................................................... 7

Review Questions Answers

• You are sitting at the local coffee shop, enjoying your favorite latte. You pull out your laptop and,

using the wireless network available at the coffee shop, access your email. Which portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is your laptop most likely using?

• Ultraviolet waves
• Visible light waves
• Radio waves
• X-rays

Answer: c. Radio waves

Explanation: Wireless computer networks use different kinds of low energy radiation below the visible light spectrum and can involve broadcast radio, microwaves, or infrared transmissions.

• Which of the following characteristics distinguishes a PAN from other types of networks?
• A printer is connected to the network.
• The network is intended to be used by one person at a time.
• The network supports wearable devices.
• The network is small in geographical coverage.

Answer: b. The network is intended to be used by one person at a time.

Explanation: Networks spanning an area of a few centimeters to several meters around an individual are called PANs (personal area networks) and are typically used by one person at a time.

• When you set up a network at your home with a home router, a few computers, a printer,

multimedia devices, and your smartphone, which of the following statements is true?

• You can have several PANs, you have one LAN, and you probably have one WAN

connection.

• You can have several LANs, you have one PAN, and you probably have one WAN

connection.

• You can have several WANs, you have one MAN, and you probably have one LAN

connection.

• You can have several PANs, you have one MAN, and you probably have one LAN

connection.Answer: a. You can have several PANs, you have one LAN, and you probably have one WAN connection. 1 / 4

Solution and Answer Guide: Jill West, Data Communications & Computer Networks: A Business User’s Approach 2023, 9780357504406; Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications and Computer Networks

• © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible

website, in whole or in part.Explanation: A home network might include multiple work areas, each with its own PAN. The entire home network is one LAN. The home router supports one WAN connection to the Internet.

• Your company’s network administrator mentions during a meeting that she has migrated your

company’s database to a DBaaS. What can you deduce about the database, given just this information?

• The database has been backed up.
• The database is now more secure than it was.
• The database is stored on a cloud provider’s servers.
• The database has been archived.

Answer: c. The database is stored on a cloud provider’s servers.

Explanation: The phrase “anything as a service” refers to cloud computing services and is often adapted to refer to specific types of cloud services, such as DBaaS (database as a service). When using a cloud service, the actual data or code does not exist on the user’s computer or datacenter but runs on the cloud provider’s servers and is typically accessed across the Internet through the user’s browser.

• When your work computer requests a web page, which device does the computer communicate

with first?

• Web server
• Local server
• Router
• Switch

Answer: d. Switch

Explanation: A switch is the collection point for the wires that interconnect the workstations on a LAN. The switch then connects to the router to access the Internet. The router sends the request across the Internet to a remote web server. A local server would not have the web page files available.

• As you’re setting up your home network, you connect one desktop and two laptops to your home

router. You then connect your home router to your cable modem. When you test the connection with your desktop, the computer can access websites on the Internet. What functions is your home router providing for your home network?

• Web server and file server
• Web server and router
• Switch and web server
• Router and switch

Answer: d. Router and switch

Explanation: A switch is the collection point for the wires that interconnect the workstations on a LAN. A router is the connecting device between LANs and WANs, such as the Internet.Most home routers provide both these functions in one device.

• What computer “language” is spoken over the Internet?
• WAN
• NaaS
• TCP/IP
• DSL

Answer: c. TCP/IP 2 / 4

Solution and Answer Guide: Jill West, Data Communications & Computer Networks: A Business User’s Approach 2023, 9780357504406; Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications and Computer Networks

• © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible

website, in whole or in part.Explanation: The language of the Internet is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).

• Using a laptop computer with a wireless connection to your company’s LAN, you download a web

page from the Internet. Which of the following statements can you know is true, given this information?

• Your web page request crossed at least two LANs.
• Your web page request crossed exactly one LAN.
• Your web page request was handled by exactly one router.
• Your web page request was handled by exactly one switch.

Answer: a. Your web page request crossed at least two LANs.

Explanation: No direct connection exists between the laptop computer and the web server.The laptop computer connects to your company’s LAN. The request is sent across the Internet, reaches the web server’s LAN, and is then directed to the computer hosting the web server software. During the trip, the request probably crossed a switch on each end’s LAN and several routers on the Internet.

• Your coworker, Raul, has stored a few documents on his workstation that you and several others

in your office access regularly as you’re writing emails to customers. What function is Raul’s computer filling?

• Web server
• Switch
• Email server
• File server

Answer: d. File server

Explanation: In a client/server system, a user at a computer, called the client machine, issues a request for some form of data or service, such as a request for a file from a file server. The computer where the files are stored is a file server, and the computer requesting the file is the client.

• Your family-owned business is growing and has just added a few new employees. The owners

decide, for security purposes, that the network needs to be segmented so that only certain people can get to sensitive data. Which of these changes will accomplish this goal most effectively?

• Add a new WAN.
• Divide the network into two LANs.
• Divide the network into two WANs.
• Add a new PAN.

Answer: b. Divide the network into two LANs.

Explanation: A switch can be used to segment a network into two or more LANs, which can limit the flow of traffic between the LANs.

• As you’re riding the bus to work, you check your email on your smartphone. Your smartphone is

using the cellular network to access the email server at your company’s datacenter. What kind of network is this?

• Local area network
• Personal area network
• Body area network
• Wide area network

Answer: d. Wide area network 3 / 4

Solution and Answer Guide: Jill West, Data Communications & Computer Networks: A Business User’s Approach 2023, 9780357504406; Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications and Computer Networks

• © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible

website, in whole or in part.Explanation: When a user talks into a smartphone, sends a text message or email, or interacts with a website, the data is transmitted across the cellular network to a telephone company building. The telephone company then transfers the smartphone’s data over the public telephone network or through a connection onto the Internet, both of which are WANs.

• Which of the following is not an example of a sensor network?
• A doorbell sends an alert to the homeowner’s smartphone when movement is detected.
• A security camera records some burglars robbing a gas station.
• A robot rejects a circuit board that does not meet manufacturing standards.
• An alarm sounds when water is detected on the datacenter floor.

Answer: b. A security camera records some burglars robbing a gas station.

Explanation: Sensor networks respond to information gathered from embedded sensors. A security camera that runs continuously and passively records without activating any kind of response does not qualify as a sensor network.

• Peggy owns a MacBook but needs to install and use an application that only works on the

Windows operating system. How can she use the hardware she has to install and use the application?

• Wipe the macOS off her MacBook and install Windows instead.
• Spin up a macOS VM in the cloud and install the application on the VM.
• Create a VM on the MacBook and install Windows and the application on the VM.
• Change the hard drive on her MacBook and install Windows and the application on the

new hard drive.Answer: c. Create a VM on the MacBook and install Windows and the application on the VM.Explanation: Running a hypervisor on the MacBook, you can create a virtual machine (VM), and then install Windows and the application on the VM.

• Which OSI layers does the TCP/IP architecture combine into one?
• Physical and network
• Network and application
• Application, transport, and physical
• Application, presentation, and session

Answer: d. Application, presentation, and session

Explanation: The OSI model breaks down the TCP/IP application layer into three separate

layers: application, presentation, and session.

• Which of the following protocols functions at the transport layer?
• HTTP
• TCP
• IP
• SSH

Answer: b. TCP

Explanation: The transport layer often uses TCP to perform end-to-end error control and end-to-end flow control.

• Which of the following devices relies on IP addresses to send messages from network to network

toward their destination?

• Routers
• Switches
• Servers
• / 4