UU-MBA-741-ZM Business Data Communication and Security
UU-MBA-741-ZM Business Data
Communication and Security
Assignment 1
Dear students,
This is your first assignment for this course that accounts for 50% of your total marks
for the course.
Please answer and elaborate on the following questions:
1. What is an application-layer message? A transport-layer segment? A network
layer datagram? A link-layer frame? Elaborate on your answers.
2. Name the advantages of optical fiber over twisted-pair and coaxial cable. Please
elaborate on your answer.
3. What are the four generic architectural components of a public communications
network? Define and elaborate on each of term.
4. Alice wants to send a message to Bob using SHA-1 hashes. She consults with
you regarding the appropriate signature algorithm to be used. What would you
suggest? Please elaborate to explain your suggestion.
5. Explain and elaborate on the impact that communication network applications
have had on business and everyday life.
6. Why are standards important for protocols? Please elaborate.
7. What is a message called that is delivered by TCP? What is a message called
that is delivered by UDP? At which layer do the two protocols work
8. Compare the network topologies (Star, Bus and Ring). What capabilities and
what limitations do they have? Please elaborate on your answer.
Word Count: 3000 words (maximum)
Submit to VLE the following:
Your answers in a pdf document.
Your work needs to be well written and have quality information. Your work must be
clear and must be able to educate someone with no prior knowledge in the field of Data
Communication.
Notes:
• Please read and apply the rules for referencing.
• The assignment is your own individual work. I expect all sent assignments to
be very different from one another even if they are based on the same topic.
• The deadline is the end of week 3.
• This is worth 50% of your mark
