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Chapter 1

Planning a Network Topology

6. What components would you have to add to the plan to connect the LANs on each

of the three floors to a single 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet backbone network?

7. Assuming that all three networks are connected to a single backbone, on which

network would it make the most sense to connect the server hosting the com-

pany’s customer database? Explain your answer.

a. The first floor network

b. The second floor network

c. The third floor network

d. The backbone network

8. Assuming that all three networks are connected to a single backbone, which

would be the best network/transport layer protocol to use for the entire internet-

work? Why are the other available protocols less suitable?

Chapter Summary

■

A network infrastructure is a set of physical and logical components that provide

connectivity, security, routing, management, access, and other integral features on

a network.

■

The OSI reference model splits a network’s functionality into seven layers: appli-

cation, presentation, session, transport, network, data-link, and physical.

■

UTP cables are inexpensive and relatively easy to install, but they are subject to

electromagnetic interference and can span only limited distances.

■

Fiber-optic cables are more resistant to electromagnetic interference and attenua-

tion than copper cables, but they are more expensive and difficult to install and

maintain.

■

Ethernet is the most popular data-link layer protocol on LANs worldwide. Ethernet

can use many different types of network media and run at several different

speeds.