CSP EXAM 1

What is a Network?

Two or more devices connected to share resources.

List three advantages provided by networks.

Resource sharing, communication, centralized storage.

Compare Peer-to-Peer and Client-Server Networks.

Peer-to-Peer: All devices equal; share files directly. Client-Server: Central server provides services to clients.

A school with 20 stand-alone PCs wants to network them with a file server. Three benefits?

Easier file sharing, centralized backup/security, shared printers/resources.

LAN Configurations

Ring: Devices in a loop; failure stops network. Star: Devices connect to hub; hub is failure point. Mesh: Every device connected to others; fault-tolerant, costly. Bus: Single cable backbone; cheap but one break stops network.

Difference among LAN, MAN, WAN, PAN (smallest to largest)?

PAN < LAN < MAN < WAN

Describe packet switching.

Data divided into packets
H packets travel independently
H reassembled at destination.

List 4 essential pieces of information in a packet.

Source address, destination address, sequence number, error-checking info.

Necessary components of a wireless network.

Devices, access point/router, modem, ISP connection.

Difference between bandwidth and latency.

Bandwidth: Max data per second. Latency: Delay in data transmission.

Three types of Internet GateKeepers and what they control.

ISPs
access control. Search Engines
ranking information. Governments
policy and regulation.

ARPANET and its role.

Early network connecting universities; precursor to the Internet.

Two major ideas by Paul Baran.

Packet switching and distributed networks for fault tolerance.

Who designs protocols for interconnecting networks?

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Difference between UDP and TCP.

TCP: Reliable, connection-oriented. UDP: Faster, connectionless.

Main task of IETF.

Develops and maintains Internet standards and protocols.

Physical backbone of the Internet.

Fiber-optic cables and undersea cables.

Order of search engine usage (%): Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google.

Google > Bing > DuckDuckGo

“Gates that swing both ways” (Google as GateKeeper).

Controls access to information but also allows information to be published.

Web Crawler / Spider?

Program that scans web pages for indexing.

Difference between Internet and WWW.

Internet = network; WWW = content accessed via Internet.

PageRank meaning.

Google algorithm ranking pages by relevance and links.

SSL/TLS purpose.

Encrypts web traffic; ensures secure browsing.

TCP/IP analogy with US Postal System.

TCP = envelope & sequence. IP = address & routing.

Difference between HTTP and HTTPS.

HTTPS = secure version with SSL/TLS encryption.

Domain Name Hierarchy example.

Top-level
second-level
subdomain (.edu
rutgers
cs).

Purpose of DNS.

Converts domain names into IP addresses.

Internet Society purpose.

Oversees standards, promotes Internet development.

W3C purpose.

Develops web standards (HTML, CSS, XML).

Examples of browsers.

Chrome, Firefox, Safari.

Examples of search engines.

Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo.

Fault tolerance / Redundancy.

Internet can reroute traffic if paths fail.

Who owns the Internet?

No single owner; globally distributed.

Net Neutrality.

ISPs must treat data equally; status varies (2023).

Impact if Net Neutrality abolished.

ISPs could prioritize content; unfair access to services.

Caesar Cipher.

Shifts letters by a fixed number of positions.

Frequency Analysis.

Decodes messages by analyzing letter frequency.

Difference between Symmetric and Public Key Encryption.

Symmetric: One key. Public Key: Pair (public/private).

Digital Signature.

Confirms authenticity and integrity of messages.

Binary Representation.

Representation of data using 0s and 1s.

Lossy vs Lossless compression.

Lossy: Some data lost. Lossless: No data lost.

Example of Lossless compression.

Surgery image.

Example of Lossy compression.

Web image.

Difference between ROM and RAM.

ROM: Permanent. RAM: Temporary.

Effect of more RAM.

More RAM
faster performance.

KB and GB in bytes.

KB = 1024 bytes. GB = 1024 MB.

Tasks of an OS.

Manages hardware, software, resources. Examples: Windows, MacOS, Linux.

Advantages of multi-core processors.

Parallel processing
faster performance.

Difference between HDD and SSD.

SSD = faster, no moving parts. HDD = slower, mechanical.

Difference between Modem and Router.

Modem: Connects to ISP. Router: Connects multiple devices.

Connection order.

ISP
Modem
Router
Devices.

File deletion.

OS deletes pointer; secure deletion requires overwriting.

Risk and Opportunity of Encryption.

Risk = lost key = lost access; Opportunity = secure communication.

Risk and Opportunity of Storage Media.

Risk = data loss; Opportunity = easy backup.

Risk and Opportunity of Social Networking.

Risk = privacy loss; Opportunity = global connection.

Risk and Opportunity of Data Networks.

Risk = hacking; Opportunity = instant communication.

Purpose of Captcha/ReCAPTCHA.

Verify humans; train AI on text/image recognition.

Impact of Cloud Apps.

Examples: Google Drive, iCloud.

Environmental impact of tech production.

E-waste, energy consumption.

Dangers of Deep Fakes.

Misinformation, identity theft, political manipulation.

Uses of Drones.

Delivery, inspection, military surveillance.

Open-Source vs Crowdsourcing/Crowdfunding.

Open Source Software: Publicly available code. Crowdsourcing: Collective input. Crowdfunding: Collective funding.

Example of Algorithmic Bias.

Loan denial based on race/gender.

Minimizing bias.

Use diverse datasets, audits, transparency.

Solutions to Digital Divide.

Affordable Internet, digital literacy programs.

7 Koans of Bits.

It
all just bits. Perfection is normal. Want amid plenty. Processing is power. More of the same can be a whole new thing. Nothing goes away. Bits move faster than thoughts.

LAN (Local Area Network)

Small network within limited area.

WAN (Wide Area Network)

Large-scale network across regions.

MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

Network within a city or metro area.

PAN (Personal Area Network)

Small network around a person.

Packet Switching

Breaking data into packets for transmission.

Protocol

Rules governing communication between devices.

TCP

Reliable, connection-oriented protocol.

UDP

Faster, connectionless protocol.

IP (Internet Protocol)

Handles addressing and routing.

DNS (Domain Name System)

Converts domain names into IP addresses.

HTTP

Transfers web pages.

HTTPS

Secure HTTP with SSL/TLS encryption.

SSL/TLS

Protocols for encryption and secure communication.

IETF

Develops Internet standards.

W3C

Develops web standards.

ARPANET

First packet-switched network, precursor to Internet.

Router

Device that forwards packets between networks.

Modem

Connects to ISP for Internet access.

Firewall

Controls network traffic for security.

ISP

Provides Internet connection.

Search Engine

Indexes and retrieves information (Google, Bing).

Web Browser

Software to access web pages (Chrome, Safari).

PageRank

Google algorithm ranking web pages.

Web Crawler

Program that indexes websites.

Bandwidth

Maximum data transfer rate.

Latency

Delay in data transmission.

Fault Tolerance

System
ability to continue after failures.

Redundancy

Extra resources for backup/fault tolerance.

Net Neutrality

Equal treatment of Internet traffic.

Encryption

Securing data by encoding it.

Symmetric Encryption

One key used for both encryption/decryption.

Public Key Encryption

Uses public and private key pair.

Digital Signature

Confirms authenticity and integrity of data.

Caesar Cipher

Simple substitution cipher shifting letters.