INF2010S: Networking

Assignment 2
Computer Networks

Due Date: Wednesday 30th August 2023 @ 11:59PM.

Instructions
This assignment is made up of 5 sections. Go through each section carefully reading and
following all instructions. The end of each task specifies what should be submitted. It is highly
recommended that you do this assignment using a PC/laptop that can access the internet. It
is important that you have studied all of Week 1 to 3 material as the concepts have been
covered in those lectures. The assignment is out of 65 marks. Start working on it as soon as
possible. Some questions will require research. Leaving it for the last moment will not work.
Important: Provide screenshot of all the outputs for all the commands used and include it in
the report. This can be done using “CTRL + PRTSc” and pasting it in MS-Word.

Deadline:
30th August 2023 @ 11:59PM. A 5% penalty per day after the deadline will be applied. If you
choose to resubmit your assignment after the deadline, the automatic extension rule will
apply. Your final submission should contain: A neat Word document with clearly reasoned
answers. Remember to include
• First page: specifying key info – full name, student number, assignment title;
• Second page: Plagiarism declaration;
• 2 text files
o myipconfig.txt
o mytracert.txt

Question 1: Network Configuration [12]

This task makes use of a command line utility, ‘ipconfig’ (Windows) OR ‘ifconfig’ (MacOS),
which displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and can be used to refresh and
modify Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS)
settings. You can go to Microsoft documentation page to learn more about ipconfig syntax
(https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-
commands/ipconfig). For Mac users, go to https://ithelp.brown.edu/kb/articles/find-the-
mac-address-of-a-computer-or-device
To complete this task, execute the ipconfig command by typing the ipconfig /all on your
command prompt screen or terminal (Mac). (*Hint: Read the Week 3 notes entitled “The
Internet”). This will display all TCP/ IP protocol information on the command prompt screen.
You can select and copy all details to a text file and name the file ipconfig.txt. Alternatively,
you can run the ipconfig command and, at the same time, instruct it to write the output to
a text file (instead of displaying it). To do so type ipconfig /all
>documents\myipconfig.txt. The myipconfig.txt is the file name to be created and
‘documents’ the folder where the file will be opened. Note that you can direct the output to
any file of your choice by specifying correct path.

Now, inspect your ipconfig output and use it to answer the following questions:

1. How many network interfaces/adapters does your device have? Name and briefly
describe the role of each of the interfaces/adapters. [3 marks]
2. Which of your network interfaces is currently active/connected? [1 Mark]
3. Briefly describe (their functions) and provide values (according to your network) of
the following:
a. Subnet Mask [2 Marks]
b. (Default) Gateway [2 Marks]
4. Given the subnet mask value you have provided in the question above, determine
the following (and briefly describe how you have obtained your answers)
a. Network address/prefix [2 Marks]
b. The number of hosts that the network can accommodate [2 Marks]

Question 2: Reachability and Availability [10]

This task uses the tracert command to find the router level path from your computer to a
remote Internet host. The tracert command is a standard command-line utility for
discovering the Internet paths that your computer uses. It is widely used for network
troubleshooting. It comes pre-installed on Window and Mac, and can be installed using your
package manager on Linux. On Windows, it is called “tracert”. It has various options, but
simply issuing the command tracert www.uct.ac.za will cause your computer to find and
print the path to the remote computer (here www.uct.ac.za). (*Hint: Read the Week 3 notes
entitled “The Internet”).
To write tracert output to a file, on the command prompt, type: tracert
en.wikipedia.org > documents\mytracert.txt and press Enter. The mytracert.txt
file is to be created and ‘documents’ refers to the folder where the file will be saved. You can
direct the output to any file of your choice by specifying the correct path.

Now, inspect your tracert output and use it to answer the following questions:

1. How many network hops did it take from your machine to the wikihow.com web
server? [3 Marks]
2. What is the IP address of wikihow.com, based on your output? [1 Mark]
3. Use another network command, ping, to uncover the IP address of wikihow.com
a. What is the IP address? Is it the same as the one in the question above, or
not? [1 Mark]
b. How many packets of data were sent and received? [1 Mark]

4. Use the network command, ping, to find the IP addresses of the following sites:
a. www.stackoverflow.com [1 Mark]
b. www.aws.amazon.com [1 Mark]
c. localhost – what does this transaction tell you? [2 Marks]

Question 3: Study of LAN environment [10]

Find out information about the network in your current environment (residence, at home,
library or in a coffee machine).

1. Using the “arp -a” command in terminal/cmd show the total connected devices.
[3 Marks]
2. Are the IP addresses assigned to the devices/machines statically or dynamically?
[2 Marks]
Use the “ipconfig /all” command to answer the following:
3. Does the network have a DHCP server? (a network server that automatically
provides and assigns IP addresses, default gateways and other network parameters
to client devices). [2 Marks]
4. If yes, what is the address of the server? Provide the full command and output (i.e.,
using a screenshot). [3 Marks]
Question 4: Networking Fundamentals [15]

1. Write functions of each layer of OSI reference model, also differentiate between
hardware and software layers. Explain in your own words why the Network layer of
OSI model is called Internet layer in TCP/IP networking model? [5 marks]
2. Compare and describe the OSI protocol suite with the TCP/IP protocol suite.
[5 marks]
3. A new UCT staff member is renting an office in Newlands (about 2.4 kilometres from
Leslie Commerce building ). He has requested that his office be connected to the UCT
network. Using your knowledge of network transmission media, which specific
connection media would you recommend? Give two; justify your answer.
[5 marks]

Question 5: Networking Troubleshooting [18]

You were recently employed as a Communication Network Engineer at UCT in the ICTS
department and received a complaint from a postgraduate student transferring data
between two sites directly connected to the UCT network, claiming that his/her data is
taking forever to transfer. The student is blaming the "slow" network for this, although both
sites have 10Gbps connections.

The endpoint at Site A is a server maintained by the student.

You have been tasked to investigate.

1. What could the possible causes for slow data transfer be? (list at least 3) [3 marks]
2. How would you identify the cause in this case? [4 marks]
3. What information would you request from the student? [3 marks]
4. What information would you request from the sites (endpoint administrators)?
[4 marks]
5. Assuming that there are no problems on the UCT network (it is measurably
delivering close to 10Gbps throughput) what would your recommendation to the
student be? [4 marks]

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