Networks carry data (or data
packets) following rules and standards called protocols, each with its own specialized
function. Networks can be evaluated in terms of both performance and structure, using
measures such as speed, cost, security, availability, scalability, reliability, and topology.
Ethernet is the most common type of LAN used today. Standards unique to Ethernet specify
Ethernet LAN cabling and signaling at both the physical and data link layers of the OSI
reference model. Bits that are transmitted over an Ethernet LAN are organized into frames.
Ethernet LANs manage the signals on a network using a process called CSMA/CD.
Review Questions 125
The OSI reference model facilitates an understanding of how information travels through a
network, by de?¬?ning the network functions that occur at each layer.
Most networks operate under the rules de?¬?ned by TCP/IP. TCP/IP de?¬?nes a 32-bit address
that is represented by 4 octets separated by a period. This host address can be manually
con?¬?gured or obtained from a DHCP server.
Review Questions
Use the questions here to review what you learned in this chapter. The correct answers and
solutions are found in the appendix, ???Answers to Chapter Review Questions.
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