3.4 Network hardware

Question 1

Which device would assign the IPv4 address to the computer?

Answer 1

Router

Question 2

What is a Network Interface Card (NIC)?

Answer 2

NIC is a hardware component that allows a computer to access and connect to a network

Question 3

What is the purpose of a NIC?

Answer 3

The NIC provides a physical interface between the computer and the network, allowing communication with other devices.

Question 4

How does a NIC identify a device on the network?

Answer 4

A NIC provides a MAC address, which uniquely identifies the device on the network.

Question 5

What is a Wireless Network Interface Card (WNIC)?

Answer 5

A WNIC is a hardware component that allows a device to connect to a wireless network.

Question 6

How does a WNIC identify a device on a wireless network?

Answer 6

The WNIC provides a MAC address to uniquely identify the device on the wireless network.

Question 7

How does a WNIC provide an interface to a wireless network?

Answer 7

The WNIC acts as an antenna, providing the physical interface to the wireless network

Question 8

How does a WNIC convert signals for the computer?

Answer 8

receives analogue radio waves from the network and converts them into binary data.

Question 9

How does a WNIC handle security and data transmission?

Answer 9

A WNIC encrypts/encodes data before sending it and decrypts/decodes data when receiving it.

Question 10

What is a MAC address?

Answer 10

• It is media access control (address).
• A network interface card (NIC) is given a MAC address at the point of manufacture.

Question 11

What is the structure of the MAC address?

Answer 11

• uses hexadecimal values.
• It is normally 48 bits in length.
• The first part of the address is the manufacturer ID.
• The second part is the serial number.

Question 12

Why/purpose of MAC addresses?

Answer 12

It allows all devices to be uniquely identified.

Question 13

Define Internet protocol address/(IP) address

Answer 13

• It is a unique address allocated to each device on the internet by the network
• It is used to identify the location of a device on the Internet

Question 14

What is the purpose of an IP address?

Answer 14

• It is an address given to each device that is unique within the network.
• It is used to locate a device on a network.
• It allows a device to send data to the correct destination, i.e.,a specific device

Question 15

What are some characteristics of IP addresses?

Answer 15

• The values are separated by full stops/colons.
• It is a unique address.
• It can be static or dynamic.
• It can be public or private.

Question 16

What is a private & Public IP address?

Answer 16

Public:

• It can be reached over the Internet.
• It is less secure than a private address.

PRIVATE:

• It can ONLY be reached through the LAN.
• It is more secure than a public address.

Question 17

What is a static IP address?

Answer 17

• In this type of address, when a device disconnects and rejoins a network, the address does not change.
• This address is permanently assigned to a device by the internet service provider (ISP).
• usually assigned to: remote servers that are hosting a website OR an online database

Question 18

What is DYNAMIC IP address?

Answer 18

• In this type of address, each time the device rejoins a network, the address changes.
• This address is temporarily assigned by the network OS.

Question 19

What are the features of an IPv4 address?

Answer 19

• It has 4 groups of numbers separated by full stops (.)
• Each group has values between 0–255
• It is 32 bits long (4 bytes).
• It is represented in denary.

Question 20

What are the features of an IPv6 address?

Answer 20

• It has 8 groups of numbers separated by colons (:)
• Each group has values between 0–FFFF.
• It is 128 bits long (16 bytes).
• It is represented in hexadecimal.

Question 21

Why is there a need for IPv6 addressing?

Answer 21

The number of IP addresses needed will exceed the number available using IPv4.

Question 22

Advantages of IPv6 compared to IPv4:

Answer 22

• It removes the risk of IP address collisions.
• It has built-in authentication checks.
• It allows for more efficient packet routes.

Question 23

What are the main differences between the formats of IPv4 addresses & IPv6 addresses?

Answer 23

• IPv4 is 32-bit (4 bytes), whereas IPv6 is 128-bit (16 bytes).
• IPv4 has 4 groups of digits, whereas IPv6 has 8 groups of digits.

Question 24

Describe the role of a router in a network.

Answer 24

• A router sends data to a specific destination on a network
• A router can assign IP addresses
• A router can connect a local network to the internet