Network

Question 1

Define the following and mention their optimum conditions:
1. Diameter
2. Degree of a node
3. Bisection width

Answer 1

1. The longest, shortest-path between any two nodes of a network.(low - efficient communication)
2. The number of connections a node has with other nodes of the network. (constant - to allow scalability)
3. The minimum number of connections that need to be cut to partition the network into two equal halves. (high = more robust)

Question 2

Define the following:
1. Topology
2. Latency
3. Bandwidth
4. Jitter
5. Redundancy
6. Scalability

Answer 2

1. The arrangement of nodes and connections in a network.
2. The total time taken to send a message from source to destination.
3. The amount of data that can be transmitted over a network at a given amount of time. (bps)
4. The variability in packet delay at the receiving end.
5. Inclusion of extra components to ensure reliability and fault tolerance.
6. The ability of a network to grow in scale and and manage demand.

Question 3

Name 4 common network topologies and their,
1. Diameter
2. Degree of a node
3. Bisection width

Answer 3

1. Fully connected
   - (1, N-1, N^2/4)
2. Mesh
   - [ 2(sqrt(N)-1), 2|3|4, sqrt(N) ]
   2D Mesh w/wraparound
   - [ sqrt(N), sqrt(N), 2*sqrt(N) ]
3. Ring
   - (N/2, 2, 2)
4. Hypercube - k=n, nodes = 2^n
   - [ n, n, 2^(n-1) ]

Question 4

Define the following and mention their optimum conditions:
1. Narrowness
2. Network expansion increment
3. Network connectivity

Answer 4

1. minimum number of edges to be removed to split the network into two subgraphs that may not have equal sizes. (lower - less vulnerability to disconnection)
2. The steps or phases by which a network grows or scales up.
3. The ability to remain connected even when some nodes/edges are removed.
   (min nodes/edges to be removed to make some nodes impossible to reach.)