UGANDA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS 2020
SECOND YEAR EASTER SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE
OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
COURSE UNIT: COMPUTER NETWORKS
DATE: SEPTEMBER 2020 TAKE HOME
INSTRUCTIONS/GUIDELINES:
Background: The questions in this examination may be drawn from any of the course material
and content that has been presented during the semester lectures, texts and readings,
discussions, etc. Students may use any of these materials for reference, BUT students must
provide citation for any material used. Examinations measure:
students’ knowledge of the material;
students’ knowledge and ability to apply material taught in class.
students’ analytical and reasoning skills.
students’ ability to express themselves creatively and communicate effectively.
students’ ability to synthesize material and draw conclusions from multiple sources.
Preparation: Students study and prepare for take home examinations as they would for any
exam. Students may not need to memorize as much information, but they will have to find,
be familiar with, and apply content and materials from the course.
Copying information: The same rules apply in take home examinations that apply to academic
work in general. Copying is plagiarism, and plagiarism is unacceptable. Take home examinations
measure application and interpretation of material as well as the student’s own description,
analysis, and synthesis. Any material that is cited in answers needs to be referenced.
a) This exam is “open book,” which means you are permitted to use any materials
handed out in class, your own notes from the course, the text book, research from
other sources and anything on the UCU learning management system
b) The exam must be taken completely alone. Showing it or discussing it with anyone is
forbidden.
c) Please don’t consult with any other person regarding the exam. Don’t check your
exam answers with any person.
d) Any work which exhibits traits of copying each other will be disqualified.
e) Answer any four questions. Each question carries 25 marks
f) Your Response should be typed in digital format and submitted in Portable Document
Format (pdf)
g) Use Trebuchet MS font type; Size 12; Line Spacing 1.5
h) Save your work in this format: REG NO_PROGRAM &YEAR_COURSE UNIT NAME (eg
S17B05/001_BBA2_Business Economics)
i) Submit your examination answers to the University through the e-learning platform or
your faculty email, fostech@ucu.ac.ug
j) ALL EXAM ANSWERS WILL BE SUBJECTED TO A PLAGIARISM CHECKER
k) Uganda Christian University Integrity Covenant
As a student of Uganda Christian University, it is my responsibility to conduct the whole of
my academic career with unwavering integrity. I do this because I value integrity and
because the entire scholarly enterprise is balanced on the assumption that we can trust
one another. Therefore, I pledge to act with academic integrity by;
i. Writing this examination
ii. Identifying/Acknowledging the source of the ideas or words or images that I use
in my work
iii. By writing this examination I accept to be bound by this covenant and accept the
consequences if I am in breach thereof.
l) By doing this examination, I understand my obligation, at this time, to keep myself and
the community around me safe from the Covid-19 Pandemic, following the Ministry of
Health SOPs.
NB: The University does not require your physical presence on any of Uganda
Christian University campuses or colleges.
_________________________________________________________
QUESTION ONE
a) The Agumas have a home network set up. The network has five users; Mr. Aguma, Mrs.
Aguma and their three children (Doreen, Mark, and Richard). This network helps them
to communicate and share information. Mr. Aguma’s computer supplies all the
resources and information that Mrs. Aguma and the three children need.
i. What kind of network architecture best describes this network? [2 Marks]
ii. List three advantages and three disadvantages of their kind of network architecture.
[6 Marks]
iii. Give at least three reasons why you would generally recommend a network manager
to run and maintain this type of network. [3 Marks]
iv. Identify and explain an alternative architecture to this type identified in (i) above.
[4 Marks]
v. Explain why their network might be more secured compared to the alternative.
[3 Marks]
b) The use of computer networks has given rise to some ethical issues. As a student of
computer networks, identify any three ethical issues and propose solutions to these
issues.
[7 Marks]
QUESTION TWO
a) Brenda has been employed as the network administrator at Ekaa Mining Company. She
has encountered several problems in her first week of work. Propose solutions to some
of the challenges Brenda is facing as the network administrator.
i. Some mobile nodes are unable to connect to the network, how can she extend the
network wirelessly? [2 Marks]
ii. Non-employees can connect to the wireless network. What can she do to restrict
access? [2 Marks]
iii. There is no record of IP information, standards used, or the number of network
devices. [3 Marks]
iv. The current switch cannot support the number of employees. [2 Marks
b) With the growth of computer networks, particularly the Internet, everyone can be
your neighbour; but not all neighbours are nice. Research about any well-known
network attack in the last four years (you can choose any) and answer the following
questions.
i. Write a summary of the attack. [5 Marks]
ii. What vulnerabilities were exploited? [3
Marks]
iii. What component(s) of the CIA traid was affected? Kindly explain. [4 Marks]
iv. What counter- measures would you have put in place to prevent the attack?
[4 Marks]
QUESTION THREE
a) You have been hired to set up a network for a certain company, from your discussion
with the manager, you realized that you will need to break down the larger network
into three smaller manageable networks. Given the IP address 192.168.7.0, subnet to
meet the requirement and fill in the missing details in the table below.
[15
Marks]
(Show the working behind your answer).
Specification Your Input
i. Number of borrowed bits in the
subnet
ii. New IP subnet mask
(binary)
iii. New IP mask (decimal)
iv. Maximum number of usable
subnets
v. Number of usable hosts per subnet
Using any of the newly created subnets of your choice. Answer vi to ix
vi. IP Subnet Address
vii. First IP Host address
viii. Last IP Host address
xi. Broadcast address.
b) Using any communication process that runs over the Internet, explain in detail the
process of encapsulation and de-encapsulation; stating all protocols and processes
involved.
[10 Marks]
QUESTION FOUR
a) Munyope Enterprise is a small enterprise that deals with the gathering and distribution
of on-demand video content. It has 20 employees that are composed of both field (15)
and managerial staff (5) members. The field staff all share a large room as their work
space. They however need to transmit the video to the managerial office located 400
metres away for approval. You have been hired to design a small to medium-sized
network for Munyope Enterprise. As a network expert, what are the factors and
requirements you will consider in designing and setting up this network? (Explain the
reasons for your choices). [13 Marks]
b) List and discuss any four new trends in the world of computer networking. [8 Marks]
c) Identify any five sectors that the trends listed in B above are being used. [4
Marks]
QUESTION FIVE
One of the core functions of the data link layer is managing media access either through
controlled or contention-based mechanisms.
a) As a network administrator, what will influence your choice on the medium access
scheme to use?
[3 Marks]
b) TCP and UDP are two widely used transport layer protocols.
i. Basing of your understanding on layer, what will be the result of a missing
transport layer.
[3 Marks]
ii. Using two examples (one for each transport layer protocol), justify why a
particular application layer protocols will need to work with TCP or UDP.
[4 Marks]
c) A Department LAN has a switch, three desktops, two laptops, one printer and one
server in it. The network administrator connects two new laptops ( A and B) to the
LAN.
i. Draw a simple physical topology of the LAN now. [3 Marks]
ii. Describe what happens in this LAN as the node tries to get IP information.
(State what messages are being sent, alongside the source and
destinations).
[6 Marks]
iii. Describe what happens in this LAN as the node A tries to communicate with
node B for the first time. (State what messages are being sent, alongside
the source and destinations).
[6 Marks]
*****End****
