Description of the complete process of how address subblocks are designed and supporting the description by showing the process of splitting 10.10.10.0/27 address space into two equal-sized subblocks?
The address subblocks are made up of 32 binary bits. With a subnet’s help, the address is divided into a network portion and a host portion. The 32 binary bits are divided into four octets, where one octet is equal to 8 bits. The octets are converted into decimal which is separated by a dot or periods. The octets value ranges from 0-255 in decimal, and in binary, it ranges from 00000000 -11111111. The octet’s right-most bit holds a value of 22, and the next holds a value of 21. The number increases up to the left-most bit, which holds a value of 27. If all the binary bits are one, the equivalent decimal value will be 255. The octets are broken down to accommodate both large and small network addressing schemes. There are different types of classes which range from A to E.
The classes are created from the three left-most bits or the three high-order bits. In class A, the first octet is the network portion. The addresses range from 1.0.0.0- 127.255.255.255. This class is for networks with more than 65,536 hosts. In B, the first two octets make up the network portion (Donoso & Fabregat, 2016). The class has addresses that range from 128.0.0.0- 191.255.255. 255. This network hosts 256-65534 networks. In Class C, the first three octets make up the network with addresses from 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255. 255. It is perfect for networks that have less than 254 networks. The address 10.10.10.0/27 belongs to Class A.
The value 27 is the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR), also referred to as the subnet mask or the wildcard. It is used for access control lists (ACL) in some routers. The subnet of this address is 255.255.255.224. The value of the subnet is equal to 27. The network address is 10.10.10.0. By dividing the address by two, we get the first IP as 10.10.10.1 and the last IP as 10.10.10.30. The second address will start from 10.10.10.31. The calculation for getting the addresses is shown below both, in binary and decimal.
The network’s performance can be measured in terms of latency (delay), throughput, and packet loss. Explanation of how each one of them can be used to measure the performance with examples
The network performance can be measured using latency which is the time required to transmit a packet across any network. Latency is affected by elements in the network’s chain, transmitting data such as WAN links, servers, routers, and LAN. It can be measured using a round tip and one way. Latency is measured in milliseconds and is often associated with the speed of light. To measure any network’s latency, you need to consider the physical distance between the network points, the delay caused by the hardware, and the computer applications transmitting data. For example, a network with a bandwidth of 10 million bits/second (Mbps) means it will transmit 10 million bits per second. This means each bit is transmitted in 0.1 microseconds.
Throughput is the quantity of the data being received or sent by a unit of time. This can help measure the performance of the network through the number of units being received or sent. Latency in a network indicates that the network is slow. The higher the latency, the longer it takes for a packet to reach the other end. For example, if an employee is working remotely, it will take a couple of seconds before receiving data since the distance affects the packet’s delivery. The throughput measures the network’s performance since one can see the successful messages or packages delivered at a given time. If the messages delivered are high, the throughput is high, and the network is considered fast. If the messages are delivered at a low rate, the throughput is low, and the network is poor. The computer and other devices rely on the successful delivery of the packets to communicate. When the throughput is low in an organization using the VoIP call, the callers may experience audio skip with poor quality calls.
Packet loss shows the number of packets that have been lost per a hundred packets sent by the host. If the number is less, the speed is slow, and if the quantity is high, the network is fast. The packet loss measures the VoIP and the real-time flows of videos or voice calls. Extreme packet loss rate may decrease the audio quality of the VoIP and video play at low quality. When the network is congested, the computers have software issues, and the router performs poorly, it can cause packet loss. For example, in a company where the network is allocated 30 bits per minute and the number of users at a given time exceeds the router capacity of 250 people, the network will have incomplete file transmissions. The computer will load an incomplete file, and there will be an interruption of streaming videos or audio files. The retransmission of the files to the users is a network protocol method that compensates for the packet lost. The volume of the retransmission can also cause the transmission of incomplete files.
The learning process of a switch table for five nodes connected to one switch
A switch transfers packets from one input to several outputs in a network. It uses the star topology to set up the network structures. The nodes are connected using a point-to-point link from the switch. This means adding another host to the network will not affect the performance of the network. Each node has its link to the switch, so the nodes receive the network at full speed or bandwidth. The Ethernet switches link with other nodes through the ethernet frames.
The switches copy one Ethernet frame from one switch to the next using the Media Access Control (MAC) address. The linking of the ethernet port is called bridging. The bridge connects and forwards the data to the devices connected to the switches. The switches are also made standard by most companies, making it easy to link the ethernet ports in a large organization.
When the spanning-tree algorithm is used
This protocol ensures a loop-free network in the Ethernet by creating a single path tree structure in the network topologies. When there is a link failure, the network stops the traffic, and the Spanning Tree algorithm allows loop-free paths through into the network. This loop is made using the virtual Port Channel (vPCs) in the switches. The spanning-tree reduces the network bandwidth when it blocks other paths and ports not used at the current time. It can cause latency and affects the performance of the network significantly.
The time taken for the spanning tree to find a new path and make the changes can disrupt the elastic application and the virtual machine’s migration. The spanning tree is used to find the shortest path between the LANs, fault tolerance, and minimize collisions in the network. It can sometimes estimate the network’s time travel, network problems, weight, or devices connected to any network. It is used to measure the quality and quantity of the network for any organization. The spanning tree algorithm has a direct application to the design of any network.
Reference
Donoso, Y., & Fabregat, R. (2016). Multi-objective optimization in computer networks using metaheuristics. CRC Press.