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Week 1: Assignment 1
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Week 1: Assignment 1
Question 1
In general, the router's function is to handle and transmit data packets so that they arrive at
their destination effectively. Whenever an IP packet arrives at a router, the router executes
many important operations to identify where the packet should reach.
(i) Managing traffic: In order to prevent congestion, routers can regulate data flow,
classify packets according to significance, and regulate traffic.
(ii) Examining the Destination IP Address: To determine the network's next hop, the
router looks at the IP packet's destination address.
(iii) Packet forwarding: The router moves the packet closer to its target by
forwarding it to the next available device (either the destination host or another
router) in accordance with the directions provided in the table used for routing.
(iv)Network Address Translation (NAT): The router uses NAT to convert internal
addresses to a public IP in situations where private IP addresses are utilized, such as
across numerous workplace networks, allowing devices within the network to access
the web.
(v) Routing Table Lookup: It looks for information on the most efficient routes to
different networks in its routing table. Routing protocols such as OSPF (Open
Shortest Path First) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) modify the routing table
dynamically.
Question 2
A host has a number of connection problems when it is unable to connect to a DNS
server. For instance, DNS servers convert domain names, such as www.example.com, into IP
addresses, but they are unable to resolve domain names. As a result, although websites or
services determined by their domain names are operational, a host cannot resolve domain
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names if it is unable to connect to the DNS server. Secondly, another issue concerns possible
Interruptions to internal services (Khormali et al., 2021). A DNS problem may cause access
problems within the workplace network for internal systems that depend on domain names,
like application servers, intranet services, or shared documents. Thirdly, another issue
concerns increased delay and possible timeouts. Applications could try to resolve names
continuously when DNS resolution fails, which might result in delays and timeouts across the
entire network.
Question 3
Internet Core Routers Home Access Routers
Purpose These comprise the foundation of the Used for connecting devices
internet whereby they connect large within local networks, e.g.
networks, ISPs, and data centers home or office network, to the
globally. internet.
Capacity Capable of handling high data Cannot handle high data
throughput, numerous packets throughput, but instead capable
(millions) per second across multiple of managing a limited number
and simultaneous connections. of devices.
Routing Utilize advance protocols, e.g., BGP, Utilize simple routing protocols,
which are capable of ensuring e.g., NAT and RIP across the
redundancy, optimizing routes, and local network.
managing complex traffic patterns.
Question 4
A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is a form of online attack in which a
target server, network, or service becomes overwhelmed with excessive traffic from a number
of infected devices, frequently used as part of a bot network. The systems being targeted
become unusable for authorized users due to the disruption or possibly shutdown caused by
this enormous load (Mahjabin et al., 2017). Consequently, one potential impact of the attack
is network outage. A distributed denial of service attack has the potential to overload an
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organization's network's capacity, resulting in extensive outages and denying staff members
access to the services they require.
Another potential impact is productivity loss. When essential services are unavailable,
workers might not be able to carry out their responsibilities, which would have a significant
negative influence on output. Similarly, another potential challenge concerns fiscal and
professional damage. Prolonged outages may result in financial losses as well as damage to
reputation if customers or partners depend on services that have been affected by the attack
(Mahjabin et al., 2017). Nonetheless, mitigating the attack involves various solutions. For
instance, organizations implement traffic monitoring, firewall defenses, and DDoS protection
services to stop DDoS assaults by identifying and filtering unwanted traffic before it
interferes with business operations.
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References
Khormali, A., Park, J., Alasmary, H., Anwar, A., Saad, M., & Mohaisen, D. (2021). Domain
name system security and privacy: A contemporary survey. Computer Networks, 185,
107699.
Mahjabin, T., Xiao, Y., Sun, G., & Jiang, W. (2017). A survey of distributed denial-of-
service attack, prevention, and mitigation techniques. International Journal of
Distributed Sensor Networks, 13(12), 1550147717741463.
Tripathy, S. (2023). What Is a Router in Networking? Core Function Explained. Enterprise
Networking Planet. Retrieved from
https://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/standards-protocols/what-is-a-network-
router/
