6 exam-style questions with full mark schemes and model answers. Write your own answer and the AI examiner marks it against the mark scheme.
Learn this properly: Types of Networks (LAN, WAN, PAN)A company is setting up a network in a new office. The IT manager is deciding between a star topology and a mesh topology for connecting the computers.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a star topology compared with a mesh topology for this office network, and recommend which one the company should choose. Refer to reliability and cost in your answer. (6 marks)
Different network protocols are used for different tasks. Three protocols are HTTPS, SMTP and TCP.
(a) State which one of these three protocols is used to send email from a device to a mail server. (1 mark)
(b) State the purpose of HTTPS and what it provides that HTTP does not. (2 marks)
(c) State one task that the TCP protocol performs when data is sent across a network. (1 mark)
When a large file is sent across the internet, it is transmitted using packet switching.
Describe how packet switching is used to send a file from one computer to another across the internet. (3 marks)
When a user types a website address (URL) such as www.examplesite.co.uk into their browser, the Domain Name System (DNS) is used.
(a) State what the DNS does. (1 mark)
(b) State one reason why the DNS is useful to ordinary users of the internet. (1 mark)
(c) State the purpose of an IP address. (1 mark)
Networks are often described as a LAN or a WAN.
(a) State what the abbreviation LAN stands for. (1 mark)
(b) State one difference between a LAN and a WAN. (1 mark)
A laptop connects to a home network wirelessly rather than using a cable.
Name the piece of network hardware that allows devices to connect to a network wirelessly (using Wi-Fi). (1 mark)