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Business Data Communications and Networking, 11th Edition Solution Manual

Business Data Communications and Networking, 11th Edition Solution Manual provides chapter-by-chapter insights to help you study smarter.

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    1 - 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Communications 11 th edition Chapter Outline INTRODUCTION A Brief History of Communications in North America A Brief History of Information Systems A Brief History of the Internet DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS Components of a Network Types of Networks NETWORK MODELS Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model Internet Model Message Transmission Using Layers NETWORK STANDARDS The Importance of Standards The Standards Making Process Common Standards FUTURE TRENDS Pervasive Networking The Integration of Voice, Video, and Data New Information Services IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 2 Teaching Notes I usually spend 1 hour of class time on this chapter. My goals in teaching this chapter are to introduce the basic concepts of data communicatio ns and to motivate the importance of learning this material for the students . I usually focus on the network layer model approach because this sets the stage for everything that follows in the book. I take time to trace how a message starts in the application layer and moves through the other layers, each of which adds a packet to the message. This helps to give the students a conceptual underpinning as to how the rest of the course will be laid out. I then refer to this introduction across the course as each new layer is explored in depth later on. I then trace how the message flows upward in the receiver. Together with this chapter, I cover binary representation and the number system topics outlined in the preface. Binary is sometimes a review for students, but not always, so it is useful to have all students have the same level of understanding. I usually caution the students that this material is complex and difficult to learn, and that it is best approached in three ways: 1) first, treat it as if one is learning a foreign language, and try to absorb the material by not letting oneself become overwhelmed or to get too far behind - a little bit each day is a much better approach to learning about networks. 2) If one does not grasp it all immediately, they are not to worry, but to come at it again and again from several sessions, using several different learning styles - reading, lectures, labs, slides and conversations in class. 3) The students are well served by being sure to attend as many classes as possible, and to skim the material before the lectures, as well as read the chapters in depth after the lectures. The student who tries to learn it all on their own will struggle, but the student who keeps up will really enjoy learning all about this new and interesting topic. I pull up a jobs website, and explore several current job offers to show the students how interesting networking jobs can be - and it doesn’t hurt for them to learn about the potential salaries in this area, either! I downplay the future trends section, but some instructors use this effectively to engage the students in a discussion.

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    Chapter 1 1 - 3 War Stories Microsoft Internet Explorer and HTML Standards (could also fit in Chapter 2 ) (Objective: illustrate the importance of standards) In early 1996, when we were developing our Web - groupware software (now a commercial product called Consensus @nyWARE (www.softbicycle.com) we discovered that Microsoft's IE would not work with our software. IE did not support the full HTML 3.0 standard in forms processing. All the form information was returned in reverse order from the standard. Since IE was a marginal product at the time and since our project was a research project, we decided not to bother rewriting our software to support IE. I received an email message from an IE user mentioning that they had discovered that IE would not work with our software and asking if we knew why. I didn't really read the note very carefully. I explained the problem and told them they should use Netscape and forget about IE … It turned out that the user was Microsoft's chief software architect for IE. Microsoft quickly confirmed that the problem was indeed their non - support for the standard. However, they ultimately decided not to support the standard, thus requiring developers to change the way they write code (must use the form value tags, not position in the file returned from the forms). Other topics to cover here in terms of war stories for illustrating the importance of networks is to talk about current standards with which the students are familiar - MP3 vs. ripped iPod files, or Blue Ray CD’s vs. the new High Def standards. I ask them what technology standards they use each and every day, and write these on the board. Some prompting will uncover the standards that are in the chapter - TCP/IP and HTML, and then this can be a good place to re - introduce Figure 1.4.

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 4 Answers to End - of - Chapter Questions 1. How can data communication networks affect businesses? Data communication networks can affect businesses by being the foundations for distributed systems in which information system applications are divided among a network of computers. Data communication networks facilitate more efficient use of computers and improve the day - to - day control of a business by providing faster information flow , aiding strategic competitive advantage . They also provide message transfer services to allow computer users to talk to one another via electronic mail. 2. Discuss three important applications of data communication networks in business and personal use. Three important applications of data communication networks in business and personal use include email, videoconferencing, and the Internet. 3. Define information lag and discuss its importance. Information lag is the time it takes for information to be disseminated worldwide. Collapsing the information lag speeds the incorporation of new information into our daily lives. In fact, today's problem is that we cannot handle the quantities of unfiltered information we receive. 4. Describe the progression of communications systems from the 1800s to the present. Communications systems progression from the 1800s to the present: 1837 Invention of the telegraph 1876 Invention of the telephone 1892 Telephone system regulation begins in Canada 1910 Telephone system regulation begins in the United States 1951 Direct dialed long distance service begins 1962 Satellites begin to transmit international telephone calls 1968 Carterfone court decision permits non - Bell telephone equipment to be used 1970 Court permits MCI to provide long distance services 1984 Breakup of AT&T Cellular phones enter service 1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996 deregulates American telephone system

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    Chapter 1 1 - 5 5. Describe the progression of information systems from the 1950s to the present. Information systems progression from the 1950s to the present: 1950s Batch processing done with punch cards 1960s Use of online terminals for batch processing 1970s Online real - time systems (single transaction - oriented processing) Change from discrete files to database files Integrated systems 1980s Completely integrated systems 1990s Distributed database systems Data mining and warehousing Increased information modeling in database design; object concepts On - line Analytical Processing (OLAP) 2000s 10G switch supporting OC192 fiber produced by Nortel Increased use of Web - based databases Increased use of wireless systems 6. Describe the progression of the Internet from the 1960s to the present. Internet progression from the 1960s to the present: 1969 Started by US Department of Defense as four - computer network called ARPANET 1974 ARPANET networks 62 computers 1983 ARPANET split into Milnet and Internet 1985 Canadian government completes BITNET 1986 US National Science Foundation creates NSFNET to connect leading US universities 1987 10,000 host computers on Internet and 1,000 on BITNET New high speed backbone network for NSFNET 1988 13 regional Internet networks connected 1989 Canadian National Research Council replaces BITNET with CA*NET Web conceived at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics ( CERN ) in Geneva 1990 Over 200,000 computers on combined US and Canadian Internet 1991 CERN's first Web browser available on Internet Early 1990s Most individual country networks linked together into one worldwide network of networks. Commercial networks began connecting into NSFNET, CA*net, and government - run networks of other countries 1993 Mosaic , the first graphical Web browser, developed at the University of Illinois as part of a project for the university’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) 1994 More than 4 million host computers on the internet (most commercial.) US and Canadian governments stopped funding their few remaining circuits and turned them over to commercial firms Netscape and other startup companies introduce commercial Web browsers 1990s Commercial and social impacts of the Internet and Web; E - commerce 2000s Wireless Internet in use; Web databases; improved Internet access (e.g. DSL) 7. How do LANs differ from MANs, WANs, and BNs?

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 6 A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of microcomputers or terminals located in the same general area. A Backbone Network (BN) is a large central network that connects most everything on a single company site. A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) encompasses a city or county area. A Wide Area Network (WAN) spans cities, states, or national boundaries. Typically, MANs and WANs used leased facilities, while LANs and BNs are often located internally in an organization and used owned facilities. 8. What is a circuit? The circuit is the pathway through which the messages travel. It can be made up of a copper wire, although fiber optic cable and wireless transmission are becoming more common. A circuit can also pass across many types of physical facilities such as copper wire or fiber optic cable, but the single end - to - end connection, no matter what the equipment, is referred to as the circuit. There are many devices along the circuit ’s path that perform special functions such as hubs, switches, routers, and gateways. 9. What is a client? The client is the input or output hardware device at the other end of a communication circuit. It typically provides remote users with access to the network and the data and software on the server. 10. What is a server? The server stores data or software that can be accessed by the clients , or remote users of a hardware input or output device . In client - server computing, several servers may work together over the network to support the business application. 11. Why are network layers important? Communication networks are often broken into a series of layers, each of which can be defined separately, to enable vendors to develop software and hardware that can work together in the overall network. These layers enable simplicity in development and also in the comprehension of complex networks. In the end, the strategy of using more simplistic network layers allows vastly different kinds of equipment to be able to have connectivity over a common platform or network, using protocols and standards that are applicable to each narrow slice of the network. 12. Describe the seven layers in the OSI network model and what they do. The application layer is the application software used by the network user. The presentation layer formats the data for presentation to the user by accommodating different interfaces on different terminals or computers so the application program need not worry about them. The session layer is responsible for initiating, maintaining, and terminating each logical session between end users. The transport layer deals with end - to - end issues, such as procedures for

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    Chapter 1 1 - 7 entering and departing from the network, by establishing, maintaining, and terminating logical connections for the transfer of data between the original sender and the final destination of the message. The network layer takes the message generated by the application layer and if necessary, breaks it into several smaller messages. It then addresses the message(s) and determines their route through the network, and records message accounting information before passing it to the data link layer. The data link layer formats the message to indicate where it starts and ends, decides when to transmit it over the physical media, and detects and corrects any errors that occur in transmission. The physical layer is the physical connection between the sender and receiver, including the hardware devices (e.g., computers, terminals, and modems) and physical media (e.g., cables, and satellites). 13. Describe the five layers in the Internet network model and what they do. The application layer is the application software used by the network user. The transport layer deals with end - to - end issues, such as procedures for entering and departing from the network, by establishing, maintaining, and terminating logical connections for the transfer of data between the original sender and the final destination of the message. The network layer takes the message generated by the application layer and if necessary, breaks it into several smaller messages. It then addresses the message(s) and determines their route through the network, and records message accounting information before passing it to the data link layer. The data link layer formats the message to indicate where it starts and ends, decides when to transmit it over the physical media, and detects and corrects any errors that occur in transmission. The physical layer is the physical connection between the sender and receiver, including the hardware devices (e.g., computers, terminals, and modems) and physical media (e.g., cables, and satellites). 14. Explain how a message is transmitted from one computer to another using layers. The application layer is the application software used by the network user. The transport layer is responsible for obtaining the address of the end user (if needed), breaking a large data transmission into smaller packets (if needed), ensuring that all the packets have been received, eliminating duplicate packets, and performing flow control to ensure that no computer is overwhelmed by the number of messages it receives. The network layer takes the message generated by the application layer and if necessary, breaks it into several smaller messages. It then addresses the message(s) and determines their route through the network, and records message accounting information before passing it to the data link layer. The data link layer formats the message to indicate where it starts and ends, decides when to transmit it over the physical media, and detects and corrects any errors that occur in transmission. The physical layer is the physical connection between the sender and receiver, including the hardware devices (e.g., computers, terminals, and modems) and physical media (e.g., cables, and satellites). 15. Describe the three stages of standardization. The formal standardization process has three stages: specification, identification of choices, and acceptance. The specification stage consists of developing a nomenclature and

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 8 identifying the problems to be addressed. In the identification of choices stage, those working on the standard identify the various solutions and choose the optimum solution from among the alternatives. Acceptance, which is the most difficult stage, consists of defining the solution and getting recognized industry leaders to agree on a single, uniform solution. ISO standards development is pursued at the national and international levels. Authorized national technical committees can be designated as Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) to international subcommittees or workgroups. Examples of national - level standards bodies (with the legal authority for national standards development and articulation with ISO) are: Standards Designation Name of National Standards Body (ISO Member) Web Site Nation ANSI American National Standards Institute www.ansi.org USA SCC Standards Council of Canada www.scc.ca Canada DGN Dirección General de Normas www.economia.gob. mx/normas Mexico BSI British Standards Institution www.bsi - global.com UK JISC Japanese Industrial Standards Committee www.jisc.org Japan AFNOR Association française de normalisation www.afnor.fr France BIS Bureau of Indian Standards www.bis.org.in India CSBTS China State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision www.csbts.cn.net China GOST R State Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization and Metrology www.gost.ru Russian Federation SNV Swiss Association for Standardization (Schweizerische Normen - Vereinigung) www.snv.ch Switzerland DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung www.din.de Germany 16. How are Internet standards developed? The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF; www.ietf.org) sets the standards that govern how much of the Internet will operate. Developing a standard usually takes 1 - 2 years. Usually, a standard begins as a protocol developed by a vendor. When a protocol is proposed for standardization, IETF forms a working group of technical experts to study it. The working group examines the protocol to identify potential problems and possible extensions and improvements, and then issues a report to IETF. If the report is favorable, the IETF issues a Request for Comment (RFC) that describes the proposed standard and solicits comments from the entire world. Once no additional changes have been identified, it becomes a Proposed Standard. Once at least two vendors have developed software based on it, and it has proven successful in operation, the Proposed Standard is changed to a Draft Standard. This is usually the final specification, although some protocols have been elevated to Internet Standards, which usually signifies a mature standard not likely to change. There is a correlation of IETF RFCs to ISO standards.

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    Chapter 1 1 - 9 17. Describe two important data communications standards - making bodies. How do they differ? The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) makes technical recommendations about data communication interfaces. The Telecommunications group (ITU - T) is the technical standards - setting organization of the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Postal Telephone and Telegraphs (PTTs) are telephone companies outside of the United States. ITU - T establishes recommendations for use by PTTs, other common carriers, and hardware and software vendors. Although a complicated series of acronyms, it is useful to point out that the ISO created the OSI model! Information technology standards contribute to data communications. In the USA, the National Committee for Information Technology Standards (NCITS) has responsibility (under ANSI) for multimedia (MPEG/JPEG), intercommunication among computing devices and information systems (including the Information Infrastructure, SCSI - 2 interfaces, Geographic Information Systems), storage media (hard drives, removable cartridges), database (including SQL3), security, and programming languages (such as C++). The NCITS T3 committee on Open Distributed Processing (ODP) is the US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to JTC 1/SC 6/WG 7 (Subcommittee 6, Workgroup 7). JTC 1 is the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology. Among NCITS/T3's current projects are: Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1), the OSI Directory Services (and protocols), routing information exchange protocols, multicasting (all of considerable interest to the telecommunications industry.) T3 has US TAG responsibility for codes and character sets. IEEE plays an important standards role for data communications, particularly in LAN technology protocols. Note that the HTML specifications state that HTML uses the ISO 8859 - 1 (Latin 1) character set. 18. What is the purpose of a data communication standard? The use of standards makes it much easier to develop software and hardware that link different networks because software and hardware can be developed one layer at a time. The software or hardware defined by the standard at one network layer can be easily updated, as long as the interface between that layer and the ones around it remains unchanged. 19. What are two of the largest inter - exchange carriers (IXCs) in North America? Two of the largest inter - exchange carriers (IXCs) in North America are AT&T and Sprint, and the formerly large MCI was acquired in a post bankruptcy merger with Verizon. 20. Name two RBOCs. Which ones provide services in your area?

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 10 Some regional bell operating companies (RBOCs) are Bell South, PacBell, Ameritech, and Verizon. AT&T recently made a bid to buy Bell South, and it seems to be repositioning itself to provide both long distance and local service, not unlike the pre - divestiture AT&T. 21. Discuss three trends in communications and networking. First, p ervasive networking will change how and where we work and with whom we do business. Pervasive networking means that we will have high speed communications networks everywhere, and that virtually any device will be able to communicate with any other device in the world. Prices for these networks will drop and the globalization of world economies will continue to accelerate. Second, t he integration of voice, video, and data onto the same networks will greatly simplify networks and enable anyone to access any media at any point. Third, t he rise in these pervasive, integrated networks will mean a significant increase the availability of information and new information services. It is likely that application service providers will evolve that act as information utilities. 22. Why has the Internet model replaced the OSI model? The Internet model is simpler (effectively collapsing the top three layers of the OSI model into a single model) and easier to remember and understand. Further, t he ISO OSI Reference Model is the result of a formal standardization process and is technical in its presentation. By contrast, the Internet model is appropriate for those within the networking community with practical needs related to implement ing the Internet and networking. However, only a few years ago the Internet model was commonly understood to have only four layers. Today , the transport layer is now separately identified in the Internet model , yielding an important, fifth layer for comprehension . This evolution in presentation may show that at least one technical distinction from the OSI model is now considered practical as the scope, volume of traffic, and complexity of networking (and of the Internet) grows. 23. In the 1980s when we wrote the first edition of this book, there were many, many more protocols in common use at the data link, network, and transport layers than there are today. Why do you think the number of commonly used protocols at these layers has declined? Do you think this trend will continue? What are the implications for those who design and operate networks? Today there is convergence around the non - proprietary use of TCP/IP as the protocol of choice for all networks. For the most part, network software is designed to interface with networks using this protocol. By non - proprietary, this means that TCP/IP is an interoperable protocol portable to any manufacturer's hardware. All manufacturers are developing their products to use TCP/IP as their protocol of choice. This is of great benefit for those operating networks because they do not have to deal with the incompatibilities of various proprietary networks. In the past, network equipment such as IBM’s SNA and Novell’s Netware products had retained proprietary protocols that did not interface with as much ease

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    Chapter 1 1 - 11 as today’s more compatible and TCP/IP based products. The decline of the number of competing protocols is related to the emergence of TCP/IP as the universal connector, along with the rise in competition and subsequently better price availability from those vendors who market to this protocol, thus ensuring the viability of this standard for a long time to come for network managers. 24. The number of standardized protocols in use at the application layer has significantly increased from the 1980s to today. Why? Do you think this trend will continue? What are the implications for those who design and operate networks? The biggest reason that there are more standardized protocols at the application layer is related to the predominant use of the Web and its standardized graphic interface (HTTP, DHCP , for example). In a way, many new protocols ride on top of TCP/IP networks, and some of these new protocols have been developed to enable the retrofitting of new technologies on top of an older networking architecture. On the other hand some proprietary protocols connected with such models as IBM's SNA and DECNet have declined in significance while the importance of Internet - related protocols has grown, 25. Do you support net neutrality? Why or why not? Student answers will vary based on their opinions. 26. How many bits (not bytes) are there in a 10 page text document? Hint: There are approximately 350 words on a double - spaced page. First, some assumptions must be made. Assume each word averages seven letters and there is one space between each word. Next assume we are using 8 - bit ASCII. Multiply 350 words by 8 bytes (7 letters plus a space) to get 2,800 bytes per page. Multiply 2,800 by 10 pages to get 28,000 Multiply 28,000 bytes by 8 bits per byte to get 224,000 bits

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 12 Mini - Cases I. Big E. Bank Nancy Smith's task as a Senior Network Project Manager is to connect O hio B ank 's network with B ig E ast B ank 's network. She has several alternatives. Your job is to develop a short list of pros and cons for each alternative and make a recommendation. Big E ast Bank Ohio Bank Size Presumed large Small Location Not stated Columbus Infrastructure Not stated WAN connecting 5 cities with branches MANs in cities LANs in branches Alternative A is to leave the two networks separate but install a few devices in OB's headquarters to translate between the set of protocols used in the BEB network and those in the OB network so that messages can flow between the two networks. Pros: Easiest (and likely the least expensive and fastest) to implement; little impact on infrastructure Cons: Performance penalties from lack of network architecture integration Alternative B is to replace all the WAN, MAN, and LAN network components in OB's entire network so that OB uses the same protocols as BEB and the two can freely communicate. Pros: Performance gains from network architecture integration Cons: Major impacts on infrastructure; major costs; time required Alternative C is to replace the devices in the OB WAN (and possibly the MANs) so that each city (or each branch, if the MANs are replaced as well) can communicate with the BEB network, but the LANs in individual branch remain unchanged. In this case, the device connecting the MAN (or the branch) will translate between the OB protocols and the BEB protocols. Pros: Intermediate to good performance gains (over Alternative A) but some penalties, depending on whether just OB WAN or both MAN and WAN technologies are affected and the extent to which the resulting interface between OB's and BEB's technologies turns out to cause performance problems. Intermediate expense and infrastructure impact. Cons: Does not achieve full network integration. Necessity to support OB's LAN or LAN/MAN technology over time will add additional problems to network management for BEB.

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    Chapter 1 1 - 13 Recommendation: Alternative C is the most practical in terms of time frame to implement and costs to achieve at least a substantial level of network architecture integration. However, from a longer - term point of view, Alternative B is the best, provided that BEB offers a transition stage like Alternative A to meet immediate needs and takes sufficient time to implement the full infrastructure changes. This plan will enable the banks to achieve their full potential from their communications infrastructure, and facilitate integration of more than just the networks, but also carry over into integration among the staff and customers. II. Global Consultants What advice would you give Mr. Adams? (...given two de facto standards for financial software, neither of which is completely satisfactory as neither one supports both required financial analysis tasks adequately.) One solution would be to choose a software source adhering to the de facto standards of either Group A or Group B and attempt to negotiate the development of a new and satisfactory version of the financial analysis task deemed inadequate. This likely would not work because no firm could be found that would agree to develop a new version of its software or because Global Consultants would be expected to bear high development costs to meet its specific need. Most software companies would be unwilling to interrupt or significantly modify a software development schedule for the sake of a single client. . Thus, i f no software source can be found that will undertake the needed development for reasonable cost, the practical solution may be for Global Consultants to undertake a ground up development project of new software that will meet all needs. This could be done internally or by hiring a consultant firm (outsourcing). This approach could be evaluated in light of the firm’s strategic plan, and, if the new software is highly successful for GC, it might become a marketable product for the firm. III. Atlas Advertising What types of standard protocols and technologies do you think they are using at each layer? Students should refer to Figure 1.5 to address the issues raised with this mini - case. IV. Consolidated Supplies Should Consolidated Supplies replace all the networking equipment in all the warehouses now, should it wait until newer networking technologies are available, or should it upgrade some of the warehouses this year, some next year, and some the year after, so that some warehouses will benefit from the expected future improvements in networking technologies? Students should consider the history of information systems when thinking about this issue. Rapid changes in technology will continue to make the decision about when to implement new technologies a difficult one for businesses. The solution must be one that fits well with the nature of the organization itself and its corporate, long term goals. If Consolidated Supplies is in an

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    Introduction to Data Communications 1 - 14 aggressive acquisition mode and involved in a rapidly changing, high tech industry, perhaps a more aggressive upgrade of the network would be appropriate. If Consolidated Supplies is in a market niche that does not face deep market changes and offshore competition for its continued success, and is less concerned about the role of technology in their immediate strategy, then the firm may have the luxury of waiting out a round of technological change in the interest of allowing the future improvements to reach the marketplace. V. Asia Importers What are the potential benefits and challenges that Asia Importers should consider in making the decision about whether or not to move to one integrated service? An int egrated service will enable Ms. Wong to consolidate her bills and technical supp ort with a single company. This single source of contact would be of benefit to Asia Importers by streamlining services and technological sourcing . However, a potential disadvantage of the single source approach is that the sole vendor would then manage more of Asia Importers’ technical infrastructure , leaving th e firm with some vulnerability due to single sourcing . If the vendor proves unreliable or inefficient, this will affect a greater portion of Asia Importers’ business than if the vendor was only servicing one or another technology. VI. Mega Investments Outline the pros and cons of upgrading the networks. The pros of upgrading the networks include increased system speed and reliability for Mega Investments, as well as getting out from under the concerns over potential major problems or total outages due to equipment availability problems such as might occur for some Token Ring products . On the other hand, p ossible cons include the cost of the upgrade, the potential for confusion on the part of end users during the transition, and the challenges of upgrading remote offices in the Caribbean .

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    Chapter 1 1 - 15 Next Day Air Service Case Study 1. Briefly describe the current state of Next Day Air Service's office automation, system integration, and networking. Begin by explaining how each department uses information technology, what hardware it uses, and what functions currently are automated. Also assess which department is most in need of a network. The level of automation varies significantly among the NDAS departments and offices. In addition, NDAS is in the process of downsizing to achieve a more cost - effective computer support system. For example, the Sales and Marketing Division has a desktop computer for each of the account representatives. All of these computers are connected to a small local area network (LAN) that serves only the Sales and Marketing Division. The Accounts Receivable Division recently downsized its minicomputer to a powerful desktop computer with a faster processor, motor memory and increased disk storage space. This new desktop supports databases for both customer billing and “bad dept” expenses. The Accounts Payable Division has an older minicomputer and is in the process of downsizing to a modern powerful desktop computer. It has its own vendor database that includes invoices received by NDAS from other carries stored on the older minicomputer. Fleet Maintenance prefers to process all its information manually; however, this area is being considered for automation. None of the departmental computers is integrated. The Dispatch department needs a high speed data communication network the most, because it is the very essence of Next Day Air Services business. Without an efficient parcel tracking network, there will be no NDAS! 2. With the “types of networks” and future technologies discussed in this chapter, what kind of network would appear to be the most beneficial to Next Day Air Service? Justify your answer. Initially, an integrated, organization - wide, multiapplication network appears to suit the needs of NDAS the best. This type of network would run many kinds of applications that share common databases and communication facilities. Assuming that Next Day Air Service will continue to expand its operations, any network that is developed or acquired should be capable of being upgraded to a multi - organizational network. Note to instructor: Some students may be confused between network technology (LANs, WANs, MANs, BNs) and network type. This is a good place to clear up any misconceptions on this point. 3. What are the current characteristics or practices that identify NDAS as a possible candidate for its proposed integrated data communication network? NDAS has a number of geographically remote facilities that currently are not connected either to one another or to the corporate headquarters. Note that figure A1 - 1 in the text shows

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