Data Transmission Across Packet Switched Network (Discussion on ...

AS LEVEL
Computer Application
SOHO Networking and Internet Activities
YLLSS In the syllabus, we have ... |Internet Basics |Students should be able to describe the hardware and |
| |software requirements for Internet access. |
| |Students should know how data is transmitted over the |
| |Internet and understand concepts of Internet Protocol |
| |(IP), Uniform Resource Locator (URL), Domain Name System|
| |(DNS) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). |
|Internet services |Students should be able to formulate an effective |
|and resources |strategy for searching specific information on the World|
| |Wide Web by using search-engines, and be able to |
| |critically analyse the sources of information. |
| |Students should have experience of the use of the |
| |Internet for file transfer by using ftp, remote logon, |
| |locating and using an online chat, joining discussion |
| |forums and newsgroups. |
| |Students should be able to use plug-ins or players for |
| |multimedia elements found on the Internet. |
| |Students should understand the differences between a |
| |mail client and web mail, and the protocols (POP, IMAP, |
| |SMTP, etc.) used in sending and retrieving emails. |
|Ethical and social |Students should be able to discuss critically issues |
|issues on the use |arising from the digital divide, the emergence of a |
|of the Internet |knowledge-based society and globalization. |
| |Students should be keenly aware of the issues of |
| |intellectual property, and be familiar with measures to |
| |safeguard themselves and their information on computers,|
| |by various means such as the installation of a firewall,|
| |filtering software, anti-spyware and anti-virus |
| |software. They should understand the use of cookies and |
| |the impact on user tracking. |
| |Students should understand the measures which ensure |
| |Internet security in data transmission, such as the use |
| |of a digital certificate and data encryption. | This module focuses on knowledge and skills essential in constructing SOHO
networks. SOHO networks are small scaled networks suitable for small-and-
medium enterprises (SMEs) which make up more than 90% of businesses in Hong
Kong. Building up networking capabilities and infrastructure within SMEs
will increase the productivity and enhance communication internally among
staff and externally to customers or clients throughout the world.
Through the study of this module, students will gain an understanding of
the basic principles of networking, and the knowledge and skills associated
with the design, implementation and maintenance of a SOHO network. Students
will also be aware of the common security threats to SOHO networks and the
measures to improve network security. This module will give students a
solid foundation on networking in general, and SOHO networking, in
particular. Students will appreciate the practical nature of the module,
regardless of whether they continue to pursue knowledge in this area in
tertiary education or migrate to the workforce.
The time allocation for the module is about 32 hours (48 lessons).
|Topics |Remarks |
|A. SOHO Networking Basics |(8 hours) |
|Basic concepts of |Students should be able to identify and describe the |
|data communication |basic function of each component of a packet: header, |
|and networking |data and trailer. They should also be able to explain |
| |briefly the use of packets in data transfer in a packet|
| |switching network. |
| |Students should understand the basic concepts of |
| |Internet Protocol (IP) addressing including the scheme |
| |and classes of IP addresses. They should understand the|
| |use of a subnet and know what a subnet an IP address |
| |belongs to from a simple subnet mask. |
| |Students should know the use of some common protocols |
| |including TCP/IP and DHCP, etc. |
| |Students should be able to explain the factors that |
| |need to be considered in choosing between a |
| |client-server network and a peer-to-peer network. |
| |Students should be able to compare and contrast the |
| |common types of communication links (e.g. modem dialup |
| |or cable modem, leased line, broadband and wireless, |
| |etc.) for Internet access in terms of data transfer |
| |rate, cost, and reliability. |
|Basic network |Students should be able to identify and describe the |
|components |functions of the various components which make up the |
| |wired and wireless networks. These include the network |
| |interface cards (NICs), cables, hubs, switches, |
| |routers, broadband routers, gateways, wireless |
| |adapters, wireless access points, wireless routers, |
| |etc. They should also be able to describe and explain |
| |briefly the services provided by a network operating |
| |system. |
|SOHO network |Students should be able to describe and appreciate the |
|applications |common applications of SOHO networking including |
| |resources sharing, Internet access, web serving, |
| |telecommunicating, etc. |
|B. SOHO Network Design and Implementation |(16 hours) |
|Need analysis |Students should be able to conduct a simple need |
| |analysis on a proposed SOHO network and translate the |
| |needs identified into requirements and specifications. |
|Design |Students should be able to design a network to meet the|
| |requirements generated in the need analysis and |
| |represent it in a diagram. |
| |Students should be able to justify their design based |
| |on technical, cost-effectiveness and other |
| |considerations. |
|Setup |Students should have the experience of setting up |
| |simple Ethernet and wireless networks. |
| |Students should have the experience of sharing various |
| |resources (e.g. files, printers and Internet |
| |connection, etc.) among the networked computers / |
| |stations. |
| |Students should have the experience of setting |
| |folder/file-sharing permissions including read, write |
| |and execute rights, etc. |
|Testing |Students should have the experience of validating a |
| |network system by testing it according to a simple test|
| |plan based on the requirements and specifications. |
|Documentation |Students should be able to document the user |
| |requirements, a schematic diagram for the network and |
| |specifications of the network. |
|End-user support |Students should be aware of the importance of adequate |
| |end-user support and training on the attainment of the |
| |benefits sought. |
|C. SOHO Network Management and Security |(8 hours) |
|Monitoring, |Students should develop the basic skills of monitoring |
|fine-tuning and |and fine-tuning the performance of a simple network. |
|troubleshooting |Students should develop the basic skills of analysing |
| |problems associated with the use of a networked |
| |environment and performing troubleshooting for it. |
|Backup |Students should be aware of the importance of backup in|
| |disaster planning and recovery measures. |
| |Student should know the common hardware and software |
| |components of a network backup solution, such as |
| |Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), |
| |Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), network backup |
| |servers, network backup and recovery software, etc. |
|Security threats |Students should be able to describe the potential risks|
|and measures |caused by the common network security thre