Data Communication and Networking
Explores the data communication and computer networking technologies to share information effectively
Exam objectives
- Represent digital and analog signals graphically
- Solve numeric problems relating amplitude, frequency, wavelength and phase
Important areas to cover
- Signal-property calculation questions are common in Paper II Part A
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Classify guided media (twisted pair, coaxial cable, fibre optics) vs unguided media
- Explain how latency, bandwidth, noise, attenuation and distortion affect transmission
Important areas to cover
- Comparing guided media types on cost, speed and interference is a frequent structured question
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Represent digital data using two-voltage-level encoding and Manchester encoding
- Explain the need for synchronization and how a parity bit detects a bit error
Important areas to cover
- Drawing a Manchester-encoded waveform for a given bit string is a recurring essay task
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Describe a PSTN as an analog voice-carrying line
- Explain modulation and demodulation and draw a schematic of two computers connected via modems over a PSTN line
Important areas to cover
- A modem-connection schematic diagram is a common short structured question
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain why all-to-all connections are impractical, and describe bus topology and its media-access problem
- Draw and compare star, ring, mesh and bus topologies, and explain the role of hubs and switches
Important areas to cover
- Topology diagrams with advantages/disadvantages are a very frequent structured or essay question
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain the need for MAC addresses and frames as the unit of transmission
- Describe the evolution of media-access protocols from ALOHA to Ethernet
Important areas to cover
- "Why is a MAC protocol needed on a shared bus" is a recurring short-essay prompt
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain the role of a gateway and the need for globally unique addressing independent of MAC/LAN technology
- Calculate subnet masks and IP address ranges for a given block of addresses and network size
- Describe DHCP, private IP addresses, routing/packet switching and best-effort delivery
Important areas to cover
- Subnetting and CIDR calculation is one of the highest-value, most consistently examined numeric skills across the whole exam — work through several full examples
- IPv4 address scarcity and the case for IPv6 is a common short-answer add-on
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain why process-to-process (not just host-to-host) delivery is needed, and the role of port numbers/multiplexing
- Compare TCP and UDP properties and list applications that use each
Important areas to cover
- A TCP vs UDP comparison table is a near-guaranteed structured question
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain why DNS translates human-friendly names to IP addresses, and describe its hierarchical structure
- Describe a simple HTTP GET request/response and the client-server model
Important areas to cover
- A DNS hierarchy diagram plus "role of DNS" explanation recurs often
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- List and describe the layers of the TCP/IP and OSI models and the function of each
- State the data unit (packet/frame/bit) associated with each relevant layer
Important areas to cover
- "List the OSI/TCP-IP layers in order with one function each" is one of the most reliably repeated questions in the entire syllabus — treat it as certain to appear
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Explain public-key/private-key encryption and digital signatures at a basic level
- Describe threats (viruses, trojans, malware, phishing) and protections (firewalls, antivirus, awareness)
Important areas to cover
- Threat-to-protection matching questions are common; public/private key roles are a frequent short-answer
Lesson content not added yet.
Exam objectives
- Describe the role of an ISP and how modems/DSL/ADSL connect a home to it
- Explain the role of NAT/proxies in a home LAN that uses private IPs
Important areas to cover
- NAT's purpose in a private-IP home LAN is a recurring short-structured question
Lesson content not added yet.