Case Project 2-1

Frames are composed of several smaller components or fields. The characteristics of these components depend on the type of network on which the frames run and on the standards that they must follow. In our case all the lab computers run only the TCP/IP protocol on the Ethernet network and all the computers use 3Com NICs. This is actually good information because as we know some manufacturers have several different OUIs (Organizationally Unique Identifier). In this particular case 3Com Corporation uses its own OUI and standards for their NICs. Ethernet frames are different from token ring frames and the two will not interact with each other on a network. Although we can conceivably transmit both token ring and Ethernet frames on a network. Ethernet interfaces cannot interpret token ring frames and vice versa. By changing the frame type (in our case student changed it) which workstation's NIC was using to transmit data from Ethernet to token ring, obviously the connection between these two networking technologies was gone. I would explain the students that this kind of changes in network settings is not recommended and restricted in the lab. I would also impose such restrictions because of safety and security reasons to protect the network settings. It is very important to know what frame type or types each network require. This information is very useful for installing network operating systems, configuring servers and client workstations, installing NICs, troubleshooting network problems and purchasing network equipment.

Case Project 2-2
When we choose to open a web page, for example Firefox, the seventh layer of the OSI model - called Application layer-will help to do that. What happens after we write the site's address in the address bar, the Application layer protocol (also called HTTP) formats and sends the request from the client's