Report: WAN Technologies, QoS, and Network Performance Analysis

This report provides a critical analysis of various Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies, including Dial-up, Broadband, Frame Relay, ADSL, ISDN, MPLS, and routing protocols like IGP and EGP. It explores the functionality of routers, servers, cabling systems, modems, and transceivers. The report delves into the significance of Quality of Service (QoS) management, examining concepts like Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP), IP precedence, queues, and congestion management. It further evaluates the QoS needs of traffic-intensive services such as Voice over IP (VoIP), video streaming, and audio streaming. The importance of QoS in network design is critically assessed, emphasizing its role in ensuring the smooth operation of these services. The report highlights how QoS technologies manage network resources to provide a seamless experience for end-users, especially for critical applications like voice and video.

Critically calculate the following WAN Technologies:
 Dial-up
 Broadband
 Frame Relay
 Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
 Integrated Services Digital Network
Dial-up
Dialup connectivity is done through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), which
is composed of multiple telephone carriers from around the world. Although the bandwidth
available on the PSTN is limited, it is more likely to be available in a given location than
other wired WAN solutions. A dialup connection can be used to access the Internet by
connecting a computer to a modem, connecting the modem to an analog phone line, and
dialing in to a service provider. The service provider can then connect to the Internet.
Modems in the United States and Canada are limited to 53.3Kbps download and 48.0 Kbps
upload.
Broadband
Broadband refers to telecommunication that provides multiple channels of data over a single
communications medium, typically using same form of frequency or wave division
multiplexing.

Frame Relay
Frame Relay is a very high speed and high performance in WAN Technology. Frame Relay
that operates at the physical and data link layers of the OSI model and facilitates information
transfer from one user device to another over multiple switches and routers. Frame relay
which is based on packet switching and that is designed for the data transmission between
LAN and WAN. The user will have a private or leased line to a Frame Relay node.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line1
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a technology for transmitting digital
information at a high bandwidth on existing phone lines to homes and business. ADSL
include a channel for analog voice conversations, a channel for uploads, and a channel for
downloads. Download rates range from 1.5 to 9 Mbps and it upload bandwidth from 16 to
640 Kbps. It is called asymmetrical because the download channel is faster than the upload
channel. ADSL transmissions work at distances up to 18000 feet (5488 meters) over a single
copper twisted pair.
Integrated Services Digital Network
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the basic network system of early WAN
protocols, provides digitized phone connectivity and enables high speed transmission of
voice, data, video and graphics across standard communication lines at the same time through
bearer channels. ISDN can be transmitted through packet switched networks, and other types
of networks besides telephone networks. ISDN service comprises two basic types, namely
basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). While BRI contains a total 160
kb/s for use of individual users, PRI offers a total of 1536 kb/s and is designed for users who
require more capacity, such as large Enterprises.

Multiprotocol Layer Switching (MPLS)
Multiprotocol layer switching is a network management protocol which is orginaly intended
to integrate layer 2 information about the network links (bandwidth, latency, ultilization) into
layer 3 (IP) elemets within a particular system. MPLS supports a secure and resilient private
VPN for inter-site connectivity.
Interior Routing Protocols
Interior gate way protocol is a routing protocol which is used in routing within an
autonomous system (AS) number. IGP is a dynamic routing protocol which keep track of
route used to move data from one end system to another inside a network or set of networks
that was administrated.
Exterior Routing Protocols
Exterior Gateway protocol is used for transfer data and information between autonomous
systems. It is also known as BGP (Border Gateway Protocol). The BGP is the only currently
viable EGP and it is the official routing protocol used by the internet or gateway. Router that
uses EGP maintains the information about all the IP addresses assigned to the devices, best
path to a particular network and cost metrics.
Static Routing
A router with manually configured routing tables is known as the static routing. Static routes
provide additional route information to router. Static routing is not a routing protocol but it is
manuly configure and selection of a network route by managing network administarator.
Routers
A router is the specialized networking device connected to two or more networks running
software that allows the router to move data from one network to another. A router is able to
both send and receive packets of information from computer networks.
Layer 2 Aggregators
Layer 2 switch is the kind of device that redirects data messages at layer 2 level, using the
destination Media Access Cotrol (MAC) address to determine where to direct the message.
Servers
Servers is the computer designed to process requests and deliver data to another computer
(client) over a local network or the Internet. Servers are typically configured with the
additional processors, memory and stroage capacity to handle the load of servicing clients.
Cabling System

Cabling system refers to a standardized way of connecting the wires that allow computers and
other electronics to communicate and network . In cabling system, there are serval type of
cabling systems. They are coxial cable, twisted-pair cables and fiber cables.
Modems
Modems is a type of hardware device that converts between anlog and digital data in real
time for two-way network communication. It s the short form of Modulator/Demodulator.
Transeivers
Transeivers is a device that has both transmitter and receiver combined and they share a
common circuity. In wireless communication, it is a two way wireless equipment which can
exchange information in a half-duplex mode by the use of a fast electrionic switch. Some
transeivers may allow full duplex transmission but the frequencies for sending and receiving
are usually different.
Satellite Uplinks
The communialtion going form ground to a satellite is called Uplink.
3G
3G is the third generation of wireless technologies. 3G is mostly used in mobile phones and
handsets as means to connect the phone to the internet or other IP networks in order to make
voice and vedio calls and to download and upload data and browsering the net.
4G
4G is the fourth generation of wireless technologies and its follows on 3G and 4G. 4G
services make it much better for browse the web on moblie, tablets and laptops. 4G is ideally
suited for services which demand more capacity like vedio streaming, mapping and social
networking sites. Generally the 4G is around 5-7 times faster than existing 3G services.
5G
5G is the new nerwork that much higher speeds and capacity and much lower latency, that
existing cellular system. 5G the newest mobile wireless standard based on the IEEE 802.11ac
standard of broadband technology.
VPN concentrators
A VPN concentrator is a device that handles multiple VPN tunnels remotely or it is an
essential advance router that is the set up to handle multiple secure connections into the
exsiting network.
Critically analyse the following WAN traffic intensive services and their performance:
quality of service management eg DSCP (Differentiated Service Code Point), IP

precedence, queues, base rules, congestion management; quality of service need eg
Voice over IP, video streaming and audio streaming.
Differentiate Service Code Point
Differentiate Service Code Point is a packet header value that can be used to indicate the
level of service requested for traffic, such as high priority or best effort delivery. The TOS
byte is now call as Differentiate Service. The first 6 bits of the DS field are used to set a code
point and it is called DSCP.
IP Precedence
There are 8 bit in TOS type. In these, the first 3 bit are used to define a precedence. The
higher value, the more important the IP packet is, in the cagestion the router would drop the
low priority packets first. The type of service bit are used to assign what kind of delay,
throughput and reliable which are needed.
Qos Queues
Voice over IP
Voice over IP is the technology that allows the users to make video calls which is using the
broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone line.
Video Streaming
Video streaming is the service that is on demand the online entertainment source for TV
shows, movies and other media. Steaming video is the content sent in cocmpress form over
the internet and display by the viewer in real time.
Audio Streaming
Audio Steaming is the practice of bringing actual audio data through a network connection.
This kind of data transmission requires certain protocols for handling the chronology of data
packets or other transmission type, to provide the end-user with on demand content.
Critically evaluate the importance of Quality of Service (QoS) in network design with
particular reference to VoIP, video streaming and audio streaming.
Quality of Service technologies refers to the set of tools and techniques to manage network
resources and is considered the key enabling technology for network convergence. The
objective of Quality of Service technologies is to make voice, video and data convergence
appear transparent to end users. Quality of Service technologies allows different types of
traffic to contend inequitably for network resources. Voice, video, and critical data
applications may be granted priority or preferential services from network devices so that the
quality of these strategic applications does not degrade to the point of being unusable.

Therefore, Quality of Service is a critical, intrinsic element for successful network
convergence.
Task 2: