Computer Networks

Star topology requires a central controller or hub that all devices connect to. This central hub manages all communication between connected devices, unlike bus, mesh, or ring topologies.

Transmission media are closest to the physical layer (Layer 1) of the OSI model. The physical layer deals with the actual transmission of raw bits over a physical medium.

With 40 stations on an Ethernet LAN segmented by a 10-port bridge, each segment handles 4 stations (40/10). If the total bandwidth is 10 Mbps and each segment gets 1 Mbps (10/10 ports), then each station in a segment gets 0.25 Mbps (1/4). However, if we calculate based on standard Ethernet collision domain reduction: a 10-port bridge creates 10 collision domains, each with 10 Mbps / 4 stations = 2.5 Mbps effective average per station. The calculation depends on traffic patterns but 2.5 Mbps is a reasonable approximation.

Internet2 is a consortium (not a technology or cable system) led by over 300 universities and organizations to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies. It focuses on high-speed research and education networks, not consumer-grade browsers or basic LAN connections.

Context refers to the conditions that precede or surround the communication. It consists of present or past events from which the meaning of the messages is derived, though it may also, in the case of written communications, depend upon the statements preceding and following the quotation in question.

A bus is a shared communication pathway that connects multiple components (CPU, memory, I/O devices) allowing data transfer. A link connects only two devices, while cables are physical connections.

A multiplexer is fundamentally a data selector - it selects one of multiple input signals and transmits it to a single output based on control signals. The term 'data selector' directly describes this selection function.

A demultiplexer distributes one input signal to multiple outputs, functioning as a data distributor. A multiplexer is called a data selector (opposite function). An encoder converts multiple inputs to coded outputs, not distribution.

This option is correct as this is used for token ring.

In mesh topology, every device connects to every other device. Hence, if any link in the network fails, the whole network does not fails. So, it is the most reliable network.

This option is correct because in mesh topology, there is no central hub or a central cable. Every node in the network is connected to every other node in the network.

This option is correct as repeaters are used in transmission systems to regenerate analog or digital signals, distorted by transmission loss. This improves the signal quality, and the unwanted noise is removed.

This option is correct because in partial mesh network, only those nodes are connected to each other, which exchange most of the data.