Analyzing a Network Issue

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1 Analyzing a Network Issue Analyzing a Network Issue Melissa Albright The University of Arizona Global Campus INT301: Computer Networking David Stibbards December 18, 2023

2 Analyzing a Network Issue Ever since the internet was created, there have been incredible innovations in the world of technology. As we continue, “we continue to forge our way through the information age” (FitzGerald, Dennis, & Durcikova, 2017, p. 1). That said, the public needs to realize how complex all the networks and systems are, with the most notable of the complex systems being data communication. Transferring data from one location to another and vice versa can be explained as data communication. This allows data to be transferred between various nodes despite the node’s site or the contents of the data being transmitted. Many network models are used to ensure that data communication is efficient and successful. These models can be divided into various layers with their own functions. During data communication, there can be instances where the network's speed can slow down or even stop altogether. Throughout this paper, the network model layers will be analyzed to achieve increased insight into network speeds and why a network’s rate can slow down. Accessing and sending data through the internet involves various computer hardware and software. “It takes a complex system of cables, servers, towers, and other infrastructure, developed over decades, to allow us to stay in touch with our friends and family so effortlessly” (Lee, 2014, para. 1). To better understand the process of the sending and receiving of data, it can be broken down into several network layers. The network model can be designed in several ways, but this paper will be specific to the open systems interconnection model (OSI). “In this model, layers 1-4 are considered the lower layers, and mostly concern themselves with moving data around, and layers 5-7, called the upper layers, contain application-level data” (Beal, 2019, para. 1). Layers one through four are responsible for transmitting data using electrical signals, data packets, switching and routing, and data transfer between the host networks (Beal, 2019). Additionally, layers five through seven are responsible for sending application data to the end-user by managing connections amongst applications, translating application data to and from the network format, and supporting the end-user processes (Beal, 2019). The OSI model uses a pyramid of layers that begins at layer seven, continues down to layer one, and goes back

3 Analyzing a Network Issue up to layer seven. Layer seven, which is the application layer, supports end-user and application processes. The primary purpose of layer seven is to deliver a set of functions for the applications (Beal, 2019). Layer six is the presentation layer. The presentation layer retrieves the data, and then after formatting and editing it, sends it to the application layer in a format that it can recognize and transmit through the network, ultimately ending up at the user (Beal, 2019). Layer five, which is called the session layer, initiates, organizes, and, when necessary, terminates the data transmission from the applications on both sides of the data transfer (Beal, 2019). Additionally, this layer also manages all of the services that the users need. Next is layer four, which is the transport layer. The purpose of the transfer layer is to manage the transfer of data between the various systems on the network. Managing this data includes distributing the data into separate data packets and ensuring that the network accepts them. Additionally, the transport layer also makes sure that duplicate packets are removed. Layer three is next, and it is called the network layer. This layer is responsible for routing and switching throughout the network in addition to managing which node that messages go to (Beal, 2019). Layer two is called the data link layer, which is responsible for decoding and encoding the network data packets into bits. Also, this layer identifies, and fixes lost, duplicate, or damaged messages (Beal, 2019). The data link layer will separate the corrupted messages from the standard messages before fixing them. Additionally, layer two also chooses the order in which the transmissions go through the network so that there is never more than one transmission at a time. Finally, layer one is called the physical layer. This layer sends bits of data, electrically and mechanically, throughout the network (Beal, 2019). This layer also decides the transmission speed and which data bits are sent. Many things can cause a network’s connection speed to slow down, including spyware, viruses, internet latency, website congestion, and defective hardware. When talking about the network’s speed, various factors need to be considered when determining the performance of the network. These factors are jitter, bandwidth, loss, and latency. Jitter is when the network latency fluctuates (Morris, 2014). This

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