Weeks 3 and 4 Discussion Forum (100 Points)
Refer to the Guidelines for Discussion Boards in Course Documents.
For your main posting, choose one of the following topics to discuss.
• Distinguish between standards and protocols. What is a network standard? What is interoperability? What are the benefits of standards?
• Why do standards architectures have multiple layers? To what does a standards layer provide services? If you change a standard at one layer, do standards at other layers need to be changed also? Why may it be advantageous to change a standard if the standard at the layer below it is upgraded?
• What is encoding? At what layer is the encoding of application messages done? • What are QoS metrics? Why are QoS metrics important?
• Distinguish between rated speed and throughput. Distinguish between individual and aggregate throughput.
• What is availability? When should you measure error rates? Why? What is latency? What is jitter? Why may adding applications that cannot tolerate latency and jitter be expensive?
• What is the difference between sourcing and outsourcing in the procurement process? Give an example of the procurement process in your organization (or an organization you are familiar with).
• What are service level agreements (SLAB)? Provide an example of a SLA used in your organization (or an organization you are familiar with).
