August 2011

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BScIT) – Semester 5

BT8902 – E-Commerce – 4 Credits (Book ID: B1186)

Assignment Set – 1 (60 Marks)

Answer all questions 10 x 6 = 60

1. Explain the different activities carried out on E–Commerce, with appropriate examples.

Ans: Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, ecommerce or e-comm, refers to the

buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other

computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online. It

also includes the entire online process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and

paying for products and services. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown

extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring

and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing,

online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and

automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at

least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies

such as e-mail, mobile devices and telephones as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely in electronic form for virtual items such

as access to premium content on a website, but mostly electronic commerce involves the transportation

of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is

sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers are now electronically present on the World Wide

Web.

Electronic commerce that takes place between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B.

B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified

participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that takes place between businesses and

consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of

electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of

electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet.

There is often no intermediary service involved, and the sale or purchase transaction is completed

electronically and interactively in real-time. However in some cases, an intermediary may be present in a

sale or purchase transaction, or handling recurring or one-time purchase transactions for online games.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the

exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions.

Business applications

Some common applications related to electronic commerce are the following:

Document automation in supply chain and logistics

Domestic and international payment systems

Enterprise content management

Group buying

Automated online assistants

Instant messaging

Newsgroups

Online shopping and order tracking

Online banking

Online office suites

Shopping cart software

Teleconferencing

Electronic tickets

2. Explain the core components of E–Commerce in detail with appropriate examples.

Ans: Many of your competitors are already doing business through the Internet. You read that yearly

growth rate of e-commerce is over 25 percent. E-commerce segment for the businesses that sells to other

businesses or B2B, as it is called, is escalating even in a better pace. Naturally, at one point, you too

decide that you need to have a piece of this action! But, what are the main characteristics of a good e-

commerce site that you must consider even before you build one?

A small research will show that there are numerous choices for you to make your business presence

online. In fact, you can be overwhelmed with all the possibilities that are available on the Internet to

build an e-commerce website.

However, it is important to plan your website before even shop around for tools to build your site. There

are some basic components that all e-commerce sites include, such as product or service description

pages, a shopping cart – so that buyers can select and keep items from your product list till they generate

a purchase order or an invoice, a payment mechanism: so that buyers can pay for your products online or

offline. But, you also need to pay attention to the following crucial aspects:

1. Product information Buyers take their decision whether to buy a product from your site or not

depending on the information that you provide. That’s why the product should have a clear and high-

quality picture, short and detailed specifications. If necessary add attachments of diagrams, sketches,

video etc. along with the product specification. Write clearly and prominently all sales terms and after

sales supports terms, etc.

If you have many products, it is better to use an industry standard classification system to categorize

your products. The goal is to have all the information related to the product available on the website, so

that the customer can take a positive buying decision instantly.

2. Different Ordering Methods The ultimate goal of your e-commerce site is to make sales. Many people

still do not feel comfortable to make payments through online transactions. You would be better off if

you include ordering processes by fax, telephone and ordinary mail. In fact, to have a telephone number

for customer support and order is a must for any e-commerce site as it gives buyers some extra feelings

of security. That way they know that they can always talk to a live person if anything goes wrong.

3. Different Payment Methods Although credit cards are by far the most acceptable means of payments

on the Internet, you should definitely consider other methods as well. For small payments, Paypal is

becoming increasingly a popular mode. All e-commerce sites should integrate this to their payment

methods. More options include: Electronic checks, e-bullion, Offline bank transfer etc.

4. Shopping Cart with Tax Calculation In your search for shopping carts look for the ones, which have

different tax calculation mechanisms inbuilt. If you are located in a province or state where your regional

tax gets calculated on top of the federal or vice versa, your shopping cart should have the ability to

calculate them correctly.

5. Guarantees As money back guarantees are becoming increasingly common on online sales you should

consider prominently posting your money back guarantee on you website. Be sure to make your money

back guarantee generous! Customers are becoming pickier on this issue. For example if you sell

knowledge base products like e-books, reports etc. make your hundred percent guarantees at least of two

months. For tangible products, after sales warrantees should be also considerably generous. Customers

should feel completely secured to buy at your website.

6. Privacy Policy Your website must have a privacy policy. Customers are very concerned about the

information that they are relaying to you. You must clearly explain them what you plan to do with the

various information that you collect from your customers. If your site is planning to use cookies, make

sure that you covered this aspect in your privacy policy too.

7. Security If your website collects sensitive information from your customers, you should use security

systems like SSL (Secure Socket Layer). This guarantees that the data provided by your customer will

not fall into the hand of a malicious hacker while transferring from his computer to the web server. This

also will reassure your customers that you are truly concerned about the security of their personal and

sensitive information.

3. What are e–commerce activities?

Ans: As the Internet continues its remarkable expansion, its capacity to disseminate information,

knowledge and content has thrust the intellectual property system to the center of the debate over the

future shape of the online world. In this new and rapidly changing environment, information and

knowledge are increasingly the source of value; hence the intellectual property system - the body of law

protecting creations of the mind - is crucial in maintaining a stable and equitable foundation for the

development of the digital society.

While the intellectual property system will play a critical role in shaping the digital world, the Internet

will have a profound effect on the system itself. The long-term influences are as yet unclear. What is

immediately apparent, however, is that this new medium presents a host of complex opportunities and

challenges for the intellectual property community.

As the international intellectual property organization, WIPO has launched a far-reaching program of

activities - the WIPO Digital Agenda - which reflect and respond to the influence of the Internet and

digital technologies on the intellectual property system, and vice-versa, in the coming years. The

Organization is committed to formulating appropriate responses aimed at encouraging the dissemination

and exploitation of creative works and knowledge on the Internet, as well as at protecting the rights of

their creators. In the constantly evolving digital environment, this is a truly unique challenge.

Issues that are covered by the Digital Agenda (see below) include the challenge of the digital divide, the

application of intellectual property law in transactions via the Internet, the impact of the Internet and

digital technologies on the areas of copyright and related rights, trademarks and domain names, and

patents, as well as dispute resolution.

The WIPO Digital Agenda was launched in September 1999 by the Director General of WIPO at the

WIPO International Conference on Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property. It was approved

later that month by WIPO's Member States at their General Assembly.

To keep the public fully informed about its activities under the Digital Agenda, WIPO has created a

website dedicated to electronic commerce issues. This web site, maintained in English, French and

Spanish, provides extensive information regarding WIPO programs in the areas concerned, background

papers on substantive issues, and a comprehensive calender for meetings. Information updates regarding

WIPO electronic commerce program activities and meetings will also be sent by e-mail to interested

parties on a quarterly basis.

The WIPO Digital Agenda

1. Broaden the participation of developing countries through the use of WIPONET and other means for

access to IP information

participation in global policy formulation

opportunities to use their IP assets in ecommerce.

2. Promote the entry into force of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and

Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) before December 2001.

3. Promote adjustment of the international legislative framework to facilitate ecommerce through

the extension of the principles of the WPPT to audiovisual performances

the adaptation of broadcasters' rights to the digital era

progress towards a possible international instrument on the protection of databases.

4. Implement the recommendations of the Report of the WIPO Domain Name Process and pursue

compatibility between identifiers in the real and virtual worlds by establishing rules for mutual respect

and eliminating contradictions between the domain name system and the intellectual property system.

5. Develop appropriate principles with the aim of establishing, at the appropriate time at the international

level, rules for determining the circumstances of intellectual property liability of Online Service

Providers, compatible within a framework of general liability rules for OSPs.

6. Promote adjustment of the institutional framework for facilitating the exploitation of intellectual

property in the public interest in a global economy and on a global medium through administrative

coordination and, where desired by users, the implementation of

practical systems in respect of

the interoperability and interconnection of electronic copyright management systems and their

metadata (i.e, the information about the copyrighted material stored in these systems)

the online licensing of the digital expression of cultural heritage

the online administration of IP disputes.

7. Introduce and develop online procedures for the filing and administration of international applications

for the PCT, the Madrid System and the Hague Agreement at the earliest possible date.

8. Study and, where appropriate, respond in a timely and effective manner to the need for practical

measures designed to improve the management of cultural and other digital assets at the international

level by, for example, investigating the desirability and efficacy of

model procedures and forms for global licensing of digital assets

the notarization of electronic documents

the introduction of a procedure for the certification of websites for compliance with appropriate

intellectual property standards and procedures.

9. Study any other emerging intellectual property issues related to electronic commerce and, where

appropriate, develop norms in relation to such issues.

10. Coordinate with other international organizations in the formulation of appropriate international

positions on horizontal issues affecting IP, in particular

the validity of electronic contracts

jurisdiction.

4. Explain the different operation modes associated to e – commerce.

Ans: Operational decisions must be based on market size, product type, and market breadth (Wellman,

1999). Market size is partly determined by geographic targeting and partly by the ability to attain

market share. Product types may vary greatly or be restricted to a few specialty items, and the breadth

of market coverage may be quite narrow or extraordinarily diverse. Each of these key decision variables

is an important determinant of the operations mix that must support e-commerce sales. The greater the

variety, breadth, and geography covered, the more complex the operations. Major strategic choices

currently available include:

1. Fully-integrated, high-variety, high-volume e-commerce merchants (sans brick-and-mortar) with

highly developed physical operations. Amazon.com and Webvan.com are representative of this type

of choice (Biederman, 1999; Corral, 1999; Ferguson, 2000; Hof, Green, and Brady, 2000; Katz,

1999; Partch, 1999; Richman, 2000; Saccomano, 1999; Tweney, 1999). Having selected market

coverage that is both broad and deep, both organizations established their own complex operations,

including development of technologically advanced storage and distribution infrastructure. Much of

the operation was developed in-house, and management practices tend to be highly risky as each

venture seeks a high degree of control and refinement over its inventory practices. “First mover”

investment in a new and uncertain business model is what makes this strategy so risky.

2. Geographically- or product-focused e-commerce merchants with low-technology operations. This

choice is often made by individual entrepreneurs without access to large amounts of investment

capital. It tends to be low risk and seeks limited market coverage. Peapod, Inc. got it start this way,

targeting a restricted geographic area. Many other specialty merchants make this operational choice.

Party goods sold on partyworks.com are the product of simple warehousing, hand picking, and

limited contract requirements with wholesalers (Ross, 2000). The risk in this strategy is that mass-

marketers with highly efficient operations will overtake market share and push the smaller

operations out of business if smaller operations cannot carve out a strategic competency that makes

shopping with them attractive. Price competition is particularly problematic for smaller

organizations since attempts to differentiate websites or services are so easy to imitate (McCune,

1999). Furthermore, lower prices are just one click away, and upscale location and store appearance

are not part of the strategic mix that can be differentiated.

3. E-commerce merchants that outsource operations to 3PL-providers. This choice may be made by

companies with either full market coverage or limited market coverage. Wal-Mart is the best

example of a mass retailer choosing a well-known 3PL-provider to provide the core competency of

order fulfillment (Chain Store Age, 1999). Other 3-PL providers target smaller merchants for

services that include order fulfillment, distribution, call centers, and processing services. The

economies of scale and expertise that accrue to 3PL-providers make this the strategy of choice for

those merchants who want to ramp-up e-commerce quickly and inexpensively (Mateyaschuk, 2000).

Longer term, this strategy may be risky if 3PL-provider service is poor, if 3PL-providers begin to

compete directly with merchants, or if more focused competitors are able to provide more efficient

operations.

4. Brick-and-mortar merchants that combine traditional and e-commerce operations (click-and-mortar

merchants). Toysrus.com is good example of a retailer that seeks to combine traditional and e-

commerce operations. While many analysts suggest this strategy is the best choice for long term

survival (Chain Store Age, 1999) , others recognize the vastly different operations requirements for

different channels (Kuchinskas, 1999). Operations for the two channels will almost certainly have to

be separated in order for each to perform at its optimal level. To date, traditional merchants have

had limited success combining the two. The risk in pursuing this strategy is that “channel conflict”

will undermine the performance of one or the other channels (McCune, 1999).

In addition to these strategic choices for operations, Ricker and Manhattan Associates (Dalton, 1999)

suggest that the decision to build distributed delivery centers or centralized operations sites must be

considered. Those businesses that can provide on-time delivery, a minimum of fulfillment errors, and

convenient service are more likely to build markets share, so making an adequate strategic choice for

operations is crucial for survival.

5. Give details on how the internet came into existence.

Ans: The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet

protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of

millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that

are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet

carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents

of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email.

Most traditional communications media including telephone, music, film, and television are reshaped or

redefined by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and

IPTV. Newspaper, book and other print publishing are adapting to Web site technology, or are reshaped

into blogging and web feeds. The Internet has enabled or accelerated new forms of human interactions

through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking. Online shopping has boomed both

for major retail outlets and small artisans and traders. Business-to-business and financial services on the

Internet affect supply chains across entire industries.

The origins of the Internet reach back to research of the 1960s, commissioned by the United States

government in collaboration with private commercial interests to build robust, fault-tolerant, and

distributed computer networks. The funding of a new U.S. backbone by the National Science Foundation

in the 1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial backbones, led to worldwide participation

in the development of new networking technologies, and the merger of many networks. The

commercialization of what was by the 1990s an international network resulted in its popularization and

incorporation into virtually every aspect of modern human life. As of 2011, more than 2.1 billion people

– nearly a third of Earth's population – use the services of the Internet.

The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access

and usage; each constituent network sets its own standards. Only the overreaching definitions of the two

principal name spaces in the Internet, the Internet Protocol address space and the Domain Name System,

are directed by a maintainer organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

(ICANN). The technical underpinning and standardization of the core protocols (IPv4 and IPv6) is an

activity of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a non-profit organization of loosely affiliated

international participants that anyone may associate with by contributing technical expertise.

Modern uses

The Internet allows greater flexibility in working hours and location, especially with the spread of

unmetered high-speed connections. The Internet can be accessed almost anywhere by numerous means,

including through mobile Internet devices. Mobile phones, datacards, handheld game consoles and

cellular routers allow users to connect to the Internet wirelessly. Within the limitations imposed by small

screens and other limited facilities of such pocket-sized devices, the services of the Internet, including

email and the web, may be available. Service providers may restrict the services offered and mobile data

charges may be significantly higher than other access methods.

Educational material at all levels from pre-school to post-doctoral is available from websites. Examples

range from CBeebies, through school and high-school revision guides, virtual universities, to access to

top-end scholarly literature through the likes of Google Scholar. For distance education, help with

homework and other assignments, self-guided learning, whiling away spare time, or just looking up

more detail on an interesting fact, it has never been easier for people to access educational information at

any level from anywhere. The Internet in general and the World Wide Web in particular are important

enablers of both formal and informal education.

The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge, and skills has made collaborative

work dramatically easier, with the help of collaborative software. Not only can a group cheaply

communicate and share ideas but the wide reach of the Internet allows such groups more easily to form.

An example of this is the free software movement, which has produced, among other things, Linux,

Mozilla Firefox, and OpenOffice.org. Internet chat, whether in the form of an IRC chat room or channel,

via an instant messaging system, or a social networking website, allows colleagues to stay in touch in a

very convenient way when working at their computers during the day. Messages can be exchanged even

more quickly and conveniently than via email. These systems may allow files to be exchanged, drawings

and images to be shared, or voice and video contact between team members.

Content management systems allow collaborating teams to work on shared sets of documents

simultaneously without accidentally destroying each other's work. Business and project teams can share

calendars as well as documents and other information. Such collaboration occurs in a wide variety of

areas including scientific research, software development, conference planning, political activism and

creative writing. Social and political collaboration is also becoming more widespread as both Internet

access and computer literacy spread.

The Internet allows computer users to remotely access other computers and information stores easily,

wherever they may be. They may do this with or without computer security, i.e. authentication and

encryption technologies, depending on the requirements. This is encouraging new ways of working from

home, collaboration and information sharing in many industries. An accountant sitting at home can audit

the books of a company based in another country, on a server situated in a third country that is remotely

maintained by IT specialists in a fourth. These accounts could have been created by home-working

bookkeepers, in other remote locations, based on information emailed to them from offices all over the

world. Some of these things were possible before the widespread use of the Internet, but the cost of

private leased lines would have made many of them infeasible in practice. An office worker away from

their desk, perhaps on the other side of the world on a business trip or a holiday, can access their emails,

access their data using cloud computing, or open a remote desktop session into their office PC using a

secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection on the Internet. This can give the worker complete

access to all of their normal files and data, including email and other applications, while away from the

office. This concept has been referred to among system administrators as the Virtual Private Nightmare,

because it extends the secure perimeter of a corporate network into remote locations and its employees'

homes.

6. Explain the different types of physical networking.

Ans: A network is a way to connect two or more devices together so that they can exchange information.

In order to make this work, each device must know when another is trying to connect to it and it must

know how to reply. The network consists of a whole suite of protocols to make this work. A protocol is

just a set of rules that each device uses to communicate with other devices.

At the most basic level is the wire used to make the physical connection. In most cases this will designed

for an "Ethernet" type physical network. Fiber optic cable is just a single wire so it's kind of boring to

talk about but it offers the highest speeds. Wireless connections use a radio receiver/transmitter to create

the "physical" connection so that no cable is used at all. Wireless speeds are limited by distance and

obstacles in the transmission path but wireless networks are getting better every month. The most

common is a cable containing 8 wires arranged as 4 pairs. This kind of cable (Unshielded Twisted Pair,

UTP) is rated according to its reliability at various transmission speeds. Typically the minimum is rated

Category 5 with most new installation rated as Category 5e or Category 6.

Once the medium (cable, wireless, fiber, etc.) is installed, there are other rules that determine how it will

connect to the devices on the network. Fiber will use connectors called either ST or SC type, copper

cable (say Cat 5e) will use RJ45 type connectors and wireless will use no connectors at all. When the

transmission medium is in place and the connectors properly installed, the network is almost ready.

What is needed next is the circuitry required to process whatever is transmitted over the network "wire".

This is typically called a Network Interface Card or NIC (nick). You'll attach the physical network cable

to the NIC and the circuitry there will handle all movement of data to and from the wire and pass the

data to the device's processing circuitry (a computer CPU for instance). So the NIC is just what it says it

is: An interface to the network.

A NIC can do lots of things but, at the most basic level of operation it will determine what kind of

network is being used. In almost every case this will be an ethernet network. Ethernet is another set of

protocols that regulates what kind of network "wire" is used, how it is terminated (the kind of connectors

it uses) and how the NICs will "talk" to each other. The "talking" part is another element of the ethernet

protocol and requires that each NIC have a unique identifier. This identifier is a number called the NIC's

Media Access Control ( MAC ) number and it looks like this:

00:11:22:33:44:55

Each MAC number is an address that will only point to one NIC; it is entirely unique and each NIC

manufacturer has a reserved block of these addresses . With that address an ethernet network can always

find any other device on the network.

The next thing ethernet does is to create "packets" of data. These packets will contain the address of the

originating NIC and the NIC to which it wants to communicate along with some other control data and

add the data that is to be actually used on the other end (the payload). Once that packet is assembled, the

NIC will dump that packet onto the wire. In some networks the devices wanting to communicate will

share the wire with other devices.

If there are more than two devices sharing the wire it's possible for the packets one NIC dumps on the

wire to conflict with another NIC's packets. This is called a collision. If there's a collision, each NIC will

stop transmitting for a random length of time and then try again. The "backoff time" is random so that

one of the competing NICs has a better chance of using the wire without another collision. All of this

makes a ethernet network a "shared network" that "senses" the presence of other NICs (by their packets

on the wire), that can detect collisions and can correct the collision condition (by backing off). Newer

network installations don't have this problem simply because they don't actually share the wire. More on

this elsewhere (if you're still awake).

All of that is pretty much a basic network using the ethernet protocol. However, you can't really do

anything since you have no way to tell the networked device how to get on the wire or what to do with

stuff you may have pulled off the wire. There are ethernet packets bouncing around out there but no one

knows what to do with them. Must be time for another protocol.

TCP is the "Transmission Control Protocol" and is used to manage the ethernet packets. TCP will

provide and input and output channel for the data on the ethernet network so devices on either end can

pass along their payloads and do useful work. There are quite a few TCP applications (programs)

available: ftp, telnet, mail, etc. TCP will allow you to exchange data between devices on the network.

But this exchange is for devices on the same ethernet network only. There is no way to communicate

with devices on other networks. Time for another protocol.

IP, the "Internet Protocol", is used to move packets between networks. This protocol get complicated

early and gets worse. IP has no interest in what kind of network you are connected to; it doesn't have to

be ethernet. It also has no interest in the kind of data being moved or by which application or by which

device. All IP cares about is what network the packet came from and what network it's going to. IP is all

about networks and not about network devices.

IP will take a packet of data generated by a TCP application (for instance) and then wrapped in an

ethernet packet and wrap it (encapsulate it) again in its own packet. An IP packet will have all the other

stuff but will add the source and destination information of the networks from which it came and to

which it is headed. Here again we're talking about networks not the individual device. IP manages this

by adding its own unique number describing the network it's talking to. This number is called an IP

address and it looks like this:

192.168.0.100

This IP address is called a "Dotted Decimal Quad". Why? Well the are four numbers (the Quad part),

separated by "dots" (the period character) and these numbers are base 10 (decimal). The numbers

between the "dots" are also called octets because they represent 8 binary digits (bits) or one byte . Since

there are four octets the total address is 32 bits long (for IP Version 4 networking). The IP protocol

assigns the left-most octets to networks. The size of the network (the number of addresses it can have) is

determined by how many bits from the left we want to use. In the example above the normal network

assignment would be the first three octets,

192.168.0

as the network and the remaining octet,

100

as a specific device on that particular network. The IP packet only has to find the network, 192.168.0 to

satisfy the IP protocol. Once the packet has found the right network, the IP part of the whole transaction

is complete. Once it's gotten this far, the packet can be stripped of its IP information and dumped onto

the ethernet wire.

Even so the IP addressing scheme is still being used because it must be translated into an ethernet MAC

address. To get this to work, each device on the ethernet network will also have an IP address in addition

to its ethernet MAC address. The IP address 192.168.0.100 directs the packet to network 192.168.0 and

then it has to be sent to the specific device on the ethernet network having the IP address 100. This

requires an intermediary device that understands how to translate the IP address into a specific ethernet

MAC address. This device is the NIC.

A router is what makes the IP protocol possible. Without it there is no way to pass packets between

networks. A router will receive an IP packet and examine the source and destination information that the

IP protocol has stuck onto the beginning of the ethernet packet. If the address is "local" it means that it's

not leaving the network at all so the router just ignores it. A local packet will stay on its own ethernet

network until a device on that same network picks it up. IP addressing has no relevance in this case.

If a packet is destined for another, remote, network, the router will examine the destination IP address to

see if it knows how to reach that other network. If it does it just sends it on. If not it will send it to

another router somewhere and that router will go through the same search. Each network will go through

a router so the routers only talk to each other and not to the actual devices on local networks. When a

router receives a packet for one of the networks connected directly to it, it passes that packet to that

network and its work is finished for that packet. The router

To get to that ultimate device on the local network that device must also have an IP address. In this

address assignment, the IP address is really not used for IP routing; it's just a convenience to help locate

the device. IP addressing exists to route packets between network, not within networks. Giving a device

an IP address just gives the overall addressing scheme some consistency.

What is happening is that the router dumps the remote packet on the ethernet network and the ethernet

protocol just blasts that packet over the wire until some device picks it up. At this time the packet is still

wrapped in the IP packet format. Each NIC on each device will unwrap that packet and examine the

destination address. Since each NIC has its own unique MAC address that corresponds to the IP address

that was assigned to it, it compares the fixed MAC to the IP address and, if they match, the NIC knows

that the packet is addressed to it.

The point in assigning an IP address to a NIC is to create a way to translate between the two methods of

addressing a packet: MAC and IP. The IP part is handy because we're already using IP to route packets

to other network so why not continue that addressing scheme all the way down to the NIC? The reality is

that IP addressing was developed to route packets to other networks and not within the same network. IP

is used within a network only to map IP addresses to MAC addresses so it's really not routing and

therefore not really IP in the sense of the original spec (Internet routing Protocol). A small and totally

unimportant distinction.

7. What are the different types of ISP services available?

Ans: An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs

directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections.

Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers (colocation).

Transit ISPs provide large amounts of bandwidth for connecting hosting ISPs to access ISPs.

Access provider

ISPs employ a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network.

For users and small businesses, traditional options include: dial-up, DSL (typically Asymmetric Digital

Subscriber Line, ADSL), broadband wireless, cable modem, fiber to the premises (FTTH), and

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) (typically basic rate interface). For customers with more

demanding requirements, such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs, DSL (often Single-Pair

High-speed Digital Subscriber Line or ADSL), Ethernet, Metropolythian Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet,

Frame Relay, ISDN (B.R.I. or P.R.I.), ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and upload satellite Internet

access. Sync-optical cabling (SONET) are more likely to be used.

Typical home user connectivity

Broadband wireless access

Cable Internet

Dial-up

o ISDN

o Modem

DSL

FTTH

Wi-Fi

Business-type connection:

DSL

Metro Ethernet technology

Leased line

SHDSL

Locality

When using a dial-up or ISDN connection method, the ISP cannot determine the caller's physical

location to more detail than using the number transmitted using an appropriate form of Caller ID; it is

entirely possible to e.g. connect to an ISP located in Mexico from the USA. Other means of connection

such as cable or DSL require a fixed registered connection node, usually associated at the ISP with a

physical address.

Mailbox provider

A company or organization that provides email mailbox hosting services for end users and/or

organizations. Many Mailbox Providers are also Access Providers.

Hosting ISPs

Hosting ISPs routinely provide email, FTP, and web-hosting services. Other services include virtual

machines, clouds, or entire physical servers where customers can run their own custom software.

Transit ISPs

Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet

access. An upstream ISP usually has a larger network than the contracting ISP and/or is able to provide

the contracting ISP with access to parts of the Internet the contracting ISP by itself has no access to.

In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to

or from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often cascaded

multiple times until reaching a Tier 1 carrier. In reality, the situation is often more complex. ISPs with

more than one point of presence (PoP) may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple

PoPs, or they may be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and may have connections to each one of

them at one or more point of presence.

Peering

ISPs may engage in peering, where multiple ISPs interconnect at peering points or Internet exchange

points (IXs), allowing routing of data between each network, without charging one another for the data

transmitted—data that would otherwise have passed through a third upstream ISP, incurring charges

from the upstream ISP.

ISPs requiring no upstream and having only customers (end customers and/or peer ISPs) are called Tier

1 ISPs.

Network hardware, software and specifications, as well as the expertise of network management

personnel are important in ensuring that data follows the most efficient route, and upstream connections

work reliably. A tradeoff between cost and efficiency is possible.

Derivatives

The following are not a different type of the above ISPs, rather they are derivatives of the 3 core ISP

types. A VISP is reselling either access or hosting services. Free ISPs are similar, but they just have a

different revenue model.

Virtual ISP

A Virtual ISP (VISP) is an operation which purchases services from another ISP (sometimes called a

"wholesale ISP" in this context) which allow the VISP's customers to access the Internet using services

and infrastructure owned and operated by the wholesale ISP.

Free ISP

Free ISPs are Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which provide service free of charge. Many free ISPs

display advertisements while the user is connected; like commercial television, in a sense they are

selling the users' attention to the advertiser. Other free ISPs, often called freenets, are run on a nonprofit

basis, usually with volunteer staff.

8. What are the seven layers of OSI model? Explain the functions in brief.

Ans: The OSI, or Open System Interconnection, model defines a networking framework for

implementing protocols in seven layers. Control is passed from one layer to the next, starting at the

application layer in one station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the channel to the next station

and back up the hierarchy.

Application (Layer 7)

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This layer supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are identified, quality

of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data

syntax are identified. Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer provides application

services for file transfers, e-mail, and other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications

that exist entirely in the application level. Tiered application architectures are part of this layer.

Presentation (Layer 6)

This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating

from application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into

the form that the application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a

network, providing freedom from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer.

Session (Layer 5)

This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer sets

up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications at

each end. It deals with session and connection coordination.

Transport (Layer 4)

This layer provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is responsible for

end-to-end error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer.

Network (Layer 3)

This layer provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits,

for transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well as

addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing.

Data Link (Layer 2)

At this layer, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission protocol

knowledge and management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame

synchronization. The data link layer is divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC)

layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the

network gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The LLC layer controls frame

synchronization, flow control and error checking.

Physical (Layer 1)

This layer conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal -- through the network at the

electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a

carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232, and ATM are

protocols with physical layer components.

9. Define XML. Compare and contrast XML with HTML.

Ans: The most salient difference between HTML and XML is that HTML describes presentation and

XML describes content. An HTML document rendered in a web browser is human readable. XML is

aimed toward being both human and machine readable.

Consider the following HTML.

<html>

<head><title>Books</title><head>

<body>

<h2>Books</h2>

<hr>

<em>Sense and Sensibility</em>, <b>Jane Austen</b>, 1811<br>

<em>Pride and Prejudice</em>, <b>Jane Austen</b>, 1813<br>

<em>Alice in Wonderland</em>, <b>Lewis Carroll</b>, 1866<br>

<em>Through the Looking Glass<</em>, <b>Lewis Carroll</b>, 1872<br>

</body>

</html>

The previous HTML is rendered in a browser as follows.

The HTML above describes how bibliography information is to be presented and formatted for a human

to view in a web browser. Knowing that Sense and Sensibility is enclosed in italic tags does not however

help a program determine that it is the title of a book. XML attempts to describe web data to address this

void.

The following is XML describing the contents of the books HTML page above.

<books>

<book>

<title>Sense and Sensibility</title>

<author>Jane Austen</author>

<year>1811</year>

</book>

<book>

<title>Pride and Prejudice</title>

<author>Jane Austen</author>

<year>1813</year>

</book>

<book>

<title>Alice in Wonderland</title>

<author>Lewis Carroll</author>

<year>1866</year>

</book>

<book>

<title>Through the Looking Glass</title>

<author>Lewis Carroll</author>

<year>1872</year>

</book>

</books>

A program parsing this data can take advantage of the fact that all book titles are enclosed in <title> tags.

Where would such a program find such information? An XML document may contain an optional

description of its grammar. A grammar describes which tags are used in the XML document and how

such tags can be nested. A grammar is a schema or road map for the XML document. Originally an

XML grammar was specified in a DTD (Document Type Definition). A newer standard however,

XSchema (XML Schema) has been adopted. XSchema addresses some of the limitations of DTDs.

As can be seen above, XML does not contain any information indicating how the document should be

rendered in a browser. Therefore, XML factors data from presentation. The beauty of this feature is that

the same data can be presented in a variety of ways without having to replicate any data (e.g., consider

making book titles bold and authors italic).

How XML syntax differs from HTML

New tags may be defined at will

Tags may be nested to arbitrary depth

May contain an optional description of its grammar

10. Explain the key elements of marketing.

Ans: You have a product people love and you understand who the people are that love it.   Now would be

a great time to build a marketing plan.  The plan will change and evolve over time but having a structure

helps to make sure that your marketing spend is aligning with your goals without being completely ad-

hoc, spray and pray, or flavor of the day.   The plan shouldn’t be a massive undertaking – it’s a rough

guide that documents what you are planning on doing and why you are doing it.   Good plans should

contain the following:

1. Segmentation – At this stage you should understand what segments love you offering and why. 

If you don’t, you probably aren’t ready to build a marketing plan yet and you should go back and

focus on finding a fit between your offering and a set of markets.  This is where you document

with as much detail as humanly possible the segments that you are going to target.   Who are the

groups, what are their characteristics and how do you identify them.

2. Competitive Alternatives – This is a documented list of what your customers would consider

alternatives to your product or service.  Don’t go crazy on this documenting every little bit of

functionality.  The purpose of this section is to help you articulate what really differentiates your

offering from others in the space.  These are generally macro things and not niggly detailed

nuances of features.

3. Differentiated Points of Value (by segment) – For each segment, what are the top 3 or 4

differentiators that your offering has versus others.  Remember this isn’t just about technology or

features.  It often includes things like pricing, delivery options, ease of use,  time to value, etc.

4. Messaging and Positioning (by segment) – Working from the previous section create a set of

messages for each segment.  This should be a succinct set of no more than 3/4 messages that get

across your key points. (For more on this see my post on Crafting Simple Value Statements)

5. Marketing Goals and Measures – What are the goals of your marketing plan and what metrics

are you tracking that are associated with those goals? For example you might decide that

increasing customer acquisition by x% is a key goal.  You can tie acquisition to site visits,

product signups, email or blog signups, abandon rates, etc.

6. Tactical Plan, Budget, Owners – Based on the above goals and measures this is the set of

marketing plans you plan on executing to drive those results and the costs associated with each of

those tactics.  The tactics are broken into discreet items of work (i.e for example a tactic such as a

webinar will include creating the invite list, writing/designing the mailer, sending the invite,

creating the webinar content, etc.) and assigned to an owner.

7. Timeline- The tactics need to be broken into work items and plotted on a timeline so they can be

tracked on a regular (for my teams it’s usually weekly) basis.

Remember that marketing plans change continuously so you need to make sure that the plan changes to

reflect that.  Also I always have a set of test tactics running that are essentially trialling new things to see

if they meet my ROI goals. If they do then they get worked into the plan, if they don’t I move on to

testing other things.