Written Assignment 4

CS 2204-01: Communications and Networking

Donatien Oulai
Thursday, 3 October 2024.
1. For each IPv4 network prefix, I'll identify which addresses are part of the same subnet:
(a) 10.0.130.0/23: 10.0.130.23, 10.0.129.1, 10.0.131.12, 10.0.132.7

 Prefix (10.0.130.0/23):

 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000010.00000000
 Subnet Mask: /23 → 11111111.11111111.11111110.00000000
(255.255.254.0)

 Check each IP address:

1. 10.0.130.23:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000010.00010111
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000010.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
2. 10.0.129.1:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000001.00000001
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000000.00000000
(does not match prefix)
 Does not belong.
3. 10.0.131.12:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000011.00001100
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000010.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
4. 10.0.132.7:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000100.00000111
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000100.00000000
(does not match prefix)
 Does not belong.

(b) 10.0.132.0/22: 10.0.130.23, 10.0.135.1, 10.0.134.12, 10.0.136.7

 Prefix (10.0.132.0/22):

 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000100.00000000
 Subnet Mask: /22 → 11111111.11111111.11111100.00000000
(255.255.252.0)

 Check each IP address:

1. 10.0.130.23:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000010.00010111
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000000.00000000
(does not match prefix)
 Does not belong.
2. 10.0.135.1:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000111.00000001
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000100.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
3. 10.0.134.12:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000110.00001100
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000100.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
4. 10.0.136.7:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10001000.00000111
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10001000.00000000
(does not match prefix)
 Does not belong.

(c) 10.0.64.0/18: 10.0.65.13, 10.0.32.4, 10.0.127.3, 10.0.128.4

 Prefix (10.0.64.0/18):

 Binary: 00001010.00000000.01000000.00000000
 Subnet Mask: /18 → 11111111.11111111.11000000.00000000
(255.255.192.0)

 Check each IP address:

1. 10.0.65.13:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.01000001.00001101
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.01000000.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
2. 10.0.32.4:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.00100000.00000100
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.00000000.00000000
(does not match prefix)
 Does not belong.
3. 10.0.127.3:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.01111111.00000011
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.01000000.00000000
(matches prefix)
 Belongs to the subnet.
4. 10.0.128.4:
 Binary: 00001010.00000000.10000000.00000100
 AND with Subnet Mask: 00001010.00000000.10000000.00000000
(does not match prefix)

2. Converting subnet masks to /k notation and vice versa:

(a) 255.255.240.0 = /20

(b) 255.255.248.0 = /21
(c) 255.255.255.192 = /26
(d) /20 = 255.255.240.0
(e) /22 = 255.255.252.0
(f) /27 = 255.255.255.224

3. Let's calculate the sizes for both IPv4 and IPv6:

IPv4:
 IPv4 header: 20 bytes
 TCP header: 20 bytes
 Total: 40 bytes
IPv6:
 IPv6 header: 40 bytes
 TCP header: 20 bytes
 Total: 60 bytes
The Ethernet minimum packet size is 64 bytes (excluding the 4-byte Frame Check Sequence).
For IPv4:
64 - 40 = 24 bytes smaller than the minimum
For IPv6:
64 - 60 = 4 bytes smaller than the minimum
Both packets are smaller than the Ethernet minimum packet size and would require padding.

4. A situation where a repeated unicast ARP query fails but a broadcast query succeeds could
occur if:
 The target device has recently changed its MAC address (e.g., due to a network interface
replacement or a virtual machine migration).
 The querying device has an outdated ARP cache entry for the target IP.
 The target device's ARP cache has been cleared or has timed out the entry for the
querying device.

In a situation where the repeated unicast query for a given IP address fails, but a follow-up
broadcast query for that same IP address succeeds:
 The unicast query fails because it's sent to the old, incorrect MAC address.
 The broadcast query succeeds because it reaches all devices on the network, including the
target with its new MAC address.

This situation highlights why broadcast ARP queries are sometimes necessary as a fallback
mechanism, even though unicast queries can reduce network traffic in most cases.