• Define both serial and parallel transmission methods and describe where they are used
• Consider the effect of distance on the transmission of data.

Baud, bit rate, bandwidth, latency

• Define these terms.
• Differentiate between baud and bit rate.
• Consider the relationship between bit rate and bandwidth.

Asynchronous data transmission

• Define asynchronous data transmission.

Start and stop bits

• Describe the purpose of start and stop bits in asynchronous data transmission.

Odd and even parity

• Explain the use of parity checks.

Handshaking

• Explain what is handshaking in the context of data transmission.

Protocol

• Explain what is meant by a protocol in this context.

Baseband and Broadband

• Define each mode of network operation and describe where each is appropriate.

Networks
Local Area Networks & Wide Area Networks

• Contrast wide area and local area networks

Network adapter Topology (Bus & Star)

• Define the term topology.
• Differentiate between physical and logical network topologies
• Describe in general terms the operation of these networks.
• Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• Candidates should be able to compare local area networking with standalone operation.

Network Segment

• Define the term and explain why local-area networks based on a bus topology are segmented.

Peer-to-peer networking & Server-based networking

• Explain these terms and describe situations where these might be used.

Thin client computing & Web services

• Compare and contrast thin client computing (software as a service, AJAX, Web 2.0, etc.) vs rich client computing (client-server, peer-to-peer), web services as examples of ‘systems architectures’.

Wireless networking (Wi-Fi & Bluetooth)

• Radio-based LAN protocols for connecting mobile/portable devices.

Inter-networking

• Explain the meaning of the term inter-networking.

Routers particularly, Gateways

• Define these and consider where and why they are used.
• Consider how routing is achieved across the Internet and how local area networks are connected to the Internet via gateways.
• Consider how a subnet mask is used to identify the network identifier part of an IP address.
• Be familiar with the role of MAC addresses in routing packets/frames.
• Distinguish between routable and non-routable IP addresses.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

Server-side scripting – the basis of dynamic web page content.

Practical experience of writing simple server-side scripts.

Accessing data from a DBMS using server-side scripts.

Firewalls

• Packet filtering.
• Proxy Server.

Encryption

• Private/Public key encryption.

Digital Signatures and Digital Certificates

• How they are obtained and used.

Virus detection

• Discuss worms, spam, phishing, pharming as well as viruses, also vulnerabilities that these exploit and how to address them through improved code quality, monitoring, protection.

Computer Security Procedures

• Authentication
• Authorisation
• Accounting.