1. 3.2 Software Fundamentals

2. A protocol is a formal description of digital message formats and the rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications. Protocols may include signaling, authentication and error detection and correction capabilities. Protocols exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection. For example, there are protocols for the data interchange at the hardware device level and protocols for data interchange at the application program level. On the Internet, there are the TCP/IP protocols, consisting of: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which uses a set of rules to exchange messages with other Internet points at the information packet level. Internet Protocol (IP), which uses a set of rules to send and receive messages at the Internet address level. Network Functionality

3. Synchronous systems negotiate the communication parameters at the data link layer before communication begins. Basic synchronous systems will synchronize both clocks before transmission begins, and reset their numeric counters for errors etc. More advanced systems may negotiate things like error correction and compression asynchronous is transmission of data without the use of an external clock signal. It utilizes a transmitter, a receiver and a wire without coordination about the timing of individual bits. There is no coordination between the two end points on just how long the transmitter leaves the signal at a certain level to represent a single digital bit. http://www.inetdaemon.com/tutorials/basic_concepts/communication/asynchronou s_vs_synchronous.shtml

4. Remote Access is communication with other machines through network when a computer isn’t physically close to those machines. Network Functionality Bandwidth generally refers to the quantity of data that can be transmitted through a communication medium in a given amount of time. Bandwidth is typically measured in Kilobits or megabits per second. Broadband refers to telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information. Because a wide band of frequencies is available, information can be multiplexed and sent on many different frequencies or channels within the band concurrently, allowing more information to be transmitted in a given amount of Bit rates is generally measured as the number of "bits per second" (bps) at which the data is being delivered. Modems can transmit at up to 56.6K bps over standard phone line.