FIT1047 Introduction to computer systems, networks and security – S1 2025
Assignment 3 – Networks
|
Purpose
|
In this assignment, students will record data from a real-world wireless network and demonstrate that they can analyse it, identify its properties and potential issues.
Also, students will analyse Internet traffic and identify servers, clients and protocols used.
The assignment is related to Unit Learning Outcomes 5 and 6.
|
|
Your task
|
Part 1: Submit your reflections.
Part 2: Submit a report with your findings regarding the analysis tasks.
Part 3: In-class in-person test. (Week 12 applied session).
|
|
Value
|
30% of your total marks for the unit.
The assignment is marked out of 50 marks.
|
|
Word Limit
|
600 words for Task 2.2, no word limits for the remaining tasks
|
|
Due Date
|
Parts 1 - 2: 11:55 PM Friday 9 May 2025
Part 3: Week 12 (Your Officially Allocated Applied Session)
|
|
Submission
|
● Via Moodle Assignment Submission.
● DRAFT submissions are not assessed. Re-check your submission in Moodle.
● Turnitin will be used for similarity checking of all submissions. Ignore Turnitin warnings for zip files or other non-document files.
● DRAFT upload confirmation email from Turnitin is not a submission. You must click the submit button to accept terms and conditions in Moodle.
● Once the submission is confirmed, any requests to revert it back to DRAFT will not be accepted. Also, any wrong file submission will not be assessed. Please check carefully before confirming your submission.
● This is an individual assignment (group work is not permitted).
● In this assessment, you must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI)
to generate any materials or content in relation to the assessment task.
|
|
Assessment Criteria
|
See rubric.
|
|
Late Penalties
|
● 5% deduction per calendar day or part thereof for up to one week
● Submissions more than 7 calendar days after the due date will receive a
mark of zero (0) and no assessment feedback will be provided.
|
|
Support
Resources
|
See Moodle Assessment page
|
|
Feedback
|
Feedback will be provided on student work via:
● general cohort performance
● specific student feedback ten working days post submission
|
INSTRUCTIONS
This assignment has THREE parts. Make sure you read the instructions carefully.
For Part 1, collect your reflections for weeks 7-9 from each week’s Ed Lesson and create a single PDF document. You can simply copy/paste your reflections, but please add headings for each week. A template is available on Moodle. Submit your PDF through the Moodle Assignment 3 Part 1 activity.
For Part 2, you need to submit the survey results and report in a single PDF file.
Part 3 is an in-class test during your allocated Applied Class in Week 12.
How are marks and grades determined?
Part 2 and Part 3 are worth 25 marks each. The overall mark is the sum of the two individual marks. The assignment is worth 30% of the unit’s marks.
If no meaningful reflections are submitted for Part 1, the overall mark will be the maximum of 25 and the sum of Part 2 and Part 3 (i.e., the marks are then capped at 25).
Part 2: WLAN Network Design and Security (25 marks)
For this part of the assignment, you will perform. a real-world WLAN site survey. Your task is to produce a map of part of a building that gives an overview of the wireless networks that are available, as well as an analysis of the network.
What you will need: a WiFi-enabled laptop (some smartphones also work, see below), and a place to scan. You have to perform. a survey of parts of the Monash Clayton campus. If you don’t own a suitable device that you could use for this activity, try to borrow one from a friend, or borrow one from eSolution.
You have to complete two tasks (a survey and a report).
Task 2.1: Survey (9 marks)
Create a map of the place of our Clayton Campus you are going to survey:
● Students with student number ending with “0” or “5” : Woodside Building
● Students with student number ending with “ 1” or “6” : Hargrave Andrew Library
● Students with student number ending with “2” or “7” : Sir Louis Matheson Library
● Students with student number ending with “3” or “8” : Learning and Teaching Building
● Students with student number ending with “4” or “9” : Menzies Building
(You can find the location of the building here)
A simple floor plan will be sufficient. It doesn’t have to be perfectly to scale. See the appendix for an example. The map should be labelled with all relevant information (e.g. door, wall and material such as wood or concrete or glass, if used for the discussion). Your survey should cover an area of at least 60 square metres (e.g. 6x10 metres, or 4x15, or two storeys of 6x5 each). Be sure to take the analysis in Task 2.2 into account, by designing your survey to include walls, doors etc. it will be easier to write something interesting in Task 2.2.
Furthermore, your survey must include at least three WiFi access points. If you want, you can create an additional AP with your phone (using “Personal hotspot” or “Tethering” features).
For the survey, use a WLAN sniffing tool (see below) in at least eight different locations on your map. For each location, record the technical characteristics of all visible APs. Depending on the scanning tool you use, you record features such as the network name, MAC address, signal strength, signal to noise ratio (SNR), 802.11 version(s) supported, band (2.4 or 5 GHz) and channel(s) used.
Add the gathered data from the survey into the map of the covered area. On the map you indicate the location of the access points and the locations where you took measurements. For the access points, use the actual location if you know it, or an approximation based on the observed signal strength (e.g. if you don’t know exactly where it is).
For each measurement point, you either add the characteristics directly into the map, or create a separate table with the details. You can submit several maps if you choose to enter data directly into the maps, or a single map if you use additional tables. Create the map yourself, do not use the mapping features available in some commercial (i.e., paid) WLAN sniffing tools.
Task 2.2: Report (16 marks)
Write a report (word limit 600) on your observations analysing the data collected in the previous step (Task 2.1). Your analysis should investigate the following aspects:
● Channel occupancy: Are different access points competing on the same channels? Are they configured to use overlapping channels? Could the configuration be improved? (4 marks)
● Interference from walls, doors etc.: How do different materials affect signal strength and/or noise? Can you notice a difference in attenuation for different APs? What strategies would you recommend to reduce interference and network congestion, if applicable? (4 marks)
● Coverage: Do the access points sufficiently cover the desired area? Are there any zones with weak or no connectivity? How could the placement or configuration of the access points be improved? (4 marks)
● Any other aspect of your own choice. Here are a few suggestions to pick one or more:
○ measure the attenuation caused by your own body.
○ determine the overlap that has been implemented to enable roaming.
○ Explain how you estimated the locations of access points based on observed signal strengths.
Describe your findings and explain them with some technical detail (i.e., not only say what you found, but also how you performed the analysis or why you think the network is behaving that way). (4 marks)
Tools: You can use e.g. Acrylic Wifi (https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/) for Windows, NetSpot (http://www.netspotapp.com) for macOS and Windows, and LinSSID or wavemon for Linux. If you have an Android smartphone, apps like Wifi Analyzer can also be used. On iOS, WiFi scanning apps do not provide enough detail, so iPhones won’t be suitable for this task.
For drawing the site maps, any drawing tool should work, for example LucidChart, or even presentation tools such as PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides. Scans of hand-drawn maps are acceptable if they are neat and easily readable.