FIT1047 Introduction to computer systems, networks and security - S1 2024 Assignment 3 - Networks
FIT1047 Introduction to computer systems, networks and
security – S1 2024
Assignment 3 – Networks
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Purpose |
Students will record data from a real-world wireless network and demonstrate that
they can analyse it, identify its properties and potential issues. Students also need
to analyse Internet traffic and identify servers, clients and protocols used. |
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Your task |
Part 1: You need to submit a report with your findings regarding the analysis tasks.
The instructions below contain concrete questions you should answer in your
report. Part 3: In-Person quiz via Moodle. |
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Value |
30% of your total marks for the unit (15% for each part) The assignment is marked out of 50 marks. |
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Word Limit |
600 words for Task 1.2, no word limits for the remaining tasks |
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Submission |
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Assessment Criteria |
See rubric |
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Late Penalties |
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Support Resources |
See Moodle Assessment page |
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Feedback |
Feedback will be provided on student work via:
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INSTRUCTIONS
This assignment has THREE parts. Make sure you read the instructions carefully.
Part 1: 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 / Malaysian campus.
You have to complete two tasks (a survey and a report).
Task 1.1: Survey (9 marks)
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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For Australian campus cohort: Create a map1 and survey of (a part of) the following building on our Clayton Campus:
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For Malaysian campus cohort: Create a map1 and survey of (a part of) any building of your own choice on our Malaysian Campus. (You can find the location of the building here - Choosing Kuala Lumpur campus) |
1 An example map is given in the Appendix. You may use any drawing tool to create a map (excluding heatmap generated by survey tools) or reuse existing real estate floor plans with reference.
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A simple floor plan will be sufficient, it does not have to be perfectly to scale. See the appendix for an example. The map should be labelled with all relevant information (e.g. dimensions, doors, walls 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 1.2 into account, by designing your survey to include walls, doors etc. it will be easier to write something interesting in Task 1.2.
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, record2 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 1.2: Report (16 marks)
Write a report (word limit 600) on your observations analysing the data collected in the previous step (Task 1.1). Your analysis should investigate the following aspects:
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● 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) -
● Attenuation from walls, doors etc.: How do different materials affect signal strength and/or noise? Can you notice a difference in attenuation for different APs?
(4 marks) -
● Coverage: Do the access points sufficiently cover the desired area? Could the placement or configuration be improved?
(4 marks)2 Take screenshots of survey data at each survey location, and include the screenshots of raw data in the Appendix of your report.
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
● Any other aspect of your own choice. Here are a few suggestions to pick one or more:
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○ measure the attenuation caused by your own body
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○ determine the overlap that has been implemented to enable roaming
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○ describe how you interpolated the locations of access points from the signal
strengths
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○ measure how interference affects download speeds
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 NOT acceptable.
Submit your work for this part (Part 1) as a PDF file (independent of Part 2) in Moodle.
Part 2: Reflections (hurdle requirement, no marks)
Copy/paste your reflections for weeks 7 to week 10 (4 weeks in total) from the Ed Lessons into a PDF document. This part is a hurdle requirement, i.e., we won’t mark the other parts if you do not submit this part. The reflections can be just a few sentences per week, but need to genuinely relate to your learnings for the week.
Submit your reflection for this part (Part 2) as a PDF file (independent of Part 1) in Moodle.
Part 3: Internet Traffic Analysis and basic network knowledge (25 marks)
This part of the assignment must be done in-person during your week 12 allocated Applied Session. You will be given 1.5 hours to complete this part. You cannot start this part elsewhere or in another time slot. Bring your student ID and own device (recommended with your charger, in case the device is running out of battery during your quiz)!
This part of the assignment requires you to download a PCAP file, open it in Wireshark and answer a few questions about the captured frames. The PCAP files are individualised, so make sure that you download the correct file while you are logged into Moodle. In addition, you will need to answer some multiple choice questions on basic network and security topics.
