1.7 Exercises

1. How do you decide between implementing a protocol layer in software versus hardware? Enumerate some reasons.

2. Is power consumption a consideration in high-end systems? Or is it just confined to handhelds, PDAs, and cell phones? How can software be modified to address power consumption issues?

3. Discuss the advantages and drawbacks of an intelligent network (telecom view) and intelligent end nodes (IP view).

4. If you were to build a communications system, what are the pieces of infrastructure software that you would work on first? Give reasons.