CS 455 Course Syllabus

Spring 2013

Introduction to Networks and Data Communications

Instructor:G. Hill Price
 
Office:Dragas 1100A
Telephone:(757) 683-7728
Fax:(757) 683-4900
Email:price@cs.odu.edu
Class Meeting Place:Gornto 218 and various Distance Learning sites
Class Meeting Time:8:00 - 10:40am Wed
Office Hours:12:00 - 1:00pm Wed
 and by appointment

Textbook

Goals

This course aims to provide a broad look at networking and external data communications between different machines. Though we survey some hardware early in the course for background, the primary focus is from the Software Engineer's point of view. Students will be introduced to and should gain a basic knowledge of WAN and LAN technologies as well as some of the newer gigabyte systems.

Topics

  1. Introduction --- OSI, TCP/IP models
  2. Computer Networks and the Internet --- Basic Terms, Delay
  3. Application layer --- HTTP, FTP, DNS, SMTP
  4. Transport Protocols --- transport layer services, TCP, UDP
  5. Media Access --- IEEE 802 series LAN standards(Ethernet)
  6. Network Layer --- routing, WAN's, Internetworking, IP
  7. Link Layer --- DL control, Error Detection
  8. Physical Layer --- hardware survey, switching, multiplexing
  9. High Speed Methods --- Gigabit Ethernet, Frame Relay, ATM
  10. Wireless Transmission
  11. Security --- encryption, firewalls

Undergraduate Requirements

Midterm Exam --- ( 30% of your grade, open book and notes )
Final Exam --- ( 30% of your grade, open book and notes )
Assignments --- ( 20% of your grade )
10 page term paper ( 20% of your grade which must be approved -- see below )

Term Paper Proposal

By the 1st of March you are to submit a paper proposal to me that contains the following:
  1. Title of the paper: Be specific as possible.
  2. Description of the paper: What is the paper going to be about? What are you going to do: report, compare, criticize, apply, etc.?
  3. Motivation: Why are you interested in doing this (help you at work, etc.)? Why should anyone bother to read what you write?
  4. References: At least three are required (the text is excluded) that you know you can acquire. The reference should include author, title, journal name or publisher, and where you personally know you can get access to this item. Note: in the actual paper you may make reference to material from other sources than those you list here.
  5. Communication information: Your name, status (graduate or undergraduate), and email and/or snail mail address.

Failure to submit a complete proposal on time will result in points being deducted from your paper grade. I must approve all proposals.

Term Paper Submission

The term paper is due to me by April 17th. You have quite a bit of freedom in what you do for a term paper. Ideally, both you and I will learn something from it. The following are some of the generic things you can do but you are not limited to these:
  1. Apply some concepts of the course to something in your own experience.
  2. Report in depth on an issue not (much) covered in the course.
  3. Clarify and explain in detail some technical concept.
  4. Argue against some commonly held position.

No matter what you do, your paper must contain a preface which will contain the following:

  1. The word PREFACE is to be centered on a line by itself.
  2. A one sentence statement is to be next telling me what you do in the paper.
  3. Lastly, you are to include a paragraph telling me what I should notice about your paper that should induce me to give you a good grade on it. If you won't speak up for your paper, why should I?

Read the Classroom Rules(Required Reading!)

Updated 12/12/2012

G. Hill Price