College
of Saint Benedict-Saint John's University
Instructor:
Jim Schnepf
Office:
Phone:
3073
Office Hours: 1:00-2:00
=> days 1, 2, 4, 5
or
by appointment
Homepage: www.users.csbsju.edu/~jschnepf
TEXTS:
Peterson and Davie: Computer Networks, A Systems
Approach (4th edition)
Course Overview: Networks have become pervasive
in
businesses and the World Wide Web has popularized the Internet beyond
anyone's
expectation. Although many have become
fascinated with the topic, few understand the mechanisms that allow
networks to
work. This course provides a broad
overview of the concepts and applications of data communications and
networking. Our objective is to
understand the principles of data communication, design approaches for
applying
those principles and the standards that have evolved regarding the
designs. To help in the understanding of
the concepts, we will have the opportunity to explore how some of these
concepts can be applied in a lab set up for this class.
Assignments:
In addition to written exercises, there will be a series of lab
exercises. These exercises are to be
done at a time of the student's choosing and can be done individually
or in
groups. The exercises will utilize equipment that has been set up
expressly for
this class in room 204 of the Science Hall.
There is limited equipment and time for the lab exercises. I will put up a reservation sheet for
equipment and it is up to the student to assure that the equipment is
available. Students should plan on doing
the exercises early. Lack of access will
not be accepted as an excuse for incomplete assignments.
Assignments handed in after the due date will
be docked for being late. No assignments will be accepted more than one
cycle
after they are due.
Course Objectives: On successful completion of
this course
students should be able to:
·Describe the fundamental
issues that must
be resolved in network communications
·Define the functionality
necessary to
provide a communications link between two computers
·Understand why and how layers
are applied
in the architecture and design of network protocols
·Analyze a particular protocol
stack and
describe how the stack resolves the fundamental issues of networking
·Explain how the TCP/IP
protocol stack
addresses the fundamental issues of network
communications
Evaluation:
During the semester, there will be a total of 500 points
available. These will be approximately as
follows:
Written Assignments
75
Quizzes
75
Lab Assignments
100
In-class exams (two)
150
Final Exam
100
Total
500
Your
grade is
determined by the amount of points that you earn.
450+
A
435-450
AB
400-434
B
385-399
BC
350-384
C
335-349
CD
300-334
D
299-
F
Anyone
who has accumulated 370 points prior to the final may skip the final
and still
receive an A.
Tentative Class
Schedule(subject to change):
| Cycle
|
Topic |
| 1 |
Motivation/Basic Requirements
and Definitions |
| 2 |
Transmission Media and Direct
Link Networks |
| 3 |
LAN Technologies |
| 4 |
Packet Switching |
| 5 |
Internetworking - Routing |
| 6 |
Label Switching |
| 7 |
End-to-End Protocols -TCP/UDP |
| 8 |
Congestion Control and Resource
Allocation |
| 9 |
Data Compression |
| 10 |
Security/Encryption |
| 11 |
Applications |
| Tues, Dec 18th 1:00 |
Final Exam |