3 Semester Credit Hours

Description
 
This course offers a comprehensive study of network concepts, architecture and protocols, with an emphasis on data link, network, and transport issues. Topics include: OSI and TCP/IP network architectures, fundamentals of digital transmission systems, error detection and correction, fundamentals of circuit-switched and packet-switched systems, data link protocols including automatic retransmission request schemes, medium access control, local area networks, traffic management, the Internet architecture and protocol suite, Internet routing, transport layer protocols, real-time considerations and quality of service, and network security. Specific standards and technologies discussed include SONET, ATM, various types of Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs, TCP/IP, and example routing protocols. 

Prerequisites
 
Students must have the knowledge resulting from completing all coursework in the curriculum for a BS degree in Computer Science from a regionally-accredited institution in the United States or the equivalent from a foreign institution; performance level in this coursework should be equivalent to a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.9 or better on 4.0 scale. In addition, students should have the following:An understanding of basic computer organization and data representation, as required in most electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science undergraduate programs; and An understanding of basic probability, including simple continuous and discrete probability distributions.      

Course Objectives  
After successful completion of this class, a student should be able to do the following.Describe the relationships and features of each layer in the ISO Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) reference model Describe the features and evaluate the performance of automatic retransmission request schemes for error recovery in point-to-point links Describe the features and evaluate the relative performance of common medium access control protocols Describe the features and evaluate the first-order performance of standard switched data networks Describe the features and evaluate the first-order performance of standard routing protocols for internetworks Explain the operation of standard congestion control and flow control algorithms and their use for traffic management and quality of service Explain the operation of protocols in the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite Describe the requirements imposed by differentiated services on resource management, admission control, and congestion control.

Technical Requirements    

Students will need to obtain and install Wireshark, a network protocol analyzer. Wireshark is free, open source software licensed under the GNU General Public License. Wireshark and additional information about is available at http://www.wireshark.org/. In addition, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel or similar word processing and basic analysis software will be useful in preparing homework assignments and project reports. The following browser plug-ins are necessary to view course materials. Links are provided in the Course Support area to a download area if you need a reader plugin.1. Windows Media Player 9 or latest 2. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or latest     

Textbook Required:

Communication Networks, A. Leon-Garcia, I. Widjaja, 2004, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 13: 978-0-07-246352-1.  
 

Disclaimer: The course syllabus may differ slightly from this.  Course descriptions will be provided in your online course. Textbook information is provided only to give more information about the course.  Do Not use this information to purchase a textbook.  Up-to-date information will be provided when you register.