BAD 64081 Spring 2008 Bakes

 

INSTRUCTOR:              Dr. Catherine M. Bakes

OFFICE:                       A-405 BSA

OFFICE HOURS:           Tues & Thurs 1:30-2 pm & 3:30-5:15 pm, & by appointment

OFFICE PHONE:           (330) 672‑1162                          

TEXT:                           Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Fourth Edition, Curt M. White, Thomson Course Technology, 2007 (ISBN 1-4188-3610-9)

 

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts underlying local and wide area data communications networks and an understanding of the relevant terminology.  It includes an overview of transmission media, data communications protocols, and network configurations, a description of modulation, error control, multiplexing, and switching techniques, and a discussion of current data communications technologies, services, standards, and regulations. In addition, students are to complete a project focusing on some topic from the field of data communications.

 

 

·         To understand data communications technology and concepts.

·         To have the knowledge to participate in and contribute to discussions about data communications with co-workers, consultants, and vendors.

·         To have the ability to evaluate existing data communications technologies.

·         To have the skills needed to analyze future data communications technologies and assess their usefulness in meeting current and future business needs.

·         To have an awareness of the implications of telecommunications regulations and standards.

·         To have the communication skills needed to write clearly and give effective presentations.

·         To be competent in problem solving.

·         To have the ability to work effectively in project teams, as a participant, presenter, and leader.

 

 

Personal data form	1 points
3 homework assignments @ 2 pts each	6 points
3 exams @ 20 pts each	60 points
2 guest lecture forms @ 2 pts each	4 points
Project status report	2 points
Project report	15 points
Project presentation	10 points
Project presentation form	2 points
Total	100 points

 

On their respective due dates, the homework assignments are to be completed before midnight and all other course assignments are to be turned in during class. No assignment will be accepted for credit after its deadline.

 

If you have questions concerning a grade you receive on any course assignment, it is your responsibility to inform me within 1 week of the graded assignment being returned. Grades will not be discussed after that time.

 

After rounding your numeric score to the nearest integer, your course letter grade will be assigned according to the scale: A = 90-100, B = 80‑89, C = 70‑79, D = 60‑69, and F = 0‑59. 

 

Thu 1/24	Personal Data Form Due
Tue 2/5	Project Topic Due Homework 1 Due
Thu 2/14	Exam 1
Tue 3/4	Project Status Report Due
Tue 3/11	Homework 2 Due
Week of 3/17	Spring Recess
Thu 3/27	Exam 2
Sun 3/30	Last Day to Withdraw
Thu 4/10	Guest Lecture 1+
Tue 4/15	Guest Lecture Form 1 Due+
Tue 4/22	Homework 3 Due
Thu 4/24	Project Report Due Guest Lecture 2+
Tue 4/29	Guest Lecture Form 2 Due+ 4/29 Project Presentation Form Due
Thu 5/1	Exam 3
Tue 5/6 (5:45 pm)	Peer Evaluation Form Due 5/6 Project Presentation Form Due

Access to the course website is through Vista, the course management system for the University. You can log on to Vista by going to http://vista.kent.edu and entering your username and password.

 

Attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended if you wish to do well in the course. You are responsible for all material presented in class and should not expect any special consideration if you miss material due to being absent.

 

You are expected to be respectful of other students and the instructor at all times during the semester! Come to class on time and stay until the class has ended. Unless you have a legitimate reason for doing so, do not come to class late or leave early. Other students wish to be in class and it is not fair to disrupt them by the noise and disturbance of late arrivals and early departures. Any time you have questions ask them, in class, during office hours, or via e-mail. This is likely to benefit you as well as other students in the class. Use of cell phones or pagers is not permitted during class. They must be turned off before class begins and not turned back on until after class ends. Improper classroom behavior will not be tolerated and is grounds for dismissal from the course, resulting in a grade of F.

 

Prerequisites: Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

 

Course registration: Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools/Flashfast) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Friday, January 25, 2008 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Course withdrawal: For Spring 2008, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 30, 2008.   Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access equal access course content.  If you have documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through the Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).

 

In order to provide me with information about your goals for the course, project topics of interest, and relevant background, you are to complete a personal data form available on Vista. Carefully follow all the instructions provided on the form and submit a hard copy.  

 

Prior to each exam there will a homework assignment for which you are to post 6 questions (2 multiple choice, 2 true/false, and 2 fill-in-the blank) to Vista. Each valid multiple choice question will be worth 0.5 points, and each valid true/false or fill-in-the blank question will be worth 0.25 points. For a question to be considered valid, it must address material appropriate for the exam and have exactly one correct answer. Also it must be clear, unambiguous, and original, i.e., it must not have appeared in the course textbook or been written by me or anyone else.

 

 

There will be 3 exams during the semester and their emphasis will be on the material discussed in class.

 

A makeup exam (which may be different from the original) will only be given if you have a legitimate excuse (i.e., sickness, athletic event, religious observation, military responsibility, or death in immediate family), obtain my permission prior to the scheduled exam time, and provide written documentation. Otherwise you will receive a zero for a missed exam.

 

While taking an exam, you may refer to one 1-sided 8 ½ x 11” page of notes which you are to show me when you turn in your exam.  I strongly recommend being very selective in deciding what to include on the page. This should help you to prepare better for the exam and save you time while taking the exam. Except for your page of notes, each exam will be closed book and closed notes.

 

 

You are required to attend both guest lectures and to submit a guest lecture form (available on Vista) for each. Carefully follow all the instructions provided on the form and submit a hard copy.  

 

 

 

Each team of 1 or 2 students is to write a project report on some technology (or legislation/regulation) from the field of data communications and present it in class. The topic you select should be relevant to the course and add new information beyond the material I cover. For ideas on possible project areas, I suggest that you browse through the text, explore the Internet, visit a university library, and/or consult the following list:

 

Active directory (AD)

Broadcast and multicast technologies

Computer telephony integration (CTI)

Data, audio, and video compression

Domain name system (DNS)

Fiber optic networks (Fibre Channel, PONs, SONET, WDM)

Frame relay and MPLS

Internet access technologies (56k modem, ISDN, DSL, cable modem, BPL, satellite, wireless)

Network protocols (TCP/IP, IPv6)

Network security (threats, authentication, encryption, firewalls, IPSec, IDS/IPS)

Regulation and deregulation (AT&T divestiture, telecom legislation)

Routing (algorithms, protocols)

Videoconferencing

Virtual private networks (VPNs)

Voice over IP (VoIP)

Wireless communications (fixed, mobile)

Wireless LANs and PANs (IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth)

Wireless security

 

You have the choice of selecting your team members and project topic or having me assign your project team and topic for you. If you choose the former option, your team must discuss your project with me and obtain my approval of your topic selection by Feb 5. You may do this in person during my office hours, or by phone or e-mail. If you do not obtain my approval by Feb 5, I will assign a team and topic for you. Note that the topics listed above are suggestions only. Your team’s topic does not have to be on the list, nor is it guaranteed that I will approve your selection of a topic that is on the list.

 

 

Each team is to submit, in hard copy format, a project status report which, at a minimum, includes a one paragraph summary of your project, a detailed outline of the subtopics to be addressed in your final report, an indication of the role played by each team member, and an initial bibliography. 

 

The project report should have (1) a cover page, (2) table of contents, (3) executive summary, (4) body (with the pages numbered and at least 5 pages of text per team member), (5) bibliography, and (6) appendix with illustrative figures and tables.

 

At a minimum, the cover page should have (1) the project title, (2) team number, (3) team members’ names, and (4) date. The table of contents should include all major components of the report. The executive summary should be one page long and give a complete summary of the report.

 

The body of the report should have (1) an introduction, (2) a section for each subtopic, and (3) a conclusion. It should also explicitly address each of the following areas as they relate to your topic: (1) background and goals, (2) business applications and implications, (3) options and alternatives, (4) strengths and limitations versus alternatives, and (5) future trends.

 

The bibliography should include a numbered list of all references (with the complete URL for each electronic reference and with the title, author, publisher, and date for each print reference) and each reference should be cited (by its number in square brackets) at the appropriate location(s) in the report. The figures and tables should be numbered systematically and consistently, have captions, and be discussed and referenced at the appropriate locations in the report.

 

For the executive summary and body of the report, use size 12 Times New Roman font, 1.25 inch margins (for all 4 margins), 1.5 line spacing, and left justification (only). Insert 1 blank line after each section heading and after each section and, instead of separating paragraphs with blank lines, start each paragraph with a tab character.

 

While there may be individual grade adjustments based on feedback from the peer evaluation forms, the report will be graded initially according to how well you satisfy the above requirements as well as the following 5 categories: professionalism; breadth; depth; organization/clarity; and effort/new information. The weights assigned to each grading element will be provided in class and also available on Vista.

 

NOTE: All team members are expected to be familiar with the entire report and evidence of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the team.

 

Each team (either some or all members) is to present their project in class at the end of the semester. When giving your presentation, it is not necessary to include all the details in your report. You are strongly encouraged to (1) use PowerPoint, (2) not read the information you present, (3) begin the presentation by introducing your team members and topic and providing an outline of the subtopics to be addressed, (4) include a hands-on demonstration if appropriate, (5) conclude the presentation with a summary of the key findings, and (6) rehearse your presentation to ensure that it fits the allotted time (this will be based on the class size and announced in class approx. 2 weeks before the presentations begin). You may assume that an overhead projector, computer, and computer projector will be provided, although I strongly recommend that you have a backup plan in case of equipment failures. If you wish to use any additional equipment, you should notify me at least one week in advance, schedule a time to test the equipment in the classroom, and coordinate your presentation with the other teams presenting on the same day. 

 

While there may be individual grade adjustments based on feedback from the peer evaluation forms, the presentation will be graded initially according to the following 10 equally weighted categories: professionalism; breadth; depth; organization/clarity; effort/new information; visual aids; enthusiasm/innovation; diction/pace; eye contact; and teamwork/time management.

 

You are required to attend all the project presentations at the end of the semester and to submit a project presentation form (available on Vista) for at least one. On the form enter your name, the date, the presenters’ team number, and the topic being presented. Then complete the form during class making sure that you write legibly and carefully follow all the instructions provided.

 

All team members are expected to contribute equally to creating a high-quality project report and presentation. However, each project team will be self-managed and responsible for determining the roles played by its members, and the nature of the contributions may differ across team members. For example, one team member might be responsible for the introduction and conclusion, as well as proofreading the paper and ensuring that there are smooth transitions between subtopics, while others might be responsible for one or 2 subtopics each. It is up to the team to make these decisions appropriately and all team members should ensure that their contributions are on track and sufficient. 

 

The team project report and project presentation grades will be assigned initially using the grading schemes outlined above. However, I reserve the right to make adjustments to individual grades based on information you are to provide on a peer evaluation form. You are to use this form (available on Vista) to award points that indicate the value of the project contributions of each member of your team and to provide written comments justifying the points you award. Carefully follow all the instructions provided on the form and submit a hard copy.  Failure to complete and submit a peer evaluation form by the specified deadline is likely to result in a negative adjustment to your own project report and presentation grades.

 

 

Weeks of 1/14 & 1/21: Module 1 (Ch. 1-2 & pgs 381-382)

Introduction to course

Analog & digital data & signals

Digital coding schemes (NRZ-L, NRZI, Manchester, differential Manchester, bipolar-AMI, 4B/5B)

Modulation schemes (AM, FM, PM, QAM)

PCM

Spread spectrum

 

Transmission media (twisted-pair, coaxial cable, optical fiber, microwave, satellite)

Telephone system

Private, leased, & switched lines

PBXs & Centrex

Wireless communications (cellular, IR, WAP, LMDS/MMDS, WiMax, Bluetooth, WLANs, UWB)

 

HDX, FDX, & simplex transmission

Modems (56k, ISDN, DSL, cable)

DTE/DCE interface (RS-232, USB, FireWire, SCSI, InfiniBand, Fibre Channel)

Asynchronous, synchronous, & isochronous transmission

Multipoint lines & polling

 

Multiplexing (FDM, TDM, T carrier system, ISDN, SONET/SDH, STDM, WDM, DMT, CDM)

Data compression (lossless, lossy)

Noise (white noise, impulse noise, crosstalk, echoes, jitter, delay distortion, attenuation, dBs)

Error detection (parity, checksum, CRC)

Error correction & flow control (ARQ techniques, Hamming codes, sliding window)

Data codes (EBCDIC, ASCII, Unicode)

 

 

LAN topologies (bus, tree, star, ring)

Ethernet LANs (CSMA/CD, IEEE 802.3 frame format, shared & switched, VLANs, fast & gigabit)

Token ring & FDDI LANs (token-passing, IEEE 802.5 frame format)

Wireless LANs (IEEE 802.11)

Internetworking (repeaters, bridges, switches, routers)

OSI & Internet reference models

Internet protocols & services (IP, TCP, ICMP, UDP, ARP, DHCP, NAT, VPNs, HTTP, DNS,

E-mail, FTP, telnet, IP telephony, SNMP)

IP addressing

IPv6 and Internet2

Circuit & packet (datagram, virtual circuit) switching

Frame relay & ATM (congestion, QoS)

 

 

 

NOTE:  I will make every effort to follow the schedule outlined above and to cover the topics in the order listed. However, depending on the pace of the class, we may cover some topics earlier or later than scheduled.