BAD 64081 Spring 2009 Bakes

BAD 64081-001

DATA COMMUNICATIONS

SPRING 2009

TR 5:30-6:45 PM

A404 BSA

INSTRUCTOR:              Dr. Catherine M. Bakes

OFFICE:                       A-405 BSA

OFFICE HOURS:           MW 2-4 pm, TR 4:45-5:15 pm, and by appointment

OFFICE PHONE:           (330) 672‑1162                          

E-MAIL:                        cbakes@kent.edu

TEXT:                           Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach, Fifth Edition, Curt White, Thomson Course Technology, 2009

                                    (ISBN 13: 978-1-4239-0303-1)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

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, each student is to complete a project focusing on some topic from the field of data communications.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

·         To understand data communications concepts, technology, and terminology.

·         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 data communications regulations and standards.

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

·         To develop analytical skills and be competent in problem solving.

GRADING POLICY

On their respective due dates course assignments requiring hard copy submission are to be turned in during class and those requiring electronic submission are to be completed before midnight. 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. 

IMPORTANT DATES

⁺ The guest lecture (GL) dates and GL form due dates are subject to change and will be announced in class once they have been confirmed. Each GL form will be due at the beginning of class on its due date.

ATTENDANCE AND CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

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. It is not fair to disrupt other students by the noise and disturbance of late arrivals and early departures. Any time you have questions ask them, either in class, during office hours, or via e-mail. This is likely to benefit you as well as other students in the class. Similarly, any time you have comments, please don’t hesitate to share them. 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.

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES

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 30, 2009 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 2009, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, April 5, 2009.   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).

COURSE WEB SITE

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

PERSONAL DATA FORM

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.  

MODULE PREP EXERCISES

Each module prep exercise will emphasize material from the corresponding course module and consist of multiple choice and other objective questions. It will be available on Vista and graded online.

MODULE REVIEW EXERCISES

For each module review exercise you are to post 3 questions (1 multiple choice and 2 true/false) to Vista. Each valid multiple choice question will be worth 0.25 points, and each valid true/false question will be worth 0.125 points. For a question to be considered valid, it must address material from the corresponding module and have exactly one correct answer. Also it must be clear, unambiguous, and your own original work.

NETWORK TOOLS EXERCISE

A network tools exercise will be announced in class towards the end of the semester.

EXAMINATIONS

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

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.

GUEST LECTURE FORMS

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.  

COURSE PROJECT

Each student is to write a project report on some topic from the field of data communications and present it in class. The project topic must be relevant to the course and add new information beyond the material I cover.  You have the option of selecting your topic or having me assign one for you. If you choose the former option, you must obtain my approval by Feb 12. You may do this in person during office hours, or by phone or e-mail. 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:

Computer telephony integration/Unified communications

Data, audio, and video compression

Directory services and protocols (AD, LDAP)

Domain name system

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

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

Network protocols (TCP/IP, IPv6, MPLS, frame relay)

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

Peer-to-peer file sharing/BitTorrent

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

Radio-frequency identification  

Routing algorithms and protocols

Video communications (HDTV, IPTV, videoconferencing)

Virtual private networks 

Voice over IP

Wireless communications (IEEE 802.11 WLANs, Bluetooth, WiMax, cellular, FMC)

Wireless security

PROJECT STATUS REPORT

Each student is to submit in hard copy format a project status report which, at a minimum, includes (1) a half page summary of what you have already learned about your project topic, (2) a detailed outline of the subtopics to be addressed in your final report, and (3) an initial bibliography.

PROJECT REPORT

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), (5) bibliography, and (6) appendix with illustrative figures and tables.

At a minimum, the cover page should have (1) the project title, (2) your name, and (3) the 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 and concise 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 list of all your references, and each reference should be cited 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 and, instead of separating paragraphs with blank lines, start each paragraph with a tab character.

The report will be graded according to how well you satisfy the above requirements as well as the following 5 criteria: professionalism; breadth; depth; clarity; and effort.

PROJECT PRESENTATION

Each student is to present his/her 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 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 students presenting on the same day. 

The presentation will be graded according to the following 10 equally weighted criteria: breadth; depth; professionalism; pace/diction; eye contact; visual aids, effort; time management; clarity/organization; and enthusiasm/innovation.

PROJECT PRESENTATION FORM(S)

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

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

Weeks of 1/19 & 1/26: Module 1 (Ch. 1-2 & pgs 364-365)

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 & delta modulation

Weeks of 2/2 & 2/9: Module 2 (Ch. 3 & pgs 360-368, 373, & 383-386)

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

Telephone system

Private, leased, & switched lines

PBXs & Centrex

Wireless communications (cellular, IR, WiMax, Bluetooth, WLANs, UWB, ZigBee)

Weeks of 2/16 & 2/23: Module 3 (Ch. 4 & pgs 147 & 365-372)

HDX, FDX, & simplex transmission

Modems (56k, ISDN, DSL, cable)

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

Asynchronous, synchronous, & isochronous transmission

Multipoint lines & polling

Weeks of 3/2 & 3/9: Module 4 (Ch. 5 & pgs 284-297, 305-308, 373-383, & 386-389)

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

Inverse multiplexing

Data compression (lossless, lossy)

Circuit & packet (datagram, virtual circuit) switching

Frame relay & ATM (congestion, QoS)

Weeks of 3/16 & 3/30: Module 5 (Ch. 6 & pgs 42-44, 59-62, & 70-74)

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

Error prevention & detection (parity, checksum, CRC)

Error correction & flow control (stop-and-wait, sliding window, Hamming codes)

Data codes (EBCDIC, ASCII, Unicode)

Weeks of 4/6 & 4/13: Module 6 (Ch. 7 & pgs 155-157, 417-419, & 424)

LAN topologies and access methods (bus, tree, star, ring, CSMA/CD, token-passing)

Ethernet LANs (IEEE 802.3 frame format, shared & switched, VLANs, standards)

Internetworking (repeaters, bridges, switches, routers)

Wireless LANs (IEEE 802.11, spread spectrum, CDMA)

Weeks of 4/20 & 4/27: Module 7 (Ch. 10 & pgs 15-27, 233, 295-297, 304-305, & 455-456)

OSI & Internet reference models

Internet protocols & services (IP, TCP, ICMP, UDP, MPLS, ARP, DHCP, NAT, VPNs, HTTP, DNS, E-mail, FTP, telnet, VoIP, RTP, RTSP, SNMP, OSPF)

IP addressing, IPv6, and Internet2

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.