BAD 64081 Spring 2011 Bakes

BAD 64081-001

DATA COMMUNICATIONS

SPRING 2011

TUESDAY 6:15-8:55 PM

205 BSA

INSTRUCTOR:              Dr. Catherine M. Bakes

OFFICE:                       A-405 BSA

OFFICE HOURS:           Wed 1:15-4:15 pm, Thurs 3:30-5:30 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, Sixth Edition, Curt M. White, Course Technology Cengage Learning, 2011 (ISBN-10:0538452617 or ISBN-13:9780538452618)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts underlying local and wide area networks, their applications, 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.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

·         To understand data communications concepts, technology, applications, 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 strong analytical and problem solving skills.

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 11 pm. 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 start of class 1 week after that guest lecture.

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://vista8.kent.edu and entering your username and password.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

Each homework assignment will emphasize material from the corresponding course module and consist of 10 objective questions. It will be available on Vista for at least 5 days and graded online. You will be allowed 3 attempts until the deadline, and your final attempt will count towards your course grade.

EXAMINATIONS

The exams will emphasize the material discussed in class.  Each exam will be approximately 1 hour long and will probably be given at the end of a class period.

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.  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.

COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING EXERCISES

The textbook author has posted 10 sets of interactive computer-based training exercises on his web site at http://facweb.cti.depaul.edu/cwhite/books.htm. At appropriate times throughout the semester you are to complete 9 sets of these exercises, in a series of 4 batches totaling 48 questions, and submit your answers online using Vista. For each batch you will be allowed 3 attempts until the deadline, and your final attempt will count towards your course grade. Each correctly answered question will be worth 0.1 points and, if you answer all 48 questions correctly, you will receive a bonus of 0.2 points.

GUEST LECTURES

You are required to attend both guest lectures and to submit a guest lecture form for each. Download the form from Vista, carefully follow all the instructions provided, and submit a hard copy at the start of class on the relevant due date.  

NETWORK TOOLS EXERCISE

A network tools exercise will be announced in class towards the end of the semester, and a stapled hard copy of the output is to be submitted at the start of class on the due date.

COURSE PROJECT

Each “team” of 1 to 3 students is to write a project report on some topic from the field of data communications and present it in class. I will assign you to a team, and then the team will have the option of selecting its topic (which must be relevant to the course and add new information beyond the material I cover) or having me assign one for you. If you choose the former option, you must obtain my approval by the project topic due date. You may do this during office hours or by e-mail. If you do not obtain my approval of a topic by the due date, I will assign one for you.

For ideas on possible project areas, I suggest that you browse through the text, explore the Internet, visit a library, and/or consult the following list:

Computer telephony integration/Unified communications

Data, audio, and video compression

Directory services and protocols 

Domain name system

Fiber optic networks (PONs, SONET, WDM)

Messaging and collaboration tools

Network protocols 

Network security

Radio-frequency identification  

Routing algorithms and protocols

Telecom regulation and deregulation (telecom legislation, net neutrality)

Video communications (IPTV, videoconferencing)

Virtual private networks 

Virtualization

Voice over IP

Wireless communications (WLANs, Bluetooth, WiMax, cellular)

Wireless sensor networks

Note that your topic does not have to be on this list, nor is it guaranteed that I will approve a topic that is on the list.

PROJECT OUTLINE

Each team is to prepare a project outline and submit a hard copy. The outline should be at least 1 page long and provide a detailed list, in bulleted format, of the topics and subtopics to be addressed in your project. Use size 12 Times New Roman font and 1.5 line spacing. 

PROJECT REPORT

The project report should give a clear, complete, and concise summary of the project. It should have a cover page with (1) the project title, (2) your team number, (3) team members’ names, and (4) the date. The body of the report should have separate sections to address all of the following items as they relate to your topic:

(1)   Background and overview (e.g., what it is, what it does, and how)

(2)   Available options

(3)   Strengths and limitations versus alternatives

(4)   Business applications

(5)   Future trends and conclusion  

Also provide an appendix with illustrative figures and tables that are numbered systematically, have captions, and are discussed and referenced at appropriate locations in the body of the report.

Except for the cover page, use size 12 Times New Roman font, 1.25 inch margins (for all 4 margins), 1.5 line spacing, and left justification (only). Also make sure the pages are numbered.

PROJECT PRESENTATION

Each team (including every member) is to present their project in class at the end of the semester. You are strongly encouraged to (1) use PowerPoint, (2) not read the information you present, (3) begin the presentation by introducing your team 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 a computer and projector will be provided, although I strongly recommend that you have a backup plan in case of equipment failures.

PROJECT PRESENTATION FORMS

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 every presentation except your own!  Complete each form during class making sure that you write legibly and follow all the instructions provided.

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 our guest speakers, other students, and the instructor at all times during the semester. It is not fair to others to cause a disruption by the noise and disturbance of a late arrival or early departure. Therefore, unless you have a legitimate reason for doing so, do not come to class late or leave early.

Any time you have questions please ask them, in class, during office hours, or via e-mail. This is likely to benefit other students as well as yourself. Similarly, any time you have relevant comments, please share them.

Use of cell phones or pagers is not permitted during class. They must be turned off before class starts and not turned back on until after class ends.

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES

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

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.   In addition, it is considered to cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  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 2011, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a 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 Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/  for more information on registration procedures).

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 on FlashLine) 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 Sunday, January 23, 2011 to correct the error.  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.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

NOTE:  A tentative class schedule is provided on the following page. I will make every effort to follow this schedule 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 planned. Any schedule changes will be announced in class, or you will be notified by e-mail.

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

Weeks 1 & 2: Module 1 (Ch. 1-2 & pgs 356-364)

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)

Internet access alternatives (56k modem, cable modem, DSL)

Weeks 3 & 4: Module 2 (Ch. 3 & pgs 351-356, 364-365, & 374-377)

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

Telephone system, PBXs & Centrex

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

Weeks 5 & 6: Module 3 (Ch. 5 & pgs 126-128, 276-289, 297-300, 364-374, & 377-380)

Multipoint lines & polling  

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

Inverse multiplexing

Data compression

Circuit & packet (datagram, virtual circuit) switching

Frame relay & ATM (congestion, QoS)

Weeks 7 & 8: Module 4 (Ch. 6 & pgs 42-44, 70-74, 118-119, & 122-126)

HDX, FDX, & simplex transmission

Asynchronous, synchronous, & isochronous transmission

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

Error prevention & detection (parity, checksum, CRC)

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

Weeks 9 to 11: Module 5 (Ch. 7 & pgs 98, 148-150, 316-317, & 409-416)

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 devices (repeaters, switches, routers, firewalls, MPLS)

Wireless LANs (IEEE 802.11)

Weeks 12 to 14: Module 6 (Ch. 10 & pgs 15-27, 225, 287-289, 293-297, 372-375, & 447-448)

IPv4 addressing (classful & CIDR)

OSI & Internet reference models

Internet protocols & services (IPv4, IPv6, TCP, ICMP, UDP, MPLS, ARP, DHCP, NAT, VPNs, HTTP, DNS, E-mail, FTP, telnet, VoIP, RTP, RTSP, SNMP, OSPF, RIP)

Internet2

Weeks 15 & 16: Project presentations