Faculty Contact Information:
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Consultation:
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Required Texts and Readings:
| White, C. (2004). Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach (3rd ed.). Boston: Thompson Course Technology. | |
Supplementary Readings:
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The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author. All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
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Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line. | |
Course Description:
| 3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, or permission of the Program Director. Provides analysis of data communications technology and its application within the public and private sector enterprise. Gives an in-depth view of the communications environment, data communications and telecommunications equipment, and local and wide area networks. The student is involved in case studies of communications systems design in educational, industrial, governmental, and military environments. | |
Course Goals:
Upon completion of the course, participants should:
1. Understand the different network topologies, and their advantages and disadvantages.
2. Understand issues involved in network security and data integrity.
3. Understand the strengths and limitations of the Internet.
4. Discuss the roles of IT professionals in network design and maintenance.
5. Be able to research current topics in networking. | |
Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Discuss the evolution of networks and the Internet
2. Explain the hierarchical, layered structure of a typical network architecture
3. Describe emerging network technologies and assess their capabilities, limitations, and near-term potential
4. Discuss important network standards in their historical context
5. Describe the responsibilities of the layers of the ISO reference model
6. Explain how a network can detect and correct transmission errors
7. Illustrate how a packet is routed over the Internet
8. Discuss the fundamental ideas of public-key cryptography
9. Summarize common authentication protocols
10. Summarize the capabilities and limitations of the means of cryptography that are currently available
11. Explain the different roles and responsibilities of clients and servers for a range of possible applications. | |
Grading Information:
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Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 92%
B 80 – 91%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/grad_05-06.pdf.
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Course Requirements:
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Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
10% - Participate in classroom discussions
30% - Complete graduate level projects or programming assignments, write graduate level papers or case studies
20% - Orally/visually present prepared material
40% - Complete one or more written examination(s) | |
Description of Course Requirements:
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Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Complete graduate level projects or programming assignments, write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.
Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam. | |
Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
All chapter references are to the course text.
SESSION 1: Introduction and Course Overview; Computer Networks and Data Communications
- Introductions
- Review of Syllabus
- Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
- Orientation to the subject
- Computer Networks-Basic Configurations
- Network Architectures
- TCP/IP
White Chapter 1
SESSION 2: Fundamentals of Data and Signals
- Data and Signals
- From Data into Signals
- Data Codes
White Chapter 2
SESSION 3:Conducted and Wireless Media
- Conducted Media
- Wireless Media
- Media Selection Criteria
White Chapter 3
SESSION 4: Making Connections
- Dial-up Modems
- Alternatives to Dial-up Modems
- Interfacing a Computer to Modems
- High Speed Interface Protocols
- Data link Connections
White Chapter 4
SESSION 5: Multiplexing
- Frequency Division Multiplexing
- Time Division Multiplexing
- Other types of Multiplexing
White Chapter 5
SESSION 6: Errors, Error Detection and Error Control
- Noise and Errors
- Error Prevention
- Error Detection and Control
White Chapter 6
SESSION 7: Local Area Networks: Basics
- Primary Function
- Basic Local Area Network Topologies
- IEEE 802
- Local Area Network Systems
White Chapter 7
SESSION 8: Mid Term Examination
SESSION 9: Local Area Networks: Internetworking
- Justification
- Hubs, Bridges, Switches and Routers
White Chapter 8
SESSION 10: Local Area Networks: Software and Support Systems
- Network Operating Systems
- Network Servers
- Network Support Software
White Chapter 9
SESSION 11: Introduction to Metropolitan Area Networks and Wide Area Networks
- MAN Basics
- WAN Basics
- Routing
- Network Congestion
White Chapter 10
SESSION 12: The Internet
- Internet Protocols
- The World Wide Web
- Internet Services
- The Internet and Business
White Chapter 11
SESSION 13: Telecommunication Systems
- The Basic Telephone System, past and present
- Integrated Services Digital Network
- Frame Relay
- Asynchronous Transfer Mode
- Digital Subscriber Line
White Chapter 12
SESSION 14: Network Security
- Standard System Attacks
- Controlling Access
- Securing Data, including encryption
- Securing Communications
White Chapter 13
SESSION 15: Final Examination
SESSION 16: Presentation of Projects
- Course Evaluations
- Network Design and Management
- Network Modeling
- Network Administrator Skills
White Chapter 14
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Academic Policies:
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The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
Code of Civility
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
| Joe has been teaching UMUC since 1985 and With Bowie State since 2003. | |