UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

MSIT640 Syllabus

Course Title Data Communications and Networks
Term TERM 3, 2006/2007
Education Center MILDENHALL-GRAD
Faculty Member Carl A Scharpf - cascharpf@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

You can always email me: cascharpf@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Consultation:

I'll be available before and after class, and by appointment.

Required Texts and Readings:

White, C.  Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach (4th ed.). Boston:  Thompson Course Technology.

Supplementary Readings:

The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate MSIT, 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 edi.). Washington DC: Author.

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize theUMUC online 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:

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 IT professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.

Course Description:

The course begins with a study of data communication fundamentals. These include digital and analog signals; modulation; circuit and packet switching; multiple access schemes such as Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA); and telecommunication standards such as the Open System Interconnect (OSI) Model. The course then moves to telecommunications networks with a review of Local Area Networks (LANs) including topologies; contention access methods; and internetworking devices such as bridges, routers and gateways. Also covered are Wide Area Networks (WANs) including the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), wireless networks such as cellular, Personal Communication Systems, and wireless data; the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN); X.25; Frame Relay; and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Finally, the course examines the network convergence issue; that is, one network for data, voice, images, and video.

Course Goals:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should understand and be able to apply knowledge concerning:
  • Underlying fundamentals of data communication.
  • Network topologies and protocols.
  • Telecommunication standards.
  • Hardware and software supporting networks and data communications.
  • Current and emerging issues and trends in networks and communications.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  • Describe fundamental concepts of network architecture and essential functions common to all networks.
  • Identify and delineate transmission systems, new access network technologies, and different types of networks.
  • Define, evaluate, and compare major technological and scientific developments in network systems.
  • Compare and assess methods in network management and network security.
  • Apply concepts and techniques to specific network environments.
  • Evaluate trends in network technology and their impact on the future of network development.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:

A....90% +
B....80 – 89%
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/.

Course Requirements:

Final grades will be calculated as follows:

Midterm examination....30%
Final examination......30%
Research project.......20%
Assigments.............20%

Description of Course Requirements:

1. Examinations: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam designed to help students improve their understanding of the concepts discussed in the course and apply the concepts to some specific scenarios.

2. Research Project: A research project will give the graduate student an opportunity to bring the information and concepts learned in the course to bear on a topic of concern. The research is documented in the form of an analytic research paper, which includes a review of the recent literature of a topic approved by the professor. The research project should review the literature, distill the primary issues, discuss the various possible solutions to the issues raised, identify "trends," and formulate a position. Additionally, each student will present his or her project in front of the class.

3. Assignments: Students will be given weekly asssignments that will consist of written answers to chapter questions, research of networking technologies, or hands-on networking tasks.

4. Participation: Students are expected to prepare for each class meeting and participate in the discussion.

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: Jan 20 (Morning)

Introduction and Course Overview
  • Introductions
  • Review of Syllabus
  • Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
  • Orientation to the subject

Chapter 1: Computer Networks and Data Communications

  • Communications Networks-Basic Connections
  • Network Architectures
  • TCP/IP

SESSION 2: Jan 20 (afternoon)

Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Data and Signals

  • Data and Signals
  • From Data into Signals
  • Data Codes

SESSION 3: Jan 21 (morning)

Chapter 3: Conducted and Wireless Media

  • Conducted Media
  • Wireless Media
  • Media Selection Criteria

SESSION 4: Jan 21 (afternoon)

Chapter 4: Making Connections

  • Dial-up Modems
  • Alternatives to Dial-up Modems
  • Interfacing a Computer to Modems
  • High Speed Interface Protocols
  • Data link Connections

SESSION 5: Feb 3 (morning)

Chapter 5: Multiplexing

  • Frequency Division Multiplexing
  • Time Division Multiplexing
  • Other types of Multiplexing

SESSION 6: Feb 3 (afternoon)

Chapter 6: Errors, Error Detection and Error Control

  • Noise and Errors
  • Error Prevention
  • Error Detection and Control

SESSION 7: Feb 4 (morning)

Chapter 7: Local Area Networks: Basics

  • Primary Function
  • Basic Local Area Network Topologies
  • IEEE 802
  • Local Area Network Systems

SESSION 8: Feb 4 (afternoon)

Mid Term Examination

SESSION 9: Feb 17 (morning)

Chapter 8: LANs: Internetworking

  • Justification
  • Hubs, Bridges, Switches and Routers

SESSION 10: Feb 17 (afternoon)

Chapter 9: LANs: Software and Support Systems

  • Network Operating Systems
  • Network Servers
  • Network Support Software

SESSION 11: Feb 18 (morning)

Chapter 10: Introduction to Wide Area Networks

  • MAN Basics
  • WAN Basics
  • Routing
  • Network Congestion

SESSION 12: Feb 18 (afternoon)

Chapter 11: The Internet

  • Internet Protocols
  • The World Wide Web
  • Internet Services
  • The Internet and Business

SESSION 13: March 3 (morning)

Chapter 12: Telecommunication Systems

  • The Basic Telephone System, past and present
  • Integrated Services Digital Network
  • Frame Relay
  • Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • Digital Subscriber Line

SESSION 14: March 3 (afternoon)

Chapter 13: Network Security

  • Standard System Attacks
  • Controlling Access
  • Securing Data, including Encryption
  • Securing Communications

SESSION 15: March 4 (morning)

Final Examination

SESSION 16: March 4 (afternoon)

Presentation of Projects

Chapter 14: Network Design and Management

  • Network Modeling
  • Network Administrator Skills

Academic Policies:

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.

Students with disabilities should contact the appropriate support office at UMUC-Europe. 

Jan Keller, Director of Student Services

UMUC-Europe, Heidelberg

Phone:  +49-6221-378299

Email:  edstudent_svc@ed.umuc.edu

Mailing Address:  Unit 29216, APO AE 09102 OR Im Bosseldorn 30, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany

Please refer 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
Code of Civility

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:

Hi Everybody. My name is Carl Scharpf. I was born a long time ago in a place far, far away. I received my M.S. from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1987 where I specialized in speech synthesis and recognition (making computers talk and understand speech). However, I never worked in the field of talking computers. Instead, I worked for ten years managing computer facilities and teaching at USC.

After working at USC, I did a lot of traveling and then did some time at Microsoft. I worked on a Software Development Kit (SDK) that helps UNIX-based programmers port their programs over to Microsoft Windows. For the past five years, I have taught computer studies for the University of Maryland.

And, I almost forgot...I am certified to teach basketball in England from the primary school level all the way through 6th Form.


Last updated by Carl A Scharpf: December 7, 2006, 8:09 pm
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule