CS73 - Networks and Networking ------------------------------ Spring Semester, 1999 Charlie Peck email: charliep Dennis 202B, x1667 General ------- Regular class sessions will meet Monday and Thursday from 1pm until 2:20pm. This course covers a lot of material, some of it very detailed in nature. There will almost always be a reading assignment from one of the two texts. Periodically these will be augmented with journal articles, RFCs, and the like. The textbooks for the course are: Data and Computer Communications, 5th Edition, William Stallings TCP/IP Network Administration, 2nd Edition, Craig Hunt This class will (hopefully) have more structure in terms of assignments and projects than others I have taught in the past. I'm experimenting with this and I'd appreciate any feedback you might have about this change. There will be a listserv for the class, cs73@cs.earlham.edu. I'll let you know when it's setup so you can subscribe. What the Course Covers ---------------------- This course provides a basic understanding of computer networks and networking. Topics that we'll cover include: data communication concepts communications switching and routing network topologies network protocols network configuration and management client-server applications TCP/IP is the most widely used network protocol suite available today (it's the basis for the Internet) and it will likely remain influential for the forseeable future. As such we will use it as the basis for most of our study. Exercises --------- These will come from the texts plus additional ones that I'll provide. They're due once every two weeks (roughly.) All exercises are to be done independently. 1. Assigned Jan 18, due Jan 28. 2. Assigned Feb 1, due Feb 11. 3. Assigned Feb 15, due Feb 25. 4. Assigned Mar 1, due Mar 11. 5. Assigned Mar 22, due Apr 1. 6. Assigned Apr 5, due Apr 15. 7. Assigned Apr 19, due Apr 29. I will announce the particulars of each exercise on the day it's assigned. Projects -------- These will be laboratory and programming projects designed to give you an opportunity to apply what you are learning and to research some of the more technical material. They're due once every four weeks (roughly.) All projects are to be done independently. 1. Assigned Jan 25, due Feb 18. 2. Assigned Feb 22, due Mar 25. 3. Assigned Mar 29, due Mar 22. I will announce the particulars of each project on the day it's assigned. Grading ------- Exercises and projects are due in class on the date specified. I will accept late assignments but will mark them down one full letter grade for each day they are late. Most of the exam questions will follow directly from the exercises and the projects. It will be difficult to do well on the final without keeping-up with the homework during the semester. Someone asked me recently to define participation in the context of grading for a class. To me it's showing-up to class having done the reading and then engaging the material, your fellow students, and myself, in the enterprise of learning. Exercises 25% Projects 25% Final Exam 25% Participation 25% Other ----- Sometime during the semester we'll take a tour of infocom's and GTE's facilities here in Richmond. This will be done out of class time so we will have to coordinate with our own schedules and theirs. This class should be a bunch of fun. The material is extremely relevant and interesting and the applications myriad.