Fall Semester, 2004
Charlie Peck
email: charliep at cs dot earlham dot edu
office: Dennis 202, x1667
URL:
http://cs.earlham.edu/~charliep/courses/networks-networking
class list: cs410 at cs dot earlham dot edu
This course provides a basic understanding of computer networks and networking protocols from a variety of perspectives. It covers a wide breadth of material, some of it in depth and some of it in overview format. Major topics that we'll cover include:
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 when the examination of a particular protocol is appropriate.
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 be a steady amount of reading, exercises, and projects throughout the semester.
This course is based on a variety of learning modalities: lecture, discussion, exercises, software projects, and library research among them. My hope is that this breadth of approaches will make it easier for you to grasp the big-picture; reliable, secure, communication in an increasingly digital world.
I will be off-campus for a week at SuperComputing 2004 during early November. A good friend of mine, and occasional teacher of CS classes at Earlham, Ray Ontko (EC '84), will be guest lecturing that week.
Sometime during the semester I'm hoping to arrange one or two tours of telco and networking facilities in the area. This may be done out of class time which will necessitate a bunch of schedule coordination.
The only explicit prerequisite for networks and networking is principles of computer organization (CS320). This implies advanced programming (CS256) and algorithms and data structures (CS310). If you haven't taken any of these courses please see me at the end of class on the first day.
There are two required textbooks for this course:
It's always worth checking the errata for any textbook you use.
Most of the reading assignments will come from the two textbooks. Additionally there will be a few journal articles and RFCs which I will assign. There will be a reading assignment due each week during the semester.
Exercises will come from the textbooks plus additional ones which I'll provide. They're due roughly once a week. The particulars of each exercise set will be explained in class and posted at assignments.html. There will be a total of about 15 exercise sets during the semester.
This course will use hardware, software, and library projects which are designed to give you an opportunity to apply what you are learning and to research particular aspects of networks and networking more deeply than class time alone would allow. There will be about 4 projects in total. I will announce the particulars of each project when they are assigned.
If you have questions or need to have something explained there are lots of ways to get help. Here are some options, in no particular order:
Email is the best way to reach me, my schedule tends towards the dynamic. If I receive a question that I think the class could benefit from I will strip off any identifying information and submit my response to the class listserv.
Often talking to one of your classmates (particularly ones that are known to show-up to class regularly and stay awake while there) is the fastest way to get something straightened-out.
There will not be any exams for this class. This is part of a conscious effort on my part to "smooth-out" the learning process during the semester and to encourage students to keep-up with the work as we go rather than fading and then cramming before exams.
I expect that you will show-up for every class prepared to engage your fellow students and myself in the enterprise of learning. Among other things this means that you will have completed any reading, exercises, projects, etc. that are due that day. One way I measure this component is by taking attendance at the start of class each day. The other measurement techniques I utilize for this component are more difficult to quantify.
Assignments will be turned-in at the start of class on the day they are due. I will accept any assignment (exercise or project) for partial credit up to one week after the due date. They will be marked down according to how late they are but they will always count for credit. One week or more after the due date for any particular assignment I will not accept it any longer for credit. I am happy to correct work that is older than one week but you won't receive any credit for it.
The breakdown for how your grade will be determined is as follows:
Again, this policy is part of my effort to "smooth-out" the learning process over the entire semester. I'm curious to hear your take on this approach, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think.
Please let me know as early in the semester as possible if there are any adaptations or accommodations you require, if there is any emergency medical information I should know about, or if you might need special arrangements in the case the building needs to be evacuated. The Earlham policy is:
It is important to follow this procedure.
Often you will find it useful to discuss specific problems, techniques, etc. with tutors and fellow students. The sharing of ideas is a helpful and normal part of learning, and is encouraged. In particular one of the best ways to really learn something is to teach it to other people.
However, any assignment that you turn in should be entirely your own work. It is not acceptable to ask a tutor or fellow student how to do a problem or project, and then turn in a close paraphrase or transcription of their response. Instead, you should use other problems to aid in learning specific techniques and then apply your new knowledge to the original problem.
See the Academic Integrity Policy in the Academic Handbook for the official Earlham College policy, http://www.earlham.edu/curriculumguide/academics/integrity.html
One key to a good grade in this course will be consistently doing the work. Unlike some other courses catching-up will be difficult given a) the breadth of material we will be covering, b) the late work policy (one week maximum for any item), and c) there are no exams.
This four part mantra captures the essence of doing well in most things in life including this class:
The first three can be summed-up as actively participate, or dive-in, as the case may be. The fourth ought to be a given, IMHO.
While writing this I consulted a variety of materials, including syllabi and course materials from Jennifer Ziebarth, Chris Hardie, Josh Hursey, Peter Suber, Jim Rogers, and Ray Ontko. Thanks for your (inadvertent) help.