Computer Networks - TDC 463 - Autumn 1999

CSTC Room 224 Mondays 5:45 - 9:00 p.m.

Course Homepage: http://condor.depaul.edu/~jkristof/1999Aut463/
Online Discussion Forum: http://condor.depaul.edu/~jkristof/1999Aut463/1999Aut463-HyperNews.html

Office
Instructor: John Kristoff (jtk@depaul.edu)
243 S. Wabash Avenue, Room 714 (enter via Networks Room 711)
(312) 362-5878 voice
(312) 362-8274 fax
Hours: Tuesdays, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. and by appointment

Grading

• 30% Homework


Three homework assignments for 10% each. Homework must be done individually and not in groups. Homework assignments are used to solidfy concepts and your understanding of "how things work". They will generally take about one to three hours of your time. Assignments will come from the text, lectures and external sources.

TURN IN HOMEWORK BY THE START OF THE FOLLOWING CLASS TO RECEIVE CREDIT. Submission by e-mail is OK. However, be sure formatting is readable and that I receive it by the start of class or you will receive an incomplete. Homework assignments will be assigned at class time and also posted to the HyperNews groups. General questions on homework can be asked in the HyperNews group. Homework answers will be covered in class and posted to the HyperNews group.


• 30% Mid-term Exam


One Mid-term exam which makes up for 30% of your total grade will cover all topics we have discussed in class, homework assignments and reading material up to that point in the course. You will have the entire class time to finish the exam, but you will probably not need it. A sample exam will be available a week prior so you have an idea of what to expect. You will not do well on the exam if you either don't come to the lectures, fail to complete the reading assignments or blow off the homework assignments. I will try to make myself readily available the week prior to the exam for questions and discussion. Check the HyperNews group for any common questions, tips and clarifications to covered material which may be relevant to the exam.

Mid-term exam IS CLOSED BOOK AND NOTES.


• 30% Final Project


See the Final Project section of this web page for more information about the details on what is required by the last day of class. During the class, you must provide a project topic, project outline and a rough draft (see schedule below). Failure to do so will lower your Final Project grade by 10% or more. I will be looking for your progress during the quarter. Projects done entirely the "night before" will be obvious and will receive a lower grade. Projects done in groups will be graded as a group. It is up to the group members that everyone pull their weight appropriately. In addition, you should make every attempt to ensure anything that you write or present is of appropriate professional quality. Basic spelling/grammatical errors or low quality diagrams will not help your grade. Be sure to cite your references completely!


• 10% Attendance/Participation


Although I don't expect everyone to be able to sit at the front of the class and constantly ask questions and provide feedback at every lecture, everyone should always attend class (except in the case of family/work emergencies), participate when called upon to do so and be attentive in the classroom. I encourage class discussion and questions either in the classroom or online. If you fail to come to class, sleep in class or generally avoid interaction you will lose 10% off your final grade.

Textbook(s)

Required
Computer Networks by Andrew Tanenbaum
ISBN: 0-13-349945-6
Author homepage: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ast/

Recommended
Internetworking with TCP/IP: Volume 1 Principles, Protocols and Architecture by Douglas E. Comer
ISBN: 0-13-216987-8
Author homepage: http://www.cs.purdue.edu/people/comer

Computer Networks and Internets by Douglas E. Comer
ISBN: 0-13-083617-6
Author homepage: http://www.cs.purdue.edu/people/comer

Computer Networks by Larry L. Peterson and Bruce S. Davie
ISBN: 1-55860-368-9
Authors homepages: http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~llp/ and http://www.mkp.com/books_catalog/cn/bd/home.htm

Data and Computer Communications by William Stallings
ISBN: 0-13-084370-9
Author homepage: http://www.shore.net/~ws/

Interconnections, Second Edition: Bridges, Routers, Switches and Internetworking Protocols by Radia Perlman
ISBN: 0-201-63448-1
Authors homepage: http://cseng.aw.com/bookdetail.qry?ISBN=0-201-63448-1&ptype=0

An Engineering Approach to Computer Networking by S. Keshav
ISBN: 0-201-63442-2
Author's homepage: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/skeshav/

Schedule

Homework

• Homework Set #1 with answers Assigned September 13, 1999, due September 20, 1999
• Homework Set #2 with answers Assigned September 27, 1999, due October 4, 1999
• Homework Set #3 with answers Assigned November 1, 1999, due November 8, 1999

Class Notes

Lecture notes will be posted here as they become available. This will typically be within one day after each class. These notes are my personal notes for the lectures. They are very "rough". They typically contain quite a bit of detail, but they should not be used in place of the notes you would take in class. If you do, you'll be sure to miss something.


• September 13, 1999 Lecture Notes #1

Addendum to Lecture #1 Numbering Systems and Code Sets

• September 20, 1999 Lecture Notes #2


• September 27, 1999 Lecture Notes #3


• October 4, 1999 Lecture Notes #4


• October 11, 1999 Lecture Notes #5


• October 18, 1999 Lecture Notes #6

Addendum to Lecture #6 Mobile IP

• November 1, 1999 Lecture Notes #7


• November 8, 1999 Lecture Notes #8

Addendum to Lecture #8 Northwestern ATM Presentation by Laura Grill in Microsoft PowerPoint format

• November 15, 1999 Lecture Notes #9

Midterm

• Midterm Study Guide - Topic outline and sample questions


• Midterm Exam - With most answers and scoring system

Project

A Final Project on a topic of your choice will be either in a report, a presentation or a combination of the two. The topic must be on something we have covered in class or related to computer networks with instructor approval. Projects can be done in groups of three or less people. You must receive approval for your topic by the 5th class.

You will be graded primarily on your ability to coordinate material, presenting a thorough investigation of your topic. A good approach is often to compare and contrast particular technologies or services. Try to choose topics which stress networking technology we have covered in class. Expect to write about 10 pages per person or to present for about 20-30 minutes per project. Some example topics include:


• What's New with Gigabit Ethernet
• Multicast Routing Protocols
• Quality of Service in the Internet
• Future Internet Backbone Strategies
• Implementing Integrated Services on a IP Network
• The Architecture of NetWare Protocols
• The Activities of the IEEE (or IETF)
• Security Threats in a Windows Network Environment
• Choosing a Wide Area Network Technology
• How Programmers Can Make Networks Operate More Efficiently
• History of Computer Networks
• Virtual Private Networking

You should find and read magazines, books, web sites and interview people related to your topic. Here are some resources you may find valuable.


• IEEE Spectrum http://www.institute.ieee.org/
• IEEE Communications Magazine http://www.comsoc.org/pubs/commag/
• IEEE Network Magazine http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/techcom/ntwrk/
• IETF RFCs, Internet-Drafts and mailing lists http://www.ietf.org
• Communications of the ACM http://www.acm.org/cacm/
• Business Week http://www.businessweek.com
• Network Magazine http://www.networkmagazine.com
• Data Communications http://www.data.com
• Cisco IP Protocol Journal http://www.cisco.com/ipj/
• Computer Emergency Response Team http://www.cert.org
• North American Network Operators Group http://www.nanog.org
• Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Web Site http://wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/ethernet/

Project List

Note: Microsoft Word documents were reviewed in Microsoft Word 97 format. Comments are embedded with "tracking changes" feature.

Name/Team	Topic	Paper	Presentation
Thomas Koshy	The Intergration of SS7 and IP Networks
Jorge Flores	History of Computer Networks
Xiangshun Ma, Yongming Zhang	What's New in Gigabit Ethernet
Kuanjing Wang	Future Internet Backbone Strategies
Cynthia Anderson	History of the Internet
Dave Sklodowski
Hao Ru	Security Threats in a Windows Network Environment
Somalraju Anand Kiran	Third Genernation Wireless GSM Technology
Yong Wang	ATM Networks
Juan Hyun	E-Commerce Security
Doug Wisniewski	Mobile IP
Wetong Wang	Quality of Service in the Internet
Yi-Wen Su	High Speed LAN
Nor Alena Rohani	Routing Protocols used in TCP/IP
Tom Ponne	Multicast Routing Protocols
Ryan Carpenter	Issues in Network Security
Alexandra Fridman	SNMP
Afzaal Qaiser	Wireless LANs
Teri Lynn Chesek	Voice Over IP
Tawee Pimsarn	Video Conferencing Standards and Applications
Vivien Sutiono	Network Design
Yuhong Guo	LDAP
Pravin Adhikari	Performance of Ethernet
Mark Wenz	Circuit verus Packet Switching
Bill Eaheart	Proxy Servers
Lance Lim	Network Security and Vulnerabilities
Hao Liu	Architecture of NetWare Protocols
Xifan Yu	ATM Theory and Applications
Richard Dyman	DNS
Matt Segvich	Network Programming in a Wireless Environment
Joe Felicicchia	The Role of Encryption in Network Security
Patrick Duffner	Virtual Private Networks
Omar Hamadache	Gigabit Ethernet
Swaninathan Panch	Wireless Communications

Goto John Kristoff's Home Page

Last updated: January 6, 2000