COSC 450 - Computer Networks

Spring 2009

Dr. Donald Simon
Office / Phone: 416 College Hall / (412) 396-6472
Office Hours: TBA
E-mail address: simon@mathcs.duq.edu

Text: TCP/IP Protocol Suite, 3rd Edition by Behrouz A. Forouzan

In addition there will be other reading assignments posted to the class web page.

Course Objectives: We will examine networks from the bottom up - starting with the physical connections between computers, all the way to high-level, networked applications. We will study network models and standards actual network protocols including LANs, WANs, MANs, the Internet, and ATM networks. Social issues such as privacy and security and, in general, how strong networking will affect common institutions such as schools and libraries.

Students will learn how to design networks including what physical devices to use and appropriate protocols to apply. They will also be able to write their own network protocols in either C++ or Java and understand basic network security including the use of encryption and compression.

Attendance at classes is highly recommended, but not mandatory. Students should be prepared to discuss their readings in class.

There will be a group project which will involve either researching protocols and algorithms other than those discussed in class, or designing a new protocol or network use. Groups of up to 3 students may work together. Each group will give a 20 minute presentation in class.

The mid-term and final will be written examinations consisting of mostly short answer questions with some word problems and one or two essay questions.

Grading Scale:
100-90 = A, 89-80 = B, 79-70 = C, 69-60 = D, below 60 = F.

Plus/minus grading will not be used.

Honor Policy: Students in this class fall under the mandate of the College of Liberal Arts plagiarism policy. Any student guilty of plagiarism will receive a grade of ``F'' for the course and will be reported to the Student Committee. Work done in this course is to be by the individual, not a group. You may not share (copy, give, show) your homework with other students in the course. Any code not your own that is included in your programs must be properly cited. This includes code from the book and that given by the professor. Submitted programs may include the code that was not written by you, from the book, nor given out by the professor only with specific permission by the professor for that assigmnent.

Late assignments: Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will lose 10% per day that they are late. Weekends count as one day.

Students with Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations if needed. If you need accommodations, please contact the Office of Freshman Development and Special Student Services in 309 Duquesne Union (412-396-6657) as soon as possible. Accommodations will not be granted retrospectively.

Tentative Schedule:

346

	Date	Topic(s)	Required Readings
1.	1/8	Introduction
2.	1/13	History, Protocol Suites	1-41
3.	1/15	Physical Layers	43-80, Supplemental Reading
4.	1/20	Classless Addressing	81-113, Homework #1
5.	1/22	Classful Addressing	115-130
6.	1/27	Routing	131-157
7.	1/29	ARP, IP	159-210
8.	2/3	ICMP, IGMP	211-254
9.	2/5	UDP	255-274, Java Programs
10.	2/10	TCP	275-312, Homework #2
11.	2/12	TCP, contd.	313-344, Supplemental Reading
12.	2/17	SCTP	345-384
13.	2/19	Routing Protocols	385-456, Supplemental Reading
14.	2/24	Midterm
15.	2/26	Network Services	457-497
16.	3/10	Telnet, FTP	499-545 Homework #3
17.	3/12	SSH	Supplemental Reading Reading 2
18.	3/17	E-mail	547-573
19.	3/19	Network Management	575-597
20.	3/24	HTTP, WWW	599-620
21.	3/26	ATM	621-635, Supplemental Reading
22.	3/31	Wireless	637-649, Supplemental Reading 1 SR 2 SR 3
23.	4/2	Multimedia	651-678
24.	4/17	Security	727-770, Supplemental Reading IPsec
25.	4/16	IPv6	689-725
26.	4/21	Encryption, Compression	Supplemental Reading
27.	4/23	Project Reports
28.	4/28	Project Reports
	5/6	Final, 11:00-1:00