Table of Contents
Course Outline: Communication Networks
Overview
The infrastructure of communication networks is undergoing dramatic change under the pressure from the new services and enabled by technology innovation. Many of these new services and applications are quite familiar to you: e-mail, web surfing, video streaming, and voice-over-IP,…
The purpose of the course is to provide an introduction to fundamental network architecture concepts and their application in existing and emerging networks. For this purpose, we use a bottom-up approach. In this approach you will learn first about data communications (lower layers) before learning about networking (upper layers). For example, you can learn about signals, encoding, modulation, and error detection before learning about data transfer across the Internet. Our view is that you will be best prepared for a future of constant change through exposure to network design alternatives.
Prerequisites
The departmental prerequisites for this course are general pre-requisites. The course is designed for students with little or no background in telecommunications or data communications. I assume you have a general knowledge of computer systems, elementary probability and elementary calculus.
Topics (tentative)
| Week | Dates | Lecture | Quiz | Lab |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 4, 6 | Message, Circuit, Packet Switching LANs, WANs | ||
| 2 | Jan 11, 13 | Applications and Layered Architectures | ||
| 3 | Jan 18, 20 | Digital vs. Analog Communications/ Digital Transmission Fundamentals | Quiz 1 | |
| 4 | Jan 25, 27 | Fundamental Limits in Digital Transmission: Channel Capacity, Nyquist and Shannon Theorems | ||
| 5 | Feb 1, 3 | Line Coding (RZ, NRZ, Bipolar, Manchester)/ Digital Modulation (ASK, PSK, FSK) | ||
| 6 | Feb 8, 10 | Properties of Media and Digital Transmission Systems/Error Detection and Correction | Quiz 2 | |
| Feb 15, 17 | READING WEEK | No class | ||
| 7 | Feb 22, 24 | Error Detection and Correction | ||
| 8 | Mar 1, 3 | Midterm/ Flow and Error Control | Lab 1 | |
| 9 | Mar 8, 10 | Medium Access Control (Aloha, CSMA, Scheduling) | ||
| 10 | Mar 15, 17 | LAN Protocols (Ethernet, Token Ring, Wireless LANs) | Lab 2 | |
| 11 | Mar 22, 24 | Connecting LANs | Quiz 3 | |
| 12 | Mar 29, 31 | Network Layer and IP Protocol (time permitting) | Quiz 4 | Lab 3 |
| 13 | Apr 5 | Final Exam Preparation (Tutorial) |
Quizzes will be held during class periods.