CS/ECpE 5516 - Communication Networks

http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs5516

Spring 1998

Syllabus 

Personnel:

Instructor: M. Abrams, 508 McB Hall, Computer Science Department, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0106, 540-231-8457, abrams@vt.edu
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday 4-5:30 p.m.

GTAs:
 

Course Description:

This course covers basic principles of communication networks.  The material is presented in the context of the seven layer International Standards Organization Open Systems Interconnection reference model.  The course will concentrate on the data link, network, and transport layers.  The course will balance theory and practice.  The Bertsekas/Gallager text is used for theory that transcends the current state of the art, ad papers are used for specific information on protocols covered in the course. Particular emphasis is given to the Internet protocol suite, the IEEE 802.x protocols, and to ATM.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to
  1. Explain the ISO Reference Model, the purpose of each layer, and identify and describe the protocols constituting each layer.
  2. Explain basic queuing theory and its application to performance analysis of protocols.
  3. Define the TCP and IP protocols and explain the problems that they solve.
  4. Explain the major local are network protocols.
  5. Explain the problems in point-to-point communication and the techniques of solving the problems.
  6. Explain how the Berkeley socket interface is used to write distributed programs.
  7. Define the flow and congestion control problems, and describe algorithms for their solution.

Text:

Prerequisite:

The equivalent of CS/ECPE4504 (basic computer architecture) is a prerequisite.  Therefore you should be familiar with virtual memory; multiprogramming; and basic memory, processor, and I/O subsystem organizations.

Honor System:

All work is to be done under the provisions of the Virginia Tech Honor System.  Students can discuss the interpretation of homework assignments with other students, however each student must develop an independent solution.  Whenever you quote a passage from a text in any work for this class, you must put the passage in quotation marks and supply a bibliographic citation.

Grading:

Homeworks 20%
Mid-term exam 30%
Term project (due on the final day of class, Tuesday 28 April 1998) 20%
Final Exam (Monday, 4 May, 2:05-4:05, McBryde 129) 30%
Homework assignments are due at the start of class. I will go over the solution after collecting the assignment; therefore one cannot turn in a homework late.  If you have an excused absence from a class, turn in the homework assignment prior to the next class session.  Generally you have one week to work on each homework.

If you have an excused absence from the midterm exam, the weight of the exam will be added to the final exam weight.


Last modified on 24 February 1998 by abrams@vt.edu.
This is http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs5516/spring.98/syllabus.html.