Subjects ->
Computer Networks ->
Lectures ->
Lecture #01
Lecture 1: Computer Networks Overview
Computer Networks Overview
These issues relate to the subject
schedule, which you should receive as a handout in the first
lecture.
- The lecturer (and tutor)
- Phil Scott. I will normally be in my office during working
hours. My office phone number is 5444 7277.
See also, electronic mail. We will probably
have the assistance of a tutor for some of the classes, see later.
- Textbooks and references
- In particular, how come there's no text book? What should we
do in relation to buying a book? Are there other sources of
information for this subject?
- Assessment
- Comes in two parts:
- The Exam -- 3 hours, 60%
- Three assignments, 5%, 15% and 20% (in Nilai, these are
replaced by a series of class tests). In particular, watch
for the first assignment, which happens pretty early in the
semester.
Subject Offering
This subject is offered in conventional classroom mode at the Bendigo
campus of La Trobe University, and this lecture concentrates on this
offering. It is also offered at Nilai College in Malaysia, and may be
offered in 2002 using La Trobe's new "Web-delivered" mode. For the past
three years it's also been offered in our departments's unique
"Internet-assisted" (Saturday class) mode, but this is discontinued in
2002.
- When is the lecture?
- Monday at 5pm. This is a 2-hour session.
- Can the lecture time be changed?
- No.
- What happens with tutes?
- For Graduate Diploma of Computing students (and some others),
a single tutorial will follow the lecture, at 7pm Monday. For all
other students, tutorials are held in two groups: the Tuesday
group and the Wednesday/Thursday group.
You must
register for the tutorials of your choice using our On-line Tute Registration
System. Please use this facility, and report any problems which
you may have with it. You need to know your LTU, Bendigo
Unix/Windoze login name and your student
number for authentication using this system, but
NOT your StudentOnLine ID and password.
Support Services
- Electronic mail. This should be your preferred
method of contacting your lecturer, whose email address is: P.Scott@latrobe.edu.au.
Although La Trobe University provides all students with an email
account, the tutorial booking system allows you to specify an
alternative email address if you have one you'd rather use.
Email Protocol: Note that you should
always (ALWAYS!) use a subject line of the form:
Subject: [INT21CN] rest of subject line
if you want to ensure that I read your mail.
Note: later in the semester I will be distributing a guide to
electronic submission of assignments. The email
address for assignment submission is different from
your lecturer's normal email address. Do not
attempt to send ordinary email to the assignment submission
address.
- The World Wide Web (WWW). This is the important one. All
students
should already know how to use
Netscape,
Internet
Explorer,
Opera,
iCab (an excellent Mac-only browser),
lynx or
whatever other browser you might prefer
to access the INT21CN home page. The subject home page may found at:
http://ironbark.bendigo.latrobe.edu.au/subjects/int21cn/
- Newsgroup:
latrobe.bendigo.comp.dcom
-- not much used anymore.
The Subject Area -- What's It About?
Computer Networks are the biggest Big New Thing for decades. They are
now of central importance to all of Information Technology. With the
recent explosive growth of the Internet, they are rapidly becoming of
crucial importance to all of modern society. It is absolutely certain
that you will need to know about networks and network technology to
survive in the IT workplace.
This subject aims to give a solid overview of the technologies and
philosophies that are needed to understand how computer networks are
built, and can be used. It also examines, in part, why some apparently
illogical things are the way they are, and how human foibles can affect
technology.
One crucial aspect of the subject is that it will not shy away from
discussion of the "P" word (politics) where this is necessary to
understand the technology.
There is no tutorial for this lecture.
[Previous Lecture]
[Lecture Index]
[Next Lecture]
Copyright © 2002 by
Philip Scott,
La Trobe University.