La Trobe University, Bendigo

Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering (Bendigo)

INT21CN, INT31CN, INT31BCN: Computer Networks

Subject Outline and Schedule, Semester 1, 2005

Overview and Philosophy

This subject is provides a "top-down" overview of the technology and design of computer networking systems. We begin with network applications and application protocols, then progress "downwards" through the various "layers" -- transport, network, link and, finally, physical. Then in (approximately) the second half of the unit we cover a range of "miscellaneous" topics, principally encryption, network security and network management. The Internet ("TCP/IP") protocols are used exclusively: it's fair to say that the Internet is now "The Only Game In Town", and other protocol architectures are nowadays of purely historical interest.

Lecture Content:

The subject material is presented in a sequence of 25 lectures^[1]. Topics covered in 2005 include:

• Overview of computer networks: layered models, functional description of the layers. The role of de jure and de facto standards.
• Internet application protocols: telnet, HTTP, SMTP, etc.
• Overview of the Internet transport service, TCP.
• Technical aspects of the Internet: IP, routers, DNS.
• Overview of network technologies.
• Commercial telecommunications services and charging models.
• Introduction to encryption technologies and their application.
• Introduction to network security issues and firewalls.
• Network management, including SNMP and introduction to ASN.1. Network management software tools.

URL

The canonical Internet URL for this subject is:
http://ironbark.bendigo.latrobe.edu.au/subjects/CN/index.shtml

Texts:

Nil. There is no single textbook, as such, for this unit. Instead, a variety of sources, both printed and on-line, will be used.

References:

The following are listed in order of relevance to the subject. This is not an exhaustive list -- many, many books cover our subject area.

Kurose, James F. & Ross, Keith W. (2003) Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet 2/e, Pearson Education Inc. ISBN 0-201-97699-4. The older (2001, Addison-Wesley) edition of this text may also be available (especially 2nd hand) and is a suitable substitute. Note:

• Students who wish to purchase a text for Computer Networks should buy this book. However, be aware that we do not work through the book in "traditional" textbook style -- instead, we use it as a principle reference for most (but not all) topics. You are not required to buy this book.
• The companion Website for these books (edition 1 and 2) requires a username and password which you obtain using a registration code hidden under a scratch panel in the front of the book. In the previous edition this expired after a few months, so that anyone buying a secondhand copy would not have access to the site. This may have changed in the current edition, caveat emptor.

Comer, D.E, (1999) Computer Networks and Internets 2/e NJ, Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-084222-2. Now available: 3rd edition.

Stallings, W (1994) Data and Computer Communications, 5th Ed NY, Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-415441-5 (hardcover).

Comer, D.E, (1995) Internetworking with TCP/IP, Volume 1: Principles, Protocols and Achitecture, 3rd Ed NJ, Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-216987-8 (v.1)

Tanenbaum, A.S. (1996) Computer Networks, 3rd Ed NJ, Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-394248-1

Contact time:

At Bendigo: 2 hours lectures per week, 2 hours tutorial per week. This may be different in other instances of the subject. Bendigo tutorial registration is conducted "on-line" via a CGI-based system which will be activated after the first lecture.

Subject Coordinator (and Lecturer at Bendigo session):

Phil Scott, phone +61 3 5444 7277, email P.Scott@latrobe.edu.au, office: B1.10 (Bendigo Campus)

Assessment:

There will be a single 2.5 hour exam at the end of the semester, which will count for 60% of the marks in this unit^[2]. Three (5%, 15% and 20%, due at the end of weeks 6, 9 and 13^[3]) assignments will account for the remaining marks.

Plagiarism:

All student assignments must comply with the University's policy on plagiarism, available at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/acadserv/staff/misconplagiarism.html.

Email:

For Bendigo students: it is a policy of the Department that all email communication regarding academic matters should be conducted using your Student Online email address.

Etiquette:

• Please ensure that mobile phones are switched off or otherwise silenced in lectures and tutorials.
• Please do not conduct private conversations in the lectures -- it's really annoying to others in the room. Attendance is not compulsory for most Bendigo students, so if you wish to chat to friends, do so elsewhere.