Prerequisite:

COSC 4330 - Fundamentals of Operating Systems

Class Schedule:

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Mondays and Wednesdays in 200 PGH.

People:

*  Additional office hours can be arranged by E-mail.

What will be covered?

This course covers the concepts and protocols in computer networks with an emphasis on the principles and technologies employed on the internet. The material is covered in a top-down fashion from networking applications to low-level data communication. The major topics covered are as follows:

• General: Structure of networks and the internet, circuit, packet and message switching, routing, physical media, types of delay, internet protocol stack, internet backbone, NAPs (Network Access Points) and ISPs
• Application Layer: Structure of networking applications, Web and Web caching, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), Electronic mail, DNS (Domain Name Service), socket programming
• Transport layer: Transport layer principles, multiplexing and demultiplexing, UDP (User Datagram Protocol), principles of reliable data transport, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), flow control, principles of congestion control, TCP congestion control
• Network Layer: Network layer services, datagram and virtual circuits, routing principles, link state routing algorithms, distance vector routing algorithms, hierarchical routing, Internet Protocol (IP), IP addressing, IP transport, fragmentation and assembly, ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol), routing on the internet, RIP (Routing Information Protocol), OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), router internals, IPv6
• Link Layer: Link layer services, error detection and correction, multiple access protocols, LAN addressing and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol), Ethernet, CSMA/CD multiple access protocol, Hubs, Bridges, and Switches, Wireless LANs, PPP (Point to Point Protocol), Wide area protocols
• Selected topics from multimedia networking, network security, and real-life networks.

Primary Textbook:

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet - 3rd Ed., James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, Addison Wesley, 2005. ISBN: 0-321-22735-2 List price: $99 Companion Website: http://www.aw-bc.com/kurose-ross/

• You can find this text book in University of Houston Bookstore, or find a good price in on-line bookstores from bestbookbuys.com.
• In previous semesters we used the 2nd edition of this textbook (ISBN: 0-201-97699-4, List price: $100). The 3rd edition covers a little more material than the 2nd edition and some sections are re-arranged. However, you should be able to manage with the 2nd edition of the textbook with some adjustment.
• In textbook's companion web site, you can access open resources (including applets, references, and authors' recommended links). After you activate the access code on the first page of your textbook, you can access the protected resources, which include self-assessment quizzes, audio lectures, programming assignments, and PowerPoint slides.
• This course will basically cover chapter 1 to 5. If time permitted, we will add some material from later chapters.

Recommended Text:

You don't have to buy this book in order to pass. Library has at least one copy of this book.

Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, 3rd Edition by Larry L. Peterson and Bruce S. Davie Morgan Kaufmann, 2003. ISBN: 155860832X. 813 pages. List Price: 89.95.

This is a well-written book on Computer Networks. Explanations of some concepts and protocols are better written than our extbook. We will use some content from this book as a supplement.

Supplemental texts:

You don't have to buy the following books in order to pass this class. Library has at least one copy for each of the following books.

	UNIX Network Programming by W. Richard Stevens Prentice Hall, 1990. ISBN: 0139498761. 772 pages. List Price: 79.00. (Out of Print) This book was published long time ago and is still a great reference book on UNIX network programming. Although this book is out of print, you can find still find used ones. Or you can get the next one (new version of this book).
	UNIX Network Programming: Networking APIs: Sockets and XTI, Vol. I, 2nd Ed. by W. Richard Stevens Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN: 013490012X. 1240 pages. List Price: 68.00. This book also has a Vol. II.
	TCP/IP Protocol Suite, 2nd Edition by Behrouz A. Forouzan McGraw Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0-07-246060-1. 976 pages List Price: 115.40. More in-depth discussion on TCP/IP. If you want to learn more detail about TCP/IP, this is the book you need.
	Computer Networks, 4th Edition by Andrew S Tanenbaum Prentice Hall, 2003. ISBN: 0-13-066102-3. 912 pages. List Price: 88.00. A legendary textbook. Full of materials. Some parts might not be easy to read.

Class Web Page:

We will use WebCT (http://www.uh.edu/webct/) for our class web page. All announcements, notes, assignments, old exams, and other course related materials will be on WebCT only.  Please get a WebCT account as soon as possible.

Old class web pages (before we moved to WebCT), including old assignments and projects, can be found here.

WebCT

Students have three options to get their WebCT ID:

1. Online at WebCT - click "New Users" to get your WebCT ID.
2. In person in Room 56 in the basement of the MD Anderson Library on the main campus, Monday-Friday, 8 am to 8 pm.
3. By phone at 713-743-1411 Monday-Friday, 8 am to 8 pm.

A student's initial password is his/her birth date in the format mmddyyyy (example: April 1, 1974 would be entered as 04011974). WebCT IDs and passwords are case sensitive. Students should change their password the first time they log on to WebCT.

Once a student has his/her WebCT ID, he/she will log on to WebCT courses by going to WebCT and clicking "Log On".

Support for students using WebCT will be available in four ways:

1. Online at WebCT - click on "Get Help".
2. Use online support form.
3. By phone at 713-743-1411 Monday-Friday, 8 am to 8 pm.
4. In person in Room 56 in the basement of the MD Anderson Library on the main campus, Monday-Friday, 8 am to 8 pm.

Students who register late should allow 2-3 working days for their WebCT ID to be created and available online.

Grading:

The tentative plan for grading is as follows:

Midterms	25%
Final exam	35%
Written and programming assignments	40%
Total:	100%

There will be one midterm and one final exam. No make-up exam is allowed unless there is a verifiable medical excuse. The date for midterm will be announced about two weeks before the midterm. The final exam is at 5-8 PM, on Wednesday, Dec 8th.  There will be 2~3 programming assignments and 3~4 written assignments.

Attendance:

If you miss a class, you are still responsible for knowing everything that took place. Your absence does not change the due date of an assignment.

Academic Honesty:

Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty will receive severe punishment.

Important Dates:

• First Day of Classes: August 23, Monday
• Labor Day holiday: September 6, Monday
• Last day to file university application for graduation: September 17, Friday
• Last day to drop a course or withdraw without receiving a grade: September 20, Monday
• Last day to drop a course or withdraw: November 3, Wednesday
• Thanksgiving holiday: November 24-27, Wednesday - Saturday
• Last day of classes: December 4, Saturday
• Final examination: December 8, Wednesday, 5 - 8 PM
• Official closing of the fall semester: December 16, Thursday