Prerequisite:

COSC 4330 - Fundamentals of Operating Systems. However, if you have not taken COSC 4330, but have taken all prerequisites of COSC 4330, then you may register for the course. 

Class Schedule:

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays (section 13327 meets only on Tuesdays) in 200 PGH.

People:

*  Instructors are also available right after class to address any question or concerns and additional office hours can be arranged by E-mail . Please contact instructors via the email address listed above and NOT through WebCT email..

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.

Hybrid Course Structure:

This is a hybrid course - as you have surely noticed, the class meets only once a week for 6 classes total. However, the content covered will be exactly the same as a regular semester course.  You will have to do most of the studying yourself based on video lectures.  The hybrid courses will have the following basic structure:

1.     The hybrid class will meet once a week according to the published schedule for general overviews, quizzes, exams, specific discussions, tutorials demonstrations, and hands on work sessions.
2.     Tablet PC based recorded lectures from the regular classroom sections (recorded primarily in Spring 2006) will be made available as streaming video through VNet (vnet.uh.edu).
3.     The instructors will be available during office hours, via email, and by appointment for individual consultations, outside of the class. You are encouraged to use the WebCT message board for general questions,or bring them to class.

The video lectures will be posted at vnet.uh.edu (click on Vclass and proceed). All registered students can get an account on VNET. Students can stream the lecture from the VNET server or download them and view offline. You can contact VNET help (see bottom of vnet.uh.edu page)  or Chang Yun (phys94@yahoo.com) for any technical problems with video lectures. 

The  structure of the course is as follows.  Every class will start with a Q&A and follow up discussion of material covered in the previous week, in addition to what is listed.

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 6. 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 textbook. 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.

	Computer Networks and Internets with Internet Applications, 4th Ed. by Douglas E. Comer Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 0131433512. 768 pages. List Price: 106.00. This is another well written book. It has more in depth explanations on concepts and protocols, plus examples and code segments in network applications. Entire book is freely available on line at (http://www.netbook.cs.purdue.edu).
	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. An older version of this book (ISBN: 0139498761) is out of print, but is available in the library.
	TCP/IP Protocol Suite, 3rd Edition by Behrouz A. Forouzan McGraw Hill, 2005. ISBN: 0072967722. 896 pages List Price: 115.00. 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 Tannenbaum 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 - use links for Student Help/New Users on this pages as needed.
  Students who register late should allow 2-3 working days for their WebCT ID to be created and become available online.

All announcements, notes, assignments, old exams, and other course related materials will be on WebCT.  (except that videos will be on VNET) You are encouraged to raise questions/issues/discussions on WebCT, and to repsond to queries from other students. It is generally acceptable to discuss difficulties with assignments on WebCT, short of posting actual solutions.

Grading:

The tentative plan for grading is as follows:

Exam, and quizzes	60%
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.

Academic Honesty:

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

Others:

200 PGH is equiped with a computer for each seat. Please use it for this course related works only.

A very cool introduction of this course can be seen here ( http://www2.cs.uh.edu/~jsteach/portfolio/cosc4377.html), including course summary, teaching support, sneak peek (video), and brochure.

Important Dates:

• First Day of Classes: January 16, Tuesday
• Last day to file university application for graduation: February 9, Friday
• Last day to drop a course or withdraw without receiving a grade: February 13, Tuesday
• Spring holiday: March 12 - 17, Monday - Saturday
• Last day to drop a course or withdraw: April 3, Tuesday
• Last day of classes: April 26, Thursday
• Final examination: May 10, 11 am - 2 pm
• Official closing of the spring semester: May 11, Friday