ITEC803 is taught via lectures and informal tutorial sessions. During the course there will be some practical slots available for students to work on various networking routing labs using Cisco routers.

Classes

Classes are held from 6-10pm Tuesday evenings. Lectures and discussions are in W6B386. There will also be some practical work (Cisco Labs) in E6A240.

Lectures

Lectures are used to explore advanced computer network technologies and design and put them in a wider context. You are encouraged to ask questions of the lecturer, both during and outside the lecture, to clarify anything you might not be sure of.  There will be industry-based guest lectures to provide up-to-date information and Q&A.

It should be noted that no single text book completely covers the content of this unit. A large portion of the lecture material is drawn from the Internet standard documents called the "Request For Comments" or RFC. Students are encouraged to read RFCs of relevant topics to gain a solid understanding of the topics that are covered.

Quizzes

There will be two quizzes in the following weeks: 4 and 8. A quiz is a short test that will be based on your previously covered lecture material. For example, week 4 quiz will be based on lectures done in weeks 1-4. The quizzes will be online through iLearn. These quizzes contribute 20% of the total mark and serve as a feedback mechanism to monitor your progress in the unit.

Tutorial

The tutorial gives you the opportunity to interact with your peers and with the lecturer. The tutorial sessions involve informal discussions with your peers and the lecturer.  On some weeks, you will be given problems to solve prior to the tutorial; preparing solutions is important because it will allow you to discuss the problems effectively with your lecturer and maximise the feedback you get on your work.

Assignments

Your assignment is to be submitted via iLearn. Late submission of the assignment will be accepted, but penalised at the rate of 10% per day late. If you cannot submit assignments on time because of illness or other circumstances, please contact the convenor at the earliest possible time.

Practicals

Practical classes give you an opportunity to solve practical problems in computer networking such as router configuration. In these classes you will be given a number of problems to work on; it is important that you keep up with these problems as doing so will help you understand the material in the unit and prepare you for the work in assignments. The balance between tutorial and practical problems may vary from week to week.

Practical classes will not be held every week (please see the Weekly Updates on the unit web site on iLearn for more information).

General Notes

In this unit, you should do the following:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions.
• Attend your tutorial, seek feedback from your lecturer on your work.
• Prepare for and strive to do well in the two quizzes.
• Read appropriate sections of the text, add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer/tutor.
• Prepare answers to tutorial questions.
• Work on any assignments that have been released.
• Participate Practicals and associate theory with practice.

Lecture notes will be made available each week, after the lecture has finished, but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or the textbook.

Optional Recommended Texts

Text

[C] D. Comer Computer Networks and Internet 5th Edition. Prentice Hall 2009.

OR

[C] D. Comer, Internetworking with TCP/IP, vol. 1, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall 2006.

Other Useful Books

[T] A.S. Tanenbaum and D. J. Wetherall., Computer Networks, Prentice Hall, 5th Edition. Pearson Education, 2010.

[KR] J.F. Kurose and K.W. Ross, Computer Networking: A Top Down Approach, 6th Edition. Prentice Hall 2012.

[BDC] W. Stallings, Business Data Communications, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall 2001.

[O] P. Oppenheimer, Top-Down Network Design, 3rd Edition, Cisco Press 2011.

Technology Used and Required

Cisco router lab will be used for all the routing practicals.

Network Protocol Analyser (Wireshark) will be used for protocol analysis practicals.

Four standards, namely HD, D, CR, P summarize as many different levels of achievement. Each standard is precisely defined to help students know what kind of performance is expected to deserve a certain mark. The standards corresponding to the sample learning outcomes of this unit are given below:

 Grading

At the end of the semester, you will receive a grade that reflects your achievement in the unit

• Fail (F): does not provide evidence of attainment of all learning outcomes. There is missing or partial or superficial or faulty understanding and application of the fundamental concepts in the field of study; and incomplete, confusing or lacking communication of ideas in ways that give little attention to the conventions of the discipline.
• Pass (P): provides sufficient evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes. There is demonstration of understanding and application of fundamental concepts of the field of study; and communication of information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline. The learning attainment is considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the specified outcomes.
• Credit (Cr): provides evidence of learning that goes beyond replication of content knowledge or skills relevant to the learning outcomes. There is demonstration of substantial understanding of fundamental concepts in the field of study and the ability to apply these concepts in a variety of contexts; plus communication of ideas fluently and clearly in terms of the conventions of the discipline.
• Distinction (D): provides evidence of integration and evaluation of critical ideas, principles and theories, distinctive insight and ability in applying relevant skills and concepts in relation to learning outcomes. There is demonstration of frequent originality in defining and analysing issues or problems and providing solutions; and the use of means of communication appropriate to the discipline and the audience.
• High Distinction (HD): provides consistent evidence of deep and critical understanding in relation to the learning outcomes. There is substantial originality and insight in identifying, generating and communicating competing arguments, perspectives or problem solving approaches; critical evaluation of problems, their solutions and their implications; creativity in application.

In this unit, your final grade depends on your performance in each part of the assessment. For each task, you receive a mark that combines your standard of performance regarding each learning outcome assessed by this task. Then the different component marks are added up to determine your total mark out of 100. Your grade then depends on this total mark and your overall standards of performance.

Concretely, in order to pass the unit, you must

• obtain a total mark of 50% or higher and a mark of 40% or higher in the final examination;
• make a reasonable attempt at the exercises in the  assessment tasks;
• demonstrate that you can perform at a Functional level or higher for each criterion assessed in the two assignments;
• reach a Functional level or higher for each criterion assessed in the final examination.

Students obtaining a higher grade than a pass in this unit will (in addition to the above)         

• have a total mark of 85% or higher and perform at distinction level or higher in the final examination to obtain High Distinction;
• have a total mark of 75% or higher and perform at credit level or higher in the final examination to obtain Distinction;
• have a total mark of 65% or higher  and perform at pass level but with 50% or higher in the final examination to obtain Credit.