Assignment

Assignment work must be written clearly, with good grammar, correct word usage, correct punctuation,and lack of spelling errors. Poor or bad expression will be penalized, Wherever required, all written work must be properly referenced and conform to standard stylistic conventions.

Practicals

Note that while the practical material is structured against the lecture material, you need to keep in mind that there will not always be a one to one mapping between the practical exercises and the lecture topics. This is because you need some practical sessions to get acquainted to new tools and devices thereby limiting the number of practical time slots available to experiment with technologies discussed in some lectures.

Each Practical class is 2 hours in duration  and is worth 2 marks. You work in a group but individual marks are assigned from group work.

Examination

The examination is a hurdle in this unit. Concretely, in order to pass the unit, you must get at least 40% of the marks in the final examination. Students who score between 30% and 40% will be eligible for a second chance examination.

Note

• Second chances at hurdles are marked pass/fail.  This means that the maximum that a student can receive at a second attempt is the hurdle requirement:if the hurdle requirement is 40%, the maximum a student can receive is 40%

• Students only receive a second attempt if they are capable of passing the unit.  This means that the maximum they can receive from the second attempt (see the previous point) must be such that their final mark would add up to 50%+

Supplementary Examination

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled and you will be informed via email of the date, time and venue. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

If you are given a second opportunity to sit the final examination as a result of failing to meet the minimum mark required, you will be offered that chance during the same supplementary examination period and will be notified of the exact day and time after the publication of final results for the unit.

Classes

Lecture Classes are held in the following days:

Monday: 11:00 am- 1:00 pm   14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave - T4 Theatre

Wednesday: 2 pm -3 pm   14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave - T3 Theatre

Practical Sessions are held in the following days:

Monday: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm               9 Wallys Wlk - 240 Engineering Lab (9WW240)

Tuesday: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm            9 Wallys Wlk - 240 Engineering Lab (9WW240)

Tuesday: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm              9 Wallys Wlk - 240 Engineering Lab (9WW240)

Wednesday: 10;00 am - 122:00 pm    9 Wallys Wlk - 240 Engineering Lab (9WW240)

Wednesday: 6:00 pm -  8:00 pm         9 Wallys Wlk - 240 Engineering Lab (9WW240)

Lectures

3 hours of lectures each week.

Lectures are used to introduce new material, give examples of the use of networking concepts and techniques and put them in a wider context. While lectures are largely one to many presentations, you are encouraged to ask questions of the lecturer to clarify anything you might not be sure of. Tutorial style discussions on important topics will be conducted in the lectures. These discussions will give you the opportunity to interact with your peers as well as the lecturer. 

Practicals

Practical classes give you an opportunity to practice your practical networking skills under the supervision of a demonstrator. Each week 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.

Note that while the practical material is structured against the lecture material, you need to keep in mind that there will not always be a one to one mapping between the practical exercises and the lecture topics. This is because you need some practical sessions to get acquainted to new tools and devices thereby limiting the number of practical time slots available to experiment with technologies discussed in some lectures.

There will be one 2 hour practical session each week, Conducted in a specially-equipped networking laboratory. There is no opportunity to conduct practical work outside the assigned sessions.

Quizzes

There will be two quizzes in the following weeks: 5, and 11. A quiz is a short test that will be based on your previously covered lecture material. For example, week 6 quiz will be based on lectures done in weeks 1-4. The quiz questions will be handed over to you at the beginning of your Lecture class. These quizzes contribute 10% of the total mark and serve as a feedback mechanism to monitor your progress in the unit.

Tutorial

Tutorials are posted every Friday on ilearn. Even though these tutorial exercises are not formally assessed, it is important that students solve them on a weekly basis as these questions are often previous exam questions or structured like test/exam questions. The more practice you have at such questions, the more likely you are to do yourself justice in quizzes/exams. Solutions to these exercises will be regularly posted on ilearn unit site. If need be, this will also allow you to discuss the problems effectively with your lecturer/peers and maximise the feedback you get on your work. In case of any difficulty, seek help from the teaching staff.

Assignments

Your assignment is to be submitted online using Turnitin.

Late Submission

No extensions will be granted without an approved application for Special Consideration. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. For example, 25 hours late in submission for an assignment worth 10 marks – 20% penalty or 2 marks deducted from the total.  No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

Text

The Recommended Text

Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume 1,  6th edition  Douglas Comer

Computer Networks (5th Edition)   by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and David J. Wetherall

Reference Text List

Computer Networks and Internets: Global (6th) Edition  by Douglas Comer

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach 6th edition  by James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross

General Notes

In this unit, you should do the following:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions.
• Attend your weekly Practical session 
• Prepare for and strive to do well in the three 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.

Lecture notes will be made available each week but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or the recommended reading list.

Tentative Lecture Schedule

Note: We anticipate that there may be some shifting of material depending on class progress during the lecture series.

New lecture content on Security and Backbone. Some new prac exercises have been added.

Grades

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, the final mark will be calculated by combining the marks for all assessment tasks according to the percentage weightings shown in the assessment summary.

Hurdle

The final examination in this unit is a hurdle requirement; you must get a mark of at least 40% in the examination to pass the unit. If you get a mark between 30% and 40% in your first attempt at the final examination, you will be given a second and final attempt.

Concretely, in order to pass the unit, you must obtain an overall total mark of 50% or higher, and a mark of 40% or higher 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 to obtain High Distinction;
  • have a total mark of 75% or higher to obtain Distinction;
  • have a total mark of 65% or higher  to obtain Credit.

Note

• Second chances at hurdles are marked pass/fail.  This means that the maximum that a student can receive at a second attempt is the hurdle requirement:if the hurdle requirement is 40%, the maximum a student can receive is 40%

• Students only receive a second attempt if they are capable of passing the unit.  This means that the maximum they can receive from the second attempt (see the previous point) must be such that their final mark would add up to 50%+

Note:

You are encouraged to:

• set your personal deadline earlier than the actual one;
• keep backups of all important assessed tasks;.
• make sure no one else picks up your printouts.

All work submitted should be readable and well presented.

You should never commit plagiarism in any of your submitted work, including tutorial and practical answers.