This is supplemental course information, designed to give you a fuller picture of the course and an expanded look at the topics covered. This is an unofficial document. The USC Course Catalog is the binding description of all university courses. Information such as books, materials covered, and the order of topics is subject to change. Please consult instructor for this semseter to get more upto date course information.
Catalog Data:
Network architectures, layered protocols, network service interface; local networks long-haul networks; internet protocols; link protocols; addressing; routing; flow control; higher level protocols. Prerequisites: junior standing
Text book:
Computer Networks, 2nd edition, Peterson & Davie, Morgan Kaufmann, 2000
Course Coordinators:
Cauligi S. Raghavendra, Professor of Electrical Engineering
Topics:
1. Basic concepts of networking. Network topologies. The concept of layered architecture modeling including OSI and the TCP/IP protocol suite. Client-server communications.
2. Physical layer functionalities including signaling, modulation, multiplexing, line coding and synchronization. Transmission media. Network performance measures including throughput, delays are presented. Data vs. signaling rates, channel bandwidth and capacity.
3. Link layer functionalities including frame synchronization, error detection and control including ARQ, flow control mechanisms including sliding windows. Data link protocols such as HDLC and PPP are also discussed
4. Wide area network technologies. Circuit and packet switching. Virtual circuit switching including an introduction to frame relay and ATM
5. Local area network technologies including ETHERNET, Token Rings, and FDDI. Multiple-access schemes such as CSMA/CD, CSMA/CA and Token-passing. MAC addressing. Switched vs. shared ETHERNETs. Performance evaluation, including throughputs and delays, of LAN technologies
6. Interworking devices including repeaters, bridges, switches, routers and gateways. Network layer protocols, including IP, ARP and ICMP. IP addressing schemes. Subnetting and masking
7. Internet routing including protocols used in the Internet such as RIP, OSPF and BGP. Algorithms such as Bellman-ford and Dijkstra are discussed
8. Transport layer protocols including UDP and TCP. Ports and sockets. TCP connection establishment. Error, flow and congestion control in TCP.
9. Applications layer protocols such as HTTP, FTP, DNS, SMTP, TELNET and DHCP.
10. Selected topics in network/socket programming
Course Objectives:
To provide the student with a comprehensive picture of the technologies behind Internet applications. The course provides broad coverage from the lowest levels of packet transmissions through the highest levels of application software, explaining how the underlying technologies provide services and how Internet applications use these services
Course Outcomes:
The students will be able to:
1. Identify different applications of computer communications networks and understand the current state of the telecommunications industry
2. Understand the concept and importance of structured models, such as OSI and TCP/IP protocol suite to successful data communications and their values in the analysis of network architecture alternatives
3. Understand the functionalities, concepts, standards and technologies involved with voice and data network services and voice/data integration
4. Understand the concepts, processes and protocols involved with completing a dial-up or leased point-to-point communications.
5. Appreciate the characteristics/differences of different transmission media
6. Understand modem operation and the limitations of various modulation techniques.
7. Understand the concept of multiplexing techniques and related technologies.
8. Perform link level analysis including error detection/control and flow control.
9. Understand the advantages, limitations and technologies of current switching technologies including circuit, packet and fast packet switching .
10. Understand the interrelationships and dependencies between components in wide area networks
11. Understand how access methodologies, logical and physical topologies combine to form alternative LAN architectures such as Ethernet, Token rings and FDDI.
12. Understand the differences between switched LAN architectures and shared-media LAN architectures
13. Understand the comparative differences between and proper applications of internetworking devices such as hubs, bridges, routers and gateways
14. Understand the basics of internetworking design including decisions as to bridging, switching or routing and the importance of protocols to successful internetworking design and implementation
15. Understand the hierarchy of addressing in public and private internetworks
16. Understand how routing is carried out in large open networking environment and the operations of major routing protocols such as RIP, OSPF and BGP
17. Understand the role of transport layer protocols such as TCP and UDP
18. Understand how Internet clients and servers are able to communicate with each other across the Internet and the WWW.
19. Understand the standard Internet services such as FTP, SMTP, HTTP, DNS, etc..
20. Understand the concepts behind inter-process communications and socket connections by performing basic TCP/IP socket programming
Laboratory Projects:
Weekly discussion session/occasional network programming task
Prepared by: Ali A. Zahid Date: April 23, 2002
