Professor Chengzheng Sun School of Computing

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Professor Chengzheng SunSchool of Computing
Information TechnologyGriffith
UniversityBrisbane, Qld 4111, AustraliaLogan
Office AB II 2.10, 33821174 Nathan Office TB
1.22, 38756540Email c.sun_at_cit.gu.edu.au

• 3142CIT
• Computer Communications Networks

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Why computer networks are important?

• Computer networks have become an essential part
  of modern computing systems.
• A firm knowledge in computer networks will
  provide a solid foundation for research
  development work in the areas of distributed
  computing systems.

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Relationship with other subjects

• Computer systems and programming languages as
  prerequisites.
• Complementary to the operating systems,
  with some overlap distributed aspects of
  operating systems.
• Foundation to distributed systems.

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The prescribed text book

• Andrew S. TanenbaumComputer
  NetworksFourth EditionPrentice-Hall
  International Editions, 2003ISBN 013-38488-7
• About the author A leading researcher,
  an ACM Outstanding Educator Award winner, and an
  excellent writer of 5 very successful text books
  on topics of computer organization, operating
  systems, computer networks, and distributed
  systems.

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Main contents

• This course shall explains how networks
  work on the inside,  from underlying hardware at
  the physical layer up through the top-level
  application layer, including
• Physical layer (e.g., copper, fiber, wireless,
  satellites, and Internet over cable)
• Data link layer (e.g., protocol principles,
  protocol verification, HDLC, and PPP)
• MAC sublayer (e.g., gigabit Ethernet, 802.11,
  broadband wireless, and switching)
• Network layer (e.g., routing algorithms,
  congestion control, QoS, IPv4, and IPv6)
• Transport layer (e.g., socket programming, UDP,
  TCP, RTP, and network performance)
• Application layer (e.g., e-mail, the Web, PHP,
  wireless Web, MP3, and streaming audio).

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Teaching and assessment methods

• A combination of two hours tutorial and one hour
  lab per week will be used.
• There will be two programming assignments and a
  three-hour final exam
• The two programming assignments will be worth 25
  each. They will provide students with
  experience of implementing and experimenting with
  basic communication protocols and algorithms at
  various layers. The programming language will be
  Java
• The final exam will be worth 50 and it will
  provide the necessary comprehensive assessment.
• It is necessary to gain at least 50 of
  the total marks in both the assignments and the
  final exam to gain an overall pass in the
  course.
• It will be essential to attend tutorials and labs
  to be able to do the programming assignments and
  to pass the final exam.