Course syllabus

Prerequisite & Restrictions

COMPSCI 210 and (COMPSCI 215 OR INFOSYS 224)

Restrictions: SOFTENG364

Description

The course focuses on the fundamentals of data communications and computer networks, and is delivered in three parts.
  • Part 1 covers network media (cables and radio links), signals and signalling, and channels and coding.
  • Part 2 primarily covers the Internet, and its TCP/IP protocol stack.
  • Part 3 covers network measurements, performance evaluation, Internet applications (P2P, FTP, E-mail, Video streaming), content distribution networks, and Internet research topics.

Parts 2 and 3 are based on the course textbook; lectures and assignments are aimed at directing students to the relevant sections of the textbook.

Expected topics include: the layered model, physical transmission techniques and coding, data security and integrity, protocols, local area networks, Internet measurement, wide area networks, routing, TCP/IP and application layer protocols..

Learning Outcomes 

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to

  • explain how signals and data are transmitted over various media, including coding mechanisms, compression techniques, and data integrity
  • introduce the principles of Local Area Networks, i.e. the components they are made up of, how those components interact, and what limitations are imposed by those interactions
  • explain how network protocols, especially TCP/IP, are designed and fitted together, and how they form the basis for the Internet and for distributed computing
  • describe underlying principles of protocol design for routing, data transport, naming, secure transmission, and elementary applications, illustrated with descriptions of actual protocols and discussion of the real-world experience
  • explain how Internet applications function and apply techniques for understanding the functioning of Internet services

Timetable

Lectures

City campus (Check Student Services online for updated time and location)

Mon 11:00AM to 12:00PM Science Chem, Room G050
Wed 9:00AM to 10:00AM Science Chem, Room G050
Fri 9:00AM to 10:00AM
 Science Chem, Room G050

Lecture topics (provisional)

This table shows the topics expected to be covered in the lectures, together with the assignment and test dates. Details are subject to change. Please keep checking this timetable for updates on the course schedule.

  • The dates listed are the Monday of each week, with all assignments due on Sundays.
  • While this is the general plan of the allocation of topics to each lecture, the division and allocation of material is by no means guaranteed.
  • Topics may very well move slightly as the course develops.
    The numbers at the start of each lecture entry are just the sequential numbers of the lectures.
  • If applicable, for each topic, the textbook sections we expect to cover are shown on the Lecture Slides.

Week starting... Monday Wednesday Friday Assignments
July 22 Ulrich:
1 What's a signal? Electrical and optical signals
2 Radio signals, signal propagation, decibels 3 Satellite communication, communication channels, Fourier analysis, signals in time and frequency domain Assignment 1 release
July 29 4 Modulation: AM, FM, PM 5 Constellation diagrams: BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM 6 Noise, Shannon-Hartley capacity theorem  
August 5 7 Symbol errors, error detection/correction, CRC 8 Hamming codes, LDPC codes, network coding 9 Coding, clocking, and synchronisation
August 12 10 Data compression 11 Analog signals over digital channels 12 Overflow Assignment 1 due 11 pm August 18
August 19 Wanqing:
13 Connections, Interfaces
14 Protocols 15 Transport: UDP, TCP Assignment 2 release
August 26 16 TCP, RTP, SCTP, DCCP 17 TCP Mid-term test [during class time in Science Chem, Room G050]
September 2 -
September 14
— Mid Semester Break —  
September 16 18 Ethernet 19 Switches 20 IPv4, IPv6  
 
Assignment 2 due 11 pm on September 22
September 23 21 IPv4, IPv6 22 Routing and BGP 23 MPLS
September 30 Aniket:
24 Intro/Assignment 3/Internet measurements
25 Internet measurements supplementary 26 Internet measurements supplementary/Web analytics case study/P2P intro Assignment 3 release
October 7 27 Minimum distribution time for P2P and client-server, Napter, Gnutella (part) 28 Gnutella, Kazaa, Bittorrent

29 Bittorrent, Internet traffic broadband reports, DHT



October 14 30 FTP/E-mail 31 POP3/IMAP/Multimedia 32 Video Streaming/CDN Assignment 3 due 11 pm on October 20
October 21 33 Streaming/Netflix 34 Exam Overview 35 Overflow

Instructors

  • Ulrich Speidel (Room 303S-594, ulrich@cs.auckland.ac.nz): Ulrich Speidel has an open door policy, and is happy to answer email questions.
  • Wanqing Tu (Room 303S-592, w.tu@auckland.ac.nz): Wanqing Tu is glad to answer email questions.
  • Aniket Mahanti (Course Coordinator, Short Street, a.mahanti@auckland.ac.nz): Aniket Mahanti is happy to answer email questions. He is also available during the day to meet students. If you do not find him in his office, then please email to schedule an appointment.

Tutor(s)

  • Hui Yie Teh (hteh703@aucklanduni.ac.nz)
  • Raul Horacio Valencia Tenorio  (rval735@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

    There are no scheduled tutorials for this course. Please feel free to contact the tutor(s) regarding questions with the course content, assignments, and assignment marking.

Class representative

Cheng Clemson Cheong (cche447@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Passing the Course

  • Final Exam: 55%; Test: 15%; Assignments: 3@10% = 30%.
  • COMPSCI 314 has a separate pass requirement, which means you must pass the theory (test and exam) section and, as far as applicable, the practical (assignments) section, separately.
  • This course does not advertise a practical pass mark. If you have not achieved 50% in the assignments or test, you are still advised to sit the exam.

Assignments

This course will have three assignments worth 10% each. These assignments must be completed by 11 pm on their respective Sunday deadline. Assignments need to be submitted using Assignment Dropbox (https://adb.auckland.ac.nz/).

Test

The test is worth 15% of your final mark. It will take place on Aug 30 [tentative] during lecture time. Venues and other details will be advised.

Final exam

The final exam is worth 55% of your final mark. Please check Student Services Online for the exam time and date. The exam is closed book, and calculators are not permitted. Provisional exam results can be obtained from Student Services Online.

Textbook

The recommended textbook is: Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7/e) by James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, published by Pearson. The second and third part of the course are mostly based on this text (the first part is not based on the book). Copies of the book may be found in the university bookshop. Older editions of the book can also be used and can be found in the library.

Other books of interest are as follows:

  • Computer Networks, A Systems Approach 5/e by Peterson and Davie
  • Data Communications and Networking, 5/e by Forouzan
  • Data and Computer Communications, 10/e by Stallings

Lecture Recordings

All lectures are recorded. Due to quality assurance, there may be a delay of a few days before the lecture recordings are distributed through Canvas. You can find the lecture recordings on the Lecture Recordings page in Canvas. Note that although the lectures are recorded, some learning activities conducted in class do not translate well to the recordings. To maximise your learning opportunities, you are encouraged to attend the class in person.

Piazza

Teaching staff regularly monitor the Piazza discussion forum in Canvas. Please make use of Piazza to ask any questions that you think might be of interest to other students - it's usually the fastest way to get an answer.  If your question is of a personal nature, or relates to a unique situation that will be of little interest to others, then please contact the teaching staff directly.

Handling illness or absence

Disasters happen, and they shouldn't turn into showstoppers for you. If you must leave for emergencies contact your instructor or the department. Please provide suitable documentation (e.g., doctor's note) to provide evidence of your circumstances. For problems affecting assignments or tests see the course coordinator as soon as possible.

For illness during exams or written tests (or other problems that affect exam or test attendance or performance) there is a central university policy that applies to all courses. It requires that students MUST contact the University within one week of the last affected examination, to apply for an aegrotat pass (for illness) or compassionate pass (other problems). Note: The one week limit is strictly enforced.

Refer to the University information link on Aegrotats and Compassionate Considerations:

Policies

Here's the small print. We know that the vast majority of you don't really need to be lectured on this because you're genuinely here to learn and you value the diversity that comes with being at a university as much as we do. Nevertheless, please note the following:

Inclusiveness

We value you coming here to study with us, no matter where you come from or how you view yourself, and strive to accommodate disabilities. We want you to feel safe and welcome.

For this reason, the University of Auckland has zero tolerance for discrimination. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other ‘isms’ share one key feature: they ascribe negative characteristics to a group, and assume that those characteristics apply to all members of the group. The vice chancellor encourages anyone who experiences such behaviour to seek resolution via the appropriate processes, including if necessary complaints procedures, so the University can act appropriately. Student support information can be found here.

 

Academic Integrity

We know that most of you won't cheat because you're here to gain insight and understanding. We don't want your achievements to be overshadowed by the misguided behaviour of others.

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review. More detials can be found here.

 

 

 

Course summary:

Date Details Due