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Computer Networks Syllabus
CMPS 376 - Winter 2012
Dr. Melissa Danforth

Office: SciIII 338, 654-3180 
Office Hours: MWF 2:00-3:00pm and MW 4:30-5:30pm (or by appointment)
Email: melissa@cs.csubak.edu
Course web site: http://www.cs.csubak.edu/~melissa/ under Teaching menu

Course meets MWF 3:10-4:25pm and Tu 3:10-5:40pm in Sci III 315

Course Description:
A study of computer networks focusing on the TCP/IP Internet protocols 
and covering the four layers: physical, data link, network, and transport, 
in detail. The lectures will focus extensively on the theory of networking
and the details of several popular protocols. This course also includes a 
weekly laboratory which covers network utilities and network programming.
More course information can be found at the official department course
description webpage:
http://www.cs.csub.edu/newsite/CS/CourseDescription/376_Description_v1.htm

Prerequisite:
CMPS 223 with a grade of C- or better

Textbook: 
You may use either the 4th or 5th edition of the textbook. The 5th edition
has information on newer networking protocols (802.11n, 10GB Ethernet, etc)

4th edition: Computer Networks, Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Prentice Hall, 
ISBN 0-13-066102-3.

5th edition: Computer Networks, Andrew S. Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, 
Prentice Hall, ISBN-13 978-0-13-212695-3.

Material Covered:

Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - The Physical Layer
Chapter 3 - The Data Link Layer
Chapter 4 - The Medium Access Sublayer
Chapter 5 - The Network Layer
Chapter 6 - The Transport Layer
Chapter 7 - The Application Layer
Chapter 8 - Network Security

View the calendar on the course website to see the order in which these
topics will be presented.

Attendance:
Students are responsible for their own attendance. The topics covered
in lecture will be listed on the course website. Lab attendance is not 
required but is strongly encouraged.

Academic Integrity Policy: 
Assignments may discussed in groups. If the assignment is a group 
assignment, the group turns in one assignment for the entire group. 
However, if the assignment is an individual assignment, each student 
must turn in their own work; no direct copying is allowed. You may 
discuss individual assignments with other students, but you must write 
up the assignment in your own words.  Refer to the Academic Integrity 
policy in the campus catalog.

Computer Lab:
The walk-in computer lab in Sci III 324 is available for use by students 
in this course outside of class time on a first come, first serve basis. 
Priority in the lab is given to students who are completing assignments
for Computer Science and Computer Engineering courses. See the schedule 
on the door for hours the lab will be open.

Grading:   Labs/Homework   40%
           Midterm         30%
           Final           30%

Homework/Lab Policies: 
Labs will be group assignments. Each group, consisting of 1-3 students,
will turn in one assignment for the entire group. Be sure all names are
on the assignment so all group members receive credit. 

Homeworks may be discussed in groups, but every student must turn in their 
own assignments in their own words. Refer to the Academic Integrity Policy 
above. 

Assignments will be posted online on the course website. The due date will 
be given with the assignment.

Late Policy:
Late labs are not accepted, however partial credit will be given for
incomplete labs. The lowest lab grade will not count towards your overall
Lab/Homework total.

Late homework is accepted, but it will be marked down 10% for every day 
it is late. Saturday and Sunday combined count as only one day late (e.g. 
if the assignment is due Friday and you turn it in Sunday, it will be marked 
as one day late). If there is a late policy stating the last day the 
assignment can be turned in late posted on the assignment, then that policy 
will apply for that particular assignment. Otherwise, homework assignments 
that are more than three days late will not be accepted.

Homework/Lab Submission:
Assignments are submitted by emailing the instructor from the Computer 
Science department server (coding assignments) or by attaching a file to
the Moodle website (non-coding assignments). All files must be in text, 
OpenOffice or PDF format. Do NOT use Microsoft Office formats, particularly 
DOCX or XLSX, as they cannot be read by the instructor. Do not use GMail or 
any other email method for the coding assignments as the campus spam filter 
may block the email without notifying the either you or the instructor. 

Allow at least one week after the assignment due date for the grade to be
posted to Moodle. All coding assignments will have the Comment section of 
Moodle updated to say "assignment received" within a day or two of the 
instructor receiving the email, even if the assignment has not yet been
graded. It is your responsibility to check Moodle to see if your assignment
has been received. If you believe you emailed the assignment on time but 
the instructor has not received it, contact the instructor.

Midterm: 
Due to the large class size, there will be two sessions of the midterm. 
It is your choice as to which session you will attend.

Session 1: Monday February 13, 2012 from 3:10 to 5:40pm in Sci III 315
Session 2: Tuesday February 14, 2012 from 3:10 to 5:40pm in Sci III 315

If you cannot make either session due to class conflicts, you can schedule
an alternate time by contacting the instructor at least ONE WEEK in advance.

A make-up midterm will only be given if you have to miss the midterm for
serious and compelling reasons.

Final: Wednesday March 21, 2012 from 5:00 to 7:30pm in Sci III 315

If you cannot make the scheduled final time because it conflicts with another 
final or you have more than two finals scheduled that day, you MUST contact 
the instructor ONE WEEK in advance of the final to schedule an alternate time.