CSF3 Open Systems and Networks

CS4DE Open Systems and Networks (v10)

Course Plan

This plan should tell you what to read, the topics for each lecture, who is giving it, and what you should learn. A later version may be issued later in the course, with a fuller list of handouts.

The book "Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume 1: Principles, protocols and architecture"

by Douglas Comer, Third Edition ISBN 0-13-216987-8 (hb) ISBN 0-13-227836-? (pb) published by Prentice Hall, 1995 is essential for the course. Most of the references below are to the relevant chapters of the book for each lecture.

UH Week 01 Date: 28 September 1998 Induction Week: No classes.

UH Week 02 Date: 5 October 1998

Lecture 1: Services (JAM) References: Ch 1,

1 side potted history

Lecture 2: Switching (JAM) References: Ch 2,

1 side circuit switching

Practical: Using the World Wide Web

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

explain the relationship between network applications and the underlying technology.
explain the need for switching to provide universal service.
make use of the World Wide Web.

UH Week 03 Date: 12 October 1998

Lecture 3: Internet concept (JAM) References:

Lecture 4: Searching on the Web, Ethernet (JAM) References: Ch 2,

1 side searching

Practical: More on using Unix, References: 6 sides getting

Searching on the World Wide Web started unix

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

identify the main differences between LANs and WANs.
describe the principles of operation of the Ethernet.
use effective strategies to find information on the World Wide Web.
Be able to use the Comnputer Science UNIX workstations.

UH Week 04 Date: 19 October 1998

Lecture 5: Data Link Protocols (JAM) References: Ch11, 13.4, 2 side handout

Lecture 6: Internets (JDK) References: Ch 3, handout

Practical: Writing html. This practical will be unsupervised. Find out how to write html by searching the World Wide Web for suitable tutorial and/or reference material.

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

describe the operation of a simple data link protocol.
describe the difference between a service interface and a protocol.
explain the need for internetworking
work independently to find information on the World Wide Web.
describe the basic concepts of html.

UH Week 05 Date: 26 October 1998

Lecture 7: Addressing (JDK) References: Ch 4

Lecture 8: ARP and RARP (JDK) References: Ch 5, 6

Practical: Creating web pages – there should be a one side handout on installing pages.

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

describe how addresses are allocated in the Internet.
describe how hardware addresses and Internet addresses are related.
create simple Web pages and install them on a server.

UH Week 06 Date: 2 November 1998

Lecture 9: IP (JDK) References: Ch 7

Lecture 10: Forwarding (JDK) References: Ch 8

Practical: Data Link Practical References: handout

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

describe the structure and operation of IP.
describe how datagrams are forwarded by an IP router.

UH Week 07 Date: 9 November 1998

Lecture 11: Subnetting (JDK) References: Ch 7

Lecture 12: Supernets and IP v6 (JAM) References: Ch 10, 29

Johnny's Web page

Practical: Data Link Practical (continued)

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

explain the need for subnetting.
demonstrate the effect of different subnet masks.
describe the requirements for enhancements to IP

compare the features of IPv6 to those of IPv4.

describe the behaviour of a simple data link protocol.

UH Week 08 Date: 16 November 1998

Lecture 13: Layering (JAM) References: Ch 11, 2 sides on ISO model, 1 side lecture summary.

Lecture 14: Routing (JDK) References: Ch 14

Practical: Style issues on the Web

References: http://www.cs.herts.ac.uk/~comqjam/#style

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

justify the use of layered architectures.
discuss the requirements of a routing protocol.
adopt good practices in writing html.
identify examples of good and bad style in pages on the World Wide Web.

UH Week 09 Date: 23 November 1998

No Lectures or Practical: Read chapters 11 and 12?

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

discuss layering issues in greater depth.
describe UDP and where it might be used.

UH Week 10 Date: 30 November 1998

Lecture 15: Distance Vector Routing (JDK) References: Ch 14, 16

Lecture 16: Link State Routing (JDK) References: Ch 14, 15

Practical: Routing practical (1) References: handout

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

compare and contrast distance vector and link state routing algorithms.

UH Week 11 Date: 7 December 1998

Lecture 17: TCP (JAM) References: Ch 13

Lecture 18: DNS (JAM) References: Ch 22

Practical: Routing practical (2)

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

describe TCP and how it implements flow control
describe how name to address mappings may be maintained in a global system.
use a simulator to demonstrate simple routing scenarios.

UH Week 12 Date: 14 December 1998

Lecture 19: TCP over ATM (part 1) (JAM) References: Ch 18

Lecture 20: TCP over ATM (part 2) (JAM) References: Ch 18

Practical: None

When you have completed this material you should be able to:

describe the implementation of TCP over ATM.
describe the interaction of CO and CL at different layers.
discuss the relationships of addresses at different layers in a communications system.

[Christmas vacation]

UH Week 16 Date: 11th January 1998

Lecture 21, 22: Revision (JAM) References: The whole book

Practical: None – revision via EMail

UH Week 17 Date: 18th January 1998 No classes: Students' private revision

Practical: None – revision via EMail

When you have completed this material you should be able to pass the exam, we hope.

UH Week 18 Date: 25th January 1998 No classes: Exams week

*** this plan is subject to change and correction ***

csf3-osn-plan-v10 Wednesday, October 21st, 1998