CNT 5505 Data and Computer Communications 

Fall 2023

T/Th 3:05PM -- 4:20PM HWC 3100

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts and basic elements in the design and implementation of computer communication networks, their protocols, and applications. Topics to be covered include: layered network architectures, applications, network programming interfaces (e.g., sockets), transport, physical media, data link protocols, local area networks and network routing. Examples will be drawn primarily from the Internet (e.g., TCP, UDP, and IP) protocol suite. Throughout the course, we will investigate not only what decisions are made in the design of the Internet, but also why such decisions are made. 

Course Objective:

          At the end of this course, you should be able to 

  1. Describe the overall Internet architecture
  2. Describe the design issues in each layer in the architecture
  3. Describe, analyze, apply, and code the key techniques and protocols in each layer

Prerequisites:

  1. Basic knowledge of operating systems (COP 4610)
  2. Basic knowledge of probability theory
  3. good at C/C++ programming, in particular, socket and Unix programming

Talk to me if you are not positive.

Textbooks:

Workload and Grading:

  1. Two programming projects: 30% (5% for the first project, and 25% for the second project)
  2. Four written home assignments: 20% (equally weighted)
  3. One mid-term exam: 20%
  4. One final exam: 30%

Final letter grades

A

[90-100]

A-

[87-90)

B+

[84-87)

B

[81-84)

B-

[78-81)

C+

[75-78)

C

[72-75)

C-

[70-72)
D+ [66-70)

D

[63-66)
D- [60-63)

F

<60

Course Policies:

University Attendance Policy:
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.

You should let me know in advance, when possible, and submit the documentation I seek if you miss a class. You should make up for any materials missed due to absences.

Academic Honor Policy:
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of students' academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to "...be honest and truthful and...[to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University." (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academics/Academic-Honor-Policy).

Late Assignment Policy:

In order to enable us to provide timely solutions to assignments, we have the following policy regarding submission of late assignments.

Missed exam Policy:

A missed exam will be recorded as a grade of zero. We will follow the university rules regarding missed final exams (see http://registrar.fsu.edu/dir_class/fall/exam_schedule.htm), for all the exams, including the final exam.

Americans with Disabilities Act:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. Please note that instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodation to a student until appropriate verification from the Student Disability Resource Center has been provided. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the: Student Disability Resource Center 874 Traditions Way 108 Student Services Building Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167 (850) 644-9566 (voice) (850) 644-8504 (TDD) sdrc@admin.fsu.edu http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu

Academic Integrity:

Remember that the goal of programming assignments and homework is to enhance your analysis, reasoning, and programming skills. Indulging in academic dishonesty defeats this purpose apart from being unfair to other students. In case you have any questions about whether an act of collaboration may be construed as academic dishonesty, please clarify the issue with the instructor before you collaborate.

All students should follow FSU Academic Honor Code. You might be assigned a grade of 'F', if you are found to have indulged in academic dishonesty.

·        It is understandable that discussing a problem with other people may lead to more insight into the issues involved. Thus discussing a problem in assignments/homework with other people is fine. However, discussing the solutions to the problem is NOT acceptable. 

·        Every student must write his/her own code and homework. Showing your code or homework to members of other teams, giving it to them, or making it accessible to them (e.g., by making the files world-readable) is academic dishonesty.

·        You are responsible for ensuring that your code/documentation/results are adequately protected and not accessible to other teams. Change permissions of your working directory to 0700 ('chmod 0700 <directory>).

·        Consulting code/material from a textbook, or from the Internet, in order to understand specific aspects of your assignment is fine. However, copying such code/material will be considered academic dishonesty. If you borrow small parts of code/material from these sources, you must acknowledge this in your submission and additionally you must clearly understand and be able to explain the borrowed code/material.

·        Plagiarism detection tools, such as Moss (A system for detecting software plagiarism), will be used in this course.

Syllabus Change Policy:

Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.