To introduce the fundamental concepts and theory of communications;

To provide a solid understanding of the technologies that support modern networked computer systems;

To introduce low-level network programming concepts, and give students practice with systems programming in C;

To provide our students with the ability to evaluate and advise industry on the use and deployment of networked systems.

Two one-hour lectures and one one-hour tutorial per week.

None

Systems Programming (H) (required)

Operating Systems (H) (recommended and optional).

Examination 80%, Coursework 20%.

■ To introduce the fundamental concepts and theory of communications;

■ To provide a solid understanding of the technologies that support modern networked computer systems;

■ To introduce low-level network programming concepts, and give students practice with systems programming in C;

■ To provide our students with the ability to evaluate and advise industry on the use and deployment of networked systems.

By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. Describe and compare capabilities of various communication technologies and techniques;

2. Point out differences between networks of different scale, and how these affect their design;

3. Describe the issues in connecting heterogeneous networks;

4. Describe importance of layering, and the OSI reference model;

5. Detail demands of different applications on quality of service requirements for the underlying communication network;

6. Demonstrate an understanding of the design and operation of an IP network, such as the Internet, and explain the purpose and function of its various components;

7. Write simple low-level communication software, showing awareness of good practice for correct and secure programming.