Faculty Contact Information:
Ron Sickler, A+, Network+, CTT, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCT, B.S.CS, M.IS.
Email: RWSickler@Faculty.ED.UMUC.EDU
(06023) 943531 Home Phone (01628) 276698 Cell Phone
Details of contact: You should expect at least a 24 hour turn around on calls or e-mails.
Web Page: http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~rsickler/ (includes course materials)
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Consultation:
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Office hours: I will arrive at least 30 minutes prior to each class and stay until all are finished. If you want to discuss anything you can always make an appointment. I will try to meet your schedule.
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Required Texts and Readings:
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White, C.(2002). Data Communications and Computer Networks: A Business User's Approach (2nd ed.). Boston: Thompson Course Technology.
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Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
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Recommended Journals:
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Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.
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Course Description:
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3 semester hours credit. Prerequisites: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, or permission of the Program Director. Provides analysis of data communications technology and its application within the public and private sector enterprise. Gives an in-depth view of the communications environment, data communications and telecommunications equipment, and local and wide area networks. The student is involved in case studies of communications systems design in educational, industrial, governmental, and military environments.
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Course Goals:
Upon completion of the course, participants should:
1. Understand the different network topologies, and their advantages and disadvantages.
2. Understand issues involved in network security and data integrity.
3. Understand the strengths and limitations of the Internet.
4. Discuss the roles of IT professionals in network design and maintenance.
5. Be able to research current topics in networking.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Discuss the evolution of networks and the Internet
2. Explain the hierarchical, layered structure of a typical network architecture
3. Describe emerging network technologies and assess their capabilities, limitations, and near-term potential
4. Discuss important network standards in their historical context
5. Describe the responsibilities of the layers of the ISO reference model
6. Explain how a network can detect and correct transmission errors
7. Illustrate how a packet is routed over the Internet
8. Discuss the fundamental ideas of public-key cryptography
9. Summarize common authentication protocols
10. Summarize the capabilities and limitations of the means of cryptography that are currently available
11. Explain the different roles and responsibilities of clients and servers for a range of possible applications.
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 92%
B 80 – 91%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
20% - Participate in classroom discussions
40% - Complete graduate level assignments. Two projects will be assigned. One will be individual research on future strategies, trends or directions in the data communications field and the other will be a group case study using a provided ficticious company.
10% - Orally/visually present prepared material
30% - Complete one written examination(s)
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Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours for every hour of a face-to-face class and approximately ten hours of preparation per week for a DE class.
Complete graduate level projects, write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing approximately 100 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables, to include programs, projects, papers, and/or case studies.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material.
Complete one written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. The examination questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.
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Course Schedule:
This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.
31 Jan
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
Orientation to subject
Chapters 1, 2
Intro to Networks and Data Communications; Data & Signals.
1 Feb
Chapters 3, 4
Conducted and Wireless Media; Making Connections.
14 Feb
Chapters 5, 6
Multiplexing; Error Detection and Error Control
15 Feb
Chapter 7
LANs: The Basics; Midterm in the Afternoon
28 Feb
Chapters 8, 9
LANs: Internetworking; LANs: Software and Support
29 Feb
Chapters 10, 11
MANs and WANs; The Internet
13 Mar
Chapter 12, 13
Telecommunications Systems; Network Security
Student Presentations
14 Mar
Chapter 14
Student Presentations
Network Design Development; Final Exam in Afternoon
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Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC - Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/index.html or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
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Faculty Bio:
Instructor for the University of Maryland, University College. .
25 Years in the field of Computer Information Systems
12 Years in the field of Computer Networking
8 Years experience in Management
2 Years experience as a Chief Information Officer
7 Years experience teaching at the College level
M.S. Degree in Computer Information Systems Mgmt
B.S. Degree in Computer Science
Current Professional Certifications:
Microsoft Certified Trainer
Comptia Certified Technical Trainer
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Windows 2000
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Windows NT
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
Microsoft Certified Product Specialist
Comptia Network+ Engineer
Comptia A+ Engineer
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