CE 4951 - Networking I

• Describe basic terminology pertaining to data communications and networking, including the roles of various protocol layers in a protocol architecture
• Determine the frequency-domain spectrum of a random binary data signal, and of a square-wave binary data signal
• Determine and describe data sections transferred and those retransmitted when using either stop-and-wait or sliding-window data link control protocols, under various data-error and data-flow conditions
• Determine the CRC frame-check sequence (FCS) transmitted for a given data block, and determine whether or not errors are detected within a received data block that includes a CRC FCS
• Determine data link capacities using Nyquist and Shannon limits
• Determine and sketch NRZ, RZ, Manchester, AMI, and differentially-encoded data waveforms for a given information data bit sequence
• Determine ASK, FSK, and PSK modulated signal waveforms for a given information data bit sequence
• Describe the operation of CSMA/CD protocols for an Ethernet LAN
• Calculate data-transfer delays and network utilization for common network configurations

• Combine assembly and a high-level language to complete basic embedded system programming tasks
• Employ embedded systems development tools
• Link multiple files to create a larger application
• Design and write C functions
• Use interrupts in C to perform I/O
• Use the various subsystems of the processor in practical applications
• Perform fundamental probability calculations, for example, the probability that at least three of five dice rolled have values of either 1 or 2 showing

• Overview of Communication & Networking (3 classes)
• Signal and Data Representation (1.5 classes)
• Spectra, Bandwidth, Noise, Impairments (1.5 classes)
• Transmission Media and Typical Signals (2 classes)
• Data Encoding, Modems and Digital Modulation (3 classes)
• Data Link Control (Error Control and Flow Control) (2 classes)
• Error Detection and Error Correction Techniques (2 classes)
• Local Area Networks, Ethernet, and LAN Performance (4 classes)
• Homework Periods, Review, and Examinations (3 classes plus final)

• Students in this course will work in teams in the laboratory. Four or five experiments illustrate signaling concepts such as bandwidth measurements of a digital data signal, line coding techniques, modulation of digital data, bit-error rate measurements for digital data transfer on a baseband data link that has noise, and Ethernet CSMA/CD principles. The remaining laboratory periods are allocated to provide time for student teams to complete an assigned course project. A typical course project has student teams (of three or four students each) develop and implement a host node/station that exchanges text messages with the nodes/stations developed by other student teams. Each node/station may be implemented with any technology but students typically implement their stations on microcomputer platforms used in earlier courses. Each node/station must interoperate with other nodes/stations in accordance with an interoperability standard developed by the students, and that standard defines parameters such as the shared network medium, the information transfer rate on that medium, header specifics, and (usually optional) error detection protocols