VKSF 342 - Internetworking LabSyllabus

VKSF 342

Internetworking Lab

Spring 20033 Course Syllabus

REMINDER: The information presented in this syllabus is subject to expansion, change, or modification during the quarter! THIS IS THE OFFICIAL SYLLABUS—DISREGARD THE SYLLABUS IN YOUR LAB MANUAL! Information on student responsibilities in the networking and systems administration lab as well as links to other course information can be found at .It is your responsibility to check that web site at least once per week for pertinent course information.

Prof Shenoy will post announcements related to her section on her web site:

Instructors:

Prof. Robert K. Watt
Office: 70-2281
Office Hours: Posted outside my office
Phone:(585) 475-7642
E-Mail:
Section: 70-TR 6:00PM
Section: 85-T 7:30PM / Prof. Nirmala Shenoy
Office: 70-2303
Office Hours: T R 2-4 PM
Phone:(585) 475-4887
E-Mail:
Web Page:
Section: 03-TR 4:00 PM
Section: 41-F 8:00 AM
Prof. Larry Hill
Office: 70-2331
Office Hours: M 9:00—11:00
R 11:30—1:30
Phone:(585) 475-7064(office)
(585)359-9692 (home)
E-Mail:
Section: 01-MW 8:30AM
Section: 02-MW 4:00PM
Section: 42-W 10:00AM
Section: 43-T 8:00AM

When corresponding, BE SURE to email ONLY your lecture instructor!

Course Text and Materials:

  1. Forouzan, B, Introduction to Data Communications and Networking 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill
  2. 342 Lab Manual 2nd Edition
  3. All handouts, homework, lab materials, and additional readings will be available via the course web site referenced above, via electronic reserves at the Wallace Library, or via the Web.

Important RIT Deadlines:

Last day of add/drop is Monday, March 15, 2004.

Last day to withdraw with a grade of “W” is Friday, April 16, 2004 – The deadline for withdrawing from a course with a grade of W is the end of the 6th week of the quarter. Forms may be obtained from your department office and need your instructor’s signature. The completed forms must be returned no later than April 16, 2004.

Course Description:

This course is a laboratory-based course on the interconnection of digital devices for the purpose of enabling data communication. The focus is on the hardware, software, and protocols for peripheral and network communication, supported with a substantial laboratory component. Accessing computers and networks from a remote site will also be studied. Students will be required to construct cables, install network cards, configure modems and establish a variety of working connections between various digital devices. Problems may be introduced into working systems and students will be required to use diagnostic tools (both software and hardware) to determine and repair the problem.

Course Objectives:

General

The primary objective is to provide students with an understanding of the issues in designing and constructing a communications infrastructure. Students will emerge with this understanding plus specific skills in hardware installation, the diagnosis of problems, and identifying software vs. hardware failures. Using remote (dial-up) access techniques to connect with a network and/or a computer will also be studied.

Specific

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

  1. Install a network card in a Personal Computer (PC) and confirm that the card is configured & operating correctly.
  2. Construct a null modem cable & use it to connect two PCs directly via their serial ports.
  3. Construct a 10BaseT cable for an abbreviated network between two computers.
  4. Configure a modem to operate with the host operating system and application software properly.
  5. Use a modem to establish remote connectivity
  6. Use remote technologies to transfer files and access other resources of a remote system.
  7. Discover and repair problems in a digital connection between two devices.
  8. Construct multiple networks and learn how to connect them together

Prerequisites: VKSF 341, VKSF 733, or permission of instructor.

Grading:

The grading scale used along with the grading criteria is as follows:

Final Grade = (lab average *.4) + (midterm *.2) + (final *.2) + (program *.1) + (homework average *.1)

Note: the lab average MUST be greater than or equal to 80% -- see below

Course Organization:

Labs – Labs will begin Monday, March 15, 2004 (week 2 of the quarter)

The lab component of this course is essential to the understanding of the course material. To enhance your learning in lab you will be assigned lab preparation questions prior to coming to lab. This assignment is called a Lab Study Guide. Completion of these study guide questions is required. We will not accept any late Study Guides. Your Study Guide is worth up to 10 points of your graded lab report for that week. There is also a strong likelihood that you will see some of these study-guide questions on the midterm and final exams. The Study Guides are included in your Lab Manual. The first one is due in your lab the week of March 15th. The Study Guide must:

  1. be completed using a word processor.
  2. contain only computer generated diagrams (no hand drawings!)
  3. be printed out and handed in as hard copy (no electronic submissions!)
  4. be submitted at the beginning of your lab period

In addition to the Lab Study Guide, each lab will have instructions covering the tasks to be accomplished, a list of lab report questions that must be answered based on those tasks, and a sign-off sheet verifying you have accomplished each task. These lab documents are all included in your Lab Manual. It is recommended that you carefully read the instructions and questions prior to attending the lab. Lab report questions must:

  1. be accurately and completely answered. -- “yes” and “no” answers receive zero credit! EXPLAIN what you mean!
  2. be completed using a word processor.
  3. contain only computer generated diagrams (no hand drawings!)
  4. be printed out and handed in as hard copy (no electronic submissions!)
  5. be submitted exactly one week after the lab experiment was assigned in lab

For example, the lab report for lab 1 must be turned in at the beginning of your regularly scheduled lab 2 class period. Attach (loose papers will not be accepted) the sign off sheet to the end of your completed lab report when you submit it for grading. Without this sheet attached your lab report is not complete. Lab report grades are each composed as follows: The written report is 80%, the attached sign off sheet is 10%, and the Lab Study Guide is 10%. Visio is available to you in the lab for the creation of diagrams. Configuration Builder is available on the ~netsyslb webpage. These or any other computer-drawing tool including MS Word Draw is acceptable for the creation of your diagrams.

In order to pass the lab component of the course and successfully complete the course you must:

1) submit all fully completed lab assignments on time

2) achieve an 80% average on the seven graded lab assignments and two lab practicals.

The lab average is determined as follows:

Lab grade = (weekly lab average * .25) + (practical average * .75)

**** If you earn less than 80% in the lab component you will automatically fail the lab and the course.****

The lab grade will weigh 40% toward your final grade.

Note:Lab reports are due one week after the scheduled lab meeting at the beginning of the lab period! There will be no printing of lab assignments allowed in the lab. Late work will not be accepted unless documented unforeseen circumstances prevent you from doing so.

The following is a list of lab titles:

  1. Serial Communications
  2. 10BaseT Crossover
  3. Basic Network Infrastructure Construction (10BaseT, Ethernet frame, packet capturing)
  4. Remote Network Access using PPP
  5. ARP & Introduction to Bridging & Switching
  6. Basic Network Infrastructure Construction ( Token Ring , Ethernet & IP)
  7. Introduction to Routing

If you are more than 10 minutes late for your lab section you will be required to do the lab by yourself at a spare bench or during open lab times. You must attend the lab section for which you are registered.

The lab periods are scheduled in the Internetworking Lab in Building 70, Room 2160. You must enroll in a lab section with a lab instructor. If you are not enrolled in a lab section, go to the Department of Information Technology Student Service Office in Building 70 Room 2100 and enroll in one of the available sections.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  1. Lab Assistant – Monitors the lab; hands out and collects equipment; some can sign off on your lab activities during open lab (see the bulletin board in the lab). The lab assistants are not there to answer your questions about lab or the course.
  2. Graduate Assistant/Lab Tutor – will have assigned hours where they are available to assist you with the lab or course material. Their hours will be posted outside the lab.

Crib Sheets

For the midterm exam and first practical exam you are allowed to bring a one sided, 8.5" X 11", hand written crib sheet. For the final exam and second practical you are allowed a two sided, 8.5" X 11", hand written crib sheet. The penalty for any crib sheet format violation is minimally a deduction of 10 points off your exam grade.

Practicals

There will be two hands-on exams in the lab given during the 6th and 10th weeks of the quarter. These exams will test your understanding of the lab content of the course. You will take the practicals individually, so it is very important that you understand the lab exercises. Open lab hours are available for you to practice the skills introduced during your scheduled lab sessions and every student is expected to spend some extra time in the labs during these open hours! You must take your practical exams in the lab section for which you are registered. These exams count heavily towards your final course grade, including possible course failure for poor performance, even though you have successfully completed the other course components.

Written Exams

A full period midterm exam will be given during the 5th week of the quarter and will include all reading, lab, and lecture material covered to that point. A final exam will be given during finals week during the time scheduled by RIT. Requests to take the final early in order to go home cannot be honored. Should you have a conflict with another final, please see your lecture instructor well before finals week.

There will be no calculators, cell phones, pagers or any other electronic devices allowed during written or practical exams. Any access and/or activity of these devices during exam times (including ringing phones) will result in immediate failure for the respective exam since they enable cheating and distract the entire class.

****YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SHUT THEM OFF DURING EXAMS!****

During lecture, SHUT OFF these devices! There is to be absolutely no use of any electronic devices, save maybe a calculator, during our lectures. If a phone rings, assuming you haven’t adhered to my rule just stated, immediately leave the room and answer it in the hall. If you use electronic devices for any reason (including answering that phone call), I will ask you to leave my classroom for the remainder of the lecture.

Homework

Homework assignments will be given throughout the quarter. The weeks the assignments are to be handed out and collected are indicated on the course schedule. This schedule might be modified; therefore your instructor will announce the specific dates as well as which assignment you are to complete in lecture.

At least one assignment is a term paper. You will have to submit your paper to a service called turnitin.com, which will automatically check your submissions for plagiarism. It uses both extensive web searches and a database of previously submitted papers for the comparison, and provides your instructor with an "originality report" on each item you submit. If the system flags your work, your instructor will check it to see whether the problem is something as simple as a misplaced end quotation mark, or whether it is in fact a case of academic dishonesty. The service does not grade you—your instructor does that. If there is any question about your work, your instructor will contact you directly to allow you an opportunity to explain. Your lecture professor will give the class the password for submission to the service. Should you conscientiously object to the use of turnitin.com or any other such tool for any reason, you have the choice not to hand in that assignment, receive zero credit for it, and accept the effect that zero has upon your course grade, no questions asked. The use of these tools by the faculty in the evaluation of student work for plagiarism is a non-negotiable course requirement!

In addition to submitting your paper to turnitin.com, you should submit it to the appropriate FirstClass drop box as described later in this document or turn in a hardcopy to your instructor, whichever method your instructor requires. If you are submitting to the drop box make sure your first initial and last name appears first on the subject line (e.g. R Jones Paper). The attached paper should be in Microsoft Word format, or in RTF format (a Microsoft format supported by most word processors), and should have your first initial and last name as the first part of the file name (e.g. rjones-Paper.doc). This ensures that your instructor can recognize your assignment once downloaded. If you do not follow these naming guidelines for your message or attached file, you will lose 5% on your assignment.

FirstClass

You are required to have a FirstClass account for course communications and for submission of those assignments that must be submitted in soft-copy form to a designated FirstClass drop box. FirstClass is the ONLY mail server from which your instructor will accept and respond to email exchanges with students. Mail sent to the entire class will be sent to your VAX mail account but replies to the instructor must be sent to FirstClass. Any email sent to your instructor from any other email system will be discarded without prejudice. Both the VAX mail system and FirstClass allow for the forwarding of incoming messages to another mail service. In FirstClass this feature is found under the edit/preferences menu. If you do not check these mail systems daily make sure you forward your mail to a mail box you check regularly. However, you will find it much more advantageous to always use your FirstClass account for all VKSF 4002-342 work. Please note that you can install a FirstClass client on your own PC and access requires an Internet connection either via PPP, cable modem, or some other direct connection to the RIT network. If you find yourself in an environment where installation of the FirstClass client is unacceptable, a convenient alternative is the use of a browser and the address:firstclass.it.rit.edu/login.

Programming Assignment

One programming project will be assigned. The programming language normally accepted is Java 1.4, but the choice of language will be specified by your instructor. If you are a student from another department and need to do your programming assignment in another language your request to use a different language must be made via email to your lecture instructor. You must get written approval from your instructor in the form of an email. This confirms your agreement on the choice of language for your programming project. This project will be assigned and collected as indicated by the schedule or your instructor. Bonus points will be awarded only if your course average is 80% or better. You are reminded that event dates are subject to change and it is your responsibility to remain vigilant of the course schedule, as possibly modified by your instructor, as needs arise.

Electronic Drop Box Assignment Submission

  1. Your programming assignment is to be submitted into a designated FirstClass Drop Box as described in the Procedures section below. Submissions made to a conference other than the one designated, or mailed directly to the instructor, will be disregarded resulting in a grade of 0.
  1. You are entirely responsible for obtaining a working FirstClass account on the InformationTechnology Department server prior to the deadline of the programming assignment. Not having the FirstClass account will not be considered as a valid justification for missing the assignment deadline.
  1. You are entirely responsible for becoming fully proficient in the usage of the FirstClass system. Not knowing how to use the FirstClass system will not be considered as valid justification for missing the assignment deadline.
  1. If you wish to submit the assignment from a location where a FirstClass client is not available, or from behind a corporate firewall[1], the assignment can be mailed using the e-mail address as specified in the Procedures section below. Not having the FirstClass client readily available will not be considered as valid justification for missing the assignment submission.
  1. Absolutely no submissions will be accepted on floppy disks, zip disks, or CD-ROM disks unless prearranged exceptions are approved by your instructor PRIOR to the due date.
  1. You are entirely responsible for submitting all files required for a complete working solution to the assigned programming task. Failure to submit a complete set of files will render the assignment incomplete and result in grading penalties.
  1. You are entirely responsible for ensuring the integrity of the files submitted. Submission of one or more corrupt files will render the assignment incomplete and result in grading penalties.
  1. You are entirely responsible for backing up your work. Loss of work due to equipment malfunction, loss, or theft will not be considered as valid justification for missing the assignment deadline.
  1. All electronically submitted files must be submitted in a ZIP archive. A penalty of 5 points will apply to the assignment not submitted as a ZIP archive.
  1. Submission deadlines will be strongly enforced. Missing a deadline will result in applicable late penalties up to and including grades of zero. If you decide to resubmit an assignment, only the assignment with the most recent submission time-stamp will be considered. Should unforeseeable circumstances prevent you from meeting the deadline, it is entirely your responsibility to inform the instructor of such circumstances prior to assignment deadline in order to make alternative arrangements. Only emergency situations verifiable through proper documentation will receive consideration as justification for missing the assignment deadline.

Electronic Drop Box Assignment Submission Procedures.