Course Policy and Outline: Telecommunications III S423

Course Policy and Outline (Syllabus): Telecommunications Networking II (Spring 2001-2002)

Instructor: S.D. Personick (SDP): [email protected], Commonwealth 420

TA: TBD

Writing Intensive Tutors: Stephanie [email protected] and Ryan [email protected]

Course Web Site: http://www.ece.drexel.edu/ECE/ECE-S490_TN/

Prerequisites: Telecommunications Networking I, or permission of the instructor

Welcome to Telecommunications Networking II. This is the second quarter of a two- quarter sequence covering the fundamentals of modern telecommunications networks, systems, technologies, and their associated applications. This quarter, we will cover the following “hot” and emerging telecommunications networking topic areas:

1. Wireless systems and networks, including: first and second generation cellular and personal communication systems (PCS), direct broadcast satellite systems (DBS), and 2-way satellite communications systems (low/medium-earth-orbiting, and geo- synchronous) 2. Local area networks, including: fundamentals of packet communication, the OSI protocol stack, wireline (copper and fiber) and wireless LANs 3. The Internet, including the fundamental TCP/IP protocol suite, the domain name system (DNS), and next generation/emerging Internet protocols and concepts (RSVP, IPv6, mobile IP, multicasting, tunneling, streaming, differentiated qualities of service) 4. Topics in emerging telecommunications networking, including: broadband access networks (ADSL, cable modems, wireless local loop), 3rd generation wireless, voice- over-IP, free-space optical links, and information assurance

A detailed schedule of lectures is provided below.

Our objectives are as follows:

1. To review, and understand how wireless technologies are being applied to networks and networking services to serve people-on-the-move, and to serve locations that cannot be efficiently served by wireline alternatives. To be able to calculate the frequency re-use required in cellular/PCS systems to meet traffic demands. To be able to calculate the link loss budget of a DBS or 2-way satellite system.

2. To review and understand the concepts of packet switching and local area networking. To be able to explain the functions/purposes of the layers in the OSI protocol stack. To be able to design a simple local area network. To be able to properly select a link layer media access control protocol.

3. To review and understand the fundamentals of the Internet TCP/IP protocol suite, the domain name system (DNS), and emerging Internet protocols (RSVP, IPv6 and mobile IP). To be able to explain the functions of IP, TCP, and the DNS. To be “conversant” in the fundamentals of the existing and emerging TCP/IP protocol suite.

4. To become familiar with emerging telecommunications technologies and capabilities (broadband access, 3rd generation wireless, next generation Internet, information assurance); and to understand the market opportunities they address

Resources:

The instructor and the teaching assistant are available to you as resources. They will be glad to help you succeed. Feel free to make an appointment using E-mail (preferred method), or just stop by. They can help you with: concepts you are having difficulty with; questions you have; and they can suggest references for further study. If you have a question, your classmates may have the same question. Asking questions helps the instructor and the TA to anticipate problems that your fellow students may be having.

For your term paper, you should take advantage of the services of the “writing intensive tutors” (WITs) who have been assigned to help the students in the course. They can help you organize the logical flow of your term paper, and they can also help you with style grammar.

All of the slides used in lectures will be posted on the course Web site, and these may include some additional or modified slides (vs. the complete set in the bookstore). Slides will generally be posted in advance of the lectures. Notes may be brought to exams for reference.

Suggested reading materials will be posted on the Web site; and additional suggested reading materials will be provided by the instructor, on request.

Doing the homework will not only provide you with credit toward your final grade, but will also provide you with practice in applying what has been presented in the lectures. Doing the homework may help you identify concepts that you don’t yet understand.

Recitation sections will generally be used to go over the homework solutions; and these represent another opportunity to test your understanding of the work that has been presented. Policies:

Attendance-

Students registered for credit are expected to attend all lectures and recitation sessions. Occasional absences are understandable. Excessive absences may result in a grade of incomplete. Dependence upon posted course notes in lieu of attendance is not recommended. Attendance will be taken during most lectures and recitation sessions. Registered students who miss more than three (3) lectures and/or recitation sessions will have 3.33 points deducted from their “raw score” in the course (see below) for each absence in excess of three (3).

Homework-

Each homework assignment will be graded on a scale of 0-5. Homework will generally be assigned at least one week prior to the corresponding recitation section. Homework must be submitted to the course TA (in paper form, or using electronic mail) prior to the beginning of the first recitation session in which the solutions to that homework will be discussed. Homework handed in late will receive no credit. (No exceptions)

Grading-

Grading will be based on the following algorithm:

Raw Score =0.34 homework grade + 0.33 midterm exam grade + 0.33 term paper grade (no final exam)

The homework grade will be 100 x total homework credits received (0 - 5 for each homework) / (5 x total number of homework assignments)

Midterm exam will be “open book” (notes ok)

Students achieving a raw score of 90 or greater, based on the above formula, will receive a grade of A. Students achieving a raw score of between 80-89 will receive a grade of B. Students achieving a raw score of between 70-79 will receive a grade of C. Students who receive a raw score of between 50-69 will receive a grade of D. Students receiving a raw score of less than 50 will receive a failing grade. The instructor reserves the option of moving the cutoff between C and B to 75; and of moving the cutoff between D and C to 60 or 65. In no case will a student whose score is below 50 receive a passing grade.

Students may work together on homework problems; but depending upon others to solve your homework problems is likely to negatively impact on your learning and your exam scores. Cheating on exams or unauthorized collaboration on the term paper, of any form, is prohibited.

Term paper for ECES 490 (Spring 2001-2002):

Imagine that:

You are working in the R&D Department of a telecommunications and networking equipment manufacturing firm. Each morning, your boss drops by to say hello, and to ask you what you are going to do that day that is worth the $50,000 a year salary that the company is paying you. This morning, your boss asked you to provide a technology assessment report on a "new" technology that a competitor has just announced. The announcement implies that this new technology is a breakthrough. You job is to do some library research, to make some telephone calls, and to integrate and distill all the information you can gather into a report that addresses the following questions:

1. Is this really a new technology, or just some old stuff being "dusted off" to impress the stock analysts?

2. What are the real implications of this technology...looking beyond the hype of the press release? I.e., what impact will it likely have on the cost and/or performance of products or system applications that it can be applied to?

3. Is this technology ready to be incorporated into real products and system applications, or is it just a research laboratory result that is years from being ready to be applied to real products and system applications?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this technology, vs. existing, alternative technologies?

Term paper assignment: Pick a "new" telecommunications technology or product that has been announced in the last 12 months, and produce a technology assessment report that addresses the questions listed above. Your task is to (first) use what you have learned at Drexel, on your coop assignments, etc., to figure out what specific questions you need to ask about this new technology or product...and then to find answers to those questions.

Example: A cable manufacturer announces a new type of copper alloy "monster" cable that can be used to connect audio speakers to an amplifier. According to the announcement, this breakthrough technology significantly improves the quality of the sound produced by any audio system.

The first question that would come to my mind (SDP) is: what, if anything, can this "monster" cable do to affect the current that flows through it at audio frequencies... versus standard 16 gauge speaker wire? If, after analyzing this, I conclude that the answer is “nothing”, then my next question would be: how can it affect the sound produced by the speakers?

A 1-page proposal for your topic will be due (to [email protected] by E-mail) at the end of week 3. This one-page proposal should:

a) Identify the “new” technology you are going to assess b) Give some preliminary indication of what you think the questions are that you should be asking about this particular technology c) Outline the approach you plan to use to perform your assessment. I.e., it should identify the sources of information you expect to draw upon.

Based on feedback, you may wish to submit a revised version of your one-page proposal.

Five points (out of a possible 33 points) will be deducted from the score of any student who does not submit a substantive proposal, by the end of week 3, that includes separate sections that address each of: a), b), and c) above.

You may wish to contact one of the WITs (the writing intensive tutors listed above) assigned to this course to review your proposal before it is submitted.

The first draft of your term paper will be due (to [email protected] by E-mail) by the end of week 6.

You must contact one of the WITs (the writing intensive tutors listed above) assigned to this course to review your draft at least 1 week before it is submitted. This review can take place, initially, by E-mail exchange between you and either Stephanie or Ryan.

The final version will be due (to [email protected] by E-mail) by the end of week 9.

You must contact one of the WITs (the writing intensive tutors listed above) assigned to this course to review your final paper at least 1 week before it is submitted. This review can take place, initially, by E-mail exchange between you and either Stephanie or Ryan.

The end of a week is defined as Friday, 22:00 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time), which is equal to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

Format: Up to 5 pages (longer papers are not necessarily better, because your boss gets grumpy when she reads long papers that could have been more succinct), Microsoft Word format, font size:12, double-spaced. Your paper should include a listing of all references and other sources of information (i.e., people who provided you with information) that you used to produce your term paper. It should answer the four (4) questions given above. Answering these questions solely on the basis of the announcement (press release) of the new technology is useless (i.e., if that is all you are going to do, you might as well just hand your boss a copy of the announcement to read). You can (and should) ask for help, but the technical content of the report must represent your own opinions based on the information you have gathered. It is a bad idea to put down any opinions that you don’t thoroughly understand.

Please make sure that your name is at the top of your proposal, your draft, and your final term paper... and also please include your full name on the subject line of the E-mails that you send to me with these items. Example- Subject: Term Paper Proposal from John Doe

Course outline: Telecommunication Networking I-II

Summary

Telecommunications Networking I Overview---1 hour Representing Information as a Signal ---2 hours Quantifying the Performance of Communication Systems ---3 hours Point-to-Point Telecommunications Links: Wire Pairs, Coaxial Cable, Fiber, Wireless --- 10 hours Circuit Switching, and Circuit-Switched Telecommunication Networks --- 2 hours

Telecommunications Networking II

Wireless Systems and Networks (cellular/ PCS, direct broadcast satellite, 2-way satellite) --- 5 hours Local Area Networks (packet switching, the protocol stack, wireline and wireless LANs) --- 5 hours Internet (IP, TCP, the Domain Name System, mobile IP, IPv6, RSVP) --- 5 hours Next generation systems, networks, issues, and applications (broadband access, 3rd generation wireless, Internet telephony, information assurance)--- 3 hours

Telecommunications II

1. Wireless Systems and Networks (1st and 2nd generation cellular/PCS, DBS, LEO/MEO and GEO 2-way satellite systems) 2. Continuation of 1 3. Continuation of 2 4. Continuation of 3 5. Continuation of 4

6. Local Area Networks (packet switching, the OSI protocol stack, wireline and wireless LANs) 7. Continuation of 6 8. Continuation of 7 9. Continuation of 8 10. Continuation of 9

11. Internet (IP, TCP, DNS, RSVP, IPv6, mobile IP) 12. Continuation of 11 13. Continuation of 12 14. Continuation of 13 15. Continuation of 14

16. Broadband Access Networks (cable modems, ADSL, wireless local loops) 17. 3rd Generation Wireless and Next Generation Internet (e.g., Internet telephony) 18. Information Assurance