MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

ADVANCED DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER NETWORKS

(HCS 412) COURSE OUTLINE
PERIOD: 2019
Lecturer: Mr. T. T. Gotora
Email ID: gotorat@staff.msu.ac.zw/ trust.gotora@yahoo.com
Contact No: 0718002497

Preamble:
The purpose of the course is to give students a sound understanding in data transmission
fundamentals, operating principles of wireless networks, network and transport layer operations
and mechanisms enforced in network security. This course provides a general introduction to
emerging technologies, with an emphasis on the architectures and benefits. It we will cover some
of the standards of cellular networks and wireless LANs i.e. IEEE 802.11 and 802.15 projects.

Learning Objectives:
Students will be able expected to:
 Understand various data transmissions i.e. digital and analog transmission.
 Gain knowledge on wireless LAN architecture, standard comparisons and mobile
networks i.e. GSM and 4G.
 Appreciate the various routing algorithms and protocols.
 Apply IP Addressing and routing concepts in computer networks.
 Understand the various security mechanisms applied in the network and transport layers.
 Acquire knowledge on the types of TCP congestion control and mobile IP.
  Understand the various architectures and benefits of Emerging Technology
implementations like the Cloud, Software Defined Networks and 5G.

UNIT I: ANALOG AND DIGITAL TRANSMISSION (Week 1-2: 4 Lectures)

Analog and Digital Signals

 Sine wave properties, Square wave properties, Digital Signal as a Composite Signal
Data Rate and Baud Rate
 Bit Rate, Baud Rate, Nyquist Bit Rate, Shannon Capacity
Digital-To-Digital Conversion
 Line Coding, Line Coding Schemes, Block Coding, Scrambling
Analog-To-Digital Conversion
 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), Delta Modulation (DM)
Digital-To-Analog Conversion
 Amplitude Shift Keying, Frequency Shift Keying, Phase Shift Keying, Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation

UNIT II: WIRELESS LANs and WANs (Week 3-4: 4 Lectures)

IEEE 802.11 Project (Wi-Fi)

 Architecture, MAC Sublayer, Addressing Mechanism, Physical Layer, Standards.
IEEE 802.15 Project (Bluetooth)
 Architecture, Bluetooth Layers
Cellular Networks
 Architecture, Handover for GSM and 4G Networks

UNIT III: NETWORK LAYER (Week 5-6: 4 Lectures)

IPV4 Addressing
 Address Space, Classful Addressing, Classless Addressing, Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP).
Routing Algorithms
 Distance-Vector Routing, Link-State Routing, Path-Vector Routing
IPV6 Addressing
 Representation, Address Space, Auto-configuration, Renumbering.
Transition from IPV4 to IPV6
 IPv4 and IPv6 Packet Formats, Strategies, Use of IP Addresses

UNIT IV: MOBILE IP AND TRANSPORT LAYER (Week 7-8: 4 Lectures)

Mobile IP
 Addressing, Agents, Handling mobility (Agent Discovery and Registration), Mobile IP
Problems.
Transport Layer Protocols
 UDP, TCP, TCP Congestion Control.
Socket Programming
 Interactive Programming using UDP and TDP.

UNIT V: NETWORK SECURITY (Week 9-10: 3 Lectures)

Network-Layer Security
 Two Modes, Two Security Protocols, Services Provided by IPSec, Security Association,
Internet Key Exchange (IKE), Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Transport-Layer Security
 SSL Architecture, Four Protocols, TLS Vs SSL.

UNIT VI: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES (Week 10-11: 3 Lectures)

Cloud Computing
 Characteristics, Benefits, Service Models, Deployment Models, Types of Virtualization
Software Defined Networks
 Define SDN, SDN Framework, SDN Architecture, The Benefits of SDN, SDN use cases
5G Networks
 Characteristics, Architecture, Benefits, Case Studies

Tools to be used:
Cisco Packet Tracer 6.1
Java/C/C++ Programming Language

Methodology
Lectures, Research, Presentations, Tutorials and Group work.

Course Assessment
Course Work (40%)
Tests and Assignments 15%
Practical Assignments 25%
Final Examination (60%)

Reading List
1. Forouzan B.A. (2012). Data Communications and Networking, 5th edn. McGraw-Hill.
2. Schiller J., (2008). Mobile Communications, 2nd edn, Pearson Education.
3. Stallings W., (2007). Data And Computer Communications, Eighth Edition. Pearson
Prentice Hall.
4. Tanenbaum A.S., Wetherall D.J., (2011). Computer Networks, 5th edn. Prentice Hall PTR
5. Stallings W., (2011). Network Security Essentials: Applications And Standards, 4th Edition
6. Citrix.com, (2014). [Online] SDN 101: An Introduction to Software Defined Networking,
White Paper. Available on < citrix.com/sdn> [Accessed On: 10 February 2018]
7. Buyya R., Vecchiola C., Selvi S.T., Kaufmann M., (2013). “Mastering Cloud Computing:
Foundations and Applications Programming”, Elsevier Inc.