THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

School of Business

Course Outline for Semester II of 2014-15

BUSI0073 Data Communications and Networking Management And "IIMT3604 Telecommunications Management"

I. INFORMATION ON INSTRUCTORS AND TUTORS

Instructor: Dr. Eric Chin

Email: ericchin@hku.hk or drericchin@gmail.com

Office Location: KKL RM 1317 Office Telephone: 9220 6528

Consultation Times: By appointment

Tutors for Laboratory Sessions: Ms. Debbie Chu Office Hours: By appointment

Email: debbie@business.hku.hk Teaching Timeslot & Venue

Friday 09:30 – 12:20 KKLG 109

II. COURSE INFORMATION

Pre-requisites

BUSI1003 "Introduction to MIS" / IIMT2601 "Management Information Systems"

Co-requisites None

Mutually Exclusive

Students taking or having taken "CSIS0278 / COMP3234 Computer and Communication Networks" are not allowed to take this course.

Course Description

The proliferation of the Internet and the remarkable growth and development of the telecommunications environment have provided organizations around the world with unprecedented business development opportunities in promoting, selling and distributing their physical or digital goods or services in the Electronic Commerce world. This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of data communications and computer networks that provide the basic infrastructure for the digital world.

The course is designed to provide a conceptual foundation for the study of data communications using various standards and architectures. The course includes in-depth coverage of networking principles for management of local and wide-area networks with an emphasis on wireless networks. Both technical and managerial aspects of data communications are covered in this course.

Course Objectives

 To learn the theories of data and voice communication.

 To learn to design business communication networks.

 To work in teams effectively.

 To develop a global outlook towards the practice of telecommunication.

 To analyze and evaluate business cases and latest research related to the use of telecommunications in modern businesses.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)

Upon the successful completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Understand the network infrastructure and the Internet protocols.

2. Identify the key issues that need to be considered and measures that need to be adopted for providing secure communication services for businesses.

3. Be able to review, and synthesize existing literature related to cutting edge

technological developments in the field of telecommunication from a technical and business perspective.

4. Be able to decide the tradeoffs of parameters for effective design of local and wide area networks.

5. Be able to design terrestrial and wireless telephone networks in order to meet pre-specified requirements in performance.

6. Be able to work in teams effectively.

7. Demonstrate a solid understanding of global issues as they relate to practices in business telecommunications.

8. Be able to write effective case and research reports, and make compelling presentations.

Alignment of Program and Course Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes Course Learning Outcomes

1. Acquisition and internalization of knowledge of business and information systems

1, 2, 3 2. Application and integration of knowledge of business

and information systems

4, 5, 6 3. Inculcating professionalism and instilling leadership

skills

7

4. Developing global outlook 8

5. Mastering communication skills 9

III. TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES (TLA) COURSE TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Course Teaching and Learning Activities Expected

contact hour

Study Load (% of study)

TLA1: Interactive Lectures and Discussions

 Interactive lectures will be provided by the lecturer to illustrate and reinforce basic concepts and knowledge of data communications and networks. Students are expected to have done pre-class reading and preparation and encouraged to share their views and experience actively in class discussions to deepen their learning.

36 hours 30%

TLA2: In-Class Case Studies

 Case studies of network management, wireless networks configuration and network security will be discussed in class. Students are encouraged to participate in discussions and identify the key issues, sharing their opinions and solutions with their peers. These discussions will help students apply their concepts and knowledge to solve business problems.

6 hours 5%

TLA3: Project

 Students will investigate how the latest network applications such as VoIP, Cloud Computing, and SOA etc applied in supporting business development.

6 hours 5%

TLA4: Demonstration

 Live demonstrations of video, software and technologies will be done in class to show students how the technologies are applied in real world.

6 hours 5%

TLA5: Guest Seminar

 A guest seminar will be conducted for selected topics. Students are required to attend the seminar, participate in discussions, and share their ideas with the guest based on the topics discussed. The guest seminar offer students opportunities to meet a professional practitioner and understand how he/she manages/applies networks system in his/her organization.

2 hours 1.6%

TLA6: Laboratory Session Assignments

 Students are expected to follow the instructions to complete all the required software exercises. Case studies will be provided to assess if students can apply the skills and technique related software and technologies to solve problems.

6 hours 5%

TLA7: Examination

 Final examinations test students’ knowledge of the topics covered in class and their ability to apply that knowledge.

3 hours 2.5%

TLA8: Self Study 55 hours 45.9%

Total

120 hours

(within 120-150 hours)

IV. ASSESSMENT

Standards For Assessment

Each student will be assessed by a combination of the group work (45%) and individual work (55%)

Assessment

Methods Assessment Criteria and Marking Rubrics Weight

Aligned Course Learning Outcomes

AT1: Case Analysis

Business cases are used in this course to present a global view of the subject and to challenge student to use their subject relevant knowledge and judgment for effective business decision making in the context of telecommunications as a team. They will be expected to work in a group, analyse a case, and make a formal report of the case. Students are also required to submit a soft copy as well as a hard copy of the case report . Grade for the presentation will depend on the ability of the team to deliver a professional and persuasive presentation that identifies the key issues related to the case.

Grade for the case report will depend on the following:

i. identification of major issues and problems in the case,

ii. application of appropriate concepts to analyse the situation under study, and

iii. a well thought-out and credible recommended course of action.

15% CLO1, CLO2

AT2: Project and Presentation

An important aspect of the course is to complete a project that allows student to work as a team and enables them to carry out in-depth research on a chosen topic. They will be asked to work in small groups. There will be a project presentation and a report due at the end of the semester. All members of the group need to participate equally in all group activities. Any problems with group dynamics need to be resolved as soon as possible.

In the project students are expected to review latest research on a state-of-the-art technology that is related to the theme of this class and present recommendations on the usability, impact, and relationship of this technological development to the telecommunications practices of modern businesses.

Grade for the project will depend on the following: i. innovativeness of the project,

ii. completeness of coverage of the topic in the project, iii. relevance of your project to the business world, and iv. ability to work as a team.

25% CLO1, CLO3, CLO7, CLO9

AT3: Assignments (Individual)

Assignments are an integral part of this course because they test students’ knowledge of relevant theories and the ability to apply that knowledge for solving practical telecommunication network design problems. Assignments will include mini case research and analysis. All assignments are to be individual submissions.

Grade for the assignments will depend on the correctness of the answers to problems, clarity of presentation, and completeness of your solutions.

20% CLO2, CLO4, CLO8

AT4: Class Participation (Individual)

Student participation will be measured to evaluate their enthusiasm and

activeness in class works, and discussion both in classroom. 10%

CLO4, CLO6, CLO7

AT5: End-of-Term Examination (Individual)

The exam will be closed book and closed notes and it will be organized in-class. The exam will be comprehensive in nature and it will involve multiple choice questions, short answer type questions, problem solving questions, situational decision making questions or any combination of the above.

Grade for the exam will depend on the ability of the student to express his/her understanding of the theories of data and voice communication, apply the learned theories for solving problems related to design of telecommunication networks, and clarity and correctness of his/her writing.

30%

CLO1, CLO2, CLO4, CLO5,

CLO8

Total 100%

V. Course Final Grade

 A student’s final grade for the course will be assigned according to the cumulative score that s/he has obtained from all of the assessment tasks:

o Course Final Grade = Cumulative score of all assessment tasks obtained (100%)

o Course Final Grade = Case Analysis and Presentation (20%) + Project and Presentation (25%) + Assignments (Individual) (15 %) + Class Participation (Individual) (10%) + End-of-Term Examination (30%)

 The conversion of the accumulative score to the course final grade is summarized below:

Course Final Grade Cumulative Score of all Assessment Tasks Obtained A+, A, A- 100% - 80% B+, B, B- 79 - 70% C+, C, C- 69% - 60% D+, D 59% - 50% F <50%

 Course Grade Descriptors:

A+, A, A- Strong evidence of superb ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all levels of learning: describe, apply, evaluate and synthesis.

B+, B, B- Strong evidence of ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at all levels of learning: describe, apply, evaluate and synthesis.

C+, C, C- Evidence of adequate ability to fulfill the intended learning outcomes of the course at low levels of learning; such as describe and apply, but not at high levels of learning such as evaluate and synthesis.

D+, D Evidence of basic familiarity with the subject. F Little evidence of basic familiarity with the subject.

VI. COURSE CONTENT

Week Topics

1 Introduction

 Information and communication

 Data communications and networking for today’s enterprise  Trends

 Business drivers  Convergence

 Unified communications

 Business information requirements  Transmission and transmission media  Communication techniques

 Distributed data processing

 Internet and distributed applications  The Internet

 TCP/IP

 Client/Server architectures, intranets, extranets, and SOA  Networks  Network security  Network management  Standards Business Information  Audio  Networking implications  Data  Networking implications  Image  Image representation

 Image and document formats  Networking implications  Video  Digital video  Networking implications  Performance measures  Response time  Quality of experience  Throughput

2 Distributed Data Processing

 Centralized and distributed organization

 Technical trends leading to distributed data processing  Management and organizational considerations  Data center evolution

 Client/server architecture  Intranets and extranets

 Web services and cloud computing  Distributed applications

 Other forms of DDP

 Database management systems

 Centralized versus distributed databases  Replicated and partitioned databases  Networking implications of DDP  Big data infrastructure considerations Data Transmission

 Signals for conveying information  Electromagnetic signals  Analog signals

 Digital signals

 Transmission impairments and channel capacity  Guided media

 Unguided media  Channel capacity

3 Data Communication Fundamentals

 Analog and digital data communications  Data encoding techniques

 Analog encoding of digital information  Digital encoding of analog information  Digital encoding of digital data

 Analog encoding of analog information  Asynchronous transmission

 Synchronous transmission  Error detection

 The need for error control  Parity checks

 Cyclic redundancy check Data Link Control and Multiplexing  Flow control

 Error control

 Motivation for multiplexing  FDM

 WDM  ADSL

 Synchronous TDM  The TDM mechanism  Digital carrier systems

 T-1 facilities  SONET/SDH

 Cellular and cordless phone systems 4 The Internet

 The structure of the Internet  Business and the Internet  The use of packet switching  Key elements

 The World Wide Web  Internet architecture  Internet domains

 Internet names and addresses  Domain name system

 Dynamic host configuration protocol TCP/IP

 A simple protocol architecture

 The need for a protocol architecture  Three-layer model

 Standardized protocol architectures  Virtual private networks and IP security

 IPsec  Applications of IPsec  Benefits of IPsec  IPsec functions  Internetworking  Routers

 The TCP/IP architecture  TCP/IP layers  Operation of TCP/IP  TCP and UDP  IP and IPv6  TCP/IP applications  Protocol interfaces

6 Client/Server, Intranet, and Cloud Computing  The growth of client/server computing  Client/server applications

 Database applications

 Classes of client/server applications  Three-tier client/server architecture  Cloud computing

 Cloud computing elements

 Cloud computing reference architecture  Middleware

 Middleware architecture  Message passing

 Remote procedure calls  Object-oriented mechanisms  Intranets

 Web content

 Web/Database applications

 Intranet Webs versus traditional client/server  Service-oriented architecture

 Extranets

7 Internet-Based Applications  Electronic mail

 Internet mail architecture  SMTP

 MIME

 POP and IMAP  Web access and HTTP  Web security

 Web traffic security approaches  SSL  HTTPS  Multimedia applications  Media types  Multimedia applications  Multimedia technologies  Acceptable use policies

 Motivation  Policy issues

 Guidelines for developing a policy Internet Operation

 Internet addressing  IPv4 addressing  IPv6 addressing  Internet routing protocols

 Autonomous systems  Border gateway protocol  OSPF protocol

 Multicasting

 Multicast transmission  Multicast routing protocols  Quality of service

 Emergence of high-speed LANs  Corporate WAN needs

 Internet traffic  Differentiated services

 DS field

 DS configuration and operation  SLAs

 IP performance metrics

9 LAN Architecture and Infrastructure  Personal computer LANs

 Backend networks and storage area networks  High-speed office networks

 Backbone LANs  Factory LANs  LAN configuration  Tiered LANs

 Guided transmission media  Twisted pair

 Coaxial cable  Optical fiber  Structured cabling  LAN protocol architecture

 IEEE 802 reference model  Logical link control  Media access control Ethernet, Switches, and Virtual LANs  Traditional Ethernet

 Bus topology LAN  Medium access control  MAC frame

 IEEE 802.3 medium options at 10 Mbps  Bridges  Hubs  Layer 2 switches  Layer 3 switches  High-speed Ethernet  Fast Ethernet  Gigabit Ethernet  10-Gbps Ethernet  100-Gbps Ethernet  Virtual LANs

 The use of virtual LANs

 Communicating VLAN membership  IEEE 802.1Q VLAN standard  PoE

Wireless LANs

 Wireless LAN applications  Wireless LAN requirements  Wireless LAN technology  Wi-Fi architecture and services

 IEEE 802.11 architecture  IEEE 802.11 services  Gigabit WLANs

 Gigabit Wi-Fi  Li-Fi

 IEEE 802.11 medium access control  IEEE 802.11 physical layer

 IEEE 802.11 security considerations  Access and privacy services  Wireless LAN security standards 10 WAN Technology and Protocols

 Switching techniques  Circuit-switching networks  Basic operation  Control signaling  Packet-switching networks  Basic operation  Switching technique

 Traditional Wide Area Network alternatives  WANs for voice

 WANs for data  Voice over IP

 VoIP signaling  VoIP processing  VoIP context  Presence

 Presence service structure  Presence information WAN Services

 WAN alternatives  WAN offerings

 Evolution of WAN architectures  Frame relay

 Background

 Protocol architecture  User data transfer  Call control

 Congestion control  ATM

 Virtual channels  Virtual paths  ATM cells

 ATM service categories  MPLS

 Operation  VPN

 Wide Area Ethernet Wireless WANs

 Cellular wireless network

 Cellular network organization  Operations of cellular systems  Multiple access

 CDMA

 Which access method to use  Satellite communications

 Satellite orbits

 Satellite network configurations  Applications

 Third generation wireless communication  WAP

 WML  WTAs

 Microbrowser

 Fourth generation wireless communication  4G network requirements

 OFDMA

 4G network evolution

13 Computer and Network Security Threats  Computer security concepts

 Threats and attacks  Threats and assets

 Intruder behavior patterns  Intrusion techniques  Viruses

 Worms  Bots  Spam

 Computer security trends  Malicious software

 Logic bomb  Trojan horse  Mobile code

 Multiple-threat malware

 Credential theft, keyloggers, and spyware  Phishing and identity theft

 Reconnaissance and espionage

14 Computer and Network Security Techniques  VPNs and IPsec

 IPsec functions

 Transport and tunnel modes  Key management  IPsec and VPNs  SSL and TLS  SSL architecture  SSL record protocol  Handshake protocol  Wi-Fi protected access

 Access control  Intrusion detection

 Basic principles

 Host-based intrusion detection techniques  Firewalls  Characteristics  Types  Malware defense  Antivirus approaches  Worm countermeasures  Bot countermeasures

VII. TENTATIVE TEACHING PLAN

Week Date Topic Reading

1 23/01/2015 Introduction;

Business Information

Ch. 1 & 2 2 30/01/2015 Distributed Data Processing;

Data Transmission

Ch. 3 & 4

3 6/02/2015 Data Communication Fundamentals;

Data Link Control and Multiplexing

Ch. 5 & 6 4 13/02/2015 The Internet;

TCP/IP

Ch. 7 & 8

5 20/02/2015 *** Chinese New Year Holiday***

7 6/03/2015 Internet-Based Applications; Internet Operation

Ch. 10 & 11

8 13/03/2015 ******Reading / Field Trip Week***

9 20/03/2015 LAN Architecture and Infrastructure; Ethernet, Switches, Virtual LANs; Wireless LANs

Ch. 12, 13, 14

10 27/03/2015 WAN Technology and Protocols;

WAN Services; Wireless WANs

Ch. 15, 16, 17

11 3/04/2015 **Easter Holiday**

12 10/04/2015 Project and Presentation

13 17/04/2015 Computer and Network Security Threats Ch. 18

14 24/04/2015 Computer and Network Security Techniques Ch. 19

VIII. Assignment Submission Plan

Presentation Written Report

AT1: Case Analysis (15%) 27 Feb 2015 6 March, 2015

AT2: Project and Presentation (25%) 10 April, 2015 17 April , 2015 AT3: Assignments (Individual) (20 %) Not Applicable May 2, 2015

IX. Required Text

Business Data Communications: Seventh Edition

William Stallings and Thomas L.Case (ISBN: 9780273769163)

The class notes and other supporting materials can be downloaded from: Moodle

X. MEANS/PROCESSES FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK ON COURSE

o

Conducting mid-term survey in additional to SETL around the end of the semester



Online response via Moodle site

o

Others: Team meeting in mid-term (please specify)

XI. COURSE POLICIES

takes the issue of academic integrity very seriously. The University Regulations on academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced! Please check the University Statement on plagiarism on the web:

http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism/

Academic dishonesty is behavior in which a deliberately fraudulent misrepresentation is employed in an attempt to gain undeserved intellectual credit, either for oneself or another.

It includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following types of cases:

 Plagiarism - The representation of someone else's ideas as if they are one’s own. Where the arguments, data, designs, etc., of someone else are being used in a paper, report, oral presentation, or similar academic project, this fact must be made explicitly clear by citing the appropriate references. The references must fully indicate the extent to which any parts of the project are not one's own work. Paraphrasing of someone else's ideas is still using someone else's ideas, and must be acknowledged.

 Unauthorized Collaboration on Out-of-Class Projects - The representation of work as solely one's own when in fact it is the result of a joint effort.

 Cheating on In-Class Exams - The covert gathering of information from other students, the use of unauthorized notes, unauthorized aids, etc.

 Unauthorized Advance Access to an Exam - The representation of materials prepared at leisure, as a result of unauthorized advance access (however obtained), as if it were prepared under the rigors of the exam setting. This misrepresentation is dishonest in itself even if there are not compounding factors, such as unauthorized uses of books or notes.

As this course involves some technical approach in network and telecommunication, attendance is very important to those who did not have strong technical background students.

XII. Additional Course Information

Penalty for late assignments