DEPARTMENT OF Accounting and INFORMATION SYSTEMS
IS 435 BUSINESS DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING
 Spring 2010 (Ticket #: 12694)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Prerequisite: Grade of "C" or higher in IS 311 and ECON 310. An introduction to the concepts and applications of telecommunications and networking technology in a business environment. Topics include network-related hardware and software technology, standards and protocols, local and wide area networks, network management, and emerging trends. Emphasis is on the ability to integrate basic technological components to meet the business application requirements. Students will prepare a variety of projects involving the analysis, design, and management of network systems. 

ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE 1: Students are responsible for satisfying prerequisites, especially WPE.
ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE 2: IS 435 is a CHALLENGING course. Please have the correct expectation and put in the amount of effort that is appropriate to the (HIGH) level of difficulty of this course.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the technical and managerial aspects of business data communications and networking.  This course builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in prior IS courses. The course introduces telecommunications equipments, protocols, and architectures, and design, performance, and security issues of network systems. The primary objective of the course is to familiarize the students with the terminology and basic concepts of data communication, computer networks, and the Internet.  Specifically, the students will command the concepts of layers in data communications, will become familiar with components of data communications systems, and will have an understanding of basic concepts related to local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On the completion of this course, the students must be able to -

1. Understand the role of data communications and networking in organizations;

2. Define basic data communications terminology;

3. Identify the layers and familiar with their functions in the OSI and Internet reference models;

4. Be aware of major issues in business data communications and networking, and are well exposed to selected issues;

5. Have a working understanding of network components and their functions;

6. Understand the functional characteristics and design alternatives for implementing networked information architectures;

7. Work in a team to design, set up, and manage simple local area networks;

8. Understand systems design and management issues such as structure, functionality, cost, performance, implementation, and security.

The above learning outcomes will be tested through all course components - assignments, projects, and exams, especially the final exam.

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TEXTBOOKS & COURSE MATERIALS 

* Textbook:

Fitzgerald and Dennis, Business Data Communications and Networking, 10th Ed., Wiley, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-470-05575-5

* CSUN email account: Communications with the instructor must be conducted from the student's CSUN account. Emails sent from accounts on other ISPs will NOT be replied after the end of the second week of the semester. You can conveniently access your CSUN email account through CSUN Webmail (www.csun.edu/webmail).

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POLICIES 

0. Course Requirements 
0.1 General requirements
(1) Attend all classes on time. 
(2) Submit all assignments/projects on time. 
(3) Take all the exams on their scheduled date and time. 
(4) Contribute one's fair share in team projects. 
0.2 Specific requirements
(1) Read assigned work in textbook, slides/handouts, and other assigned materials prior to attending each class. 
(2) Before each class session, go to the instructor's Web site and download the materials (slides, handouts, announcements, etc) for that session. Bring the printouts with you to class.
(3) Always bring your textbook with you to class. We will be referring to it on a regular basis, so you need to keep it handy.
(4) Turn off your cell phones during class time. You will receive a warning for the first offense, and a 5-credit-point reduction for each subsequent offense.

1. Attendance 
1.1 Students MUST try their best to attend every class on time. Attendance will be randomly taken at the beginning of some classes. Bonus may be given to those who attend classes on time.
1.2 It is the responsibility of the student (should s/he miss a class) to contact the instructor or classmates to obtain the assignments, handouts, announcements, and other items that may have been given/assigned in the missed class. 

2. Exam 
2.1 Two midterm exams (100 points each) , one final exam (120 points): given on the dates/times indicated in this syllabus. 
    The final exam will have comprehensive components.
2.2 Exam study guide: will be posted before each of the three exams; indicates the scope of the exam.
2.3 NO MAKE-UP EXAM. A student who must miss one midterm exam will have his/her final exam percentage applied to the missed midterm exam (see "2.4" below for details). If a student misses two midterm exams, the second missed midterm = 0.
2.4 Using final exam percentage for one midterm is NOT automatic: a student who must miss the midterm exam must contact the instructor more than 24 hours in advance  in order to have his/her final exam percentage applied to the missed midterm exam. Failure to do so will result in a zero score for the missed exam. 

3. Projects and Assignments
3.1 One individual project (library research; 45 points), one team project (network design; 60 points).
3.2 One team lab assignments (25 points).
3.3 Three chapter assignments (individual; ~15 points each, 50 points total). 
3.4 For the team project and team lab assignments, students are required to form in teams of four for the project/lab. Individual work on those components are NOT allowed. A team evaluation will be conducted, which will affect a student's grades on those project/lab. 
3.5 All individual homework and project must be completed INDEPENDENTLY.

4. Late Submission
4.1 Projects/assignments are due at the BEGINNING of the class on the due date.
4.2 Late submissions will be subjected to 30% deduction for 1-6 days late, and work submitted 7 days late will be rejected (all days are calendar days).
4.3 Late policies are strictly enforced. Therefore, please do not email/call to ask for an extension of the due date of assignment/project.
4.4 Email submission will not be accepted.
4.5 Staying away from a class to finish due assignments is prohibited. Any assignment submitted 20 minutes after the beginning of the class is considered late .

5. Retention of Submitted Materials
5.1 All submitted materials become properties of the instructor.
5.2 The instructor will try his best to give the students prompt feedback.
5.3 Project/assignment submissions will be kept for one week after the grades are made known to the students.
5.4 Exams will be kept one year.
5.5 Any dispute on grades must be brought up within one week after the grades are made known to the class. After that, it will be assumed that there is no disagreement on the said grade.

6. Academic Dishonesty

***COBAE Student Core Values Statement and Ethical Conduct Pledge***

Academic dishonesty of any form will NOT be tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes: 

A. Cheating:
1) Use references in a close-book, close-note exam, or use unauthorized materials or aids in a take-home or open-book exam;
2) Represent the work of others as their own (such as copy other students' work, including taking a formula created by another student);
3) Submit the same academic work (or a substantial portion of it) for credit in more than one course without authorization.
B. Fabrication: Attempt to alter and resubmit returned academic work with intend to defraud the faculty member.
C. Facilitating academic dishonesty: intentionally or knowingly help or attempt to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty - providing answers/formulas/solutions to another student for an independent homework/assignment falls in this category.
D. Plagiarism: copy materials from a textbook or from materials taken directly from a website without proper citation.

An act of academic dishonesty will automatically lead to zero credit for the exam or project/assignment where the act happens, and may lead to a grade of "F" for the course for the student(s) involved. The instructor may take additional action in accordance with the CSUN policies. See CSUN Catalog 2002-2004, PP. 523-525 for further information on the policies and procedures concerning plagiarism and cheating. 

[My recent record of catching cheating behaviors]

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METHOD OF EVALUATION

(1) Total possible points: 

(2) Grade scales: 

NO curve on individual exams. At the end of the semester, *IF* the class GPA is lower than 2.5, a curve will be applied . 

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 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

 COMPUTER FACILITIES 

1. For our lab assignments: JH 2212 is the designated lab for IS majors. More information about the lab setting will be provided later in the semester.

2. For general use (including writing reports):
Computers are available for use in the College of Business' Microcomputer Lab (JH2129 / JH2125).  COBAE Computer Lab Web Site 
The computer labs in the Oviatt Library and Sierra Hall are available for you to use. These labs are open longer hours and on the weekends. Follow this link to find the days and hours:  Other Campus Computer Labs. 

ADA STATEMENT 

Qualified students with physical or documented learning disabilities have the right to free accommodation to ensure equal access to educational opportunities. The student, if seeking special accommodations, must notify the Student with Disabilities Resources  (110 Student Services Building) and the instructor by the end of the second week of the semester.

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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
(Will be updated at least once a week)

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The Instructor's Motto

C onsistent 
O rganized 
K nowledgeable 
E nthusiastic

Self portrait:
A nice person of PRINCIPLE:
- Respects the students while be honest with them on their weaknesses – to help them grow
- Always says “Yes” when he can, but never hesitates to say “No” when he must

Favorite Quotations: 

* By Nature all men are alike, but by education become different -- Anonymous
* 学如逆水行舟，不进则退。Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop behind -- Chinese Proverb
* 知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。He who has a knowledge in a matter is not as good as he who is interested in it; he who is interested in it is not as good as he who enjoys doing it -- Confucius (Chinese philosopher and educator, 551 B.C. - 479 B.C.)
* The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose. -- Stephen R. Covey: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
* We must do what America does best, offer more opportunity to all and demand more responsibility from all. - Inaugural Address of United States President William J. Clinton, January 20, 1993
* (Last, but not the least) Eureka! - California State Motto

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Last update: 05/08/2010