RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management

COURSE OUTLINE
2010 - 2011

(C)ITM600 – Data Communications Network Design

1.0 PREREQUISITE
The prerequisites for this course are (ITM 310 and ITM 400), or ITM301 or Direct Entry.
Students who do not have the prerequisite will be dropped from the course.

2.0 INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

• Name: Abdul Zahid
• E-mail address: abdul.zahid@ryerson.ca
• Consultation:
• You are advised to make an appointment by e-mail before coming to ensure that the
professor is available.
• E-mail Usage & Limits:
• Please Email the professor at all times
• Expect to hear a response within the next 48 business hours.

3.0 CALENDAR COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will provide students with an understanding of how telecommunications networks are
designed, and deployed to support e-commerce, multimedia and web-centric business applications.
Network planning concepts, network analysis, network design tools and techniques are introduced.
The objective of this course is to understand the design and analysis of data communications networks
through the introduction of case studies and practical network design methodologies. Also an
understanding of the application, deployment and benefits of industry standard architectures
including: TCP/IP, VoIP, SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, 3G and other emerging standards will be
provided.

4.0 COURSE OVERVIEW

This course provides the student a foundation in the telecommunications network analysis and design
process. The process includes: requirements analysis, application flow analysis and technology
selection and deployment phases. Other topics include addressing design, reliability assessment,
network monitoring and optimization. Course content is re-enforced through frequent case study
review and discussions.

5.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will provide students with an understanding of how contemporary data communications
technologies are configured and deployed to build and support today's e-commerce and web-centric
business applications.

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The course introduces data network planning concepts, and presents practical deployment and
management strategies including the assessment and determination of appropriate technologies for
implementing specific business communications systems.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the types of business needs that can be addressed using information technology-
based networking solutions.

2. Understand data networking planning requirements and determine appropriate technologies

for implementing data communications systems.

3. Understand the design and analysis of data communications networks through systematic
review of case studies, hands-on practice with practical network design methodologies
including analytic and simulation techniques.

4. Understand contemporary data and network management issues including electronic

commerce, network security, network availability, and performance monitoring.

5. Understand the application, deployment and benefits of industry standard architectures

including: TCP/IP, VoIP, SONET, Gigabit Ethernet and other widely deployed standards that
support high-speed and newly emerging wireless business applications.

6. Initiate, specify, and prioritize networking design projects and to determine the feasibility of
these projects.

7. Use at least one specific methodology for analyzing a business situation (a problem or
opportunity), modelling it using a formal technique, and specifying requirements for a system
that enables a productive change in a way the business is conducted. Within the context of this
methodology, students will learn to write clear and concise business requirements documents
and convert them into technical specifications.

8. Communicate effectively with various organizational stakeholders to collect information using

a variety of techniques and to convey proposed solution characteristics to them.

9. Manage network development projects using formal project management methods.

10. Articulate various systems acquisition alternatives, including the use of packaged systems
and/or outsourced design and development resources.

11. Systematically compare the acquisition alternatives.

12. Incorporate principles leading to high levels of security and user experience from the
beginning of the systems development process.

13. Design high-level logical system characteristics (user interface design, design of data and
information requirements).

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6.0 EVALUATION
The grade for this course is composed of the mark received for each of the following components:
Mid Term Test: 25%
• 1 hour duration scheduled for Week 6 or Week 7
• Multiple choice questions

Problem Sets and Labs: 25%

• Five individual assignments will be provided over the course of the term.
• They will consist of written answers, multiple choice questions, descriptive and analytical
analysis including calculations and spreadsheet analysis.

Total Term weighting: 50%

Final Examination: 50%

• 2.5 hours duration
• Combination of multiple choice questions and written answers to short questions.

Total course weighting: 100%

Detailed descriptions of the evaluation requirements will be posted on Blackboard.

Important Notes:
• Students will receive the results of their midterm test before the end of Week 8 of the course.

• ITM department policy requires that in order to pass this course, students must achieve an
average mark of at least 50% across all tests, including the final exam. If the student fails
to achieve at least 50% based on the weighted summation of these individual assessments the
student will be assigned a failing grade.

• Should a student believe that an assignment, test or exam has not been appropriately graded,
the student must review their concerns with the instructor within 10 working days from when
the graded work was made available to the students.

• In the group project work all group members will receive the same marks for their group
presentation and group project report, regardless of contribution (or lack of contribution) of
any member of the group.

7.0 POSTING OF GRADES

• All grades on assignments or tests will be posted or made available to students through the
return of their work. Grades on final exams will be posted; however, please note that as there
may be other considerations in the determination of final grades, final official course grades
(i.e. A, B, C, etc.) will not be posted or disclosed by the professor, but must come to students
from the Registrar’s office.
• If grades are posted in hard copy, they will be posted numerically sorted by student

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 identification number after at least the first two digits have been removed.
• Some graded work will be returned to students prior to the last date to drop a course without
academic penalty.

8.0 TOPICS – SEQUENCE & SCHEDULE

Week Chapter Description Pages Chapter
1 Course Introduction 3-24 1
Analyzing Business Goals and Constraints
2 Analyzing Technical Goals and Tradeoffs 25-58 2
3 Characterizing the Existing Internetwork 59-86 3
4 Characterizing Network Traffic & McCabe Chapter 4 (Web Site) 87-118 4
5 Designing a Network Topology 119-166 5
6 Designing Models for Addressing and Naming 167-198 6
7 Mid Term Exam (Week 6 for some classes) 199-232 7
Selecting Switching and Routing Protocols
8 Selecting Switching and Routing Protocols (Continued) 199-232 7
9 Developing Network Security Strategies (Web site) 233-262 8
10 Developing Network Management Strategies 263-282 9
11 Selecting Technologies and Devices for Campus Networks 283-318 10
12 Selecting Technologies and Devices for Enterprise Networks 319-352 11
13 Optimizing Your Network Design 367-392 13

Note: Chapters 12 and 14 of Oppenheimer are not covered.

9.0 TEACHING METHODS

This course will incorporate the following teaching and learning methods:

• Regular lectures, prescribed weekly readings, problem based assignments, group project work,
and case study discussions are the main teaching activities that occur in this course.

• Since a major component of this course is problem-based learning the four individual assignments
provide the students practice and progressive skill-building that they can apply in the group based
project.

• Teamwork activities allow the students to apply the analytical techniques that were introduced in
class and practiced in the problem sets. In addition, by working in small teams the students
develop interaction and individual and group presentation skills.

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• The instructor will establish an active learning environment by engaging the students in a Socratic
exchange of relevant questions and ideas. Students should expect a frequent and substantive
interaction between the instructor and students and among students in every class.

• Those students that actively participate in the learning process will gradually assume ownership of
the knowledge contained in the course materials. In addition to ownership of the course content,
the students will master a set of skills that they can use to develop communications networks.

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10.0 TEXTS & OTHER READING MATERIALS

Required Textbook:
Priscilla Oppenheimer, Top-Down Network Design, Cisco Press; ISBN-10: 1587202832, ISBN-13:
978-1587202834, 3rd edition, August 2010.

Recommended Texts:
James D. McCabe, Network Analysis, Architecture and Design, Morgan Kaufman Publishers; ISBN:
978-0-12-370480-1. 3rd edition, 2007.

Tony Kenyon, High Performance Data Network Design, (IDC Technology) (Paperback), Publisher:
Digital Press; ISBN-10: 1555582079, ISBN-13: 978-1555582074, 1st edition (December 2001),

Russ White, Don Slice, Alvaro Retana, Optimal Routing Design, Cisco Press, ISBN: 1-58705-187-7,
Hardcover, 484 pages, 2005.

Mark A. Sportack IP Addressing Fundamentals (Hardcover), Cisco Press, ISBN: 1587050676,

Hardcover: 368 pages 1st edition (October 31, 2002).

Stephen A. Thomas, IP Switching and Routing Essentials: Understanding RIP, OSPF, BGP, MPLS,
CR-LDP, and RSVP-TE. Wiley; ISBN: 0471034665 Paperback: 352 pages 1st edition (December 15,
2001).

11.0 OTHER COURSE, DEPARTMENTAL, AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES

• For more information regarding course management and departmental policies, please
consult the ‘Appendix to the Course Outline’ which is posted on the Ted Rogers School
of ITM website, www.ryerson.ca/itm/pdf/Appendix.pdf. This appendix covers the
following topics:
11..1 Academic Integrity
11..1.1 Highlights of the Student Code of Academic Conduct
11..1.2 Non-academic Conduct Policy
11..1.3 Turnitin.com
11..1.4 Important on-campus resources
11..2 Examinations and Tests
11..2.1 Highlights from the Examination Policy
11..2.2 Make-up Tests and Examinations
11..3 Variations Within a Course
11..4 Attendance and Class Participation
11..5 Late Assignments
11..6 Ryerson Medical Certificate
11..7 Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
11..8 Religious, Aboriginal or Spiritual Observance
11..9 Request for Accommodation
11..10 Student Email Policy
11..11 Academic Grading Policy
11..12 Student Rights
11..13 Requests for Academic Consideration

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