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INST 346
Technologies, Infrastructure and Architecture
Spring 2018
Course Description


Catalog Description

Examines the basic concepts of local and wide-area computer networking including an overview of services provided by networks, network topologies and hardware, packet switching, client/server architectures, network protocols, and network servers and applications. The principles and techniques of information organization and architecture for the Web environment will be covered along with such topics as management, security, authentication, and policy issues associated with distributed systems.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

Approach

The course is divided into three modules: systems, networks, and networked systems. Required readings, which must be completed before class, serve two purposes, providing either background to prepare for lecture or details to prepare for the homework (or both). Lectures are intended to provide a conceptual overview of a topic. Homework is designed to provide practical experience in a structured setting for specific topics. Quizzes serve to assess progress and to model some types of questions that you may see on an exam. Exams also serve to assess progress.

Contact Information

  Instructor Teaching Assistant
Name Doug Oard Mike Walker
Email oard@umd.edu mwalker1380@gmail.com
Office HBK 2118F TBA
Phone (301)405-7590  
Please do not use message or comment functions on ELMS to contact the instructor or the teaching assistant. Because we are using ELMS only for a few specific purposes, messages sent using ELMS may never be seen.

Schedule

Day Time Activity Room Instructor
Monday 10:30-11:30 AMOffice HoursHBK 0215 Mike Walker
Monday 1:00-1:50 PM Class SQH 1117 Doug Oard
Wednesday 1:00-1:50 PM Class SQH 1117 Doug Oard
Wednesday 2:30-3:30 PM Office HoursHBK 2118F Doug Oard
Friday 1:00-1:50 PM Class SQH 1117 Doug Oard

We will meet three times per week in SQH 1117. A schedule that summarizes what we will cover each week and gives a preview of the homework assignments and a reading list showing the reading for each week can be found on the class Web page.

You are responsible for making your own decisions regarding when circumstances in your life require you to miss class. You do not need permission from me to miss all or part of a class. However, you are responsible for all material that is discussed in class, for completing all homework assignments, and for being prepared to demonstrate mastery of all tested material on exams and quizzes. Experience indicates that attending class each week will help you to meet each of these requirements. When you unavoidably must miss all or part of a class, you should still complete the readings before the class session (to avoid getting behind), you should watch the video (if it is available), and you should then (before the next class session) discuss the substance of what was discussed in class with another student who was present in the class and who took good notes. If you have questions after doing that, either of us will be happy to meet with you to discuss what you missed.

There is another section of this course that meets in SYM 0200 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00 to 6:15 PM. Students who miss the coverage of a topic in one section may sit in on the other section's coverage of the same content if space is available. That class is nearly full, so students from this section must wait until the start of class before taking a seat. The schedules of the two sections are not synchronized, so students wishing to sit in on the other section will need to determine when the topic they wish to hear discussed is being covered.

Office hours are a time when you can drop by to discuss anything, whether related to the course content or not, without prior arrangement. You can also contact either of us by email any time, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours (and often much faster). One or both of us will also usually (but not always) be able to stick around after class if that's a convenient time for a discussion. And we'll also be happy to set up discussions (in person, by Skype, or by phone) at other mutually convenient times. Courses are more than what happens in the classroom, and one important part of what occurs beyond the classroom is the opportunity to interact at other times in other ways -- take advantage of those!

Course Materials

The course Web site at http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~oard/teaching/346/spring18/ contains the most recent version of all material produced for this course. Among other things, this course description, links to the content for each of the sessions and the reading list can be found there.

The required textbook is David L. Cannon, Brian T. O'Hara and Allen Keele, CISA Certified Information System Auditor Study Guide, Fourth Edition, Sybex, 2016. This book is available from Amazon for $42.72 in print, or $36.79 for Kindle (which you can also read on a PC or a Mac). Barne and Noble also has it for a comparable prices in print and for NOOK.

Reading assignments for each week can be found on the schedule. Reading assignments must be completed before each class, and you need to plan your time to typically do 10-15 pages of reading per session. Don't get behind -- it can be devilishly difficult to catch up. TBA readings will be assigned at least two weeks in advance. Readings that are not in the textbook or freely available on the Web will be available on ELMS.

We will use ELMS only for things that can not be done on the open Web. Examples include submitting homework assignments and viewing grades.

You will need a computer, access to ELMS, for homework, and for the exams. You should also bring a laptop to class so that you can use it in various ways to help with your mastery of concepts that we discuss during class. You may not use any form of communication (e.g., email or social media) or game (online or otherwise) during class; if you must communicate with someone because of a personal emergency, please leave the classroom to do so and rejoin us when you are done.

The course has a mailing list that will be used to make announcements. Students will be initially added to the mailing list based on email addresses on file with the university. If you have not received a welcome message from the mailing list before the first day of classes, please contact the instructor to make sure that your correct address is included.

Grading

Course grades will be assigned based on homework, quizzes, two in-class midterm exams, and a final exam. Scores on each component will be combined to produce a single overall score for each student as follows:
Component Percent Computation
Quizzes 10% 1% each for the best 10 (of 11)
Homework 32% 4% each for the best 8 (of 11)
Analysis 8% 5% for analysis, 3% for commentary
Exams 25% 20% for the better, 5% for the other
Final Exam 25%
Each student's final grade for the class will be computed based on the overall score earned by that student. Scores of 90 or above will receive some type of A, scores of 80 or above and below 90 will receive some type of B, etc. Breakpoints for minus grades (A-, B-, ...) are at 92, 82, ...; breakpoints for + grades (A+, B+, ...) are at 98, 88, ... There is no curve and there are no provisions for extra credit.

Homework. All homework is due on ELMS before class begins on the date indicated on the syllabus. The homework assignments are designed to provide an opportunity for students to explore specific topics in a structured way. Students may work together on homework assignments, but all of the material that is turned in for grading must be produced individually. For example, students may form study groups and work out homework solutions together on a board or by each working separately on different terminals and then sharing what they have learned, but it would not be permissible for one student to produce a single homework assignment for the group that is then copied and distributed to other group members. The goal of this policy is to encourage the use of homework as a learning aid. Late homework will receive feedback, but will receive a grade of zero. Homework assignments will be posted at least a week before they are due (and usually earlier).

Quizzes. There will be 11 in-class quizzes at the start of the class sessions indicated in the syllabus. Students may not communicate with or receive assistance from any person other than an instructor of this course when taking a quiz. Material from the readings is testable even if not covered in class. All exams will be open book, open notes, and open Internet. Quiz content will be taken from reading assignments, material presented in class, and assignments that have previously been completed. The quizes serve to assess progress and to help to prepare for the exams.

Analsysis. Each student will participate in a 4-5 student team that will present an analysis of some current event(s) in the contxt of what we have previosly covered in this class. Each analysis team will present only once, but all students in the class will be invited to comment on the presentations. A portion of the grade will be for preparation and presentation (5%) and a portion for commentary on presentations by other teams (3%).

Exams. There will be two exams during the semester, each of which will occupy an entire class session, and one final exam during the final exam period, as shown on the syllabus. The first exam will focus on the systems module, the second exam will focus on the networks module, and the the final exam will be comprehensive. Students may not communicate with or receive assistance from any person other than an instructor of this course when taking an exam. Material from the readings is testable even if not covered in class. All exams will be open book, open notes, and open Internet. Your highest numerical score on the two midterm exams will count 20% towards the computation of your final score in the course; your lower midterm exam score will count 10%. Students who must miss an exam for a religious observance or some other foreseeable event must inform the instructor 14 days before the scheduled exam to make arrangements for taking the exam in advance. Exams can not be taken after the scheduled examination time.

Academic Integrity

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://shc.umd.edu/SHC/default.aspx. Cases of academic misconduct will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct irrespective of scope and circumstances, as required by university rules and regulations. There are severe consequences of academic misconduct, some of which are permanent and reflected on the student's transcript. For details about procedures governing such referrals and possible consequences for the student please visit http://osc.umd.edu/OSC/Default.aspx

Special Needs

Students with disabilities must contact the Disability Support Services (301-314-7682, http://www.counseling.umd.edu/DSS/). Disability Support Services will make arrangements with the student and the instructor to determine and implement appropriate academic accommodations. Do this early; accommodations can not be provided retroactively.

Students wishing to discuss accommodations for unusual circumstances should see Dr. Oard; issues that are known in advance should be discussed by the end of the second week of the semester. We will make any accommodations that are required by law or university policy. Please note, however, that the grading policy already includes accommodations for students who miss one quiz or homework assignment submission, and that homework. Necessary accommodations which exceed that degree of flexibility are extremely rare.

The University's Counseling Center (301-314-7651, http://www.counseling.umd.edu/) also provides a broad range of expert help to students who are having difficulty with their coursework or with other aspects of their life, and the use of their services is encouraged any time it can be helpful.

A very useful list of course-related policies is available from the Office of Undergraduate Studies at http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html


Doug Oard
Last modified: Thu Mar 15 23:39:05 2018