The University of Texas at Dallas

School of Management

BA 4323 Syam Menon

Business Data Communications Autumn 2008

Syllabus

Office SOM 3.421

Phone (972) 883–4779
E-mail syam@utdallas.edu

Class Hours Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. (SOM 2.903)

Office Hours Tuesdays, 5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m., and by appointment

Text Book Business Data Communications & Networking, 9th Edn

by Fitzgerald and Dennis (John Wiley & Sons); ISBN: 978-0-471-77116-6

Outline This course will introduce the basic concepts underlying voice and data communications,
local area networks, wide area networks, and the Internet. It is intended to make you
aware of various data communications technologies, and to enable you to make informed
decisions regarding them.

Handouts Check WebCT often. You are expected to have all handouts with you when you come
to class. You are responsible for this material irrespective of attendance.

Examinations Two closed-book, closed-notes examinations will be given in class; the first will be
on September 30, 2008, while the second will be on November 18, 2008. Each
will be worth 30% of the final grade. Only a pen or pencil is allowed during
examinations. If you miss the first examination, its weight will be added to
that of the second examination. Make-up examinations will not be available.

Term Paper 20% of the final grade will be determined by your performance on a term paper. Term
papers can be undertaken in groups of up to three students. The topic for the paper is
flexible, but has to involve some form of new technology (related to telecommunications).
A 1-page proposal is due on or before September 30, 2008 and must be approved
by the instructor; failure to submit a proposal by this date will result in a
grade of zero for the paper. Topics will be approved on a first-come-first-served
basis, and no two groups can work on the same topic. The final paper is due on or
before November 18, 2008. The paper should be in 12-point font, double-spaced,
and between 10-12 pages in length. It should include a minimum of five appropriate
references and citations (Wikipedia is not an appropriate research source).
Each group is required to make a 30-minute presentation of their work; these presenta-
tions will be on November 25 and December 02. A professional paper in terms of style
and mechanics (spelling, etc.) is expected. The grade for the project will be determined
primarily on the ideas put forward in the paper, the evidence and logical thought pro-
vided to support these ideas, the organization of the write-up, and on the presentation
itself. 50% of the project grade will depend on the quality of the presentation, 50% on
the submitted paper. All students are required to attend class on these two
days; failure to do so will result in a deduction of 10% for each day.
BA 4323 - Business Data Communications Autumn 2008
Syam Menon page 2

Quizzes Six 30 minute, closed-book, closed-notes quizzes will be assigned over the course of the
semester. Only a pen or pencil is allowed during quizzes. I will select the best 4 scores
of each student; each selected quiz will be worth 5% of the final grade. The tentative
quiz schedule is:

Quiz Date Quiz Date Quiz Date

01 Sep 09 02 Sep 16 03 Sep 23
04 Oct 14 05 Nov 04 06 Nov 11

Make-up quizzes will not be available.

Grades Grades will be assigned according to the table below. I may adjust the final cut-offs appropri-
ately based on the degree of difficulty of the graded material.

Score Grade Score Grade Score Grade

≥ 95% A+ ≥ 90% & < 95% A ≥ 87.5% & < 90% A-
≥ 85% & < 87.5% B+ ≥ 80% & < 85% B ≥ 77.5% & < 80% B-
≥ 75% & < 77.5% C+ ≥ 70% & < 75% C ≥ 67.5% & < 70% C-
≥ 65% & < 67.5% D+ ≥ 60% & < 65% D ≥ 57.5% & < 60% D-
< 57.5% F
Comments • You are responsible for any announcements made in class. This includes any al-
terations to the tentative schedule. You are also responsible for material distributed in class,
through WebCT and via the class web page.
• Only a pen or pencil is allowed during examinations and quizzes.
• Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary proceedings as noted in the stu-
dent catalog at http://www.utdallas.edu/student/catalog/undergrad08/app1.html.

Tentative Course Outline

Material Chapter Week Dates Quiz/Exam

Introduction 1 1 08/26/08
Introduction; Application Layer 1, 2 2 09/02/08
Application and Physical Layers 2, 3 3 09/16/08 q01
Physical Layer 3 4 09/23/08 q02
Data Link Layer 4 5 09/23/08 q03
6 09/30/08 exam 01
Network and Transport Layers 5 7 10/07/08
Network and Transport Layers; LANS 5, 6 8 10/14/08 q04
LANS; Wireless LANS; Cellular Networks 6, 7, extra 9 10/21/08
Cellular Networks; Backbone Networks 7, extra, 8 10 10/28/08
Network Security 11 13 11/04/08 q05
Network Design 12 14 11/11/08 q06
13 11/18/08 exam 02
14 11/25/08 presentations
15 12/02/08 presentations