Welcome! This class will give you an introduction on how Computer Networks, especially the Internet, work.
Module and Context
B9 Netzwerke is a required class in the IMI-B Curriculum, scheduled for the 2nd term. If you check the Studien- und Prüfungsordnung (AMBl. 28/2012 on overview page here, direct link here ) you’ll find that it consists of 2 SWS Lecture (SU) and 1 SWS Lab (Ü) each week, but still 5 ECTS. Compared to Info2, this is half the time in class, with the same weekly workload!
Content and Textbook
The class will be based on the Textbook
Kurose, James F; Ross, Keith W.: Computer Networking. A Top-Down Approach, 8th ed., Pearson Global Editions, Harlow UK, 2021. ISBN: 978-1-292-40546-9
The book is available as an ebook through the HTW Library. There is also plenty of material online - see the resources section.
Top Down Approach
We’ll follow the books top-down approach - starting from applications like email and the web down to the physical network layer:
- Computer Networks and the Internet
- Application Layer
- Transport Layer
- The Network Layer: Data Plane
- The Network Layer: Control Plane
- The Link Layer and LANs
Class Structure and Meetings
We will be doing flipped classroom this term. See Christian Spannagel explains Flipped Classroom to Students for an introduction in German, Teachings in Education: Flipped Classroom Model: Why, How, and Overview for a brief introduction in English.
For each chapter in the book, you will work on a lab assignment as a group and prepare and hand in a written lab report. These lab reports are the main part of your work, and you will have opportunity to work on them during the Lectures as well as during the lab, but probably will need more time than that to complete it.
As lectures and labs are organized as flipped-classroom, you need to prepare for both meetings beforehand:
- by reading the according sections in the book and/or watching the lecture videos for class meetings
- by working on the lab assignments before you come to the actual lab meeting on Wednesday evening.
See the schedule and the detailled week plan for more details on that.
Knowledge Tests
Lectures start with a knowledge test covering the required reading. You don’t need to attend class, the tests will be open all day on Thursdays in Moodle.
Lab Reports
Lab Reports are due Friday 17:00 after your Lab session.
Grading
Exam
There will be a Moodle exam at the end of term which will be offered in PZ1 and PZ2.
Grades are determined like this:
- Moodle Exam 50%
- Lab Reports 40%
- Knowledge Checks 20%
The Moodle Exam constitutes the “Schriftliche Modulabschlussprüfung”, Lab Reports and Knowledge Checks are two “Modulbegleitend geprüfte Studienleistungen” as described and regulated in §8 and §12 in the Rahmenstudien- und -prüfungsordnung (RStPO – Ba/Ma).
About the Knowledge Checks
The knowledge checks are brief moodle quizzes on the material of the book chapters as announced in the schedule. You are required to take these quizzes within the first 10 minutes of the lecture - they are open from 12:15-12:30.
The knowledge checks are open-book-exams - you may use all materials.
You may do them remotely if you are unable to attend class, but they have to be done within that time frame.
If you are unable to do them within the scheduled time, contact me. I’ll allow for up to 2 exceptions per person to take a replacement quizz later. I might pool them at the end of term.