The University of Texas at Dallas

School of Management

MIS 6316 Syam Menon

Telecommunications Spring 2008
Syllabus

Office SOM 3.421

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

Class Hours Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. (SOM 2.102)

Office Hours Tuesdays, 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m., and by appointment

Text Book Business Data Communications, 5e, by William Stallings.

Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-144257-0

Outline Advances in networking and communication technologies have made the network inseparable
from the computers it links together. Information Systems managers need to have an in-
depth understanding of a multitude of issues related to data communications ranging from
the technical to the managerial in order to make educated decisions regarding them. This
course is an introduction to the basic concepts underlying voice/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 WebCT. You are responsible for all handout related material irrespective of attendance.

Examinations Two closed-book, closed-notes examinations will be given in class; the first will be on
February 19, 2008, while the second will be on April 15, 2008. Each will be worth 25%
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.

Homework There will be five homework assignments in this course, each worth 5% of the final grade.
You will have one week to work on each.

Term Paper 25% 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 February 19, 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 April 22, 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 presentations
will be on April 22 and May 06. 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 provided 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.
MIS 6316 — Telecommunications Spring 2008
Syam Menon page 2

Grades The default schedule for grade assignment will be: (≥ 90%) ⇒ A, (≥ 80% & < 90%) ⇒ B, (≥
70% & < 80%) ⇒ C, (≥ 60% & < 70%) ⇒ D, (< 60%) ⇒ F . I may adjust the final cut-offs
downward based on the degree of difficulty of the graded material.

Comments You are responsible for any announcements made in class. This includes any alterations to
the tentative schedule. You are also responsible for material distributed in class and through
WebCT.
Only a pen or pencil is allowed during examinations and quizzes.
Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary proceedings as noted in the student catalog at
http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/graddean/CAT2006/appendices/Appendix1.htm

Objectives Module I: FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATIONS

Lecture 1: Describe the layers of the important network models
Explain the need for standards, and the process of standardization
Lecture 2: Describe the fundamentals of transmission, including the types of signaling
and transmission, signal impairments.
Calculate channel capacity in noiseless and noisy channels.
Lecture 3: Describe the fundamentals of transmission, including the types of signaling
and transmission, signal impairments.
Calculate channel capacity in noiseless and noisy channels.
Lecture 4: Identify and describe different types of signal encoding schemes.
Lecture 5: Explain processes of transmission, error detection, and flow control.
Analyze the efficiency of transmission.
Module II: SWITCHING & NETWORKING
Lecture 6: Explain various forms of multiplexing and switching.
Analyze the effect of packet size on transmission time.
Lecture 7: Describe and analyze routing in circuit and packet switched networks.
Identify least cost routes using Dijkstra’s algorithm.
Lecture 8: Describe and classify LANS; describe LAN components.
Explain the functioning of various types of technologies related to LANs.
Lecture 9: Describe various cellular concepts and technologies.
Module III: SECURITY
Lecture 6: Describe various threats, and the major requirements to ensure security.
Describe and analyze symmetric and public-key encryption schemes, and
related operations.

Tentative Course Outline

Dates Jan 08 Jan 15 Jan 22 Jan 29 Feb 05 Feb 12 Feb 19

Lecture 01 02 03 04 05 05 exam
01

Dates Feb 26 Mar 04 Mar 11 Mar 18 Mar 25 Apr 01 Apr 08

Lecture 06 06 Spring 07 08 09 10
Break

Dates Apr 15 Apr 22 Apr 29 May 06

Lecture exam Present- Dead Present-
02 ations Week ations