A338/A538
Network Technologies
and System Administration.

[Formerly A247/A547 - Network Technologies and Administration.]

"To boldly go where no man has gone before!"

September 8, 1966

Instructor: Jeff Whitmer

• My Office: Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050).
  
• Office Hours:
  
  
  • Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050) Monday/Wednesday: 8:00 - 9:00am. Appointments also available.
    
    
• Office Hour Special NOTES:
  • Any changes to my office hours will be posted here.
    
    
    • Monday, August 26, 2024: First Day of Class.
      
      
    • Monday, September 2, 2024: Labor Day: CLASSES WILL NOT MEET.
      
      
• Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050) Office Phone: 855-3974.
  
• E-mail: jwhitmer@iu.edu.
  

Meeting Times: (Fall Semester 2024)

• Monday/Wednesday: 9:45am - 11:00am (sections 3257 and 3259) Luddy Hall 1019 (IF 1019)

"Lab" Times: (Fall Semester 2024)

• F: 9:10 - 10:00am in Luddy Hall 0006 (IF0006) (section 3258 and 3260)

Important Updates for All Students
enrolled in Fall Semester 2024

[LAST UPDATED: 10/1/2024]

• TEAM CAT 2 scores and preferred answers posted. Overall, this was a somewhat disappointing effort even though I have come to expect such challenges on the "first try" with this sort of exercise.
  
  You will find the preferred answer in the "In-Class CAT Solutions" section near the top of the "Homework Assignments" page. The team scores were widely separated, mainly because one team got off to the "wrong" start." I tried to be very generous on partial credit. These could have both been scored even lower if I had been ultra-strict. For example, I tried to give credit if all the work was right, after an error was made. However, I did have to deduct some point if the final answer was not correct. In addition, you may not have done the math correctly because it was not written correctly. A numerical answer does not include powers of 10 and multiplication signs. I am not going to do (or correct) the math. That is what you were supposed to do. You are encouraged to review the posted solution. Again, we will look at this together in class on 10/2/24, and I will try to point out the most common missteps made on this first exercise using both base2 and base10.
  
  
• Recent Change in team membership I wanted to be sure everyone was aware of a recent change in team membership. Please consult the team listing available in the "Final Project Resources" section at the top of the "Homework Assignments" page of the course website.
  
  
• JIT 4 and MINI 4 are Posted: JIT 4 and MINI 4 are both available on the Homework Assignments Page. JIT 4 is due by 10PM on Sunday, October 6, 2024 to Jeff (jwhitmer@iu.edu) via plain text direct email from your official IU-assigned email account, and MINI 4 is due by 10PM SHARP on Sunday, October 6, 2024 to your Canvas "MINI 4" Assignment. Both links point to the same file.
  
  NOTE: These topics do "look ahead" but we mey begin discussing them in class on 10/9/24 and/or 10/14/24. I wanted to get these posted now, so you have plenty of time to get them done (as already noted) and still have plenty of time to continue working on Individual Homework 1, which is due on 10/10/24. ALSO NOTE that at least one of these topics will be more challenging than any previous topics because the way it is stated is very "general" or "open-ended." This is intentional. Remember to use the context of this class to figure out what you are looking for. You need to get some experience with this, because there will be many times where you begin by not actually "knowing" what it is you are looking for.
  
  
• INDIVIDUAL Homework Assignment 1 is now available via the Homework page, in the "Homework Assignments" section at the bottom of the page. It is due to your Canvas "INDIVIDUAL Homework Assignment 1" assignment (which is not accessible yet) on Thursday, October 10, 2024 BY 11:59:00.00PM (SHARP). PLEASE note that the assignment will not be published on Canvas until on or after October 7, 2024.
  
  As already noted in our meeting on Wednesday, when you read this, you will notice that we have not even started our discussion of one of the two major topics for this paper, namely, 802.11. In fact, we are just about in the middle of our discussions of Ethernet. We will begin the 802.11 discussion sometime next week or the following week. I realize this may seem very intimidating at this point, but my expectation is for each of you to do your very best. As we progress and you write more, you will improve and that is the point to remember.
  
  I am publishing it this far in advance (a nearly 3 weeks) for several reasons. First, I want you to have a general idea of what you will be writing about so you can use that information as we continue to expand our knowledge of these topics. Second, I need to be sure you have adequate time after we have finished sharing all the information I intend to share about these topics to carefully organize and craft your Homework 1 paper. Third, with that same idea in mind, we will be having our guest attend our meeting on Friday, September 27 and I need to give you time to read this several times before that meeting.
  
  BE SURE to properly name the file when it comes time to submit and that your name appears somewhere on the first page. REMEMBER: Please be sure you read this thoroughly and carefully at least three (3) times before our meeting on Friday, September 27. We will be having a guest presenter who will work with us on how to write just this sort of paper. To be very direct, you will get as much out of this session as you are prepared to put into it. If you read Homework 1 thoroughly and several times before next Friday, I think you will benefit greatly from this session. If you come unprepared or, worse yet, choose not to attend, then you should clearly understand the potential consequences on the quality and evaluation of your Homework 1 submission.
  
  
• A338/A538 TEAMS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED AND POSTED ALONG WITH FINAL PROJECT INITIAL DESCRIPTION WITH TOPICS: There is now a link on the Homework Page in the Final Team Project Resources section (near the top) showing all the teams and their respective members. Assignments were as random as I could make them, keeping all teammates close to the same size. There are 2 A338 teams, and both have 4 members to begin with. Past experience shows that, should the teams become different sized due to students withdrawing from the courses, these differences in size neither help nor hinder any team. You are strongly encouraged to make contact with your teammates as promptly as possible, perhaps even before class on Wednesday, September 4. As already announced, I will ask you to figure out where you can sit so you will be with your team for the rest of the semester. There will be a variety of in-class team exercises, so you will all need to be seated near each other. The Team Assignments will be posted on-screen at the beginning of class tomorrow, 9/4, to aid in this process.
  
  As promised, a PDF version of the Final Project "initial" description that we used last Friday to brainstorm possible topics is also available in the "Final Team Project Resources" section. At the end you will find the compiled list of topics we came up with as well as additional topics added by me at the end of the list, that appear in bold type.