Fall 2025 CSC 361: Computer Communications and Networks (Units: 0)

Accessible Learning

The University of Victoria is committed to creating a learning experience that is as accessible as possible. If you are registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning and anticipate or experience any barriers to learning in this course, please feel welcome to discuss your concerns with me. If you are a student with a disability or chronic health condition, you can meet with a CAL advisor to discuss access and accommodations.

How to contact CAL:  https://www.uvic.ca/accessible-learning/students/how-to-register/index.php.

Academic Concessions

The university recognizes its responsibility to offer academic concessions to students whose ability to complete course requirements is interrupted by unexpected and unavoidable circumstances or conflicting responsibilities.

Review the Academic Concession Regulation:

https://www.uvic.ca/calendar/future/undergrad/index.php#/policy/HJjAxiGO4?bc=true&bcCurrent=11%20-%20Academic%20Concessions&bcGroup=Undergraduate%20Academic%20Regulations&bcItemType=policies

and web site:

https://www.uvic.ca/students/academics/academic-concessions-accommodations/request-for-academic-concession/index.php#ipn-undergraduate-requests-for-academic-concession.

Course Overview

The course is about the basics of the TCP/IP protocol stack, which empowers the Internet that connects "everything" and "everyone" these days.

Topics

• Introduction

Internet overview; Access network technologies: basics; Backbone network technologies and structures: basics; Network architectures, services and protocols

Client-server model; World-Wide Web (WWW); Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP); Domain Name System (DNS); Socket Application Programming Interface

Transport layer services; User Datagram Protocol (UDP); Transmission Control Protocol (TCP); TCP connection management techniques; TCP flow, error and congestion control basics

Network layer services; Internet Protocol (IP); Basic routing algorithms: distance vector and link state; Internet routing protocols: basics

Link layer services; Medium Access Control (MAC) techniques; Link layer interworking techniques; IEEE 802.3 and 802.11 basics

Course Objectives And Learning Outcomes

The course objectives are to help students gain a general understanding of the principles and concepts governing the operations of computer networks and to provide them with the opportunity to become skilled in implementing and using communication protocols.

By the end of the course, the students will be able to:

• use Wireshark to capture and analyze Internet traffic,
• use socket programming to implement/analyze an application-level protocol,
• develop programs to analyze a traffic trace file's structure and statistical features,
• understand TCP behaviour and identify TCP anomalies,
• config and test virtual routing devices,
• test network performance using tools such as ping and traceroute.

Textbooks

Assignments

In this course, there will be 3 programming assignments (worth 13%, 16%, and 16%, respectively), totaling 45%.

There will be 10 reports related to the labs, each worth 1%, for a total of 10%. To receive the point, the student attends the lab session and submits the lab report.

Exams

There will be three midterms (each worth 15%) and NO final exam.

Exam date and time: The midterm exams are on Oct. 3, Nov. 4, and Dec. 2, 2025, respectively. The exam time is: 9:30-10:20 (lecture hour).

Term Schedule & Grading

Participation in labs

Students are required to attend the lab sessions in ECS 360 to obtain the points.

Use of GenAI

In this course, I welcome the use of generative AI for assignment completion and during activities in the classroom. Therefore, you are authorized to use generative AI tools. You will be able to access Microsoft Copilot using your UVic credentials. Please note that you can opt not to use generative AI at all to complete all the course assignments successfully. In the case you opt to use generative AI, you must provide proper citation of the tools you used and describe how you used it (for initial research, preparing outline, editing etc). 

Although the course allows the use of generative AI, please be aware of the following flaws when using the tools:

· Generative AI does not fact-check

· Generative AI may provide biased and inaccurate answers

· Generative AI hallucinates and may provide false or/and made-up information

· Generative AI does not critically analyze content

Please also review UVic guidelines for the use of GenAI at the following link.

https://libguides.uvic.ca/AI_Tools/AI_at_UVic

Posting of Grades

Typically marks for assignments, examinations, and provisional final grades, are made available through a Learning Management System (LMS) like Brightspace, where each student will be able to view only their own grades. Sometimes numerical marks/grades may be posted publicly to the entire class. In that case, full student numbers or names will not be included with the posted information.

Csc Student Groups

The Engineering & Computer Science Students' Society (ECSS) serves all students registered in an Engineering and Computer Science degree program, including Software Engineering (BSEng). For information on ECSS activities, events and services navigate to https://sites.google.com/view/uvic-ecss/.

Course Policies And Guidelines

Late Assignments: No late assignments will be accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor at least 48 hours before the assignment due date.
Coursework Mark Appeals: Appeals of marks for coursework will only be considered if received within 7 days of the mark being posted.
Attendance: We expect students attend all lectures and labs. It is entirely the students' responsibility to recover any information or announcements presented in lectures from which they were absent.
Electronic devices in labs and lectures: No unauthorized audio or video recording of lectures is permitted.
Electronic devices in midterms and exams: Calculators are only permitted for examinations and tests if explicitly authorized and the type of calculator permitted may be restricted. No other electronic devices (e.g. cell phones, pagers, PDA, etc.) may be used during examinations or tests unless explicitly authorized.
Plagiarism: Submitted work may be checked using plagiarism detection software. Cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic fraud are taken very seriously by both the University and the Department. You should consult the link given below for the UVic policy on academic integrity. Note that the university policy includes the statement that "A largely or fully plagiarized assignment should result in a grade of F for the course."

The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Standards for Professional Behaviour are at https://www.uvic.ca/ecs/_assets/docs/student-forms/professional-behaviour.pdf
U.Vic guidelines and policy concerning fraud and academic integrity are at http://web.uvic.ca/calendar/undergrad/info/regulations/academic-integrity.html
U. Vic Privacy Policy: If any student has concerns about their private information being stored or accessed outside of Canada, they are required to inform the course instructor about their concerns before the end of second week of classes.