Overview
This unit provides you with the skills and knowledge required to design wired and wireless networks using the Top-Down Network Design methodology. The unit equips you with the approaches used to gather business and technical requirements, and analyse them together with the security policies of the organisation. The unit includes campus, branch, WAN, wireless and Internet edge designs as well as testing and documentation.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: COIT20261 Network Routing and Switching Co-requisite: COIT20262 Advanced Network Security
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2020
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Feedback from one student and self-reflection.
The drop of the number of students attending the workshops because they could submit recorded individual presentations, rather than in class group presentations, for Part A of Assessment 1, may have reduced the effectiveness of group discussions.
Consider making Part A of Assessment 1 (Presentation) a group assignment while allocating some marks based on peer-assessment by the group members.
- Prepare the business and technical requirements of the organisation in relation to network design
- Analyse the business and technical requirements
- Compare and contrast the possible alternative logical and physical network designs
- Design a network by applying the top-down network design methodology
- Justify that the designed network satisfies the requirements.
Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is in use in over 100 countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles.
ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile at https://www.acs.org.au/professionalrecognition/mysfia-b2c.html
This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA. The SFIA code is included:
- Network Planning (NTPL)
- Project management (PRMG)
- Network Design (NTDS)
- Availability Management (AVMT)
- Capacity Management (CPMG)
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 60% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 60% | |||||||||
Textbooks
Top-Down Network Design
- Edition: 3rd (2011)
- Authors: Priscilla Oppenheimer
- Cisco Press
- Indianapolis Indianapolis , IN , USA
- ISBN: 978-1-58720-283-4
- Binding: Hardcover
Additional Textbook Information
Copies can be purchased from the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Microsoft Visio
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
r.desilva@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Unit Introduction; Analysing Business Goals and Constraints
Chapter
1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Start of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Analysing Technical Goals and Tradeoffs
Chapter
2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Characterising the Existing Network; Characterising Network Traffic
Chapter
3 & 4
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Designing a Network Topology
Chapter
5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Designing Models for Addressing and Numbering; Designing Switching and Routing Protocols; Designing Security Strategies; Designing Network Management Strategies
Chapter
6, 7, 8, & 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
MID-TERM BREAK
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Selecting Technologies and Devices for Campus Networks
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Selecting Technologies and Devices for Enterprise Networks
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2020Module/Topic
Wireless Network Design – Part I
Chapter
Online materials
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2020Module/Topic
Wireless Network Design – Part II
Chapter
Online materials
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Assessment Item 1 Due: Week 9 Monday (11 May 2020) 8:00 pm AEST
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2020Module/Topic
Testing Your Network Design
Chapter
12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2020Module/Topic
Optimising Your Network Design; Documenting Your Network Design
Chapter
13 & 14
Events and Submissions/Topic
Continuation of Weekly Group Discussions
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Reflection
Chapter
1 - 14
Events and Submissions/Topic
End of Weekly Group Discussions
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Contact information for Dr Rohan de Silva:
Email: r.desilva@cqu.edu.au; Telephone: (02) 9324 5748; Office: Room 2.08, 400 Kent Street, Sydney Campus. If you have any individual queries, please email me and I'll try to get back to you within a day or so. For an individual discussion, please phone during work hours (leave a message if I'm not in and I'll return your call as soon as I can).
1 Written Assessment
Week 9 Monday (11 May 2020) 8:00 pm AEST
Each one of you must upload the video presentation to YouTube and your presentation slides to Moodle by the above due date. The link to your video should be provided in the presentation slides. Each one of you in the group should also upload the same written report (Part B) to Moodle by the above due date.
Week 11 Monday (25 May 2020)
Two weeks after the due date or two weeks after submission, whichever is later.
The two parts of this assessment task carry the following weightings:
Presentation (Part A) – 12%
Written Report (Part B) – 28%
- Prepare the business and technical requirements of the organisation in relation to network design
- Analyse the business and technical requirements
- Compare and contrast the possible alternative logical and physical network designs
- Design a network by applying the top-down network design methodology
- Justify that the designed network satisfies the requirements.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 Written Assessment
This assessment task can be undertaken individually or in a group of up to 4 students.
In this assessment task, starting from your logical network design that you completed in Assessment Item 1, you will undertake the physical network design using the top-down network design methodology, and prepare a complete report containing the logical and physical designs of the network.
Further details of this assessment task will be provided in the Assessment Item 2 document on the Moodle unit website.
Review/Exam Week Monday (8 June 2020) 8:00 pm AEST
Each one of you in the group must upload the same written report to Moodle by the above due date.
On Certification Day
- Compare and contrast the possible alternative logical and physical network designs
- Design a network by applying the top-down network design methodology
- Justify that the designed network satisfies the requirements.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
