TLEN 5830 Spring 1998 FAQ

Why are there special conditions in taking TLEN 5830 from me?

I have two full time jobs already, being director of Information Technology Services (ITS) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and now performing campus-wide IT management functions. In addition, I am active in areas as diverse as Internet 2, community networking, and distance education. As a result, I have a number of interesting experiences to share via an educational process. I also strongly believe that the purpose of universities is instruction and that I want to be directly involved in the primary business of the institution.

But all this leaves me with essentially no marginal time. In order to have a shred of a life, and still teach, I have requested special agreements with students who take the course.

How much time will the course require?

There will be four or five homeworks, each taking approximately 5 hours of work. There will be a midterm and a final. In some instances, papers can be substituted for the final.

I travel a lot for business. I also have some projects that might have deadlines during the semester. What kind of impact will that have?

Homeworks can be submitted up to one week late for partial credit. No homeworks will be accepted beyond that time. Ever. The midterms and the final can be taken up til a week late without loss of credit. Beyond that, they can not be taken.

There will be no incompletes. None. In the event of catastrophic events, students will negotiate an ad hoc grading process with the class instructors to have a final grade assigned at the close of the semester.

What will the class cover?

A detailed syllabus will be posted shortly. The class will emphasize two general areas: Internetwork Management and the next-generation of the Internet. It will also look extensively at other components of network management, including LAN issues and desktops. We will look at the current problems and architecture of today's Internet as well.

What kind of background is needed for the class?

You need to be fully conversant with standard network elements, such as ATM, hubs and routers, and standard network protocols, such as ethernet and TCP/IP. You should understand acronyms like PVC's, SVC's, DNS, FTP, VLANs, etc. You must have used both wide-area and LAN environments. You should have taken at least two courses in datacommunications. Several years of experience in networking can be substituted for some formal education.

You need to have full network access - to the web, to email, and to netnews.

I am not fully qualified to take the class but have heard this is a rare and limited opportunity. Can I expect extra help?

Unfortunately, no. Again, the lack of marginal time means that any time that does become available should be given to making the class better for the bulk of the students, versus helping just one or two.