Course Title: Network Planning and Performance

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Network Planning and Performance

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
EEET2296	City Campus	Undergraduate	125H Electrical & Computer Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009
EEET2297	City Campus	Postgraduate	125H Electrical & Computer Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009

Course Coordinator: Dr. Pj Radcliffe

Course Coordinator Phone: email

Course Coordinator Email: pjr@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 87.2.10

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Students are expected to have knowledge of communication and network engineering principles, mathematics fundamentals and TCP/IP.

Course Description

The course provides students with an introduction to the concept of network planning and performance. Digital networks provide a limited resource: information carrying capacity. Students are shown how network planning and performance are important to the successful operation of all digital networks. Students should gain an understanding of the principles and concepts that are applied to network planning and how network performance may be optimised. Students are introduced to techniques that are used to provide information streams with different characteristics including priority and routing.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

The course objectives are to provide the student with knowledge of network planning and performance principles including minimum cost and maximum flow methodologies and operations research techniques including network spanning models.
The learning outcomes include students gaining an understanding of the process used to plan network operation and performance characteristics, including survivability and reliability through redundancy. Students gain knowledge of intelligent network features used in maintenance and operation including the process of automatic network restoration.
Student capability development includes gaining an understanding of teletraffic principles and application to digital networks. Network convergence has introduced a range of issues associated with achieving required performance across different network types.
Wireline and wireless networks are considered. Students gain knowledge of how to plan a mobile digital network given subscriber densities and performance objectives.
As you achieve these outcomes the capabilities that you will learn, develop and exercise are detailed in the table below.
Dimensions of Capability - Skills/Knowledge Capabilities
Technical competence Ability to apply knowledge of network planning and performance including network design principles, optimal design, maintenance and operation techniques and performance characteristics including redundancy, survivability and reliability.
Problem solving and decision-making Ability to formulate and solve problems creatively, especially in network planning and performance.
Systematic design approach Ability to formulate and implement software solutions using industry design techniques.
Communication Ability to communicate effectively in writing (both verbally and graphically).
Lifelong learning Ability to undertake self-directed study.

At the conclusion of this course you will be able to-

• Plan a network,  including the use traffic theory and simulation.
• Understand network routing principles.

Overview of Learning Activities

Laboratory sessions will provide an insight into network planning and performance activities performed by network planners.

Overview of Learning Resources

Learning resources and reading guide are available on the course website at http://www.rmit.edu.au/online.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment tasks consist of assignments (40%)  and a final examination (60%).

Students must achieve at least 40% in both the exam and assignments.  Failure to achieve this will result in a student’s mark being limited to a maximum of 44%.

Late work may not be accepted or penalized at 20% per day.

Cheating will result in a  mark of zero for that component.  Multiple cheating attempts will result in a mark of zero for the course.