Transmission media imposes various and often unique constraints on the design of networks and their achievable performance. This unit will cover key performance concepts in copper cables, optical fibre cabled and wireless transmission media. This includes atmospheric propagation impact on QoS, satellite and wireless systems, Wifi, WiMax network propagation issues and planning concepts, and satellite and terrestrial service planning concepts. The infrastructure requirements, reliability and maintainability of networks with specific transmission media will be covered, including the application of GIS in design and planning for terrestrial, mobile and cellular systems.
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
See also Unit timetable information
(FIT9135 or FIT5135 or FIT9020) or equivalent
Dr. Malik Khan
Consultation hours: TBA
Etienne Feukeu
Consultation hours: TBA
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
This unit was offered in Semester-2 2014 and students rated the Unit FIT5083 with the following outcome, the rating was good with the students expected outcome for this unit was very satisfactory. The unit enabled students to achieve its learning objectives = 4.2/5; Students found the unit to be intellectually stimulating = 4.15/5; The learning resources in this unit supported student studies = 4.1/5; The feedback student received in this unit was useful = 4.4/5; Overall students were satisfied with the quality of this unit = 4.15/5; The organisation and progression of the topics in this unit made sense to students= 4.18/5; Students was satisfied with the way practical and/or tutorial activities were conducted = 4.1/5; The assessment tasks helped students to develop the knowledge and skills required for this unit = 3.95/5; Students were encouraged to actively participate in this unit = 4.2/5
The content in this unit is mostly new and evolving, as it was redesigned a couple of times for the MNS degree. This latest revised unit has been offered for the first time in 2014 semester-1. Since then the Unit has been received well by the students. The student’s feedback in the last semester was to reduce heavy technical details and to structure the course content that will be easily understood. Time and again the content of the course has been fine tuned to make the student understand the network infrastructure concepts well. This will be again addressed in this offering.
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Lecture content scheduling may be adjusted throughout the semester | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 |
| 1 | Introduction, Network Infrastructure Concepts; Theory of Transmission (PHY); Shannon Capacity Model; BER; Power Budgets | No Lab |
| 2 | Transmission Media Properties; Loss; Bandwidth vs. Capacity; Dispersion; Group Delay; Distortion; Crosstalk; Interference; Eye Diagrams; Modulations | Lab exercises begin (Week 2 to Week 12) |
| 3 | Wireless Transmission Media Properties; Friis Equation; RF Bands; RF Impairments vs. Bands; Antennas / Gain / Efficiency; Spectral Congestion; Types of wireless channels: WiFi; WiMax; Terrestrial; Satcom | |
| 4 | Wireless LAN and WiMax Design; Multipath; Propagation Problems in Static Installations; Fading in Mobile Applications; Design Rules for WiFi and WiMax networks; Modulations, Packet Structures and BER Considerations | |
| 5 | Terrestrial Link Design; Fresnel Model; Multipath Effects; Transmission Losses; Interference and Spectral Congestion; Common Modulations, Packet Structures and BER Considerations | |
| 6 | Satellite Link Design; Spatial Diversity; Spectral Diversity; Orbital Geometry: GEO/MEO/LEO; Loss Modelling; Latency Modelling; Two-Ray Model Fading Concepts; Weather Dependencies in Link Design; Common Modulations, Packet Structures and BER Considerations | Assignment 1 due by Friday 4th September 2015 4:00 PM |
| 7 | Copper Cable Transmission Media Properties; Impedance, Bandwidth, Skin Effect; Loss; Dispersion; Types of Cables vs. Transmission Properties; Coax; Twisted Pairs; NEXT/FEXT | |
| 8 | Copper Cable Transmission Media Properties; 802.3, ADSL; VDSL Cable Specs/Standards; Design Considerations; Cable Durability; Installation Considerations | |
| 9 | Optical Fibre Transmission Media Properties; Introduction to Fibre, Numerical Aperture; Sources and Detectors; MM vs. SM; WDM Concepts | |
| 10 | Optical Fibre Transmission Media Properties; Types of Cables vs. Transmission Properties; Design for GEPON Networks | |
| 11 | Networks Reliability and Maintainability; Lusser's Product Law; MTBF/MTTF/MTTR; Durability in Cabled Networks | Assignment 2 due by Friday 16 October 2015 4:00 PM |
| 12 | GIS Applications in Infrastructure Planning | |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (3 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 (individual assignment) | 10% | Week 6 due by Friday 4th September 4:00 PM 2015 |
| Assignment 2 (individual assignment) | 10% | Week 11 due by Friday 16th October 4:00 PM 2015 |
| Lab exercises | 20% | End of each weekly laboratory class |
| Examination 1 | 60% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
This part of the assessments will cover the three learning outcomes of the Unit.
This part of the assessments will cover the three learning outcomes of the Unit.
You will get the full mark if you can complete all the exercises and demonstrate them well. Different marks will be given depending on the level of completion and demonstration. Two online quizzes in week 9 and 12 will also be an important criteria for assessment and contribute for this part of marks. This part of the assessments will cover all the three learning outcomes of the Unit.
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an electronic submission). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Please check with your lecturer before purchasing any Required Resources. Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library, and prescribed software is available in student labs.
Matlab software will be used in a number of laboratories, and students should consider installing Matlab on a personal system.
Students are permitted to bring privately owned notebooks or laptops into class.
Stallings, William. (2004). Wireless Communications & Networks. (2nd Edition) Prentice Hall.
Dutton H.J.R. (1998). Understanding Optical Communications; SG24-5230-00. () International Business Machines.
Oliviero, A, Woodward, B. (2014). Cabling: The Complete Guide to Copper and Fiber-Optic Networking. (5th Edition) Sybex.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.