Forming a group and choosing a topic (due November 14):

Please choose a topic that focuses on a networking technology and/or on a networking application. You should not focus exclusively on a technology at OSI layer 1. If you choose an application that lies at OSI layer 7, you should relate it to other standardized application layer protocols and/or relate it to requirements at lower layers.

You cannot cover material covered in lecture.

Your project will consist of learning about the topic and presenting what you have learned. You are not expected to build or design anything.

You should work in a group of two, three, or four students. If you are looking for other students to work with, you might want to post to the CS 132 MessageBoard.

By November 14, your group should post information about your proposed project on the course wiki. Please include the names of the students in your group, a project title, and a short (one paragraph) description of your topic. The description need not describe everything you will investigate, but it should be enough to give me an idea of what will be included and what is outside the bounds of your interest.

Learning about your topic:

You should find and read information related to your topic. This information should be composed of a few independent sources. You can use any source (paper or online) that you deem respectable. Here are a few magazines that I believe are generally reliable, to give you a few examples:

• IEEE Spectrum
• IEEE Communications Magazine
• IEEE Network Magazine
• IEEE Personal Communications Magazine
• Communications of the ACM
  

UCI has online subscriptions to these and many other publications. To take advantage of this, you must either use a computer on the UCI campus or use the UCI VPN.

A reasonable amount of information would probably be 3-5 articles from these magazines, or a corresponding amount from other sources.

Initial Report (due November 21)

Write a 1-2 page report explaining the scope of your project. Include an initial list of your references.

Turn in the report by November 21 7pm. Only one member of your group should do the following:

1. If your report is in a format other than Word or PDF, then convert it to PDF. There are several free conversion tools on the Internet. Rename the report file to include your group number, e.g. Group3InitialReport.
2. Post the report in the CS 132 Initial Report Dropbox.

Presentation or Final Report:

You will either turn in a final report or give a presentation to the class. We will select which one you should do.

Presentation:

If selected to give a presentation, your presentation will take place on one of the following days:

• November 28
• December 3
• December 5

Your group should sign up for a time slot on the course wiki. Each time slot will be 15 minutes. You are expected to attend all days regardless of which day you are presenting.

Your talk should use a set of computer projected slides. You may use either ppt or pdf formats. You may use your own laptop or you may use the computer in the classroom.

You should practice your talk to learn the timing, as I will cut you off when you have used 15 minutes. Although 15 minutes might seem like a long time, you will not have time to present everything you have learned. Therefore, you should decide what you think is the most important information for your classmates.

YOU MUST INCLUDE ON YOUR LAST SLIDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF YOUR INFORMATION SOURCES. Please include the following information for each:

1. Author of the document.
2. Title of the document (e.g. article title or web page title).
3. Venue where the document was published (e.g. journal, conference, magazine, publisher, name of website).
4. Where to find the document within the venue (e.g. volume number and page number, or path within webpage sitemap), if available.
5. Date written; for webpages without a date written include the date accessed.
6. URL, if the reference is available online. This should be the direct URL provided by the venue, if available. I should be able to put this URL in my webrowser and immediately obtain the reference.

Only one member of your group should do the following by the day you present:

1. If your slides are in a format other than Powerpoint or PDF, then convert it to PDF. There are several free conversion tools on the Internet. Rename the file to include your group number, e.g. Group3Slides.
2. Post the file in the CS 132 Report or Slides Dropbox.

Report:

If selected to write a report, you must complete your report by December 3.

Your report should be approximately 4-5 pages per person in your group, not including the bibliography.

YOU MUST INCLUDE IN YOUR WRITTEN REPORT A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF YOUR INFORMATION SOURCES. Please include the following information for each:

1. Author of the document.
2. Title of the document (e.g. article title or web page title).
3. Venue where the document was published (e.g. journal, conference, magazine, publisher, name of website).
4. Where to find the document within the venue (e.g. volume number and page number, or path within webpage sitemap), if available.
5. Date written; for webpages without a date written include the date accessed.
6. URL, if the reference is available online. This should be the direct URL provided by the venue, if available. I should be able to put this URL in my webrowser and immediately obtain the reference.

Only one member of your group should do the following by by December 3 at 10pm:

1. If your report is in a format other than Powerpoint or PDF, then convert it to PDF. There are several free conversion tools on the Internet. Rename the file to include your group number, e.g. Group3Slides.
2. Post the file in the CS 132 Report or Slides Dropbox.

Grading:

You will be graded primarily on the effectiveness of your transmission of information to your classmates.

For presentations, we will assign scores for preparation (how well did you demonstrate that you know the material), content (which material did you include in your presentation), presentation (how well did you communicate this information to your classmates), and length (how closely did you match the 15 minute target).

For reports, we will assign scores for preparation (how well did you demonstrate that you know the material), content (which material did you include in your report), and presentation (how well did you communicate this information).