Basics of computer architecture (hardware and operating systems software) and subsequent integration into a TCP/IP network.
BASIC ARCHITECTURE AND OPERATION
CPU Components - CU, ALU, registers, address bus, data bus, memory; Instruction execution (fetch, decode, execute); full adders, half-adders. Primary Memory, RAM, ROM, Memory addresses. Secondary storage devices, Disk storage technology.
OPERATING SYSTEMS & PROCESSES
Operating System components and functions. Operating system types - basic terminology. Multi-user systems, Unix implementations, DOS & Unix command set and basic scripting, Resource Management, Sharing and Exhaustion. CPU time, single and multiple processes, multi-tasking, creation and removal of processes, process states and scheduling, process deadlock.
NETWORKING MODELS
Concepts of networks (LANs & WANs), OSI and TCP/IP models; Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data Link and Physical layers. Network traffic analysis, real and simulated networks, peer-to-peer networks. Data encapsulation.
TCP/IP SUITE
The Application layer, the interaction of protocols, services, and applications, HTTP, DNS, DHCP, SMTP/POP, Telnet and FTP. The Transport layer, how the TCP and UDP protocols apply to applications. Network layer; concepts of addressing and routing, path determination, data packets. IP protocol: configuring hosts to access the local network and exploring routing tables.
IP ADDRESSING
Network addressing, the subnet mask, the number of sub-networks and hosts in a network, ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) tools.
DESIGN, CABLING, CONFIGURATION & TESTING
Ethernet operation: encapsulation processes as data travels across the LAN and the WAN, Designing and cabling a network, which cables to use, how to connect devices, developing an addressing and testing scheme, connect and configure a small network using basic router commands
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 50 |
| Formal Examination | 50 |