Pre-requisite: 70335+70635
In recent times, computing and data communications have tended to converge, such that data communications has become an integral part of almost every computer system. This unit is based around two central themes. The first is the logical extension of the material covered in the preceding. Computer Engineering units. This involves a more detailed study of advanced computer design including memory management, virtual memory, process management, cache memory, processor architectures and performance. The second theme is the design, implementation and use of data communications systems. This section, comprising approximately half the unit, covers local area network protocols such as Ethernet, together with higher level protocols such as TCP/IP. An in depth understanding of the theoretical and practical operation of these protocols is emphasised by implementation assignments involving programming of these protocol stacks using the C language.