MX in Computer Networks

All candidates for the MX in Computer Networks must satisfy the overall requirements of KFUPM in addition to the following:

a)      The general requirements for the professional Master's are as follows:

  1. A Grade-Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher on a scale of 4.00
  2. Completion of TOFEL with a minimum score of 525 (PBT), 194 (CBT), or 70 (IBT). IELTS is also acceptable with a minimum of 6.0. (TOEFL is not required for Students who graduated from KFUPM)
  3. At least two letters of recommendation

b)      The technical backgrounds needed for Admission are:

  1. B.SC degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Control and Instrumentation System Engineering, or related fields.
  2. Basic knowledge of Programming.
  3. Basics of mathematics and Probability and Statistics.

Satisfying the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission into the program, as final admission is subject to an evaluation of the entire application, and the personal interview. Based on the assessment of the applicant file and the personal interview, the admission committee might offer conditional acceptance for students who need to take deficiency courses.

The MX in Computer Networks consists of 9 core courses from different disciplines.

 

Core Courses

 

Sr.Course Code and Title
1COE 540: Computer Networks
2COE 543: Mobile Computing and Wireless Networks
3COE 546: Computer Network Design
4SEC 521: Network Security
5COE 547: Network Management
6COE 550: Introduction to the Internet of Things
7COE 558: Cloud and Edge Computing
8COE 557: Emerging Advanced Networks
9COE 619: Project

 

 

Course Description

 

COE 540: Computer Networks (3-0-3)

Review of Computer network layering concepts and quality of service requirements. Physical Layer, Data Link Layer; ARQ Strategies; Analysis of ARQ Strategies. Multi-access communication. Network Layer. Routing in Data Networks. Flow and Congestion Control. Transport Layer. Application Layer: peer-to-peer networking, Content Distribution networks. Studying a number of classic and current papers on these subjects. Case studies.

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

COE 543: Mobile Computing and Wireless Networks (3-0-3)

Introduction to radio frequency propagation models. The physical layer for advanced mobile systems. Cellular configurations and interference mitigation and coordination methods. Multiple access techniques for wireless networks. Wireless network architecture. Mobility solutions for mobile networks (Mobile-IP, Session Initiation Protocol, mobile-Stream Control Transport Protocol, etc.). Quality of service, reliability, and security in the mobile computing environment. 5th generation wireless networks. Case studies include Wireless Personal Area Networks (e.g. Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.), Wireless Local Area Networks (e.g. 802.11n, 802.11ac, etc.) Wireless Metropolitan and Wide Area Networks (e.g. WiMAX-2, LTE/LTE-Advanced, 5G, etc.).

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

COE 546: Computer Network Design (3-0-3) 

Introduction to different types of computer networks: LANs, VLANs, InterVLAN Routing, ISL/802.1Q Trunking and WANs. STP and, PVST protocols, in addition to ACL (Standard and Extended). Subnetting and Interior and Exterior for Routing for IPv4 and IPv6. Multicasting, Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) protocols, Software Defined Networking (SDN). Reliability. Data in support of network design. Packet tracer simulator/emulator or other simulation tools will be used heavily. 

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

SEC 521: Network Security (3-0-3)

Network infrastructure security issues, including perimeter security defenses, firewalls, virtual private networks, intrusion detection systems, wireless security, and network security auditing tools. Secure network applications. Network security protocols include SSL, SSL/TLS, SSH, Kerberos, IPSec, and IKE. Network threats and countermeasures. Network auditing and scanning. VoIP Security. Remote exploitation and penetration techniques. Network support for securing critical infrastructure. Design and development of software-defined network security modules and tools based on hands-on experiences and state-of-the-art technologies.

Prerequisite: Graduating Standing

COE 547: Network Management (3-0-3)

Overview of network management. Network management standards and models. Network management system design. Network configuration management. Network management protocols: SNMP and RMON. Network management tools and systems. Network management applications. SNMPv3 security engine. SNMPv3 access control. SNMPv3 authentication and encryption protocols. Security management.

Prerequisite:  Graduate Standing

COE 550: Introduction to the Internet of Things

IoT systems design and architecture: elements of IoT system, potentials, constraints, and applications. IoT access technologies. IoT networking protocols such as 6LoWPAN. IoT application layer protocols such as MQTT and CoAP, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) such as ZigBee. Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) such as LoRaWAN. IoT network architecture: cloud, fog, and edge layers.

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

COE 558: Cloud and Edge Computing

Web services and RESTful APIs. Introduction to utility computing: Cloud and Edge computing. Cloud Service-oriented architecture and microservices. The XaaS pyramid. Serverless computing. Cloud resource management. Automated deployment and operations techniques. Virtualization and containerization. Cloud data storage: block storage, object storage, and file storage. Cloud "Big data" processing: MapReduce and Hadoop, Spark, BigTable. Cloud-native applications. Security of Cloud Computing.

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

COE 557: Emerging Networks Technologies

Recent advanced emerging technologies in computer networks, such as software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV), information-centric networking, smart grid communications, new wireless generations (6G and beyond), security aspects of new emerging technologies, etc. Students will search the literature for the state of the art of the most significant emerging technologies, explore new ideas through simulation projects and finally present their findings.

Prerequisite: COE 540

COE 619: Project

A graduate student will arrange with a faculty member to conduct an industrial project related to their field of study in a professional master's degree. Subsequently, the students shall acquire skills and gain experience in developing and running actual industry-based projects. This project culminates in the writing of a technical report, and an oral technical presentation in front of a board of professors and industry experts.

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

 

 

Degree Plan

 

Course #  ​
TitleLTLBCR

First Semester  ​ ​ ​ ​

COE540Computer Networks303
COE550Introduction to the Internet of Things303
   ​ ​606

 

Second Semester  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

COE546Computer Network Design303
COE547Network Management3
03
  ​ ​
606

 

Third Semester  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

COE543Mobile Computing and Wireless Networks303
SEC521Network Security303
COE619Project00IP
   ​ ​606

 

Fourth Semester  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

COE557Emerging Advanced Networks
3
0
3
COE558Cloud and Edge Computing303
COE619Project006
   ​ ​6012
Total Credit Hours  ​
30

 

Degree Plan MX in Computer Networks