Welcome to "Data Communication 1" at Dalarna University!

VT 2025, v3, Study period 3

This course is designed to provide you with the basic knowledge and skills to understand and work with routing and switching in computer networks. Whether you want to work in network administration, improve your IT skills, or prepare for certification exams, this course will provide you with essential concepts and hands-on experience.

Course overview

The course introduces architectures, models, protocols and network elements that connect users, devices, applications and data via the Internet and in modern computer networks. The principles of IP addressing and the basics of Ethernet concepts, media and basic configuration of network devices are introduced to create a good basic understanding of the concept of data communication. The course also provides a basic introduction to methods for testing network connections and suitable tools for this. Furthermore, an introduction to network security is given, where common threats are highlighted as well as different methods that can be applied to counteract these threats and strengthen the protection of both infrastructure, communication devices and data/information.

The course contains ongoing practical steps to manage and configure communication equipment, including routers and switches.

Important topics

• Data Communication Basics : Learn about how networks work and the basic structure of the Internet.
• How data is sent and received : Discover how data is packaged and checked to be delivered correctly.
• Network Layouts and Rules : Gain an understanding of network structures and basic rules for data sharing.
• Introduction to Data Security : Learn the basics of protecting information in transit.
• Practical exercises : Use equipment at Campus Borlänge and tools such as Cisco Packet Tracer to put the theory into practice.

This course provides a simple introduction to data communications and prepares you for more advanced topics in network engineering.

Study guide for GDT2JM Data Communication 1

You will find the complete study guide and course material in the modules section. The study guide contains information about the content and structure of this course and explains how the exams will be conducted.

The course is held on Campus Borlänge.

The teacher-led part of the course mainly consists of lectures and laboratories, but there may also be some seminars. It is important to follow the study plan carefully.

For written communication with the responsible teacher, always use your DU e-mail!

	Syllabus			Contact information
	Bibliography			Paria Sadeghian Kursansvarig, Laborationshandledare, frågestunder psd@du.se
				Nausheen Saeed Laborationshandledare, Föreläsningar och frågestunder nse@du.se
				Raja Oman Zafar Laborationsstöd roz@du.se