CS 419: Computer Networks Spring 2006 B17 Upson Hall; MW 2:55–4:10 Professor Paul Francis

 

Course Management:  This includes syllabus, assignments, important dates, etc.

 

Teaching Staff:

Paul Francis	M4:15 - 5:15, F1:05-2:05	4108 Upson Hall	francis@cs.cornell.edu
Manpreet Singh	TW 4:30 - 5:30	338 Upson Hall	manpreet@cs.cornell.edu
Joy Zhang	R 2:30 - 4:30	338 Upson Hall	jzhang@cs.cornell.edu

 

Important Dates:

Midterm:  March 15, during class

Final:  During Finals week

 

Required Course Text: Larry Peterson, Bruce Davie
Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, 3^rd Ed.

 

Course Description

This course is appropriate for advanced students who have none or limited networking knowledge. Note that there is project work in C or C++, so you should either know it or be prepared to learn it.

My goals for you in this course are:

• To have a deep understanding for the basic architectural principles of computer networking
• To understand good network and networked application design: simplicity, scalability, performance, and the end-to-end principle
• To understand specifically how the Internet works today, and where it is going in the near future

In addition to lectures, textbook reading, homework assignments, and exams, this course will have several hands-on project assignments. These will consist of network measurements (using Ethereal, ping, and traceroute), network simulations (using the Opnet simulation package in the CSUG Lab), and network device and application programming in C or C++ (on a Linux server cluster donated by Intel). I'm not assigning a single large project, but rather a number of small projects throughout the semester. You will be expected to complete these "class-defined" projects individually—not in teams— though consultation with fellow students is allowed. I will also assign additional projects (see below) that you may use for CS490 or CS790 credit.

As an alternative to the "class-defined" projects above, students may do a "self-defined" project of their choosing, as long as it is approved by the instructor. This project may be done in teams of up to three, and may be taken for combined CS490 or CS790 and CS419 credit. This project does not have to be decided upon at the start of class. You may decide to start a self-defined project even after completing some of the class-defined projects, as long as the self-defined project requires about the same amount of effort as the remaining class-defined projects.

There will be two exams: a midterm and a final, both in-class, open-book, open-notes. However, the only book you will be allowed to bring into class is the assigned text. Notes will be limited to a single binder.  There will also be written homework assignments most weeks. The answers to these will be discussed in the class after the due date.

The course lectures will fairly closely follow the contents of the textbook. It will be quite similar to last year's CS419. Though this list is subject to minor revision, I plan to cover the following topics:

• Architecture: Packetization, Protocol layers and services, End-to-end principle, Internet structure, Naming, Addressing, and Routing, DNS, Reliability, Queuing, Tunneling
• IP: Addressing (Realms, subnets, hierarchy, NAT), Routing (Link state/Distance Vector, RIP, OSPF, BGP), Packet handling (fragmentation, ICMP), IPv6, tunneling, multicast
• Transport: Ports, TCP (sequencing, handshake, state machine, windowing, congestion, fairness, various flavors), UDP
• Socket programming: socket model, options, performance
• Security: Authentication, Encryption, Denial-of-Service, Firewalls, VPN (Virtual Private Networks)
• Traffic: Queuing models, packet dropping models
• Media: Voice and Video over IP, Real Time Protocol (RTP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
• Switch architecture: routers and switches