CSCI-4964 Computer Communication Networks Syllabus
Instructor: Jasmine Plum [she/her] ()
Office Hours: After lecture / Amos Eaton 205 by appointment
Assignments and lectures will be posted via link on the syllabus as the course progresses. Due to the limited enrollment this semester, announcements will be done over e-mail, as will electronic assignment submissions.Pre-requisites: CSCI 2300 Intro to Algorithms; CSCI 2500 Computer Organization or ECSE 2660 "COCO"
Topics: Introduction to the internet / computer networks, application layer, transport layer, network layer, link layer concepts, queueing, perhaps some wireless network materials. Other topics may be added.
About the Course: This course is based on ECSE-4670 Computer Communication Networks, and it is quite likely you cannot receive credit for both courses. Since this is the first time this is being offered in the Department of Computer Science, we will be experimenting with the material to make it more CS-intensive. Given that it is my first time teaching the course, that the number and length of lectures is different, and that we have an unsually small enrollment, the format of the course may also be a little different from a typical course.
The exams will contain quantitative problems, true/false questions and short-answer questions. The focus will be on understanding of concepts, and problem-solving skill. Exams will be open-book/notes, but will be time-constrained. Material from lecture slides, text and reading/homework assignments will be included in the scope of exams. Exams will be administered in class.
Grading:
The grading scheme might change slightly but the approximate breakdown is:
- Homework Assignments (estimating 7): 20%
- Midterm Exams (there will be 2): 15% each
- Programming Assignments (estimating 3): 20%
- Final exam: 30%
Grades will use traditional cutoffs of:
- A: 92%+
- A-: 90-92%
- B+: 88-90%
- B: 82-88%
- B-: 80-82%
- C+: 78-80%
- C: 72-78%
- C-: 70-72%
- D+: 68-70%
- D: 60-68%
- F: below 60%
Late Work Policy: There are no late days in this course, all work is expected to be submitted by the deadlines provided in assignment handouts/the syllabus. If you have a legitimate excuse you should get it approved through Student Experience / your class dean.
Textbook: The textbook we use is the 7th edition of "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach " by Kurose and Ross. [Amazon]
Academic Integrity: Student-teacher relationships are based on trust. Acts which violate this trust undermine the educational process. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. Please refer to the Rensselaer Handbook for definitions of various forms of academic dishonesty and the applicable penalties. We take cheating very seriously; you can expect to be punished for violations of academic integrity. Cheating will result in a 0 on the gradeable in question and full letter reduction of the semester grade. A second offense will result in an automatic F in the course.
Schedule: This will be updated as the semester progresses:
All due dates refer to 11:59:59 PM unless otherwise specified.
| Date | Sections | Topics | Homeworks/Exams/Lecture Links |
| May 22 | 1.1 - 1.3 | Syllabus, Introduction, Circuit and Packet Switching | Lecture 1 |
| May 25 | 1.3 - 1.4 | Network Structure, Delay, Loss, and Throughput | Lecture 2 | Homework 1 |
| May 29 | 1.5, 2.1.1 - 2.1.2 | Layering Models, Application Layer Overview | Lecture 3 |
| Jun 1 | 2.1.3 - 2.2 | Transport/Application Layer, HTTP | HW1 due | Lecture 4 | PA1: HTTP |
| Jun 5 | 2.3, 2.6 | SMTP, IMAP, POP3, Streaming | Lecture 5 |
| Jun 8 | 2.4 - 2.5 | DNS, P2P | PA1 due | Lecture 6 | HW2 | ibm-dns-filtered-trace.pcap |
| Jun 12 | 3.1 - 3.3 | Transport Layer, Multiplex/Demux, UDP, TCP overview | Lecture 7 |
| Jun 15 | 3.4.1 - 3.4.2 | TCP flow control, Reliable Data Transfer, Pipelining | HW2 due | Lecture 8 | Homework 3 |
| Jun 19 | 3.4.3 - 3.4.4 | Go Back N, Selective Repeat | Lecture 9 |
| Jun 22 | 3.5 | TCP operation / flow control | HW3 due | Lecture 10 | PA2 |
| Jun 26 | EXAM 1 | ||
| Jun 29 | 3.6, 3.7 | Congestion Avoidance Principles / TCP CA | Lecture 11 | HW4 |
| Jul 3 | NO CLASS | ||
| Jul 6 | NO CLASS | ||
| Jul 10 | 4.1 - 4.3.2 | Network Layer, Routers, IP Datagrams | Lecture 12 | PA 2 due |
| Jul 13 | 4.3.3 - 4.4 | IP Addressing / NAT / Longest Prefix Matching | HW4 due | Lecture 13 | HW5 |
| Jul 17 | 5.1 - 5.3 | Routing Table, Link-State, DVR, OSPF | Lecture 14 |
| Jul 20 | 5.4 - 5.7 | BGP, SDN, ICMP, SNMP | HW5 due | Lecture 15 | PA3 |
| Jul 24 | 6.1 - 6.3 | Link Layer, Error Detection, Multiple Access | Lecture 16 |
| Jul 27 | 6.4 - 6.7 | Ethernet, Switched LANs, "The Big Picture" review | Lecture 17 |
| Jul 31 | EXAM 2 | HW6 | ||
| Aug 3 | 8.1 - 8.4 | Cryptography Concepts, End-Point Authentication | PA 3 due | Lecture 18 |
| Aug 7 | 8.5 - 8.8 | PGP, SSL, IPSec/VPN, WEP | Lecture 19 | HW7 |
| Aug 10 | 8.9 | Firewalls/IDP, Review Part 1 | HW6 due | Lecture 20 |
| Aug 14 | Review Part 2 | Lecture 21 | |
| Aug 17 | HW7 due (at start of class) | FINAL EXAM |