CS2013-final-report

Computer Networks I, Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
Prof. Vincenzo Liberatore
vl@case.edu
Knowledge Areas that contain topics and learning outcomes covered in the course
Knowledge Area
Networking and Communication (NC) 39
Total Hours of Coverage
Where does the course fit in your curriculum
The course is taken in the senior year and it is required for Computer Science majors. The pre-requisite are junior
standing and the sophomore course on data structures (or consent of instructor). Java programming experience is
also required, and familiarity with a scripting language (awk, python, etc.) is helpful. Certain maturity level in
mathematics, algorithms, and statistics is helpful. It has no required following course. It is a pre-requisite for
Communications Networks II and for the Internet Applications courses (non-required). The most recent offering had
an enrollment of 39 students.
What is covered in the course
The course covers various aspects of computer networking, including (1) application layer protocols such as HTTP
and SMTP, (2) transport layer (TCP/UDP) and congestion control, (3) routing and IP, and (4) link layer access
protocols including Ethernet and 802.11.
Typical schedule:
Week 1: Network architecture, layering, and protocols.
Week 2: Principles of application-layer, application-layer protocols: FTP, SMTP, DNS.
Week 3: HTTP, Web Caching and content delivery networks. Peer-to-peer applications.
Week 4: Socket programming, introduction to transport layer protocols.
Week 5: Principles of reliable transfer, TCP reliable transfer implementation.
Week 6: TCP reliable transfer cont’d, RTT and timer, flow control, TCP connection management, state
transition. Principles of congestion control.
Week 7: TCP congestion control. TCP performance: response time. TCP throughput
Week 8: Introduction to network layer. Inside a router.
Week 9: IPv4 and IP Addressing. IPv6 and ICMP. Routing algorithms.
Week 10: Internet routing architecture and protocols. Multicast routing.
Week 11: Introduction to link layer. Multiple access protocols.
Week 12: Aloha protocol, CSMA. Efficiency of CSMA/CD. Ethernet.
Week 13: LAN addressing and ARP. ATM networks.
Week 14: Wireless and mobile networks.
What is the format of the course
Face-to-face lectures, for 3 contact hours/week.
How are students assessed
6 written homework assignments; 2 course projects (each project takes about one month); midterm exam (about 1 ¼
hour); final exam (3 hours).
Course textbooks and materials
Required textbook: Computer Networking, A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet, by James F. Kurose and
Keith W. Ross, 6 th edition. Pearson, 2012.
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