The required textbook for the course is Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, fourth edition, by Larry Peterson and Bruce Davie. It is available in the CMU Bookstore. Almost all the material that we will cover is in the textbook.
For the recitations, please see Dave's Notes on Software Engineering for Systems Hackers.
There are a few recommended texts which are useful references (especially if networking becomes your career). You can get the best price on them by ordering from an on-line bookstore.
Finally, if you have not taken 15-213, you may find its textbook useful as a gentle, software-focused introduction to computer architecture.
This semester we will again have recitations for 15-441. Please select one recitation section to attend (the content will be identical). Recitations will cover systems hacking techniques designed to save you time and pain on the projects, will go into more detail about certain topics such as TCP, and will have review sessions before exams.
Your final grade for the course will be based on the following weights for the individual assignments:
The midterm will be an in-class, closed-book exam, covering all material up to that point in the course. The final exam will be a closed-book exam, covering m aterial from the whole year, with emphasis on the second half of the course.
Project 1 will focus on the implementation of an IRC-like chat server, ensuring familiarity with socket programming. Project 2 will build upon your IRC server from project 1 implementing routing protocols within the application. Project 3 will focus on file transfers and the protocol components necessary for efficient and reliable file transfer (retransmission, congestion control, caching, etc.) Project 1 is a solo project; projects 2 and 3 are to be done in groups of two students.
The homework will combine both textbook-like questions as well as hands-on experimental exercises. There will be three homework assignments.
Because of the importance of understanding both the theoretical and hands-on elements of networking, students must pass all three components of the course (homeworks, exams, and the projects) in order to receive a passing grade for the course. This does not affect the actual letter grade assignment unless one of the components is not completed to a passing standard.
Also available as an ical file that you can subscribe to. Note that the video links are from Spring 2005 and are provided as a "best match" to the specified lecture, in the hope that they might be useful for review.
| Date | Instructor | Topics | Notes | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 08/26 | dga | Introduction [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Chapter 1 | |
| Wed 08/27 | First week of class, no recitation |
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| Thu 08/28 | dga | Protocol Stacks and Layering [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Optional: End to End Arguments in System Design | |
| Tue 09/02 | seth | Sockets programming [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] [Video 2] |
Project 1 IRC server Assigned | |
| Wed 09/03 | dga | Recitation Intro: Overview, version control [pdf] [ppt] |
See Revision Control chapter of systems-se. Also see the online Subversion book. |
|
| Thu 09/04 | dga | Application Layer Examples [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
9.1 | |
| Tue 09/09 | seth | Physical Layer, Link Layer Basics [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 1 checkpoint 1 (version control basics) due | 2.1-2.5 |
| Wed 09/10 | TA | Makefiles and Project 1 Q& A [pdf] [ppt] |
||
| Thu 09/11 | seth | Switching & Flow Control [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
2.6-2.10 | |
| Tue 09/16 | dga | Ethernet [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 1 checkpoint 2 due | 3.1-3.2 |
| Wed 09/17 | TA | Design: Modularity and Testability [pdf] [ppt] |
||
| Thu 09/18 | dga | Switching and Bridging up to IP [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Homework 1 due. Video now fairly out of date. | 4.1 |
| Tue 09/23 | dga | IP Protocol and Routers [pdf] [Video 1] |
4.3 | |
| Wed 09/24 | TA | Debugging |
Techniques and tools. Files: debug macro . See Debugging chapter of systems-se. |
|
| Thu 09/25 | dga | Routing overview and distance vector [pdf] [Video 1] |
Project 1 IRC server Due. | 4.2 |
| Tue 09/30 | dga | Link state and Multicast [pdf] [Video 1] |
4.4 | |
| Wed 10/01 | TA | Automation [pdf] [ppt] |
Time to learn Ruby! | |
| Thu 10/02 | dga | Routing: BGP [pdf] [Video 1] |
4.3 | |
| Tue 10/07 | seth | DNS [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
9.1 | |
| Wed 10/08 | TA | Midterm exam review and QA |
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| Thu 10/09 | dga | IPv6, tunneling, NAT, VPN, etc. [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 2 Checkpoint 1 Due | 3.3-3.5 |
| Tue 10/14 | dga | Virtual circuits, ATM, MPLS [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
4.4-4.6 | |
| Wed 10/15 | No recitation |
(study for the midterm) | ||
| Thu 10/16 | dga/seth | MIDTERM EXAM |
||
| Tue 10/21 | seth | Transport Intro [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
5.1-5.5 | |
| Wed 10/22 | TA | IRC Project Post-Mortem |
Bring out your dead! | |
| Thu 10/23 | seth | TCP & Congestion Control [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 2 Checkpoint 2 Due | 5.2 |
| Tue 10/28 | seth | More TCP & Congestion Control [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 2 IRC Routing Due | 6.1-6.3 |
| Wed 10/29 | TA | Going through the exam and project 2 Q and A |
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| Thu 10/30 | seth | TCP Performance [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
Project 2 Final Due | 6.4 |
| Tue 11/04 | seth | Web + CDNs + Caching [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] [Video 2] |
9.4 | |
| Wed 11/05 | TA | Project 3 Discussion |
||
| Thu 11/06 | dga | P2P [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
9.4 | |
| Tue 11/11 | dga | Router queueing and QoS [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
6.5, 7.2, 9.3 | |
| Wed 11/12 | TA | P2P Research and Advanced Topics |
||
| Thu 11/13 | dga | Mobile Networking (IP & TCP) [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
2.8, 4.2.5 | |
| Tue 11/18 | seth | Security - firewalls, DoS, etc. [pdf] [ppt] [Video 1] |
8.3-8.5 | |
| Wed 11/19 | TA | bittorrent optimizations for project 3 contest |
||
| Thu 11/20 | seth | Security - Cryptography, and SSL [pdf] [ppt] |
8.1-8.2 | |
| Tue 11/25 | Thanksgiving Holiday |
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| Wed 11/26 | Thanksgiving Holiday |
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| Thu 11/27 | Thanksgiving Holiday |
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| Tue 12/02 | seth | Wireless neworks, ad-hoc wireless, and sensor networks [pdf] [ppt] |
2.8 | |
| Thu 12/04 | seth | Class Review |
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| Wed 12/10 | TAs | Final Review, Wean 7500, 7-9pm |
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| Fri 12/12 | dga/seth | FINAL EXAM. 8:30 - 11:30am on Friday. Rooms PH A18B, PH A18C |
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