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• Piazza course page: Please use it for all Q&A related to the class.
• Blackboard Site: Used only for posting grades.

Overview

This course provides a broad introduction to computer networking.
It addresses all four major architectural layers of modern computer networks (application layer, transport layer, network layer and link layer), as well as selected topics from multimedia networking, wireless networking and network security.
Application layer topics include basic network programming and application layer protocols, including the protocols that underlie the world-wide web, electronic mail, the domain name system and peer-to-peer applications.
Transport layer topics include the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), principles of reliable data transfer and the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), as well as peer-to-peer protocols.
Network layer topics include key protocols from the Internet protocol suite (IPv4 and IPv6, as well as ICMP, DHCP and NAT), plus router data and control plane functions. The latter covers general network routing algorithms and specific Internet unicast and multicast routing protocols (OSPF, IS-IS, PIM and BGP).
Link layer topics include multi-access protocols, Collision-Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD), Ethernet, link layer switching, and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN). Wireless topics include WiFi, cellular wireless networks and mobile IP.
The topic of network security includes an introduction to basic cryptographic techniques, introduces security protocols, and offers a review of major (network) attacks and associated defense.
Prerequisite: CSE 241. Credit: 3 units.

Textbook

Kurose & Ross, Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach, 6/e (2013), 0132856204, ISBN-13: 9780132856201

See also TCP/IP Sockets in Java by K.L. Calvert and M.J. Donahoo

Course Structure

Class format: Ideally, each "lecture" should be highly interactive and spent either digging into specific concepts you may not have fully understood (in responses to questions you will need to ask), or working through some problems that require that you apply the material being targeted for this particular lecture. In order for this to work, it means that you MUST have read ahead of time the material expected to be covered during the lecture. This material will be identified by date in the Reading Assignment column of the syllabus on the wiki. Working through the problems will require access to the book and possibly other material, so that you should bring a laptop to class.

Reading Assignments: As just mentioned, they are intended to prepare you for the next lecture. Reading assignments will also often include additional material beyond the textbook, and in particular, Requests for Comments (RFCs) that are the "standards" documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force(IETF). In most instances, except for the topic of network security (Attacks & Defenses) where the book only has limited coverage, you will not been expected to have read those RFCs ahead of class. Material that is not required reading before a class will be listed on a separate line starting with FYI. Note though that some of the problems will require retrieving information from those documents, so having some familiarity with their content ahead of class wont hurt.

Review Questions: Will be assigned ahead of each class. They are meant to test your understanding of the reading assignment material, and need to be turned in at the start of the class. As an added incentive to work through the questions, they will be checked to assess that you have made an honest attempt at completing them. Review questions make-up 10% of your grade, and your overall score will depend on how many reasonably answered questions you turn in.

Logistics

• Class times and location: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30-4:00pm in Lopata 101.
  • First class is on Tuesday August26, 2014, and last class is on Thursday December 4, 2014.
• Class grading: Review questions 10%; Quizzes 20%; Labs 25%; Midterm 20%; Final 30%
• Instructor: Roch Guerin, Bryan 509D, email: guerin@wustl.edu
  • Office hours: Monday 4:00-5:30pm & Wednesday 4:00-5:30pm
• TAs and TAs office hours
  • Adam Drescher (adrescher@wustl.edu), office hours: Sunday 5-7pm / Monday 6-7pm
  • Junjie Liu (junjie.liu@wustl.edu), office hours: Sunday 3-5pm / Monday 4-5pm
  • Dana Rubenstein (dana.rubenstein@wustl.edu), office hours: Monday 5-6pm
  • Jeremy Tang (jntang@go.wustl.edu), office hours: Monday 7-8pm
• Midterm exam^*: Tuesday October 14, 2014 (in class).
• Final exam^*: December 17, 2014, 3:30-5:30pm in TBA.
• Academic Integrity: Please make sure you are familiar with Washington University Academic Integrity Policy, as it will be strictly applied.

^* NOTE: EXCEPT FOR PROPERLY DOCUMENTED MEDICAL OR FAMILY EMERGENCY REASONS, THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP TIMES FOR EXAMS. YOU NEED TO ARRANGE OTHER ACTIVITIES SO AS TO AVOID CONFLICTS.