Lecture Roadmap for CS 455/655, Fall 2008

Date

Topics

Reading & Assignments
Week 1 
Fundamentals
Introduction. Syllabus. The Internet and its components, multiplexing, virtual circuits and packetization, latency, bandwidth, delay, layering.   KR: Ch. 1.
Week 2 
Applications
HTTP, FTP and email. The Domain Name System. Peer-to-peer applications.   KR: 2.1 - 2.6.
Week 3 
Applications and the
Transport API
Understanding the needs of applications. API design. Socket programming with TCP and UDP.   KR: 2.7 - 2.8
Week 4 
Transport Layer
Transport layer services. Multiplexing and demultiplexing. Connectionless transport via UDP. Motivation for reliabilty and congestion control.   KR 3.1 - 3.3.
Week 5 
TCP Internals I
TCP packet headers. TCP state diagram. TCP flow control and interface with the application.   KR 3.4 - 3.5.
Week 6 
TCP Internals II
Better RTT estimation and setting timeout values (Jacobson, Karn & Partridge). Intro to TCP congestion control. Slow start vs. steady-state AIMD. Fast retransmit and fast recovery. Flow control vs. congestion control.   KR 3.6 - 3.7
Week 7 
Network Layer (short week)
What's in a router. The IP protocol: objectives, packet format, encapsulation, fragmentation and reassembly.   KR: 4.1 - 4.3
Week 8 
Network Layer II + midterm
ICMP, DHCP. Routing goals and concepts. In-class midterm.   KR: 4.3 - 4.4
Week 9 
Intra-Domain Routing I
Answers to questions on the midterm.
Review of graph data structures: adjacency matrix vs. adjacency lists. Link-state routing and Dijkstra's algorithm. Dijsktra's implementation issues.
  KR: 4.5 - 4.6.
Week 10 
Intra-Domain Routing II
Distance-vector routing, routing loops, breaking loops. Split horizon and poison-reverse. Issues of scale in wide-area network routing.   KR: 4.7 - 4.8.
Week 11 
Inter-Domain
Routing
Internet-wide routing via BGP. Multicast and broadcast routing.   KR: 4.7 - 4.8.
Week 12 
Link-Layer I
Framing. Multiple access issues and link-layer addressing. ARP, RARP. ALOHA.   KR 5.1 - 5.4 (partial coverage)
Week 13 
Link-Layer II (short week)
Ethernet. Motivation for and performance analysis of Ethernet's CSMA/CD protocol. Ethernet checksum. PPP.   KR 5.5 - 5.8 (partial coverage)
Week 14  
Wireless
Wireless and WiFi (802.11). Collision avoidance with MACA(W). RTS and CTS handshake. Hidden and exposed node problems. Wireless congestion control.   KR: 6.1 - 6.3.
Week 15 
Mobility + Real-time Apps
Mobile IP. Interactions between mobility, wireless and higher layer protocols.
Course overview in conjunction with real-time and multimedia applications and their network needs.
  KR: 6.5, 6.6, 6.8, Selections from Chapter 7.
Final Exam

Final Exam: Day 2, Tues 12/17, 9:00 - 11:00 AM.