Lecture hours: TR 11:00–12:15 PM
TAs: Angelo Straight (astrai3@uic.edu), Soham Gumaste (sgumas2@uic.edu)
Office hours: Balajee {Tue 1:30–2:30}, Angelo {Mon 11-12, Fri 4:30-5:30}, Soham {Tue 4-5 and Fri 2-3}

About the course

This is an introductory course on computer networks. The course covers some of the key protocols in each layer of the protocol stack in a top-down fashion. This is a hands-on, programming-heavy course. The course is structured with a series of programming assignments, a mid-term exam, and a final exam. Please look at the complete syllabus.

Textbook

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach by Kurose and Ross (8th edition)

Exam schedule

  • Midterm exam: October XX (Monday)
  • Final exam: See the general schedule here

Topics covered (tentative)

  • TCP/IP layering model of the Internet
  • HTTP, SMTP, P2P
  • Domain Name Service (DNS), Video Streaming
  • Socket API
  • UDP, TCP
  • Reliable data transfer and congestion control
  • IP protocol
  • Intra domain routing: OSPF, RIP
  • Inter domain routing: BGP
  • Architecture of routers
  • Link layer: media access control
  • Address learning, spanning tree protocol
  • Wireless networks
  • Cellular networks
  • Network security: cryptography, TLS, IPsec, firewalls

Reading list

Tutorials