CS471/EE471/CS573: Computer Networks

Instructors Name:

Zartash Afzal Uzmi

Year:

2011-2012

Office Ext. & Email: 8202, zartash@lums.edu.pk

Semester:

Fall

Office Hours:

Category:

Senior /
Graduate

TAs for the Course:

Tuesday, 11:00 am 1:00 pm.

Go to class for this information!

Course Info

Code: CS471/EE471/CS573
Credit Hours: 3
Course website: http://chand.lums.edu.pk/cs471

Course
Description

This course introduces the principles and practices of Computer Networking, specifically
focusing on the Internet.

Core/Elective
Pre-requisites

Goals

Elective (recommended for EE and CS undergrads in junior and senior years)

Basic knowledge of Probability, Digital Logic, Signals and Systems, Computer
Organization.
CS-200: Problem Solving and Computer Programming (C and C++)
Understand the anatomy of the Internet
Understand the design of networking stack
Be able to write simple applications/protocols(real and simulated) in C/C++
Create foundation for taking more advanced courses in computer networks

CS471/EE471/CS573: Computer Networks

Year:
Semester:
Textbooks,
Programming
Environment

2011-2012
Fall

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Computer Networking: A Top Down approach
by James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross
(edition: announced in class)
References:
1) Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols by
Radia Perlman
2) Computer Networking : Principles, Protocols and Practice (open source)
http://inl.info.ucl.ac.be/cnp3
3) Communication Networking: An Analytical Approach by Anurag Kumar, D.
Manjunath and Joy Kuri
4) Data and Computer Communications, 9th Edition by William Stallings
5) Computer Networks by Andrew Tanenbaum
6) Communication Networks: A Concise Introduction (Synthesis Lectures on
Communication Networks) by Jean Walrand and Shyam Parekh
Solaris programming environment will be used in this course. All registered students will get
a limited-quota account on a Solaris machine. Students are expected to use a telnet client
such as putty or secure CRT to login to their accounts on that machine

Lectures,
Tutorials &
Attendance
Policy

There will be 28 sessions

28: 75 minutes each on Tuesdays and Thursdays (5:00pm 6:15pm)
Recitation and Tutorial schedule as announced by Registrars office
Some lectures will be lab-like for which twice the scheduled time should be allocated. Extra
sessions on Saturdays will make up for that.
Attendance is very strongly recommended.

Grading

Homework/Quizzes/Programming
Midterm
Final Exam

35%
30%
35%

Contests and grading revisions:

After grades are reported, you can contest with following timelines:
Homework, Quizzes, Programming: 2 days
Midterm and Final: 3 days

CS471/EE471/CS573: Computer Networks

Year:
Semester:
Module

Topics

2011-2012
Fall

Sessions

Readings*

Introduction and Overview

Basic Concepts of Networking
Circuit switching
Multiplexing (TDM, FDM)
Packet switching (Statistical Multiplexing)
Throughput and delay
Internet Architecture
Protocol Layering

Ch. 1

Application Layer
Network application architectures
HTTP, FTP, Email, DNS
Distributed Hash Tables (DHT)
P2P applications (file sharing and VoIP)
Writing network applications
The C socket API

Ch. 2

Transport Layer
Multiplexing in UDP and TCP
Connectionless Transport: UDP
Reliable data transfer and TCP
Congestion avoidance and control

Ch. 3

Network Layer
The Internet Protocol
Routing algorithms
Routing protocols overview
X.25, Frame relay and ATM
Intro to MPLS

Ch. 4

Physical & Link Layer Functionalities

Error Detection & Control, ARQ
Link layer addressing
Bridges and Hubs
LAN Multicast and VLANs
Multiple Access

Ch. 5

Selected Topics in Networking Systems

Inter-domain Internet Routing
Wireless, Sensor, and Mobile Networks
Privacy and Network Security (VPN)
Multimedia Networking

* The readings are approximate and material from other sources will also be covered
and announced in the class.