CS-143: Computer Networks

Spring 2009

Instructor: Professor H. T. Kung

Announcements

  • 04/06/2009: Programming Assignment 2 is out.
  • 03/09/2009: In case you missed it, lecture slides are available.
  • 03/09/2009: PA1 due date extended to March 16, 2009 at 11:59PM.
  • 03/02/2009: The first programming assignment, PA1 is out. We will discuss this a bit in class on Wednesday.
  • 01/27/2009: The first class will be held on Wednesday, January 28 at 1PM in Maxwell-Dworkin Room 223.
  • 01/27/2009: FAS students who have not taken CS51 or CS61 must meet with Prof. Kung to discuss course prerequisites.

Course Description

This course examines principles, design, implementation, and performance of computer networks. A focus will be placed on wireless networking, reflecting rapid advances in this area. Topics include: Internet protocols and routing, local area networks, wireless communications and networking, performance analysis, congestion control, TCP, network address translation, multimedia over IP, switching and routing, mobile IP, peer-to-peer networking, network security, and other current research topics. The coursework will involve readings from text, midterm (late in the term), two programming assignments, final project, and presentation. Students may formulate their own final projects based on their interests and background. The course will be conducted in a more seminar-like manner than lectures, but will have a more formal schedule.

Course Aim and Approach

After this course students should have general knowledge on how the Internet works and have basic network programming skills. They will be able to understand technical papers in this area. More importantly, they will think like network people!

In the classroom the instructor focuses on motivating students. We believe that after having learned how to think about a topic and having understood the underlying reasons, students will be able to study the subject effectively by themselves.

Textbooks

Required

Kurose and Ross, "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach," (4th edition)

Key Reference Books

K. Prasad, "Principles of Digital Communication Systems and Computer Networks," (eBook)

W. Richard Stevens, "TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols," Addison-Wesley, 1994

W. Richard Stevens, "UNIX Network Programming, Volume 1: Networking APIs," 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, 1997

Larry L. Peterson and Bruce S. Davie, "Computer Networks: A Systems Approach," 4th edition, Morgan Kaufmann, 2007.

Additional References

Andrew Tanenbaum, "Computer Networks, " 4th edition

Douglas Comer, "Internetworking with TCP/IP, Volume 1, " 4th edition

Bertsekas and Gallager, "Data Networks," 2nd edition

Prerequisites

CS-51 and CS-61

Instructor

H. T. Kung
225 Maxwell Dworkin
617-496-6211
htk at eecs.harvard.edu
Office Hours: TBA

TFs

Conrad C. Nobili
207 Maxwell Dworkin
617-429-8982
conrad at harvard.edu
Office Hours: By appointment, any time

Chit-Kwan Lin
207 Maxwell Dworkin
cklin at eecs.harvard.edu
Office Hours: By appointment, any time

Programming Assignments

There will be two major programming assignments, and one final project including a writeup.

Submission of Programming Assignments

Submit your assignments by sending mail to cs143-staff@eecs.harvard.edu. In general, send your work either (1) in plain text or (2) as attachments in plain text, PS, or PDF format. No other formats are accepted without prior arrangement. Programming assignments including code and write-ups should be tarballed and/or zipped before attachment. See individual assignments for details.

Late Day Policy

  • A total of 5 late days allowed for Programming Assignments.

Administrative Information