Networked Systems 
 

Proposed course for Fall 2007, to be offered annually

Instructor:  Boon Thau Loo

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to fundamental concepts in the design and implementation of networked systems, their protocols, and applications. Topics to be covered include: Internet architecture, network applications, addressing, routing, transport protocols, network security, overlay networks, and peer-to-peer networks. The course will involve written assignments, examinations, and programming assignments.

Prerequisites

CSE 121 (Programming Languages and Techniques II), or equivalent, or permission of the instructor 
 

This course is intended for undergraduate and masters students in the CIS and ESE departments. Students are expected to have completed CSE 121, or have equivalent programming experience, or have the permission of the instructor. All students should have experience with Java programming, data structures and basic probability.

Textbooks

The required course textbook is Computer Networks - A Systems Approach by L. Peterson and B. Davie, 3^rd Edition (published by Morgan Kaufmann).

Course Requirements

There will be three written homework assignments throughout the semester, three programming assignments, one midterm and a final.

Programming Assignments

We will be using the Fishnet¹ software project infrastructure to teach the core principles of network protocol design and implementation. Fishnet is a Java-based network emulator/simulator developed at the UW-Seattle for educational purposes.  
 

Assignment 1: Getting started. Develop a simple program that allows Fishnet nodes to flood messages to all other nodes. The goal of this assignment is to become familiar with the Fishnet development environment, and to understand packet forwarding concepts. 
 

Assignment 2: Routing Protocols. Implement the link-state and distance vector routing protocols. Use the constructed routing tables to forward packets towards their destinations. 
 
 

Assignment 3: Reliable Transport protocol. Implement a protocol for reliable transport based on a simplified version of TCP (without congestion control). Features include connection setup/teardown, reliability and sliding window, and flow control.

Tentative Schedule

Week 1: Introduction. 

Network Applications.

Week 2: Internet Architecture, layering and end-to-end arguments

Week 3: Network performance metrics

      Switch and Router Architecture

      Introduction to Fishnet (required for project)

Week 4: IP: Internet protocol

      Intra-domain routing: distance vector (RIP) and link state (OSPF)

Programming assignment 1 due

Week 5: Intra-domain routing (continue)

      Global Internet

            Inter-domain routing (BGP) 

Week 6: Inter-domain routing (continue)

      Multicast (IP and application level)

Week 7: Transport protocols (UDP and TCP)

      TCP congestion control and avoidance

            Programming assignment 2 due

Week 8: TCP congestion control and avoidance (continue)

      Midterm

Week 9: Packet classification and scheduling

      Resource management and Quality of Service (QoS)

Week 10: QoS (continue)

      Domain Name Service (DNS)

Week 11: Mac (Ethernet, 802.11)

      Programming assignment 3 due

Week 12-13: Advanced topics (e.g. network security, overlay networks)

Final Exam