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CS 472 - Computer NetworksDr. Vassilis Prevelakis |
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TA: TBA (@drexel.edu),
Office Hours: TBA (UCROSS 147)

All assignments are due at the assigned time to the T. A.s by email or hard copy. No late submissions will be accepted, unless prior approval from the instructor has been given. Also each day of extension will result in 10% reduction of grade. All programs must be well documented and be robust enough to handle most errors that occur during execution. You may discuss the programming assignments with classmates but all work must be your own. See the academic honesty policy below.
Academic Integrity
You must do all of the homework assignments for grading individually (and the exams, of course). In preparing the solutions for assignments, you may consult with other students, the teaching assistants and myself regarding the general method of solutions. However, the final submission handed in for grading must be your own work. Copying the solutions of others is expressly forbidden. Allowing others to copy your solutions is expressly forbidden. Penalties for violation of this will range from a grade of zero on the assignment, a reduced grade for the semester, to a grade of F for the course, effective immediately, and a letter to the Office of the Dean. If anyone has any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please see me ASAP. I take this subject very seriously.
By registering for this course, each one of you is explicitly making the following pledge of honesty: "I understand that all tests, exams, and homework handed in for grading in this course are to be done individually. All homework and other assignments handed in under my name are individual efforts: I am to solve, design, and develop these assignments myself. I understand that it is permissible to discuss verbally general methods of solution and points of confusion with other students, the teaching assistant or the professor. However, the final submission will be my own work. I will not copy anyone else's written work, or any copyrighted work, nor will I have anyone other than myself prepare any portion of my work. Copying of the solutions of others is expressly forbidden. I will not allow any other person to create, nor to copy, any part of my assignment handed in with my name on it."
CS472 is a one-term introduction to computer networking theory, applications, and programming with a focus on large heterogeneous computer networks. It covers networking topics from the application-layer down (top-down), allowing computer science students to quickly write distributed applications while learning the theory and practice of computer networking. This broad top-down introduction to computer networking concepts includes distributed applications, socket programming, operating system and router support, routing algorithms, and sending bits over congested, noisy, and unreliable communication links. This course is both a theory course and a programming course. Theoretical solutions are analyzed (models and algorithms) and turned into practical programs. Programming in JAVA and C++ is an important component of the course.
This course is intended for advanced computer science students taking the operating systems track. It may also server as a computer science elective for other interested computer science students not completing the operating systems track. It is the introductory computer networks course for computer science undergraduate students and serves as a pre-requisite for more advanced computer networking topics. It may also be taken by interested non-CS students who have taken the pre-requisite course (and its pre-requisites).
| 50% | Homeworks (weekly) |
| 25% | Mid-term exam |
| 20% | Final exam |
| 5% | Class participation/Preparation |
An "A" grade typically means that a student is in the top 20% of the class. A "B" grade means that the student is in the top 40% of the class (but not in the top 20%). A "C" grade means that the student is in the top 60% of the class (but not in the top 40%). Other grades (i.e., "D", "F") mean that the student is in the bottom 40% of the class. In this case the instructor decides if the student gets a passing grade (i.e., a "D") or a failing grade (i.e., an "F").
Regular attendance in class is expected. "Class participation" means being prepared for the material to be covered, asking thoughtful questions, and providing answers. There will be two midterm exams. They will be closed book and closed notes. Exam questions will include definitions, and essay questions. Missing any exam is grounds for receiving an F in the course.
Readings for each week should be done before the class that week (except week 1, of course)
| Date | Lecture Topic | Reading | Due | Assigned | |
| Week 1 | Intro to Computer Networks | Chapter 1 | |||
| Week 2 | Physical Layer | Chapter 2 | Hm1 | ||
| Week 3 | No Class (Columbus Day Holiday) | ||||
| Week 4 | Link Layer | Chapter 3 | Hm 1 | Hm 2 | |
| Week 5 | Link Layer (Cont.) Midterm Exam |
Chapter 4 | Hm2 | ||
| Week 6 | Network Layer | Chapter 5 | |||
| Week 7 | Network Layer (Cont.) | Chapter 5 | Hm 3 | ||
| Week 8 | Transport Layer | Chapter 6 | Hm 3 | Hm 4 | |
| Week 9 | Application Layer | Chapter 7 | Hm 4 | Hm 5 | |
| Week 10 | Application Layer (Cont.) | Chapter 7 | |||
| Week 11 | Network Security | Chapter 8 | Hm 5 |