Computer Networks

CS 6250 Section A Fall 1999

MWF 905a-955a
110 College of Computing Building

Last Modified Fri Dec 10 19:08:02 EST 1999
Report problems to b.mckinnon@ieee.org


General Information

From the Georgia Tech Course Catalog:

CS6250: Computer Networks

3-0-3. Prerequisites: Graduate Standing or Consent of the Instructor

Course Objective:
Principles and practice of computer networks, including signaling and framing, error control, medium access, routing,
congestion control, end-to-end transport, and network APIs.


Jump to textbook & reference information
Jump to grade distribution information
Jump to the syllabus for the quarter (download)

Jump to the CoC Departmental Web Page


Instructor: Dr. Bill McKinnon

Teaching Assistant: Li Pan

Textbooks

Required: [Stallings] High-Speed Networks: TCP/IP and ATM Design Principles by Stallings, Prentice Hall, 1998
Required: [Comer] Internetworking with TCP/IP, vol. III: Client-Server Programming and Applications, 2nd ed. by Comer and Stevens, Prentice-Hall, 1996

Other References (many of which are on reserve in the Georgia Tech Library)

[Comer2] Computer Networks and Internets, 2nd ed. by Comer, Prentice-Hall 1999
[Stallings2] Data and Computer Communications, 5th ed., by Stallings, Prentice Hall, 1997
[Ammar] Fundamentals of Telecommunication Networks, by Saadavi and Ammar with El Hakeem, John Wiley, 1994
[Bertsekas] Data Networks, 2nd ed. by Bertsekas & Gallager, Prentice Hall, 1992
[Spragins] Telecommunications: Protocols and Design by Spragins, Hammond, and Pawlikowski, Addison-Wesley, 1991
[Tanenbaum] Computer Networks, 2nd ed. by Tanenbaum, Prentice Hall, 1989
[Schwartz] Telecommunication Netwokrs: Protocols, Modeling, and Analysis by Schwartz, Addison-Wesley, 1987
[Hammond] Performance Analysis of Local Computer Networks by Hammond and O'Reilly, Addison-Wesley, 1986

Software Sites of Interest
Walnut Creek Software (FTP)
Ghostview
MetaLab @ UNC, Chapel Hill
GNU Software Repository @ MIT

More information may be added as the course progresses.


Grade Division

  % of Grade 
(non-degree candidates)
% of Grade 
(degree candidates)
Distribution Date
Homework
25%
30%
 Varies
Exam 1 10% 20% Mon 20 Sept 99
Exam 2
10%
20%
Wed 20 Oct 99
Exam 3 15%
30%
Wed 24 Nov 99
Final Exam
40%
0%
Fri 17 Dec 99 @ 2.50p

Class attendance is not mandatory.  I do not care where you spend your time, as long as you get your work done.  However, in the same breath, notice that I am not tolerant of missed deadlines.  Prior notification of interviews, etc. and immediate notification of emergency situations will be mandatory for rescheduled events.

Assignments will be distributed via hyperlinks shown in the syllabus.  These links will be activated just prior to class on the days listed in the syllabus.  It is the student's responsibility to download the assignment, print it, and solve the problems.  The assignments are open book, but are to be solved without any personal assistance from other individuals.  An honor code is implicit with each assignment.  Academic dishonesty will be dealt with harshly by the instructor and escalated to the department, college, and/or university, if necessary.

Finally, grades are non-negotiable (i.e., "binding") at 5pm one week after they are returned.



Syllabus

This online syllabus will be constantly updated as the quarter progresses. It is the student's responsibility to regularly check the syllabus for updates.

Lectures will be drawn from all of the reading sections listed; students are expected to read those sections listed from the required texts prior to class.
 
Week #, Date #
Before-Class
Reading
Lecture Topics, Notes,
& Events
After-Class
Assignments
W34, Mon 23 Aug 99 1 [Stallings] Ch. 1-2
[Schwartz] Ch. 3.1-3.2
Introductory Material; The OSI Architecture
(download notes)
Wed 25 Aug 99 2 [Tanenbaum] Ch. 2.1-2.2
[Spragins] Ch. 2.3-2.6
[Stallings2] Ch. 2.1-2.3
Re-Introduction;
Data Encoding & Transmission
(download notes)
Download Comer's code
Fri 27 Aug 99 3 [Comer] Ch. 1
[Ammar] Ch. 2.1-2.6
[Bertsekas] Ch. 2.2
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 2.3-2.4
[Stallings2] Ch. 3.1-3.2, 4.1-4.4
Data Encoding & Transmission, cont'd
(Transmission, Impairments,
Wireline vs Wireless, Analog vs Digital)
(download notes)
W35, Mon 30 Aug 99 4 [Comer] Ch. 2
[Ammar] Ch. 2.9
[Stallings2] Ch. 6.1-6.2
[Comer2] Ch. 6
Data Encoding & Transmission, cont'd;
Data Link Layer
(Framing, Error Detection, 
Parity, Checksums)
(download notes)
Wed 1 Sept 99 5 [Hammond] Ch. 2.3 Data Link Layer
(Hamming Distance, CRC)
(download notes)
Fri 3 Sept 99 6 No class Homework 1
(solutions) available
W36, Wed 8 Sept 99 7 [Ammar] Ch. 4.5
[Schwartz] Ch. 4
[Spragins] Ch. 6.4
[Stallings2] Ch. 6.3
[Bertsekas] Ch. 2.4
Data Link Layer, cont'd
(ARQ Protocols)
(download notes)
Fri 10 Sept 99 8 [Ammar] Ch. 4.7
[Spragins] Ch. 8.8-8.12
Data Link Layer, cont'd
(Even More on ARQ Protocols, 
Flow Control)
(download notes)
Homework 1 due
W37, Mon 13 Sept 99 9 [Ammar] Ch. 4.6
[Spragins] Ch. 7.6
Data Link Layer, cont'd
(HDLC, LAPD, LLC)
(download notes)
Wed 15 Sept 99 10 [Comer] Ch. 3
[Ammar] Ch. 2.7
[Stallings2] Ch. 7
Multiplexing Schemes
(TDM, Stat. TDM, FDM, WDM)
(download notes)
Sample Exam 1 available
Fri 17 Sept 99 11 Review  for Exam 1 (if nec.)
W38, Mon 20 Sept 99 12 Exam 1 (solutions)
Wed 22 Sept 99 13 [Stallings] Ch. 5.1
[Ammar] Ch. 7.4.3
[Hammond] Ch. 9.5
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 3.1-3.3.2
Packet Switching Network Principles
(Packet Sizing, CSMA/CD, ALOHA, Ethernet)
(download notes)
Fri 24 Sept 99 14 Review of Probability
(download notes)
W39, Mon 27 Sept 99 15 [Ammar] Ch. 7.4.1, 8.2
[Hammond] Ch. 6.3
[Bertsekas] Ch. 4.2, 4.4-4.5
[Stallings2] Ch. 13.1
Performance of ALOHA & Slotted ALOHA
(download notes)
Wed 29 Sept 99 16 [Stallings] Ch. 3.4, 13.1, & 13.2
[Ammar] Ch. 5.1-5.4
[Schwartz] Ch. 6
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 5.2
[Spragins] Ch. 8.1-8.4.1
[Stallings2] Ch. 9.2
Packet Switching Network Principles
(Generic Routing & Bellman-Ford Alg.)
(download notes)
Homework 2 
(solutions)  available
Fri 1 Oct 99 17 [Stallings] Ch. 3.2
[Comer] Ch. 4
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 5.3
[Spragins] Ch. 8.4.2-8.7
Packet Switching Network Principles, cont'd
(Dijkstra's Alg., Congestion Control)
(download notes)
Drop Day
W40, Mon 4 Oct 99 18 [Stallings] Ch. 10.1, 10.2
[Spragins] Ch. 10.3.2
[Stallings2] Ch. 16.1-16.3
IP
(download notes)
Wed 6 Oct 99 19 [Bertsekas] Ch. 5.1-5.2
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 5.5.2
[Stallings2] Ch. 16.4
IP (cont'd)
(download notes)
Homework 2 due
Fri 8 Oct 99 20 [Ammar] Ch. 10.2-10.3
[Tanenbaum] Ch. 6.1
[Spragins] Ch. 11.2
[Stallings2] Ch. 17.1-17.4
Transport Layer Functionality
(download notes)
W41, Mon 11 Oct 99 21 [Bertsekas] Ch. 6.1-6.2 TCP and UDP
(download notes)
Wed 13 Oct 99 22 [Spragins] Ch. 11.1.3 TCP and UDP, cont'd
(RTT estimation)
(download notes)
Sample Exam 2 available
Fri 15 Oct 99 23 Review for Exam 2 (if nec.)
W42, Wed 20 Oct 99 24 Exam 2 (solutions)
Fri 22 Oct 99 25 [Comer] Ch. 2 Clients & Servers
W43, Mon 25 Oct 99 26 [Comer] Ch. 5 TCP Sockets
(download notes)
Wed 27 Oct 99 27 [Comer] Ch. 6.18-6.24, 7 TCP Sockets 
(download notes)
Fri 29 Oct 99 28 [Comer] Ch. 8-9 Client Designs
(download notes)
Homework 3 available
W44, Mon 1 Nov 99 29 [Schwartz] Ch. 10
[Stallings2] Ch. 8
Circuit Switched Network Principles
(download notes)
Wed 3 Nov 99 30 [Stallings] Ch. 4.1-4.3
[Ammar] Ch. 11.7.2
[Stallings2] 11.1-11.3
Introduction to ATM
(Cells, PVPs, PVCs, SVCs)
(download notes)
Fri 5 Nov 99 31 [Stallings] Ch. 12.2
[Ammar] Ch. 5.3
ATM Forum PNNI specification (v.1.0)
ATM Forum UNI specification (v.3.1)
ATM Circuit Setup
(UNI, NNI, PNNI, &
Traffic Contracts)
(download notes)
W45, Mon 8 Nov 99 32 [Stallings] Ch. 4.4 ATM
(QoS & Service Classes)
(download notes)
Wed 10 Nov 99 33 [Stallings] Ch. 4.5
[Stallings2] Ch. 11.5
AAL
Fri 12 Nov 99 34 [Stallings] Ch. 12.4-12.5
[Stallings2] Ch. 11.6
ATM Congestion Control 
(download notes)
Homework 3 due
W46, Mon 15 Nov 99 35 More ATM Congestion Control
End of Exam 3 material
Wed 17 Nov 99 36  Private Network to Node Interface (PNNI) ATM PNNI
(download notes)
Fri 19 Nov 99 37 More on ATM PNNI Sample Exam 3 available
W47, Mon 22 Nov 99 38 Review for Exam 3 (if nec.)
Wed 24 Nov 99 39 Exam 3 (solutions)
W48, Mon 29 Nov 99 40 IETF Internetworking over NBMA
discussion group page
ATM Addressing
(download presentation)
Wed 1 Dec 99 41 ATM Forum LANE specification (v.1.0) LANE
(download presentation)
Fri 3 Dec 99 42 ATM Forum MPOA specification (v.1.1) MPOA
(download notes)
W49, Mon 6 Dec 99 43 NTONC Home
MONET Consortium Public WWW Page
AT&T Photonics Technology Group
Qwest Communications  CIENA
Lucent Optical Networking
WDM; IP Over Light
(download presentation)
Wed 8 Dec 99 44 Purpose of Active Networking (DARPA)
Canes  Liquid Software  NetScript
ActiveNets Smart Packets
Active Networks
(download presentation)
Fri 10 Dec 99 45 Review for Final Exam
W23, Fri 17 Dec 99 @ 2.50p Final Exam available



Last Modified Fri Dec 10 19:08:02 EST 1999
Report problems to b.mckinnon@ieee.org