Computer Science
Advanced Internet: Global Data Communications
COMPSCI 742
Semester 2, City Campus
Course description (current as of June, 2017): This is a research-oriented course covering various aspects of computer networking with a strong focus on the Internet. The objective of the course is training students to undertake research in the general area of computer networking. Course material is drawn from new and classical refereed papers, industry reports, and textbooks. Assessments include extensive paper presentations/discussions and a semester-long original research project leading to a conference style write-up. Topics typically covered include Internet measurements, performance evaluation, Internet applications, Internet architecture, content distribution, global routing, stochastic processes, and wireless networks.
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This course will cover various aspects of computer networking with a strong focus on the Internet. The course will discuss Internet architecture and the protocols that allow communication among systems. It will cover applications (e.g., Web, P2P) that are used on the Internet, and how ISPs and content providers (e.g., Google, Facebook) manage demand. The course will discuss methodologies for Internet traffic measurement and case studies of such works.
The objective of the course is train students to undertake research in the general area of computer networking. The course includes reading research papers, extensive paper presentations/discussions, and a semester long (group) research project as part of the assessment.
The lectures will be broadly focused on the following topics:
- Introduction to research in computer networking (searching, reading, writing, and reviewing research papers)
- TCP/IP Protocol Performance (TCP variants, TCP performance modeling, congestion avoidance, congestion control)
- Network traffic measurement and modeling (Internet measurement, Network traffic measurement techniques, trace collection, flow analysis)
- Characterizing Internet traffic applications (Web, P2P, DNS, content providers)
- Stochastic processes (Queueing theory)
- Wireless Networks (IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks, Interference)
- IP addressing (IPv6 Standards, current deployment, v4-v6 transition)
- Global Routing (Internet addresses, autonomous Systems, BGP, virtual Circuits, MPLS, traceroute, Internet topology mapping)
- Transport protocols (SCTP, DCCP, RTP)
There is no mid-semester test.
There are two assignments in the course accounting for 50% of your final grade. The first assignment is an individual assignment, where you will write a one-page review of a research paper and present this paper to the class. Assignment 1 account for 20% of the final grade. The second assignment is a group work, where you will conduct a semester-long research project. Your group will write a project report and present you work to the class. Assignment accounts for 30% of the final grade.
The 2-hour closed-book final exam accounts for 50% of the final grade.
There is no required textbook for this course. Much of the lecture material is based on research papers. Here are some recommended text books, which you can read to brush up on your networking background:
- Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (6th Edition) by Kurose and Ross
- Computer Networks: A Systems Approach (5th Edition) by Peterson and Davie
- Data and Computer Communications (10th Edition) by Stallings
If you are interested in exploring advanced material covered in this course, then you can read the following book:
- Internet Measurement: Infrastructure, Traffic and Applications by Crovella and Krishnamurthy
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