CS/ECE 438 : Fall 2025 : M/W 3:30pm : Room 1320 DCL

First day information

Information about midterm

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Logistics:

• The main exam will take place in-person on Oct. 27 3:30PM - 4:40PM
• Conflict exam on Oct. 31 7-8:10PM (Request approval from instructors)
• The exam will be in our regular classroom in DCL.
• It will be a closed-book hand-written exam for a duration of 60-80 minutes.
• Cheat sheet is allowed → maximum of one side of an A4 page.
• Exam will cover all material from Lectures 1-to-15, till router scheduling
• No calculators are allowed.

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📅  Course Calendar (subject to change)

• The whats and whys of computer networking | CS:ECE438-Lec1-Overview.pdf | Lecture Video | | | - Video: How does the Internet work | | Aug 27 Wed | | S | Internet end-to-end overview

• Naming & addressing- Routing & forwarding- Reliability | CS:ECE438-Lec2-InternetOverview.pdf | Lecture Video | | 🟢 MP0 released(won’t be graded) | - A brief history of the Internet- Design philosophy of the Internet protocols

• Tussle in the Internet | | Sep 1 Mon | | | LABOR DAY | | | | | | | Sep 3 Wed | | S | Internet architectural principles

• Layering

• End-to-end principle

• Fate-sharing | CS:ECE438-Lec3-InternetArchitecturalPrinciples.pdf | Lecture Video | | 🟢 MP1 released(Socket Prog.) | - End-to-end argument in systems design | | Sep 8 Mon | | Y | Socket Programming Foundations

• Signals, time+frequency representations, bandwidth, spectrum | Pre notes

Post notes | Lecture Video

Socket programming Recording (2024) | 🟢 HW1 released | | | | Sep 10 Wed | | Y | More Foundations

• Modulation
• Carrier / center frequency, baseband, filters, demodulation- Decoding, bit error, SNR, SINR, rate, Shannon capacity | Pre notes

Post notes | Lecture Video | | | | | Sep 15 Mon | Applications | Y | More Foundations

• Throughput, goodput, headers, payload, inter-packet time
• Latency (processing + queueing + prop. delay + transmit time)
• FDM vs. TDM, tradeoffs
• Statistical multiplexing Application layer: Introduction and basics
• Client server and P2P- P2P architecture
• Protocols and requirements | Pre notes

Post notes | Lecture Video | | | | | Sep 17 Wed | | Y | Web Protocols

• Web / HTTP, cookies
• Web caching, Email (POP/IMAP)
• P2P (CHORD protocol)
• DNS
• CDN | Pre notes

Post notes DNS slides | Lecture Video

DNS Online Lecture | | 🔴 MP1 due(Socket Prog.) | | | Sep 22 Mon | Transport | S | Transport Layer: Introduction

• Reliable Transport Goals (correctness and performance) | | | 🔴 HW 1 due | 🟢 MP2 release(TCP) | - CHORD paper | | Sep 24 Wed | | S | Principles of reliable protocol design
• More Reliable Transport | | | 🟢 HW2 release | | | | Sep 29 Mon | | S | Introduction to TCP | | | | | | | Oct 1 Wed | | S | More TCP
• Flow control, Congestion Control

| | | | | | | Oct 6 Mon | | Y | TCP: Continued

• More TCP Congestion Control | | | 🔴 HW2 due | | | | Oct 8 Wed | | Y | Network layer: Introduction and basics
• Routing and forwarding, connection set up,
• Network service models
• Virtual circuit and datagram networks, forwarding table | | | 🟢 HW3 release | | | | Oct 13 Mon | Routing | Y | Routers and IP
• Router hardware design
• IP protocol, datagram, IPv4, address, subnets | | | | | | | Oct 15 Wed | | Y | Network layer continued
• Subnet and Classless addressing - Network Address Translation (NAT)- ICMP, IPv6 | | | | | | | Oct 20 Mon | | Y | Routing algorithms
• Centralized and distributed routing algorithms
• Link State: Djikstra’s algorithm Midterm review | | | | | | | Oct 22 Wed | | Y | Routing algorithms (cont.)
• Distance vector: Bellman Ford algorithmInternet routing protocols
• Hierarchical routing- Autonomous systems, intra-AS routing, inter-AS routing- RIP, OSPF

Internet routing protocols

• eBGP and iBGP
• Routing based on policies, advertising based on incentives | | | 🔴 HW3 due | 🔴 MP2 due(TCP) | | | Oct 27 Mon | | | MIDTERM | | | | | | | Oct 29 Wed | Link | S | Link layer: Introduction and basics
• Link layer reliability vs. e2e reliability
• MAC layer addresses- Tasks of the link layer | | | | | | | Nov 3 Mon | | S | Medium access control (MAC) #1
• Error checking
• MAC protocols: partition, random, taking turns | | | 🟢 HW4 release | 🟢 MP3 release (Routing) | | | Nov 5 Wed | | S | Medium access control (MAC) #2
• CSMA / CD
• Ethernet protocol and flowchart
• Addressing and Address resolution protocol (ARP)
• Hubs and Switches | | | | | | | Nov 10 Mon | | S | Beyond the Internet #1
• Host Network Stack | | | | | Autonomous systems | | Nov 12 Wed | | S | Beyond the Internet #2
• Datacenter Networks
• Software Defined Networks (SDNs) | | | | Mini Project Release | | | Nov 17 Mon

| | Y | Security layer: Foundations

• Confidentiality, authentication, integrity, availability
• Ciphers, cryptography (symmetric and public-key), RSA algorithm, properties of public and private keys | | | | | | | Nov 19 Wed

| Security | Y | Security techniques

• Authentication, nonce, replay attack,
• Man in the middle attack, spoofing
• Message integrity, digital signature, hashing, SHA-1 and MD5 | | | | 🔴 MP3 due 🟢 MP4 release (Link) | | | Nov 24 Mon

| | | THANKSGIVING | | | | | | | Nov 26 Wed

| | | THANKSGIVING | | | | | | | Dec 1 Mon | | Y | Security techniques

• Key distribution center (KDC), Certification authority (CA)
• Secure email as an application offers confidentiality,
• Integrity, authentication, efficiency
• Course wrap up: final exam logistics,
• Quick Internet bird's eye view, follow-up courses, feedback. | | | | | | | Dec 3 Wed | | Y | Wireless introduction
• Dispersive medium, CSMA/CA
• Hidden and exposed terminals
• WiFi protocol | | | 🔴 HW4 due | | | | Dec 8 Mon | | S | Beyond the Internet #3
• Programmable networks
• Intra-host networks | | | | 🔴 MP4 due | | | Dec 10 Wed | | S+Y | Recap & QnA | | | | | | | Dec 15 Mon | | | FINAL | | | | | |

CS:ECE438-Lec1-Overview.pdf

CS:ECE438-Lec2-InternetOverview.pdf

CS:ECE438-Lec3-InternetArchitecturalPrinciples.pdf

CS/ECE438-Lec4_socket_foundation_pre

CS/ECE438-Lec4_socket_foundation_post.pdf

CS/ECE438-Lec5_foundation_pre

CS/ECE438-Lec5_foundation_post