Learning Objectives
One of the most important aspects of the modern world is the internet – the collection of uncoordinated heterogeneous devices be it computers, phones and other gadgets that exchange data and perform computations. Almost every aspects of modern life is touched by this invention. In this course, we study various aspects like protocols, standards, software etc that make such huge collection devices work together and achieve various computational tasks.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course we expect the student to know the details of various protocols, networking technologies and basics of network security.
Syllabus
Protocols, packet switching and circuit switching, delays in packet switching, layered architecture, protocol layering and encapsulation, theoretical basis for data communication, line codes, multiplexing
Link layer services, flow control, error detection and correction, Hamming codes, convolution codes, Reed-Solomon code, error detecting codes, improving parity check, checksum, cyclic redundancy check (CRC), simple link layer protocols, multiple access protocols, collision resolution protocols, wireless LAN protocols
Overview of network layer, IPV4 datagram, fragmentation, addressing, DHCP, NAT, IPv4 to IPv6, routing algorithms, the optimality principle, shortest path algorithm, Dijkstra’s algorithm, flooding, distance vector routing, the count to infinity problem, various types of routing mechanisms, congestion control and techniques to solve it, QoS, traffic shaping, packet scheduling algorithms, ICMP, APR, DHCP, label switching, MPLS, OSPF – an interior gateway protocol, BGP – an exterior gateway protocol
Transport layer and its services, Berkeley sockets, addressing and protocol details, the two-army problem, efficiency and power, max-min fairness, AIMD, UDP, TCP sliding window, delayed ack and Nagle’s algorithm, silly window syndrome, Clark’s algorithm, TCP timer management, computing and estimating RTO
DNS, domain resource records, name servers, address resolution, e-mail, SMPT, WWW, cookies, web tracking, HTTP, HTTP caching, streaming audio and video, audio compression, perceptual encoding, frequency masking, content delivery, Zip’s law, server farms, web proxy, CDNs, DNS redirection, BitTorrent
Network security, cryptography, cryptanalysis, substitution ciphers, transposition ciphers, symmetric-key algorithms, P-box and S-box, DES, triple DES, AES, other ciphers, cryptanalysis, public-key algorithms, RSA, digital signatures, symmetric key signatures, public key signatures, message digest, authentication protocols, shared key based authentication, reflection attack, Diffe-Hellman key exchange, authentication using public key cryptography
Textbooks
- “Computer Networks”, Andrew S. Tanenbaum and David J Wetherall, 5th Edition. Pearson publication.
References
- “Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet”, James F Kurose and Keith W Ross, 7th edition, Pearson
- “Data Communication and Networking”, Behrouz A. Forouzan and Sophia Chung Fegan,, Huga Media, 2007.
Past Offerings
- Offered in Aug-Nov, 2023 by Anish Hirwe
- Offered in Aug-Dec, 2022 by Albert Sunny
- Offered in Jul-Dec, 2021 by Albert
- Offered in Jul-Dec, 2020 by Albert
- Offered in July-Dec, 2019 by Albert
Course Metadata
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Course Title | Computer Networks |
| Course Code | CS4010 |
| Course Credits | 3-0-0-3 |
| Course Category | PMT |
| Approved on | Senate 6 of IIT Palakkad |