Syllabus --- Computer Networks I

• Unix Network Programming : Networking Apis: Sockets and Xti (Volume 1) 2nd edition
  • Authors: W. Richard Stevens
  • Publisher: Prentice-Hall
  • ISBN: 013490012X

Homework Assignments

This course approaches the subject of computer networking from a programming perspective. It's goal is to leave the student with the ability to develop distributed applications using TCP/IP and RPC. The course covers the overall organization of the Internet; the layered design of networking software; TCP/IP programming (using sockets); concepts behind RPC. There is a team-oriented semester project.

1. Introduction to networking.
   1. Unix review. Processes and low-level I/O.
      1. flock
      2. A dictionary of related C and Pascal constructs
      3. Standard header-files for all network programs
   2. OSI concepts --- layered software. Description of the layers.
   3. The Internet. General organization and concepts.
   4. Ethernet.
   5. gethostbyname
   6. A C++ class for creating and using sockets Compile these programs (t1.C and t2.C) via the command:
      

      CC -oprogname -lsocket -lnsl progname.C
      

   7. Filtering mail
2. Concept of a Protocol. Introduction to TCP/IP (Chapter 1 of text)
   • HTTP Protocol
     HTTP Protocol in PDF format
   • WWW Library functions (currently installed on vorpal) Mime types used by the Apache web server
   • The Mud Connector
   • Sample Mud game running on vorpal: type:
     

     telnet vorpal.math.drexel.edu 4000
     

   • Example of breaking into a Linux server
3. Client-server model and Software design. (Chapter 2 of text)
4. Concurrency in networks. (Chapter 3 of text)
5. Program interface to Protocols. (Chapter 4 of text)
6. Sockets. (Chapter 5 of text)
   1. Concept.
   2. Specifying an endpoint address.
   3. System-calls connected with sockets.
   4. TCP vs. UDP.
7. Algorithms and issues in Client Software Design. (Chapter 6 of text)
   1. Identifying location of a server.
   2. Looking up a domain name.
   3. Port numbers and network byte-orders.
   4. The TCP client algorithm.
   5. Allocating a socket.
   6. TCP vs. UDP.
8. Sample client software. (Chapter 7 of text)
9. Issues in Server Software Design.(Chapter 8 of text)
   1. Concurrent vs. Iterative servers.
   2. Connection-oriented vs. connectionless servers.
   3. Four basic types of servers.
   4. Master and slave processes.
10. Kerberos Protocol
11. Iterative Connectionless Servers --- UDP. (Chapter 9 of text)
12. Iterative, Connection-Oriented Servers --- TCP. (Chapter 10 of text)
13. Concurrent, Connection-Oriented Servers. (Chapter 11 of text)
14. Introduction to RPC.

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