INFS 612 - Communication Networks S'16 (Stough)

Instructor:
Dr. Joshua Stough
jstough@gmu.edu
(919) 357-0604
Office Hours: Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 5306
Thursday 4:30pm - 6:00pm

TA:
Maofei Chen
mchen18@masonlive.gmu.edu
Office Hours: ENGR building 4456

INFS 612 Principles and Practices of Communication Networks (3:3:0). Prerequisites: INFS 501, 515, 519, and SWE 510; or equivalent. This course introduces the principles of computer networks and their applications to the Internet. Details of layering, protocols, performance, resource allocation, management, security and other contemporary issues related to networks are discussed. Examples of the course material are protocols such as HTTP(S), DNS, TCP/IP, RSVP, SNMP, algorithms such as Dijkstra's link state routing, security measures such as firewalls and encryption, principles behind them and analysis of their performance. No substitutions can be made for this class.

Class: Thursdays 7:20 pm - 10:00 pm, Art and Design Building L008.  Jan 19, 2016 - May 11, 2016

• Understand the principles of computer networking.
• Speak intelligently about the architecture of the Internet, tiered providers, CDNs, VPNs.
• Understand the function of each layer in the Internet protocol stack (physical-link-network-transport-application).
• Understand (apply, implement, expound upon) critical Internet protocols, such as TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, SMTP, ...

Required Materials:

• Text: Kurose/Ross, Computer Networks: A Top-Down Approach, 6/E. Available at the bookstore: http://goo.gl/x0dYcb
• Text companion website: http://goo.gl/O7yzil - some of the material is behind a pay wall, and you should pay it.
  

Grading:

• Grading: assignments (30%), group research/writing project (15%), midterm (15%), final (25%), quizzes (10%), participation (5%)
• Collaboration on assignments is encouraged. During your group project, please work only within your group. tests/quizzes are individual only unless otherwise specified.

Accommodation: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS.

Schedule: