PROFESSOR: Ted Herman, 201M MacLean, Telephone: 335-2833
E-mail: herman@cs.uiowa.edu
Office Hours: 11:00-11:50 Monday -- Thursday

TEACHING ASSISTANT:   Valeriu Damian-Iordache

FORMAL PREREQUISITES:   Senior/Graduate standing & 22S:039 or 22S:120
INFORMAL PREREQUISITES:   reasonable familiarity with C and Unix

TEXTBOOKS:

• The Linux Network Administrator's Guide
• Computer Networks: A Systems Approach

COURSE GOALS: To learn principles of computer networks, network protocols, and data communications with emphasis on TCP/IP protocols.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: The grading will be determined by by projects and examinations. Projects will account for 40% of the grade and examinations for 60% of the grade. Homeworks will be assigned and discussed in class, but not graded -- they should be considered as preparation for examinations.

PROJECTS:

From three to six projects will be assigned (the exact number depends on the availability of laboratory equipment). The projects will involve some programming, but greater emphasis will be experimentation and reporting the results of experiments. Programming will be in C using some standard system calls in the Unix environment.

EXAMINATIONS:

There will be two in-class examinations and a final examination. The three examinations will be equally weighted towards determining a final grade.

CONTENT AND SCHEDULE: The first four weeks will cover Linux network implementation, tools, and administration. We learn about TCP/IP networks from a user and programmer point of view. The remaining weeks use the Peterson & Davie textbook, covering network topics at a more abstract level.

WEEK              MONDAY          WEDNESDAY       FRIDAY          THEME  
1                                 Jan 21          23              Introduction 
2                 26              28              30              Linux Admin  
3                 Feb 2           4               6               Linux Network 
4                 9               11              13              System Tools  
5                 16 *            18              20              Theory Fundamentals 
6                 23              25              27              Protocol Foundations 
7                 Mar 2           4               6               Link Protocols 
8                 9               11              13              Link Protocols
                   spring break  
9                 23              25              27              LANs 
10                30              Apr 1           3 *             Switching 
11                6               8               10              Switching & Routing 
12                13              15              17              Routing 
13                20              22              24              Presentation Issues 
14                27              29              May 1           Congestion 
15                4               6               8               ?
                   final exam:   4:30pm May 12