18-345: Introduction to Telecommunication Networks

Spring 2015

This course introduces fundamental concepts of telecommunication networks. Underlying engineering principles of computer networks and integrated networks are discussed. Topics in the course include: data networks overview; OSI layers; physical layer and coding; data link protocol; flow control, congestion control, routing; local area networks (Ethernet, Wireless, etc.); transport layer; introduction to high-speed networks (MPLS, Gigabit Ethernet); performance evaluation techniques; media streaming; and last mile technologies. More detailed information can be in the course syllabus.

Prerequisites: Probability Theory (36-217 or sequence of 36-211,212 or 36-225,226) and C/C++ programming skill (15-213).

News

• 12/27/14: Web site created

• 01/12/15: Piazza's 18-345 web page (S15 edition) created and available here. Please enroll.

• 01/15/15: Project 1 handout is now available.

• 01/22/15: Homework 1 is now out. Submit it as a .pdf file via Piazza as a note w/ attachment.

• 01/30/15: Homework 1 solutions are out.

• 02/03/15: Quizz 1 solutions are out.

• 02/06/15: Homework 2 is out.

• 02/11/15: Project 2 handout is now available.

• 02/14/15: Homework 2 solutions are out.

• 02/16/15: Homework 3 is out.

• 02/20/15: Quizz 2 solutions are out.

• 02/24/15: Homework 3 solutions are out.

• 02/26/15: Quizz 3 solutions are out. Graded quizzes can be picked up from prof. Steenkiste's office, GHC 9107.

• 03/16/15: Homework 4 is out.

• 03/26/15: Project 3 handout is now available.

• 03/30/15: Quizz 4 solutions are out.

• 03/31/15: Homework 5 is out.

• 04/06/15: Homework 5 solutions are out.

• 04/14/15: Homework 6 is out.

• 04/15/15: Quizz 5 solutions are out.

• 04/15/15: Project 4 handout is now available.

Instructor

Prof. Peter Steenkiste
E-mail: prs@cs.cmu.edu
Office: Gates 9107
Office Hours: Thursday, 11-noon

Teaching Assistants

Antonio Rodrigues E-mail: antonior@andrew.cmu.edu Office: PH B33 Office Hours: Tuesday, 5:00 to 6:00 PM

TBD E-mail: TBD@andrew.cmu.edu Office Hours: TBD Office: TBD

Textbook

The textbook for the course is "Computer Networks: A Systems Approach", fifth edition, by Larry Peterson and Bruce Davie, Morgan Kaufmann. Other good textbooks that you can use as a substitute are "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach", Jim Kurose and Keith Ross, Addison Wesley, and "Computer Networks", Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, Prentice Hall.

Course schedule

Lectures will be held Monday and Wednesday at 2:30-4:20PM, in PH 226B. Recitations Friday at 10:30-11:20, in GHC 4301.

The schedule below is from Spring 2012. It will be updated later.

Tests

There will be 6 quizzes and 2 exams in the course.

Quizzes: Your best 5 out of 6 quizzes will be counted 3% each toward the final grade, for a total of 15%. Each quiz will be given in the last 30 minutes of the lecture on the given date. There will be NO "make-up" quiz if you miss any of these. They will be held in the lecture room.

Exams: The two exams are each 110 minutes long and worth 25% each. Both will be held in the lecture room. Both exams are closed book.

Exam 1 will cover lectures 1-12. It will be given on Monday Mar 2. The solutions are posted here.

Exam 2 will be on Apr 29. It will cover the entire course, but with emphasis on lectures 15-26. An old exam can be found here

Homeworks

Problem sets will be assigned throughout the course. These assignments will be collected but will NOT be graded. They are provided to help you understand the material and will not be counted toward the final grade. The solutions will be provided. Homeworks will typically be handed out the week before a quiz, covering the same material as the quiz.

The schedule below is from Spring 2012. It will be updated later.

Projects

The course includes a series of four network software projects. The objective of the projects is to expose students to network software programming and to reinforce key networking concepts in a hands-on fashion. The four projects combined are worth 35% of the total grade.

Please use the course bboards (cyrus.academic.ece.18-345.discuss) for questions regarding the projects. The course will have a limited number of recitations in which we discuss the projects, and tips and tools that may be useful. The document Dave's Notes on Software Engineering for Systems Hackers may also be useful.

The schedule below is from Spring 2012. It will be updated later.

Piazza Policy

This course uses the Piazza web site for answering questions. The home Piazza page for this course is at: https://piazza.com/cmu/spring2015/18345. When posting questions on Piazza, students must keep in mind the collaboration guidelines listed in the syllabus and discussed in the first lecture. Use those guidelines to determine:

• When to use e-mail and when to post on Piazza;
• Whether to mark your Piazza post "private to the instructors" or public;
• How much detail and help to provide in an answer to a fellow student

Part of the learning process is struggling with the material until you arrive at the right insight for you to understand it. Posting too much detail in response to a request for assistance can impair learning. On the other hand, sometimes it is great to be nudged in the right direction when you're not able to get out of a rut. And, of course, misunderstandings of the assignment or tools available should be helped rapidly. Please use your best judgement when posting to the Piazza site, as if you were collaborating with your friends in person. A few rough guidelines:

• Please do post and answer publicly: Misunderstandings of the assignment; clarifications about the requirements; bugs in the assignment spec or reference implementation or tests; small, detailed questions about the operation of system calls, functions, etc. Things that look like they'd go in the FAQ are good candidates for asking or answering.
• Please don't post or answer publicly: code (remember that each team needs to code its own project); in-depth explanations of how your system works; questions about the best approach for architecting the system at a high level, etc.
• Please e-mail the instructor to ask questions about your grade; report problems with your partner; set up an appointment, etc.

Please use your judgement between these examples.

Grading

Grades will be determined based on 5 quizzes (15% total), 3 projects (35% total), and 2 exams (50% total). A distribution of grades for assignments returned so far can be found here.