Introduction to Computer Networks and Internet Protocols

The course intends to make student feel comfortable about underlying network and other technologies over which the current networking systems rest. The student should be able to recognize terminology used in describing current network components, judge the need for a specific component in a typical system’s design process, choose an appropriate solution for a typical network related problem and can successfully integrate other components of the system with the underlying network. The student should be able to familiarize himself with most used Internet Protocols and their functioning. The student should be able to relate current application demands and judge the need for demands of modern networks like traffic engineering. The student should also be able to ascertain why mesh networks are best suited for most IoT based networks, challenges and solutions to problems with such networks. They should also be able to envision needs for SDN like solutions in current organizations.

COURSE LAYOUT

Duration ofCourse is 15 Weeks.

Week 1Introduction to computer networks and TCP/IP Protocols, The TCP/IP protocol suit and the TCP/IP model The concept of layering, The job of each layer, Connectionless vs. Connection oriented communication and services. TCP as CO service over CL connection and UDP as CL service over CL connection. Complete communication process, an email and a web access communication over TCP/IP network. Showcasing how SMTP and HTTP works at each layer in a brief.
Week 2 :Computer Networks and its fundamentals, definition of the network, its characteristics, network components and network connections. Modern network demands, packet classification, services using packet classification process, Conventional network model and modern network model based on service based on packet classification. Variety of modern Networks having non computers as members, wired and wireless sensor networks, networks based on IOT devices, Home networks, Smart city networks. Big Data problems associated with these networks
Week 3 :Relation between the Bandwidth and the data rate of a channel, Data communication process and its ingredients, maximum data rate of a channel based on bandwidth of the channel and other parameters The need for the signalling process for data communication, Analog and digital signalling , analog and digital data. Amplitude, frequency and phase modulation and their use in data communication Data communication and the physical layer, the duties of physical layer, how analog and digital signalling is used for data communication at the physical layer, the process of multiplexing, demultiplexing and errors. Introduction to EM Spectrum
Week 4 :The EM spectrum, Radio, microwave and other types of waves. The frequencies used by different portions of the spectrum; frequency bands, characteristics of each of the portions and consequences. The relation between data communication and the frequency bands. Wired and wireless physical layers, UTP, FO cables and their use in data communication, total internal reflection principle and difference between UTP and FO cables Hidden and exposed stations problem for wireless data communication and their solution. 802.11,16 and xDSL physical layers, Wireless LAN 802.11, multiple standards and versions of 802.11, 802.11a,802.11b,802.11g,802.11n, 802.11ac, OFDM, OFDMA and Discrete multitone
Week 5 :The Data link layer duties, error handling process, introduction to CRC Error correction and other jobs of Data Link Layer, Hamming distance, hamming code, error correction vs. error detection, Convolution, Reed-Solomon, LDPC and Turbo codes Communication at data link and transport layers, need for protocols, sliding windows, Go back n and Selective repeat strategies for communication
Week 6 :Medium Access Sub-layer, The Ethernet: The need for MAC layer, Introduction to Ethernet, Gigabit and 10G Ethernet, Dual speed cards and auto negotiation The Medium Access Sub-layer:802.11 (Wi-Fi) –I, MAC layer, DCF and PCF Mode; i.e. ad hoc and infrastructure modes, CSMA/CA, Fragmentation, service primitives for infrastructure mode The Medium Access Sub Layer 802.11 Wi-Fi – II, extensions to 802.11, 802.11 frame structure, inter cell and intra cell transmission process Connecting LANs, Virtual LAN and 802.1Q, self-learning switches, interconnecting LANs, challenges and solutions for virtual LAN, 802.1Q standard
Week 7Addressing in networks, IPv4 addressing mechanism, subletting and CIDR, managing addressing with CIDR. The difference between IPv4 and IPv6 addressing mechanism. Advantage offered by the IPv6. Different addressing mechanisms used by IPv6. Network layer: services, accounting, addressing in TCP/IP Network layer, routing and forwarding, connectionless and connection oriented forwarding, advantage of connecting networks at network layer
Week 8:Assignment
Week 9 :Network layer: routing, what a router contains, routing algorithms How routing is performed in TCP/IP networks, link state algorithm, two phases of LS algorithm, how best path is decided Routing in MANets and the Exterior routing, the challenges in MANet Routing, AODV routing, the difference in exterior routing, hot potato and interior routing used in exterior routing process, multicast and broadcast routing Congestion at Network layer and MPLS, Congestion, congestion control, how tag based routing is performed in MPLS Routes, how switching based on tags is done in networks, how MPLS works, what are the challenges in implementing MPLS
Week 10 :Transport layer services, The transport layer, it’s duties, different categories and types of transport layer services, how TCP manages connections, flow control and estimation of round trip time, how re-transmission timer is managed at TCP TCP Timers and delayed duplicates problem in TCP, types of timers TCP normally uses, delayed duplicates, handshake process is managed and errors are handled at TCP, Tomlinson’s solution and the need for the three-way handshake 1. Connection management with TCP, connection release process, asymmetric and symmetric connection release process, congestion control, implicit and explicit congestion control methods, slow start, AIMD, fast recovery and fast re-transmit, explicit congestion notification
Week 11 :Introduction to UDP, a connection-less service mechanism over a connection-less delivery system Introduction to SCTP, a transport layer better suited for a multimedia traffic Application Layer, Domain Name Service, Application layer, introduction to DNS and the process of name resolution, resource records
Week 12 :Resource Records in DNS and introduction to FTP, different types of resource records, How FTP works, control and data connections, passive FTP extensions The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), The WWW and HTTP request and response, persistent connection, cookies and session variables Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), The Email system and SMTP protocol, Internet mail standards, POP3 and IMAP
Week 13 :Resource Records in DNS and introduction to FTP, different types of resource records, How FTP works, control and data connections, passive FTP extensions The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), The WWW and HTTP request and response, persistent connection, cookies and session variables Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), The Email system and SMTP protocol, Internet mail standards, POP3 and IMAP
Week 14 :Software Defined Networks (SDN) , Paths and connections, Separation of data and control, connection oriented networks and routing overlays, SDN as a combined solution SDN implementation, Vendor specific solution problems, controllers and forwarding devices, communication need between controllers and other devices and external controllers, methods for implementing SDN SDN architecture and OpenFlow, SDN architecture, Northbound and southbound APIs, how separation is managed, what is the idea of OPEN solutions, OpenFlow Technology, Basics, messages, usage, specific fields, software defined radios
Week 15 :