Computer Networks

Α. Lectures and Tutorials

• Introduction to the Internet

• End router and trunk router
• Packet switching - circuit switching
• Delay, loss and rate performance on packet switching networks
• Overview of delays in packet switched networks
• Delay and packet loss
• Network performance
• Protocols and computer network service models

• Principles of network applications

• The Internet and the HTTP protocol
• The file transfer protocol and e-mail protocols
•  DNS - Internet Directory Service
• Programming sockets: Creating network applications

• Transport and Control Layer (TCP) services and protocols

• Multiplexing and demultiplexing of logical connections
• Connectionless Data Sharing: UDP protocol
• Principles of Reliable Package Transport
• Go-Back-N (GBN) and Selective Repeat (SR)
• Connection-Oriented Packet Transfer: the TCP protocol
• Reliable data transfer
• Flow control
• Principles of congestion control
• TCP congestion control

• The IP network layer

• Functions and architecture of IP routers
• Input processing, packet switching and output processing into IP routers.
• The IP control layer
• The IP protocol: Forwarding and addressing functions on the internet
• IP header format and fields
• Addressing in IPv4
• The ICMP control protocol
• Introduction and basic of IPv6 header
• Principles of routing algorithms
• Link-State and Distance vector algorithms
• Hierarchical routing and protocols (RIP, OSPF, BGP) routing on the Internet
• Broadcast and Multicast in IP networks - spanning tree design.

• The Data link level

• Logical data-level services and sub-levels architecture
• Parity Checks, Checksumming, Cyclic Redundancy Check
• Multiple access protocols and multiplexing techniques.
• Local Data Switching Networks
• Data-level addressing and ARP protocol
• Data switches and local area network interconnection
• The Ethernet protocol
• Virtual Local Area Networks
• MPLS protocol description
• Data center architecture.
• Wireless local area networks and their architecture
• The protocol and architecture of 802.11
• Transmission management and discovery of nodes

B. Lab projects

1) Wireshark exercises for HTTP, DNS, 802.11, DHCP, Ethernet-ARP, IP, TCP, UDP (total: 8 exercises)

2) Set of projects for web programming. Implementing ICMP ping, SMTP client, traceroute, UDP, webserver. (total: 5 exercises)

3) CISCO Packet Tracer exercises set. Random topology implementation (total: 2 implementations)

4) Set of exercises with GNS3. Topology implementation and network performance study (total: 1 implementation)