Communication has been central to human societies since the time of ancient civilizations. In this electronic age, we have seen a revolution in terms of communication as well as the spread of information. In the past 2-3 decades, the Internet as well as cellular technology have even shadowed the relatively recent telephone communication. The Internet has evolved as a repository of information as well as medium of communication. In has integrated a wide range of communication technologies, and the merger of voice communication (telephone/cellular) with the Internet is imminent.

Computer networking has thus grown to be an extremely important aspect of modern technology. The aims of this course are:

• To provide the basics of the underlying concepts in networking
• To provide an overview of the various protocol design aspects
• Discuss specifics of current technologies such as WiFi and GSM
• To provide a hands-on experience with network programming, network setup, and performance analysis, through workshops

Course Content:

• Theory:
  
• The concept of network layers -- the OSI stack
• An overview of the PHY layer
• MAC layer protocols -- Ethernet CSMA/CD, Wireless CSMA/CA
• Bridging protocols, Link layer retransmissions techniques
• Overview of the IEEE 802.11 WiFi standard
• Overview of the GSM cellular standard
• Routing protocols -- Distance vector, link state, hierarchical
• Basics of the Internet Protocol (IP), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
• Basics of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
• The Domain Name Service (DNS)
• Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the World Wide Web (WWW)
• Practicals/Workshops:
Hands-on experience will be provided where applicable/possible, perhaps in groups of 5-6 participants.
• Socket programming in Linux
• Setting up an 802.11 network: infrastructure mode, ad-hoc mode
• Network sniffing, 802.11 network sniffing
• 802.11 card calibration
• Visit to an outdoor 802.11-based rural network

Lecture Slides:

• Lecture 1:
  
• Networking basics, Layering, Network performance
[.PDF]

• PHY overview, Framing, Error detection
[.PDF]

• MAC, 802.3, Token ring
[.PDF]

• Switching, Bridging, Spanning tree
[.PDF]

• Internetwork, Addressing, Routing
[.PDF]

• DV, LS, Hierarchical routing, CIDR.
[.PDF]

• Lecture 2:
  
• TCP basics
[.PDF]

• DNS, Web basics
[.PDF]

• HTTP, SMTP, RTP
[.PDF]

• Socket programming.
[.PDF][.PDF]

• Lecture 3:
  
• Cellular wireless, TDMA, FDMA, CDMA
[.PDF]

• Wireless communication basics: Signal propagation
[.PDF]

• GSM system, Ns2.
[.PDF][.PDF]

• Lecture 4:
  
• Cryptography basics, 802.11 security, GSM security
[.PDF]

• Firewalls
[.PDF]

• Ipv6, Mobile IP
[.PDF]

• 802.11 basics, CSMA/CA, MAC managment.
[.PDF]

• Lecture 5:
  
• 802.11 setup explanation
[.PDF]

• Network sniffing, 802.11 key setup, Firewalls setup.
[.PDF]