198:552 is a graduate course in computer networks. The goals of this course are to understand the state of the art as well as the classic works in this field and to familiarize oneself with the methods and tools of conducting original research.
The Internet is an exciting place with its many services that we, as consumers, take for granted. But how does this global communication infrastructure work? What does it take to build an Internet service that you could use yourself? How should one design systems in a manner that will allow others to build on their work? How can network operators and services (like Google) ensure that they provide the best possible user experience?
This course will describe the principles by which large computer networks and applications atop them are designed and maintained. We will examine the ways in which those principles have been applied in existing research literature and production systems.
The course assumes some familiarity with undergraduate-level networking concepts; however, supplementary readings are available for specific lecture material. The course will cover about 50 research papers spanning a mix of classic and recent research literature. We will introduce students to foundational principles as well as to specific topics in the areas of internetworking, intra-domain networking, and data center networking. We will also discuss how to build flexible networks and high-performance networking applications.
Students are expected to participate significantly and reflect on the readings during class discussions. Students will learn to critique research literature through a number of paper reviews and attempt to improve the state-of-the-art through a semester-long research project.
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