CPS 214: Information

Professor: Thomas Narten

Office: LSRC D105
Office Hours: immediately after class, or by appointment.
Email: narten.
Phone: 254-7798

Graduate TA: Ye Tao

Office: LSRC D340
Office Hours: Monday 4-5:30, Wednesday 10-11:30.
Email: ty
Phone: 660-6596

Course Meeting Time

Monday, Wednesday: LSRC Room D106, 5:30-6:45

Textbooks (Required)

Computer Networks: a Systems Approach, by Larry Peterson and Bruce Davie, 1996, ISBN 1-55860-368-9 (Morgan Kaufmann Publishers).
Computer Networks (3rd Edition), by Andrew S Tanenbaum, Prentice Hall, 1996.
Internetworking with TCP/IP: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture, Vol. 1, (3rd Edition), by Douglas E. Comer, Prentice Hall, 1996. [Note: we will not use this book until the second half of the course.]
Class Notes for CPS 214, by Thomas Narten.

Textbooks (Honorable Mention)

Routing in the Internet, Christian Huitema, 1995, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-132192-7. [Good coverage of both unicast and multicast routing.]
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1, W. Richard Stevens, 1994, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-63346-9. [A potential alternate for Comer's text.]
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 2, Gary Wright & W. Richard Stevens, 1995, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-63354-X. (Detailed examination of the source code for the 4.4-Lite BSD TCP/IP stack.)
The C Programming Language, by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, Prentice Hall, 1988.
The UNIX Programming Environment, by Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike, Prentice Hall, 1984.

Web page

Many of the materials for this course (including this page) are available on http://www.cs.duke.edu/~narten/214/intro.html

Newsgroup

You should regularly read the newsgroup duke.cs.214 as it may contain announcements, hints, and information relevant to this class.

Computing

All programming projects will be run on the CS Department workstations. Projects may be developed on other platforms, but the final version must compile and execute on CS workstations. All projects will be submitted electronically.

Programming Assignments

The course will include four programming projects that reinforce material covered in class. Programs will be written in C (or C++) under Unix (Solaris, Linux, etc.). We will spend minimal time covering C and UNIX in class; novice UNIX users should purchase supplemental C and UNIX books and become comfortable with UNIX during the first two weeks of the semester.

Exams & Quizzes

There will be two in-class exams (including a final exam during Finals week), plus several pop quizzes for which no advance notice will be provided. Exams will be closed book, closed notes, but you are permitted to bring in one 3 by 5 inch index card covered with handwritten notes of your choice. The final exam will be comprehensive, but will concentrate on material covered following the midterm.

Written Homework

There will be six written homework assignments. Written assignments consist of problems from the book, made up problems, or readings from the research literature.

Late Policy

Each homework and programming assignment will be given a point value when it is handed out. The point value indicates the weight of the assignment relative to the other assignments. In general, homeworks and programs will NOT have equivalent weight. Late programs and homeworks will be penalized 3% per half day, and no assignments will be accepted more than seven days beyond their due date. We will cover material at a fast pace; it is inadvisable to fall behind. Programs are due at midnight of the due date and are turned in electronically. Written homeworks are due at the START of class of the due date. Homeworks turned in after the start of class will be counted late. Late homeworks can be left in my mailbox by giving them to the receptionist next to the mailroom (LSRC 138, Research Drive end of building). From the perspective of late points, an assignment is considered ``turned in'' at the point the TA or myself have it in our hands (which generally means the next day or later for homeworks slipped under an office door). To insure proper credit, deliver it to us personally, or have the receptionist note the time and initial your work. Exceptions to the late policy are possible in some circumstances, but must be made A PRIORI. No assignments will be accepted after Wednesday, December 11 to allow sufficient time for grading.

Grading

Final grades will be computed as follows:

Midterm Exam	30%
Final Exam	35%
Homeworks, programs and quizzes	35%

Dishonesty Policy:

Unless explicitly noted, all work is to be done on an individual basis. Any violation of the University's guidelines for academic integrity will result in a failing grade for the course and referral to the Student Affair's Office for disciplinary action. All programming projects and written assignments are to be your own work. You may discuss ideas, explain concepts, etc.\ in high-level terms with other students, but you may not discuss such specifics as what routines are needed, what arguments they should have, etc. Rule of thumb: You are encouraged to help students by EXPLAINING and TEACHING them material. If you help someone, the helped party should be able explain said material to a third party in their own words. If the helped party cannot, yet is able to turn in the assignment, both parties have behaved improperly. The first for providing too much detail, the second for turning in work they do not themselves understand.