CS3516
The main course syllabus is at:
http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~jb/CS3516
This document is an expansion of that
syllabus. I’m hoping they say the same
thing. 
Professor Background
• Dr. Jerry Breecher
– Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
– Background:
• Taught College Physics - 10 years
• Caught the “software disease” It was much more fun
programming computers than doing physics.
• Worked for Data General Corp. – 10 years
– Quality Assurance, Operating Systems
• Worked for Stratus Technologies – 17 years
– Performance Analysis
• Many years teaching courses at WPI
• Taught at Clark University – 10 years
– Courses this year:
• Operating Systems (CS502), Performance Analysis
(CS533), Networking (CS3516)
Course Teaching Assistants
Zhongfang Zhuang zzhuang@wpi.edu
• Office Hours:
– Monday 9:00 - 12:00,
– Thursday 9:00 - 12:00
– Fuller Labs A22
Doug MacFarland
• Office Hours:
–
–
–
–
dcmacfarland@wpi.edu
Monday 2:00 - 3:00,
Wednesday 12:00 - 3:00,
Friday 12:15 - 2:15
Fuller Labs A22
Textbook
"Computer Networking, 6th
Edition", 2013 Jim Kurose &
Keith Ross. Addison Wesley,
ISBN 0-13-285620-4
Access to network programming
information is essential. Either
physical or virtual will be fine.
What happens every class?
• Daily Quizzes
• Lecture Segments
– Sampling of important concepts
– These slides are generated by the authors and
edited by me.
• 5 Minute joke break in the middle of class
• 2 people get to do a 1 minute elevator
speech each class.
• You will be “on the spot” regularly
– But life is usually “on the spot”
– Reacting is how we learn
Show and Tell
• We never outgrow our need to show off.
• We may be afraid of standing up in front of
others, but we all wish we could do it.
• You will have a chance when
demonstrating your projects; the TA’s want
to watch how you show off your projects.
• You will have your chance in class telling
jokes or your elevator speech.
What You Need to Succeed
• A solid C or C++ background
– Historically, people without it do not succeed
– Biggest cause of problems
• A willingness to request help when needed
– The teaching staff is here to help
– Leverage each other (but do your own work)
• The motivation to start early
– These projects can’t be done (well) in a day
Communication
• Class discussion, class hand-outs, emails to the student's WPI
email account, and the course Web pages are avenues for
official course communication.
• Class Email
• Students must check their email daily. The class email list is
automatically created based on official registration information.
The instructor and TAs will use this mailing list to send
information to the class.
• Questions about the course should be sent to cs3516-staff at
cs.wpi.edu. The teaching staff will monitor this list and answer
detailed questions. The instructor will handle all policy issues.
• InstructAssist
• The MyWPI system used university-wide does not meet the
course's needs. Instead, we will be using InstructAssist, a
homebrew course management tool. This system will be used
for posting grades, submitting projects, obtaining slides, and
scheduling project demonstrations.
Online Resources
• Course Syllabus: http://web.cs.wpi.edu/~jb/CS3516/
• InstructAssist
– Homebrew Course Management System
– Built by Professor Shue
• GRADES - Automatically posted online via
InstructAssist
– https://cerebro.cs.wpi.edu/cs3516/grades.php
• How will this work?
Syllabus Highlights
• Grading - 50% Projects, 50% Quizzes
• Programming in C/C++
• Electronics – computers and phones in
class.
• Academic misconduct - Plagarism is the
main issue.
Why learn about computer
networks?
• The network is the computer. Increasingly
the computer is only an interface for the
wider web.
• The world has shifted from the computer
to the cloud.
Course Objectives
• Computer network architecture concepts
• Broad view of network stack and protocols
• Understanding of computer networks from
a design and performance perspective
• Expose standard network terminology
• TCP/IP network socket programming
• Introduce wireless and local area networks
• Congestion and security topics
Project 0
•
•
•
•
Learning Wireshark
Short and sweet – 10 points
Assigned Today
Due November 07 at 12:01 AM
Project 1
• Assigned: Today
• Checkpoint: November 07 at 12:01 AM
• Signup for Show and Tell early to get the
timeslot you want. Will be available by
November 11.
• Due: November 14 at 12:01 AM
• Show and Tell: November 14 & 15.
• 30 Points