CMPSCI 591G

Computer Networks Lab

Instructor: V. Arun

Department of Computer Science

Spring 2009

In this course, students will learn how to put "principles into practice," in a hands-on-networking lab course.  The course will cover  router and end-system labs in the areas of Single Segment IP Networks, Multiple Segment IP Networks and Static Routing, Dynamic Routing Protocols (RIP, OSPF and BGP), LAN switching, Transport Layer Protocols: UDP and TCP, NAT, DHCP, DNS, and SNMP. The labs are due at a rate of roughly one lab per week. A short pre-lab Q&A, as well as lab writeups, are required for each lab.

These labs will be done in a networked lab setting consisting of 4 Cisco2600-family routers, 4 hubs, and 4 Linux hosts. 

Class WWW page: http://www.cs.umass.edu/~arun/cs591g/

Book: The textbook is Mastering Networks: An Internet Lab Manual by Jorg Lieberherr, University of Virginia; Magda El Zarki, University of California, Irvine. ISBN: 0-201-78134-4. Publisher: Addison-Wesley. Copyright: 2004. See http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~itlab/book/errata.htm for errata.

Class meeting times: The labs are self-paced (do them in the lab at a time of your own choosing).  We will meet once a week (Monday, 3:30PM, in CMPS 142) as a group to discuss progress, problems encountered, successes achieved, etc. Because the course is largely self-directed, self-discovery lab work, you will need to be motivated, conscientious, and organized in order to complete this course successfully. If you prefer classes where material is presented to you by the instructor, or if you need the structure of in-class lectures to absorb material (which many students do need), then this is not the class for you.

Lab Location: Room 224, LGRT, Computer Networks Lab, 2nd floor LGRT (across from Ed Lab). You will need the combination to the lab, which can be obtained from the TA when you show up to do your first lab.

Prerequisites: CMPSCI 453 and permission of the instructor.  Because of limited lab equipment, enrollment is limited to 20 students.

Broadcast email list: netlab@cs.umass.edu.  To sign up for this email list, send an email to majordomo@cs.umass.edu.  Inside the body of the email put the line:
      subscribe netlab your-email-address
The subject line of the email is not important. Once you subscribe, it may take me a bit of time to approve your subscription.

Class schedule and due dates. Although this is a self-paced lab, labs are due on a specific date, in class, as specified in the schedule below.

 

Date

What's Due?

Comments

1/26

 

First class

2/02

 Lab 1 prelab

2/09

Lab 1 writeup, Lab 2 prelab

 

2/16

Lab 2 writeup, Lab 3 prelab

2/23

3/02

Lab 3 writeup, Lab 4 prelab

Labs 3, 4, 5 are the most time-consuming

 

you have 2 weeks for each. Plan ahead!

3/23

Lab 4 writeup, Lab 5 prelab

 

 

 

4/06

Lab 5 writeup, Lab 6 prelab

 

4/13

Lab 6 writeup, Lab 7 prelab

 

 

4/27

Lab 7 writeup; Lab 8 prelab

 

5/04

Lab 8 writeup

5/13

Lab 9 writeup

Lab 9 can be used to replace lowest grade lab.

 

 

Late Assignment Policy: No late assignments will be accepted. Labs handed in late will lose 10% daily of the maximum possible credit.

 

Grading: The labs are fun and challenging, and with effort can be done well. There are no exams. If you put in the time to do the labs, do them well, and do them on time, you will get a good grade in this course. Lab writeups will be graded and will count 95% of the total course grade. The prelabs will be graded and will count 5% of the total course grade. You will be allowed to work together in pairs. However, your writeups MUST BE YOUR OWN.

 

Incomplete Policy: There will be no incompletes given for this course. No exceptions. If you think you will have trouble completing this course, please enroll in a different course.