In this course a bottom-up inside-out approach is used. In the lectures, Comer's textbook "Internetworking with TCP/IP" (Volume I) [1] is used, although the order of the material in the lectures is varied considerably to mesh with the material of the lab sessions (the lab manual is locally-produced, available in the UAB Bookstore). Many supplementary handouts are given to cover the latest developments or to expand on material in the textbook.
"Internetworking" means a connected system of networks, so as a preliminary the course begins with a study of single Ethernet networks. Bridged segments are discussed, leading to "switched Ethernet." The IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi) is studied in detail. All of this is at Layer 2 of the ISO/OSI Reference Model.
The course then moves up to Layer 3 with a discussion of interconnecting networks with routers. The IP addressing scheme and datagram format are covered, followed by the routing algorithm. Error and control messages are discussed. To confront the problem of IP address space exhaustion, subnet and supernet extensions are discussed, as is Network Address Translation.
The Transport Layer (Layer 4) protocols UDP and TCP are then discussed, which leads up to the Application Layer, initially represented by the file transfer protocols TFTP and FTP.
Most of the rest of the course is at the Application Layer. Dynamic Routing Protocols such as RIP are discussed. The Domain Name System, which is absolutely critical to the functioning of the modern Internet, is covered in detail, followed by investigation of electronic mail and the World Wide Web (emphasizing E-commerce applications).
Weekly lab sessions begin about a month into the course. The Instructional Network Lab equipment consists of 24 PCs, one for each student present in a lab session. Each computer has two wired and one wireless network interface cards installed, so that any computer can be used as a workstation or as a router. The computers run the Fedora Linux operating system.
In the first lab sessions, the action is entirely within the lab. First, pairs of computers are connected and students explore the basics of wired and wireless networking. Then groups of four computers are utilized to form small internets and allow study of routing tables and dynamic routing protocols. A session in which the router is upgraded to a packet-filtering firewall is included.
In the final lab sessions, students "escape" from the physical confines of the lab, first to the CIS Department network, then to the UAB campus network to explore the Domain Name System. Finally, students use the Mozilla browser to obtain multimedia information over the Internet, and follow the interaction with a commercial WWW site during order processing.
CS 434 grades are based on a sudent's scores on three in-class exams, together with a score for completion of the weekly lab sessions. There is an additional requirement for CS 534 students.