CS 1680: Computer Networks on CS 1680: Computer Networks

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Language Resources #

Here are our favorite guides and resources for each language (click to expand):

Go #

Getting started with Go: A concise tutorial on how to start writing and building Go programs
A Tour of Go: an interactive, concise introduction to the Go programming language. We highly recommend it for new (and inexperienced) learners of Go
Go By Example: a hands-on introduction to Go with annotated example programs, with nice snippets of idiomatic Go code for different constructs
This repository provides some examples of a “standard” package layout (note that many people, including the Go tech lead, object to this structure; we provide it here simply for inspiration). Another package layout resource is this blog post.

Rust #

The Rust Book is the forefront resource on learning Rust. We highly recommend at least skimming through the book to learn about the language’s various features. In particular, Chapter 4 is a good introduction to Rust’s unique memory model, chapter 16 is useful for concurrency, and chapter 20 is useful for networking.
This blog post provides a lightning introduction to Rust. We recommend the Rust book as the authoritative source, but this blog post is another well-written resource.
- Each of the author’s articles are well-written, in-depth explorations of many of Rust’s (and programming in general) nuances. We highly recommend perusing through some if you have the time!
Rust By Example is another hands-on introduction to Rust with annotated example programs.
This tutorial on Rust networking implements a simple “echo server” in Rust, which provides a good end-to-end example for working with sockets

C #

Beej’s Guide to Network Programming is one of the most in-depth explanations of socket programming. We would highly recommended reading it if you’re confused about the various system calls (connect, accept, bind, etc.) required for socket programming.
- Although in C, Go/Rust developers wishing to learn the UNIX/POSIX network API will benefit from this as well!
This demo video on socket programming in C and accompanying example code implements the guessing game example in C. This video is from the Spring 2022 version of the course, which primarily used C during lectures–see the course website for this version of the course for more examples!
Sockets Slide Deck contains an older a quick-start for getting a C sockets program up and running.
Introduction to Asynchronous Programming is a great high level intro to the concepts of asynchronous programming. This helps explain when one may want to use asynchronous programming instead of traditional multithreading.
PThreads I and PThreads II are the slides from CS0330 for threading in C.

C++ #

Effective Modern C++ (Available online from the Brown Library) is a great introduction to modern C++ (C++11/14 and beyond) features, such as smart pointers and move semantics.
C++: Concurrency in Action (Available online from the Brown Library) provides a nice introduction to concurrency and synchronization primitives in C++.

Note that there is no standard networking library in C++, so you will need to review C’s network API and system calls. If you wish to use an external networking library, please contact the course staff.

Assignments

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Assignment requirements are subject to change until the assigned date–please refresh the document to ensure you are on the latest version. Any changes or clarifications to assignments after the assigned date will be announced on Ed.

All assignments are due by 11:59 PM EDT on the listed due date, except where otherwise noted. For details, please see our Late policy. To request extensions, please use our Extension request form.

Note: For examples of past assignments, see last year's course website.

Projects #

Assignment	Assigned	Due	Essential Resources
Project 0: Container Setup	Jan 22	Jan 28
Project 1: Snowcast	Jan 27	Feb 2 (Milestone) Feb 10 (everything)	Warmup and Setup Guide Snowcast Specification Gearup notes Gearup recording Sockets demo code UDP example Language/Sockets resources
Project 2: IP	Feb 10	Feb 12 (milestone) Mar 5 (everything)
Project 3: TCP	Mar 6	Mar 20 (milestone 1) Apr 7 (milestone 2) Apr 17 (everything)	TCP-in-IP example Gearup I (📄 notes, 🎥 recording) Channels demo Gearup II (📄 notes, 🎥 recording) Gearup III (📄 notes, 🎥 recording (F23 version))
Project 4: Final Project	Apr 20	May 4 (everything)

Homeworks #

Assignment	Assigned	Due	Essential Resources
Homework 0	Jan 22	Jan 27
Homework 1	Feb 10	Feb 24
Homework 2	Mar 3	Mar 13
Homework 3	Mar 17	Apr 2
Homework 4	Apr 3	Apr 16
Homework 5	Apr 16	Apr 24

Calendar

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Can’t view the calendar? Please make sure that you are signed into your Brown University Google account in this browser, then do a hard refresh Otherwise, click here to view the calendar in another page.

CS1680 Lecture 8

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

CS 1680 Lecture 8 Date: February 24, 2022

Administrivia #

Bear with me as literally everything I touch today breaks
IP: Out today
You should have received an email with at team assignment
Try out the dev environment, let us know if there are issues
New textbook resource

Topics for today #

More on IP forwarding
ARP, DHCP
IP assignment demo

Last time #

IP addressing basics
IP forwarding overview

Recall: IP Addressing #

All hosts on the network have an IP address, which can be used to reach the host across the network.

Schedule

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here is the tentative schedule of lectures and due dates. The lecture material for future lectures may change.

Lecture and notes logistics: Here’s how lectures generally work:

Before each lecture, we will post handout-style notes (“blank notes”) that you can use to follow along and annotate. After class, the instructor will post an annotated version (“class notes”). It may take a few hours before the class notes are available.
Recordings for each lecture will be published shortly after the lecture ends; if you do not see a link yet, check this page (Brown login required).

About deadlines: Assignments are typically due at 11:59pm on the date listed. Note that the release dates for homeworks may change based on the progress of lectures. (If this happens, we will adjust the content, the deadline, or both, to make up for it.)

Staff

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Staff

Nick DeMarinis (ndemarin@cs), Instructor - he/him/his - Go, C, C++

Hi everyone! I'm Nick, and I'm excited to be your instructor this semester! I like systems, especially thinking about how to make them more secure. Beyond CS, I enjoy climbing, board games, and baking. I also grew up in RI--ask me anything about Providence!

Syllabus

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

CSCI 1680 is an undergraduate course in computer networks. We will discuss the technologies supporting the Internet, from Ethernet and Wifi to routing protocols that govern the flow of traffic, and the web technologies and cloud services that are responsible for most of it. In doing so, we’ll focus on the protocols used on the Internet, including what each component does, how they work, why they are designed the way they are, their limitations and shortcomings (in terms of reliability, security, oversight, etc.), and what improvements are on the horizon.