Lecture 1: Introduction

January 13, 2014.

“The Complexity Involved in Engineering the Internet Will Make Your Head Explode, but This One Incredibly Simple Trick Keeps the Complexity Manageable.”

In this first lecture, I will give a brief introduction to the module and introduce many basic concepts, including: host, protocol, packet, packet switching, circuit switching, store-and-forward, delay, throughput, bottleneck link, packet loss, traceroute, and the five layers of the Internet.

Please read the following for a high-level introduction to computer networks and the Internet. We will revisit many of the concepts again in future lectures. Reading:
Chapter 1 of KR.

  • 1.1 What is the Internet?
  • 1.2 The Network Edge
  • 1.3 The Network Core
  • 1.4 Delay, Loss, and Throughput (except 1.4.2)
  • 1.5 Protocol Layers and Their Service Models

Slides:PDF

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2 comments to Lecture 1: Introduction

  1. gaorisheng says:

    Dear Prof

    For Section 1.4, it should be ‘Delay, Loss, and Throughput’. There is an typo-error. :)

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