Core300 LevelFirst SemesterNetworks & Distributed Systems
CSC303
Computer Networks
Course Description
Computer Networks explains how information actually travels between machines: addressing, routing, reliability, and the layered design that lets the internet keep working as it scales. Labs use packet capture tools so students see the protocols they're studying in real traffic.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the layered network model and the role of each layer.
- Trace how data moves from application to physical transmission and back.
- Analyze routing and addressing decisions in a network scenario.
- Diagnose basic connectivity and performance issues using packet analysis tools.
Weekly Topics
Examines networking fundamentals from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend the layered model, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on physical & data link layers with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Focuses on common mistakes and misconceptions around addressing & subnetting, using student work from the previous assignment as material.
Introduces routing fundamentals and immediately puts it to use in a small design or implementation task.
Situates routing protocols within the broader arc of the course, showing how it connects to what comes next.
Uses a guest dataset or scenario to explore mid-semester review in a setting closer to professional practice.
Introduces transport layer & reliability through short lectures and worked examples, building the vocabulary the rest of the course relies on.
Works through application layer protocols in a lab-driven session, with guided exercises students complete and discuss in small groups.
Covers network security basics in depth, connecting the underlying theory to a concrete example the class builds together.
Examines wireless & mobile networking from a practical angle, using a case drawn from real systems to motivate the concepts.
Builds directly on the previous week to extend packet analysis project, with an emphasis on where the earlier techniques stop working.
Combines a short lecture on revision with an in-class exercise students carry into the week's assignment.
Assessment
Assignments — 20%
Practical Work — 25%
Mid-Semester — 20%
Final Examination — 35%
Prerequisite Map
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