Smith College's Moodle

CSC 249 is an introductory course in computer networks. Our primary focus will be on developing intuitions around the basic performance and engineering tradeoffs in the design and implementation of computer networks. Throughout the semester, we will explore the fundamental architecture of computer networks and how they function today, as well as investigate some of the history that explains why they are designed the way they are and how they are likely to evolve. We will also strive to connect concepts in the design of computer networks to more general topics in the design, implementation and operation of distributed computing systems.

We will draw the majority of our examples from perhaps the most ubiquitous computer network today: the Internet. To help make the concepts we are exploring more concrete, this course will include several hands-on programming projects involving the design and implementation of networked systems.