Course language is English!

Content

Telematics = telecommunications + informatics (often also called computer networks) covers a wide spectrum of topics - from communication engineering to the WWW and advanced applications.

The lecture addresses topics such as:

• Basic background: protocols, services, models, communication standards;
• Principles of communication engineering: signals, coding, modulation, media;
• Data link layer: media access etc.;
• Local networks: IEEE-Standards, Ethernet, bridges;
• Network layer: routing and forwarding, Internet protocols (IPv4, IPv6);
• Transport layer: quality of service, flow control, congestion control, TCP;
• Internet: TCP/IP protocol suite;
• Applications: WWW, security, network management;
• New network concepts (QUIC etc.).

At the End of this course, you should...

• know how networks in general are organized
• know what the Internet could be or is
• understand how wired/wireless (see Mobile Communications) networks work
• understand why/how protocols and layers are used
• understand how e-mails, videos get to where you are
• understand how operators operate real, big networks
• understand the cooperation of web browsers with web servers
• be aware of security issues when you use the network
• be familiar with acronyms like: ALOHA, ARP, ATM, BGP, CDMA, CDN, CIDR, CSMA, DCCP, DHCP, ETSI, FDM, FDMA, FTP, HDLC, HTTP, ICMP, ICN, IEEE, IETF, IP, IMAP, ISP, ITU, ISO/OSI, LAN, LTE, MAC, MAN, MPLS, MTU, NAT, NTP, PCM, POTS, PPP, PSTN, P2P, QUIC, RARP, SCTP, SMTP, SNMP, TCP, TDM, TDMA, UDP, UMTS, VPN, WAN, ...

Literature

• A. Tanenbaum & D. Wetherall: Computer Networks (5th edition)
• J. Kurose & K. Ross: Computer Networking (6th edition)
• S. Keshav: Mathematical Foundations of Computer Networking (2012)
• W. Stallings book, W. Goralski book 
• IETF drafts and RFCs
• IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards

Prerequisites

As this is a Master Course you have to know the basics of computer networks already (e.g. from the OS&CN BSc course or any other basic networking course). That means you know what protocol stacks are, know the basic ideas behind TCP/IP, know layering principles, got a rough understanding of how the Internet works. This course will recap the basics but then proceed to the more advanced stuff.

Resources & Organization

The course comprises about 30 "lectures", 90 minutes each, following the inverted or flipped classroom principle. I.e. you will be able to access a video of the lecture before we discuss the content in class. To be able to discuss you have to watch the video BEFORE we meet! This is your main assignment - go through the video, prepare questions if something is not clear. During the meetings there will be a recap of the main ideas plus enough time to discuss each topic if necessary.

This course has three time-slots blocked: Monday 14-16 (051), Monday 16-18 (055), Friday 14-16 (051). Due to time constraints, the meetings for lectures will not always happen the same day each week but typically pick 2 out of the 3 time-slots. The third slot will be used for exercises (typically Monday 16-18)!

Active Participation will be determined using 5 "Mini Presentations". Over the course of the semester you must hand-in 5 slide sets. They consist of 3-5 slides explaining how a protocol / technique works (for a certain task) for a given network layer (see Whiteboard Assignments). They should be easily understandable on their own, and will act as study helpers for your exam preparation. All of your mini presentations have to be marked as "pass" for you to be eligible to take the exam. After you first submit any of your mini presentations, they will be reviewed and you will get feedback on what to change (if necessary). You will then have a chance to re-upload a new version of your mini presentation a week after that. If your submission is then still marked as "fail" you can hold a short talk (max. 5 minutes) during the next exercise to explain how the protocol/technique works. Everyone present will then have the chance to ask questions, if you are able to answer most of them - your resubmission will be marked as "pass" retroactively. More details on the submissions can be found in the Whiteboard Assignments.

Schedule

Be aware: This schedule might change - you will be informed!

Exam

The first exam takes place Feb. 9th, 16-18, 049 + 055 - CM entry required!

Second exam: April, TBA - CM entry required!