Spring 2013 Unique No. 53740 Classroom: RLM 5.126 Time: TuTh 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Simon S. Lam Email: lam AT cs D0T utexas D0T edu Office: ACES 2.118 (later GDC 6.826) Hours: TuTh 5 - 6 p.m.
TA: Mr. Hongkun Yang Email: yanghk AT cs D0T utexas D0T edu
TA Office: Painter 5.33 (later GDC 1.302) TA Hours: Wed 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Th 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
This is a diversity course in the Systems area. The prerequisite for this class is Graduate Standing. It is assumed that you are familiar with protocols in the standard Internet protocol stack (TCP, UDP, IP, and Ethernet) as well as basic probability theory (i.e., random variables and probability distribution). Topics to be covered include queueing, packet scheduling, network congestion control, layer-2 and overlay routing, security, virtual coordinates, erasure codes, performance analysis, and correctness proofs.
The emphasis of this class is on network protocol design to address performance, correctness, and security issues. There is a reading list. There is no textbook.
Your letter grade for the class will be determined by homework assignments (40%), one in-class exam (30%), and one term paper (30% of which 20% is for the written paper submitted and 10% is for your in-class presentation and participation during student presentations).
Homework. Please submit your homework (in hard copy) at the beginning of class on due date. Late submission will not be accepted.
Examination. The examination is scheduled for March 26, 2012. The exam will be closed book but you can bring two pages of notes (printed or hand-written). You will be allowed to make up the exam only with prior approval from the instructor. To get approval, you will need a compelling reason. In particular, time conflict with a job interview will not be a compelling reason.
Term paper. Your term paper will be an individual project. Your term paper grade will also depend upon your in-class term paper presentation (15 minutes using 10 slides or less). The maximum length of your paper is 6 pages (single-column) or 3 pages (double-column) using a font size of 11 pt. If you choose the double-column format, it is recommended that you use an ACM or IEEE template. Each student must write his/her own term paper with his/her own sentences, analytical thinking, and ideas. Copying and pasting from someone else's paper, published or not, will constitute plagiarism. The use of someone else's phrases or sentences should be attributed and shown as a quotation. Also, your paper should be written only for this class and not be used to satisfy the requirement of another past or present class (more term paper guidelines).
Term paper deadlines:
1. March 19, 2012 - Submit at the beginning of class a single page with a tentative paper title and a list of three or more papers that you will study for writing your term paper. (The penalty for late submission is 1% of term paper grade per calendar day.) Also email a soft copy (pdf) to TA: Mr. Hongkun Yang.
2. April 9, 2012 - Submit at the beginning of class a hard copy of your term paper. (The penalty for late submission is 5% of term paper grade per calendar day.) Also email a soft copy (pdf) to TA: Mr. Hongkun Yang.
Collaboration policy: You can discuss
homework assignments with others in general terms. However, every one must
write up his/her own solutions for submission. Do not look at or copy
someone else's solution to any homework assignment,
including solutions by students in a previous
offering of this class. Please refer to the
Student Code of Conduct document for
additional information.
Assignments, lecture slides, as well as special announcements are posted on the 396M class web page. I do not have a fixed schedule for posting updates, but it is a good idea to check the master schedule often for due dates and special announcements.
When there is an urgent announcement (this will be rare), we will email you. The TA will compile a list of student email addresses from the CS 396M class roster. If you would like such notices to be delivered to a different email address or you are not sure which email address of yours is in the class roster, please notify the TA of your preferred email address as soon as possible.