Internet protocols

Max amount of FITech students: 10

Course contents

The course focuses on the core Internet protocols and algorithms. Internet Protocol (IPv4 and IPv6) and related core protocols and mechanisms, congestion control, routing in the Internet, multicasting and multicast routing, support for host mobility, and multimedia networking and Quality of Service support in the Internet.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, the student

• is familiar with the most important principles in the Internet protocol design.
• can explain and justify the operation of the core Internet protocols in different situations.
• can explain various constraints and shortcomings of the protocols.
• can explain and justify the operation of the major congestion control algorithms in different packet loss scenarios.
• is able to evaluate the effect of the different congestion control algorithms to the protocol performance.
• can explain the essential features and operational principles of the Internet routing protocols for unicast, multicast, and host mobility and analyse differences in the different protocols.
• can explain the challenges for Internet multimedia delivery and describe core methods for improving “best effort” based packet delivery.
• can explain the basic architecture and operation of the IntServ and DiffServ mechanisms for Internet quality of service support.

Learning material

• Comer D. E.: Internetworking with TCP/IP, Vol. 1: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture (6th ed.), Pearson, 2014.

A part of the course reading material is based on scientific articles and the protocol specifications in the RFC series, i.e., RFC documents (IETF RFCs).

Completion methods

There will be lectures, exercises with both written and oral presentation and study groups, or some combination of these and possibly other forms of teaching such as online lectures.

• The lectures will be held on Tuesdays at 14-16 and Wednesdays at 12-14 (material will be available after the lectures)
• The exercises will be held on Wednesdays at 14-16

There is a course exam at the end of the course. Some activity during the course (e.g. in the form of gathering enough exercise points) may be required in order to attend the course exam.

Separate exam can be taken with self-studying.

More information of the University of Helsinki course page.

You can get a digital badge after completing this course.