COMPSCI 168 Internet Architecture

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There are two meanings of internet:

• the infrastructure that connects computing devices,
• or the ecosystem of applications built on that infrastructure.

When the average person says “internet” they usually refer to the second definition. This class, on the other hand, explores the first.

Why study the internet? It’s one of the most impactful and life-changing inventions in human history. In addition, it’s too large and complex for theoretical models and requires an entirely new design paradigm of:

• Decentralized control
• best-effort service model (no guarantee or notification of data delivery)
• route around trouble
• dumb infrastructure, smart endpoints
• end-to-end design
• layering

Course Description

Instructors

• Sylvia Ratnasamy
• Peyrin Kao

Guest

• Rob Shakir

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for this class are CS 61B and CS 61C.

The official class listing shows CS 162 as a prerequisite, but this is outdated. The correct prerequisite is CS 61C, not CS 162.

We don’t formally enforce any prerequisites, and the enrollment system should not block you from enrolling or waitlisting if you haven’t taken the prerequisites. We will not drop you if you haven’t taken the prerequisites.

It is possible to take the class without the prerequisites, though we don’t recommend it.

In addition to the prerequisite classes, we assume basic knowledge of Python and Unix systems (e.g. terminal commands).