Preparatory courses
Three courses are offered in the area of computer networking. CS 640 introduces the subject, provides basic understanding of networking architecture, protocols and systems by examining popular mechanisms widely used in the Internet including Ethernet and 802.11, BGP, TCP/IP, HTTP, etc. There are several large programming assignments in the course that give students experience with building networking applications and protocols. CS 740 is an advanced course, often run as a seminar, which discusses a selection of advanced topics across all areas of networking. CS 707 is another advanced course, also often run as a seminar, which focuses on mobile and wireless networking systems. Both the advanced courses have a large project associated with them. CS 640 is a prerequisite for CS 740 and CS 707. The Ph.D. qualifying exam in networking is based primarily on the concepts covered in CS 640 and 740 but also can include some material from CS 707.