Computer Networks

An IIT Madras course outline

This NPTEL course, taught by Prof. Hema A Murthy of IIT Madras, is organised as a clear outline. It starts with data sharing, packetised file transmission and layering, then covers performance metrics and the basic building blocks of networks.

From the physical layer to the network layer

The course covers modulation, physical media, transmission, DLL framing, error detection and reliable transmission with stop-and-wait and sliding windows. Medium access, Ethernet, ATM, token ring, FDDI and wireless LANs follow, then bridges and switches, IP packets, forwarding and routing.

Upper layers

• TCP connection management and the TCP protocol itself.
• Application protocols including SNMP and SMTP.
• Network security as the final topic in the outline.

The ordering makes it useful for seeing how each layer depends on the one below.