CSCI-UA.0480-062: Computer Networks, Fall 2026

Instructor: Jinkun Geng (jg7196@nyu.edu)
CA: Qinyu Xu (qx774@nyu.edu )


This course will introduce students to computer networks, using today's Internet as an example. Topics covered include socket programming, routing, forwarding, reliable transmission, congestion control, and medium access control. The course will involve a good deal of programming in Python. Familiarity with programming, algorithms, and basic probability is expected.
Prerequisites: Computer Systems Organization (CSCI-UA 201), Basic Algorithms (CSCI-UA.0310), and Discrete Mathematics (Math UA 120); or permission of the department.


Week Monday Wednesday Assignment
Week 1 Aug 31
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Sep 2
Class overview
Week 2 Sep 7
Labor Day
Sep 9
Packet Switching and Network Modeling
Week 3 Sep 14
DNS
Sep 16
TCP and UDP Overview
Assignment 1 Published on Gradescope
Week 4 Sep 21
Socket Programming
Sep 23
TCP Congestion Control I
Week 5 Sep 28
TCP Congestion Control II
Sep 30
Intra-Domain Routing
Assignment 2 Published
Week 6 Oct 5
Inter-Domain Routing
Oct 7
Packet Forwarding, Queuing and Scheduling
Week 7 Oct 12
IPs and SubNets
Oct 14
NAT and IPv6
Week 8 Oct 19
Midterm Review
Oct 21
Midterm Exam
Week 9 Oct 26
Data Link Layer: Error Detection
Oct 28
Data Link Layer: Protocols and Mac Address
Assignment 3 Published on Gradescope
Week 10 Nov 2
Physical Layer & Wireless
Nov 4
Network Security
Week 11 Nov 9
Multimedia Networking
Nov 11
Datacenter Networking
Assignment-4 Published
Week 12 Nov 16
Kernel Bypass: DPDK
Nov 18
Kernel Bypass: RDMA
Week 13 Nov 23
New Hardware
Nov 25
System Design Analysis
Assignment-5 Published
Week 14 Nov 30
Student Presentation (2)
Dec 2
Student Presentation (2)
Week 15 Dec 7
Final Review
Dec 14
Final Exam