TCP/IP essentials : a lab-based approach

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xiv Preface
students with the basic knowledge they need to perform the experiments
and derive insights from their observations during the course of the experiments. Each lab experiment is designed to take no more than 3 hours to
complete.
The experiments were developed on the basis of a course taught at
the Polytechnic University over the course of over eight years. Initially,
we used SUN workstations with the Solaris operating system, but have
now switched to Linux machines. The primary operating system in this
book is Linux, but with Solaris commands provided when they differ
from Linux commands. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to Linux,
since many students may be unfamiliar with this operating system. It also
introduces key tools used in subsequent experiments such as tcpdump
and Ethereal. Chapter 2 introduces network interfaces, ping and IP addresses. Chapter 3 introduces bridges, also known as layer two switches,
bridge/router configuration, and the Cisco IOS. Chapter 4 focuses on routing, with RIP and OSPF as the routing protocols studied, along with the
useful traceroute utility. Chapter 5 introduces UDP and FTP. Chapter 6
follows up with TCP, including a study of its congestion control mechanism. These six chapters are sufficient in many cases to introduce students
to the basics of TCP/IP. Nonetheless, the next three chapters are important
for students who wish to link the basic plumbing of TCP/IP with applications. Chapter 7 deals with IP multicast and realtime applications. The
web, DHCP, NTP and NAT are some key applications that are presented
in Chapter 8, as well as a brief introduction to socket programming. Network management and security are arguably two of the most important
features that students need to know, at least at a basic level. Chapter 9
provides a brief introduction to this material, which can easily be the subject of a separate course. A list of key RFCs is provided at the end of the
book.
There are several alternative ways of teaching this material with this
book. A general knowledge of networking is assumed as a prerequisite for
this book. However, an introductory course in networking could be combined with the first six experiments, back-loaded at the end of the course, to
illustrate the lowest four layers of the protocol stack. For computer scientists, a top-down approach is sometimes the preferred approach in teaching
networking. In that case the lab experiments can be re-ordered to focus on
the higher layers.

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