CMSC 417: Spring 2026
Office Hours:
): Tuesday 10:00am-12:00noon, AVW 4122 & Zoom
): Thursday 12:00noon-2:00pm, AVW 4122 & Zoom
): Wednesday 3:30pm-4:30pm and Friday 10:30am-11:30am, AVW 4122 & Zoom
): Monday 3:30-4:30pm, IRB 5240, and by appointments over emails.(This schedule may change due to unforeseen events and students' evolving interests)
Date
Topics of discussions
Study materials
26-Jan-2026
UMD closed
28-Jan-2026
UMD closed
02-Feb-2026
Lecture: Course logistics, Foundations of networks (Textbook chapter 1)
04-Feb-2026
Lecture: Foundations and architectures of networks (Textbook chapter 3.4.1 and 3.4.2)
04-Feb-2026 (Wednesday)
Assignment_0 is released. Follow the "recommended setup" before you start. Due: February 16th, 11:59:59 pm
06-Feb-2026 (Friday)
Socket Programming Workshop. Location: CSI 1115 (In-person. Slides and recordings will be available afterward.) Time: 11:00am - 12:50pm
09-Feb-2026
Lecture: Distance vector routing (Textbook chapter 3.4.1 and 3.4.2)
16-Feb-2026(Monday)
Assignment_1 is released. Due: February 26th, 11:59:59 pm
18-Feb-2026
Lecture: Basic internetworking (IP) and IP fragmentation-reassembly (Textbook chapter 3.3)
23-Feb-2026
Lecture: IP fragmentation-reassembly and IP addresses (Textbook chapter 3.3)
26-Feb-2026 (Thursday)
Assignment_2 is released. Due: March 13th, 11:59:59 pm
04-Mar-2026
Midterm-1 exam. Syllabus: The topics covered in class so far. Refer to the detailed syllabus. Past exam questions: 417-exams.zip. This is an in-class exam. Please bring your university ID card.
11-Mar-2026
Lecture: ICMP, Virtual private networks and tunnels, IPV6 (Textbook chapter 3)
13-Mar-2026 (Friday)
Assignment_3 is released. Due: April 2nd, 11:59:59 pm
15-March-2026 to 22-March-2026
Spring break
30-Mar-2026
Lecture: Transport layer: ARQ, TCP Flow Control (Textbook chapter 5)
01-Apr-2026
Lecture: Transport layer: ARQ, TCP Flow Control - Part2 (Textbook chapter 5)
02-April-2026 (Thursday)
Assignment_4 is released. Due: April 16th, 11:59:59 pm
06-Apr-2026
Lecture: TCP vulnerabilities, advanced TCP versions (BIC, CUBIC), and Link Layer (A research paper & Textbook chapters 6 & 2)
08-Apr-2026
Lecture: Link layer protocols, Ethernet, and Hubs/Switches (Textbook chapter 2)
13-Apr-2026
Midterm-2 exam. Syllabus: The topics covered between Midterm-1 and Midterm-2. Refer to the detailed syllabus. Past exam questions: 417-exams.zip. This is an in-class exam. Please bring your university ID card.
15-Apr-2026
Lecture: Link layer, Wireless networks (Textbook chapter 2)
16-April-2026 (Thursday)
Final project is released. Due: May 7th, Morning 10:00:00 am (no redo or late submission allowed) In-person project interviews and evaluations: May 7th and 8th (time slots will be released)
20-Apr-2026
Lecture: WiFi, Mobility in Wireless networks (Textbook chapter 2)
22-Apr-2026
Lecture : Advanced networking: BGP protocol - I (Textbook chapter 4)
27-Apr-2026
Lecture : Advanced networking: BGP protocol and attacks (Textbook chapter 4)
29-Apr-2026
Lecture : BGP, BGP attacks, and Application layer (Textbook chapter 4 & 9)
04-May-2026
Lecture : Application layer: Web, HTTP, Email (Textbook chapter 9)
06-May-2026
Lecture : Application layer protocols, An interactive session with a past student joining industry.
07-May-2026 and 08-May-2026
Final Project Demo and Coding Interview
Location: TBD Time: Book your interview slot (one per group) when announced. This is an in-person interview. Expect coding tasks and questions related to the final project and any other coding assignments released earlier.
14-May-2026 (Thursday)
Final exam
Location: CSI 2117 Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm This is an in-class exam. Please bring your university ID card.