COMP3331 Notices

Final Exam and Final Course Marks Released

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 10 May 2024, 02:06:21 PM.

The final exam marks and your answers are now visible in Inspera ( LINK) .

Within Inspera, on the main page, you can click on "View without downloading" to see the questions and your answers. The correct answers are visible at the bottom of each page under "Feedback". PLEASE IGNORE THE PASS OR FAIL GRADE SHOWN IN INSPERA. IT IS NOT CORRECTLY CONFIGURED.

On the main Inspera page, you will also see a candidate report ("View Report"). This would include answers to all questions as general feedback (same as in the above view) and specific feedback from your maker for the manually marked questions if marks were deducted. At the bottom of the report, you can see a detailed view of the marks received for each question and the total mark.

Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18 and 19 were auto-marked. There are no partial marks for these questions. Questions 1, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 were manually marked. Some partial marks were awarded where justified. Comments are provided where marks are deducted.

We have also ported the final exam marks from Inspera and computed your final course mark. You should find these through WebCMS. To pass the course, your total mark (FinalMark) should be greater than or equal to 50, AND your final exam mark (final_exam) must be greater than or equal to 16 (this hurdle is not an issue for the vast majority of students).

Want to find out how you fared compared to other students? Check out the class statistics available HERE . I have included names of students who performed well on the final exam and overall in the course. Congratulations !!

Well done, everyone.

If you have any final comments or feedback, feel free to add them to this anonymous form .

Provisional Assignment Marks

Posted by Isura Bamunusinghe Arachchige Sunday 05 May 2024, 02:09:36 PM.

The provisional assignment marks are released. Feedback is provided if marks are deducted. We are in the process of running plagiarism checks and may contact students for an explanation if the plagiarism detection tools flag their submissions.

There is no need to panic if you believe the marks are not as expected. Do not email Salil about your marks. Instead, you should directly reach out to your tutors . Your marks can be updated if there are valid reasons. Information about your tutors is available on the Timetable page.

Forum Usage during and post Exam

Posted by Salil Kanhere Tuesday 30 April 2024, 10:18:23 PM.

The course forum will be set to read-only during the duration of the exam and 2 hours after (to cover students with ELS requirements).

Students should not discuss any exam questions on the forum until the exam marking is complete. We will remove such posts.

Good luck for the final exam

Posted by Salil Kanhere Tuesday 30 April 2024, 09:07:19 PM.

Good luck, everyone. I don't mean to be Captain Obvious, but some advice:

• The Inspera exam link is HERE . Make sure to select the exam for COMP3331/9331. The exam runs from 09:45 am to 12:00 noon tomorrow (Wednesday, 1st May)
• Contact the Exam Support Team at +61 2 9058 2453 or email exams@unsw.edu.au if you encounter technical issues.
• Get a good night's sleep.
• Have some food before the start of the exam.
• Keep a water bottle handy.
• Find a quiet and comfortable room where you are unlikely to be interrupted for the duration of the exam.
• Make sure your computer is charged and connect it to a power outlet.
• If you are on a shared network, make sure others using the network will not engage in heavy usage.
• Download all lecture notes and homework questions/answers to your computer to avoid potential bottlenecks with the WebCMS server.
• Don't panic if you cannot answer a question; move on and return to it later.
• Remember to answer all questions.
• Remember to breathe !!
• May the Force be with you all !!

Lab marks + Final Exam

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 26 April 2024, 01:58:03 PM.

All lab marks are now available. You will also find a "labs_total" field (out of 20 marks). To calculate this, we added the scores of all labs and scaled the total to 20 marks. These marks constitute the lab component of your final mark. If you have questions about your lab marks, ask your tutor.

Your assignments are being marked, and we aim to release the marks next week. Since these must be manually marked, we probably won't be done before your final exam, but we will try our best.

The final exam will be held on Wednesday, 1st May, from 09:45 am to 12:00 noon . The INSPERA exam link is HERE . If you encounter technical issues, contact the Exam Support Team. Their details are available on the first page of the Inspera exam. If you have ELS requirements, then your exam duration will be adjusted accordingly (start time will be the same).

A final exam consult will run on Tuesday, 30th April, from 4:30 - 5:30 pm: Zoom Link (Meeting ID: 84439919108, Password: 497106). You will arrive in a waiting room. Please wait there and I will let you in once I am done with the previous student.

Further details about the final exam are HERE. Good luck !!

Final Exam + myExperience Feedback

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 19 April 2024, 10:28:52 AM.

The assignment deadline has passed. I hope everyone has managed to complete it and enjoyed the experience. It is possible to submit after the deadline, subject to the late penalty outlined in the specification.

Please complete the myExperience surveys . The response rate so far is low (only 18%). I am sure we can do better. We would appreciate your feedback.

The final exam will be held on Wednesday, 1st May, from 09:45 am to 12:00 noon .

I have created a final exam information page . Please read all the information provided here carefully, and be sure to check which content is examinable and which is excluded.

A practice final exam is available in Inspera. The Moodle link is posted on the Final Exam page. You can only sit this exam once, which will close in 2 hours + 15 minutes after you start the attempt. Please keep this in mind before attempting the exam. You should be able to view the correct answers in Inspera after you submit your attempt. I strongly encourage you to try the practice exam in Inspera to ensure that you are comfortable with the Inspera platform so that there are no surprises in the final exam.

I have also posted 2 PDF files of the exam (one with just questions, the other with questions and answers) on the Final Exam page.

Everyone is strongly encouraged to solve all the homework questions and engage in discussions on the forum.

I will arrange an exam-specific consultation the day before the exam. Further information will be posted next week.

Have a good weekend, and good luck with your exam preparation.

Extra Python/Java Consultation Session on 17 Wednesday April

Posted by Isura Bamunusinghe Arachchige Wednesday 17 April 2024, 08:55:44 AM.

Due to high demand, we have added an extra assignment on Wednesday, April 17th, to assist you further with your assignments.

The session will cover Java/Python and will be conducted by Gary Hu. Please find the details about the session below:

Full list of consultation sessions can be found here .

Assignment Deadline in 2 days + Final Lecture on Thursday

Posted by Salil Kanhere Tuesday 16 April 2024, 11:24:02 AM.

The assignment is due by noon on Thursday, 18 April . Please test your code in VLAB before submitting it to avoid angst later. If your code does not run as expected in VLAB, then there isn't much we can do about it. You are also encouraged to verify the behaviour of your code by comparing it with the provided test implementation.

Note that assignment consultations are running today and tomorrow as per the schedule HERE .

I know everyone is busy, but please complete the MyExperience reports for the course. The response rate so far is only around 12%.

Our final lecture is on Thursday, 18th April . I will wrap up our coverage of network security, recap the course and discuss the final exam. Come and say goodbye !!

Week 10 Announcements: Final Week !!

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 12 April 2024, 05:02:56 PM.

Here are a few important announcements for next week, which will be the last teaching week of this term:

• In the lectures, we will wrap up the Wireless Network discussions we started last week and then move on to Network Security. The lecture slides are available.
• Lab 5 is due by 9 a.m. Tuesday, 16th April . Next week, a tutorial will replace the lab (in your usual labs or online). This will serve as useful practice for the final exam. Please look through the questions beforehand and try to solve them by yourself. All questions on the tutorial are from past exams, so effectively, it is a sample exam.
• Please complete the myExperience surveys . The response rate so far is very low (only about 6% ). I am sure you all can do better. We would appreciate your feedback.
• The final exam will be held on Wednesday, 1st May, from 09:45 to 12:00 . It will be held online in Inspera. Students are expected to attempt the exam remotely. I will make available several resources for the final exam, including a practice exam. Stay tuned for further details next week.
• The assignment is due by noon on Thursday, 18 April . This is a hard deadline. Assignment consults are running, so seek help if you need it. Please make sure to test your code in VLAB before submitting it to avoid angst later. If your code does not run as expected in VLAB, then there isn't much we can do about it.

I know next week will be busy for everyone, but don't overwhelm yourself. Good luck with everything.

Extra Assignment Consultation Sessions

Posted by Isura Bamunusinghe Arachchige Wednesday 10 April 2024, 09:30:59 PM.

Due to high demand, we have added extra assignment consultation sessions to week 9 and 10 to assist you further with your assignments. Please find the details of the additional sessions below

Below sessions will also accommodate some students working on Python language, following support for C and Java students.

Full list of consultation sessions can be found here .

Mid-Term Exam Marking Update

Posted by Salil Kanhere Sunday 07 April 2024, 11:50:32 AM.

We have updated the marks for the mid-term exam in Inspera as follows:

• Question 2 on Packet Switching, which was manually marked, has been re-marked as there appeared to be a few errors in the marking for some students.
• Partial marks have been awarded for Question 3 on HTTP only for the instance where an assumption was made that the round-trip time between the client and server was D (instead of 2D). As a result, your answers would have been exactly half of the correct answer (e.g., if the answer were 32D, your answer would be 16D).

We will not award partial marks for other variations of the correct answers to the auto-marked questions.

The mid-term marks are also available via WebCMS.

The revised class statistics are available here .

Week 9: Link Layer + Lab 5 + Assignment deadline approaching

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 05 April 2024, 10:23:42 AM.

Several announcements for Week 9 (final two weeks !!):

• Next week's lectures will focus on the data link layer . Lecture slides are available. Several homework questions are posted. You are encouraged to work through them.
• Lab 4 is due by 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9th . Lab 5, held next week, is the last lab for the course. It will focus on TCP and Routing. For the exercises, you will use the NS-2 network simulator. The spec is available.
• The assignment deadline of noon, Thursday, 18 April, is approaching soon. This is a HARD deadline . Late submissions will be accepted but are subject to penalties as noted in the specification. Attend the assignment consultations if you need help. Details are HERE .
• IMPORTANT : We appreciate that many of you prefer to write code on your personal machine and in your preferred IDE (e.g. Eclipse). However, your assignment will be marked in the VLAB environment and executed through the command line. Thus, you must thoroughly test your code in VLAB before you submit it. If we cannot execute your code, we cannot award you any marks . Please pay attention to this point to avoid angst when marks are released.
• The final exam will be held on Wednesday, 1st May, morning . The exam environment (remote INSPERA exam) will be similar to the mid-term exam. Further information will be provided in Week 10. Mark that time in your calendar.

Have a good weekend, and see you in Tuesday's lecture.

Mid-term Marks Released

Posted by Salil Kanhere Thursday 04 April 2024, 04:27:48 PM.

The mid-term exam marks are now available. You can check your response and the correct answers to all questions in Inspera. Log into Moodle (or Inspera) and access the same mid-term exam link as before.

You should ignore the Pass/Fail grade in Inspera. I am unable to turn this off. There is no such grade for the mid-term. The final mark for the course will be computed as noted in the course outline.

Within Inspera, you can click on "View Submission" on the main page to see the questions and your answers. The correct answers are visible at the bottom of each page under "Feedback".

On the main Inspera page, you will also see a candidate report ("View Report"). This includes answers to all questions as general feedback (same as in the above view) and specific feedback from your maker for the manually marked questions if marks were deducted. At the bottom of the report, you can see a detailed view of the marks received for each question and the total mark.

Your total mark on the mid-term exam (out of 20) will also be available through WebCMS.

Questions 2 and 7 were manually marked. Where justified, partial marks were awarded. The rest of the questions were auto-marked. There are no partial marks for these questions.

Want to find out how you fared compared to other students? Check out the class statistics available here . I have included names of students who did very well. Congratulations.

Week 8: Network Data/Control Plane + Lab 4 + Assignment Consultations

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 29 March 2024, 09:30:45 AM, last modified Friday 29 March 2024, 09:40:52 AM.

Here are a few announcements for next week:

• In the lectures, we will wrap up our discussion on the network data plane and move on to the control plane, where we will focus on routing algorithms. Slides are available.
• Several practice questions have been posted on the Homework Questions page. These cover TCP congestion control and the network data/control plane. Do make sure you work through them.
• In the lab (Lab 4), you will examine various aspects of TCP and become familiar with the ns-2 network simulator. Lab 4 is due by 9 am, Tuesday, 9 April .
• Midterm marks and class statistics will be available by mid-week. Here is a poll about the exam.
• The assignment is due by noon on Thursday, April 18th. If you need help, you should attend the weekly assignment-specific consultations. The timetable is on the assignment page.
• The remainder of this term will be busy and stressful for everyone. Please look after yourselves and your classmates. Do reach out to us if we can help in any way.
• Anonymous feedback can be left through the following link .
• Have a good long weekend, and see you in the lectures next week.

Mid-term Reminder + Assignment Consult Slots for Week 7 + Programming Tutorial in Week 7

Posted by Salil Kanhere Monday 25 March 2024, 10:29:01 AM.

This is a reminder that the mid-term exam will be held on Tuesday, 26th March, from 9:15 am to 10:30 am . There is no lecture on Tuesday.

The Inspera exam link is HERE (also accessible through the Moodle page for the course and the mid-term page). You can also access the exam via the Inspera page ( https://unsw.inspera.com/ ). If you wish to ask us any questions, a Zoom meeting link is here (Meeting ID: 85651171085, Password: 004721). You are not required to join the Zoom meeting. If you join, you must mute yourself and ask questions in the chat.

An exam consult will run on Monday, 25th March from 5 to 6 pm: Zoom meeting (Meeting ID: 82506699574, Password: 301243). You will enter a waiting room. Please wait there, and I will let you in once I have answered the previous student's query.

You are strongly encouraged to download the latest version of the slides and any other content you expect to use during the exam to your local computer. The WebCMS server may not be able to handle the load if every enrolled student (around 730) attempts to access the website at the same time.

We have added assignment consultation slots in Week 7. The schedule is here .

And also a reminder for the programming tutorial running in Week 7. Make sure you review the specifications and attend a lab based on your programming language of preference. The schedule is here .

May the force be with you.

Week 7: Mid-term Exam, Programming Tutorial and Network Layer

Posted by Salil Kanhere Saturday 23 March 2024, 11:20:12 AM.

1) Exam : Note that the mid-term exam will open at 09:15 am on Tuesday, 26th March and close at 10:30 am. You will have 75 minutes to complete the exam. There is no separate reading time. Students who have sent us their ELP requirements will have their time adjusted as per these requirements, with the exam starting at 09:15 am. Inspera will auto-collect all your answers and submit them at the end of the exam, even if you do not hit the submit now button on the last page. Please DO NOT email us to ask if your submission has been received. We can assure you that Inspera will collect all submissions.

The Inspera exam link is HERE (also accessible through the Moodle page for the course and the mid-term page). If you wish to ask us any questions, a Zoom meeting link is here (Meeting ID: 85651171085, Password: 004721). You are not required to join the Zoom meeting. If you join, you must mute yourself and ask questions in the chat.

Further details are on the mid-term exam page . Students are strongly encouraged to attempt the sample exam in Inspera. The sample exam questions and answers are available as PDFs on the mid-term exam page.

There is no lecture on Tuesday. We will start with the network layer in the lecture on Thursday. Slides are available.

Good luck, and may the force be with you !!

2) Programming Tutorial (note the revised timetable) : In Week 7, we have arranged a programming tutorial instead of a lab. The goal is to help you get started with the programming assignment. You are strongly encouraged to review the tutorial specification in advance. We have scheduled distinct slots for Python, C and Java, so attend a slot based on your preferred language. Furthermore, Friday, 29 March , is a public holiday. Thus, we have created a separate timetable just for Week 7. The tutorial is not marked, so you must NOT submit any code.

3) Assignment Consultations : Special assignment-specific consultations will run weekly from Week 8 to Week 10 as per this timetable . There are dedicated sessions for C, Java, and Python. You are encouraged to attend these sessions if you need help. Note that the purpose of this session is to provide general assistance, NOT for tutors to debug your code. We will aim to add a few slots for Week 7. However, we expect everyone to attend the programming tutorial in Week 7, which is meant to get you started on the assignment.

Assignment Test Implementations

Posted by Tim Arney Friday 22 March 2024, 12:49:49 PM.

Test implementations are now available on the CSE servers. They can be invoked using the "3331" prefix, and follow the command-line arguments given in the assignment specification:

3331 sender sender_port receiver_port ...
3331 receiver receiver_port sender_port ...

You can also add a " -o " option to either application to have it log to the screen, rather than write to a log file. You may find this helpful during development and testing.

3331 sender -o sender_port receiver_port ...
3331 receiver -o receiver_port sender_port ...

The test implementations are intended to simplify your development process, as it allows you to develop each application independently, rather than having to develop both simultaneously in parallel. My personal recommendation would be to start by implementing your receiver application and follow the " Tips on getting started " from the assignment specification. Please note that once you've developed both applications you should test them against each other, and not just against the test implementations. Please refer to the " Marking policy " in the specification to understand how your applications will be assessed.

I'd like to remind everyone that the course forum and assignment help sessions are not for code debugging, as noted in the assignment specification. The test implementations are intended to help you debug your own code. Of course, if you're convinced you've found a bug in the test implementations, then please report it for investigation and possible correction.

I'd also like to highlight a few other notes from the assignment specification:

• The test implementations are only available on the CSE servers.
• The sender and receiver will need to be running on the same machine (whether or not you're using either of the test implementations).
• You should always defer to the assignment specification (rather than the test implementations) for what is expected of your implementations. For example:
  • The test implementations guard against invalid command-line arguments. You are not required to do this (but it's good practice).
  • The test implementations limit the range of valid values given as command-line arguments. This is to limit the burden on the CSE servers, as we have a very large course. You should not do this.
  • The test implementations provide various error messages when they encounter unexpected behaviour. You are not expected to match these.

I think it should be a fun assignment, but I'd encourage you to start early. Good luck!

Mid Term Exam Reminder

Posted by Salil Kanhere Tuesday 19 March 2024, 10:35:37 AM.

I hope everyone is taking a bit of a breather during flexibility week. This is a reminder that the mid-term exam will be held on Tuesday, 26th March , during regular lecture hours (09:00 - 11:00) . Further details are on the mid-term exam page . Everyone is strongly encouraged to check this page and all the resources linked to it, including a short video and a sample exam in Inspera. Several sample exercises are available: Homework questions, Tutorial 1 (on the lab exercises page), some quizzes throughout the lecture slides, and a sample exam on the mid-term exam.

I will be available for mid-term exam consultations as follows (you will enter a waiting room, stay there, and I will let you in once I am done attending to the previous student).

Tuesday, 19th March, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm, Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 84439919108, Password: 497106 (regular consult slot)

Monday, 25th March, 5 pm to 6 pm, Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 82506699574, Password: 301243 (additional slot)

I will circulate a link for the exam by Friday. The link will also be available on the course Moodle page.

Information about Mid-term Exam + Flexibility Week (No lectures and labs next week)

Posted by Salil Kanhere Thursday 14 March 2024, 08:45:20 PM.

Marks for the first two labs and the answers are available. You can check them here . If you have questions about marking, contact your tutor. Their details are on the timetable page.

The mid-term exam will be held during regular lecture hours ( 09:00 - 11:00 ) on Tuesday, 26th March (Week 7).

Check the information on the Mid-term Exam page (including information about the terms and conditions, precise timing, content covered, exclusions, etc.). A short video (with slides) is also available.

The link for the exam will be circulated towards the end of next week and will also be available on the Mid-term page and the course Moodle page.

A practice exam is available here: Moodle link . The exam uses the Inspera platform , which will be used for both exams in this course. You can only attempt the exam once , so activate it ONLY when you are ready to take it. Answers are available as feedback in Inspera after completing the exam. The questions that require manual marking won't be marked. You can examine the answers provided and compare them with your own. Everyone is strongly urged to attempt the exam. It will familiarise you with the Inspera assessment environment so there are no surprises on exam day. A PDF file with the exam questions and answers is posted on the mid-term exam page.

You can provide anonymous feedback about the course through the following link.

This is a reminder that there are no lectures or labs in Week 6 . You are all urged to use this week to prepare for the mid-term exam and start on the assignment.

Week 5: Exploring TCP and Congestion Control, Tutorial, Mid-term Exam coming up, Assignment is out

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 08 March 2024, 08:28:42 PM.

Next week will be busy. Here is what's coming up:

• Lab 3 is due by 9 am Tuesday, 12th March.
• Next week, a tutorial will replace the lab (in your usual in-person or online room). It is not marked. It will serve as helpful practice for the mid-term exam. Please look through the questions beforehand and try to solve them by yourself. ALL questions are from past exams, so effectively, it is a sample exam paper. You can ask your tutor to prioritise questions that you find difficult. The question set is released.
• In the lectures, we will explore TCP in detail, followed by a discussion on congestion control. Slides are available.
• The mid-term exam will be held during regular lecture hours ( 09:00 - 11:00 ) on Tuesday, 26th March (Week 7) . Towards the end of next week, further information about the format and a sample exam will be available. The exam makes up 20% of your final mark.
• Lab 2 marks and solutions will be available by Wednesday next week. If you have questions about your marks, please connect with your tutor. You can view your marks here .
• The programming assignment specification is available. I forgot to mention that the reference implementation will be available next week (it is not currently available).
• Everyone is encouraged to discuss the homework questions on the Ed discussion forum. All of these questions are from past exams. We have added comments on these discussions.
• You can provide anonymous feedback about the course through the following link.
• Flexibility Week ( Week 6, 18-22 March ) is nearing. There will be no lectures or labs that week, allowing you to catch up, prepare for the mid-term exam, and get going with the assignment.
• The census date for the term is 10th March. While we do not encourage it, this is the last day that you can drop the course without incurring fees.

Have a good weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all in the lectures next week or on the forum. Over and out.

Assignment Specification Released

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 08 March 2024, 04:47:14 PM.

The assignment specification is available. It is long, but for a reason. Read it carefully. Reread it (and again). The deadline is noon, Thursday, 18 April (Week 10). I have uploaded a video in which I provide an overview.

We have provided a fully functional client-server application that implements several functionalities that will be useful for the assignment. Feel free to use it if you wish. Have fun!!

Assignment-specific consultations will be arranged in Weeks 7-10. A programming tutorial is scheduled during lab hours in Week 7 . Details will follow for both. In the meantime, post questions to the Ed forum. You can join the forum via the following link: https://edstem.org/au/join/kHK8MH

We strongly urge everyone to provide input on their choice of programming language for the assignment in this poll . This will help us appropriately schedule assignment consultation sessions, as we plan to run distinct C, Java, and Python help sessions.

You can provide anonymous feedback about the course through the following link . We will try our best to consider it.

Week 4: Getting Busy (Transport Layer, Lab on DNS + TCP Socket Programming, Assignment forthcoming)

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 01 March 2024, 09:56:32 AM.

Several announcements for Week 4. Read carefully:

• The lab 2 deadline is 9 am on Tuesday, 5th March .
• Lab 3 is released and will require you to get into the nitty-gritty of DNS and gain experience with TCP socket programming.
• In the lectures, we will begin our journey into the Transport Layer . Slides are available for review.
• Here is a poll on the pace of the lectures . Let me know your thoughts so I can make adjustments as necessary.
• The assignment specification will be released towards the end of Week 4. An announcement will follow with details.
• The mid-term exam, worth 20% of the course mark , will be held on Tuesday , 26th March (Week 7) during regular lecture hours (09:00 - 11:00). The exam will be held online on the Inspera assessment platform. Further information and an online sample exam will be available in Week 5.
• The solutions to Lab 1 and your marks will be released by the middle of next week. Please cross-check the solutions to determine why marks were deducted (if any). If you have questions about marking, ask your tutor. The easiest way to access your marks is through the WebCMS interface. Click on the Grades icon beside your name at the bottom of the left frame.
• Everybody is strongly encouraged to discuss solutions to all homework problems on the course forum. Several questions are from past exams and will prepare you for the mid-term and final exams.
• If you haven't joined the Ed discussion forum, here is the link - https://edstem.org/au/join/dCGHST .
• An anonymous feedback form is available here if you have comments for us.

Have a great weekend, and see you in lectures next week.

Week 3: Continuing our explorations of the Application Layer + Lab 2 (HTTP)

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 23 February 2024, 09:21:28 AM.

A reminder that the CSE servers will be shut down today (Friday) from 8 pm and remain inaccessible for most of Saturday. This includes services such as VLAB, WebCMS, etc. The CSE building (K17) and all labs will be closed during this time.

The Lab 1 report is due by 9 am Wednesday, 28th February (including a 1-day extension due to the shutdown) . Submission instructions are in the lab spec. Submissions received via email will NOT be entertained. The submission system will ONLY accept a TAR (not ZIP) archive . Creating one using the command line tar utility in Linux (VLAB) or Mac OS is easy. On Windows, you can use 7-zip ; on Mac OS, you can use Unarchiver .

In the lectures, we will wrap up the leftover content from last week and study DNS, Peer-to-peer applications and socket programming. Slides are available for review.

In Lab 2, we will explore HTTP and learn to use a new tool called Wireshark, a protocol analyzer. Wireshark is installed on all lab computers and in VLAB. You can also install Wireshark on your personal machine. It is free and works on all operating systems. Download it here . You will also get your first exposure to socket programming. Sample working client/server programs in C/Java/Python are available here .

Very few students appear to be attempting the homework questions. We strongly encourage everyone to work through these questions on their own. We will post answers for the collated questions (e.g. Introduction Questions). However, the questions marked with " Students to Discuss Solutions " are exclusively left for you to work on. Please post your solutions on the Ed forum. We are happy to provide feedback on your attempts. This should serve as excellent practice for the exams.

You can join the Ed Discussion forum via the following link - https://edstem.org/au/join/dCGHST

An anonymous feedback form is available here in case you wish to leave us some comments. We will try our best to act on your input.

The mid-term exam will be held on Tuesday, 26th March (Week 7), during regular class hours (09:00 - 11:00) . Mark this time in your calendar. The exam will be held online using the Inspera platform. A sample exam will be available for you to try. Details to follow.

Have a good weekend, and see you in the lectures next week.

Lab 1 Deadline Extended to 9am Wednesday, 28th February.

Posted by Salil Kanhere Thursday 22 February 2024, 01:08:12 PM.

In light of the infrastructure shutdown on Saturday, we are extending the deadline for Lab 1 to 9 am Wednesday, 28th February .

The deadlines for subsequent labs are not impacted.

Shutdown of CSE Infrastructure from Friday night through Saturday night

Posted by Salil Kanhere Wednesday 21 February 2024, 01:36:21 PM.

Please see the following message regarding the planned CSE infrastructure shutdown from our IT manager. This will impact your ability to work on the first lab exercise and study plans. Please plan accordingly.

Planned Downtime

What’s happening?

Estate Management has scheduled maintenance Power Shutdown of K-17, inc. CSE datacentre, on Saturday, 24th February 2024. CSG will be gracefully shutting down all CSE IT services commencing 8 PM Friday, 23rd February 2024, and the next day, when the shutdown is complete, all systems/services will be brought back up again.

When?

Start: Friday, 23rd February 2024, 8 PM

End: Saturday, 24th February 2024, 10 PM

Which systems are involved?

CSE Services, inc. vres cluster and all our hosting services will remain offline during this period. This also includes all CSE wired network-dependent applications such as pages hosted on cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au, WebCMS, Give submission, access to class/student CSE accounts via SSH, access to courses and personal websites using www.cse.unsw.edu.au , VLAB and lab machines. We will send an update once the shutdown is complete and all systems are back up.

Week 2: What's Coming Up

Posted by Salil Kanhere Friday 16 February 2024, 02:45:50 PM.

In the Week 2 lectures, we will complete our introduction to computer networks (protocol layering) and dive into networked applications (principles, Web/HTTP, Email). Slides are available for review. I have updated the Week 1 slide set with answers to the in-lecture quizzes.

Labs will commence in Week 2. Please attend the lab class you have enrolled in, as many classes are at full capacity . The link to each lab class is posted on the Labs page. Note that we have a mix of in-person and online labs. For those attending in person, please ensure you follow all COVID-safe protocols. Recordings will be available for online labs. You will notice a few parallel lab classes, e.g., T13A and T13B. Make sure you attend the correct class as per your UNSW timetable. If attending an online lab, you are strongly urged to set up access to the VLAB environment before the lab . It is not an efficient use of your tutor's time if they have to explain this process to you during the lab. We encourage the use of TigerVNC. Check the instructions here . The first lab exercise is now available. You are strongly urged to read the Tools of the Trade introductory lab before attempting the first lab exercise. The first lab report is due by 9 am Tuesday, 27th February (Week 3) . Submission instructions are in the lab specification.

Several problem-solving questions are accessible on the Homework Questions page. You are strongly encouraged to work through these questions on your own. These are not assessed. We will post answers for the collated questions (e.g. Introduction Questions). However, the questions marked " Students to Discuss Solutions " are exclusively left for you to work on. We are happy to provide feedback on your attempts but will not provide ready solutions. Working through these questions will provide good practice for the exams. Please discuss them on the Ed forum. You can join the forum via the following link: https://edstem.org/au/join/dCGHST .

My consultations are scheduled for Tuesday 4:30-5:30 pm. A link to the Zoom meeting is on the course outline page.

An early heads-up that the mid-term exam will be held on Tuesday, 26th March (Week 7) during regular lecture hours (09:00 - 11:00) . Mark this time in your calendar. The exam will be held online using the Inspera platform; details are to follow.

Have a great weekend, and see you during the lectures on Tuesday & Thursday and online on the forum !!

Week 1: Ready, Set, Go

Posted by Salil Kanhere Monday 12 February 2024, 05:55:44 PM.

Our first lecture will be held on Tuesday, 13th February, from 09:00 - 11:00 in Keith Burrows Theatre .

All content for Week 1 is now available on the Lectures page.

I am told live streaming is enabled (to be tested tomorrow). Lecture recordings will be available on Echo360 and YouTube. Links to both playlists are on the Lectures page.

Make sure to read through the course outline before the lecture.

There are NO labs in Week 1, even if your calendar in myUNSW may say so. Labs will commence in Week 2. A self-study lab that introduces you to the various networking tools used in the course is available. Please make sure you go through it this week.

We will use Ed Discussions for the course forum. The default WebCMS forum has been disabled. Please join the forum by clicking on this link: https://edstem.org/au/join/dCGHST .

Please post any course-related questions on the Ed forum. If you must email us, use cs3331@cse.unsw.edu.au instead of our personal emails.

For enrollment issues, reach out to the Student Nucleus Hub . Course staff do not have access to the enrollment system.

We would appreciate it if you could complete the following poll: Your Internet speed .

See you in the lecture tomorrow !!

Welcome Padawans to COMP3331/9331 Term 1, 2024

Posted by Salil Kanhere Thursday 08 February 2024, 09:22:17 PM.

Welcome to COMP3331/9331, Term 1, 2024 . The course webpage is at www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs3331

The course is being offered in a hybrid mode. All lectures will be in person. Most labs are in-person, supplemented with a few online labs. The consultations will be hybrid. The exams will be held online and shall use the Inspera exam environment.

Please check your enrolment and attend the appropriate lab class. If you have enrollment issues, please get in touch with the Nucleus Student Hub. The course staff do not have access to the enrollment system.

Please read the course outline carefully.

Our first lecture will be held on Tuesday, 13th February, from 09:00 - 11:00 in Keith Burrows Theatre .

All content for Week 1 is now available on the Lectures page.

Labs will commence in Week 2 , even if your timetable indicates they start in Week 1. Details are on the Labs page.

We will be using Ed Discussions for the course forum. Please join via this link. The forum on WebCMS is disabled. Please post any course-related questions on the Ed forum. If you must email us, use cs3331@cse.unsw.edu.au instead of personal emails.

We would appreciate it if you could complete the following poll: Your Internet Speed .

See you on Tuesday !!