Computer Networking
Changes This Year
Although there is a new lecturer this year, the materials will be largely unchanged, but the number of slides presented will be scaled back a bit (similar to a/y 18/19 levels).
One addition will be a glossary of terms. Candidates should be able to explain all of the words in the glossary and expect them to appear in Tripos questions.
Detailed Syllabus 25/26
Syllabus variations. The official syllabus (on the first tab) is slightly out-of-date w.r.t. what is lectured at the moment: the ordering of materials has varied since the syllabus was last updated.
A detailed syllabus and some Q+A points are on this sub-page (Updated 5th May 2026) FINE-GRAINED SYLLABUS and Q+A.
Lecture Slides
Topic 1 - three lectures - Foundations: Slides (PDF);
Lecture notes: (P+D Part 1).Topic 2 - two lectures (or 2.5) - Architecture and Philosophy: Slides (PDF); Notes: (P+D Part 1 again) and early parts of (P+D 3.3).
Topic 3a - Physical Layer (L1) - Slides PDF.
Lecture notes Physical Channels HTML.
Also P+D book Chapter 2: Direct Links.Topic 3b - Data link layer and DLL/MAC (L2) - Slides PDF.
Lecture notes (book Chapter 2) Direct Links, concentrating on Section 2.3 onwards.Topic 4 - Network Layer (L3) - Slides PDF.
Lecture notes (P+D Chapter 3) Section 3.3 - Interworking Section 3.4 - Routing.Topic 5 - Transport Layer (L4) - Slides (PDF).
Lecture notes: Kurose+Ross Chapter 3 and P+D Chapter 5.2, 5.3 and 6.3.Topic 6 - Applications Slides PDF.
A couple of edits were applied to this last batch of slides, post-hoc, as mentioned/demo'd during the last lecture.
For DNS, see P+D 9.3.1 (but not DNSSEC material).
Lecture Notes
For most of this course, it is pointless having local lecture notes when there are great books, but a few further notes and clarifications will likely be posted in this section as we go.
The recommended book is Computer Networks: A Systems Approach, VIth edition Peterson and Davie soft online copy, GIT resources.
Lecture slides can be printed for you by the department on request. Put your name down at Student Admin if you'd like a copy. Last year, very few were wanted. Electronically annotating a PDF may be more convenient? Possibly the best thing to have in hardcopy form is one of the recommended textbooks.
Further notes and clarifications: HERE.
Glossary
Please test yourselves (or peers) by checking you know all these acronyms or terms GLOSSARY.
Last Year's page
Please see last-year's materials for further recommended book(s) and all other materials, the Hands-on Materials and further secondary materials.
Supervision Materials
New Sheet 25/26
The 25/26 Exercise Sheet is here EXERCISE SHEET.
This is pretty much the same as the old sheet, except that red ink has been added where
topics were not covered this year, Topic 3 has been split into two, and fresh questions regarding
VLANs, VPNs and CDNs have been added.
Old Sheet
The old Exercise Sheet remains relevant, with a few exceptions, Exercise Sheet Compiled Wednesday 21st February, 2018.
Exercise 9c (CRC/GF2 detail) is not examinable in 25/26.
Exercise 12a/b (classes of traffic) is not examinable in 25/26.
Exercise 12d (IPv6) is not examinable in 25/26.
Exercise 17a (TCP equation) is not examinable in 25/26. The slides showing integrating the sliding window to get throughput were not lectured, but the concept remains useful and should at least be discussed in supervisions.
Secondary Materials
Kurose + Ross (PDF) (a more recent edition may be available).
Beyond last-year's materials, a few items will be posted in this section.
In Lecture 2 (switching paradigms) people could inspect this item: Crossbar Circuit Switch that uses the same Strowger uniselectors used in the first generation, british automatic telephone exchanges.
For a later lecture, this article was recommended by Prof Jon Crowcroft How NAT Traversal Works.
About The Lecturer
The lecturer, David Greaves, has designed various computer networks. In the early 1980's he constructed a LAN at his VIth-form College for PET microcomputers GPIB Combiner; in the early 1990's he designed the first equipment to send data at more than 100 Mbps over the Granta fibre network around the University of Cambridge, and in the later 1990's his team designed the first video-on-demand system in the UK, the Cambridge iTV trial, and then went on to design early ADSL broadband modems, as widely used today.
DJG.