Optional Assignments on Computer Networks

A3 Chat Server

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A3 - Chat Server#

250 points

Run the server (your implementation)
python3 -m a3_chat_server

Description#

When you implemented your Chat Client, you used the framework-provided server to test your implementation. When working with TCP communication, clients may only communicate with each other via a server actor, that keeps track of connected clients and distributes messages accordingly. It is now your turn to implement the Chat Server powering the Chat Client communication!

A4 HTTP2 Trace Analysis

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A4 - HTTP2 Trace Analysis#

250 points

In this assignment, you will capture and analyze a network trace between your browser and a Web server. Web servers and proxies are one of the most widely deployed server applications, powering the websites that we visit every day. The protocol behind the Web, the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) started out as a simple plain-text protocol built on top of TCP. The most widely used plain-text version of the protocol is HTTP/1.1.

A5 HTTP Server

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A5 - HTTP Server#

600 points

Run the server (your implementation)
python3 -m a5_http_server

How many websites do you visit per day? Do you need a specialized program for every one of them? Probably not. It turns out that it has not always been the same. Before the invention of HTTP protocol (the backbone of the web, by Tim Berners Lee) people used different programs to access different parts of the web. What made it possible was the unification of application-layer web protocols.

A6 DNS Server

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A6 - DNS Server#

750 points

Run the server (your implementation)
python3 -m a6_dns_server

How many web pages do you visit in a day? Would you be able to remember all their IP addresses? Probably not. It turns out that humans are bad at remembering arbitrary sequences of numbers, but reasonably good at remembering names. By assigning names to IP addresses, web browsing becomes doable for humans. Instead of having to remember the sequence 216.58.211.110, you only need to remember www.google.com. Your browser automatically translates this into the correct IP address.

A7 Unreliable Chat Client

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A7 - Unreliable Chat Client#

850 points

Run the server
# First, install the server (only required once)
~/.local/bin/uv pip install https://compnet2526.atlarge-research.com/pip/framework-0.2.0-py3-none-any.whl
# Second, run the server
unreliable-server
By default, the server will run in reliable mode, i.e., no bit flips, bursts, delays, or packet drops will occur. To enable unreliable features, experiment with the options below. A more detailed description of the unreliable features can be found in the Unreliability section.

A8 Multiplayer Game

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A8 - Multiplayer Game#

1000 points

Online games have evolved over the past decades from simple multiplayer games such as Counter Strike 1.6 to entire metaverse environments such as GTA V Online. Multiplayer games have forever revolutionized entertainment and stand today as one of the most significant areas of distributed system innovation.

Designing a multiplayer game requires several areas of expertise, ranging from graphics design to physics realism. In this course, we focus on the networking challenges encountered in developing an online game.