CSUMB CS Online Learning Journal - Ryan

      This week we continued to learn about computer networks and the importance of the security layer. We learned about why network security is important and how programs are written to verify communications between network connected clients. I found it particularly interesting to learn the various ways people will try to hack into communications sent between clients and deceive or block those communications. I enjoyed learning about symmetric key and private/public key encryption systems. I also found the lab this week useful in applying what was learned regarding the security layer in out simulated client/sever communications.

      This week in CST311 we focused on the Transport Layer of Computer Networks. This layer is critical for computer networks and provides the method for connecting computers through the internet. We learned about some of the principles for reliable data transfer and how to control and monitor data flow and congestion control. We also took a deeper look at UDP and TCP, two internet transport layer protocols. We learned how the protocols differed and in what situations you would use one or the other. The big programming assignment this week was a group project where we implemented two types of pinging programs a standard ping and heartbeat ping service. Completing this programming lab helped me further understand how computer networks communicate with each other.

 The week we continued learning about computer networks and focused on the application layer. We also had some practice with HTTP protocols and used Wireshark to continue to analyze the network calls. We performed a lab with Wireshark that had us analyse different types of requests, including simple text, larger text files and requests that included both text and images. I found it interesting to see how the network handled the different types of request. I look forward to learning more about computer networks in the coming weeks.

 This week was the first week of CST311 Introduction to Computer Networks. This first week served as an introduction to how the internet works and was a prep week for us to install all of the software needed to complete the programming assignments. We learned about the concepts of delay, loss and throughput in regards to internet data transfer. We also got an introduction to Mininet and Wireshark which are the programs we will utilize to build and test our simulated virtual network. I am excited to learn more about computer networks and how they function in the coming weeks.

 This week was the last week did not feature any new materials and we instead resubmitted some previous programming assignments and prepared for the final. Overall, I really enjoyed this class and learned a great deal about operating systems and how they manage programs, memory and data transfer. This class had given me a greater appreciation for the critical function that the operating system provides. One aspect that sticks out in my mind is the concept of the kernel. I know in previously I had heard the term, but never really knew what it was. I now understand what the kernel is and how it works, so now when I see a vague error about the kernel in my operating system I have some idea what it is talking about. Beyond that the other concepts explored in this class have helped me to become a more well rounded computer science major.

 This week I learned about input/output (I/O) devices and their interactions with the operating system (OS). Two types of devices I learned about were block and character devices. Block devices, like hard drives and SSDs, store data in fixed-size blocks and allow random access, making them ideal for large data transfers. Character devices, such as keyboards and mice, handle data streams one character at a time, supporting sequential access. The OS play a crucial role in managing these devices through device drivers that provide a standard interface to interact with the hardware. Performance characteristics of hard drives, such as seek time, rotational latency, and transfer rates, are pivotal in determining overall system efficiency. By calculating transfer rates for different workloads, I learned how disk access patterns significantly impact performance. Additionally, understanding RAID levels provided insights into how redundancy and striping enhance data reliability and performance.