- Knowledge about the architecture a network device/appliance, and the main technologies that can be used in each component. - Capability to design a high-performance software-based network service (e.g., firewall). - Knowledge about the most important dataplane technologies (DPDK, eBPF, ASIC, OpenFlow, P4). - Knowledge about the Linux kernel networking subsystem and the most important network tools available. - Knowledge about Software-Defined Networks and Network Functions Virtualization.

General knowledge about computer networks. Knowledge about the most important protocols of the TCP/IP suite. Capability to design and troubleshoot an IP network. Good knowledge about IP stating routing and basic knowledge about IP dynamic routing. Capability to understand the traffic patterns of the most common TCP/IP protocols (e.g., through packet sniffing) Knowledge about switching technologies and protocols. Basic understanding of datacenter technologies. Useful, but not strictly required, knowledge about cloud computing topics and orchestrators (Kubernetes, OpenStack).

- Data plane vs Control Plane and architecture of commercial devices (0.4 cr) - Hardware programmable technologies for dataplanes: OpenFlow, P4 (0.6 cr) - Software dataplanes: DPDK, eBPF/XDP; packet filtering (1 cr) - Linux kernel and networking architecture; NetFilter (0.6 cr) - Software Defined Networks; Network Functions Virtualization (0.9 cr) - Network automation: software (e.g., Ansible) and protocols (Yang, OpenConfig, Netconf, Restconf) (0.3 cr) - Virtual networking basics: software switches, tunnels, direct routing (0.4 cr) - Network services for telco and datacenter: OpenStack, Kubernetes (0.6 cr) - Lab (1.2 cr)

The course includes 48 hours of traditional teaching, complemented by homeworks focusing on the most important topics of the course, which have to be completed individually. 12 hours are dedicated to lab exercises that require to practice with the most important technologies presented in the course, and require students to practice (either use, or write) networking software. Lab exercises are delivered through a cloud-based system and therefore can be completed also from a remote location. Lab exercises are expected to be completed by groups of two students.

A fully-covering textbook is not available for this course. Students are provided with slides used in class, pointers to scientific papers to deepen the knowledge on some selected topics, exercises, and lab assignments. All the material is freely available from the web.

Lecture slides; Lab exercises; Video lectures (current year);

Exam: Optional oral exam; Computer-based written test in class using POLITO platform;

Expected learning outcome Knowledge of the topics presented in class and of the lab assignments. Capability to solve exercises that involve the technologies presented in class. Capability to solve exercises that involve a more complex scenario including multiple technologies presented in class. Exam: rules, procedures Final exam is delivered in written form and it includes a set of exercises and/or open-answer questions, each one reaching a max of 5 points. Exercises may be required to be solved on a cloud-based system, which enables the student to play with a real environment even during the exam. In addition, a set of closed-answer questions may be delivered, each one accounting for max 1 points. The total score of the written exam is max 30 points. The written exam lasts no more than 2 hours; student cannot use any additional material (e.g., slides, notes, etc). Students who reach a grade >=26 in the written exam can ask for an optional oral exam, consisting in one question, which contributes to the final grade with max 3 points. The oral may also be requested by the professor, e.g., in case it could be useful to decide the final grade, or in case the number of students enrolled in the exam is very limited.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.