Description

The document you received in class, which is also referenced on the course web site, is a spoof on Internet standards proposals, also known as a "Request For Comments", in this case, it is RFC 2324.

Your assignment is for your group to write a more concise protocol that provides for remote control of a computer controlled coffee pot, by sending and receiving messages. It does NOT have to be based on or use HTTP. In fact it is preferable to keep it simple, more like the SMTP (Internet mail) example we demonstrated in class. The protocol should list all the messages that a client or server sends and recognizes, any ordering required for the messages, and the allowed content of the messages.

This is a required assignment, and will count for 5 points for each member of the group. Your submission (by e-mail) should therefore have a title, and list all the authors (all the group members). One member should be the contact person for the group - please indicate this on the submission.

Dan and Ira will review all the proposals and pick the one that looks most clean and clearly written. It will get 5 points, and all the other submissions will get 4 points, if they are complete. Half-baked (or incompletely brewed) proposals will get less.

The proposal we select will become the official CSE590YA Internet coffee-pot control protocol (ICCP) and will be posted on the class web on Monday, July 9. Your next assignment will be for each group to develop a client or a server that implements the protocol. This will be due by class time, Wednesday, July 18. However, if any high speed barristas have their brew ready by class time Wednesday, July 11, we will attempt a demo.

Recommended Readings

You might find the following texts helpful in your protocol design and your future implementation:

1. Comer & Stevens - Internetworking with TCP/IP, Vol III: Client-server programming and applications, Prentice-Hall 1997
2. Cheswik & Bellovin - Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker, Addison-Wesley 1994

Guidelines

The assignment is due via e-mail (to Ira and Dan) by Sunday night, July 8, at midnight.

Questions & Clarifications

As always, please DO send mail to Dan and Ira if you have questions.