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If you have questions about CS 168 SP26, please read our FAQs page.
If your question is not answered on that page, please email cs168@berkeley.edu with your question. Do not email individual instructors or TAs; you won’t get a response.
CS 168 Spring 2026
Instructor: Rishabh Iyer / Lecture: TuTh, 5:00–6:30 PM, Dwinelle 155 [Zoom, Playlist]
Announcements
Welcome to CS 168!
Hi everyone, and welcome to CS 168 Spring 2026!
First Lecture
Our first lecture will be on Tuesday, January 20 in Dwinelle 155.
- All lectures this semester will be recorded and posted on the course website
- All lectures will be live-streamed over Zoom, but we will offer extra credit for in-person attendance after week 3.
- If you’re able to, we recommend joining the first lecture over Zoom so that we avoid overcrowding the lecture hall.
Course Communication
We will be using Ed and the course website as the main forms of communication for this class.
Office Hours and Discussions
See the course calendar for the office hours and discussion schedule.
Exams
The midterm is on Friday, March 20 from 7–9pm PT. This is the day before Spring Break begins. Plan accordingly.
The final exam is on Friday, May 15 from 11:30am–2:30pm PT. This is the final day of the semester. Plan accordingly.
Questions
If you have any questions or comments, please first check out the course policies page and the Spring 2026 FAQs page. If your question is not answered after reading those two pages, feel free to post a follow up on Ed.
We look forward to a great semester with you!
Course Calendar
| Wk. | Date | Lecture | Readings | Discussion | Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Tue Jan 20 | 1. Intro 1: Architecture and Protocols Slides / Recording |
Intro | No discussion | Project 1A (Traceroute)
(due Fri Jan 30) |
|
Thu Jan 22 | 2. Intro 2: Architectural Overview: Bottom-up Slides / Recording |
Links , Multiplexing | |||
| 2 |
Tue Jan 27 | 3. Intro 3: Architectural Overview: Top-Down Slides / Recording |
Layers , Headers | 1. Intro I Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Jan 29 | 4. Intro 4: Architectural Principles Slides / Recording |
Architecture , Design | |||
| 3 |
Tue Feb 03 | 5. Routing 1: Principles Slides / Recording |
Intro , Model , States | 2. Intro II Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
Project 1B (Traceroute)
(due Fri Feb 13) |
|
Thu Feb 05 | 6. Routing 2: Distance-Vector Slides / Recording |
Distance-Vector | |||
| 4 |
Tue Feb 10 | 7. Routing 3: Link-State, Addressing Slides / Video |
Link-State , Addressing | 3. Routing I Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Feb 12 | 8. Routing 4: Routers Slides / Video |
Routers | |||
| 5 |
Tue Feb 17 | 9. Routing 5: BGP I Slides |
Model , Design | 4. Routing II Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
Project 2 (Routing)
(due Fri Feb 27) |
|
Thu Feb 19 | 10. Routing 6: BGP II Slides |
Implementation , IP Header | |||
| 6 |
Tue Feb 24 | 11. Transport 1: TCP I Slides |
Principles | 5. BGP Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Feb 26 | 12. Transport 2: TCP II Slides |
Design , Implementation | |||
| 7 |
Tue Mar 03 | 13. Transport 3: Congestion Control I Slides |
Principles , Design , Implementation | 6. TCP Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Mar 05 | 14. Transport 4: Congestion Control II Slides |
Throughput , Issues , Router-Assisted | |||
| 8 |
Tue Mar 10 | 15. Applications 1: DNS Slides |
DNS | 7. Congestion Control Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Mar 12 | 16. Applications 2: HTTP and CDNs Slides |
HTTP | |||
| 9 |
Tue Mar 17 | 17. End-to-End 1: Ethernet, STP Slides |
Ethernet , STP | 8. DNS, HTTP Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Mar 19 | 18. End-to-End 2: ARP, DHCP, NAT, TLS Slides |
NAT , TLS , ARP , DHCP , End-to-End | |||
|
Fri Mar 20 | Midterm (Fri Mar 20, 7–9pm) |
||||
| 10 |
Tue Mar 24 | No Lecture (Spring Break) |
No Discussion (Spring Break) | ||
|
Thu Mar 26 | |||||
| 11 |
Tue Mar 31 | 19. Datacenters 1: Topology Slides |
Topology , Congestion | 9. ARP, DHCP, NAT Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
Project 3A (Transport)
(due Fri Apr 03) |
|
Thu Apr 02 | 20. Datacenters 2: Routing Slides |
Routing , Addressing , Virtualization | |||
| 12 |
Tue Apr 07 | 21. Datacenters 3: SDN Slides |
SDN | 10. Datacenters Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
Project 3B (Transport)
(due Fri Apr 10) |
|
Thu Apr 09 | 22. Datacenters 4: Host Networking Slides |
Host Networking | |||
| 13 |
Tue Apr 14 | 23. Beyond Client-Server 1: Multicast Slides |
Multicast | 11. Host Networking and SDN Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Apr 16 | 24. Beyond Client-Server 2: Collectives Slides |
Operations , Implementation | |||
| 14 |
Tue Apr 21 | 25. Wireless 1: Wireless Links Slides |
Wireless | 12. Multicast and Collectives Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
|
|
Thu Apr 23 | 26. Wireless 2: Cellular Slides |
Cellular | |||
| 15 |
Tue Apr 28 | Buffer |
13. Wireless and Cellular Worksheet / Solutions / Video / Slides |
||
|
Thu Apr 30 | Buffer |
||||
| 16 |
Tue May 05 | No Lecture (RRR Week) |
|||
|
Thu May 07 | |||||
| 17 |
Fri May 15 | Final Exam (Fri May 15, 11:30am–2:30pm) |