Welcome to the Internet Architecture and Protocols Lab!

On this page, I’m going to answer some basic questions about how this course will run.

Lab materials

Where will the lab materials be shared?

The lab section of the course has its own Brightspace site (it is separate from the lecture section), so first, make sure you are in the lab section’s site! Then, find the “Content” menu item and click on it. On the left side of the Content screen, you will see a list of modules, and you can click on them one at a time to see the materials for that module. There will be a new module each week, and it will become visible in Brightspace after the lecture for that week.

Within the module for each lab, you will find:

A message on the module’s “home” page, including some context for the week’s assignment and any important details you’ll need that are not included in the materials
A lab manual, with step-by-step instructions for completing the lab assignment
A video playlist that you can watch to see the instructor doing each step of the lab assignment
A link to a survey that you can fill out to give us feedback about the lab assignment. Please fill this out, it’s really helpful to us!
For some lab assignments (starting with Lab 2), you’ll also get a problem set for practicing the lab concepts and skills. (This problem set is not graded, and doesn’t count towards your lab grade.)

Lab sessions

Will I need to attend any lab sessions in person?

No, the lab will run 100% online.

Do I need to attend online sessions at a certain time, or can I complete the lab assignment at a time that is convenient for me?

Use the material in the Content module for that week to complete the lab assignment at whatever time is convenient for you. Just make sure that you leave plenty of time to finish the lab before the deadline, even if you run into some unexpected problems!

How can I get help or ask questions about the lab material?

There are two ways to get help:

Post a question on the Q&A forum for this course.
Attend a Zoom office hours session with the lab instructor.

How long should I expect to spend on each lab assignment?

To understand the time commitment associated with this lab, it may help to have some historical background! The Internet Architecture and Protocols course used to require an in-person lab in addition to the in-person lecture. The lab session was scheduled as a weekly 3 hour 40 minute time slot, and students worked in teams to execute the lab experiment during that time. (The 3 hour and 40 minute time slot did not necessarily include time to prepare for the lab experiment by reading the instructions, which students were expected to do in advance, or the time to analyze the results and write the lab report after completing the experiment.)

In the online lab, you’ll run exactly the same experiments that students used to do in those 3 hour 40 minute in-person sessions. However, it may take more or less time than 3 hours and 40 minutes -

the average student should probably expect to spend 3-4 hours each week working on the lab experiment.
if you have previous experience with network protocols and the Linux networking utilities, you will probably not need the full 3-4 hours each week.
if you are not as comfortable with network protocols and the Linux networking utilities, or if you attempt the lab before you have fully internalized the relevant lecture content, you may need more than the 3-4 hours usually allotted to complete the experiment.

Also note that this does not necessarily include time to prepare for the lab (by reviewing the instructions and the relevant book chapter in advance) and the time to analyze results and answer the questions for the lab submission.

If you find that you are spending much more than 3-4 hours per week on the lab, please reach out to the lab instructor to ask for help (via Zoom office hours or the Q&A site)! We can discuss the situation to find out what is taking so long, and help you make any necessary adjustments. (Don’t wait until the end of the semester - ask for help as soon as you notice the problem, so we can help you as quickly as possible.)

Collaboration/academic integrity

Can I get help with the lab assignment or with the answers to the lab report questions?

You can ask for help on our course Q&A site or during Zoom office hours. When you ask questions on the Q&A site, other students who have a similar problem will also benefit from the answer!

It’s OK for your questions to include screenshots or data from your own lab experiment, even though it will be visible to other students - you don’t have to worry about “giving away an answer” to other students by including it in your question. (You are not allowed to send screenshots or data from the lab directly to another student, or share it on another forum - but you are allowed to include it in a question on the Q&A site.)

Except for posting questions on Ed, you are not allowed to send or show your work from the lab to anyone else - not to ask questions, not to compare answers, not “for reference”, not to help understand what the results should look like, not for any reason. If another student submits your work, both you and that other student will get a zero on the entire assignment.

Your answers to the lab report questions should be in your own words. You are not allowed to use ChatGPT, other AI tools, or human assistance to help you write answers. You are allowed to use Google Translate or other machine translation tools to write your answers in another language and then translate them to English.

The lab report is intended to capture your personal reflections and understanding based on your own observations during the hands-on lab assignments. Asking ChatGPT or similar tools to produce responses for you defeats the purpose of the exercise and will not help you develop the skills these assignments are designed to build.

Can I work on the lab assignment together with another student?

You can work on the lab assignment at the same time as another student, and discuss your results verbally as you work. But,

You must set up your own resources on the testbed and run the lab exercise yourself - you are not allowed to use another student’s account or resources in another student’s testbed “slice”. Also, you aren’t allowed to type commands into another student’s terminal.
You must submit data and screenshots from your own execution of the lab - you are not allowed to submit another student’s data. Also, you must annotate screenshots etc. yourself - you are not allowed to ask another student to do it for you. You are not allowed to send your data or screenshots to another student.
You must answer the questions in the lab report yourself. You are not allowed to share the answers with another student.

Not until after the “late due date” for the assignment (i.e., after more than 24 hours have passed since the assignment due date)! Before then, you can discuss your work and your results verbally, but you are not allowed to share your screenshots, data, or answers.

Can I use outside resources, such as reference materials or lab reports from previous semesters?

It may be helpful to use reference materials, such as the textbook, lab manual, or online resource, when you answer questions in the lab report. (Especially for questions that ask you to “explain” some phenomenon!) However, if you use outside resources without disclosing their use, it is considered plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism when using reference materials:

If you write the answer in your own words, but used the reference material to help you arrive at the answer, you should cite the reference material (e.g. give the URL, of the name and page of the textbook).
If you use the exact words of the reference material, you should put the words in quotes (to show that you are using the exact words) and also cite the reference material (e.g. give the URL, of the name and page of the textbook).
If you use an outside reference to answer a question, make sure you answer the specific question that is asked, and only that! Students often earn a poor grade when quoting an outside reference (even with citation!) because they copied a lot of material that doesn’t directly answer the question. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of the question and its answer. Make sure you write a clear and concise answer that directly answers the question.
AI assistants such as ChatGPT are not considered reference materials. You should not use these tools, even if you attribute the source.

You may have seen lab reports from previous semesters (either from friends, or online). You are not permitted to use these. We make updates and corrections to the lab procedure and questions every semester, so you shouldn’t use previous lab reports even just to see what the answers should look like (for example - to see what parts of a screenshot to annotate), since these details often change from one semester to the next.

Can I use AI assistance, like ChatGPT or similar tools, to help answer lab questions or to study the lab materials?

Except for computer translation from English to another language (which is allowed), AI assistance is not permitted in this course. The sequence of assignments in this course is calibrated for human learners, to gradually learn the content by progressively building on what they have already mastered. If you use AI on unproctored assessments, like lab assignments, you will likely find yourself unprepared for the proctored exams where you are not allowed to use AI. More importantly, relying on AI prevents you from developing the fluency in these concepts that will help you in your future careers.

Instead of turning to AI, make the most of the human-centered support built into this course:

When you answer a question on PrairieLearn, scroll down to the “Correct Answer” panel and carefully read the explanation that is written by your instructor.
If you don’t understand something in the lecture, lab, or homework, post a question on Ed to get an explanation from your instructor or a course assistant.
Or, visit an office hour on Zoom for a “live” Q&A with humans.

If I violate the collaboration or academic integrity policies, what will happen?

The specific penalty depends on the type of violation and whether or not it is the first violation. For a first instance of an academic integrity policy, the consequence is a zero grade on the assignment. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct for more information.

Note that in order to deter violations, the consequence for submitting work that is in violation of these policies is designed to be much worse than submitting nothing! For example: a student who submits a friend’s screenshot for one question on a lab assignment will get a zero grade for the entire assignment, not only for that question. (The friend who shared the screenshot will also get a zero grade, since sharing screenshots or data is a violation of the collaboration policy.)

Submitting lab work

What do I need to submit after each lab exercise? Do I need to write a report?

As your work on each lab exercise, you’ll answer some short questions by filling in your answers in an online form in PrairieLearn.

Some of the questions will ask you to copy/paste some terminal output, or to upload a screenshot from Wireshark. Many questions will ask you to annotate parts of your copy/pasted output (e.g. by making specific values bold) or your screenshots (e.g. by drawing a box around some parts) to show that you understand how to use and interpret the data you collect in the lab. Other questions will ask you to explain or comment on your screenshots or data.

You will not have to write a traditional “lab report” explaining lab procedure etc. You only have to answer the specific questions that are asked in PrairieLearn.

Where will I submit my lab work?

You will submit all your work on PrairieLearn. To open PrairieLearn from Brightspace, click on Content, then Course Tools, then PrairieLearn.

How do I join this course on PrairieLearn?

In Brightspace, click on Content, then Course Tools, then PrairieLearn setup instructions. Follow the instructions there to join the course on PrairieLearn.

What kind of questions will I have to answer in PrairieLearn?

The types of questions include:

Copy/paste part of your terminal output, and make specific values bold, underlined, or highlighted
Multiple choice and multiple select options
Short answer (e.g. a word or phrase, or a number)
Written explanation. Make sure to answer the specific question that is asked. Often, the prompt will include multiple specific questions and you should make sure to address each of them in your answer for full credit. Also, do not include information that is not directly relevant to answering the question.
File upload or annotated file upload.

As you work on the lab, follow along with the questions in PrairieLearn and make sure you capture everything that you’ll need to submit.

What types of files should I upload for file upload questions?

For image upload questions, you will have to upload a PNG image.

After uploading a file and saving your submission in PrairieLearn, make sure it is visible and that any text or annotations in the image are readable within PrairieLearn.

Do not upload:

PCAP files
DOC or DOCX files
Other image formats

Submission deadlines

Can I make corrections or re-save my work after I submit an answer to a lab report question in PrairieLearn?

Yes, you can make corrections and save them as many times as you want until the due date.

What if I am not able to submit an assignment before the deadline?

Under “Course Tools”, there is a link to a “Late Pass Request Form”. You can use this form to request a 24-hour extension once during the semester.

Once I receive the form submission, I will (within a reasonable time interval, during business hours) update the settings in PrairieLearn so that you will be able to update your submission up to 24 hours after the due date.

This is meant to accommodate exceptional and unanticipated circumstances that prevent you from submitting your work before the regular due date.

If you need another late submission:

The second time you submit the form, a 10% penalty will be applied to the grade for that lab assignment.
The third time, it comes with a 20% penalty.
The fourth time, it comes with a 30% penalty.

and after that, no further late submissions will be allowed.

(If you have a long-term illness or other condition due to which you frequently need deadline extensions, you should contact the Moses Center about disability accommodations.)

Do you have any tips for avoiding late submissions?

Each lab assignment is available to work on for a full week or more (including two full Sundays), and the schedule of lab due dates is published on the first day of the semester, so you can plan your schedule.

The best way to avoid late submission is to start working on the lab as soon as it is available, rather than waiting until a day or two before the deadline. This way, if the lab takes longer than you expected, or you have an exam for another course on the day the lab is due, or if your computer breaks - you still have plenty of time to finish before the deadline.

This is especially important if you have already used some of your “free” late hours, since you have less slack left to accommodate unexpected situations. (In general, I advise you to save your “free” late hours to the extent possible, and not use them up early in the course - if you use them up early, then you won’t have any left if unexpected circumstances arise later in the semester.)

If you experience technical problems while working on a lab, make sure to ask for help (on the Q&A site) right away, so that you can get help and submit your work on time! Don’t wait to ask for help.

What should I do if I need extra time on a lab assignment because of a disability?

If you need extra time on an assignment because of a disability (for example: you need to take frequent breaks from a computer screen because of a vision problem, or you have an executive function disorder), you will need to work with the Moses Center to request accommodations beyond the “48 free late hours”. Please refer to the “Moses Center Statement of Disability” section.

(Note that disability accommodations are not retroactive, so you should begin this process at the beginning of the semester if you think you may need it, rather than waiting until you are already struggling.)

The Moses Center will reach out to your professors directly if your accommodations are approved, so you do not need to share any details of your disability with me.

What should I do if I need extra time on a lab assignments because of illness, religious practice, or a death in the immediate family?

If you need extra time on an assignment (beyond the “48 free late hours”) because of illness (including COVID-19), religious practice, or a death in the immediate family, please contact the student advocate. Refer to the “Illness or other exceptional situation” section for details.

The student advocate will reach out to your professors directly to recommend excused absences or extended deadlines, so you do not need to share any details of your personal circumstance with me.

Grading and regrading

How are the lab assignments scored?

Each lab assignment is graded out of 10 points.

A team of graders reviews all of the lab assignments, under the supervision of the lab instructor. For each question, a detailed rubric specifies how many points should be deducted for different types of errors. The grader reviews the submission and indicates which of the deductions or comments listed in the rubric apply.

After the grades are released, you’ll be able to see exactly which rubric items the graders applied to your submission, so you can understand and learn from any mistakes.

How will I review my work, once it is graded?

After the grader is finished with a lab assignment, it will be re-opened for review. You will see a Feedback panel in each question with a list of rubric items that were applied to your submission, and you can get more information about each rubric item.

What should I do if I think my work was graded incorrectly?

Once the assignment is graded, you should carefully review it. If you spot a grading error, please make a private post on Ed explaning the issue, and the course staff will review it.

Regrade requests are only accepted up to 3 days after an assignment is graded and re-opened for review.

How is the overall lab grade computed? Are any lab grades dropped?

There are a total of 11 lab assignments, each worth 10 points. Your overall lab grade will be computed out of 100 points as follows:

Sum of 9 highest lab grades + (1/2) 2nd-lowest lab grade + (1/2) lowest lab grade

Other important policies

Inclusion

The NYU Tandon School values an inclusive and equitable environment for all our students. I hope to foster a sense of community in this class and consider it a place where individuals of all backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, religious and political affiliations, and abilities will be treated with respect. It is my intent that all students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. If this standard is not being upheld, please feel free to speak with me.

Moses Center Statement of Disability

If you are student with a disability who is requesting accommodations, please contact New York University’s Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at 212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu. You must be registered with CSD to receive accommodations. Information about the Moses Center can be found at www.nyu.edu/csd. The Moses Center is located at 726 Broadway on the 3rd floor.

Illness or other exceptional situation

If you are experiencing an illness or any other situation that might affect your academic performance in a class, please contact the student advocate, who can reach out to your instructors on your behalf when warranted. For an excused absence (including extended deadlines on an assignment during your absence), please complete the form on the student advocate’s website.