Presentation 1 - Application Protocols

For this assignment, you will be providing an oral presentation to your peers in the networking class.

What do I need to do?

1. Pick a single application that is used on the Internet in 2014 and research its application-layer protocol. 
   Note: You cannot pick HTTP, SMTP, or DHCP, because those are covered in class. 
2. Email the instructor for topic approval by posted deadline
   1. Provide evidence that suitable information on the application-layer protocol is available for you to study.
      Suitable evidence might include URLs to technical documentation, or a Wireshark capture of the protocol in action.
      Topic approval will prevent overlap in topics
3. Study your chosen application and understand its application-layer protocol in detail
1. You should know more detail than what is actually covered in your presentation, because your peers or the instructor might ask a question at the end...
4. Prepare a presentation for the class.
1. The presentation length should be 12-13 minutes plus 1 minute for questions.
2. You should provide 7-9 PowerPoint slides -or- use the whiteboard during the presentation to convey useful figures and diagrams on protocol design and operation. (Some of your peers are visual learners, not auditory learners, and will better appreciate your presentation by viewing a figure instead of listening to your words).
3. Presentation Topics: 
1. What applications use this protocol?  (briefly)
2. What is the purpose of the application(s)?  (briefly)
3. What would a programmer need to know about the application-layer protocol in order to implement it in software?  (in-depth)
5. Upload your PowerPoint / PDF slides to the Sakai site by the posted deadline (midnight the day before). They will be assembled into a single file on the instructor machine, so we don't need to switch laptops during the class. (and you don't need to bring your own).
6. Present! (during normal class time)

NOTICE:  This presentation should focus on the application-layer protocol, *not* the application itself!  Thus, if you were allowed to select HTTP, a good presentation would spend 1 minute briefly explaining what a web browser is used for and what web browsers exist, and then spend 13 minutes explaining how HTTP allows a web browser to accomplish its key functions such as file download (HTTP GET) and data upload to the server (HTTP POST).

Grading Breakdown

• Technical content: 50%
• Communication / oral presentation: 50%

Example Application-Layer Protocols

You are highly encouraged to suggest topics not listed here!  For most examples, I have listed the application-layer protocol name.  These protocols may be implemented by a variety of Windows, Mac, or Linux applications. 

• Domain Name System: DNS
• Email: POP, IMAP
• Address Book:  LDAP
• Instant Messaging:  IRC, Skype, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo messenger, ...
• Voice Messaging: SIP, Skype, XMPP (Jabber)
• Remote Administration: Telnet, SSH, RDP, VNC
• Network management: SNMP
• File transfer:  NFS, SMB, BitTorrent, FTP, SCP
• Time synchronization: NTP
• Security: SSL/TLS (used by HTTPS)
• Legacy: Finger, Gopher, Usenet
• Router-to-Router communication:  RIP, OSPF, IS-IS, BGP
• Technically, a router is just a specialized computer. Software programs run on the router and communicate with other routers to determine the network topology. Hence, these are suitable "application-layer protocols" for this presentation.

Presentation Order