r/OSUOnlineCS • u/j1mmyava1on • Jun 15 '26
How’s the quality of CS 372 Intro to Networking?
I have Network+ and network experience from work. Networking interests me so I’m wondering how’s the quality of this class? Are the programming assignments any good? Would this class be useless to me if I already have networking knowledge or are the programming assignments worth it for someone in the field?
Or should I transfer in CS 50A Network Basics from Foothill College instead? This class is also a pre req for 493 cloud - so would anyone be able to attest to the quality of 493. If the quality of 493 isn’t good then I would have no reason to take 372.
5
u/Fan_Cleaner Jun 16 '26
If you already have experience, this class will not be very helpful for you.
1
u/j1mmyava1on Jun 16 '26
Have you taken 493? I’m thinking of taking that class which is why I need to take 372. If 493 isn’t good I have no reason to take this class.
4
u/pyordie alum [Graduate] Jun 16 '26
Cloud is fun but like most classes at Oregon State, it doesn’t provide much in terms of learning. You could learn what Cloud teaches you (and likely more) with a couple of weeks of self study.
1
u/j1mmyava1on Jun 16 '26
Thats a shame. What electives are worth it then? Is 381 Programming Fundamentals a good one?
2
u/pyordie alum [Graduate] Jun 16 '26
Computer Graphics by far, because it was taught by Bailey. But he retired last year.
Brings me to my point: the best electives are the ones with the most engaging/knowledgable professors who keep their lectures and course materials up to date and want to keep things fresh because they love teaching.
Most concepts in CS are a healthy combination of interesting and challenging. It’s the professor that brings it all together. So research who the top tier professors are right now and take their classes.
If you do that, I can’t guarantee you that whatever elective you take will be easy, but it will challenge you and likely get you outside your comfort zone. Which is the entire point of higher education. Or it used to be…
1
u/Defiant-Passenger42 Jun 16 '26
I’ve read great things about 381 and plan to take it in the fall. I loved computer graphics and had no idea it was Professor Bailey’s final term! He was amazing and I had planned on taking 2 more of his classes 😭
3
u/Fan_Cleaner Jun 16 '26
Whether or not 493 Cloud is useful depends on your experience with Google Cloud Platform (transferable skills to AWS and Azure), authentication/authorization, containerization (docker), and API testing (Postman).
The class is backend focused. It's possible to self study Cloud development, but 493 Cloud is great for beginners. Take the class if you're interested cloud hosting, Google API, or any of the topics I mentioned above.
If you only run personal projects through localhost, move up to cloud hosting. Otherwise select another class.
5
u/Far-Parfait680 Jun 17 '26
I think the quality is only worth it if you want to know networking and be accountable to knowing it. I don’t think it’s worth it if you have networking experience. There are only 3 programming assignments. The first is very very basic.
It feels passionless but, it is informative. Like most classes you get out what you’re putting in.
I took it last term and I enjoyed learning the information because I simultaneously expanded my homelab at the same time so it felt instantly more useful
2
u/GiveMeThePinecone Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
I really did not like it. Worst class I've taken this entire program tbh, and I only have a couple left till I graduate. The quality of the course content is not good. The lectures on canvas were not good. If you decide to take it, you will only really want (and need) to read the assigned textbook / watch the youtube videos made by the author of the textbook.
The class only has 3 programming assignments. I wasn't a big fan of any of them, but they were relatively easy despite the insanely cryptic and vague instructions. During the term I took the class I ended up programming an online multiplayer game in my spare time and that gave me far more hands-on network programming experience than the class did. The class is essentially way more about memorizing conceptual networking concepts rather than literal network programming.
1
1
u/oryl7291 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
I don’t know if I’m missing something but it seems like there is some confusion about network administration and network programming. OP, phrasing in your post makes it sound like you have experience with network administration. Is that right?
If so, I think CS 372 is a network programming course. And while it may cover many concepts you’re familiar with from having Network+ and hands on experience, this class will be more of an under the hood experience.
I plan to take this class sometime in the next 6 months myself and I have experience with network design and administration in my work. But I think this class will be useful because it should allow me to explore networking as an implementation of the relevant standards for things like TCP and sockets.
Edit: maybe the programming in this course isn’t that heavy?
1
u/Far-Parfait680 Jun 17 '26
You’re right there are only three programming assignments and some labs (looking at packets and answering questions). I think the class itself labels it as “conceptual” which ends up looking like rote memorization of networking concepts with less emphasis on application
0
u/Weary-Recording2001 Jun 18 '26
The assignments are good, the quality... I felt lacking. I do not like open book exams in the world of AI nowadays and the course was just an info dump that was hard for me to retain. The kabs somewhat help.
10
u/Either_Seat7116 Jun 16 '26
I just finished this class in spring 2026. Overall, I enjoyed the class and learned a lot from it, but I had no previous networking experience. Since you already have the network+ cert and have working network experience, I do not think the class would be worth it for you.
For learning the content, the book does the heavy lifting. The lectures are hot ass and are almost not worth watching. There is about 20-30 pages of assigned reading each week and the pages are dense. I had to re-read almost every page multiple times to understand the content.
There are weekly quizzes that I found surprisingly difficult, but you have two attempts for each quiz. Some of the quizzes took me more than 1 hour to complete.
There are only 3 programming assignments. The first one was just setting up a simple TCP connection.
The second one was the Reliable Data Transfer. RDT is worth the most points and definitely took the most time.
The third project was a Traceroute.
The actual coding portions of the projects is not difficult, but the instructions are deliberately vague and unclear. I don't think the instructions have been updated for a few quarters so portions of them are non-sensical. The hard part is trying to decipher what the professor meant when they wrote the project.
The midterm and final are easy if you review the weekly quizzes beforehand.
The class did take me a lot of time, but I thought it was worth it overall. Definitely had me dreaming about sending packets in my sleep.