Project 2

Reliable Data Transport - Due 11:59pm Monday, May 18 (Week 8)

#Quick Links

Starter Code

#Overview

In this project, you will implement a reliable data transport (RDT) protocol in C. You will implement the elements of reliable data transport you learned from class that can withstand

Dropped packets
Reordered packets

Your implementation will communicate over UDP and provide reliable delivery to the application layer, similar to how TCP provides reliability over IP.

#Architecture

Your client and server will follow a layered architecture:

#Notices

If you’re using GitHub or a similar tool to track your work, please make sure that your repository is set to private.
As per the syllabus, the use of AI assisted tools is not allowed.
You may do this project in groups of up to 3 people. Please remember to include your whole group in your gradescope submission.

#Submission

Submit a ZIP file to Gradescope by 11:59pm on Monday, May 18th. Late submission is allowed until Wednesday, May 20th (10% deduction per day).

The helper zip command creates a compatible ZIP file.

#Grading Criteria

The autograder runs 17 tests for a total of 100 points.

The grader runs your client and server and checks to see whether the input to one is in the output of the other. You should keep debug statements to stderr for that reason.

Test	Points
Compilation	4
Small file (10 KB) - Baseline	6
Small file (10 KB) - Drop (5%)	6
Small file (10 KB) - Reorder (100%)	6
Small file (10 KB) - Drop + Reorder	6
Medium file (100 KB) - Baseline	6
Medium file (100 KB) - Drop (5%)	6
Medium file (100 KB) - Reorder (100%)	6
Medium file (100 KB) - Drop + Reorder	6
Large file (500 KB) - Baseline	6
Large file (500 KB) - Drop (5%)	6
Large file (500 KB) - Reorder (100%)	6
Large file (500 KB) - Drop + Reorder	6
Ginormous file (2 MB) - Baseline	6
Ginormous file (2 MB) - Drop (5%)	6
Ginormous file (2 MB) - Reorder (100%)	6
Ginormous file (2 MB) - Drop + Reorder	6

#Test Conditions

Each file size has four test scenarios:

Baseline: No packet loss or reordering
Drop (5%): 5% of packets are dropped
Reorder (100%): All packets are reordered (sent out of order)
Drop + Reorder: 5% packet loss combined with 100% reordering

#Compilation Requirements

Your submission must:

Include a Makefile that builds client and server executables

#Running Tests Locally

Since running all tests may take a long time, you we highly recommend running individual test categories using the helper script:

./helper test compile   # Run compilation test only
./helper test small    # Run small file (10 KB) tests only
./helper test medium   # Run medium file (100 KB) tests only
./helper test large    # Run large file (500 KB) tests only
./helper test ginormous # Run ginormous file (2 MB) tests only

You can also run tests by condition across all file sizes:

./helper test baseline      # All baseline tests (no loss/reorder)
./helper test drop         # All drop tests (5% packet loss)
./helper test reorder      # All reorder tests (100% reordering)
./helper test drop_reorder # All drop + reorder tests

Run ./helper without arguments to see all available commands.

#Resources

RFC 793 - Transmission Control Protocol (original)
RFC 9293 - Transmission Control Protocol (latest standard, August 2022)