If you have a choice of who to take 118 with, please pick Varghese!! During covid, Varghese really tried to make the class fun for us by inviting the inventors of the Internet to come talk to us! For example, we would learn about Ethernet and then talk to the person who created Ethernet. Varghese is a pretty good lecturer, but he can talk quickly. He would, though, always go back and repeat any information that people were confused about, so it balanced out. Varghese has super thorough notes to go along with his lectures that also helps a lot with understanding the material. Some of the concepts in 118 can be confusing at first, but they don't take too long to really understand.
There were two projects this quarter, and my advice is to start early! They seem way more complicated than they are. Once you really understand the projects and the concepts relating to them, they aren't too hard. Also, the TAs are super helpful in clarifying and questions and helping you work through problems. The projects probably take 20-30ish hours each, but you have plenty of time if you start early.
There are also 4 homeworks, which are not long. However, they do take some time to think about the right approach to the problems.
The exams were not too bad, and they are very generous with partial credit! Varghese does tend to ask questions that expand upon the concepts he explains in class, but they are all doable (unlike Eggert)!
Definitely recommend taking this with Varghese and if you don't procrastinate, the workload is very manageable!

Definitely my favorite class I've taken at UCLA. Highly recommend!

Professor Varghese is excellent at explaining concepts using analogies, making difficult concepts seem trivial. He's also very passionate and energetic, so it's genuinely fun to attend his classes.

With the online format given COVID, he records "mini-flips" for us to watch before lectures. Miniflips are short introductory clips about the big picture concepts, and they're really helpfiul.

Professor Varghese also invites internet pioneers such as Bob Metcalfe and Radia Perlman to be interviewed in class, which gives students a chance to learn from the best and network a little bit.

The projects can be a bit difficult, but overall it's a really good class!

Professor Varghese goes out of his way to make sure every student has a chance to succeed in this class. If you make an effort, you will pass. He's incredibly enthusiastic about the material which makes his lectures more engaging than any of the other classes I've taken online so far. He's friendly, talkative, and encourages students to ask questions when they're confused. My biggest critique is the exam study materials. He puts out mock exams before the midterm and final but they're much more confusing than the real exam; don't let these mock exams confuse you too much.

Amazing professor and with an amazing teaching style. Classes and homeworks feel more like brainteasers and puzzles, rather than rote learning, which makes a content heavy subject such as this somehow really interesting!
Definitely took away much more than just knowledge of how computer networks work from this class.

(COVID period) Professor Varghese is extremely accommodating towards those who are unable to attend lecture live, and even invited huge names and pioneers in the field of networks to speak to the class which is an absolutely privileged and amazing opportunity for the entire class

George is really helpful. He is always willing to help. He is passionate about the class and you can feel that. If you need help, he is always there. I like his CS 118.

Varghese was honestly my favorite professor at this school. He's so incredibly sweet and helpful to his students. If you ask him to reexplain anything he will. His exams are very logic based so if you understand concepts you'll do fine. His homework is similar too in that it's more about expanding on ideas than any calculations. He's so nice that he gave out answers to questions straight up during exams so stay until the end. He comes off as extremely caring and concerned and is so friendly. Definitely take him if you have the chance.

Varghese is a fantastic professor. He genuinely cares about his students learning the materials and is generally very understanding and accommodating. His slides and lecture notes are both posted on CCLE but its worth going to class since he explains things well. He's pretty receptive to student feedback and has gone back to re-do previous lecture topics that students probably didn't get the first time around.

Homeworks and projects are a little tricky (the project more so). Absolutely start early on the project - it seems like you get a lot of time but it's very time consuming to set up the VM, do the actual coding, test your code, etc.

Tests are a little tricky but Varghese is extremely helpful during exams. There's always a long line to ask him questions and he always gives genuinely helpful advice (sometimes even giving big hints to questions).

Absolutely take CS118 with him if you can.

Varghese is the man to take CS 118 with. The only complaint I have is that it's an 8 am but his engaging lectures will keep you awake. He was extremely helpful during office hours and made sure to answer every student's questions. After taking this class, you will come out with a solid understanding of how the internet works. Start the projects and homeworks early, read the slides and notes, go to office hours, and you should have no problem earning a good grade.

Such an amazing professor, I'm very glad that I have taken him. Make sure not to miss the lectures and the reading notes he posts.

Amazing Professor. Hard to make it to all his 8am's but the lectures are so worth it. You could learn the material from the notes and slides he uploads but he is such a good lecturer you wouldn't want to miss it. Go to lectures, start the project early, read the lecture notes he uploads to study, and you should do just fine.