CSC7290: Advanced Computer Networking (Winter 2011)

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Course mailing list: general, web section only

Instructor: Dr. Hongwei Zhang
hzhang AT cs.wayne.edu
+1 313 577 0731
Class timings: MW 3:00pm-4:20pm
Class webpage: http://www.cs.wayne.edu/~hzhang/courses/7290b/7290b.html
Office hours: MW 4:30pm-5:30pm in Suite 14101.3, Maccabees Building, or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: TBA
TA Office hours: TBA

Overview (flyer)

This course is designed for students who are interested in the foundation, algorithms, and systems techniques for network design and optimization. Topics span three broad areas: 1) Foundation of network modeling and optimization: linear programming, mixed-integer programming, stochastic heuristic methods, convex programming, multi-commodity flow optimization, etc; 2) Case studies of classical network design problems: location and topological design, shortest-path routing, fairness, network resilience, etc; 3) Case studies of emerging network design problems: network design problems in vehicular networks, sensor networks, and wireless networks.

In short, the objective of this course is to help students understand the foundational principles and techniques of network design and optimization, to help students appreciate both classical and emerging network design problems, and to build up students' capability in enhancing the state of the art in computer networking.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of computer networks (e.g., materials covered in CSC6290 or equivalent), calculus, and linear algebra. Or consent of instructor.

References

Required:

[R0] Michal Pioro, Deepankar Medhi, Routing, Flow, and Capacity Design in Communication and Computer Networks, Morgan Kaufmann, 2004.

Recommended:

[R1] Gilbert Held, Inter- and Intra-Vehicle Communications, Auerbach Publications, 2008. (ISBN: 1-4200-5221-7)
[R2] Ravindra K. Ahuja, Thomas L. Magnanti, James B. Orlin, Network Flows: Theory, Algorithms, and Applications, Prentice Hall, 1993.
[R3] Anurag Kumar, D. Manjunath, Joy Kuri, Communication Networking: An Analytical Approach, Morgan Kaufmann, 2004. (ISBN: 0124287514)
[R4] Dimitri Bertsekas and Robert Gallager, Data Networks (2nd edition), Prentice Hall, 1992. (ISBN: 0132009161) (From 1st edition: Queueing chapter, Routing chapter; courtesy of Prentice Hall.)
[R5] Thomas G. Robertazzi, Computer Networks and Systems: Queueing Theory and Performance Evaluation (3rd edition), Springer. (ISBN: 0387950370)
[R6] Raj Jain, The Art of Computer Systems Performance Analysis: Techniques for Experimental Design, Measurement, Simulation, and Modeling, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991. (ISBN: 0471503363)
[R7] Sheldon M. Ross, Introduction to Probability Models, 9th edition, Academic Press, 2006. (ISBN: 9780125980623)
[R8] Robert G. Gallager, Discrete Stochastic Processes, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996. (ISBN: 0792395832)

Flowchart of topics

Introduction

Overview of network design
Notation and illustrations of network design problems
Technology-specific network modeling

Foundation

Modeling of network design problems
General optimization methods for network design: linear programming, mixed-integer programming, stochastic heuristic methods, convex programming, multi-commodity flow optimization, etc

Case studies of classical network design problems

Location and topological design
Shortest-path routing, fairness
Network resilience, etc

Case studies of emerging network design problems

Vehicular networks
Sensor networks
Wireless networks

Lectures

Note: To acccess the webcasting materials, please use your WSU AccessID and password.

Part 0: coure plan (Webcasting: 0 )
Part 1: Introduction to network design (Webcasting: 0 1 )
Part 2: Network Design: Notations & Illustrations (Webcasting: 0 1 2 )
Part 3: Technology-Specific Modeling (Webcasting: 0 1 )
Part 4: Network Design: Problem Modeling (Webcasting: 0 1 2 )
Part 5(a): Review of Convex Optimization (Webcasting: 0 )
Part 5(b): Optimization Methods for Network Design Problems (Webcasting: 0 1 2 3)
Part 6: Location and Topological Design (Webcasting: 0 1 2 )
Part 7(a): Summarizing Measured Data (Webcasting: 0 1 2 3 )
Part 7(b): Comparing Systems using Sample Data (Webcasting: 0 1 2)
Part 8(a): Introduction to Experiment Design (Webcasting: 0 1 )
Part 8(b): 2k Factorial Designs (Webcasting: 0 )
Part 8(c): One-factor Experiments
Part 8(d): General full factorial design with k factors
Part 9: Introduction to Simulation
Part 10(a): Simple Linear Regression Models (Webcasting: 0 1)
Part 10(b): Other (non-SL) Regression Models (Webcasting: 0 )

Homeworks

Homework#0 is due by 3pm, Jan. 31, 2011.   (solution)
Homework#1 is due by 3pm, Feb. 16, 2011.   (solution)
Homework#2 is due by 3pm, March 9, 2011.   (solution)
Homework#3 is due by 3pm, April 25, 2011.

Project

Project description:

The project consists of three parts: 1) study vehicular networking (including CAN) for intra- and/or inter-vehicle sensing and control, and characterize the traffic demand in intra- and/or inter-vehicle networking; 2) suppose you are going to use wireless networks (e.g., UWB, ZigBee) for supporting vehicular sensing and control, formulate and solve the network design problem for intra- and/or inter-vehicle sensing and control; 3) implement and evaluate the performance of your solution in TOSSIM (or NetEye testbed).

Rule:

Students are allowed to form groups in doing projects, but the number of students per group should be no more than 3.

Deliverables:

In-class presentation. 1) The slides for your presentation should be sent via email to the class at least one day before your presentation, so that everyone can go over your slides before coming to class. 2) Your presentation should include overview of related work, the problem definition, methodology, and analysis.
Written project report.

Timeline:

Form your project team and select reading materials by 01/31/2011.
Submit your detail project plan (including precise problem formulation) and timeline by 02/28/2011.
Present your project in class according to this schedule.
Submit your project report electronically by midnight 05/01/2011.

Evaluation criteria:

Your performance in project will be evaluated based on the following metrics:

Bredth and depth of your project, as evidenced by your project report and presentation.
Presentation quality (e.g., clarity, readability, and conciseness) of your project report and in-class talk.
Whether or not you are able to stick to the project timeline.

Miscl.:

Current assignment/selection of projects in class

Related resources

TinyOS

TinyOS Community Forum, http://www.tinyos.net/
Phil Levis's book on TinyOS Programming
TinyOS documentation
Resources on Using TinyOS and motes

Network simulators:

TOSSIM
ns-2
qualnet/glomosim
opnet

Links to journal & conferences related to computer networking, by Hongwei Zhang

Computer System Performance Evaluation, by Dr. John S. C. Lui.
Network Design and Performance Analysis, by Dr. Santosh Kumar.
Computer Systems Analysis, by Dr. Raj Jain.

Policies

Lecture: Attendance at lectures is required. If a student has to skip a lecture due to hard constraints, he/she is required to inform the instructor beforehand.

Homework: Homework assignments will be designed to stimulate independent thinking among the students. They will be due at the beginning of class, usually a week after they are given. Homework assignments will not be accepted after the due date. An exception to this rule is that you give in advance a strong and convincing reason.

Exam: Exams will be scheduled in advance. Unless prior arrangements are made, a grade of zero will be recorded for missed exams.

Grading: The tentative grade weighting for the semester will be:

Class participation: 10%
Quiz&homework: 30%
Project: 60%

* These weights are subject to minor adjustments.
* Letter grades will be assigned based on performance relative to other students. A tentative grading scale is as follows:

A: 93-100
A-: 90-92
B+: 85-89
B:   80-84
B-: 75-79
C+: 70-74
C:   65-69
C-: 60-64
F:    0-60

* A regrading request will cause the entire exam/homework/project to be regraded, and thereby the overall grade can increase or decrease.

Miscellaneous

I expect you to carefully read all material handed out in class. I also expect you to read the book according to the reading assignments announced in class. You are encouraged to discuss the material presented in class with other students, but definitely do not collaborate with anyone in solving the homework problems. The Wayne State University Student Code of Conduct applies. Feel free to discuss our expectations and grading criteria with the grader or me during the semester.