Outline

Week #1 (08/25/14) - The Internet top down

• Topics: Layered protocol model. Concepts and definitions. History of Internet. RFCs. Application layer protocols.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #2 (09/01/15) - The Internet top down (continued)

• Topics: Sockets interface. Designing a reliable data transfer protocol. Evolution of TCP.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: No class on Monday (Labor Day)

Week #3 (09/08/14) - The Internet top down (continued)

• Topics: Routing. Multiple access protocols - wired and wireless. ALOHA and Ethernet analysis.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #4 (09/15/14) - Performance evaluation

• Topics: Principles of performance evaluation. Design of experiments. Output analysis. Research communities; journals and conferences.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #5 (09/22/14) - Measurement

• Topics: Concepts of measurement, arithmetic versus geometric mean. Instrumenting software for timing and counting measurements. Measurement tools (Wireshark, SNMP, MRTG, etc.).
• Reading: See here.
• Events: Mini-project #1 due on Friday at 5pm.

Week #6 (09/31/14) - Analytical modeling

• Topics: Kleinrock on performance modeling. Stochastic processes and Markov models (state classification, discrete and continuous time). The Poisson process and its properties.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #7 (10/06/14) - Queueing theory

• Topics: Queuing notation, disciplines, and behavior. Arrival and service processes. Little's Law. Operational laws and analysis. Fluid flow models. The M/M/1 queue.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #8 (10/13/14) - Queueing Theory (continued)

• Topics: Other M/M queues. The Erlang formulas. The M/G/1 queue. Jackson networks and Mean Value Analysis.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: Mini-project #2 due on Firday by 5pm.

Week #9 (10/20/14) - Simulation modeling

• Topics: Overview and components of a discrete event simulation. Flowchart of discrete event-based simulations. Principles of event lists and event ordering. Overview of random number generation.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: Midterm exam in class on Monday.

Week #10 (10/27/14) - Simulation modeling (continued)

• Topics: Process-oriented simulation and the CSIM function library. Example models of an M/M/1 queue and call center.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

• Topics: Traffic analysis and synthetic generation of traffic. Burstiness and non-stationarity. Concept of self-similarity and its effects on network performance.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #12 (11/10/14) - Hot topic #1 - Traffic shaping and scheduling

• Topics: Overview of traffic shaping and scheduling - problems and research.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: Mini-project #3 due on Friday by 5pm

Week #13 (11/17/14) - Hot topic #2 - Software Defined Networking

• Topics: Overview of software defined network and network virtualization concepts.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #14 (11/24/14) - Hot topic #3 - Sensor networks (aka the Internet of Things)

• Topics: Overview of sensor networks - problems and research.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: None

Week #15 (12/01/14) - Hot topic #4 - Green networks

• Topics: Overview of energy efficiency topics - problems and research.
• Reading: See here.
• Events: Mini-project #4 and paper review due on Friday by 5pm

Week #16 (12/08/14) - Final exam

• Topics: None
• Reading: None
• Events: Comprehensive final exam at 10am on Wednesday 12/10/14.

Last update on August 24, 2014