Syllabus

Basic Course Information

This course covers networking topics, including in-depth study of networking protocols and system designs, with specific focus on mobile and wireless scenarios and applications. The main objective of this course is to introduce a wide range of current and next-generation wireless networking protocols and technologies. The course focuses on the most widely used mobile and wireless network standards including cellular (LTE), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. During the course, students will learn the specific mechanisms of different network architectures and tools used to analyze network performance. Given wireless and mobile networking is a very dynamic and constantly changing area, the course will cover emerging research advances in the areas of 5G, Internet-of-Things, LTE-direct, and other work from recent conferences in the field.

This class requires basic C++ and Python programming.

Course Objectives

• Enumerate, identify the foundation, and describe properties and capabilities of commonly used wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), low-rate wireless personal area networks (IEEE 802.15) including Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRA, and others

• Simulate, measure, and analyze the performance of IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi with an in-depth look at the distributed coordination function (DCF) and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA)

• Identify and describe the infrastructure and requirements of Mobile IP and Mobile IPv6

• Identify and describe the structure of current 4G cellular networks (including LTE) and the requirements of 5G cellular networks

• Identify and describe properties of routing and scheduling in wireless mesh networks (WMN)

• Describe modern network architecture paradigms, e.g., Internet of Things, Named Data Networking

• Develop research skills related to finding and reading current literature

• Learn and practice to read and review research papers

• Explore and analyze classic and recent proposals in the area of mobile and wireless networking

• Select a technical paper and summarize it for the class in a brief presentation

Course Information and Materials

Course materials such as syllabus, handouts, notes, assignment instructions, etc. can be found on the Canvas learning management system course website. Students are responsible for regularly checking with the messaging system through Canvas and email to learn of any updates.

Status of Syllabus:

Pending. (Last updated: 12/01/2017)

Pre-requisites

A solid knowledge of networking (e.g., layered Internet architecture, basic switching and routing concepts). Students should have taken a general computer networking course such as TCN 5030. Basic programming knowledge is recommended for the project. If you are not sure you meet the requirements, please feel free to talk to me.

Required Texts and Readings

• Lecture notes posted on Canvas (no required textbook)

• NS-3 tutorials and manuals

• List of research papers posted on Canvas

Lectures

The course will follow the selected subjects as listed on the course description. Additional theory and examples will be given and discussed in class as much as time permits.

Important Note: Attendance is expected. Whether you come to class or not, you are responsible for keeping up with what happens in class. If you miss a class (other than for illness or an emergency), it is not reasonable for you to expect me to repeat the material that was covered in the class that you missed just for you. This applies both to the content of the class as well as to announcements about class policies, events, deadlines, etc. Please note that lecture materials are NOT solely based on the required text and so students are responsible for knowing the contents of lectures in order to prepare themselves for the exams. Students can expect a lower letter grade if they miss too many lectures.

Course Workload and Grading Information

• (30%) Homeworks

  • (1% each) 2 warm-up homeworks
  • (5% each) 4 homeworks programming NS-3 mobile and wireless networking scenarios
  • (4% each) 2 paper reviews

• (40%) Exam

  • (20%) Midterm
  • (20%) Final

• (20%) Project paper (comprehensive survey of technical papers, industry standards, and/or products)

  • (2%) Selected topics
  • (2%) References
  • (2%) Outline
  • (14%) Final paper

• (5%) Project paper presentation

• (5%) In-class participation and other extra credit

Contacting the Course Staff (Email and Office Hours) and Class Participation

You are all encouraged to visit me during office hours or email me with questions. Class participation is very welcomed and will be rewarded. Do not hesitate to ask questions in the class, in most, if not all cases, the entire class will benefit from the answers received (what you may think as a silly or naïve question may in fact be a genuine question that also other students in the class may have).

When you email us make sure you include [TCN-6270] in your email’s subject line in order for the email to receive the proper attention. If you don’t include it, my mail filter will most likely discard your email.

We will use piazza for in-class communication, so you are welcome to post questions there. All enrolled students will be added to the class piazza. If you haven’t received invitation email, please let me know.

Course Policies (Read This Carefully)

• Homework assignment must be done by each student individually

• Project paper must be done in groups of 2

• No late homework or project submission.

• No make-up examinations.

• Instructor reserves right to change course materials or dates as necessary.

Adherence to the University’s Code of Ethics will be strictly monitored and enforced. This will be applicable to homeworks, projects and examinations. By registering for this course the student is assumed to automatically abide by the Code of Ethics which applies to any work generated by the student, including homeworks, examinations, project assignments. Academic integrity violations, such as plagiarism, cheating on an exam etc., will result in a series of actions and penalties including the possibility of the student failing the class or being expelled from the university. Note that all parties involved in cases of academic integrity violations are disciplined. Therefore, students should take this matter seriously and are expected to fully cooperate and support the atmosphere of trust and individual achievement. If you need assistance with class-related issues it is better if you contact the course’s staff. Students are encouraged to discuss among themselves issues related to the course material in order to deepen their understanding, or to share information regarding the use of programming tools, development environments, or debugging techniques.

Project Paper Requirements

Future Changes to This Document

From Faculty’s handbook:

Instructors retain the right to modify the course syllabus for any reason throughout the semester provided that:

• Fair and adequate notice is given to enrolled students either by e-mail, in writing, or through online publishing.
• Modifications to the syllabus are not arbitrary or capricious.
• Students are not unfairly disadvantaged by mid-semester changes to grading standards, attendance standards, or performance measures.

NOTE: In most cases, I will only change this document to accommodate the entire class. I will let you know if there are any changes.