Network design and performance evaluation techniques

Prof. Nelson L. S. da Fonseca
Institute of Computing, State University of Campinas, Brazil

20 hours, 5 credits (final test)

September 3 - September 6, 2007
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione: Elettronica, Informatica, Telecomunicazioni, via Caruso 16, meeting room, ground floor

Contacts: Prof. Stefano Giordano

Aims

to provide students with a broad and yet deep background on different techniques used for the design and performance evaluation of communications networks. Research on communications networks borrows knowledge from different fields. It is expected that at the end of this series of lessons, attendees will be able to have a reasonable working knowledge on some of these fields.

Syllabus

Introduction

• Motivation for network design and overview of the role of different theories

Discrete Event Simulation

• Discrete event simulator building blocks
• Transient analysis
• Random number generation
• Confidence interval
• Trace-driven simulation

Queuing Theory

• Birth and death queues
• Markovian queue in equilibrium
• M/G/1 queues
• Queueing networks
• Erlang formula

Traffic Modeling

• Motivation
• Short range dependent models
• Long range dependent models
• Elastic and inelastic source models
• Effective bandwidth

Traffic Control

• Scheduling
• Admission control
• Buffer management
• Policing

Optimization Theory

• Overview of optimization problems (linear, integer...)
• Location and topological design
• Routing

Control Theory

• Use of control theory in network design
• Basic concepts in control theory
• Different types of control problems
• TCP/AQM systems