EE 382N Communication Networks --Fall 1997

Technology, Architectures, and Protocols

• Meets TTh 12:30-2:00, ENS 302
• Unique No: 15175

Instructor

• Gustavo de Veciana
• Office: ENS 435
• Office Hours: TWTh 2-3, or by appt.
• Email: gustavo@ece.utexas.edu
• WWW: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~gustavo

Description

This course will give an overview of the technologies, architectures and protocols used to build high-speed communication networks and to provide broadband services. It is intended for first year graduate students in engineering, wishing a broad introduction to the area. Specific issues covered in this course include:

• network design and operating principles and their implementation in technologies such as Internet, video-on-demand, Sonet, ATM, and BISDN;
• introduction to the tools used in analyzing, designing, and managing high performance networks;
• discussion of various control mechanisms: admission control, routing, flow control, and network planning;
• a discussion of switching architectures;
• aspects in the economics and pricing network services;
• finally throughout the course special attention will be given to current technology and research challenges, including: Gigabit Ethernet, IP over ATM, and IP Switching.

Contents

• Overview of current networks
• Network Services and Layered Architectures
• Packet Switched Networks: LANS and WANS
• Circuit Switched Networks
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode
• Control of Networks
• Switching
• Economics

Prerequisites

This course is intended for first year engineering graduate students, with an adequate undergraduate background in probability and random processes, signal processing and communications systems/networks.

Required text

An Engineering Approach to Computer Networking- ATM Networks, the Internet, and the Telephone Network, by S. Keshav. Addison Wesley, 1997.

Other recommended texts (you will definitely find it useful to read material elsewhere)

High Performance Communication Networks, by J.Walrand and P. Varaiya. Morgan Kaufman 1996

Computer Networks: A systems approach, by L. Peterson and B. Davie. Morgan Kaufman 1996.

Data Networks, by D. Bertsekas and R. Gallager. Prentice Hall. 1992.

Format/Evaluation

Homework will be assigned weekly and will be due on the subsequent Tuesday before 6 pm in the box outside my office (ENS 435). Homework will be graded on a {-, ok, + } basis, and will be worth a total of 30 pts. There will be two in-class midterms worth 20 pts each. The final exam will be worth 30 pts, for a total of 100 pts.

Final Exam

The final exam will be Monday Dec. 15 from 9-12:00 noon.

Where does this course fit in?

This course is intended as a broad introduction to be followed by Communication Networks: Analysis and Design to be offered next Spring. A mandatory prerequiste to the sequel will be graduate level Probability and Random Processes thus (if you intend to take the sequel) you should consider taking it this Fall. Other related courses are Performance Evaluation; Digital Signal Processing; and/or Digital Communications. After taking this course you might consider taking, Wireless Communications; Advanced Signal Processing; and/or Information Theory.