CS 791
Instructor: Prof. John Byers
Meetings: TR 12:30 - 2:00 PM
Class Location: MCS 135
Office Location: MCS 280
Office Hours: Tues. 2:00-4:00 and Thu. 2:00-3:00 PM, or by appointment.
Phone: 353-8925
FAX: 353-6457
Email: byers@cs.bu.edu
Web: http://www.cs.bu.edu/fac/byers
Course Overview
Today's ubiquitous, global networking infrastructure bears little external
resemblance to the Arpanet research prototype from which it evolved. Yet
surprisingly, the original design of the Internet has proven remarkably
resilient to very rapid growth, its protocols have been able to accomodate
a wide variety of applications unforeseen by its original designers, and
it has been able to incorporate new and diverse technologies such as satellite
and wireless links relatively easily. In this research-oriented seminar
we will track the evolution of the design and of the network protocols
which has facilitated the remarkable development of the Internet from a
research perspective. We will begin by quickly reviewing the basic design
principles and protocols on which the Internet is based (prerequisite material).
Then, we will consider case studies where we focus on challenges raised
by a particular application or new technology, and study and evaluate the
proposed solutions. Case studies will frequently delve deeply into statistical
and theoretical techniques. The case studies we will consider include:
transport over wireless networks, video streaming over best-effort networks,
scalable reliable multicast to a collection of heterogeneous receivers,
endhost architectures to support multimedia flows, and computation in sensor
networks.
Recommended Supplementary Texts
The text for this course will primarily draw from recent research papers
in the field, so there is no required text. However, there are highly recommended
texts which cover networking fundamentals and which cover the technical
ins and outs of essential networking protocols at a level of detail far
beyond the conceptual level of the course lectures. Those students whose
background in networking is incomplete or dated should consider purchasing
Larry Peterson and Bruce Davie, Computer Networks: A Systems Approach
,
Morgan Kaufmann, 1996. This text is excellent, and I use it in CS 555.
Other solid texts which are used in courses similar to our 555 include:
-
Keshav's An Engineering Approach to Computer Networking
-
Tanenbaum's Computer Networks
-
Stallings' Data and Computer Communications
-
Walrand's Communication Networks .
Those of you who will be working on projects which involve or augment TCP/IP
are advised to refer to Stevens' excellent TCP/IP Illustrated series
,
Addison Wesley, 1994-1997. (Volumes 1 and 2 will probably prove the most
relevant). We will expand on this list with other relevant supplemental
texts as we proceed in the course. I expect that many students will want
to run simulations as part of their semester project. I encourage students
to use the VINT ns simulator (version 2), developed at UCB/LBNL/ISI,
as it is becoming a de facto standard, and we have substantial experience
with it in the department. The ns homepage resides at http://www-mash.cs.berkeley.edu/ns.
Prerequisites
The course is geared primarily toward PhD students who are interested in
pursuing a career in networking research. Masters students who have not
yet taken CS 555 are strongly recommended to do so before taking this course.
In fact, without a basic course in networking like 555 or a very strong
systems background, it will be difficult to get much out of the papers
we will be reading in this course. Also, several of the case studies will
delve deeply into algorithmic and statistical techniques, so a graduate
level of mathematical sophistication is expected. Please see the instructor
if you are at all uncertain about your level of preparation.
Course Requirements
For class, students will be expected to read and digest approximately two
to three research papers per week (prior to lecture). For the majority
of the course, the instructor, along with specialists (see below) will
lead discussions on the current set of papers and will lecture on background
material needed to understand the next set of papers. As hinted at above,
a group of students chosen in advance will serve as specialists on
each case study. During each case study, this group will be expected to
read a few extra papers assigned by the instructor, prepare short presentations
on this supplemental material, scribe the notes during case study classes
and should be prepared to be called on to answer questions posed by the
class or by the instructor during discussion. There will be three components
to a student's grade:
-
A semester-long research project, culminating in a presentation to the
class and a writeup in the style of a conference paper. The project and
presentations will constitute 40% of the overall grade. Suggested
project topics and project deadlines will be announced after the first
few weeks of the course.
-
Class participation will constitute 30% of a student's overall grade
-- this grade will be based both on the student's work as a case study
specialist and throughout the course.
-
Two in-class quizzes testing the main concepts in the papers and class
discussions will account for the remaining 30% of the grade.