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Coming to the Conference

Tutorial Program: Monday May 2, 2005

Full Day:

Tutorial 1:  Wireless Sensor Networks

Afternoon:

Tutorial 6:On the Building Blocks of Quality of Service in Heterogeneous IP Networks
Tutorial 7:High Speed Cellular Networks, Architecture and Protocols

 

Tutorial 1: Wireless Sensor Networks (full day)

Presenter:
Ian F. Akyildiz, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Abstract:
The technological advances in the micro-electro-mechanical systems and the wireless communications have enabled the deployment of the small intelligent sensor nodes at homes, in workplaces, supermarkets, plantations, oceans, streets, and highways to monitor the environment. The realization of smart environments to improve the efficiency of nearly every aspect of our daily lives by enhancing the human-to-physical world interaction is one of the most exciting potential sensor network applications utilizing these intelligent sensor nodes. However, this objective necessitates the efficient and application specific communication protocols to assure the reliable communication of the sensed event features and hence enable the required actions to be taken by the actors in the smart environment. In this tutorial, the challenges and the existing solutions for the design and development of sensor/actor network communication protocols are presented. More specifically, application layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer, in particular, error control and MAC protocols, and physical layer issues as well as the localization protocols and the time synchronization algorithms are explained in detail. Open research issues for the realization of sensor and actor networks are also discussed. The overall objective of this tutorial is to provide a global and detailed view at the current state-of-the-art in WSNs/WSANs and present the still-open research issues in this field. The topics covered include:

  • Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Architecture and Protocol Stack
  • Factors Influencing WSN
  • Wireless Sensor Network Applications
  • Application Layer
  • Transport Layer
  • Routing Algorithms
  • Medium Access Control
  • Error Control
  • Physical Layer
  • Localization
  • Time Synchronization
  • Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks (WSANs)
  • Coordination and Communication Problems in WASNs

The intended audience includes faculty, engineers, end users, and students, interested in sensor networks. Prerequisite is the basic computer networking knowledge.

Biography of presenter:
Ian F. Akyildiz received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering from the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany, in 1978, 1981 and 1984, respectively. Currently, he is the Ken Byers Distinguished Chair Professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Director of Broadband and Wireless Networking Laboratory. He is an Editor-in-Chief of Computer Networks (Elsevier) and of Ad Hoc Networks (Elsevier) Journal. Dr. Akyildiz is an IEEE fellow (1995), an ACM fellow (1996). He served as a National Lecturer for ACM from 1989 until 1998 and received the ACM Outstanding Distinguished Lecturer Award for 1994. Dr. Akyildiz received the 1997 IEEE Leonard G. Abraham Prize award (IEEE Communications Society) for his paper entitled "Multimedia Group Synchronization Protocols for Integrated Services Architectures" published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC) in January 1996; the 2002 IEEE Harry M. Goode Memorial award (IEEE Computer Society) with the citation "for significant and pioneering contributions to advanced architectures and protocols for wireless and satellite networking"; the 2003 IEEE Best Tutorial Award (IEEE Communicaton Society) for his paper entitled "A Survey on Sensor Networks", published in IEEE Communication Magazine, in August 2002; and the 2003 ACM SIGMOBILE award for his significant contributions to mobile computing and wireless networking. His current research interests are in Sensor Networks, InterPlaNetary Internet, and Wireless Networks.

Tutorial 6: On the Building Blocks of Quality of Service in Heterogeneous IP Networks (afternoon)

Presenter:
Dr. George Kormentzas, University of the Aegean, Greece

Abstract:
After more than a decade of active research on Quality of Service in IP networks and the Internet, the majority of IP traffic relies on the conventional best effort IP service model. Nevertheless, some QoS mechanisms are deployed in current networking infrastructures, while emerging applications pose QoS challenges. This tutorial brings into the foreground a broad range of research results on Quality of Service in IP-based networks. First, a justification of the need for QoS is provided, along with challenges stemming from the convergence of IP and wireless networks and the proliferation of QoS demanding IP applications (such as VoIP). It is also emphasized that a global uniform end-to-end IP QoS solution is not realistic. Based on this remark, packet-level QoS mechanisms are classified as certain building blocks, each one fulfilling different objectives in certain parts of a heterogeneous IP network. This taxonomy, being in line with the ITU-T initiative towards a QoS architectural framework for IP networks, gives rise to a thorough presentation of QoS "building blocks", as well as of their associated mechanisms. This presentation is followed by an illustration of how the various building blocks are combined in the scope of modern IP networks. Offering QoS in a large scale IP-based network demands however that additional (i.e. non-packet-level) QoS mechanisms are deployed in some parts. Therefore, the tutorial also presents prominent technologies and mechanisms devised to augment the QoS capabilities of access, wireless and optical networks. It illustrates how these mechanisms boost end-to-end QoS solutions and reveal interworking issues with packet-level mechanisms.

Biography of presenter:
George Kormentzas is currently lecturer in the University of the Aegean, Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering. He was born in Athens, Greece on 1973. He received the Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Ph.D. in Computer Science both from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece, in 1995 and 2000, respectively. From 2000 to 2002, he was a research associate with the Institute of Informatics & Telecommunications of the Greek National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos". His research interests are in the fields of traffic analysis, network control, resource management and quality of service in broadband networks. He has published extensively in the fields above, in international scientific journals, edited books and conference proceedings. He is a member of pronounced professional societies, an active reviewer and guest editor for several journals and conferences and EU-evaluator for Marie Curie Actions. George Kormentzas has participated in a number of national and international research projects, serving in some instances as the project's technical representative for University of Aegean and/or as WP leader and/or as the project's Technical Manager.

Tutorial 7: High Speed Cellular Networks, Architecture and Protocols (afternoon)

Presenter:
Cedric Westphal, Nokia Research Center, USA

Abstract:
Operators have started to roll out third generation cellular communication networks. These networks have different names and acronyms: GPRS, W-CDMA, CDMA-EVDO, etc., but they all set to provide the user with broadband wireless access over cellular, so that users can replicate their internet usage everywhere they are.

This tutorial will describe the different architectures and protocols for the new data networks over cellular. As cellular networks with high speed data capability become ubiquitous, it is useful to take a long look at the underlying architectures and protocols. Since there are competing cellular architectures and design choices, it is interesting to know the basic differences between them, and if these differences are irreconcilable. Other non-cellular architectures, such as WLAN or WiMax are also competing to provide high speed bandwidth to the mobile handset. The tutorial will see how to integrate and interoperate these architecture with the cellular ones.

Tutorial outline:
The tutorial is designed for a half-day presentation of about 180 minutes. Below is a short summary of the topics covered:

  • Overview of a wireless IP architecture as a reference. Before addressing more complex architecture, the canonical architecture of a wireless data network will be discussed, and the main issues illustrated on this basic example.
  • Overview of UMTS architecture for data traffic. First the 3GPP standardization process will be discussed, and the basic cellular architecture will be presented. Then it will be shown how data was added to it.
  • Overview of cdma2000 architecture. This will cover the same points as the previous topic, but for 3GPP2. It will highlight the differences between the two architectures, and compare the performance of each.
  • MAC protocol for UMTS/W-CDMA: design and performance.}The underlying protocols below IP running on the architecture described above will be explained. The PHY layer might be briefly addressed. The design choices will be explained in view of the performance improvements. Performance issues such as overhead, bandwidth, delay, short term and long term fairness will be considered. The impact of the MAC protocol on the performance at the upper layer will be discussed.
  • MAC protocol for cdma2000 1x EVDV: design and performance. Similar to the previous bullet, but for cdma2000. Scheduling issues in cdma2000 networks and the corresponding algorithms will be mentioned.
  • Interaction with WLAN, WiMax: layer 2 handoff scenarios, performance. After briefly introducing the 802.11 and 802.16, the interaction between these protocols with cellular networks will be discussed. We will see how to design a handoff architecture to switch from a cellular connection to a WLAN hot spot connection, and back. We will see how to make such handoff secure and seamless.

Biography of presenter:
Cedric Westphal received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCLA in 2000. He has been a visiting researcher at Stanford University from 1997-2000. Since then, he has worked on protocols for mobility in IP networks with Nokia Research Center in Mountain View, California. He currently is one of the designers within Nokia for the MAC/RLP protocol for cdma2000 release E. He has applied for multiple patents and published papers on link layer scheduling for high data rate networks from which he will draw for this tutorial. The tutorial will feed both from his industry expertise and his academic research work.

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