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CS856 - Advanced Topics in Distributed Systems:Internet Transport Performance |
Internet technology provides a highly flexible communication platform that has the potential to replace existing networks, such as the current telephone network, while offering ubiquitous access to additional communication services at the same time. There is also a trend to apply Internet technology to new scenarios (such as mobile end systems) that are not necessarily handled well by the original design.
Some of the key challenges for the future evolution of the Internet are the provision of controllable performance assurances, service discrimination, and service reliability. To achieve a high level of transport service reliability, similar to the telephone network, while also allowing for appropriate differentiation to efficiently support multiple communication applications within a single network infrastructure, additional control elements have to be inserted at appropriate places in the Internet architecture. The nature, placement, and detailed design of such control elements are the subject of an ongoing debate throughout the academic and industrial research community.
This course covers the state of the art in different aspects of
Internet transport performance, ranging from packet scheduling and
congestion control to routing, resilience, and network architecture,
taking into account the requirements of fixed and mobile end systems.
From the School's web page:
Also, students considering the course should have taken and enjoyed a computer networks course (CS 456/656 or equivalent).
We will rotate through a number of topics and cover each topic twice. During the first round, there will be a lecture and we will discuss historical and background material. During the second round, we will discuss selected papers presenting recent research proposals.
See here for a detailed outline.
A list of sample
project ideas will be distributed during the first class,
but students are also
welcome to propose their own projects. Projects should consist of
literature research and some practical component, such as a simulation
study or prototype implementation/experimentation.
Draft timeline for project work:
Grading will be computed using the following weighting scheme:
| Class Participation |
10% |
| Paper Summaries |
15% |
| Project Proposal (incl. Proposal
Presentation) |
10% |
| Course Project (incl. Final
Presentation) |
55% |
| Project Paper Reviews |
10% |
Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses, and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who need help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about "rules" for group work / collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, TA, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean.
For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.html
Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve; refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.html
Last updated: May 26, 2004