Advanced Topics in Communication Networks HS 2011

Course Description

• Contents: This lecture discusses a range of important advanced topics in communication networks. It covers state-of-the-art topics related to both wired and wireless networks. The course draws heavily on the research work done in the Communication Systems Group (CSG) at TIK. Lectures will be presented by senior people of this group as well as external invited lecturers that are prominent researchers in some of the topics discussed.
• Reading Material: The reading material for this course will be based on class notes, as well as research papers assigned as mandatory reading material for each topic.
• Teaching Goal: This lecture fills a serious gap between the introductory networking course offered in the bachelor study program (Communication Networks) and the doctoral level. Additionally, it prepares students to read and evaluate peer research work, as well as to produce their own. There is no similar course offered elsewhere at ETH (also considering the course offerings of D-INFK), therefore we anticipate that this course may also be chosen as an elective course by D-INFK students. The character of the course is research-oriented and thus should also be of interest to doctoral students.

Lecturers

• Dr. Xenofontas Dimitropoulos
• Dr. Franck Legendre
• Dr. Wolfgang Mühlbauer
• Dr. Stephan Neuhaus
• Prof. Bernhard Plattner

Assistant

• Andreea Picu

Time and Place

Lecture: Monday, 10.15 - 12.00, ETZ E6
Exercises: Wednesday, 13.15 - 15.00, ETZ G91

Course Topics and Schedule

Please check the detailed syllabus and organisation of the course!

This table gives an overview of the covered topics. Note that the order may still change.

Course Requirements and Grading

Homework Sets (20%): Four homework sets, that will be returned and graded; these will range from multiple choice questions to problem solving.

Course Project (30%): There are two options:

• Theoretical project: find, study and compare existing work for a particular research topic, write survey paper (15%), present results in class (15%). Your survey paper should entail a written "critic" of existing work, discussing advantages or shortcomings and propose directions for improvement.
• Practical project: Work that includes implementation, simulation, or analysis (15%). After finishing the practical work, results are presented in class (15%).

Final Exam (50%): Oral, covering all taught material, including student presentations.

Course Projects

Practical

Instructions for each practical project are found in each project's description.

Report: For the evaluation, you must write a report of maximum 2 pages, A4, 10pt, single spaced. Reports are due on Fridays of the week after each presentation (i.e., you have 9 days after the presentation to submit your report). The penalty for late submission is -0.25 (out of 6) per day.

Presentation: In addition, you must present your work in class, in a maximum 25 minute presentation, which should include a demonstration of your work. Questions will follow for 10-15 minutes.

Theoretical

You will be provided with a set of research papers covering a specific topic. In addition, it is your responsibility to search more papers that are related to the assigned topic. After finding and reading literature, you will write a survey paper about the assigned topic. In a survey paper, it is crucial to discuss advantages, shortcomings, and differences of the related work and to propose directions for improvement. More ample guidelines will be provided on the projects page.

Paper: Your survey paper should be maximum 5 pages, A4, 10pt, single-spaced. Papers are due on Fridays of the week after each presentation (i.e., you have 9 days after the presentation to submit your paper). The penalty for late submission is -0.25 (out of 6) per day.

Presentation: Each student will be allotted maximum 25 minutes for the presentation and 10-15 minutes for the questions.

Miscellaneous

For both types of projects, the slides and the presentation must be in English.

Homework

Requirements in PDF format here.

General information

Homeworks are handed out on Wednesdays and due two weeks later by 12:00 midnight of the due date. The penalty for late submission is -0.25 (out of 6) per day. No late homework submissions will be accepted after the solutions have been posted on the class web site.
Send your homework via e-mail to Andreea Picu

Homework exercises will relate to the material presented in the lectures and to the recommended reading. Homework solutions will be discussed in exercise sessions and will be regularly posted on the class website and will be there for you to independently check your homework against.

Submission format

You are required to write your solutions as in this example, using our LaTeX template (modify the homework number and provide your name in the top right corner). If you are not familiar with LaTeX:

1. Install a LaTeX software and a LaTeX editor for your operating system. For Linux, the software is TeX Live and the editor is Kile (major Linux distributions provide binaries for both). For Windows, the software is MikTex and the editor is TeXnicCenter. For Mac, installing the MacTeX package will provide both the software (TeX Live) and the editor (TeXShop).
2. Read a tutorial, such as this one or search the Web for others, if you prefer.
3. If you have trouble typesetting your homework, let the assistant know.

Further submission requirements:

• Unless specifically required otherwise, submit all the material (text, figures, tables) in a single PDF file by email, using HWx_lastname as a subject line and HWx_lastname.pdf as a filename (where x is the homework number). You can also submit a stapled printout, if you prefer. It is not the assistant's job to organize your submitted solution.
• Read the text of the exercise very carefully and make sure you understand what is given and what is asked. In case of doubt, ask the lecturer or the assistant.
• If you cannot find all the necessary information in the lecture slides or in the recommended reading, use the library or the Internet. The ability to find the information you need by yourself is very important in all aspects of life. If you still cannot find it, ask the lecturer or the assistant.
• When asked to explain concepts or to comment on results, please use your own words and your own thinking. The goal of homework is to see that you understood, not to check your copy-paste ability.
• When asked to perform calculations, it is in your own interest to provide more than just a final numerical result. This way, if the numerical result is wrong, the assistant can still check your reasoning.
• Some exercises may intentionally leave you some freedom of interpretation. In this case, make sure you clearly state all the assumptions you had to make in order to solve the exercise.

In general, write your homework as though you're trying to convince someone that you know what you're talking about. Your work is much easier to grade when you have made your work and reasoning clear, and any difficulties you have in completing the assignment can be better explained by the grader. More importantly, however, completely worked and corrected homework exercises make excellent study guides for the final exam. Also, if you develop good habits while working on the homework, you will generally perform better on the tests.