Spring 2018
ENSC 427: COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
TOPICS
WEEK IN REVIEW
ASSIGNMENTS
EXAMS
TEXTBOOKS
SCHEDULE
STAFF
PROJECTS
TOOLS
WEB SITES
INFO
Current count of email messages related to ENSC 427 exchanged this term:
324.
Course description:
This course covers the techniques needed to understand and analyze modern
data communications networks. It covers the basic architecture
of packet networks and their network elements (switches, routers, bridges),
and the protocols used to enable transmission of packets through the network.
Quantitative performance analysis and design of data and integrated services networks. Re-transmission error recovery schemes, networks of queues, congestion control, routing strategies. Multiple access techniques in data networks, design for specified throughput and delay performance. Wireless networks, routing approaches in mobile networks. Analysis and design of broadband integrated services digital networks, asynchronous time division multiplexing.
Laboratory work is included in this course.
This is a project oriented undergraduate course.
Students will be introduced to various tools for simulating communication networks:
ns-2, ns-3, and Riverbed Modeler (formerly OPNET from OPNET Technologies).
Pre-requisites:
Successful completion of ENSC 327-3 or permission of the instructor.
Note: ENSC Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) does not permit enrollment in ENSC 427
if you have not successfully completed ENSC 327.
TOPICS:
Communication Networks and Services
Application of Layered Architecture
Digital Transmission Fundamentals (overview only)
Circuit-Switched Networks
Peer-to-Peer Protocols and Data Link Layer
Medium Access Control Protocols and Local Area Networks
Packet-Switched Networks
TCP/IP
WEEK IN REVIEW:
1. January 1, 2018 (revised)
2. January 8, 2018
3. January 15, 2018 (revised)
4. January 22, 2018
5. January 29, 2018 (revised)
6. February 5, 2018
*. February 12, 2018
7. February 19, 2018
8. February 26, 2018 (revised)
9. March 5, 2018 (revised)
10. March 12, 2018
11. March 19, 2018 (revised)
12. March 26, 2018
13. April 2, 2018 (revised)
13. April 9, 2018
ASSIGNMENTS:
Posted weekly by Friday. Due by the following week on Sunday (firm deadline).
Assignment #1
Assignment #2
Assignment #3 (revised, extended deadline)
Assignment #4 (revised)
Assignment #5 (revised)
Assignment #6 (revised, extended deadline)
Assignment #7 (revised)
Assignment #8 (revised)
Assignment #9 (late posting)
Assignment #10 (late posting)
Assignment #11
Assignment #12
Assignment #13 (revised)
GRADING SCHEMES:
Assignment #1
Assignment #2
Assignment #3 (revised)
Assignment #4 (revised)
Assignment #5 (revised)
Assignment #6 (revised)
Assignment #7
Assignment #8
Assignment #9
Assignment #10 (revised)
EXAMS:
MIDTERM EXAMS:
Monday, February 19, 2018, 14:30 - 16:20, SECB 1014
Monday, March 26, 2018, 14:30 - 16:20, SECB 1014
FINAL EXAM:
Saturday, April 21, 2018, 8:30 am - 11:30 am, AQ 5018
FAS policy on mid-terms and finals is described in Section 5.7 of the FAS Handbook
Academic honesty and plagiarism
PROJECT REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS:
Project teams are due
January 14, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute).
Project proposal(s) are due
February 4, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute).
Project title, abstract, and a list of five references are due
February 11, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute).
Web page describing your project
and including the list of five references is due
February 18, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute).
Interim report is due
March 11, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute).
Project class presentations will be held in class on
April 9, 2018 and April 11, 2018.
The following files are due on Sunday, April 15, 2018 (midnight: 11:59 PM + 1 minute):
- Presentation slides (Power Point and PDF files) of your final project,
- URL for the web pages of your final project, and
- Final written report (LaTEX or MS Word file and PDF file) of your final project.
The final project grading policy
The final project grading form
GRADING:
Assignments 20%,
Midterm exam 1 10%, Midterm exam 2 10%, Final exam 25%, project class presentation 10%, and final project report 25%.
Click here to see your
scores
and
midterm exam 1,
midterm exam 2,
final exam,
and
overall scores
distribution charts.
RESOURCES:
Conflict resolution
TEXTBOOKS:
Recommended reading:
J. F. Kurose and K. W. Ross,
Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach, 7/E,
Addison Wesley, 2017.
J. Walrand and P. Varaiya,
High-performance Communication Networks, 2/e,
Morgan Kaufmann, 2000.
   
Online version
(click on "Full text - Books 24x7 limited to 5 simultaneous users" link once you access the page).
A. Leon-Garcia and I. Widjaja,
Communication Networks: Fundamental Concepts and Key Architectures,
2nd edition,
McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Errata page.
S. Keshav,
Engineering Approach to Computer Networking: ATM Networks, the Internet, and the Telephone Network,
Addison Wesley, 1997.
J. Walrand,
Communication Networks, A First Course, 2/e,
McGraw-Hill, 1998.
D. Bertsekas and R. Gallager,
Data Networks, Second edition,
Prentice Hall, 1992.
L. L. Peterson and B. Davie,
Computer Networks, A Systems Approach, 3rd edition,
Morgan Kaufmann, 1999.
Other related sources:
T. G. Robertazzi,
Computer Networks and Systems,
Queuing Theory and Performance Evaluation, Third edition,
Springer Verlag, 2000.
M. De Prycker,
Asynchronous Transfer Mode: Solutions for Broadband ISDN,
Ellis Horwood, 1991.
I. Katzela,
Modeling and Simulating Communication Networks,
A Hands-on Approach Using OPNET,
Prentice Hall, 1999.
Check the status of the books on reserve for
ENSC 427
by typing "ENSC 427" (with the space) in the search window.
JOURNALS:
IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials
IEEE Network, The magazine of global information exchange
IEEE Communications Magazine
ACM Computer Communication Review
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications
IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking
SCHEDULE:
Lectures:
Monday 14:30 - 16:20 in SECB 1014
Wednesday 14:30 - 16:20 in SECB 1014
Tutorial:
Wednesday 15:30 - 16:20 in AQ 5016 and ESIL Lab ASB 1000B/ASB 10803.
Projects:
ENSC Undergraduate Computer room: ASB 10802 (open lab)
is equipped to provide local access to Riverbed Modeler.
PROFESSOR:
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
-
Zhida Li
zhidal at sfu.ca
Office hours and lab support:
Mondays and Wednesdays, 17:00 to 18:00 (ESIL Lab ASB 10802)
COMPUTING HELP:
PROJECTS:
ENSC 427 Spring 2018 project teams
ENSC 427 Spring 2018 project proposals
ENSC 427 Spring 2018 projects
ENSC 427 Spring 2018 presentation schedule
Instructions for in class presentations
of your ENSC 427 final projects (revised)
Instructions for writing
ENSC 427 final project reports (revised)
IEEE Author Center, Menu item: Create Your IEEE Article/IEEE Article Templates/Transactions Instructions Only.
Samples of past projects:
Past course web pages are located at:
http://www2.ensc.sfu.ca/~ljilja/teaching.html
SOFTWARE TOOLS:
Instructions how to run Riverbed Modeler (formerly OPNET) (under revision)
Get familiar with Linux/CentOS.
The following sites have links to useful Unix tutorials and documentation:
    http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-unix-commands-cheat-sheets.html
    http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Keyboard-and-Console-HOWTO.html
    http://wiki.centos.org/HowTo
To run ns-2 and/or ns-3 on a PC running MS operating system, download:
    Option 1 (easier):
Downlaod Ubuntu virtual machine
VirtualBox
in order to run the virtual machine.
    Option 2:
cygwin
Review:
   
Running tools remotely
Riverbed Modeler
version 18.0 environment settings
Riverbed Modeler main page
ns-3 website,
ns-3 tutorial,
ns-3 documentation, and
ns-3 wiki page
ns-2 simulator and
documentation
BlueHoc: Bluetooth Performance Evaluation Tool
Network Designer (NetDes) with ns Java applet
Ptolemy
Omnet++
S-PLUS for Unix
and
S-PLUS for Windows
Wireshark network protocol analyzer
Quagga Routing Suite
GNU Zebra: Free routing software
TRAFFIC TRACES:
locally available short traces
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Email messages with hints and answers to some frequently asked questions.
(Check FAQ pages from prior ENSC 427 offerings for useful hints.)
FAQ in 2018
FAQ in 2017
FAQ in 2016
WEB SITES OF INTEREST:
Communication Networks Laboratory
Research with OPNET at SFU
Previous offerings of ENSC 427, ENSC 833, ENSC 835, ENSC 894, and ENSC 895
Acronyms:
Dictionary of Acronyms in Communications and Informatics (DACI)
http://www.csrstds.com/acro-a-d.html
General references:
What is page
Documents:
Internet Requests for Comments (RFC) site:
IETF
Daily news of interest:
Wired News: DoS: Defense Is the Best Offense
Fun things:
RFC 1121
RFC 1149
RFC 2100
UC Berkeley EECS20:
Structure and Interpretation of Signals and Systems
INFO:
TOPICS
WEEK IN REVIEW
ASSIGNMENTS
EXAMS
TEXTBOOKS
SCHEDULE
STAFF
PROJECTS
TOOLS
WEB SITES
INFO
Created by
Ljiljana Trajkovic
ljilja at cs.sfu.ca
Last modified:
Mon Feb 26 16:50:12 PST 2018.