ELEC 884

ELEC-884
Wireless Mobile Networks

Winter 2009

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario

Instructor

Professor Ahmed Safwat
WLH-409
Phone - 613-533-6000 ext. 77274
E-mail - ahmed.safwat [at] queensu.ca

Course Description

This course covers timely topics related to the design and performance analysis of current, emerging, and future wireless and mobile networks. A wide range of topics are examined, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), fourth generation (4G) networks, and beyond fourth-generation wireless networks radio access network architecture, radio resource management, multiple access techniques, C/S management, mobility management, routing, energy efficiency, quality of service, cross-layer design, etc. This course also encompasses advanced topics of relevance to wireless ad hoc and sensor networks and multi-hop cellular networks. Such networks eradicate the costs of infrastructure deployment, require no setup, and are self maintainable, and facilitate anywhere, anytime network connectivity without control, ownership, and regulatory influence. This course also covers current, emerging, and future wireless WANs, MANs, LANs, PANs, medical networks, biologically-inspired networks, and industrial networks, as well as the integration/inter-working of heterogeneous wireless and mobile networks.

Course Aims

This course has the following aims:

To inspire you to develop a love for computer and communication networks;
To help you acquire a thorough understanding of the key computer network technologies, their design principles and performance;
To expose you to state-of-the-art networking technologies;
To encourage you to think deeply, critically, and coherently about the broad range of topics that will be covered in this course;
To help you establish well-informed links between theory and implementation (practice);
To instigate you to develop your analytical skills as they pertain to wireless networks;
To endow you with the ability to move beyond the role of a mere reader and absorber of information to that of a problem solver and contributor.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

Appreciate the important role that computer networks play in (shaping) today's global village;
Demonstrate an understanding of the distinct wire-line and wireless network architectures;
Critically evaluate the strengths and shortcomings of the different network architectures, algorithms and schemes;
Recognize the computational, physical and performance constraints associated with computer networks;
Identify future wire-line and wireless technologies in addition to their potential for wide-area deployment and widespread use;
Independently analyze and evaluate the information and arguments presented in advanced wireless networks literature;
Reach beyond the text and recognize its implicit connotations as well as how it fits within the domain of previous, current and future research;
Devise proprietary solutions for state-of-the-art problems;
Envision and foresee futuristic applications, technologies and architectures for wireless communication networks.

References and Recommended Texts

Lecture Notes.
A. Tanenbaum, "Computer Networks," 4th edition, Prentice Hall, 2004.
W. Stallings, "Data and Computer Communications," 8th edition, Prentice Hall, 2007.
M. Ilyas, "The Handbook of Ad hoc Wireless Networks," CRC Press, 2002.
D. Bertsekas, "Data Networks," 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 1991.
S. Ross, "Introduction to Probability Models," 8th Edition, Academic Press, 2002.

Assessment Overview

Grading

Assessment Item	% of Grade
Presentations and Class Participation	20
Project	20
Midterm Exam	20
Final Exam	40

Presentations

All students will deliver a total of A presentations B minutes each, where A and B will be determined based on the number of students enrolled in the course. The topic of the presentation will be determined by the professor and each presentation will consist of the following:

A description of the main contribution(s) of the proposed solutions (and the corresponding research papers);
The key, related elements not yet addressed;
The limitations of the proposed scheme(s), if applicable;
The computational and communication complexity of the presented work;
The adopted simulation and/or analytical models, if applicable, and their drawbacks and limitations;
Potential solution extensions to address 2 and 3 above.

Non-presenters will be responsible for reading the corresponding articles thoroughly as well as handing in to the professor a list of three to five insightful questions prior to the presentation. Non-presenters should propose possible answers to their own questions. On the day of the presentation, they will pose some of their questions in a question and answer period following the presentation. The presenter will be graded not only based on his presentation and its content, but also based on his/her ability to address the questions posed by his/her fellow students and the professor.

Project

All students will work individually on a design project that is chosen on an FCFS basis from a list of projects provided by the professor. The project they choose cannot be related to their area of research. It consists of two parts: a written component, consisting of a 20 to 25-page double-spaced document addressing the corresponding literature review, the student's proprietary solution and a performance evaluation study, as well as an oral presentation.

Exams

The midterm will cover all material up to the date of the exam (excluding the lecture given on the exam date itself). The final exam is cumulative. Both exams are closed-book and no formula sheets are permitted. Students with legitimately diagnosed learning disabilities should speak with the professor to make special arrangements.