Advanced Topics in Network Engineering

Course content

Upon completion of this module, students will have in-depth knowledge of the state of the art and future research topics in the field of architectures and protocols in communication networks. The foundations in this class will help students to better understanding the interaction of complex multi-layered and heterogeneous network architectures and to learning how to engineer the network.

• Cross Layer Design
• All-IP networks
• Integration of IP and Optical
• Inter-domain Routing
• Networks for Data Centers, Storage and Grid Computing
• Economics, Standards and Regulations in Telecommunications
• Applications of Networking in Energy, Automation and Health Care
• Research Literature, Papers and Surveys

This course is designed for advanced graduate students who have already taken courses in networking and in particular in the architecture and protocols in the Internet, broadband networks, including wireline and wireless networks. The class project and research activities within the course are defined based on student's specific interests in the topics worked on in every term. The course is motivated by several novel paradigms in networking: (i) convergence of wired and wireless networks towards a seamless, cloud-based network infrastructure, and (ii) application-driven, high-performance networking with applications in business, science, health care and cloud computing, and (iii) emergence of cyber physical network systems, with applicaitons in medicine, business and smart cities. We will address these paradigms by discussing and analyzing the emerging network architectures, such as the fog computing, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN), open-source network control and managment tools, as well as and application domains of telecommunication management and services (electricty, water, transportation). In addition, the course will dedicate time to discuss the security and data privacy issues as they arise in networking and telecommunications.