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Note: This page is for the past semester. See the archives for historical course documents.

Course Name: CSC0056 Data Communication 資料通訊 (Fall 2020)
Instructor: Chao Wang 王超
Course Meetings: Mondays 9:10 - 12:10 in room B102, Gongguan Campus
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Fridays, 8-10am (room 511, Applied Science Building, Gongguan Campus), or by appointment
Midterm Exam: Nov 9, Monday 9:10 - 12:10, in class
Final Exam: Jan 11, Monday 9:10 - 12:10, in class

This course is offered as an all-English course. 此門課程為全英語授課.

Contents

Course Syllabus

In the 2020 edition of this course, the theme is messaging in cloud/edge computing systems.

Data communication is essential for networked computing systems. The objectives of this course are for students to:

  • gain insight into analyzing data communication systems;
  • have hands-on experience in systems performance evaluation; and
  • engage in recent advances in data communication systems.

In particular, we will

  • learn the basics of the queueing model and analysis;
  • learn both Google’s gRPC framework and the widely-used MQTT communication protocol; and
  • learn to study selected research papers.

Prerequisites:
Basic working experience in C, C++, and Linux.

Grading:

  • Homework 45% (will count the highest six out of seven assignments)
  • First Exam 20%
  • Final Exam 25%
  • Participation 5%
  • Attendance 5%

Course Schedule

# Date Topic Readings
1 Sep 14 Course Introduction Sec. 1.1-1.2
2 Sep 21 Layered Network Architecture and The Physical Layer Sec. 1.3; 2.1-2.2.2; 2.2.6
3 Sep 28 Error Detection and Correction Sec. 2.3
4 Oct 5 Hamming Code and Data Retransmissioin Strategies Sec. 2.4-2.4.1
5 Oct 12 Queueing Model and Little’s Theorem Sec. 3.1-3.2
6 Oct 19 Markov Chains and The M/M/1 Queueing Systems Sec. 3.3-3.3.1 and Appendix A
7 Oct 26 (continuning the topic of Oct 19)
8 Nov 2 Applications and The M/M/m Queueing Systems Sec. 3.4.1
9 Nov 9 Midterm Exam
10 Nov 16 Introducing Multiaccess Communication Sec. 4.1
11 Nov 23 The Aloha System and Its Analysis Sec. 4.2
12 Nov 30 Scheduling Sensor Network Communication [5][6][7]
13 Dec 7 TDMA Scheduling and Broker-Based Data Communication [5][6][7]; in particular, [5]
14 Dec 14 Real-Time Data Communication [8]
15 Dec 21 Real-Time Fault-Tolerant Edge Computing [9]
16 Dec 28 Network Flow Control Sec. 6.1-6.2.1; 6.3
17 Jan 4 Time Synchronization and Review Sec. 6.3
18 Jan 11 Final Exam

The readings assignment each week is designed for you to gain some background of the topic before class. Read them and note where you found interesting and/or challenging. Bring your findings to class. We will cover additional materials when needed.

Textbook and References

Textbook:

[1] Bertsekas, Dimitri and Gallager, Robert. Data networks (2nd edition). Prentice Hall, 1992. ISBN 0132009161. (Read it at NTNU library) (author’s page)

References:

[1] Harchol-Balter, Mor. Performance modeling and design of computer systems: queueing theory in action. Cambridge University Press, 2013. ISBN 9781107027503. (Read it at NTNU library)

[2] Kurose, Jim and Ross, Keith. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (5th edition or newer). Pearson, 2010. ISBN 0136079679.

[3] William Feller. An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Volume I (3rd edition). Wiley, 1968. ISBN 0471257087.

[4] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, Chenyang Lu. Adaptive Data Replication in Real-Time Reliable Edge Computing for Internet of Things. 2020 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI), 2020.

[5] Chao Wang, Kuo-Feng Ssu. A Distributed Collision-Free Low-Latency Link Scheduling Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks 2010 IEEE Wireless Communication and Networking Conference, 2010.

[6] Luby, Michael. “A simple parallel algorithm for the maximal independent set problem.” SIAM journal on computing 15.4 (1986): 1036-1053.

[7] Ramanathan, Subramanian, and Errol L. Lloyd. “Scheduling algorithms for multihop radio networks.” IEEE/ACM Transactions on networking 1.2 (1993): 166-177. (on IEEE Xplore)

[8] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, and Chenyang Lu. 2019. Real-Time Middleware for Cyber-Physical Event Processing. ACM Trans. Cyber-Phys. Syst. 3, 3, Article 29 (October 2019), 25 pages. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3218816 (link)

[9] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, and Chenyang Lu, FRAME: Fault Tolerant and Real-Time Messaging for Edge Computing, 2019 IEEE 39th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS), Dallas, TX, USA, 2019, pp. 976-985, doi: 10.1109/ICDCS.2019.00101. (link)

Accessibility

Students in need are encouraged to bring considerations to the instructor.

Academic Integrity

All homework assignments and exams must be completed individually and independently, except as specifically allowed by the instructor.

Academic integrity is a key component of your education, which is for your benefit. Anyone found to be cheating or helping someone else cheat will receive zero score for that homework/exam. Please reflect on the university’s motto: Sincerity 誠, Integrity 正, Diligence 勤, Simplicity 樸.

Homework Assignment

Students should submit all their homework assignments via Moodle.

  • Homework1; due on Oct 5th, 9AM.
  • Homework2; due on Oct 26th, 9AM.
  • Homework3; Part 1 is due on Nov 6th, 9PM (Friday) and Part 2 is due on Nov 12th, 9PM (Thursday).
  • Homework4; due on Dec 12th, 9PM.
  • Homework5; due on Dec 28th, 9PM.
  • Homework6; due on Jan 8th, 9PM.
  • Homework7 (bonus); due on Jan 15th, 9PM.