ECSE-489 : Telecommunication Network Lab
Winter 2003
(2 credits)
Prerequisites: ECSE-414
Introduction to Telecommunication Networks, or equivalent.
Instructor: Prof. Mark Coates
Room
759
Phone: 398-7137
Fax: 398-4470
e-mail: coates@ece.mcgill.ca
Office Hours: Tues., Thurs.: 2-4
Other times by appointment.
Course Times: Either Wed.
Demonstration
times by appointment.
Course Location: Room 528, IIT.
This course
provides laboratory experience complementary to the material covered in
ECSE-414. The course consists of six experiments. Four of these will involve
modeling and simulation of networks using OPNET Modeler and application of
Internet measurement tools. The experiments will explore:
(a) TCP
connections – overhead involved in connection setup, latency and loss
phenomena, performance in congestion and congestion control parameters.
(b) MAC
protocols – CSMA and CSMA/CD in Ethernet/LAN environments, and bridges for
forwarding and filtering.
(c) Network
security: secure communication, denial of service attacks, IP traceback,
port-scan detection and filtering.
(d)
Multimedia network applications – use of the real-time streaming protocol to
packetize and transport video over UDP, analysis of behaviour in congested
networks, fairness issues, forward-error correction mechanisms and QoS delivery.
The
remaining two experiments will be conducted at the International Institute of
Telecommunications (IIT) and will involve configuration and provisioning of a
SONET network using ATM protocols. These experiments will be conducted on the
high-capacity SONET fibre rings housed at IIT that simulate a country-wide network
feeding Metro optical equipment. The optical backbone supports an ATM network
consisting of Alcatel, Cisco and Nortel multi-service switches.
Reference Texts: James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, “Computer
Networking: A Top-Down Approach Featuring the Internet,” (2nd
Edition) Addison-Wesley, 2002, ISBN 0-201-97699-4 (on reserve)
Alberto Leon-Garcia and Indra Widjaja, “Communication
Networks: Fundamental Concepts and Key Architectures,” McGraw-Hill, 2000, ISBN
0-07-242349-8. (on
reserve)
After the
first week, the course will follow a repeating pattern of a two week program:
Week 1
(1)
Tutorial/discussion
session of duration 0.5-1 hour.
(2)
3-4
hour laboratory experiment (if computer-based, this can be done out of hours)
Week 2
(3)
20
minute demonstration by each student group.
(4)
Completion
of laboratory report – due by the end of the week
Six experiments will be conducted in pairs. In the week following the
experiment, students will attend a demonstration session of approximately 20
minutes duration. Students will prepare a short report on observations and
results for each experiment and hand it in before conducting the next
experiment.
Evaluation
will be based on the quality of the reports and performance in the
demonstrations and laboratories. Allocation of marks within a pair (usually a
maximum bias of 60-40) will be based on performance in demonstrations and
student assessment.
Mark breakdown:
Lab
reports: 40 %
Demonstrations:
40 %
Quizzes/participation/preparation:
20%
You will
choose your own pairs. Marks for the demonstrations and the reports will be
assigned as a pair. It will be up to you to attempt to share the work as
equally as possible. Each student in a pair should conduct approximately half
of the assigned demonstration. tasks. When
demonstrating, either student may be asked questions about the exercise, so
both students should prepare every aspect of the demonstration to the extent of
understanding. However, you may choose who actually performs the demonstration.
At the end
of the semester (and once mid-semester), you will be asked to assess the extent
to which work was shared in your pair (in reports, experiments and demonstrations).
This assessment, in conjunction with our experience in demonstrations, will be
used to allocate marks within a pair.
You will
also be expected to prepare thoroughly for laboratories and tutorial sessions.
There is a 20% mark for participation, preparation and on-line quizzes. You
will be expected to ASK and ANSWER questions and CONTRIBUTE OPINIONS in the
tutorial sessions preceding each experiment. We will take notes of who is
speaking up and there will be cold-calls! You must contact me beforehand if you
cannot make a tutorial session.
There is no
page limit for the reports, but they should be relatively brief and concise.
On the
other hand, you must introduce and summarize your experiments, display and
report all results, and address every question in each experiment.
v
Always
commence with an INTRODUCTION – a short summary of the objectives and focus of
the experiment.
v
Follow
this by a METHODOLOGY – a brief summary of what you did in the experiment and
how you did it.
v
Finally,
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION – this should include the results of your experiments
together with brief discussions interpreting your results and addressing
questions posed in the experimental handouts.