This course will give an introduction to wireless networking using a very hands-on approach. The course will combine lectures with a set of assignments in which students will run experiment on wireless networks. The lectures will provide an introduction to the wireless physical layer (targeting students with a computer systems background), discuss in detail wireless data communication standards, and review a number of more advanced topics. Specifically, we will cover the following topics:
The assignments will reinforce the concepts introduced in the lectures and will help understand how the performance of wireless networks depends on factors such as the protocols used, node placement and behavior, and traffic conditions. The last assignment will be a course project in which students can explore a particular aspect of wireless networks in more depth. The assignments will use a wireless emulation testbed that supports repeatable and fully controllable experiments using real wireless devices (laptops). See http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~prs/emulator for more information on the testbed.
Prerequisites: Students must either have taken 15-441, or both 18-345 and 15-213. 15-441 can be a co-requisite, i.e. students can take 15-441 in Spring 2008 at the same time as this course. Students must also be familiar with Java.
Peter Steenkiste
Office: Wean Hall 8202
E-mail: prs@cs.cmu.edu
Office Hours: Monday 4-5pm
Haowen Chan
Office: Wean Hall 7102 (whiteboard area may be used for office hours)
E-mail: haowenchan@cmu.edu
Office Hours: Friday 1-2pm
"Wireless Communications and Networks", William Stallings, Prentice Hall, second edition, 2005.
Lectures will be held Tuesday-Thursday, noon-1:20pm, in PH 225B. Recitations will be Wednesday, 3-3:50pm, in PH 225B.
This is a mini-4 course, so it only meets in the second half of the semester.
The table below has a tentative course schedule
| Week of | Tuesday - Lecture | Wednesday - Recitation | Thursday - Lecture |
| 3/17 | Introduction | none | Wireless channels |
| 3/24 | Transmission, antennas | Emulator introduction | Spread spectrum/MAC intro |
| 3/31 | Wireless MACs | Emulator: Java-based control | 802.11 basics |
| 4/7 | 802.11 features | none | Personal Area networks / quiz 1 |
| 4/14 | Cellular, WiMax / Quiz 1 Discussion | no class | |
| 4/21 | Wireless and the Internet | Multi-hop wireless / quiz 2 | |
| 4/28 | Sensor Networks / Quiz 2 solutions | Self-managing wireless |
The table below shows the readings for each of the topics covered in the course. Note that the textbook is sometimes more detailed than the material that was covered in class (e.g. Chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook). In that case, please feel free to skip the more detailed discussion in the textbook and focus on the concepts covered in class.
| Course topic | Reading |
| Transmission Fundamentals | Chapter 1 |
| Antennas and Propagation | Chapter 5 |
| Signal Encoding Techniques | Chapter 6, Sections 6.1-2 |
| Spread Spectrum | Chapter 7, Sections 7.1-4 |
| Coding and Error Control | Chapter 8, Section 8.4 |
| Cellular Wireless Networks | Chapter 10, Pages 265-272, 285-286 |
| Wireles LAN Technology | Chapter 13, Sections 13.1 and 13.3 |
| IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN | Chapter 14 |
| Personal Area Networks | Chapter 15 |
| Wireless Local Loop and WiMAX | Chapter 11, Section 11.3 |
| Wireless and the Internet | Chapter 12 |
| Ad hoc networks | AODV vs. DSR(CMU only) |
| Sensor networks | Survey(CMU only) |
| Self-managing wireless | Charm |
Since this is a "hands on" course, the assignments are very important. You will learn much more about wireless networks by experimenting with them than by listening to the course or reading the textbook alone.
Assignments will be executed on the wireless emulator testbed. See http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~prs/emulator for more information. We will explain how to use the emulator in the recitations. A summary of the recitation material is available on line:
| Out | Due | Description | Comments | |
| 1 | Th Mar 27 | Th Apr 3 | Handout 1 | Code Recitation 1 |
| 2 | Fr Apr 4 | Fr Apr 11 | Handout 2 | Code Recitation 2 |
| 2 | Fr Apr 11 | Fr Apr 18 | Handout 3 | solution |
You must solve the assignments on your own! It is important that you realize that the solution to an assignment that you turn in must be your work. Copying another student's solution (or providing a solution for another student) is not acceptable. The university's policy on cheating is available on line: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html. You are welcome (and encouraged) to discuss problems and assignments with other students but the work you turn in must be your own. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact the instructor.
Since this is a mini-course, there is little flexibility in the schedule. We have no free "late days". If you have to hand in an assignment late, you can do so but there is a 10% penalty per day. You can only hand in assignments up to two days after the deadlines, i.e. the maximum penalty is 20%. We will be happy to give you an extension for documented medical reasons or for family emergencies.
We will also have two quizzes. The quizzes have tentatively been scheduled for April 10 and April 22 and they will cover the PHY layer and MAC layer lectures respectively. Quizzes will be 30 minute closed book exams and will be given at the end of the lecture slot. The goal of the quizzes is to encourage students to keep up with the course material and to avoid that all the "exam points" in the course are concentrated in one final exam.
Your grade will be based on the assignments (20%), quizzes (20%), final exam (30%), and project (30%).
In the second half of the course, students must do a project in wireless networking. Projects are team-based (preferred team size is 2). More detailed information on the projects, including example projects, is available here.
| Due date | Description |
| Friday April 4 | Project proposal |
| Friday April 18 | Interim report |
| Last week of classes | Presentation |
| Friday May 2 | Final report |