This course introduces fundamental concepts of wireless networks. 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 (accessible for students with mostly a computer systems background), discuss commonly used wireless MAC mechanisms, give an wireless data communication standards, and review a number of more advanced topics. Specifically, we will cover the following topics:
The course will not only address the technical aspects of wireless networking, but will also contribute to the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context.
All information regarding this course will be posted on this web page so please check the page regularly. We will also make announcements in class. There is a Bloackboard site for this course, but it will only be used for project submissions.
Prerequisites: 18-345 and 15-213 (or 15-441 as a substitute); 18-396; and 36-217 (36-225 or 36-325 as substitutes). Graduate students can use equivalent courses taken at another institutions. C/C++ and/or Java programming skills are also needed for the project. We have created a reading list who need to build up their networking background.
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Prof. Peter Steenkiste
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Fahad Dogar
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Anand Poovekurussi
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Angela Miller
E-mail: amiller AT cs.cmu.edu
Office: Gates 9118
The textbook for the course is "Wireless Communications and Networks", William Stallings, Prentice Hall, second edition, 2005. It does not cover all the course material, but it is the "best fit".
Another good book is "Wireless Communications & Networking", Vijay Garg, Morgan Kaufmann, June 2007. It is has good coverage of cellular technologies and it is more up to date than Stallings' book since it appeared more recently. However, its coverage of WiFi and PAN technologies is more limited.
Lectures will be held Monday and Wednesday in 3:30-5:20PM, in WEH 5403. Recitations will be held on Friday 3:30-5:00 in WEH 5403.
The lecture schedule listed below is very tentative.
| Week from | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
| Jan 11 | 1. Introduction, wireless history | 2. Wireless challenges versus OSI | - |
| Jan 18 | No class - MLK day | 3. Physical layer | Project platforms |
| Jan 25 | 4. Physical layer | 5. Physical layer | - |
| Feb 1 | 6. Physical layer , paper | 7. Physical layer | - |
| Feb 8 | No class - snow- | No class - snow- | 8. Random Access in wireless |
| Feb 15 | 9. WiFi | 10. WLAN | 11. WLAN |
| Feb 22 | 12. PAN | 13. Sensor networks | - |
| Mar 1 | 14. RFID, GPS Survey SDR |
Midterm | - |
| Mar 8 | Spring break | Spring break | - |
| Mar 15 | 15. Cellular | 16. Cellular | Project checkpoint |
| Mar 22 | 17. Cellular | 18. Cellular | - |
| Mar 29 | 19. Advanced topics: Load balancing , Rate adaptation , TCP over wireless | 20. Advanced topics: Ad hoc networks , DTN | - |
| Apr 5 | 21. Advanced topics: Self-tuning, opportunistic communication | 22. Wireless Andrew (guest lecture) (2009), advanced topics: Mesh |
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| Apr 12 | 23. Self-Organizing Wireless (2009) | 24. Wireless in the Internet (2009) | - |
| Apr 19 | 25. No class | - | 26. No class |
| Apr 26 | 27. Advanced topics: DSA, spectrum coordination, channel-aware optimization | 28. Advanced topics: Vehicular, Simulation/emulation + Review | Poster session in classroom |
Four or five homeworks will be assigned throughout the course. Homeworks must be handed in (hardcopy) during class, or with the course secretary before class (by 3:30pm) by the due date. Homeworks cannot be submitted electronically through e-mail or blackboard. Late homeworks will be assessed a 30% penalty. No homeworks will be accepted more than one day late.
| Homeworks | Description | Out | Due | Solution |
| HW 1 | Physical layer | Saturday, Jan 30 | Monday, Feb 8, class time | HW1 Solutions |
| HW 2 | MAC | Thursday, Feb 18 | Friday, Feb 26, 5pm (Angie's Office - Gates 9118) | HW2 Solutions |
| HW 3 | Cellular and GPS | Wednesday, March 24 | Thursday, April 1st, 5pm (Angie's Office - Gates 9118) | HW3 Solutions |
| HW 4 | Survey Talks | Thursday, Apr 15 | Thursday, Apr 22, 4 30pm (Angie;s Office - Gates 9118) | HW4 Solutions |
The course will also include a midterm (solutions) and a final.
The course includes a hands-on project in the second half of the semester. Projects will be executed by small teams of students. More details on the projects can be found here and a list of example can be found here.
The educational objectives of the course project include the ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data; to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within real-world constraints; the ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams; and to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems. The projects will also help clarify some aspects of professional behavior.
About one quarter of the course will be dedicated to to more advanced topics. This part of the course will consist of presentations by both the instructors and by the students. The instructors will present background material and small teams of students will then present in depth surveys of the ongoing work in that area. Each student will be involved in preparing and presenting one survey. Topics will include ad hoc and mesh networks, opportunistic reception and network coding, network planning and management, verhicular networks, and disruption tolerant networks. More details on the survey assignment, including list of topics, can be found in the Survey Handout. That page also includes a list of papers for each topic. The schedule for the student talks can be found on the Survey Team Assignments page.
The survey lectures are part of the course, and the material presented in the presentations will be covered in the homeworks and final. Specifically, the slides used in the survey presentation and one of the papers on the reading list, should be studied to prepare for the final. Both the slides and the selected paper can be found in the table with the course schedule.
There will not be a survey document component in the course this year.
The education goals for the survey presentations include a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning; and an ability to communicate effectively.Grades will be determined based on homeworks (10%), project (25%), survey talk (10%) and document (5%), and 2 exams (20% midterm and 30% final).