Course Syllabus

CS 6030: Wireless Networks

(Prerequisite: CS 5550 or equivalent or permission of the Instructor)

 

 

 

Fall Semester ‘08

Days: W

Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Venue: CEAS C-141

Instructor: Dr. Ala I. Al-Fuqaha

 

Office: 4601 Campus Drive # A-238

 

                             Office Hours: MW: 3 to 4 p.m.

 

Telephone: (269) 276-3868

 

Fax: (269) 276-3122

 

E-mail: alfuqaha@cs.wmich.edu

 

 

 

Course Description:

This course will cover the fundamental aspects of wireless networks, with emphasis on current and next-generation wireless networks. Various aspects of wireless networking will be covered including: fundamentals of cellular communication, mobile radio propagation, multiple access techniques, mobility support, channel allocation, Wireless PAN/LAN/MAN standards, mobile ad-hoc networks, wireless sensor networks, and routing in wireless and mobile networks. The goal of this course is to introduce the students to state-of-the-art wireless network protocols and architectures. We will introduce the students to wireless networking research and guide them to investigate novel ideas in the area via semester-long research projects. We will also look at industry trends and discuss some innovative ideas that have recently been developed. Some of the course material will be drawn from research papers, industry white papers and Internet RFCs.

 

The course should provide the students with a good understanding of the wireless networking concepts and research directions.

 

Active participation by the students is expected in the course.

 

Textbook:

Dharma Prakash Agrawal and Qing-An Zeng, Introduction to Wireless and Mobile Systems, Tomson, 2006, 2rd edition (ISBN: 0-534-49303-3).

 

References:

  1. Vijay K. Grag and Joseph E. Wilkes, Wireless and Personal Communications Systems, 1996 (ISBN: 0-13-234626-5).
  2. Christian Huitema, Routing in the Internet, Prentice Hall, 1995 (ISBN: 0-13-132192-7).

 

Grading Policy:

Assignments                                                                                                                                         10%

Midterm                (Wednesday, October 29th)                                                                                15%

Final Exam (Wednesday, December 10th, 7:15-9:15 p.m.)                                                             20%

Research Project                                                                                                                                  50%

Excellence in research*                                                                                                                       10%

Attendance                                                                                                                                           5%

 


                                                                                                                                                                110%

 

Normally, the standard thresholds for letter grades will be used. However, the thresholds may be lowered by as much as 10% depending of the class performance.

All exams, assignments, and other materials will be returned to the students in no more that two weeks from the date they are submitted.

 

Guidelines for Submission of Assignments:

·         All work must be submitted on, 81/2”X11” papers. Use only one type, size and color paper for each assignment. Please do not submit papers torn-off from the spiral notebooks.

·         The material need not be typed unless otherwise specified. However, all work must be neat and easily readable.

·         The solutions to the homework problems must be arranged sequentially. Each solution must be clearly labeled and separated from the previous and the next solution.

·         If using pencil, please make sure that it produces easily readable contrast on paper.

·         Assignments must be turned-in in the class before the start of the class on due dates. A late submission will not be accepted and will receive a grade of ‘zero’ unless a time extension is approved by the instructor in advance, or an emergency had occurred.

 

A submission not within the guidelines will not be accepted and will receive a grade of ‘zero’.

 

Other Important Notes:

·         No discussion on assignments or course difficulties over telephone with the instructor.

·         No questions will be answered on the date of a test/exam.

·         Any disagreement with grading on tests must be pointed out immediately after the class period (in which graded papers are returned) with written arguments for your claim.

·         A make-up test/exam can be given only when the student presents a valid reason for missing the test/exam.

 

Change of Enrollment Status Policy:

·         Withdraws recorded as “W” on transcript: September 10th.

·         Last day to withdraw from classes: November 3rd.

 

Student Workload:

This is a combined lecture/discussion and research course. Material will be presented by the instructor and students are expected to participate in class discussions. The students are also expected to engage in semester-long research projects.

 

 

Topics:

Week of

Topics

Suggested Readings

Week 1

Syllabus, course mechanics, term project, Introduction, Fundamentals of cellular systems, mobile ad-hoc and sensor networks, wireless PAN/LAN/MAN

Chapter1

Week 2

Overview of probability theory, traffic theory, queuing theory, and discrete event driven simulations

Chapter 2

Week 3

Mobile radio propagation, multi-path propagation, path loss, slow fading, fast fading

Chapter 3

Week 4

Channel coding and Error Control Techniques

Chapter 4

Week 5

Cellular concept, frequency reuse, cell splitting, cell sectoring

Chapter 5

Week 6

Multiple radio access protocols, CSMA, CSMA/CD, CSMA/CA

Chapter 6

Week 7

Multiple division techniques: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM, SDMA

Chapter 7

Week 8

Midterm Examination

-

 

Week 9

Static and dynamic channel allocation techniques

Chapter 8

Week 10

 

Mobile Communication Systems: Registration, Roaming, Multicasting, Security and Privacy

Chapter 9

Week 11

Ad-hoc networks, routing in MANETs

 

Chapter 13

Week 12

Wireless sensor networks, MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks, routing in sensor networks

Chapter 13

 

Week 13

Wireless PAN (Bluetooth), Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless MAN (WiMAX)

Chapter 14

 

Week 14

Project Presentations

-

 

 

(The order of covering some of the topics might change)

 

Academic Honesty:

You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate (pp. 274-276) [Graduate (pp. 25-27)] Catalog that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.


* Totally depends on the student efforts in terms of software implementation, simulation, and analytical modeling.