Seminar - Wireless Internet Communication (WS 2021/22)

Over the past two decades, the Internet evolved from a stationary and fixed-line medium to a mobile and multi-connected one, enabling access to any information anywhere and anytime. While a primary driver of this transformation are the advancements in cellular network technologies like 4G and 5G, Satellite networks like Starlink and Kuiper promise to connect the Next Billion Internet Users in regions where infrastructure rollout is not possible or not feasible. However, the unique characteristics of Wireless Networks are fundamentally different than the traditional fixed-line paradigm the Internet matured in, and thus do not only pose challenges to the access technologies themselves, but also the Transport Layer protocols traversing heterogenous networks while providing end-to-end connectivity.

In this seminar, we will explore seminal papers in the field of Wireless Internet Communication from a Transport Layer Protocol point of view. These papers will help us understand the challenges in optimizing Transport Protocols and Congestion Control Algorithms for the characteristics of Wireless Networks, and gain insights into novel Wireless Network simulation and emulation frameworks.

Pre-course meeting

There will be no pre-course meeting. The structure and procedure of the seminar are outlined in these informational slides.

Course requirements (recommended)

The participants should be already prepared by an undergraduate-level course on computer networks.

Moodle page

To stay up to date with the latest course information, please refer to the course Moodle page.

Time and location

Wednesdays (16:00 - 18:00), remote participation via BigBlueButton.

First session: October 20, 2021, 16:00.

Learning outcomes (study goals)

The participants will learn how to critically read and discuss research papers. This will be achieved by reviewing papers individually, and actively participating in group discussions during the seminar presentations. Students will also have the opportunity to advance their soft skills through presentation in a conference-style setting with session moderation. Participants will learn how to act as a chair of a session. Presentations will involve learning to not only stay within time limits but also to appreciate the Q/A session at the end of the talk.

Teaching and learning methods 

1. Written paper reviews before the presentation (40% of final grade)
2. Presentation of a paper during the semester (50% of final grade)
3. Group discussions (10% of final grade)

Each participant covers a topic area by presenting relevant papers during the seminar. To ensure everybody has read the papers, the participants are required to hand in a review of the presented papers via HOTCRP following the provided review template. The answers to the review forms should be brief and concise. Refer to the Internet Measurement Conference (IMC) that made reviews for accepted papers public for the 2012 and 2013 programmes.

Paper allocations will be done on a best-effort basis, based on preferences (favorite 5 papers) solicited over email during the semester. A paper will be randomly assigned if no preference is sent. The first seminar course slot will be used to set the agenda for the seminar.

Relevant Conferences and Journals

• IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking
• ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review
• ACM SIGCOMM
• IEEE INFOCOM
• Internet Measurement Conference (IMC)

Further Reading

• S. Keshav. "How to read a paper"
• William G. Griswold, "How to Read an Engineering Research Paper"
• Graham Cormode. 2009. "How NOT to review a paper: the tools and techniques of the adversarial reviewer."
• J Smith. "The Task of the Referee"

Contact

• Mike Kosek <kosek@in.tum.de>
• Trinh Viet Doan <doan@in.tum.de>