ECE544 Network Architecture Paper                                              D. Raychaudhuri

 

This assignment is intended as a practice exercise for high-level network architecture design based on top-down requirements analysis.  Select one of the following “new” network design scenarios and write a ~5-10 page (12 pt, single-spaced, normal margins) architecture paper that explains how you would build a network for that application. This project is meant to be done during the first ~6 weeks of the course and may require some advance reading of the textbook or related research materials.  Emphasis is on using network architecture principles in a reasonable (rather than optimum) way as a practicing engineer would.  Creativity is encouraged and minor technical errors are acceptable as long as you demonstrate an understanding of the principles. 

 

[Note: the paper must be written clearly and concisely with correct language, organization and technical diagrams.  Papers that do not meet a minimum standard of readability will not be graded!]

 

The paper should contain the following key items:

  1. Concept for the network (why is it needed, what are the services, who does it serve, why a new design approach is needed, usage scenarios, cost factors, etc.)
  2. High-level concept diagram of proposed network (outlines topology, major technology components, service API, type of end-user terminals, etc.)
  3. Requirements table (list of key requirements such as services, QoS, mobility, security, reliability, cost, etc.)
  4. Network architecture diagram which shows all major components (terminals, network interfaces, Ethernets, satellites, wireless links, wired links, routers, switches, etc.) and interfaces between them.  Specify packet formats and protocol stacks used at each node of the network including definition of inter-protocol gateways if any.
  5. A brief performance evaluation (using analysis or simulation) to determine system throughput vs offered traffic and major QoS measures if any.  A rough calculation of cost (related tocapacity = maximum throughput and $ invested in equipment) is also instructive.
  6. Conclusions and further work
  7. References

 

Select any ONE of the following topics:

  1. Sensor network in which ~100 sensors are embedded into devices in a typical ~250 sq ft room, and are connected to databases and servers in the Internet.
  2. Video-on-demand system for a hotel which has ~10 floors each ~1000 ft long and a total of ~1000 rooms/subscribers.
  3. Home personal-area-network which connects ~10-25 TV’s, PC’s, digital set-top boxes, stereos, storage servers, etc.
  4. Wireless campus network for a Rutgers U type university (two campuses ~5 mi between them, each ~1 mi span, ~50,000 students) for universal student usage from laptop computers
  5. Body area network for connecting multiple devices (vision glasses, audio, storage, computing, cell phone, PDA, etc.) carried by a human being on the move
  6. Automobile network which connects devices internal to a car as well as providing this information to external entities like the dealer or manufacturer
  7. Tactical military network in which ~20-50 soldiers communicate with each other during a battle
  8. Family connectivity network in which each member of ~2-10 size families keeps in touch with each other anytime/anywhere regardless of the type of communication device (cell-phone, PDA, Internet-based PC, WLAN/laptop, etc.) used.
  9. Remote learning network with ~5 University sites and ~500 remote sites with interactive audio/video, etc.
  10. Rapid deployment emergency infrastructure for a disaster site with multiple type of emergency personnel (police, fire, national guard, etc.)