Advanced Topics in
Communication Networks Fall 2020

Content

The course will cover advanced topics in Internet routing and forwarding such as:

• Tunneling
• Hierarchical routing
• Traffic Engineering and Load Balancing
• Virtual Private Networks
• Quality of Service/Queuing/Scheduling
• IP Multicast
• Fast Convergence
• Network virtualization
• Network programmability (OpenFlow, P4)
• Network measurements

The course will be divided in two main blocks. The first block (~10 weeks) will interleave classical lectures with practical exercises and labs. The second block (~4 weeks) will consist of a practical project which will be performed in small groups (~3 students). During the second block, lecture slots will be replaced by feedback sessions where students will be able to ask questions and get feedback about their project. The last week of the semester will be dedicated to student presentations and demonstrations.

Prerequisites

• Communication Networks (227-0120-00L), Computer Networks (252-0064-00L) or equivalents.
• Good programming skills (in any language) are expected as both the exercises and the final project will involve coding.

Performance assessment

• 6 ECTS credits
• 70% of the final grade will be based on the final (written) exam, while the remaining 30% will be based on one graded group project (as a continuous performance assessment task). The project will start around week 10. Students repeating the course must decide at the beginning of the semester if they want to keep their previous project grade and inform the instructor accordingly.