Network Management and Design

Mathematical Challenges in Telecommunication Slides:   html    pdf    ps    ppt

Martin Grötschel (Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik and Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)  groetschel@zib.de  http://www.zib.de/groetschel/

This talk will begin with a survey of mathematical challenges that arise in telecommunication. Mathematics is involved, e. g., in the design and manufacturing of chips, devices and network components, the choice of locations, the planning of the network topology, and the dimensioning of the equipment involved. Adequate cryptography, the need of fast data processing, demand routing and failure handling require efficient and reliable mathematical algorithms on the operational side.

The presentation will focus on the problem of designing low-cost telecommunication networks that provide sufficient capacity to serve a given demand, are based on a chosen technology mix, satisfy various technical side constraints, and survive certain failure situations. This problem is difficult in theory and practice. It will be indicated how algorithms integrating polyhedral combinatorics, linear and integer programming, and various heuristic ideas can help solve real-world instances within reasonable quality guarantees in acceptable running times.

The lecture will also address issues such as: balancing the load of signaling transfer points, issues arising in packet switching, modeling optical switches and all optical networks.networks

This talk is based on work of the telecommunications research group at ZIB, the examples discussed and the computational results reported are from joint projects with several telecommunication companies.

Traffic Measurement for IP Operations    Slides:   html    pdf    ppt

Traffic measurement is an essential tool to guide the operators of large IP networks in detecting and diagnosing performance problems, and evaluating potential control actions. Measurements help operators identify under provisioned links, denial-of-service attacks, flash crowds, and shifts in user demands. This tutorial focuses on measurement techniques and traffic models that provide a comprehensive view of large IP networks where the operator has full administrative control. The tutorial starts with a brief overview of the basic tasks involved in operating a large IP network and derives requirements for network measurement. We argue that the very properties responsible for the Internet's success also make it difficult to control and manage.

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