Overview

This unit of study aims to give you an in-depth understanding of the architecture and design issues relating to modern high-speed broadband networks.

Requisites

Teaching Periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
26-February-2024
26-May-2024
Last self-enrolment date
10-March-2024
Census date
31-March-2024
Last withdraw without fail date
12-April-2024
Results released date
02-July-2024

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Describe the issues that affect IP Quality of service (QoS), e.g. jitter, loss, and uncontrolled latency and appreciate and analyse standards for meeting QoS requirements. (RSVP, IntServ, DiffServ, 802.1q, etc.) (K3, K4, K6)
  • Appreciate the design and architecture of consumer access technologies with reference to Quality of service issues (K3, K4, K6)
  • Analyse and design Overlay solutions to improve overall service quality (K3, K4, S2)
  • Characterise different classes of network traffic in order to assess and appraise the effects of it on the network (K3, K4, K6)
  • Analyse and discuss various networking protocols and their impact on the network (K3, K4, K6)
  • Conduct experiments using simulation tools to analyse the performance of networked systems and sub-systems and interpret results, formulate conclusions and generate written technical reports (K2, K3, S1, A2)
  • Conduct research in the area of network traffic and networking protocols (A4)

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On-campus
Lecture
2.00 12 weeks 24
On-campus
Class
1.00 12 weeks 12
On-campus
Lab
1.00 12 weeks 12
Unspecified Activities
Independent Learning
8.50 12 weeks 102
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
AssignmentIndividual 20 - 25% 
ExaminationIndividual 50 - 60% 1,2,3,4,5 
Laboratory ReportIndividual 20 - 25% 3,4,5,6 

Hurdle

As the minimum requirements of assessment to pass a unit and meet all ULOs to a minimum standard, an undergraduate student must have achieved:

(i) an aggregate mark of 50% or more, and(ii) at least 40% in the final exam.Students who do not successfully achieve hurdle requirement (ii) will receive a maximum of 45% as the total mark for the unit.

Content

  • The impact of emerging broadband access technologies and integration of real-time and non-real-time services over shared IP infrastructures
  • Problems and issues associated with IP service quality & resilience
  • TCP Congestion Control Algorithms (Loss-based and Delay-based)
  • Alternatives to TCP (QUIC, multipath TCP)
  • Streaming multimedia technologies, protocols, challenges and end-user experience
  • Latency sensitive traffic
  • Overlay solutions to improve overall service quality
  • IP Quality of Service (QoS)
  • Mechanisms for signalling and meeting QoS requirements
  • Active Queue Management and related QoS mechanisms for home networks
  • Networking Protocols: impact on the network
  • Future technologies

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.