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Description
The Internet is one of the most complex systems the human race has engineered. However, this increasing complexity has made it remarkably difficult for engineers to not only understand but also reliably predict its behavior today. It becomes intangible to identify improvements to a system when many aspects of the system become opaque to its designers.
Internet measurements has emerged as a new field in our era that helps to identify the properties of the Internet so that we are in a better position to improve it for future generations. Measurements are used today to not only isolate network failures but also to ascertain network performance and study the natural evolution of this running system. This is the reason why measurements are starting to get actively used by standardization bodies to inform protocol engineering and design. They are also actively used by network operators and content providers to help improve the quality of experience of their customers. Measurements are also becoming input for regulators that shape future broadband policies.
In this seminar, we will explore seminal papers in the field of Internet measurements. These papers will help teach us techniques and tools that are used to reveal the properties of the Internet today.
Teaching and learning methods
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
- ACM CONEXT
- ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC)
- IEEE INFOCOM
Grading Scheme
- Written paper reviews before the presentation (40% of final grade)
- Presentation of a paper during the semester (50% of final grade)
- Group discussions (10% of final grade)
Learning outcomes
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.
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.
Course requirements (recommended)
The participants should be already prepared by an undergraduate-level course on computer networks. Familiarity with networking tools used for performance evaluation may be beneficial.
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"
Instructors
