CAREER: Networks with Multiple Transport Mechanisms

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

This project will perform a systematic analysis and design of a network with heterogeneous transport mechanisms. Specifically, the proposer perform the following tasks. First, by mapping all transport mechanisms into the same function space, the proposer will compare the bandwidth received by different transport mechanisms, under different router mechanisms. The following research tasks will be carried out: 1. Will propose and investigate the effectiveness of router mechanisms to control the difference of the bandwidth received by two transport mechanisms. Instead of designing router mechanisms with indirect objectives, will use optimal control to design them. 2. Second, by using stochastic differential equations to model aggregated flow dynamics, will analyze the stability and performance of such heterogeneous networks. Will analyze the effects of the mixture of flows on network stability and performance. Will investigate the effectiveness of using adaptive control to control a network with unknown or changing flow dynamics. 3. Third, will design an end-to-end priority scheme using different transport. This scheme is flexible and deployable because it does not involve modifications to the routers. We will implement applications to demonstrate the usage. 4. Fourth, will investigate the transport issues in mobile ad-hoc networks, where the limiting resources will be not only bandwidth as in wired network but also energy. Furthermore, such resources will be managed by mobile nodes that will be selfish. Applying an integrated optimization and game-theoretic approach, will investigate heterogeneous transport systems for mobile ad-hoc networks. 5. Fifth, will also evaluate the effects of application requirements and application adaptation. The proposed research will be integrated in an educational plan which seeks to involve graduate and undergraduate students in the research effort. The PI will also a new class on system modeling and analysis, and add new instructional materials to two courses on computer networks.