Module: Future Network Architectures

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title	Future Network Architectures
Module Code	EE521 (ITS) / EEN1078 (Banner)
Faculty	Engineering & Computing	School	Electronic Engineering
Module Co-ordinator	-
Module Teachers	-
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	7.5
Pre-requisite	Not Available
Co-requisite	Not Available
Compatibles	Not Available
Incompatibles	Not Available

Repeat examination
Resit terminal examination and resubmit CA

Description

This module will equip students to operate and design future data networks with aggregate capacities in the petabit/s region. The principles of network architecture design to achieve the necessary scale and efficiency of operation will be developed, as will the range of acceleration techniques required to inject data into and extract it from the network at tomorrow’s wire speeds. Techniques for the orchestration of resources and network reconfiguration in data centre networks and at the network edge will be explored, and their use in deploying virtual networks and network slices will be evaluated.

Learning Outcomes

1. understand the principles of data centre network design
2. select an appropriate network topology for a data centre network, given its predicted load
3. apply methods of packet acceleration to achieve wire speed on the fastest network interfaces
4. partition networks in the control plane using layer 2 and layer 3 approaches
5. select appropriate packet scheduling algorithms to support network slicing and traffic engineering
6. specify techniques for intrusion detection and firewalling appropriate to future network architectures
7. evaluate a range of new approaches to content delivery in future networks

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	36	No Description
Assignment Completion	30	No Description
Independent Study	122	No Description
Total Workload: 188

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Data centre network design
switch architectures, Clos networks, fat trees, VLANs and VXLAN, open vSwitch, InfiniBand, RDMA, data centre bridging, P4, content delivery networks

Control Plane processes
signalling protocols, OpenFlow, SDN, SDN controllers, network slicing, BGP

Data Plane and packet acceleration
packet aggregation, bypass, eXpress Data Path, DPDK, vector packet processing, hardware accelerators, longest prefix match, NFV, NFV MANO, queueing disciplines

Firewalls and security
intrusion detection, eBPF, firewall appliances, BGP security, deep packet inspection

Emerging network protocols
IPv6, IoT protocols, 5G, multihoming and multipath networking, information-centric networking, time-sensitive networking,

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	25%	Examination Weight	75%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Assignment	A written report addressing a problem in the design of future network architectures. Students must demonstrate that their solution meets the security, reliability and performance requirements posed in the problem, and must compare technical approaches in arriving at their solution.	25%	Week 10

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories: Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module. Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module. Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Steven Noble: 2017, Building Modern Networks, Packt Publishing, 9781786466976
Deep Medhi, Karthik Ramasamy: 2018, Network Routing: Algorithms, Protocols, and Architectures, 2nd, Morgan Kaufmann, 978012800737
Rajendra Chayapathi, Syed F. Hassan, Paresh Shah: 2017, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) with a Touch of SDN, Addison-Wesley Professional [ISBN-13: 9780134464336],
Gary Lee: 2014, , Cloud Networking: Developing Cloud-Based Data Center Networks, Morgan Kaufmann, [ISBN 978-0-12-800728-0],
Paul Göransson, Chuck Black and Timothy Culver: 2017, Software Defined Networks: A Comprehensive Approach, 2nd, Morgan Kaufmann, [ISBN: 978-0-12-804555-8],
Ken Gray, Thomas Nadeau: 2016, Network Function Virtualization, Morgan Kaufmann, [ISBN: 9780128021194],

Other Resources

43913, ebook, William James Dally, Brian Towles, 2004, Principles and Practices of Interconnection Networks, Morgan Kaufman, https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/2821589, 43914, vendor whitepaper, Ericsson, 0, Future network architecture, https://www.ericsson.com/en/future-technologies/architecture, 43915, vendor whitepaper, Huawei, 0, 5G Network Architecture, https://carrier.huawei.com/~/media/CNBG/Downloads/Program/5g_nework_architecture_whitepaper_en.pdf, 43916, vendor whitepaper, Nokia, 0, IP/optical interworking for 5G, https://pf.content.nokia.com/t004ok-webscale-ip-optical-integration/ip-optical-interworking-white-paper,