With this instrumentation grant, the principal investigator will build a realistic access and home networking environment in Princeton's Networked End User Lab (NEULab) including a DSL access system, a cable modem access system, and a home network with triple screens: HDTV with set-top box, computer, and a variety of mobile devices. This testbed will be connected to national backbone testbed VINI via GigE links and a configurable router.
The PI will run a variety of experiments, based on theoretical foundation and in turn shaping the development of theory, on network architectures, protocols, algorithms supporting media-rich triple-play applications over constrained last hop and heterogeneous home networks. Through this proposal, several key parts of NEULab will be established, especially on DSL access network, cable modem access network, and triple-screen home network. The key equipments include DSLAM, CMTS, Spirent channel emulators, copper-farm, home gateways, two stages of switches, and consumer electronics with WLAN capabilities.
Intellectual Merit: Existing mathematical theories and algorithms developed in the following areas will be validated or falsified, and future ones inspired by the proposed testbeds: Broadband access fiber/DSL networks, P2P content distribution, content-aware networking, distributed scheduling algorithms, joint power control and scheduling, stochastic network utility maximization, and green information technology. Open issues involving metrics that are difficult to be analytically characterized, such as delay, jitter, and rate of convergence, will also be addressed. A list of 9 challenging questions that can be answered in the testbed is provided under these 7 research areas.
Broader Impacts: This proposal represents a strategy built on top of the PI?s industry collabora- tions and technology transfers to accelerate the transfer of theory into practice, through a set of experimental platforms under the umbrella of NEULab within Princeton University. The PI will also actively involve undergrad students in the construction and running of the experimental facilities through their independent work and undergrad theses, and hold summer undergraduate program open to 10 undergrads outside Princeton every year.
