COMP53915: Advanced Network Design and Analysis

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• To introduce the theoretical and practical tools needed to analyse social and technological networks.
• To design structured networks to provide the communications fabric of distributed-memory multi-processors, networks-on-chips and data centre networks.

• Core aspects of interconnection networks: topology; routing; switching; flow control; packets; technology.
• Graph theory: degree; cuts; bisections; paths; diameter; embeddings; automorphisms; symmetry.
• Topologies: hypercubes; tori; k-ary n-cubes; cube-connected cycles.
• Performance: traffic patterns; throughput; latency; path diversity; packaging; routing algorithms.
• Modelling networks to make comparisons and predictions: random graphs; Milgram's small world experiment; Watts-Strogatz model; Kleinberg model.
• Centrality measures: finding influential nodes in networks; using centrality measures to understand the community structure of networks.
• Epidemics: how contagions spread in networks; models of diffusion; SIR model; epidemic threshold; SIS model.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of this module, students should be able to demonstrate:
• an in-depth knowledge of the state-of-the-art in interconnection networks and network science.
• an awareness of the main open problems of current interest.
• an understanding of research issues that relate to these problems, including recent developments and research trends and breaking technologies.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should be able to demonstrate:
• an ability to conduct significant self-study and critically evaluate research issues in interconnection networks and networks science.
• an ability to reason with and apply theoretical methods.
• an ability to propose adaptations to computing methodologies to problems of current interest.

Key Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should be able to demonstrate:
• an ability to read and understand technical papers.
• an ability to propose original solutions to problems of current interest.

• Lectures enable the students to learn new material and engage in discussion.
• Computer classes enable students to apply their learning to practical examples.
• The summative assessment and formative exercises encourage students to focus their ability to independently analyse and solve problems.

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