Spring 1996
Kevin Fall
Mike Luby
Elan Amir
The class project constitutes 60% of the total grade for the class. This document is meant to provide some guidelines as the expectations on the quality and scope of each project, in particular for the undergraduate students for whom this is the first graduate class.
Each project may be done in groups of 2-3 people. It is highly recommended that you do not do projects individually, although we will not prohibit you from doing so.
The topic of the project is up to each group. The basic requirements for the topic of the project are that it must be networking related and original. Beyond that, it is up to you to choose an appropriate topic. We will accept any project topic proposal, provided it is original and reasonable for a 2-3 month semester project. Project topics can range from synthesis projects, where you implement a system, to analysis/measurement projects where the performance of some network or networking related system is evaluated. Cool theoretical results related to networking are also acceptable.
If you are not sure of the acceptability of your topic, come and talk to us! The class web page contains a list of previous class projects that will give an idea on the type of projects that are acceptable.
Project abstracts will be due in class on Wednesday, February 14th. You should hand in a two page description of your topic. The abstract is worth 10% of the project grade (= 6% of total grade). The abtract should contain a high level description of your project, including a preliminary reference list and previous and related work. You should specify what you will do that is new and interesting. The abstract is your attempt to convince us that your project is worthwhile and that you have the competence to do it.
The final report will consist of two parts: a 10-15 page paper, and a 15-20 minute talk. The paper should be a complete, self contained, description of your project, along with all references, related and prior work that pertain to your project. The talk will be formally presented in a special session open to the department.
Start work early! Ideally, each project can and should turn into a conference paper. As such, we expect a significant amount of research effort (about 10 weeks) to be exhibited in each project. While we will be available to provide high-level consultation during office hours, it is up to you to budget your time and effort throughout the semester. Projects will be due the last week of the semester. Good luck!