Thursday August 30, 2007


Lecturer: Prof. Franco Davoli

CNIT-RU.Genoa, University of Genoa, Italy
e-mail: franco@dist.unige.it

Title: Control and Optimization Techniques Applied to Satellite Communications

Abstract: The course aims at introducing some basic aspects in the control of dynamic systems with complete observation of the state. In particular, functional and parametric optimization problems will be defined, and some techniques for their solution will be outlined. Control and optimization applications in networking will be treated, with respect to problems in admission control and bandwidth allocation to network flows. The specific environment of satellite communications and networking will be considered, and some examples will be surveyed.

1. Preliminaries on Markov Decision Processes:

• Optimal control of discrete-time dynamic systems with complete state observation
• Functional and parametric control laws
• Dynamic programming
• Finite- and infinite-horizon cost functionals
• Stationary strategies
• Optimal control of linear systems with quadratic cost (LQ)
• Functional approximations (neural networks)
• Parametric optimization techniques

2. Admission control for network flows and dynamic bandwidth allocation:

• Strategies that preserve or not Product Form Solutions
• Coordinate convex strategies
• Complete sharing, complete partitioning, partitioning, threshold
• Trunk reservation

3. Control of flows over packet networks:

• Multiplexing across VCs and service separation
• Dynamic bandwidth allocation at the MAC and network layer
• Linear approximation and LQ control of queues
• QoS mapping

4. Overview of some applications in satellite communications:

• ARAM (Alagöz et al.)
• DCA (Le-Ngoc et al.)
• OP, OC, CLARA (Celandroni et al.)
• IPA-based methods (Marchese et al.)
• DCA with prediction (Chiti et al.)

5. Test

Lecturer’s Short Bio

Franco Davoli (M’90­SM’99) received the "laurea" degree in Electronic Engineering in 1975 from the University of Genoa, Italy. Since 1990 he has been Full Professor of Telecommunication Networks at the University of Genoa, where he is with the Department of Communications, Computer and Systems Science (DIST). From 1989 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1996 he was also with the University of Parma, Italy. His current research interests are in bandwidth allocation, admission control and routing in multiservice networks, wireless mobile and satellite networks and multimedia communications and services. He has co-authored over 200 scientific publications in international journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Communication Systems (Wiley) and of the international journal Studies in Informatics and Control, and an Area Editor of Simulation – Transactions of the SCS. He has been a guest co-editor of two Special Issues of the European Transactions on Telecommunications and of a Special Issue of the International Journal of Communication Systems. In 2004, he has been the recipient of an Erskine Fellowship from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, as Visiting Professor. He has been Principal Investigator in a large number of projects and has served in several positions in the Italian National Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT). He was the Head of the CNIT National Laboratory for Multimedia Communications in Naples in the years 2004-2005. He is currently Vice-President of the CNIT Management Board and coordinates the participation of the Consortium in the SatNEx European Network of Excellence.