ITC 18: Providing QoS in Heterogeneous Environments
31. August - 5. September 2003, Berlin, Germany
General chair: Joachim Claus
TPC chairs: Joachim Charzinski, Ralf Lehnert, Phuoc Tran-Gia
Tutorials Chair: Carmelita Görg
Homepage: https://archive.itc-conference.org/itc18/
Proceedings: ITC digital library
Summary of ITC 18
The theme of the 18th ITC is ‘Providing QoS in Heterogeneous Environments’, addressing the interworking of old and new networking technologies. The technical programme committee received an overwhelming number of 307 submissions. Each submission has been sent for review to three international experts. In the paper committee meeting in Dresden on April 16-17th attended by 22 TPC members the final selection process has been carried out. Due to the space limitations, only 133 papers could be accepted. Thus, a large number of high quality papers could not be included in the programme. The ITC submissions reflect the current developments in telecommunications: a paradigm shift to IP related issues, heterogeneous network structures, search for new services, uncertainty toward quality of service, and service level monitoring. A clear trend is crystallised by a close look at the proceedings: In the emerging telecommunication environment, the role of teletraffic is increasingly important but has to be redefined. The topics of 6 plenary and 23 parallel sessions give an idea of the broad range of issues covered by ITC18:
Next Generation Networks & MPLS; UMTS; Topology Models & Ad Hoc Networks; Traffic Characterisation & Web Performance; Network Planning & Dimensioning; Routing; Resource Allocation; Measurements; Statistical Multiplexing; Traffic Modelling; Queueing Systems; TCP Modelling; Network Planning Methods; Cellular Networks; TCP Enhancements; Optical Networks; Wireless LAN; Wireless Networks; QoS & Economics; QoS Provisioning; Admission Control & Policing; Voice over IP; Adaptive Queue Manage-ment; and, Application Servers.
The panel discussion with the title “The Future of Mobile Data Communications Technical and Economical Aspects” addresses the hot topic of the coexistence of 3G networks and WLANs.
ITC 18 Awards
- IAC Lifetime Achievement Awards :
* Leendert Cornelis (Leen) Kosten
* Pierre Le Gall
- Best Student Paper Awards:
* Bianca Schroeder and Mor Harchol-Balter: “Web servers under overload: How scheduling can help”
* Dirk Staehle and Andreas Mäder: “An analytic approximation of the uplink capacity in a UMTS network with heterogeneous traffic”
* Cornelia Sauer and Hans Daduna: “Separable networks with unreliable servers”
ITC 18 Facts
- Number of submissions: 307
- Accepted papers: 133
- Number of authors: 386
- Number of participants: 285
- Ratio of participants: 53% University; 19% Industry; 16% Operator; 10% Research Institutes; 2% Government
- Acceptance rate: 43%
ITC 18: Review of the Conference Proceedings “Providing Quality of Service in Heterogeneous Environments”
Proceedings of the 18th International Teletraffic Congress, Edited by J. Charzinski, R. Lehnert, P. Tran-Gia, Elsevier, 2003, ISBN: 0-444-51455-4, Hardcover, Two Volumes, 1394 pages
Reviews: Rafal Stankiewicz
DOI: 10.1109/MCOM.2004.1299323
The issue of providing quality of service (QoS) in heterogeneous environments is one of the most up-to-date problems in contemporary telecommunications. Therefore, it was chosen as the theme of the 18th International Teletraffic Congress, the major conference in the area of telecommunications traffic engineering, organized every three years [Editor: was already changed to two years]. Conference proceedings were published in a two-volume book, following similar publications from previous ITCs.
The book is targeted at professionals: experts in the-field of teletraffic, advanced researchers, telecommunications organizations, and network operators. Since it covers specific detailed technical issues and advanced mathematics is used, it is not a book for beginners in the telecommunications area. The proceedings are divided into two volumes that, in total, contain 133 high-quality papers accepted for ITC. The papers are organized into 29 sections: 13 in volume 5a and 16 in volume 5h. The structure of the hook reflects the conference organization into six plenary and 23 parallel sessions. Section titles are equivalent to session topics. Both volumes begin with a preface, information on conference committees, and a reviewers index. The author index can he found at the end of each volume. The book is accompanied by a CD containing full-text PDF versions of all papers as well as various data about the conference. Unfortunately, the publication lacks a keyword index.
The content of the book reflects current developments in telecommunications. In general, the papers address the interworking of old and new networking technologies. A broad spectrum of paper contents extends from basic mathematical theory through experimental studies to engineering practices. Obviously, a lot of attention is devoted to QoS provisioning in heterogeneous environments. Many aspects of QoS are discussed. Covered issues include QoS assurance, end-to-end QoS, resource allocation, admission control, policing, queue management, and economic issues. Note that QoS related problems are addressed in all sections, not only in those the titles of which directly indicate QoS facets. Particular network environments are considered in terms of QoS assurance in separate sections. Wireless communications is discussed in such sections as UMTS, Cellular Networks, WLAN, and Wireless Networks. A separate section is devoted to optical networks. Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and related issues are dealt with in three sections. TCP modeling and searching for ways to improve TCP performance are also visible. Network planning and dimensioning as well as traffic modeling and measurements are covered in the proceedings as well. Performance of some applications (e.g., Web and voice-over-IP) is also considered. Some attention is devoted to service level monitoring.
A full list of section topics is as follows: Next Generation Networks/MPLS; MPLS Traffic Engineering; UMTS; Topology Models and Ad Hoc Networks; Application Servers; Traffic
Characterization and Web Performance; Network Planning and Dimensioning; Routing; Resource Allocation; Measurements; MPLS Path Optimization; Statistical Multiplexing; Traffic
Modelling; Queueing Systems I; TCP Modelling; Network Planning Methods; Cellular Networks; Queueing Systems II; TCP Enhancements; Optical Networks; WLAN; Wireless Networks; QoS and Economics; QoS Provisioning; Admission Control and Policing; Voice-over IP; End-to-End QoS; Adaptive Queue Management; and Voice over IP Admission Control.
Reflecting the most up-to-date research areas in telecommunications, the book is very valuable for professionals. It is recommended for all who want to keep abreast of current trends in telecommunications. Individual papers give solutions to some problems, and/or raise new questions and open new areas of research.
ITC 18: Preface by the TPC Chairs “Providing QoS in Heterogeneous Environments”
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the Eighteenth International Teletraffic Congress (ITC), held in Berlin, Germany, from August 31st to September 5th. 2003. The ITC, incepted in 1955, traditionally deals with the development of teletraffic theory and its application to the design, planning and operation of telecommunication systems, networks, and services. The mission is to continue this tradition and create a forum for discussion of current research to disseminate information about best-practice, and to encourage cross-fertilisation between different technical and technological specialists. In other words, the objective of ITC is to bring together people working in the teletraffic field in universities, equipment manufacturers, network operators, and service providers to enable the exchange of ideas and experience. Resides the technical presentations in official sessions, there will certainly be ample time for discussions in breaks as well as during social events where participants will have the chance to establish contacts and to foster and intensify friendships which are so necessary for successful international collaborations in our quarterly-report driven business world.
The theme of the 18th ITC is “Providing QoS in Heterogeneous Environments”, addressing the interworking of old and new networking technologies.
The technical programme committee received an overwhelming number of 307 submissions. Each submission has been sent for review to three international experts. In the paper committee meeting in Dresden on April 16-17th attended by 22 TPC members the final selection process has been earned out. Due to the space limitations, only 133 papers could be accepted. Thus, a large number of high quality papers could not be included in the programme.
The ITC submissions reflect the current developments in telecommunications: a paradigm shift to IP related issues, heterogeneous network structures, search for new services, uncertainty toward quality of service, and service level monitoring. A clear trend is crystallised by a close look at the proceedings: In the emerging telecommunication environment, the role of teletraffic is increasingly important but has to be redefined. The topics of 6 plenary and 23 parallel sessions give an idea of the broad range of issues covered by ITC18: Next Generation Networks & MPLS; UMTS; Topology Models & Ad Hoc Networks; Traffic Characterisation & Web Performance; Network Planning & Dimensioning; Routing; Resource Allocation; Measurements; Statistical Multiplexing; Traffic Modelling; Queueing Systems; TCP Modelling; Network Planning Methods; Cellular Networks; TCP Enhancements; Optical Networks; Wireless LAN; Wireless Networks; QoS & Economics; QoS Provisioning; Admission Control & Policing; Voice over IP; Adaptive Queue Management; Application Servers.
An extensive tutorial programme on the Sunday before the conference, invited lectures throughout the week, a panel discussion on the first day of the conference, and a hot topic session later in the week complement the programme of ITC 18. The panel discussion with the title “The Future of Mobile Data Communications Technical and Economical Aspects” addresses the hot topic of the coexistence of 3G networks and WLANs.
The contents of these proceedings accurately reflect the wide interest of the ITC, extending from basic mathematical theory to day-to-day traffic engineering practices, and constitutes the state of the art in 2003 of one of the fundamental telecommunications sciences. In spite of the broad spectrum, the preoccupations of the ITC remain. Performance engineering continues to be an essential element in the efficient design and management of communication networks. As these networks have become more heterogeneous and complex, it is even more important that the fundamental underpinning in traffic theory, queuing theory, network analysis and simulation methods is strong and should he expressed in a such way that is accessible to those responsible for designing, manufacturing, and managing networks.
A congress or the magnitude and importance of ITC 18 is a large team effort, and the list of those who have helped is therefore long. Our heartfelt thanks is extended to all the referees, the members of the International Advisory Council and the technical Programme Committee who willingly gave their time, effort and expertise. Their names are recorded below but the list is by no means complete. We appreciate the financial support of our institutional sponsors and express our gratitude to the local organizing committee for the computing and administrative support and to all the helpers who worked so hard behind the scene. Special thanks go to Dimitri Marandin and Samer Sulaiman, who both operated the WIMPE server and produced most of the material for a smooth running of the preparation job. Finally, we would like to thank all authors contributing to the high technical quality of ITC 18 and for their confidence in the high standard of ITC.
Carmelita Görg (Tutorials Chair)
Joachim Charzinski, Ralf Lehnert, Phuoc Tran-Gia (Technical Programme Chairs)
