Networks

The Networks group was founded in 1987, and has since expanded greatly. We now have an international reputation for excellence in bringing intelligence and performance assessment techniques to both fixed and mobile communication networks. We work on intelligent resource management for configuration, accounting, and security; advanced models to safeguard resources, based on trust, security, privacy, and anomaly modelling; ubiquitous computing systems and applications including home-networks, mobile data and communication systems, location-aware systems, and services; semantic and agent-based services; resource management, capacity planning, measurement, and performance evaluation; mapping complex network topologies; complexity in social networking; simulation and accelerated simulation; and protocols, including IP, MPLS, and optical burst switching.

Our group are key players in several international collaborative projects and recent projects include: CRUMPET where we research ubiquitous computing; EDEN-IW, the uses of semantic Web for water data; ADAMANT where we study distributed optimal control of wireless LAN resources; TORRENT is focused on intelligent access networks; and SAFEGUARD explores the security and survivability of large-scale critical infrastructures.

We have achieved notable success in PhD student supervision and have had 34 PhDs awarded since the last RAE period in 2001. Many research students in the group received support from both industry and EPSRC. Companies that sponsored our students include: BT, Lucent, Motorola, and Nokia. The Group has a long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration with the School of Mathematical Sciences, supported by a succession of EPSRC (and recently EU) funded projects. This encompasses areas such as non-linear dynamics and experimental design.