CAREER: Automating Wireless Network Management: Lessons from Managing Wireless LANs and Sensor Networks

无线网络凭借其不受束缚的性质、易于设置和移动支持等优点，在我们的日常工作和生活中受到了衷心的欢迎。无线网络的持续成功和更广泛部署的关键是对这些网络的自动管理。本研究的目的是研究无线网络中故障管理的两个基本问题：(1)什么是适合的管理体系结构，需要收集什么数据/测量来进行有效的管理？(2)什么是适合的故障管理技术？为了突出重点，本研究主要考察了两个极端？无线网络的形式--无线局域网(WLAN)和传感器网络。更具体地说，它提出了一种新颖的管理体系结构，并为无线局域网开发了一系列故障管理技术。它还开发了一套分别用于静态和移动传感器网络的诊断工具。各种管理任务的技术利用统计分析、优化、随机建模和机器学习技术，并将结合分析、模拟和实验进行评估。虽然必须关注无线网络管理这一大领域中的子空间，但通过综合从该子空间学到的经验教训，该项目旨在提供对无线网络管理的总体见解。该项目的结果将极大地促进无线网络管理的最新水平，潜在地影响我们日常生活的许多方面。该教育计划包括开发一门关于无线局域网的本科生实验课程，以及一门关于无线网络测量和推断的研究生课程。

Wireless networks, by virtue of their untethered nature, ease of set-up, and mobility support, have been heartily welcomed into our daily work and lives. Crucial to the continuing success and even wider deployment of wireless networks is automatic management of these networks. The goal of this research is to investigate two fundamental questions of fault management in wireless networks: (1) What are suitable management architectures and what data/measurements need to be collected for effective management? (2) What are suitable techniques for fault management? To be focused, this research mainly investigates two ?extreme? forms of wireless networks -- wireless LANs (WLANs) and sensor networks. More specifically, it proposes a novel management architecture and develops a series of fault management techniques for WLANs. It also develops a suite of diagnostic tools for static and mobile sensor networks, respectively. The techniques for the various management tasks utilize statistical analysis, optimization, stochastic modeling, and machine learning techniques, and will be evaluated using a combination of analysis, simulation and experiments. Although necessarily focused on a subspace in the large realm of wireless network management, by synthesizing lessons learned from this subspace, this project aims to provide insights into wireless network management in general.The outcome of this project will greatly advance the state of the art in wireless network management, potentially impacting many aspects of our daily lives. The education plan includes developing one undergraduate lab course on WLANs, and one graduate-level course on wireless network measurement and inference.