Mung Chiang

An accessible illustrated introducton to the networks we use every day, from Facebook and Google to WiFi and the InternetWhat makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order search results? Is it really true that everyone on Facebook is connected by six steps or less? The Power of Networks answers questions like these for the first time in a way that all of us can understand. Using simple language, analogies, stories, hundreds of illustrations, and no more math than simple addition and multiplication, Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang provide a smart and accessible introduction to the handful of big ideas that drive the computer networks we use every day. The Power of Networks unifies these ideas through six fundamental principles of networking. These principles explain the difficulties in sharing network resources efficiently, how crowds can be wise or not so wise depending on the nature of their connections, why there are many layers in a network, and more. Along the way, the authors also talk with and share the special insights of renowned experts such as Google’s Eric Schmidt, former Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, and “fathers of the Internet” Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn.

A comprehensive text addressing the high demand for network, cloud, and content services through cutting-edge research on data pricing and business strategies Smart Data Pricing tackles the timely issue of surging demand for network, cloud, and content services and corresponding innovations in pricing these services to benefit consumers, operators, and content providers. The pricing of data traffic and other services is central to the core challenges of network monetization, growth sustainability, and bridging the digital divide. In this book, experts from both academia and industry discuss all aspects of smart data pricing research and development, including economic analyses, system development, user behavior evaluation, and business strategies. Smart Data Pricing: • Presents the analysis of leading researchers from industry and academia surrounding the pricing of network services and content. • Discusses current trends in mobile and wired data usage and their economic implications for content providers, network operators, end users, government regulators, and other players in the Internet ecosystem. • Includes new concepts and background technical knowledge that will help researchers and managers effectively monetize their networks and improve user quality-of-experience. • Provides cutting-edge research on business strategies and initiatives through a diverse collection of perspectives. • Combines academic and industry expertise from multiple disciplines and business organizations. The ideas and background of the technologies and economic principles discussed within these chapters are of real value to practitioners, researchers, and managers in identifying trends and deploying new pricing and network management technologies, and will help support managers in identifying new business directions and innovating solutions to challenging business problems.

How does Google sell ad space and rank webpages? How does Netflix recommend movies and Amazon rank products? How can you influence people on Facebook and Twitter and can you really reach anyone in six steps? Why doesn't the Internet collapse under congestion and does it have an Achilles' heel? Why are you charged per gigabyte for mobile data and how can Skype and BitTorrent be free? How are cloud services so scalable and why is WiFi slower at hotspots than at home? Driven by twenty real-world questions about our networked lives, this book explores the technology behind the multi-trillion dollar Internet and wireless industries. Providing easily understandable answers for the casually curious, alongside detailed explanations for those looking for in-depth discussion, this thought-provoking book is essential reading for students in engineering, science and economics, for network industry professionals and anyone curious about how technological and social networks really work.

Power Control in Wireless Cellular Networks provides a comprehensive survey of the models, algorithms, analysis, and methodologies in this vast and growing research area. It starts with a taxonomy of the wide range of power control problem formulations, and progresses from the basic formulation to more sophisticated ones. When transmit power is the only set of optimisation variables, algorithms for fixed SIR are presented first, before turning to their robust versions and joint SIR and power optimization. This is followed by opportunistic and non-cooperative power control. Then joint control of power together with beamforming pattern, base station assignment, spectrum allocation, and transmit schedule are surveyed one by one. This book highlights the use of mathematical language and tools in the study of power control, including optimisation theory, control theory, game theory, and linear algebra. Practical implementations of some of the algorithms in operational networks are discussed in the concluding chapter.