Wireless Quality of Service is a partial oxymoron because of the vulnerabilities of the channel to interference. Nevertheless, adding QoS capabilities to existing wireless LANs is a priority for those who seek to replace wired networks and/or transport multimedia streams.
The talk will provide background information and context for the subject, present an outline of the current active QoS initiatives within the IEEE 802.11 body, offer some simulation results for insight, and describe some of the challenges faced by vlsi and system designers in this complex network environment.
About the speaker:
Greg Chesson is currently Director of Protocols at Atheros Communications, http://www.atheros.com, a recent start-up in the wireless networking area with ties to the Stanford Computer Systems Laboratory.
Greg Chesson is a 1977 UIUC Phd '77. He brought UNIX to Illinois and, in the process became a UNIX and networking expert. He went on to work at Bell Labs (Datakit was his system) and then to become one of the founders of Silicon Graphics where he was employee 22 and sometimes called the "Godfather of Networking".
Chesson describes himself as a "multidisciplinary guy." The term "quintessential Renaissance man" is more like it. Constantly working in areas where a broad spectrum of ideas and technology intersect is a theme that runs throughout his life. Chesson's many contributions to computer science over the years, particularly in networking, have earned him recognition among his peers. And he continues to be a creative and vital force in computing technology as chief scientist at Silicon Graphics, where he has been since its early days and where he is sometimes called the Godfather of Networking.
Chesson grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and cannot remember a time when he wasn't taking things apart and putting things together. He was also always involved in music, having played the piano and percussion instruments at an early age. In 1962, his interest in machines and electronics led him to study physics at Union College in Schenectady, New York. After a year and a half, Chesson took a different turn: he joined the U.S. Air Force and wound up playing drums in a field band. This led, upon his return to civilian life, to his playing drums and sometimes organ in various rhythm and blues groups around the country. While touring in the late 1960s with Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders, he met jazz great Woody Herman in Las Vegas, joined his band on drums, and performed with the jazz greats in Woody Herman's band at that time: bassist Monk Montgomery, pianist John Hicks, tenor Sal Nistico, and trumpet Bill Chase. "Greg is also a pretty good pianist," said Professor Denny Mickunas. "The entire programming language community got to witness this during a POPL (Principles of Programming Languages Conference) reception in San Francisco in 1975. The reception seemed to be dragging, so Greg sat down at the grand piano and played for about thirty minutes."
Chesson finds time for running, serious woodworking, and gardening around his 1904 house in Palo Alto which he shares with his wife and daughter. He also occasionally can be found performing music; you can catch him playing drums occasionally with the San Francisco Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
Contact information:
Greg Chesson
Vox: 650-773-5258
Fax: 650-773-9940
greg@atheros.coma