This is my first draft of my SOP. Could someone review it? Any improvements or comments are appreciated.
Thanks a lot.
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A simple library management software was the first computer science project that I had undertaken. It was part of my senior year project in high school and it had all the key components of a complete product: Databases, Graphical User Interfaces and business logic to model the various transactions possible. This was my first opportunity to design, implement and test my own software. Throughout my childhood I have been fascinated by computers and computer games, but it was during this time that my interest in computers had truly taken a leap and when I first seriously started considering computer science as a career.
I decided to do my under graduation at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), one of the premier engineering institutions in India. During my four years here, I was introduced to several interesting subjects like Data Structures and Algorithms, Computer Networking, Operating Systems and Cryptography. This helped me build a good foundation which would serve me well later on. Here, I found that I had developed a keen interest towards Data Structures and Algorithms and Computer Networking in particular.
As part of my major project entitled "S-shaped increase with Smooth decrease TCP Congestion Control Algorithm", I was involved in a group research activity that, under the guidance of Dr. M.P. Sebastian, aimed at developing a new TCP congestion avoidance algorithm that would adapt to the available bandwidth and congestion conditions more efficiently than the Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD) algorithm currently used in standard TCP. The problem with the AIMD algorithm is that it strikes a lower balance between responsiveness to congestion and utilization of available bandwidth than is required in current internet scenarios with millions of nodes interconnected to one another. The project required studying several IEEE papers regarding modified versions of the TCP protocol with respect to the congestion window growth and decrease functions. After lot of deliberation, we picked out two papers, one describing the S-shaped TCP (SS-TCP) and the latter on Smooth decrease TCP. We evaluated the pros and cons of coupling the S-shaped increase with the smooth decrease by running simulations (using ns-2) and compared our implementation with several operational versions of TCP like TCP Reno and TCP Tahoe. The results from this simulation showed that our algorithm gave better throughput and had a better turn-around time than the AIMD algorithm, although TCP Reno did perform better. This really opened my eyes to the problems faced by modern day scientists in developing protocols that leverage faster delivery of payloads keeping an optimum throughput in mind.
I am currently employed with Nortel Networks India, one of the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers in the world. For the past two and a half years, I have been actively involved in several projects which have helped me gain tremendous practical knowledge in the networking field. I have been exposed to projects pertaining to the embedded software development of several of Nortel's low-end routers (Secure Routers 4134 and 2330). In one project, I implemented a feature to the Packet Capture (PCAP) module that required the capture of Virtual LAN (VLAN) packets. In another project, I was involved in implementation of secondary IP addresses for Wide Area Network (WAN) interfaces on the router. My work here has given me great insight into the implementation of Open System Interconnection Reference Model (OSI Model) Layer 2 protocols like Frame Relay (FR) and Point to Point Protocol (PPP), how they are integrated into the protocol stack of the router and how data packets are received and processed by the router.
I was also involved in enterprise application development for Nortel's Unified Communications (UC) portfolio product Agile Communications Environment (ACE). ACE aims at building a layer of services which enable multiple service providers to communicate with each other thereby breaking the vendor barrier. During my work on this product, I was given a glimpse of convergence in the making, the tremendous potential it has to change business processes all over the world and what communications-enabled applications have to offer to the world in its aid. Here I was exposed to application layer (OSI Layer 7) technologies and protocols like Voice over IP (VoIP), SIP, SOAP, XML and various aspects of Enterprise Java (J2EE).
Apart from my professional life, I have always tried to carve out some time for myself. Whether in college or at work, I believe it is absolutely necessary to engage one self in leisurely activities to encourage overall personality development and personal growth. As a result, I have been an active participant in sports and extra-curricular activities throughout my life.
On the whole, I have gained a lot of hands-on knowledge about Computer Networking after joining Nortel and I know it will increase as time goes by. But I still feel there is scope for further improvement, a need to further build up on the strong foundation that I had acquired in college and using this in fulfilling my urge to make a lasting contribution to the field. Some special areas of interest are in the fields of network topology design and efficient routing algorithms. To this end, I feel that pursuing a Masters degree is absolutely essential. I feel that being part of the research _____ currently being done by ________ in ________ will greatly _________.
Thanks a lot.
********************************************************************** ***
A simple library management software was the first computer science project that I had undertaken. It was part of my senior year project in high school and it had all the key components of a complete product: Databases, Graphical User Interfaces and business logic to model the various transactions possible. This was my first opportunity to design, implement and test my own software. Throughout my childhood I have been fascinated by computers and computer games, but it was during this time that my interest in computers had truly taken a leap and when I first seriously started considering computer science as a career.
I decided to do my under graduation at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), one of the premier engineering institutions in India. During my four years here, I was introduced to several interesting subjects like Data Structures and Algorithms, Computer Networking, Operating Systems and Cryptography. This helped me build a good foundation which would serve me well later on. Here, I found that I had developed a keen interest towards Data Structures and Algorithms and Computer Networking in particular.
As part of my major project entitled "S-shaped increase with Smooth decrease TCP Congestion Control Algorithm", I was involved in a group research activity that, under the guidance of Dr. M.P. Sebastian, aimed at developing a new TCP congestion avoidance algorithm that would adapt to the available bandwidth and congestion conditions more efficiently than the Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD) algorithm currently used in standard TCP. The problem with the AIMD algorithm is that it strikes a lower balance between responsiveness to congestion and utilization of available bandwidth than is required in current internet scenarios with millions of nodes interconnected to one another. The project required studying several IEEE papers regarding modified versions of the TCP protocol with respect to the congestion window growth and decrease functions. After lot of deliberation, we picked out two papers, one describing the S-shaped TCP (SS-TCP) and the latter on Smooth decrease TCP. We evaluated the pros and cons of coupling the S-shaped increase with the smooth decrease by running simulations (using ns-2) and compared our implementation with several operational versions of TCP like TCP Reno and TCP Tahoe. The results from this simulation showed that our algorithm gave better throughput and had a better turn-around time than the AIMD algorithm, although TCP Reno did perform better. This really opened my eyes to the problems faced by modern day scientists in developing protocols that leverage faster delivery of payloads keeping an optimum throughput in mind.
I am currently employed with Nortel Networks India, one of the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers in the world. For the past two and a half years, I have been actively involved in several projects which have helped me gain tremendous practical knowledge in the networking field. I have been exposed to projects pertaining to the embedded software development of several of Nortel's low-end routers (Secure Routers 4134 and 2330). In one project, I implemented a feature to the Packet Capture (PCAP) module that required the capture of Virtual LAN (VLAN) packets. In another project, I was involved in implementation of secondary IP addresses for Wide Area Network (WAN) interfaces on the router. My work here has given me great insight into the implementation of Open System Interconnection Reference Model (OSI Model) Layer 2 protocols like Frame Relay (FR) and Point to Point Protocol (PPP), how they are integrated into the protocol stack of the router and how data packets are received and processed by the router.
I was also involved in enterprise application development for Nortel's Unified Communications (UC) portfolio product Agile Communications Environment (ACE). ACE aims at building a layer of services which enable multiple service providers to communicate with each other thereby breaking the vendor barrier. During my work on this product, I was given a glimpse of convergence in the making, the tremendous potential it has to change business processes all over the world and what communications-enabled applications have to offer to the world in its aid. Here I was exposed to application layer (OSI Layer 7) technologies and protocols like Voice over IP (VoIP), SIP, SOAP, XML and various aspects of Enterprise Java (J2EE).
Apart from my professional life, I have always tried to carve out some time for myself. Whether in college or at work, I believe it is absolutely necessary to engage one self in leisurely activities to encourage overall personality development and personal growth. As a result, I have been an active participant in sports and extra-curricular activities throughout my life.
On the whole, I have gained a lot of hands-on knowledge about Computer Networking after joining Nortel and I know it will increase as time goes by. But I still feel there is scope for further improvement, a need to further build up on the strong foundation that I had acquired in college and using this in fulfilling my urge to make a lasting contribution to the field. Some special areas of interest are in the fields of network topology design and efficient routing algorithms. To this end, I feel that pursuing a Masters degree is absolutely essential. I feel that being part of the research _____ currently being done by ________ in ________ will greatly _________.
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