This book is an outgrowth of lecture notes, conceived originally as a support for a
course of Network Traffic Engineering for graduate students at University of Roma
“La Sapienza.” The scope has broadened as the text took shape.
Communication networks, pervasive systems for smart environments, cloud
computing, big data management and analysis, Intelligent Transportation
Systems, smart energy grid, industrial automation, logistics, and inventory
management are but few examples that highlight the fast-paced evolution of networked systems. The complexity of those systems and of their inter-relationships, and the need to avoid wasting limited resources, call for adequate mathematical modeling and quantitative assessment.
A book is the result of interactions with a lot of people: colleagues, students and
friends. I am grateful to those with whom I have shared scientific work and fruitful
discussions, and from whom I have learned interesting ideas—too many over my
career to cite them all. A warm thank you goes to the Wiley editorial staff, who
has been generously supportive in the journey from manuscript to the final book
product. Finally, my family has provided continuous and precious help throughout
my work. Their love and patience were a great encouragement when my mind so
often strayed into a maze while pondering the ideas developed in this book.