Metasurfaces have emerged as transformative electromagnetic structures for wireless communications, enabling the real-time control over wave propagation, yielding potential for improved data rates, privacy, energy efficiency and even precise environmental sensing. This tutorial offers a perspective on controlling metasurfaces by treating them as components of a larger networked system. Towards this end, we first review the physical principles of metasurfaces and their various applications, followed by an exploration of manufacturing approaches for creating these structures. Then, aligning with standard network layer concepts, we describe the modeling of metasurfaces as wave routers, enabling us to describe systems of metasurfaces using graph theory. This approach enables the development of a performance objective framework for optimizing these systems, while classes of heuristic and path-finding-driven algorithms are discussed as practical solvers. The paper also examines the integration of metasurfaces with communication systems, by presenting their overall workflow, discussing its relation to ongoing standardization efforts, as well as defining a context for their integration to network simulators, using Omnet++ as a driving example. Finally, the paper explores future directions for research in this field, identifying graph-theoretic, standardization and integration challenges, relating to several networking disciplines including AI-driven applications.

翻译：超表面已成为无线通信领域变革性的电磁结构，能够实现对波传播的实时控制，为提升数据速率、增强隐私保护、提高能源效率乃至实现精确环境感知提供了潜力。本教程通过将超表面视为更大网络系统的组成部分，提出了一种控制超表面的新视角。为此，我们首先回顾超表面的物理原理及其多样化应用，随后探讨制造这些结构的工艺方法。接着，基于标准网络分层概念，我们将超表面建模为波路由器，从而能够运用图论描述超表面系统。该方法有助于建立优化此类系统的性能目标框架，同时讨论了启发式算法和路径寻优驱动算法作为实际求解方案。本文还通过阐述超表面与通信系统的整体工作流程、探讨其与现行标准化工作的关联，并以Omnet++为例定义其在网络模拟器中的集成框架，深入研究了超表面与通信系统的融合。最后，本文展望了该领域的未来研究方向，指出了涉及图论、标准化与系统集成等方面的挑战，这些挑战与包括人工智能驱动应用在内的多个网络学科密切相关。