12 research outputs found
Quality of Service optimisation framework for Next Generation Networks
Within recent years, the concept of Next Generation Networks (NGN) has become widely accepted within the telecommunication area, in parallel with the migration of telecommunication networks from traditional circuit-switched technologies such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) towards packet-switched NGN. In this context, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), originally developed for Internet use only, has emerged as the major signalling protocol for multimedia sessions in IP (Internet Protocol) based NGN.
One of the traditional limitations of IP when faced with the challenges of real-time communications is the lack of quality support at the network layer. In line with NGN specification work, international standardisation bodies have defined a sophisticated QoS (Quality of Service) architecture for NGN, controlling IP transport resources and conventional IP QoS mechanisms through centralised higher layer network elements via cross-layer signalling.
Being able to centrally control QoS conditions for any media session in NGN without the imperative of a cross-layer approach would result in a feasible and less complex NGN architecture. Especially the demand for additional network elements would be decreased, resulting in the reduction of system and operational costs in both, service and transport infrastructure.
This thesis proposes a novel framework for QoS optimisation for media sessions in SIP-based NGN without the need for cross-layer signalling. One key contribution of the framework is the approach to identify and logically group media sessions that encounter similar QoS conditions, which is performed by applying pattern recognition and clustering techniques. Based on this novel methodology, the framework provides functions and mechanisms for comprehensive resource-saving QoS estimation, adaptation of QoS conditions, and support of Call Admission Control. The framework can be integrated with any arbitrary SIP-IP-based real-time communication infrastructure, since it does not require access to any particular QoS control or monitoring functionalities provided within the IP transport network.
The proposed framework concept has been deployed and validated in a prototypical simulation environment. Simulation results show MOS (Mean Opinion Score) improvement rates between 53 and 66 percent without any active control of transport network resources.
Overall, the proposed framework comes as an effective concept for central controlled QoS optimisation in NGN without the need for cross-layer signalling. As such, by either being run stand-alone or combined with conventional QoS control mechanisms, the framework provides a comprehensive basis for both the reduction of complexity and mitigation of issues coming along with QoS provision in NGN
Investigation of an intelligent personalised service recommendation system in an IMS based cellular mobile network
Success or failure of future information and communication services in general and mobile communications in particular is greatly dependent on the level of personalisations they can offer. While the provision of anytime, anywhere, anyhow services has been the focus of wireless telecommunications in recent years, personalisation however has gained more and more attention as the unique selling point of mobile devices. Smart phones should be intelligent enough to match user’s unique needs and preferences to provide a truly personalised service tailored for the individual user.
In the first part of this thesis, the importance and role of personalisation in future mobile networks is studied. This is followed, by an agent based futuristic user scenario that addresses the provision of rich data services independent of location. Scenario analysis identifies the requirements and challenges to be solved for the realisation of a personalised service. An architecture based on IP Multimedia Subsystem is proposed for mobility and to provide service continuity whilst roaming between two different access standards. Another aspect of personalisation, which is user preference modelling, is investigated in the context of service selection in a multi 3rd party service provider environment. A model is proposed for the automatic acquisition of user preferences to assist in service selection decision-making. User preferences are modelled based on a two-level Bayesian Metanetwork. Personal agents incorporating the proposed model provide answers to preference related queries such as cost, QoS and service provider reputation. This allows users to have their preferences considered automatically
Optimização de recursos para difusão em redes de próxima geração
Doutoramento em ElectrotecniaEsta tese aborda o problema de optimização de recursos de rede, na entrega de Serviços de Comunicação em Grupo, em Redes de Próxima Geração que suportem tecnologias de difusão. De acordo com esta problemática, são feitas propostas que levam em atenção a evolução espectável das redes 3G em Redes Heterogéneas de Próxima Geração que incluam tecnologias de difusão tais como o DVB. A optimização de recursos em Comunicações em Grupo é apresentada como um desafio vertical que deve cruzar diversas camadas. As optimizações aqui propostas cobrem tanto a interface entre Aplicação e a Plataforma de Serviços para a disponibilização de serviços de comunicação em grupo, como as abstracções e mapeamentos feitos na interface entre a Rede Central e a Rede de Acesso Rádio. As optimizações propostas nesta tese, assumem que o caminho evolutivo na direcção de uma Rede de Próxima Geração é feito através do IP. Em primeiro lugar são endereçadas as optimizações entre a Aplicação e a Plataforma de Serviços que já podem ser integradas nas redes 3G existentes. Estas optimizações podem potenciar o desenvolvimento de novas e inovadoras aplicações, que através do uso de mecanismos de distribuição em difusão podem fazer um uso mais eficiente dos recursos de rede. De seguida são apresentadas optimizações ao nível da interface entre a Rede Central e a Rede de Acesso Rádio que abordam a heterogeneidade das redes futuras assim como a necessidade de suportar tecnologias de difusão. É ainda considerada a possibilidade de aumentar a qualidade de serviço de serviços de difusão através do mapeamento do IP multicast em portadoras unidireccionais. Por forma a validar todas estas optimizações, vários protótipos foram desenvolvidos com base num router avançado para redes de acesso de próxima geração. As funcionalidades e arquitectura de software desse router são também aqui apresentadas.This thesis addresses the problem of optimizing network resource usage, for the delivery of Group Services, in Next Generation Networks featuring broadcast technologies. In this scope, proposals are made according to the expected evolution of 3G networks into Next Generation Heterogeneous Networks that include broadcast technologies such as DVB. Group Communication resource optimization is considered a vertical challenge that must cross several layers. The optimizations here proposed cover both Application to Service Platform interfaces for group communication services, and Core Network to Radio Access Network interface abstractions and mappings. The proposed optimizations are also presented taking into consideration network evolution path towards an All-IP based Next Generation Network. First it is addressed the Application to Service Platform optimization, which can already be deployed over 3G networks. This optimization could potentiate the development of new and innovative applications that through the use of broadcast/multicast service delivery mechanisms could be more efficient network wise. Next proposals are made on the Core Network to Radio Access Network interfaces that address the heterogeneity of future networks and consider the need to support broadcast networks. It is also considered the possibility to increase the Quality of Service of broadcast/multicast services based on the dynamic mapping of IP multicast into unicast radio bearers. In order to validate these optimizations, several prototypes were built based on an advanced access router for next generation networks. Such access router functionalities and software architecture are also presented here
Acesso banda larga sem fios em ambientes heterogéneos de próxima geração
Doutoramento em Engenharia InformáticaO acesso ubíquo à Internet é um dos principais desafios para os operadores
de telecomunicações na próxima década. O número de utilizadores da Internet
está a crescer exponencialmente e o paradigma de acesso "always connected,
anytime, anywhere" é um requisito fundamental para as redes móveis de
próxima geração. A tecnologia WiMAX, juntamente com o LTE, foi
recentemente reconhecida pelo ITU como uma das tecnologias de acesso
compatíveis com os requisitos do 4G. Ainda assim, esta tecnologia de acesso
não está completamente preparada para ambientes de próxima geração,
principalmente devido à falta de mecanismos de cross-layer para integração de
QoS e mobilidade. Adicionalmente, para além das tecnologias WiMAX e LTE,
as tecnologias de acesso rádio UMTS/HSPA e Wi-Fi continuarão a ter um
impacto significativo nas comunicações móveis durante os próximos anos.
Deste modo, é fundamental garantir a coexistência das várias tecnologias de
acesso rádio em termos de QoS e mobilidade, permitindo assim a entrega de
serviços multimédia de tempo real em redes móveis.
Para garantir a entrega de serviços multimédia a utilizadores WiMAX, esta
Tese propõe um gestor cross-layer WiMAX integrado com uma arquitectura de
QoS fim-a-fim. A arquitectura apresentada permite o controlo de QoS e a
comunicação bidireccional entre o sistema WiMAX e as entidades das
camadas superiores. Para além disso, o gestor de cross-layer proposto é
estendido com eventos e comandos genéricos e independentes da tecnologia
para optimizar os procedimentos de mobilidade em ambientes WiMAX. Foram
realizados testes para avaliar o desempenho dos procedimentos de QoS e
mobilidade da arquitectura WiMAX definida, demonstrando que esta é
perfeitamente capaz de entregar serviços de tempo real sem introduzir custos
excessivos na rede.
No seguimento das extensões de QoS e mobilidade apresentadas para a
tecnologia WiMAX, o âmbito desta Tese foi alargado para ambientes de
acesso sem-fios heterogéneos. Neste sentido, é proposta uma arquitectura de
mobilidade transparente com suporte de QoS para redes de acesso multitecnologia.
A arquitectura apresentada integra uma versão estendida do IEEE
802.21 com suporte de QoS, bem como um gestor de mobilidade avançado
integrado com os protocolos de gestão de mobilidade do nível IP. Finalmente,
para completar o trabalho desenvolvido no âmbito desta Tese, é proposta uma
extensão aos procedimentos de decisão de mobilidade em ambientes
heterogéneos para incorporar a informação de contexto da rede e do terminal.
Para validar e avaliar as optimizações propostas, foram desenvolvidos testes
de desempenho num demonstrador inter-tecnologia, composta pelas redes de
acesso WiMAX, Wi-Fi e UMTS/HSPA.Ubiquitous Internet access is one of the main challenges for the
telecommunications industry in the next decade. The number of users
accessing the Internet is growing exponentially and the network access
paradigm of “always connected, anytime, anywhere” is a central requirement
for the so-called Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN). WiMAX, together
with LTE, was recently recognized by ITU as one of the compliant access
technologies for 4G. Nevertheless, WiMAX is not yet fully prepared for next
generation environments, mainly due to the lack of QoS and mobility crosslayer
procedures to support real-time multimedia services delivery.
Furthermore, besides the 4G compliant WiMAX and LTE radio access
technologies, UMTS/HSPA and Wi-Fi will also have a significant impact in the
mobile communications during the next years. Therefore, it is fundamental to
ensure the coexistence of multiple radio access technologies in what QoS and
mobility procedures are concerned, thereby allowing the delivery of real-time
services in mobile networks.
In order to provide the WiMAX mobile users with the demanded multimedia
services, it is proposed in this Thesis a WiMAX cross-layer manager integrated
in an end-to-end all-IP QoS enabled architecture. The presented framework
enables the QoS control and bidirectional communication between WiMAX and
the upper layer network entities. Furthermore, the proposed cross-layer
framework is extended with media independent events and commands to
optimize the mobility procedures in WiMAX environments. Tests were made to
evaluate the QoS and mobility performance of the defined architecture,
demonstrating that it is perfectly capable of handling and supporting real time
services without introducing an excessive cost in the network.
Following the QoS and mobility extensions provided for WiMAX, the scope of
this Thesis is broaden and a seamless mobility architecture with QoS support in
heterogeneous wireless access environments is proposed. The presented
architecture integrates an extended version of the IEEE 802.21 framework with
QoS support, as well as an advanced mobility manager integrated with the IP
level mobility management protocols. Finally, to complete the work within the
framework of this Thesis, it is proposed an extension to the handover decisionmaking
processes in heterogeneous access environments through the
integration of context information from both the network entities and the enduser.
Performance tests were developed in a real testbed to validate the
proposed optimizations in an inter-technology handover scenario involving
WiMAX, Wi-Fi and UMTS/HSPA
Infraestrutura segura e descentralizada para a internet das coisas
Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesDespite many IoT Infrastructures having been implemented in recent years,
none of them is truly prepared for a global deployment, where failure tolerance
and scalability are an essential requirement. This dissertation presents
an alternative concept for IoT Infrastructures, which focuses on enhancing
the traditional centralized architecture, usually operated by a single entity, into
a decentralized architecture featuring multiple entities and use cases. We
propose a dynamic, community driven and self-configurable infrastructure on
top of a structured Peer-to-Peer network, based on a Distributed Hash Table.
Moreover, the proposed infrastructure is flexible enough to allow each peer of
the overlay to enable a set of different services, according to its capabilities.
In addition, a set of communication protocols is provided in order to support
heterogeneous devices, as well as data access, streaming and persistence. It
is also an important focus of our proposal to have mechanisms that guarantee
the privacy and security of the information flow and storage.Apesar de várias infraestruturas para IoT terem sido implementadas nos últimos
anos, nenhuma delas está realmente preparada para ser utilizada a
uma escala global, onde a escalabilidade e a tolerância a falhas são um
requisito essencial. Esta dissertação apresenta um conceito alternativo de
infraestruturas para a IoT, cujo foco consiste em evoluir a tradicional arquitetura
centralizada, normalmente utilizada por uma entidade única, para uma
arquitetura descentralizada, compatível com múltiplas entidades e casos de
uso. Propomos uma infraestrutura auto-configurável, dinâmica e orientada à
comunidade, construída em cima de uma rede Peer-to-Peer estruturada, baseada
numa Distributed Hash Table. Além disso, a infraestrutura proposta é
suficientemente flexível para permitir que cada peer da rede possa ativar diferentes
serviços, mediante as suas capacidades. Por outro lado, um conjunto
de protocolos de comunicação é providenciado, de modo a suportar dispositivos
heterogéneos, bem como o acesso aos dados e a sua transmissão e
persistência. Também é um foco importante desta proposta a disponibilização
de mecanismos que garantam a privacidade e segurança da informação
durante a sua transmissão e o seu armazenamento
A unified data repository for rich communication services
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a framework that defines a set of IP-based services for the delivery of multimedia communications to mobile network subscribers. The framework unifies a set of pre-existing communication services under a single name, and permits network operators to re-use investments in existing network infrastructure, especially the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which is a core part of a mobile network and also acts as a docking station for RCS services. RCS generates and utilises disparate subscriber data sets during execution, however, it lacks a harmonised repository for the management of such data sets, thus making it difficult to obtain a unified view of heterogeneous subscriber data. This thesis proposes the creation of a unified data repository for RCS which is based on the User Data Convergence (UDC) standard. The standard was proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a major telecommunications standardisation group. UDC provides an approach for consolidating subscriber data into a single logical repository without adversely affecting existing network infrastructure, such as the IMS. Thus, this thesis details the design and development of a prototypical implementation of a unified repository, named Converged Subscriber Data Repository (CSDR). It adopts a polyglot persistence model for the underlying data store and exposes heterogeneous data through the Open Data Protocol (OData), which is a candidate implementation of the Ud interface defined in the UDC architecture. With the introduction of polyglot persistence, multiple data stores can be used within the CSDR and disparate network data sources can access heterogeneous data sets using OData as a standard communications protocol. As the CSDR persistence model becomes more complex due to the inclusion of more storage technologies, polyglot persistence ensures a consistent conceptual view of these data sets through OData. Importantly, the CSDR prototype was integrated into a popular open-source implementation of the core part of an IMS network known as the Open IMS Core. The successful integration of the prototype demonstrates its ability to manage and expose a consolidated view of heterogeneous subscriber data, which are generated and used by different RCS services deployed within IMS
Entrega de conteúdos multimédia em over-the-top: caso de estudo das gravações automáticas
Doutoramento em Engenharia EletrotécnicaOver-The-Top (OTT) multimedia delivery is a very appealing approach for providing
ubiquitous,
exible, and globally accessible services capable of low-cost
and unrestrained device targeting. In spite of its appeal, the underlying delivery
architecture must be carefully planned and optimized to maintain a high Qualityof-
Experience (QoE) and rational resource usage, especially when migrating from
services running on managed networks with established quality guarantees. To address
the lack of holistic research works on OTT multimedia delivery systems, this
Thesis focuses on an end-to-end optimization challenge, considering a migration
use-case of a popular Catch-up TV service from managed IP Television (IPTV)
networks to OTT. A global study is conducted on the importance of Catch-up
TV and its impact in today's society, demonstrating the growing popularity of
this time-shift service, its relevance in the multimedia landscape, and tness as
an OTT migration use-case. Catch-up TV consumption logs are obtained from
a Pay-TV operator's live production IPTV service containing over 1 million subscribers
to characterize demand and extract insights from service utilization at a
scale and scope not yet addressed in the literature. This characterization is used
to build demand forecasting models relying on machine learning techniques to enable
static and dynamic optimization of OTT multimedia delivery solutions, which
are able to produce accurate bandwidth and storage requirements' forecasts, and
may be used to achieve considerable power and cost savings whilst maintaining a
high QoE. A novel caching algorithm, Most Popularly Used (MPU), is proposed,
implemented, and shown to outperform established caching algorithms in both
simulation and experimental scenarios. The need for accurate QoE measurements
in OTT scenarios supporting HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) motivates the creation
of a new QoE model capable of taking into account the impact of key HAS
aspects. By addressing the complete content delivery pipeline in the envisioned
content-aware OTT Content Delivery Network (CDN), this Thesis demonstrates
that signi cant improvements are possible in next-generation multimedia delivery
solutions.A entrega de conteúdos multimédia em Over-The-Top (OTT) e uma proposta
atractiva para fornecer um serviço flexível e globalmente acessível, capaz de alcançar qualquer dispositivo, com uma promessa de baixos custos. Apesar das suas vantagens, e necessario um planeamento arquitectural detalhado e optimizado para manter níveis elevados de Qualidade de Experiência (QoE), em particular aquando da migração dos serviços suportados em redes geridas com garantias de qualidade pré-estabelecidas. Para colmatar a falta de trabalhos de investigação na área de sistemas de entrega de conteúdos multimédia em OTT, esta Tese foca-se na optimização destas soluções como um todo, partindo do caso de uso de migração de um serviço popular de Gravações Automáticas suportado em redes de Televisão sobre IP (IPTV) geridas, para um cenário de entrega em OTT. Um estudo global para aferir a importância das Gravações Automáticas revela a sua relevância no panorama de serviços multimédia e a sua adequação enquanto caso de uso de
migração para cenários OTT. São obtidos registos de consumos de um serviço
de produção de Gravações Automáticas, representando mais de 1 milhão de assinantes,
para caracterizar e extrair informação de consumos numa escala e âmbito
não contemplados ate a data na literatura. Esta caracterização e utilizada para
construir modelos de previsão de carga, tirando partido de sistemas de machine
learning, que permitem optimizações estáticas e dinâmicas dos sistemas de entrega
de conteúdos em OTT através de previsões das necessidades de largura de banda e
armazenamento, potenciando ganhos significativos em consumo energético e custos.
Um novo mecanismo de caching, Most Popularly Used (MPU), demonstra um
desempenho superior as soluções de referencia, quer em cenários de simulação quer
experimentais. A necessidade de medição exacta da QoE em streaming adaptativo
HTTP motiva a criaçao de um modelo capaz de endereçar aspectos específicos
destas tecnologias adaptativas. Ao endereçar a cadeia completa de entrega através
de uma arquitectura consciente dos seus conteúdos, esta Tese demonstra que são
possíveis melhorias de desempenho muito significativas nas redes de entregas de
conteúdos em OTT de próxima geração
Application of advanced machine learning techniques to early network traffic classification
The fast-paced evolution of the Internet is drawing a complex context which
imposes demanding requirements to assure end-to-end Quality of Service. The
development of advanced intelligent approaches in networking is envisioning
features that include autonomous resource allocation, fast reaction against
unexpected network events and so on. Internet Network Traffic Classification
constitutes a crucial source of information for Network Management, being decisive
in assisting the emerging network control paradigms. Monitoring traffic flowing
through network devices support tasks such as: network orchestration, traffic
prioritization, network arbitration and cyberthreats detection, amongst others.
The traditional traffic classifiers became obsolete owing to the rapid Internet
evolution. Port-based classifiers suffer from significant accuracy losses due to port
masking, meanwhile Deep Packet Inspection approaches have severe user-privacy
limitations. The advent of Machine Learning has propelled the application of
advanced algorithms in diverse research areas, and some learning approaches have
proved as an interesting alternative to the classic traffic classification approaches.
Addressing Network Traffic Classification from a Machine Learning perspective
implies numerous challenges demanding research efforts to achieve feasible
classifiers. In this dissertation, we endeavor to formulate and solve important
research questions in Machine-Learning-based Network Traffic Classification. As a
result of numerous experiments, the knowledge provided in this research constitutes
an engaging case of study in which network traffic data from two different
environments are successfully collected, processed and modeled.
Firstly, we approached the Feature Extraction and Selection processes providing our
own contributions. A Feature Extractor was designed to create Machine-Learning
ready datasets from real traffic data, and a Feature Selection Filter based on fast
correlation is proposed and tested in several classification datasets. Then, the
original Network Traffic Classification datasets are reduced using our Selection
Filter to provide efficient classification models. Many classification models based on
CART Decision Trees were analyzed exhibiting excellent outcomes in identifying
various Internet applications. The experiments presented in this research comprise
a comparison amongst ensemble learning schemes, an exploratory study on Class
Imbalance and solutions; and an analysis of IP-header predictors for early traffic
classification. This thesis is presented in the form of compendium of JCR-indexed
scientific manuscripts and, furthermore, one conference paper is included.
In the present work we study a wide number of learning approaches employing the
most advance methodology in Machine Learning. As a result, we identify the
strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms, providing our own solutions to
overcome the observed limitations. Shortly, this thesis proves that Machine
Learning offers interesting advanced techniques that open prominent prospects in
Internet Network Traffic Classification.Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería TelemáticaDoctorado en Tecnologías de la Información y las Telecomunicacione
Calibración de un algoritmo de detección de anomalías marítimas basado en la fusión de datos satelitales
La fusión de diferentes fuentes de datos aporta una ayuda significativa en el proceso de toma de decisiones. El presente artículo describe el desarrollo de una plataforma que permite detectar anomalías marítimas por medio de la fusión de datos del Sistema de Información Automática (AIS) para seguimiento de buques y de imágenes satelitales de Radares de Apertura Sintética (SAR). Estas anomalías son presentadas al operador como un conjunto de detecciones que requieren ser monitoreadas para descubrir su naturaleza. El proceso de detección se lleva adelante primero identificando objetos dentro de las imágenes SAR a través de la aplicación de algoritmos CFAR, y luego correlacionando los objetos detectados con los datos reportados mediante el sistema AIS.
En este trabajo reportamos las pruebas realizadas con diferentes configuraciones de los parámetros para los algoritmos de detección y asociación, analizamos la respuesta de la plataforma y reportamos la combinación de parámetros que reporta mejores resultados para las imágenes utilizadas.
Este es un primer paso en nuestro objetivo futuro de desarrollar un sistema que ajuste los parámetros en forma dinámica dependiendo de las imágenes disponibles.XVI Workshop Computación Gráfica, Imágenes y Visualización (WCGIV)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI