Platform for quality of experience evaluation in real time applications over LTE networks

Dissertação apresentado à Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desenvolvimento de Software e Sistemas InterativosAtualmente existem vário simuladores para várias tecnologias de redes sem fios (LTE, UMTS, Wi-Fi ...). Quase todos eles simulam valores para diferentes utilizadores como por exemplo de taxas de transferência (Mbit/s), a potência recebida, a SNR, entre outros valores, dependendo do tipo de simulação. A maioria dos resultados apresentados pelos simuladores correspondem apenas a números, como valores de taxa de transferência ou BER. Então, é difícil entender o impacto desses valores numa comunicação real. Pretende-se com este projeto dar a utilizador por exemplo 2 Mbits/s de taxa de transferência (uplink/downlink), um valor BER de 1x10−6 ou uma potência recebida em torno 1NW obtidos num cenário de simulação e em tempo real e para um cenário real o utilizador experienciar as condições de comunicação e interatividade com as mesmas aplicações utilizadas na realidade. O desenvolvimento da plataforma proposta neste projeto tem como objetivo verificar e avaliar em tempo real a QoS e a QoE obtida para um utilizador simulado naquele momento e para o cenário simulado. Isso permite que os utilizadores experienciem a interatividade com aplicações para diferentes cenários de simulação. Esta plataforma tem como objetivo converter os valores numéricos obtidos apenas por ferramentas de simulação, para uma experiência em tempo real para um determinado cenário simulado. Inicialmente, a rede pretendida a simular é LTE, mas outros protocolos e tipos de rede poderão ser utilizados e testados nesta plataforma, desde que sejam baseados no protocolo IP, tal como o LTE.Abstract: There are many simulators for various wireless technologies (LTE, UMTS, WI-FI …). Almost all of them have different values for users as bitrate, received power, SNR, among other values depending on the simulation type. Most of the simulators results are just numbers like bitrate or BER values. So is difficult to understand the impact of those values in a real communication. It is intended with this project to give a user for instance 2Mbits/s bitrate, a BER value of 1x10−6 or a received power around 1NW in a simulation scenario and he could in real time and real scenario experience the communication conditions and interactivity with applications. The development of the platform proposed in this project aims to verify in real time the QoS and QoE which simulated user experiences in that moment on the simulated scenario. This allows users to experience the interactivity with applications for different simulation scenarios. This platform aims to convert the values merely numerical, obtained by simulation tools, to a real-time experience for the scenario simulated. Initially the target network is LTE, but other network protocols will be allowed to use ant test, since that they are IP based protocols like LTE

Robust, Resilient Networked Communication in Challenged Environments

In challenged environments, digital communication infrastructure may be difficult or even impossible to access. This is especially true in rural and developing regions, as well as in any region during a time of political or environmental crisis. We advance the state of the art in wireless networking and security to design networks and applications that rapidly assess changing networking conditions to restore communication and provide local situational awareness. This dissertation examines new systems for responding to current and emerging needs for wireless networks. This work looks across the wireless ecosystem of widely deployed standards. We develop new tools to improve network assessment and to provide robust and reliable network communication. By incorporating new technological breakthroughs, such as the wide commercial success of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), we introduce novel methods and systems for existing wireless standards for these challenged networks. We assess how existing technologies and standards function in difficult environments: lacking end-end Internet connectivity, experiencing overload or other resource constraints, and operating in three dimensional space. Through this lens, we demonstrate how to optimize networks to serve marginalized communities outside of first world urban cities and make our networks resilient to natural and political crisis that threaten communication

Métodos y Herramientas para el Diseño y Verificación de Sistemas de Comunicaciones Móviles

El objetivo de esta Tesis ha sido la consecución de tecnología para el diseño y mantenimiento eficientes, en coste temporal y económico, de Sistemas de Pruebas para equipos de comunicaciones inalámbricas. El proceso de diseño elaborado se ha basado en un conjunto de principios básicos: uso de lenguajes y notaciones ITU, independencia de la plataforma de ejecución y uso de herramientas comerciales. En esta Tesis se describe: a) Una arquitectura genérica para Sistemas de Pruebas. b) Una Metodología de Diseño de Sistemas de Pruebas. c) Un conjunto de herramientas de soporte. d) Una propuesta de metodología para el modelado con SDL. e) La aplicación a Sistemas de Pruebas de capa física de la arquitectura, métodos y herramientas utilizados en el área de protocolos. f) Un conjunto de implementaciones que validan las aportaciones anteriores

Building the Future Internet through FIRE

The Internet as we know it today is the result of a continuous activity for improving network communications, end user services, computational processes and also information technology infrastructures. The Internet has become a critical infrastructure for the human-being by offering complex networking services and end-user applications that all together have transformed all aspects, mainly economical, of our lives. Recently, with the advent of new paradigms and the progress in wireless technology, sensor networks and information systems and also the inexorable shift towards everything connected paradigm, first as known as the Internet of Things and lately envisioning into the Internet of Everything, a data-driven society has been created. In a data-driven society, productivity, knowledge, and experience are dependent on increasingly open, dynamic, interdependent and complex Internet services. The challenge for the Internet of the Future design is to build robust enabling technologies, implement and deploy adaptive systems, to create business opportunities considering increasing uncertainties and emergent systemic behaviors where humans and machines seamlessly cooperate

Kommunikation und Bildverarbeitung in der Automation

In diesem Open-Access-Tagungsband sind die besten Beiträge des 9. Jahreskolloquiums "Kommunikation in der Automation" (KommA 2018) und des 6. Jahreskolloquiums "Bildverarbeitung in der Automation" (BVAu 2018) enthalten. Die Kolloquien fanden am 20. und 21. November 2018 in der SmartFactoryOWL, einer gemeinsamen Einrichtung des Fraunhofer IOSB-INA und der Technischen Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe statt. Die vorgestellten neuesten Forschungsergebnisse auf den Gebieten der industriellen Kommunikationstechnik und Bildverarbeitung erweitern den aktuellen Stand der Forschung und Technik. Die in den Beiträgen enthaltenen anschaulichen Beispiele aus dem Bereich der Automation setzen die Ergebnisse in den direkten Anwendungsbezug

Building the Future Internet through FIRE

The Internet as we know it today is the result of a continuous activity for improving network communications, end user services, computational processes and also information technology infrastructures. The Internet has become a critical infrastructure for the human-being by offering complex networking services and end-user applications that all together have transformed all aspects, mainly economical, of our lives. Recently, with the advent of new paradigms and the progress in wireless technology, sensor networks and information systems and also the inexorable shift towards everything connected paradigm, first as known as the Internet of Things and lately envisioning into the Internet of Everything, a data-driven society has been created. In a data-driven society, productivity, knowledge, and experience are dependent on increasingly open, dynamic, interdependent and complex Internet services. The challenge for the Internet of the Future design is to build robust enabling technologies, implement and deploy adaptive systems, to create business opportunities considering increasing uncertainties and emergent systemic behaviors where humans and machines seamlessly cooperate

Kommunikation und Bildverarbeitung in der Automation

In diesem Open Access-Tagungsband sind die besten Beiträge des 11. Jahreskolloquiums "Kommunikation in der Automation" (KommA 2020) und des 7. Jahreskolloquiums "Bildverarbeitung in der Automation" (BVAu 2020) enthalten. Die Kolloquien fanden am 28. und 29. Oktober 2020 statt und wurden erstmalig als digitale Webveranstaltung auf dem Innovation Campus Lemgo organisiert. Die vorgestellten neuesten Forschungsergebnisse auf den Gebieten der industriellen Kommunikationstechnik und Bildverarbeitung erweitern den aktuellen Stand der Forschung und Technik. Die in den Beiträgen enthaltenen anschauliche Anwendungsbeispiele aus dem Bereich der Automation setzen die Ergebnisse in den direkten Anwendungsbezug

Sustainable scheduling policies for radio access networks based on LTE technology

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyIn the LTE access networks, the Radio Resource Management (RRM) is one of the most important modules which is responsible for handling the overall management of radio resources. The packet scheduler is a particular sub-module which assigns the existing radio resources to each user in order to deliver the requested services in the most efficient manner. Data packets are scheduled dynamically at every Transmission Time Interval (TTI), a time window used to take the user’s requests and to respond them accordingly. The scheduling procedure is conducted by using scheduling rules which select different users to be scheduled at each TTI based on some priority metrics. Various scheduling rules exist and they behave differently by balancing the scheduler performance in the direction imposed by one of the following objectives: increasing the system throughput, maintaining the user fairness, respecting the Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR), Head of Line (HoL) packet delay, packet loss rate and queue stability requirements. Most of the static scheduling rules follow the sequential multi-objective optimization in the sense that when the first targeted objective is satisfied, then other objectives can be prioritized. When the targeted scheduling objective(s) can be satisfied at each TTI, the LTE scheduler is considered to be optimal or feasible. So, the scheduling performance depends on the exploited rule being focused on particular objectives. This study aims to increase the percentage of feasible TTIs for a given downlink transmission by applying a mixture of scheduling rules instead of using one discipline adopted across the entire scheduling session. Two types of optimization problems are proposed in this sense: Dynamic Scheduling Rule based Sequential Multi-Objective Optimization (DSR-SMOO) when the applied scheduling rules address the same objective and Dynamic Scheduling Rule based Concurrent Multi-Objective Optimization (DSR-CMOO) if the pool of rules addresses different scheduling objectives. The best way of solving such complex optimization problems is to adapt and to refine scheduling policies which are able to call different rules at each TTI based on the best matching scheduler conditions (states). The idea is to develop a set of non-linear functions which maps the scheduler state at each TTI in optimal distribution probabilities of selecting the best scheduling rule. Due to the multi-dimensional and continuous characteristics of the scheduler state space, the scheduling functions should be approximated. Moreover, the function approximations are learned through the interaction with the RRM environment. The Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms are used in this sense in order to evaluate and to refine the scheduling policies for the considered DSR-SMOO/CMOO optimization problems. The neural networks are used to train the non-linear mapping functions based on the interaction among the intelligent controller, the LTE packet scheduler and the RRM environment. In order to enhance the convergence in the feasible state and to reduce the scheduler state space dimension, meta-heuristic approaches are used for the channel statement aggregation. Simulation results show that the proposed aggregation scheme is able to outperform other heuristic methods. When the aggregation scheme of the channel statements is exploited, the proposed DSR-SMOO/CMOO problems focusing on different objectives which are solved by using various RL approaches are able to: increase the mean percentage of feasible TTIs, minimize the number of TTIs when the RL approaches punish the actions taken TTI-by-TTI, and minimize the variation of the performance indicators when different simulations are launched in parallel. This way, the obtained scheduling policies being focused on the multi-objective criteria are sustainable. Keywords: LTE, packet scheduling, scheduling rules, multi-objective optimization, reinforcement learning, channel, aggregation, scheduling policies, sustainable