294 research outputs found
A Unified Mobility Management Architecture for Interworked Heterogeneous Mobile Networks
The buzzword of this decade has been convergence: the convergence of telecommunications, Internet, entertainment, and information technologies for the seamless provisioning of multimedia services across different network types. Thus the future Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) can be envisioned as a group of co-existing heterogeneous mobile data networking technologies sharing a common Internet Protocol (IP) based backbone. In such all-IP based heterogeneous networking environments, ongoing sessions from roaming users are subjected to frequent vertical handoffs across network boundaries. Therefore, ensuring uninterrupted service continuity during session handoffs requires successful mobility and session management mechanisms to be implemented in these participating access networks. Therefore, it is essential for a common interworking framework to be in place for ensuring seamless service continuity over dissimilar networks to enable a potential user to freely roam from one network to another. For the best of our knowledge, the need for a suitable unified mobility and session management framework for the NGMN has not been successfully addressed as yet. This can be seen as the primary motivation of this research. Therefore, the key objectives of this thesis can be stated as: To propose a mobility-aware novel architecture for interworking between heterogeneous mobile data networks To propose a framework for facilitating unified real-time session management (inclusive of session establishment and seamless session handoff) across these different networks. In order to achieve the above goals, an interworking architecture is designed by incorporating the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) as the coupling mediator between dissipate mobile data networking technologies. Subsequently, two different mobility management frameworks are proposed and implemented over the initial interworking architectural design. The first mobility management framework is fully handled by the IMS at the Application Layer. This framework is primarily dependant on the IMS’s default session management protocol, which is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The second framework is a combined method based on SIP and the Mobile IP (MIP) protocols, which is essentially operated at the Network Layer. An analytical model is derived for evaluating the proposed scheme for analyzing the network Quality of Service (QoS) metrics and measures involved in session mobility management for the proposed mobility management frameworks. More precisely, these analyzed QoS metrics include vertical handoff delay, transient packet loss, jitter, and signaling overhead/cost. The results of the QoS analysis indicates that a MIP-SIP based mobility management framework performs better than its predecessor, the Pure-SIP based mobility management method. Also, the analysis results indicate that the QoS performances for the investigated parameters are within acceptable levels for real-time VoIP conversations. An OPNET based simulation platform is also used for modeling the proposed mobility management frameworks. All simulated scenarios prove to be capable of performing successful VoIP session handoffs between dissimilar networks whilst maintaining acceptable QoS levels. Lastly, based on the findings, the contributions made by this thesis can be summarized as: The development of a novel framework for interworked heterogeneous mobile data networks in a NGMN environment. The final design conveniently enables 3G cellular technologies (such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) or Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) type systems), Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) technologies, and Wireless Metropolitan Area Networking (WMAN) technologies (e.g., Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) systems such as WiMAX) to interwork under a common signaling platform. The introduction of a novel unified/centralized mobility and session management platform by exploiting the IMS as a universal coupling mediator for real-time session negotiation and management. This enables a roaming user to seamlessly handoff sessions between different heterogeneous networks. As secondary outcomes of this thesis, an analytical framework and an OPNET simulation framework are developed for analyzing vertical handoff performance. This OPNET simulation platform is suitable for commercial use
Efficient Handoff for QoS Enhancement in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks (UMTS/WLAN Interworking)
Today’s Wireless Communications technologies prove us that wireless communications will in the long run be composed of different communication networks as a way to benefit from each other. This can however be achieved from cellular networks and wireless local area networks that show some compatible characteristics that enable them be integrated. Scenarios typically behind these integrations is the UMTS and WLAN interworking where UMTS network is known for its wide area of coverage and nearly roaming however, known for lack of enough data rate. This is contrary with WLAN which is known for high data rate and cheaper compared to UMTS. WLAN however has a small area of coverage and lacks roaming. This in regard brings the idea that the two different networks being integrated could provide the means for mobile users to be gratified with a supported coverage and quality at anywhere and anytime with seamless access to internet
A Seamless Vertical Handoff Protocol for Enhancing the Performance of Data Services in Integrated UMTS/WLAN Network
The Next Generation Wireless Network (NGWN) is speculated to be a unified network composed of several existing wireless access networks such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Global System for Mobile (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and satellite network etc
Queueing Networks for Vertical Handover
PhDIt is widely expected that next-generation wireless communication systems will be
heterogeneous, integrating a wide variety of wireless access networks. Of particular
interest recently is a mix of cellular networks (GSM/GPRS and WCDMA) and
wireless local area networks (WLANs) to provide complementary features in terms
of coverage, capacity and mobility support. If cellular/ WLAN interworking is to be
the basis for a heterogeneous network then the analysis of complex handover traffic
rates in the system (especially vertical handover) is one of the most essential issues to
be considered.
This thesis describes the application of queueing-network theory to the modelling of
this heterogeneous wireless overlay system. A network of queues (or queueing
network) is a powerful mathematical tool in the performance evaluation of many
large-scale engineering systems. It has been used in the modelling of hierarchically
structured cellular wireless networks with much success, including queueing
network modelling in the study of cellular/ WLAN interworking systems. In the
process of queueing network modelling, obtaining the network topology of a system
is usually the first step in the construction of a good model, but this topology
analysis has never before been used in the handover traffic study in heterogeneous
overlay wireless networks. In this thesis, a new topology scheme to facilitate the
analysis of handover traffic is proposed.
The structural similarity between hierarchical cellular structure and heterogeneous
wireless overlay networks is also compared. By replacing the microcells with
WLANs in a hierarchical structure, the interworking system is modelled as an open
network of Erlang loss systems and with the new topology, the performance
measures of blocking probabilities and dropping probabilities can be determined.
Both homogeneous and non-homogeneous traffic have been considered, circuit
switched and packet-switched. Example scenarios have been used to validate the
models, the numerical results showing clear agreement with the known validation
scenarios
Mobility and Handoff Management in Wireless Networks
With the increasing demands for new data and real-time services, wireless
networks should support calls with different traffic characteristics and
different Quality of Service (QoS)guarantees. In addition, various wireless
technologies and networks exist currently that can satisfy different needs and
requirements of mobile users. Since these different wireless networks act as
complementary to each other in terms of their capabilities and suitability for
different applications, integration of these networks will enable the mobile
users to be always connected to the best available access network depending on
their requirements. This integration of heterogeneous networks will, however,
lead to heterogeneities in access technologies and network protocols. To meet
the requirements of mobile users under this heterogeneous environment, a common
infrastructure to interconnect multiple access networks will be needed. In this
chapter, the design issues of a number of mobility management schemes have been
presented. Each of these schemes utilizes IP-based technologies to enable
efficient roaming in heterogeneous network. Efficient handoff mechanisms are
essential for ensuring seamless connectivity and uninterrupted service
delivery. A number of handoff schemes in a heterogeneous networking environment
are also presented in this chapter.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
Novel Model of Adaptive Module for Security and QoS Provisioning in Wireless Heterogeneous Networks
Considering the fact that Security and Quality-Of-Service (QoS) provisioning for multimedia traffic in Wireless Heterogeneous Networks are becoming increasingly important objectives, in this paper we are introducing a novel adaptive Security and QoS framework. This framework is planned to be implemented in integrated network architecture (UMTS, WiMAX and WLAN). The aim of our novel framework is presenting a new module that shall provide the best QoS provisioning and secure communication for a given service using one or more wireless technologies in a given time
Next generation mobile wireless hybrid network interworking architecture
It is a universally stated design requirement that next generation mobile systems will be compatible and interoperable with IPv6 and with various access technologies such as IEEE 802.11x. Discussion in the literature is currently as to whether the recently developed High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) or the developing Long Term Evaluation (LTE) technology is appropriate for the next generation mobile wireless system. However, the HSPA and the LTE technologies are not sufficient in their current form to provide ubiquitous data services. The third–generation mobile wireless network (3G) provides a highly developed global service to customers through either circuit switched or packet switched networks; new mobile multimedia services (e.g. streaming/mobile TV, location base services, downloads, multiuser games and other applications) that provide greater flexibility for the operator to introduce new services to its portfolio and from the user point of view, more services to select and a variety of higher, on-demand data rates compared with 2.5-2.75G mobile wireless system. However cellular networks suffer from a limited data rate and expensive deployment. In contrast, wireless local area networks (WLAN) are deployed widely in small areas or hotspots, because of their cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment and high data rates in an unlicensed frequency band. On the other hand, WLAN (IEEE 802.11x) cannot provide wide coverage cost-efficiently and is therefore at a disadvantage to 3G in the provision of wide coverage. In order to provide more services at high data rates in the hotspots and campus-wide areas, 3G service providers regard WLAN as a technology that compliments the 3G mobile wireless system. The recent evolution and successful deployment of WLANs worldwide has yielded demand to integrate WLANs with 3G mobile wireless technologies seamlessly. The key goal of this integration is to develop heterogeneous mobile data networks, capable of supporting ubiquitous data services with high data rates in hotspots. The effort to develop heterogeneous networks – also referred to fourth-generation (4G) mobile wireless data networks – is linked with many technical challenges including seamless vertical handovers across WLAN and 3G radio technologies, security, common authentication, unified accounting & billing, WLAN sharing (by several mobile wireless networks – different operators), consistent QoS and service provisioning, etc. This research included modelling a hybrid UMTS/WLAN network with two competent couplings: Tight Coupling and Loose Coupling. The coupling techniques were used in conjunction with EAP-AKA for authentication and Mobile IP for mobility management. The research provides an analysis of the coupling techniques and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the coupling techniques. A large matrix of performance figures were generated for each of the coupling techniques using Opnet Modeller, a network simulation tool
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