Secure interoperation of wireless technologies

Tremendous emphasis has been placed on wireless technologies recently and it is expected that mobile communications will become an even bigger key driver for growth and innovation in the near future. The purpose of this paper is to study the securing, development, integration and implementation of an always on, always available, and accessible from anywhere secure wireless communication environment. Our analysis of the different wireless technologies reveals that a number of obstacles have to be managed before truly transparent wireless public data consumer offering is available. Our concern revolves around the technical development and implementation efforts of integrated wireless technologies enveloped with management processes of change and evolution. Wireless technologies have influenced our daily lives and will undoubtedly continue to play a significant role in the future. This dissertation focuses on the interoperation of wireless technologies, exploring, evaluating and presenting representations of secure, fully integrated wireless environments. The purpose is to find a cost effective, open, viable, sustainable consumer orientated high data speed offering which not only adheres to basic security requirements but surpasses it. By bringing the network to the subscriber we generate an “always-on” and “always-available” solution for data requirements fulfilling an ever increasing human demand for access to resources anywhere, anytime. A background literature of various wireless technologies, techniques and value added services is provided. An approach for the securing of critical content over wireless links in chapter seven provides a basis for access by position concepts presented in chapter eight. This secure approach to location-aware mobile access control is an essential security enhancement in the integration and interoperation models illustrated in chapter nine. These models, appropriately named SWARM 1 and SWARM 2 (System for Wireless and Roaming Mobility), illustrate different approaches to achieving a secure, fully coherent, consumer orientated, wireless data communications environment.Dissertation (MSc (Computer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2003.Computer Scienceunrestricte

Application priority framework for fixed mobile converged communication networks

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The current prospects in wired and wireless access networks, it is becoming increasingly important to address potential convergence in order to offer integrated broadband services. These systems will need to offer higher data transmission capacities and long battery life, which is the catalyst for an everincreasing variety of air interface technologies targeting local area to wide area connectivity. Current integrated industrial networks do not offer application aware context delivery and enhanced services for optimised networks. Application aware services provide value-added functionality to business applications by capturing, integrating, and consolidating intelligence about users and their endpoint devices from various points in the network. This thesis mainly intends to resolve the issues related to ubiquitous application aware service, fair allocation of radio access, reduced energy consumption and improved capacity. A technique that measures and evaluates the data rate demand to reduce application response time and queuing delay for multi radio interfaces is proposed. The technique overcomes the challenges of network integration, requiring no user intervention, saving battery life and selecting the radio access connection for the application requested by the end user. This study is split in two parts. The first contribution identifies some constraints of the services towards the application layer in terms of e.g. data rate and signal strength. The objectives are achieved by application controlled handover (ACH) mechanism in order to maintain acceptable data rate for real-time application services. It also looks into the impact of the radio link on the application and identifies elements and parameters like wireless link quality and handover that will influence the application type. It also identifies some enhanced traditional mechanisms such as distance controlled multihop and mesh topology required in order to support energy efficient multimedia applications. The second contribution unfolds an intelligent application priority assignment mechanism (IAPAM) for medical applications using wireless sensor networks. IAPAM proposes and evaluates a technique based on prioritising multiple virtual queues for the critical nature of medical data to improve instant transmission. Various mobility patterns (directed, controlled and random waypoint) has been investigated and compared by simulating IAPAM enabled mobile BWSN. The following topics have been studied, modelled, simulated and discussed in this thesis: 1. Application Controlled Handover (ACH) for multi radios over fibre 2. Power Controlled Scheme for mesh multi radios over fibre using ACH 3. IAPAM for Biomedical Wireless Sensor Networks (BWSN) and impact of mobility over IAPAM enabled BWSN. Extensive simulation studies are performed to analyze and to evaluate the proposed techniques. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in multi radios over fibre performance in terms of application response delay and power consumption by upto 75% and 15 % respectively, reduction in traffic loss by upto 53% and reduction in delay for real time application by more than 25% in some cases

Rural internet connectivity: a development in Dwesa-Cwebe, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This thesis presents aspects of Internet connectivity in rural South Africa. The work looks at government initiatives being undertaken to connect rural communities to up-to-date information networks. Various projects that seek to connect rural areas of South Africa, as well as other remote areas around the world, are discussed. These projects present many novel ideas that have been successfully used to link rural communities in remote areas with the information age. In particular, wired and wireless access technologies that can be implemented to connect remote communities to the Internet are discussed. A field test utilizing GPRS, VSAT and WiMAX was implemented in Dwesa-Cwebe, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. VSAT proved to offer better Internet connectivity in terms of throughput and latency. WiMAX was then successfully implemented to relay the signal over the remote area of Dwesa-Cwebe, thus effectively providing Internet connectivity to an area with limited cell phone coverage and no telephone lines

A study of mobile VoIP performance in wireless broadband networks

Voice service is to date still the killer mobile service and the main source for operator revenue for years to come. Additionally, voice service will evolve from circuit switched technologies towards packet based Voice over IP (VoIP). However, using VoIP over wireless networks different from 3GPP cellular technologies makes it also a disruptive technology in the traditional telecommunication sector. The focus of this dissertation is on determining mobile VoIP performance in different wireless broadband systems with current state of the art networks, as well as the potential disruption to cellular operators when mobile VoIP is deployed over different access networks. The research method is based on an empirical model. The model and experiments are well documented and based on industry standards for voice quality evaluation. The evaluation provides results from both experiments in a controlled laboratory setup as well as from live scenarios. The research scope is first, evaluate each network technology independently; second, investigate vertical handover mobility cases; third, determine other aspects directly affecting end user experience (e.g., call setup delay and battery lifetime). The main contribution of this work is a systematic examination of mobile VoIP performance and end user experience. The research results point out the main challenges for achieving call toll quality, and how derive the required changes and technological performance roadmap for improved VoIP service. That is, investigate how the performance and usability of mobile VoIP can eventually be improved to be a suitable substitute for circuit switched voice. In addition, we evaluate the potential disruption to cellular operators that mobile VoIP brings when deployed over other access networks. This research extends the available knowledge from simulations and provides an insight into actual end user experience, as well as the challenges of using embedded clients in handheld devices. In addition, we find several issues that are not visible or accounted for in simulations in regard to network parameters, required retransmissions and decreased battery lifetime. The conclusion is that although the network performance of several wireless networks is good enough for near toll quality voice in static scenarios, there are still a number of problems which make it currently unfeasible to use as a primary voice service. Moreover, under mobility scenarios performance is degraded. Finally, there are other issues apart from network performance such as energy consumption, hardware limitations and lack of supporting business models (e.g., for WiFi mesh) that further limit the possibility of rolling out mobile VoIP services

Telematics industry dynamics and strategies for converging technologies

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004.Includes bibliographical references.The Telematics Industry faces tremendous challenges for growth. Regardless of the efforts and investment from vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, telematics has not been that profitable industry that many analyst forecasted five years ago; a 40 billion industry by 2003. This paper presents an analysis of the dynamics of the telematics industry and emphasizes on factors affecting the diffusion of telematics innovation. These factors are related to openness of telematics systems and establishment of standards, network externalities effects and attractiveness of complementors, customer's willingness to pay, telematics services pricing, and consumer knowledge of newer technology. Based on an in-depth analysis of the telematics architecture and the technologies converging in the telematics system I suggest a mixed strategy with respect to standards. This strategy favors the growth of this industry. Based on this strategy there are developed some scenarios of how the telematics value network will look like and how the interaction among the players would take place. Finally, a conceptual system dynamic model is presented to illustrate the dynamics of the industry and how the factors influencing the adoption of the telematics all play together to favor or affect the diffusion of the growing telematics industry.by Rodrigo Luis.S.M.M.O.T

Modelling of reliable service based operations support system (MORSBOSS)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe underlying theme of this thesis is identification, classification, detection and prediction of cellular network faults using state of the art technologies, methods and algorithms

Flexible cross layer optimization for fixed and mobile broadband telecommunication networks and beyond

In der heutigen Zeit, in der das Internet im Allgemeinen und Telekommunikationsnetze im Speziellen kritische Infrastrukturen erreicht haben, entstehen hohe Anforderungen und neue Herausforderungen an den Datentransport in Hinsicht auf Effizienz und Flexibilität. Heutige Telekommunikationsnetze sind jedoch rigide und statisch konzipiert, was nur ein geringes Maß an Flexibilität und Anpassungsfähigkeit der Netze ermöglicht und darüber hinaus nur im begrenzten Maße die Wichtigkeit von Datenflüssen im wiederspiegelt. Diverse Lösungsansätze zum kompletten Neuentwurf als auch zum evolutionären Konzept des Internet wurden ausgearbeitet und spezifiziert, um diese neuartigen Anforderungen und Herausforderungen adäquat zu adressieren. Einer dieser Ansätze ist das Cross Layer Optimierungs-Paradigma, welches eine bisher nicht mögliche direkte Kommunikation zwischen verteilten Funktionalitäten unterschiedlichen Typs ermöglicht, um ein höheres Maß an Dienstgüte zu erlangen. Ein wesentlicher Indikator, welcher die Relevanz dieses Ansatzes unterstreicht, zeichnet sich durch die Programmierbarkeit von Netzwerkfunktionalitäten aus, welche sich aus der Evolution von heutigen hin zu zukünftigen Netzen erkennen lässt. Dieses Konzept wird als ein vielversprechender Lösungsansatz für Kontrollmechanismen von Diensten in zukünftigen Kernnetzwerken erachtet. Dennoch existiert zur Zeit der Entstehung dieser Doktorarbeit kein Ansatz zur Cross Layer Optimierung in Festnetz-und Mobilfunknetze, welcher der geforderten Effizienz und Flexibilität gerecht wird. Die übergeordnete Zielsetzung dieser Arbeit adressiert die Konzeptionierung, Entwicklung und Evaluierung eines Cross Layer Optimierungsansatzes für Telekommunikationsnetze. Einen wesentlichen Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit stellt die Definition einer theoretischen Konzeptionierung und deren praktischer Realisierung eines Systems zur Cross Layer Optimierung für Telekommunikationsnetze dar. Die durch diese Doktorarbeit analysierten wissenschaftlichen Fragestellungen betreffen u.a. die Anwendbarkeit von Cross Layer Optimierungsansätzen auf Telekommunikationsnetzwerke; die Betrachtung neuartiger Anforderungen; existierende Konzepte, Ansätze und Lösungen; die Abdeckung neuer Funktionalitäten durch bereits existierende Lösungen; und letztendlich den erkennbaren Mehrwert des neu vorgeschlagenen Konzepts gegenüber den bestehenden Lösungen. Die wissenschaftlichen Beiträge dieser Doktorarbeit lassen sich grob durch vier Säulen skizzieren: Erstens werden der Stand der Wissenschaft und Technik analysiert und bewertet, Anforderungen erhoben und eine Lückenanalyse vorgenommen. Zweitens werden Herausforderungen, Möglichkeiten, Limitierungen und Konzeptionierungsaspekte eines Modells zur Cross Layer Optimierung analysiert und evaluiert. Drittens wird ein konzeptionelles Modell - Generic Adaptive Resource Control (GARC) - spezifiziert, als Prototyp realisiert und ausgiebig validiert. Viertens werden theoretische und praktische Beiträge dieser Doktorarbeit vertiefend analysiert und bewertet.As the telecommunication world moves towards a data-only network environment, signaling, voice and other data are similarly transported as Internet Protocol packets. New requirements, challenges and opportunities are bound to this transition and influence telecommunication architectures accordingly. In this time in which the Internet in general, and telecommunication networks in particular, have entered critical infrastructures and systems, it is of high importance to guarantee efficient and flexible data transport. A certain level of Quality-of-Service (QoS) for critical services is crucial even during overload situations in the access and core network, as these two are the bottlenecks in the network. However, the current telecommunication architecture is rigid and static, which offers very limited flexibility and adaptability. Several concepts on clean slate as well as evolutionary approaches have been proposed and defined in order to cope with these new challenges and requirements. One of these approaches is the Cross Layer Optimization paradigm. This concept omits the strict separation and isolation of the Application-, Control- and Network-Layers as it enables interaction and fosters Cross Layer Optimization among them. One indicator underlying this trend is the programmability of network functions, which emerges clearly during the telecommunication network evolution towards the Future Internet. The concept is regarded as one solution for service control in future mobile core networks. However, no standardized approach for Cross Layer signaling nor optimizations in between the individual layers have been standardized at the time this thesis was written. The main objective of this thesis is the design, implementation and evaluation of a Cross Layer Optimization concept on telecommunication networks. A major emphasis is given to the definition of a theoretical model and its practical realization through the implementation of a Cross Layer network resource optimization system for telecommunication systems. The key questions answered through this thesis are: in which way can the Cross Layer Optimization paradigm be applied on telecommunication networks; which new requirements arise; which of the required functionalities cannot be covered through existing solutions, what other conceptual approaches already exist and finally whether such a new concept is viable. The work presented in this thesis and its contributions can be summarized in four parts: First, a review of related work, a requirement analysis and a gap analysis were performed. Second, challenges, limitations, opportunities and design aspects for specifying an optimization model between application and network layer were formulated. Third, a conceptual model - Generic Adaptive Resource Control (GARC) - was specified and its prototypical implementation was realized. Fourth, the theoretical and practical thesis contributions was validated and evaluated