An Analytical Study of the Delay in Bluetooth Networks Using the Personal Area Network Profile

Bluetooth is the most employed technology to develop Wireless Personal Area Networks. This letter studies the performance of Bluetooth transmissions that make use of the PAN (Personal Area Network) profile. In particular, the study offers an analytical model that defines the optimal bound for the end-to-end data delay. The proposed ’delay budget’ takes into account the overhead and segmentation provoked by the protocols involved in the transmission of user data. The model is empirically validated by comparing its results with those obtained through the measurements of actual Bluetooh connections.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2006-12211-C02-0

Analysis of Bluetooth Transmission Delay in Personal Area Networks

Bluetooth is by far the most employed technology to develop practical applications of Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). This paper studies the performance of Bluetooth transmissions that make use of the Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network) profile. In particular, the study offers an analytical model that defines the optimal bound for the end-to-end data delay. The proposed ‘delay budget’ takes into account the overhead and segmentation provoked by the protocols involved in the transmission of user data. The model is empirically validated by comparing its results with those obtained through the measurements of actual Bluetooh connections.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2006-12211-C02-0

A survey on Bluetooth multi-hop networks

Bluetooth was firstly announced in 1998. Originally designed as cable replacement connecting devices in a point-to-point fashion its high penetration arouses interest in its ad-hoc networking potential. This ad-hoc networking potential of Bluetooth is advertised for years - but until recently no actual products were available and less than a handful of real Bluetooth multi-hop network deployments were reported. The turnaround was triggered by the release of the Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh Profile which is unquestionable a great achievement but not well suited for all use cases of multi-hop networks. This paper surveys the tremendous work done on Bluetooth multi-hop networks during the last 20 years. All aspects are discussed with demands for a real world Bluetooth multi-hop operation in mind. Relationships and side effects of different topics for a real world implementation are explained. This unique focus distinguishes this survey from existing ones. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first survey consolidating the work on Bluetooth multi-hop networks for classic Bluetooth technology as well as for Bluetooth Low Energy. Another individual characteristic of this survey is a synopsis of real world Bluetooth multi-hop network deployment efforts. In fact, there are only four reports of a successful establishment of a Bluetooth multi-hop network with more than 30 nodes and only one of them was integrated in a real world application - namely a photovoltaic power plant. © 2019 The Author

Overhead and Segmentation Mismatch Effect on Bluetooth WPAN Performance

Currently, Bluetooth is the most widely used technology for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Quality-of-Service (QoS) support is critical to ensure bandwidth maximization for mobile applications based on this WPAN technology. The overhead introduced by the different layers of Bluetooth protocol may have a serious impact on WPAN performance. However, most studies of Bluetooth performance neglect this overhead and assume that data are directly transmitted over L2CAP (Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol) or even HCI (Host Controller Interface) layers. In fact, this option is not feasible in most Bluetooth applications, as they integrate actual devices that implement a particular Bluetooth profile, usually SPP (Serial Port Profile). The use of profiles cannot be disregarded as they guarantee the interoperability between devices from different vendors. The aim of this paper is to characterise the performance of a Bluetooth WPAN (specifically the end-to-end delay and the throughput) when profiles are utilised. This study takes into account the overhead added by the protocols taking part in the transmission of user data. This paper also explores the effect of segmentation mismatch that may appear when the maximum size for data in each layer of the architecture is different. The analysis has been focused on SPP and PAN (Personal Area Networks) profiles. In the case of the PAN profile, the study concludes that the network performance decreases for user data sizes greater than 1,472 bytes, since the excessive overhead added by the network layer is increased by the IP (Internet Proto-col) fragmentation. In the case of SPP, an inappropriate choice of the maximum data unit at RFCOMM (Radio Frequency Communication for Serial Cable Emulation Protocol based on ETSI TS 07.10) and L2CAP layers can also heavily affect the transmission delay

Analytical Characterisation of the Performance of Bluetooth Piconets Using Serial Port Profile

Bluetooth is a key connectivity technology for the deployment of wireless Personal Area Networks as far as it is the most popular low power communication feature incorporated in devices such as laptops or smartphones. This paper proposes an analytical model to predict the delay of the transmissions in Bluetooth piconets employing Serial Port Profile (SPP), which is massively implemented by Bluetooth-enabled equipments. The characterization includes the impact of the overhead and the segmentation imposed by the different protocols involved in the transmission as well as the delay provoked by the polling process that is executed to regulate the activity of the different slaves in the piconet. The model has been empirically evaluated and tested in an actual Bluetooth piconet.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2009-13763-C02-0

Modeling of the Transmission Delay in Bluetooth Piconets under Serial Port Profile

Bluetooth is a key connectivity technology for the deployment of wireless Personal Area Networks as far as it is the most popular low power communication feature incorporated in devices such as laptops or smartphones. This paper proposes an analytical model to predict the delay of the transmissions in Bluetooth piconets employing Serial Port Profile (SPP), which is massively implemented by Bluetoothenabled equipments. The characterization includes the impact of the overhead and the segmentation imposed by the different protocols involved in the transmission as well as the delay provoked by the polling process that is executed to regulate the activity of the different slaves in the piconet. The model has been empirically evaluated and tested in actual Bluetooth piconetsMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2009-13763-C02-0

Fuzzy Logic Control of Adaptive ARQ for Video Distribution over a Bluetooth Wireless Link

Bluetooth's default automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme is not suited to video distribution resulting in missed display and decoded deadlines. Adaptive ARQ with active discard of expired packets from the send buffer is an alternative approach. However, even with the addition of cross-layer adaptation to picture-type packet importance, ARQ is not ideal in conditions of a deteriorating RF channel. The paper presents fuzzy logic control of ARQ, based on send buffer fullness and the head-of-line packet's deadline. The advantage of the fuzzy logic approach, which also scales its output according to picture type importance, is that the impact of delay can be directly introduced to the model, causing retransmissions to be reduced compared to all other schemes. The scheme considers both the delay constraints of the video stream and at the same time avoids send buffer overflow. Tests explore a variety of Bluetooth send buffer sizes and channel conditions. For adverse channel conditions and buffer size, the tests show an improvement of at least 4 dB in video quality compared to nonfuzzy schemes. The scheme can be applied to any codec with I-, P-, and (possibly) B-slices by inspection of packet headers without the need for encoder intervention.</jats:p

Controllable radio interference for experimental and testing purposes in wireless sensor networks

Abstract—We address the problem of generating customized, controlled interference for experimental and testing purposes in Wireless Sensor Networks. The known coexistence problems between electronic devices sharing the same ISM radio band drive the design of new solutions to minimize interference. The validation of these techniques and the assessment of protocols under external interference require the creation of reproducible and well-controlled interference patterns on real nodes, a nontrivial and time-consuming task. In this paper, we study methods to generate a precisely adjustable level of interference on a specific channel, with lowcost equipment and rapid calibration. We focus our work on the platforms carrying the CC2420 radio chip and we show that, by setting such transceiver in special mode, we can quickly and easily generate repeatable and precise patterns of interference. We show how this tool can be extremely useful for researchers to quickly investigate the behaviour of sensor network protocols and applications under different patterns of interference, and we further evaluate its performance

Contributions to bluetooth low energy mesh networks

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has become a popular Internet of Things (IoT) technology. However, it was originally designed to only support the star topology. This PhD thesis investigates and evaluates different Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh network approaches, including existing ones (such as the Bluetooth Mesh standard), and our own solution for IPv6-based BLE mesh networking (6BLEMesh). The thesis comprises 6 main contributions: 1.- A comprehensive survey on existing BLE mesh networking proposals and a taxonomy for BLE mesh network solutions. 2.- An energy consumption model for Bluetooth Mesh. The model allows to predict useful performance parameters, such as device average current consumption, device lifetime and energy efficiency, considering the impact of the most relevant Bluetooth Mesh parameters, i.e. PollTimeout and ReceiveWindow, as well as application parameters (e.g. the data interval for a sensor that periodically reports its readings). 3.- A new proposed IPv6-based BLE mesh networking IETF standard (in progress), called 6BLEMesh. After defining the characteristics and properties of 6BLEMesh, we evaluated it in terms of connectivity, latency, RTT, and energy consumption. 4.- For the connectivity evaluation of 6BLEMesh, we developed an analytical model that takes a set of network and scenario characteristics as inputs, and provides two main results: i) the probability of no isolation of a node, and ii) the k-connectivity of the considered network. We validated the model by simulation. 5.- An implementation, and an experimental evaluation, of 6BLEMesh. We built a three-node testbed consisting of all node types (i.e. 6LN, 6LR and 6LBR). We used three different popular commercial hardware platforms. We evaluated a number of performance parameters on the testbed, related with latency and energy consumption. Next, we characterized the current consumption patterns of the complete life cycle for different node types in the three-node testbed. We also evaluated the energy performance of a 6LN on three different platforms. We presented a 6LN current consumption model for different connInterval settings. To this end, we experimentally characterized each current consumption state in terms of its duration time and average current consumption value. We illustrated the impact of connInterval on energy performance. 6.- A comparison between Bluetooth Mesh and 6BLEMesh, in terms of protocol stack, protocol encapsulation overhead, end-toend latency, energy consumption, message transmission count, end-to-end reliability, variable topology robustness and Internet connectivity. Bluetooth Mesh and 6BLEMesh offer fundamentally different BLE mesh networking solutions. Their performance depends significantly on their parameter configuration. Nevertheless, the following conclusions can be obtained. Bluetooth Mesh exhibits slightly greater protocol encapsulation overhead than 6BLEmesh. Both Bluetooth Mesh and 6BLEMesh offer flexibility to configure per-hop latency. For a given latency target, 6BLEMesh offers lower energy consumption. In terms of message transmission count, both solutions may offer relatively similar performance for small networks; however, BLEMesh scales better with network size and density. 6BLEMesh approaches ideal packet delivery probability in the presence of bit errors for most parameter settings (at the expense of latency increase), whereas Bluetooth Mesh requires path diversity to achieve similar performance. Bluetooth Mesh does not suffer the connectivity gaps experimented by 6BLEMesh due to topology changes. Finally, 6BLEMesh naturally supports IP-based Internet connectivity, whereas Bluetooth Mesh requires a protocol translation gateway.Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) ha esdevingut una tecnologia popular per a Internet of Things (loT). Ara bé, va ser originalment dissenyada per suportar només la topologia en estrella. Aquesta tesi doctoral investiga i avalua diferents alternatives de xarxa mesh BLE, incloent alternatives existents (com l'estandard Bluetooth Mesh), i la nostra propia solució basada en IPv6, 6BLEMesh. Aquesta tesi comprén 6 contribucions·principals: 1.- Una revisió exhaustiva de l'estat de l'art i una taxonomia de les xarxes mesh BLE. 2.- Un model de consum d'energia per Bluetooth Mesh. El model permet predir parametres de rendiment útils, tals com consum de corrent, temps de vida del dispositiu i eficiéncia energética, considerant !'impacte deis principals parametres de Bluetooth Mesh (PollTimeout i ReceiveWindow) i a nivell d'aplicació. 3.- Un nou estandard (en progrés) anomenat 6BLEMesh. Després de definir les característiques de 6BLEMesh, aquesta solució ha estat avaluada en termes de connectivitat, laténcia, RTT i consum d'energia. 4.- Per a l'avaluació de connectivitat de 6BLEMesh, hem desenvolupat un model analític que proporciona dos resultats principals: i) probabilitat de no arllament d'un node i ii) k-connectivitat de la xarxa considerada. Hem validat el model mitjani;:ant simulació. .- Una imP.lementació, i una avaluació experimental, de 6BLEMesh. S'ha construrt un testbed de tres nodes, que comprén 5tots els tipus de node principals (6LN, 6LR i 6LBR). S'han usat tres plataformes hardware diferents. S'han avaluat diversos parametres de rendiment en el testbed, relacionats amb laténcia i consum d'energia. A continuació, s'ha caracteritzat els patrons de consum de corren! d'un ciclde de vida complet per als diferents tipus de nodes en el testbed. També s'han avaluat les prestacions d'energia d'un 6LN en tres plataformes diferents. S'ha presenta! un model de consum de corren! d'un 6LN per a diferents valors de connlnterval. Per aquest fi, s'ha caracteritzat emplricament cada estat de consum de corrent en termes de la seva durada i consum de corrent. 6.- Una comparativa entre Bluetooth Mesh i 6BLEMesh, en termes de pila de protocols, overhead d'encapsulament de protocol, laténcia extrem a extrem, consum d'energia, nombre de missatges transmesos, fiabilitat extrem a extrem, robustesa davant de topologies variables, i connexió a Internet. Bluetooth Mesh i 6BLEMesh són solucions de BLE mesh networking fonamentalment diferents. Les seves prestacions depenen de la seva configuració de parametres. Ara bé, es poden extreure les següents conclusions. Bluetooth Mesh mostra un overhead d'encapsulament de protocol lleugerament superior al de 6BLEmesh. Tots dos, Bluetooth Mesh i 6BLEMesh, ofereixen flexibilitat per configurar la laténcia per cada salt. Per un target de laténcia doni¡it, 6BLEMesh ofereix un consum d'energia inferior. En termes de nombre de missatges transmesos, les dues solucions ofereixen prestacions relativament similars per a xarxes petites. Ara bé, 6BLEMesh escala millor amb la mida i la densitat de la xarxa. 6BLEMesh s'aproxima a una probabilitat d'entrega de paquets ideal en preséncia d'errors de bit (amb un increment en la laténcia), mentre que Bluetooth Mesh requereix diversitat de caml per assolir unes prestacions similars. Bluetooth Mesh no pateix els gaps de connectivitat que experimenta 6BLLEMesh a causa de canvis en la topología. Finalment, 6BLEMesh suporta de forma natural la connectivitat amb Internet basada en IP, mentre que Bluetooth Mesh requereix un gateway de traducció de protocols.Postprint (published version