7 research outputs found
Review on Radio Resource Allocation Optimization in LTE/LTE-Advanced using Game Theory
Recently, there has been a growing trend toward ap-plying game theory (GT) to various engineering fields in order to solve optimization problems with different competing entities/con-tributors/players. Researches in the fourth generation (4G) wireless network field also exploited this advanced theory to overcome long term evolution (LTE) challenges such as resource allocation, which is one of the most important research topics. In fact, an efficient de-sign of resource allocation schemes is the key to higher performance. However, the standard does not specify the optimization approach to execute the radio resource management and therefore it was left open for studies. This paper presents a survey of the existing game theory based solution for 4G-LTE radio resource allocation problem and its optimization
Reduced complexity optimal resource allocation for enhanced video quality in a heterogeneous network environment
The latest Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) environments, supported by 5th generation (5G) network solutions,
include small cells deployed to increase the traditional macrocell network performance. In HetNet environments, before data
transmission starts, there is a user association (UA) process with a
specific base station (BS). Additionally, during data transmission,
diverse resource allocation (RA) schemes are employed. UA-RA
solutions play a critical role in improving network load balancing,
spectral performance, and energy efficiency. Although several
studies have examined the joint UA-RA problem, there is no
optimal strategy to address it with low complexity while also
reducing the time overhead. We propose two different versions of
simulated annealing (SA): Reduced Search Space SA (RS3A) and
Performance-Improved Reduced Search Space SA (P IRS3A),
algorithms for solving UA-RA problem in HetNets. First, the
UA-RA problem is formulated as a multiple knapsack problem
(MKP) with constraints on the maximum BS capacity and
transport block size (TBS) index. Second, the proposed RS3A
and P IRS3A are used to solve the formulated MKP. Simulation
results show that the proposed scheme P IRS3A outperforms
RS3A and other existing schemes such as Default Simulated
Annealing (DSA), and Default Genetic Algorithm (DGA) in terms
of variability and DSA and RS3A in terms of Quality of Service
(QoS) metrics, including throughput, packet loss ratio (PLR),
delay and jitter. Simulation results show that P IRS3A generates
solutions that are very close to the optimal solution
Design of static intercell interference coordination schemes for realistic lte-based cellular networks
Today, 3.5 and 4G systems including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced
(LTE-A) support packet-based services and provide mobile broadband access for
bandwidth-hungry applications. In this context of fast evolution, new and challenging
technical issues must be e ectively addressed. The nal target is to achieve a
signi cant step forward toward the improvement of the Quality of Experience (QoE).
To that end, interference management has been recognized by the industry as a key
enabler for cellular technologies based on OFDMA. Indeed, with a low frequency
reuse factor, intercell interference (ICI) becomes a major concern since the Quality of
Service (QoS) is not uniformly delivered across the network, it remarkably depends on
user position. Hence, cell edge performance is an important issue in LTE and LTE-A.
Intercell Interference Coordination (ICIC) encompasses strategies whose goal
is to keep ICI at cell edges as low as possible. This alleviates the aforementioned
situation. For this reason, the novelties presented in this Ph.D. thesis include not
only developments of static ICIC mechanisms for data and control channels, but
also e orts towards further improvements of the energy e ciency perspective.
Based on a comprehensive review of the state of the art, a set of research
opportunities were identi ed. To be precise, the need for
exible performance
evaluation methods and optimization frameworks for static ICIC strategies. These
mechanisms are grouped in two families: the schemes that de ne constraints on the
frequency domain and the ones that propose adjustments on the power levels. Thus,
Soft- and Fractional Frequency Reuse (SFR and FFR, respectively) are identi ed as
the base of the vast majority of static ICIC proposals.
Consequently, during the rst part of this Ph.D. thesis, interesting insights into
the operation of SFR and FFR were identi ed beyond well-known facts. These
studies allow for the development of a novel statistical framework to evaluate the
performance of these schemes in realistic deployments. As a result of the analysis, the
poor performance of classic con gurations of SFR and FFR in real-world contexts
is shown, and hence, the need for optimization is established. In addition, the
importance of the interworking between static ICIC schemes and other network
functionalities such as CSI feedback has also been identi ed. Therefore, novel CSI
feedback schemes, suitable to operate in conjunction with SFR and FFR, have been
developed. These mechanisms exploit the resource allocation pattern of these static
ICIC techniques in order to improve the accuracy of the CSI feedback process. The second part is focused on the optimization of SFR and FFR. The use of
multiobjective techniques is investigated as a tool to achieve e ective network-speci c
optimization. The approach o ers interesting advantages. On the one hand, it allows
for simultaneous optimization of several con
icting criteria. On the other hand, the
multiobjective nature results in outputs composed of several high quality (Pareto
e cient) network con gurations, all of them featuring a near-optimal tradeo
between the performance criteria. Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms allow
employing complex mathematical structures without the need for relaxation, thus
capturing accurately the system behavior in terms of ICI. The multiobjective
optimization formulation of the problem aims at achieving e ective adjustment of
the operational parameters of SFR and FFR both at cell level and network-wide.
Moreover, the research was successfully extended to the control channels, both the
PDCCH and ePDCCH.
Finally, in an e ort to further improve the network energy e ciency (an aspect
always considered throughout the thesis), the framework of Cell Switch O (CSO),
having close connections with ICIC, is also introduced. By means of the proposed
method, signi cant improvements with respect to traditional approaches, baseline
con gurations, and previous proposals can be achieved. The gains are obtained in
terms of energy consumption, network capacity, and cell edge performance.Actualmente los sistemas 3.5 y 4G tales como Long Term Evolution (LTE) y
LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) soportan servicios basados en paquetes y proporcionan
acceso de banda ancha m ovil para aplicaciones que requieren elevadas tasas de
transmisi on. En este contexto de r apida evoluci on, aparecen nuevos retos t ecnicos
que deben ser resueltos e cientemente. El objetivo ultimo es conseguir un salto
cualitativo importante en la experiencia de usuario (QoE). Con tal n, un factor
clave que ha sido reconocido en las redes celulares basadas en Orthogonal Frequency-
Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) es la gesti on de interferencias. De hecho, la
utilizaci on de un factor de reuso bajo permite una elevada e ciencia espectral pero
a costa de una distribuci on de la calidad de servicio (QoS) que no es uniforme en la
red, depende de la posici on del usuario. Por lo tanto, el rendimiento en los l mites
de la celda se ve muy penalizado y es un problema importante a resolver en LTE
y LTE-A.
La coordinaci on de interferencias entre celdas (ICIC, del ingl es Intercell Interfe-
rence Coordination) engloba las estrategias cuyo objetivo es mantener la interferencia
intercelular (ICI) lo m as baja posible en los bordes de celda. Esto permite aliviar
la situaci on antes mencionada. La contribuci on presentada en esta tesis doctoral
incluye el dise~no de nuevos mecanismos de ICIC est atica para los canales de datos y
control, as como tambi en mejoras desde el punto de vista de e ciencia energ etica.
A partir de una revisi on completa del estado del arte, se identi caron una serie
de retos abiertos que requer an esfuerzos de investigaci on. En concreto, la necesidad
de m etodos de evaluaci on
exibles y marcos de optimizaci on de las estrategias de
ICIC est aticas. Estos mecanismos se agrupan en dos familias: los esquemas que
de nen restricciones sobre el dominio de la frecuencia y los que proponen ajustes
en los niveles de potencia. Es decir, la base de la gran mayor a de propuestas ICIC
est aticas son la reutilizaci on de frecuencias de tipo soft y fraccional (SFR y FFR,
respectivamente).
De este modo, durante la primera parte de esta tesis doctoral, se han estudiado
los aspectos m as importantes del funcionamiento de SFR y FFR, haciendo especial
enfasis en las conclusiones que van m as all a de las bien conocidas. Ello ha permitido
introducir un nuevo marco estad stico para evaluar el funcionamiento de estos
sistemas en condiciones de despliegue reales. Como resultado de estos an alisis, se
muestra el pobre desempe~no de SFR y FFR en despliegues reales cuando funcionan con sus con guraciones cl asicas y se establece la necesidad de optimizaci on. Tambi en
se pone de mani esto la importancia del funcionamiento conjunto entre esquemas
ICIC est aticos y otras funcionalidades de la red radio, tales como la informaci on que
env an los usuarios sobre el estado de su canal downlink (feedback del CSI, del ingl es
Channel State Information). De este modo, se han propuesto diferentes esquemas de
feedback apropiados para trabajar conjuntamente con SFR y FFR. Estos mecanismos
explotan el patr on de asignaci on de recursos que se utiliza en ICIC est atico para
mejorar la precisi on del proceso.
La segunda parte se centra en la optimizaci on de SFR y FFR. Se ha investigado el
uso de t ecnicas multiobjetivo como herramienta para lograr una optimizaci on e caz,
que es espec ca para cada red. El enfoque ofrece ventajas interesantes, por un lado, se
permite la optimizaci on simult anea de varios criterios contradictorios. Por otro lado,
la naturaleza multiobjetivo implica obtener como resultado con guraciones de red
de elevada calidad (Pareto e cientes), todas ellas con un equilibrio casi- optimo entre
las diferentes m etricas de rendimiento. Los algoritmos evolucionarios multiobjetivo
permiten la utilizaci on de estructuras matem aticas complejas sin necesidad de relajar
el problema, de este modo capturan adecuadamente su comportamiento en t erminos
de ICI. La formulaci on multiobjetivo consigue un ajuste efectivo de los par ametros
operacionales de SFR y FFR, tanto a nivel de celda como a nivel de red. Adem as,
la investigaci on se extiende con resultados satisfactorios a los canales de control,
PDCCH y ePDCCH.
Finalmente, en un esfuerzo por mejorar la e ciencia energ etica de la red (un
aspecto siempre considerado a lo largo de la tesis), se introduce en el an alisis global
el apagado inteligente de celdas, estrategia con estrechos v nculos con ICIC. A trav es
del m etodo propuesto, se obtienen mejoras signi cativas con respecto a los enfoques
tradicionales y propuestas previas. Las ganancias se obtienen en t erminos de consumo
energ etico, capacidad de la red, y rendimiento en el l mite de las celdas.Actualment els sistemes 3.5 i 4G tals com Long Term Evolution (LTE) i LTE-
Advanced (LTE-A) suporten serveis basats en paquets i proporcionen acc es de
banda ampla m obil per a aplicacions que requereixen elevades taxes de transmissi
o. En aquest context de r apida evoluci o, apareixen nous reptes t ecnics que
han de ser resolts e cientment. L'objectiu ultim es aconseguir un salt qualitatiu
important en l'experi encia d'usuari (QoE). Amb tal , un factor clau que ha estat
reconegut a les xarxes cel lulars basades en Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple
Access (OFDMA) es la gesti o d'interfer encies. De fet, la utilizaci o d'un factor de
re us baix permet una elevada e ci encia espectral per o a costa d'una distribuci o de
la qualitat de servei (QoS) que no es uniforme a la xarxa, dep en de la posici o de
l'usuari. Per tant, el rendiment en els l mits de la cel la es veu molt penalitzat i es
un problema important a resoldre en LTE i LTE-A.
La coordinaci o d'interfer encies entre cel les (ICIC, de l'angl es Intercell Interfe-
rence Coordination) engloba les estrat egies que tenen com a objectiu mantenir la
interfer encia intercel lular (ICI) el m es baixa possible en les vores de la cel la. Aix o
permet alleujar la situaci o abans esmentada. La contribuci o presentada en aquesta
tesi doctoral inclou el disseny de nous mecanismes de ICIC est atica per als canals de
dades i control, aix com tamb e millores des del punt de vista d'e ci encia energ etica.
A partir d'una revisi o completa de l'estat de l'art, es van identi car una s erie de
reptes oberts que requerien esfor cos de recerca. En concret, la necessitat de m etodes
d'avaluaci o
exibles i marcs d'optimitzaci o de les estrat egies de ICIC est atiques.
Aquests mecanismes s'agrupen en dues fam lies: els esquemes que de neixen restriccions
sobre el domini de la freq u encia i els que proposen ajustos en els nivells de
pot encia. Es a dir, la base de la gran majoria de propostes ICIC est atiques s on la
reutilitzaci o de freq u encies de tipus soft i fraccional (SFR i FFR, respectivament).
D'aquesta manera, durant la primera part d'aquesta tesi doctoral, s'han estudiat
els aspectes m es importants del funcionament de SFR i FFR, fent especial emfasi en
les conclusions que van m es enll a de les ben conegudes. Aix o ha perm es introduir un
nou marc estad stic per avaluar el funcionament d'aquests sistemes en condicions
de desplegament reals. Com a resultat d'aquestes an alisis, es mostra el pobre
acompliment de SFR i FFR en desplegaments reals quan funcionen amb les seves
con guracions cl assiques i s'estableix la necessitat d'optimitzaci o. Tamb e es posa de
manifest la import ancia del funcionament conjunt entre esquemes ICIC est atics i altres funcionalitats de la xarxa radio, tals com la informaci o que envien els usuaris
sobre l'estat del seu canal downlink (feedback del CSI, de l'angl es Channel State
Information). D'aquesta manera, s'han proposat diferents esquemes de feedback
apropiats per treballar conjuntament amb SFR i FFR. Aquests mecanismes exploten
el patr o d'assignaci o de recursos que s'utilitza en ICIC est atic per millorar la precisi o
del proc es.
La segona part se centra en l'optimitzaci o de SFR i FFR. S'ha investigat l' us
de t ecniques multiobjectiu com a eina per aconseguir una optimitzaci o e ca c, que
es espec ca per a cada xarxa. L'enfocament ofereix avantatges interessants, d'una
banda, es permet l'optimitzaci o simult ania de diversos criteris contradictoris. D'altra
banda, la naturalesa multiobjectiu implica obtenir com resultat con guracions de
xarxa d'elevada qualitat (Pareto e cients), totes elles amb un equilibri gaireb e optim
entre les diferents m etriques de rendiment. Els algorismes evolucionaris multiobjectiu
permeten la utilitzaci o d'estructures matem atiques complexes sense necessitat de
relaxar el problema, d'aquesta manera capturen adequadament el seu comportament
en termes de ICI. La formulaci o multiobjectiu aconsegueix un ajust efectiu dels
par ametres operacionals de SFR i FFR, tant a nivell de cel la com a nivell de xarxa.
A m es, la recerca s'est en amb resultats satisfactoris als canals de control, PDCCH
i ePDCCH.
Finalment, en un esfor c per millorar l'e ci encia energ etica de la xarxa (un
aspecte sempre considerat al llarg de la tesi), s'introdueix en l'an alisi global l'apagat
intel ligent de cel les, estrat egia amb estrets vincles amb ICIC. Mitjan cant el m etode
proposat, s'obtenen millores signi catives pel que fa als enfocaments tradicionals i
propostes pr evies. Els guanys s'obtenen en termes de consum energ etic, capacitat de
la xarxa, i rendiment en el l mit de les cel les
Quality of experience characterization and provisioning in mobile cellular networks
Παραδοσιακά, οι προηγούμενες γενεές κινητών κυψελωτών δικτύων έχουν σχεδιαστεί με κριτήρια Ποιότητας Υπηρεσίας, έτσι ώστε να πληρούν συγκεκριμένες απαιτήσεις διαφόρων υπηρεσιών. Η «Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας» έχει, ωστόσο, πρόσφατα εμφανιστεί ως έννοια, επηρεάζοντας το σχεδιασμό των μελλοντικών γενεών των δικτύων, δίνοντας σαφή έμφαση στην πραγματικά επιτευχθείσα εμπειρία του τελικού χρήστη. Η εμφάνιση της έννοιας της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας οφείλεται στην αναπόφευκτη, ισχυρή μετάβαση που βιώνει η βιομηχανία των Τηλεπικοινωνιών από συστημο-κεντρικά δίκτυα σε πιο χρηστο-κεντρικές λύσεις και στόχους. Οι πάροχοι κινητών δικτύων, οι πάροχοι υπηρεσιών, οι προγραμματιστές εφαρμογών, αλλά και άλλα ενδιαφερόμενα μέλη που εμπλέκονται στην αλυσίδα παροχής υπηρεσιών προσελκύονται από τις ευκαιρίες που μπορεί να προσφέρει η ενσωμάτωση γνώσης Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας στο επιχειρηματικό τους μοντέλο. Πράγματι, η παρεχόμενη Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας αποτελεί έναν καθοριστικό παράγοντα διαφοροποίησης μεταξύ των διαφόρων παικτών, μία τάση που αναμένεται να γίνει ακόμη πιο έντονη τα επόμενα χρόνια.
Υποκινούμενη από αυτή την χρηστο-κεντρική τάση, η έρευνα που διεξάγεται σε αυτή τη διατριβή έχει ως στόχο την διερεύνηση των προκλήσεων και των ευκαιριών που προκύπτουν στα σύγχρονα κινητά κυψελωτά δίκτυα όταν λαμβάνεται υπόψιν η έννοια της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας. Τέτοιες ευκαιρίες αφορούν, καταρχήν, τη δυνατότητα κατανόησης της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας που επιτυγχάνει ένας πάροχος κατά την προσφορά μίας υπηρεσίας. Αυτό μπορεί να επιτευχθεί με την υλοποίηση και ενσωμάτωση μεθόδων αξιολόγησης Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας στην πραγματικού-χρόνου λειτουργία ενός δικτύου. Εν συνεχεία, ακολουθεί η εκμετάλλευση της συλλεγμένης ευφυΐας που σχετίζεται με την Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας, προκειμένου να επανεξεταστούν υφιστάμενοι μηχανισμοί επιπέδου δικτύου (π.χ., χρονο-προγραμματισμός ραδιοπόρων) ή μηχανισμοί επιπέδου εφαρμογής (π.χ., ροή βίντεο), αλλά και να προταθούν καινοτόμες διαστρωματικές προσεγγίσεις προς όφελος της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας. Επιπλέον, υπάρχει η δυνατότητα πρότασης νέων αλγορίθμων που προκύπτουν από τα εγγενή χαρακτηριστικά της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας, όπως η μη γραμμική επίδραση μετρικών Ποιότητας Υπηρεσίας στην Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας, με στόχο την περαιτέρω βελτίωσή της. Σε αυτή την κατεύθυνση, στην παρούσα διατριβή, διερευνώνται και αξιοποιούνται μοντέλα και μετρικές εκτίμησης Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας με στόχο την ποσοτικοποίησή της, έχοντας ως απώτερο στόχο την εισαγωγή βελτιώσεων στους υφιστάμενους μηχανισμούς κινητών κυψελωτών δικτύων.
Ο πυρήνας αυτής της διατριβής είναι η πρόταση μίας κυκλικής διεργασίας παροχής Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας που επιτρέπει τον έλεγχο, την παρακολούθηση (ήτοι, τη μοντελοποίηση) και τη διαχείριση της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας σε ένα κυψελωτό δίκτυο. Κάθε μία από αυτές τις λειτουργίες αναλύεται περαιτέρω, ενώ έμφαση δίνεται στις λειτουργίες μοντελοποίησης και διαχείρισης. Όσον αφορά τη μοντελοποίηση, γίνεται περιγραφή και ταξινόμηση των μεθόδων εκτίμησης και των δεικτών επιδόσεων Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας. Η παραμετρική εκτίμηση της ποιότητας αναδεικνύεται ως η πιο ελκυστική κατηγορία μοντελοποίησης Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας σε κινητά κυψελωτά δίκτυα, οπότε και περιγράφεται διεξοδικά για ευρέως χρησιμοποιούμενους τύπους υπηρεσιών, όπως η συνομιλία (φωνή) μέσω Internet Protocol (IP) και η μετάδοση βίντεο.
Όσον αφορά τη διαχείριση Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας, προτείνονται νέοι μηχανισμοί που επιδεικνύουν βελτιώσεις στην εμπειρία των τελικών χρηστών, και συγκεκριμένα: α) ένα σχήμα ελέγχου των επικοινωνιών συσκευής-προς-συσκευή που λαμβάνει υπόψιν την εμπειρία των χρηστών, β) ένας «συνεπής» αλγόριθμος χρονο-προγραμματισμού ραδιοπόρων που βελτιώνει την Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας του χρήστη μετριάζοντας τις διακυμάνσεις της ρυθμαπόδοσης του δικτύου, και γ) ένας μηχανισμός προσαρμοστικής ροής βίντεο με γνώσεις «πλαισίου», ο οποίος επιτυγχάνει την εξάλειψη διακοπών του βίντεο σε συνθήκες χαμηλού εύρους ζώνης. Επιπλέον, προτείνεται μία εφαρμογή Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας βασισμένη στην αρχιτεκτονική Software-Defined Networking (SDN), ονόματι “QoE-SDN APP”, η οποία επιτρέπει την ανάδραση πληροφοριών δικτύου από παρόχους κινητής τηλεφωνίας σε παρόχους υπηρεσιών βίντεο, αναδεικνύοντας πλεονεκτήματα ως προς την Ποιότητα Εμπειρίας για τους πελάτες των παρόχων βίντεο αλλά και ως προς την εξοικονόμηση εύρους ζώνης για τους φορείς εκμετάλλευσης δικτύου.
Εν κατακλείδι, η παρούσα διατριβή προωθεί την ενοποίηση του ερευνητικού πεδίου της Ποιότητας Εμπειρίας με τον τομέα των κινητών επικοινωνιών, καθώς και τη συνεργασία αμοιβαίου ενδιαφέροντος μεταξύ των παρόχων δικτύου (επίπεδο δικτύου) με τους παρόχους υπηρεσιών (επίπεδο εφαρμογής), αναδεικνύοντας την δυναμική από τέτοιου είδους προσεγγίσεις για όλους τους εμπλεκόμενους φορείς.Traditionally, previous generations of mobile cellular networks have been designed with Quality of Service (QoS) criteria in mind, so that they manage to meet specific service requirements. Quality of Experience (QoE) has, however, recently emerged as a concept, disrupting the design of future network generations by giving clear emphasis on the actually achieved user experience. The emergence of the QoE concept has been a result of the inevitable strong transition that the Telecom industry is currently experiencing from system-centric networks to more user-centric solutions and objectives. Mobile network operators, service providers, application developers, as well as other stakeholders involved in the service provisioning chain have been attracted by the opportunities that the integration of the QoE concept could bring to their business; indeed, the provisioned QoE constitutes a determining factor of differentiation among different stakeholders, a tendency which is expected to become even more intense in the years to come.
Motivated by this boost towards user-centricity, the objective of the research conducted in this thesis is to explore the challenges and opportunities that arise in modern mobile cellular networks when QoE is considered. Such opportunities concern, first of all, the possibility to comprehend the QoE that a provider achieves when provisioning a service. This can be enabled by the implementation and integration of QoE assessment methods into the real-time operation of a network. Then, the next step is the exploitation of collected QoE-related intelligence in order to re-examine existing network-layer mechanisms (e.g., radio scheduling), or application-layer mechanisms (e.g., video streaming), as well as propose novel cross-layer approaches towards ameliorating the achieved QoE. Moreover, the opportunity emerges to propose novel algorithms that stem from the inherent idiosyncrasies of QoE, such as the non-linear impact of QoS-related parameters on QoE, as a way to further enhance the users’ QoE. In this direction, throughout this thesis, QoE estimation models and metrics are explored and exploited in order to quantify QoE and thus, to improve existing mechanisms of mobile cellular networks.
The core of this thesis is the proposal of a QoE provisioning cycle that allows the control, monitoring (i.e., modeling) and management of QoE in a cellular network. Each one of these functions is further analyzed, while emphasis is given on the modeling and management operations. In terms of modeling, QoE assessment methods and QoE-related performance indicators are described and classified. Parametric quality estimation is identified as the most appealing type of QoE estimation in mobile cellular networks, thus, it is thoroughly described for widely used types of services, such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and video streaming.
In terms of QoE management, novel QoE-aware mechanisms that demonstrate QoE improvements for the users are proposed, namely: a) a QoE-driven Device-to-Device (D2D) communication management scheme that enhances end-user QoE, b) a “consistent” radio scheduling algorithm that improves the end-user QoE by mitigating throughput fluctuations, and c) a context-aware HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) mechanism that successfully mitigates stallings (i.e., video freezing events) in the context of bandwidth-challenging scenarios. Moreover, a programmable QoE-SDN APP into the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) architecture is introduced, which enables network feedback exposure from mobile network operators to video service providers, revealing QoE benefits for the customers of video providers and bandwidth savings for the network operators.
Overall, this thesis promotes the uniting of the domain of QoE with the domain of mobile communications, as well as the collaboration of mutual-interest between mobile network operators (network layer) and service providers (application layer), presenting the high potential from such approaches for all involved stakeholders
A PARADIGM SHIFTING APPROACH IN SON FOR FUTURE CELLULAR NETWORKS
The race to next generation cellular networks is on with a general consensus in academia and industry that massive densification orchestrated by self-organizing networks (SONs) is the cost-effective solution to the impending mobile capacity crunch. While the research on SON commenced a decade ago and is still ongoing, the current form (i.e., the reactive mode of operation, conflict-prone design, limited degree of freedom and lack of intelligence) hinders the current SON paradigm from meeting the requirements of 5G. The ambitious quality of experience (QoE) requirements and the emerging multifarious vision of 5G, along with the associated scale of complexity and cost, demand a significantly different, if not totally new, approach to SONs in order to make 5G technically as well as financially feasible. This dissertation addresses these limitations of state-of-the-art SONs. It first presents a generic low-complexity optimization framework to allow for the agile, on-line, multi-objective optimization of future mobile cellular networks (MCNs) through only top-level policy input that prioritizes otherwise conflicting key performance indicators (KPIs) such as capacity, QoE, and power consumption. The hybrid, semi-analytical approach can be used for a wide range of cellular optimization scenarios with low complexity. The dissertation then presents two novel, user-mobility, prediction-based, proactive self-optimization frameworks (AURORA and OPERA) to transform mobility from a challenge into an advantage. The proposed frameworks leverage mobility to overcome the inherent reactiveness of state-of-the-art self-optimization schemes to meet the extremely low latency and high QoE expected from future cellular networks vis-à-vis 5G and beyond. The proactiveness stems from the proposed frameworks’ novel capability of utilizing past hand-over (HO) traces to determine future cell loads instead of observing changes in cell loads passively and then reacting to them. A semi-Markov renewal process is leveraged to build a model that can predict the cell of the next HO and the time of the HO for the users. A low-complexity algorithm has been developed to transform the predicted mobility attributes to a user-coordinate level resolution. The learned knowledge base is used to predict the user distribution among cells. This prediction is then used to formulate a novel (i) proactive energy saving (ES) optimization problem (AURORA) that proactively schedules cell sleep cycles and (ii) proactive load balancing (LB) optimization problem (OPERA). The proposed frameworks also incorporate the effect of cell individual offset (CIO) for balancing the load among cells, and they thus exploit an additional ultra-dense network (UDN)-specific mechanism to ensure QoE while maximizing ES and/or LB. The frameworks also incorporates capacity and coverage constraints and a load-aware association strategy for ensuring the conflict-free operation of ES, LB, and coverage and capacity optimization (CCO) SON functions. Although the resulting optimization problems are combinatorial and NP-hard, proactive prediction of cell loads instead of reactive measurement allows ample time for combination of heuristics such as genetic programming and pattern search to find solutions with high ES and LB yields compared to the state of the art. To address the challenge of significantly higher cell outage rates in anticipated in 5G and beyond due to higher operational complexity and cell density than legacy networks, the dissertation’s fourth key contribution is a stochastic analytical model to analyze the effects of the arrival of faults on the reliability behavior of a cellular network. Assuming exponential distributions for failures and recovery, a reliability model is developed using the continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC) process. Unlike previous studies on network reliability, the proposed model is not limited to structural aspects of base stations (BSs), and it takes into account diverse potential fault scenarios; it is also capable of predicting the expected time of the first occurrence of the fault and the long-term reliability behavior of the BS. The contributions of this dissertation mark a paradigm shift from the reactive, semi-manual, sub-optimal SON towards a conflict-free, agile, proactive SON. By paving the way for future MCN’s commercial and technical viability, the new SON paradigm presented in this dissertation can act as a key enabler for next-generation MCNs
Actas de las XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL 2019) Zaragoza (España) 22-24 de octubre de 2019
En esta ocasión, es la ciudad de Zaragoza la encargada de servir de anfitriona a las XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL 2019), que se celebrarán del 22 al 24 de octubre de 2019. Las Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL), organizadas por la Asociación de Telemática (ATEL), constituyen un foro propicio de reunión, debate y divulgación para los grupos que imparten docencia e investigan en temas relacionados con las redes y los servicios telemáticos. Con la organización de este evento se pretende fomentar, por un lado el intercambio de experiencias y resultados, además de la comunicación y cooperación entre los grupos de investigación que trabajan en temas relacionados con la telemática. En paralelo a las tradicionales sesiones que caracterizan los congresos científicos, se desea potenciar actividades más abiertas, que estimulen el intercambio de ideas entre los investigadores experimentados y los noveles, así como la creación de vínculos y puntos de encuentro entre los diferentes grupos o equipos de investigación. Para ello, además de invitar a personas relevantes en los campos correspondientes, se van a incluir sesiones de presentación y debate de las líneas y proyectos activos de los mencionados equipos
XIII Jornadas de ingeniería telemática (JITEL 2017)
Las Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL), organizadas por la Asociación de Telemática (ATEL), constituyen un foro propicio de reunión, debate y divulgación para los grupos que imparten docencia e investigan en temas relacionados con las redes y los servicios telemáticos. Con la organización de este evento se pretende fomentar, por un lado el intercambio de experiencias y resultados, además de la comunicación y cooperación entre los grupos de investigación que trabajan en temas relacionados con la telemática.
En paralelo a las tradicionales sesiones que caracterizan los congresos científicos, se desea potenciar actividades más abiertas, que estimulen el intercambio de ideas entre los investigadores experimentados y los noveles, así como la creación de vínculos y puntos de encuentro entre los diferentes grupos o equipos de investigación. Para ello, además de invitar a personas relevantes en los campos correspondientes, se van a incluir sesiones de presentación y debate de las líneas y proyectos activos de los mencionados equiposLloret Mauri, J.; Casares Giner, V. (2018). XIII Jornadas de ingeniería telemática (JITEL 2017). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/97612EDITORIA