Framework for Content Distribution over Wireless LANs

Wireless LAN (also called as Wi-Fi) is dominantly considered as the most pervasive technology for Intent access. Due to the low-cost of chipsets and support for high data rates, Wi-Fi has become a universal solution for ever-increasing application space which includes, video streaming, content delivery, emergency communication, vehicular communication and Internet-of-Things (IoT). Wireless LAN technology is defined by the IEEE 802.11 standard. The 802.11 standard has been amended several times over the last two decades, to incorporate the requirement of future applications. The 802.11 based Wi-Fi networks are infrastructure networks in which devices communicate through an access point. However, in 2010, Wi-Fi Alliance has released a specification to standardize direct communication in Wi-Fi networks. The technology is called Wi-Fi Direct. Wi-Fi Direct after 9 years of its release is still used for very basic services (connectivity, file transfer etc.), despite the potential to support a wide range of applications. The reason behind the limited inception of Wi-Fi Direct is some inherent shortcomings that limit its performance in dense networks. These include the issues related to topology design, such as non-optimal group formation, Group Owner selection problem, clustering in dense networks and coping with device mobility in dynamic networks. Furthermore, Wi-Fi networks also face challenges to meet the growing number of Wi Fi users. The next generation of Wi-Fi networks is characterized as ultra-dense networks where the topology changes frequently which directly affects the network performance. The dynamic nature of such networks challenges the operators to design and make optimum planifications. In this dissertation, we propose solutions to the aforementioned problems. We contributed to the existing Wi-Fi Direct technology by enhancing the group formation process. The proposed group formation scheme is backwards-compatible and incorporates role selection based on the device's capabilities to improve network performance. Optimum clustering scheme using mixed integer programming is proposed to design efficient topologies in fixed dense networks, which improves network throughput and reduces packet loss ratio. A novel architecture using Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles (UAVs) in Wi-Fi Direct networks is proposed for dynamic networks. In ultra-dense, highly dynamic topologies, we propose cognitive networks using machine-learning algorithms to predict the network changes ahead of time and self-configuring the network

Recent Advances in Cellular D2D Communications

Device-to-device (D2D) communications have attracted a great deal of attention from researchers in recent years. It is a promising technique for offloading local traffic from cellular base stations by allowing local devices, in physical proximity, to communicate directly with each other. Furthermore, through relaying, D2D is also a promising approach to enhancing service coverage at cell edges or in black spots. However, there are many challenges to realizing the full benefits of D2D. For one, minimizing the interference between legacy cellular and D2D users operating in underlay mode is still an active research issue. With the 5th generation (5G) communication systems expected to be the main data carrier for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) paradigm, the potential role of D2D and its scalability to support massive IoT devices and their machine-centric (as opposed to human-centric) communications need to be investigated. New challenges have also arisen from new enabling technologies for D2D communications, such as non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and blockchain technologies, which call for new solutions to be proposed. This edited book presents a collection of ten chapters, including one review and nine original research works on addressing many of the aforementioned challenges and beyond

Models and Methods for Network Selection and Balancing in Heterogeneous Scenarios

The outbreak of 5G technologies for wireless communications can be considered a response to the need for widespread coverage, in terms of connectivity and bandwidth, to guarantee broadband services, such as streaming or on-demand programs offered by the main television networks or new generation services based on augmented and virtual reality (AR / VR). The purpose of the study conducted for this thesis aims to solve two of the main problems that will occur with the outbreak of 5G, that is, the search for the best possible connectivity, in order to offer users the resources necessary to take advantage of the new generation services, and multicast as required by the eMBMS. The aim of the thesis is the search for innovative algorithms that will allow to obtain the best connectivity to offer users the resources necessary to use the 5G services in a heterogeneous scenario. Study UF that allows you to improve the search for the best candidate network and to achieve a balance that allows you to avoid congestion of the chosen networks. To achieve these two important focuses, I conducted a study on the main mathematical methods that made it possible to select the network based on QoS parameters based on the type of traffic made by users. A further goal was to improve the computational computation performance they present. Furthermore, I carried out a study in order to obtain an innovative algorithm that would allow the management of multicast. The algorithm that has been implemented responds to the needs present in the eMBMS, in realistic scenarios

Energy efficient offloading techniques for heterogeneous networks

Mobile data offloading has been proposed as a solution for the network congestion problem that is continuously aggravating due to the increase in mobile data demand. The concept of offloading refers to the exploitation of network heterogeneity with the objective to mitigate the load of the cellular network infrastructure. In this thesis a multicast protocol for short range networks that exploits the characteristics of physical layer network coding is presented. In the proposed protocol, named CooPNC, a novel cooperative approach is provided that allows collision resolutions with the use of an indirect inter-network cooperation scheme. Through this scheme, a reliable multicast protocol for partially overlapping short range networks with low control overhead is provided. It is shown that with CooPNC, higher throughput and energy efficiency are achieved, while it presents lower delay compared to state-of-the-art multicast protocols. A detailed description of the proposed protocol is provided, with a simple scenario of overlapping networks and also for a generalised scalable scenario. Through mathematical analysis and simulations it is proved that CooPNC presents significant performance gains compared to other state-of-the-art multicast protocols for short range networks. In order to reveal the performance bounds of Physical Layer Network Coding, the so-called Cross Network is investigated under diverse Network Coding (NC) techniques. The impact of Medium Access Control (MAC) layer fairness on the throughput performance of the network is provided, for the cases of pure relaying, digital NC with and without overhearing and physical layer NC with and without overhearing. A comparison among these techniques is presented and the throughput bounds, caused by MAC layer limitations, are discussed. Furthermore, it is shown that significant coding gains are achieved with digital and physical layer NC and the energy efficiency performance of each NC case is presented, when applied on the Cross Network.In the second part of this thesis, the uplink offloading using IP Flow Mobility (IFOM) is also investigated. IFOM allows a LTE mobile User Equipment (UE) to maintain two concurrent data streams, one through LTE and the other through WiFi access technology, that presents uplink limitations due to the inherent fairness design of IEEE 802.11 DCF. To overcome these limitations, a weighted proportionally fair bandwidth allocation algorithm is proposed, regarding the data volume that is being offloaded through WiFi, in conjunction with a pricing-based rate allocation algorithm for the rest of the data volume needs of the UEs that are transmitted through the LTE uplink. With the proposed approach, the energy efficiency of the UEs is improved, and the offloaded data volume is increased under the concurrent use of access technologies that IFOM allows. In the weighted proportionally fair WiFi bandwidth allocation, both the different upload data needs of the UEs, along with their LTE spectrum efficiency are considered, and an access mechanism is proposed that improves the use of WiFi access in uplink offloading. In the LTE part, a two-stage pricing-based rate allocation is proposed, under both linear and exponential pricing approaches, with the objective to satisfy all offloading UEs regarding their LTE uplink access. The existence of a malicious UE is also considered that aims to exploit the WiFi bandwidth against its peers in order to upload less data through the energy demanding LTE uplink and a reputation based method is proposed to combat its selfish operation. This approach is theoretically analysed and its performance is evaluated, regarding the malicious and the truthful UEs in terms of energy efficiency. It is shown that while the malicious UE presents better energy efficiency before being detected, its performance is significantly degraded with the proposed reaction method.La derivación del tráfico de datos móviles (en inglés data offloading) ha sido propuesta como una solución al problema de la congestión de la red, un problema que empeora continuamente debido al incremento de la demanda de datos móviles. El concepto de offloading se entiende como la explotación de la heterogeneidad de la red con el objetivo de mitigar la carga de la infraestructura de las redes celulares. En esta tesis se presenta un protocolo multicast para redes de corto alcance (short range networks) que explota las características de la codificación de red en la capa física (physical layer network coding). En el protocolo propuesto, llamado CooPMC, se implementa una solución cooperativa que permite la resolución de colisiones mediante la utilización de un esquema indirecto de cooperación entre redes. Gracias a este esquema, se consigue un protocolo multicast fiable i con poco overhead de control para redes de corto alcance parcialmente solapadas. Se demuestra que el protocolo CooPNC consigue una mayor tasa de transmisión neta (throughput) y una mejor eficiencia energética, a la vez que el retardo se mantiene por debajo del obtenido con los protocolos multicast del estado del arte. La tesis ofrece una descripción detallada del protocolo propuesto, tanto para un escenario simple de redes solapadas como también para un escenario general escalable. Se demuestra mediante análisis matemático y simulaciones que CooPNC ofrece mejoras significativas en comparación con los protocolos multicast para redes de corto alcance del estado del arte. Con el objetivo de encontrar los límites de la codificación de red en la capa física (physical layer network coding), se estudia el llamado Cross Network bajo distintas técnicas de Network Coding (NC). Se proporciona el impacto de la equidad (fairness) de la capa de control de acceso al medio (Medium Access Control, MAC), para los casos de repetidor puro (pure relaying), NC digital con y sin escucha del medio, y NC en la capa física con y sin escucha del medio. En la segunda parte de la tesis se investiga el offloading en el enlace ascendente mediante IP Flow Mobility (IFOM). El IFOM permite a los usuarios móviles de LTE mantener dos flujos de datos concurrentes, uno a través de LTE y el otro a través de la tecnología de acceso WiFi, que presenta limitaciones en el enlace ascendente debido a la equidad (fairness) inherente del diseño de IEEE 802.11 DCF. Para superar estas limitaciones, se propone un algoritmo proporcional ponderado de asignación de banda para el volumen de datos derivado a través de WiFi, junto con un algoritmo de asignación de tasa de transmisión basado en pricing para el volumen de datos del enlace ascendente de LTE. Con la solución propuesta, se mejora la eficiencia energética de los usuarios móviles, y se incrementa el volumen de datos que se pueden derivar gracias a la utilización concurrente de tecnologías de acceso que permite IFOM. En el algoritmo proporcional ponderado de asignación de banda de WiFi, se toman en consideración tanto las distintas necesidades de los usuarios en el enlace ascendente como su eficiencia espectral en LTE, y se propone un mecanismo de acceso que mejora el uso de WiFi para el tráfico derivado en el enlace ascendente. En cuanto a la parte de LTE, se propone un algoritmo en dos etapas de asignación de tasa de transmisión basada en pricing (con propuestas de pricing exponencial y lineal) con el objetivo de satisfacer el enlace ascendente de los usuarios en LTE. También se contempla la existencia de usuarios maliciosos, que pretenden utilizar el ancho de banda WiFi contra sus iguales para transmitir menos datos a través del enlace ascendente de LTE (menos eficiente energéticamente). Para ello se propone un método basado en la reputación que combate el funcionamiento egoísta (selfish).Postprint (published version