On the use of prioritization and network slicing features for mission critical and commercial traffic multiplexing in 5G Radio Access Networks

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) sector is undergoing an important transition with the deployment of Mission Critical (MC) mobile broadband technology based on 3GPP standards, with multiple initiatives on-going worldwide for providing PPDR agencies with broadband communications capabilities. One common approach being adopted is the delivery of MC services together with commercial traffic over public mobile networks and the use of prioritization mechanisms to protect the MC connections in congestion situations. However, this approach leaves commercial traffic unprotected in front of a noncontrolled surge of MC traffic in specific cells since all resources would be allocated to serve this traffic. In this context, this paper proposes a solution to properly multiplex MC and commercial services with congestion protection for both types of services. The solution is based on the exploitation of the network slicing features brought into the new 5G standards. In particular, the paper describes how different slices can be parameterized in a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) so that radio load guarantees can be established for each type of service. The proposed solution is evaluated in an illustrative scenario by means of simulations. Obtained results show the improvements in traffic isolation achievable by the slicing configuration when compared to the solution that only relies on prioritization mechanismsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Conception d'un modèle novateur améliorant la performance dans les réseaux de la sécurité publique sur LTE hétérogènes

Durant les situations d’urgences, la disponibilité des moyens de télécommunications est cruciale et indispensable pour les usagers des réseaux de la Sécurité Publique (PSN). En revanche, durant de tels moments, le besoin en échange d’information croît d’une façon spectaculaire. Par conséquent, l’accès au médium radio devient congestionné très rapidement. Malheureusement, durant ces moments, les ressources dédiées aux réseaux (PSN) ne semblent pas être suffisantes pour satisfaire toutes les requêtes d’établissement des nouveaux bearers. Les réseaux LTE viennent donc contribuer à la résolution de cette problématique, en offrant l’accès à la Radio Commerciale Partagée pour le réseau PSN, avec une certaine priorisation, afin d’améliorer les communications PSN lors des situations d’urgences. Néanmoins, cet accès ne doit pas accaparer toutes les ressources du réseau commercial. De plus, la technologie LTE permet l’utilisation des communications Device-to-Device qui consiste à échanger l’information directement entre les équipements sans avoir à passer par l’eNodeB. Les communications D2D doivent donc être exploitées pour contourner les problèmes de congestion, surtout lors des désastres. Par ailleurs, l’amélioration de la performance des réseaux PSN ne se limite pas dans la gestion efficace des ressources radio. L’allocation des ressources de bande passante au niveau du réseau Backhaul et du réseau coeur LTE doit aussi être améliorée. Dans cette thèse un nouveau modèle novateur a été conçu pour l’amélioration de la performance dans les réseaux de la sécurité publique sur les réseaux LTE hétérogènes. Ce modèle qui compte dix solutions, intervient sur les trois réseaux composant le réseau LTE, à savoir le réseau d’accès, le réseau Backhaul et le réseau coeur LTE. Nos différentes solutions ont toutes été validées par simulations, et ont toutes apporté une amélioration par rapport à aux approches classiques ou par rapport à d’autres approches existantes dans la littérature

Squatting and kicking model evaluation for prioritized sliced resource management

© Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Effective management and allocation of resources remains a challenging paradigm for future large-scale networks such as 5G, especially under a network slicing scenario where the different services will be characterized by differing Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. This makes the task of guaranteeing the QoS levels and maximizing the resource utilization across such networks a complicated task. Moreover, the existing allocation strategies with link sharing tend to suffer from inefficient network resource usage. Therefore, we focused on prioritized sliced resource management in this work and the contributions of this paper can be summarized as formally defining and evaluating a self-provisioned resource management scheme through a smart Squatting and Kicking model (SKM) for multi-class networks. SKM provides the ability to dynamically allocate network resources such as bandwidth, Label Switched Paths (LSP), fiber, slots among others to different user priority classes. Also, SKM can guarantee the correct level of QoS (especially for the higher priority classes) while optimizing the resource utilization across networks. Moreover, given the network slicing scenarios, the proposed scheme can be employed for admission control. Simulation results show that our model achieves 100% resource utilization in bandwidth-constrained environments while guaranteeing higher admission ratio for higher priority classes. From the results, SKM provided 100% acceptance ratio for highest priority class under different input traffic volumes, which, as we articulate, cannot be sufficiently achieved by other existing schemes such as AllocTC-Sharing model due to priority constraints.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The Effect Of South African Internet Service Providers’ Service Quality On Corporate End Users’ Business Performance

The Internet is used for commercial purposes, and companies utilise the Internet to stay competitive in the market. The increase in Internet adoption has led to an increase in Internet Service Provider (ISP) competition in the South African market, with Service Quality playing a key role in differentiation. ISPs are key stakeholders in the Internet industry, and therefore have a direct influence on Internet Service Quality. There have certainly been a number of studies conducted around the difficult, technical side of Internet Service Quality; however, very few studies have delved into the softer side of ISPs’ Service Quality and the evaluation of the impact of this Service Quality on customers’ business performance. This study aims to close this knowledge gap by providing a critical comparative analysis of South African ISPs, and the challenges experienced by ISPs. In addition, this study confirms a Service Quality measurement model for the South African Internet industry, and further contributes to the existing body of knowledge by investigating the impact of ISPs’ Service Quality on corporate customers’ business performance. This thesis employs an empirical, mixed-methods approach through the use of both qualitative and quantitative research strategies. The researcher interviewed top management at ISPs, and distributed online surveys to customers of ISPs. The findings of this research are beneficial to ISP management, and academics aiming to expand their research in this arena.Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL

Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2009, nr 3

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Space and Earth Sciences, Computer Systems, and Scientific Data Analysis Support, Volume 1

This Final Progress Report covers the specific technical activities of Hughes STX Corporation for the last contract triannual period of 1 June through 30 Sep. 1993, in support of assigned task activities at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It also provides a brief summary of work throughout the contract period of performance on each active task. Technical activity is presented in Volume 1, while financial and level-of-effort data is presented in Volume 2. Technical support was provided to all Division and Laboratories of Goddard's Space Sciences and Earth Sciences Directorates. Types of support include: scientific programming, systems programming, computer management, mission planning, scientific investigation, data analysis, data processing, data base creation and maintenance, instrumentation development, and management services. Mission and instruments supported include: ROSAT, Astro-D, BBXRT, XTE, AXAF, GRO, COBE, WIND, UIT, SMM, STIS, HEIDI, DE, URAP, CRRES, Voyagers, ISEE, San Marco, LAGEOS, TOPEX/Poseidon, Pioneer-Venus, Galileo, Cassini, Nimbus-7/TOMS, Meteor-3/TOMS, FIFE, BOREAS, TRMM, AVHRR, and Landsat. Accomplishments include: development of computing programs for mission science and data analysis, supercomputer applications support, computer network support, computational upgrades for data archival and analysis centers, end-to-end management for mission data flow, scientific modeling and results in the fields of space and Earth physics, planning and design of GSFC VO DAAC and VO IMS, fabrication, assembly, and testing of mission instrumentation, and design of mission operations center

Fixing the Gap: an investigation into wheelchair users' shaping of London public transport

Public transport in London is a massive infrastructure, with over 400km of underground tracks, a fleet of 8000 buses and a rich, 153-year history that has turned it into a symbol of the English capital. Despite its size, accessibility in this infrastructure has been a source of concern for wheelchair users in London. Based on interpretative analysis of thirty-four in-depth qualitative interviews with wheelchair users and policy-makers, observations of training courses and documentary data on London transport, this research asks, “How do wheelchair users use public transport in London?” This thesis, which sits at the intersection of science and technology studies (STS) and disability studies, has two main arguments. The first contends that the barriers faced by wheelchair users in transport are the result of infrastructural stabilisation that occurred in a period of social segregation (1850s-1950s). This is discussed by intersecting the history of transport in London, with that of disabled people in British society, followed by interviewees’ accounts of the barriers they encounter in the infrastructure to this day. The second argument holds that, despite segregation, wheelchair users have taken an active role in the process of shaping transport in London. In this role, they have developed inclusion mechanisms on both micro- and macro-scales, through individual problem-solving on the one hand and collective and political activism on the other. Drawing from STS concepts like the social shaping of technology and infrastructural invisibility, and engaging with the social model of disability from disability studies, this thesis shows the impact of marginalised users’ engagement. It concludes that the social perception of disabled users as ‘passive’ masks an active interaction with and shaping of the transport network. This thesis therefore provides insights into the paradoxical nature of infrastructure, showing places of agency where previously one saw passivity and exclusion