Performance Analysis of ARQ Mechanism in WiMAX Networks

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess) is the IEEE 802.16 standards-based wireless technology, provides Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) for Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN). The Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) mechanism in WiMAX uses a feedback channel for the confirmation of error-free packet delivery or for packet retransmission request. This method can increase network throughput when radio channel condition is worse. In this paper attempt has been made to study the effect of implementation of ARQ on the performance of WiMAX network through simulation. Simulation study has been carried out for WiMAX network with and without enabling ARQ. The performance is been compared by considering the performance metrics like throughput, delay and jitter

General Model for Infrastructure Multi-channel Wireless LANs

In this paper we develop an integrated model for request mechanism and data transmission in multi-channel wireless local area networks. We calculated the performance parameters for single and multi-channel wireless networks when the channel is noisy. The proposed model is general it can be applied to different wireless networks such as IEEE802.11x, IEEE802.16, CDMA operated networks and Hiperlan\2.Comment: 11 Pages, IJCN

On the impact of link layer retransmission schemes on TCP over 4G satellite links

We study the impact of reliability mechanisms introduced at the link layer on the performance of transport protocols in the context of 4G satellite links. Specifically, we design a software module that performs realistic analysis of the network performance, by utilizing real physical layer traces of a 4G satellite service. Based on these traces, our software module produces equivalent link layer traces, as a function of the chosen link layer reliability mechanism. We further utilize the link layer traces within the ns-2 network simulator to evaluate the impact of link layer schemes on the performance of selected Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) variants. We consider erasure coding, selective-repeat automatic request (ARQ) and hybrid-ARQ link layer mechanisms, and TCP Cubic, Compound, Hybla, New Reno and Westwood. We show that, for all target TCP variants, when the throughput of the transport protocol is close to the channel capacity, using the ARQ mechanism is most beneficial for TCP performance improvement. In conditions where the physical channel error rate is high, hybrid-ARQ results in the best performance for all TCP variants considered, with up to 22% improvements compared to other schemes

Assessment and Real Time Implementation of Wireless Communications Systems and Applications in Transportation Systems

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e das Comunicacións en Redes Móbiles. 5029V01[Resumo] Os sistemas de comunicación sen fíos de cuarta e quinta xeración (4G e 5G) utilizan unha capa física (PHY) baseada en modulacións multiportadora para a transmisión de datos cun gran ancho de banda. Este tipo de modulacións proporcionan unha alta eficiencia espectral á vez que permiten corrixir de forma sinxela os efectos da canle radio. Estes sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para a repartición dos recursos radio dispoñibles entre os diferentes usuarios. Este repartimento realízase asignando un subconxunto de subportadoras a cada usuario nun instante de tempo determinado. Isto aporta unha gran flexibilidade ó sistema que lle permite adaptarse tanto ós requisitos de calidade de servizo dos usuarios como ó estado da canle radio. A capa de acceso ó medio (MAC) destes sistemas encárgase de configurar os diversos parámetros proporcionados pola capa física OFDMA, ademais de xestionar os diversos fluxos de información de cada usuario, transformando os paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes da capa física. Neste traballo estúdase o deseño e implementación das capas MAC e PHY de sistemas de comunicación 4G ademais da súa aplicabilidade en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios. Por unha parte, abórdase o deseño e implementación en tempo real do estándar WiMAX. Estúdanse os mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicacións bidireccionais entre unha estación base e múltiples dispositivos móbiles. Ademais, estúdase como realizar esta implementación nunha arquitectura hardware baseada en DSPs e FPGAs, na que se implementan as capas MAC e PHY. Dado que esta arquitectura ten uns recursos computacionais limitados, tamén se estudan as necesidades de cada módulo do sistema para poder garantir o funcionamento en tempo real do sistema completo. Por outra parte, tamén se estuda a aplicabilidade dos sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte públicos. Os sistemas de comunicacións e sinalización son unha parte vital para os sistemas de transporte ferroviario e metro. As comunicacións sen fíos utilizadas por estes sistemas deben ser robustas e proporcionar unha alta fiabilidade para permitir a supervisión, control e seguridade do tráfico ferroviario. Para levar a cabo esta avaliación de viabilidade realízanse simulacións de redes de comunicacións LTE en contornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando o cumprimento dos requisitos de fiabilidade e seguridade. Realízanse diferentes simulacións do sistema de comunicacións para poder ser avaliadas e seleccionar a configuración e arquitectura do sistema máis axeitada en función do escenario considerado. Tamén se efectúan simulacións de redes baseadas en Wi-Fi, dado que é a solución máis utilizada nos metros, para confrontar os resultados cos obtidos para LTE. Para que os resultados das simulacións sexan realistas débense empregar modelos de propagación radio axeitados. Nas simulacións utilízanse tanto modelos deterministas como modelos baseados nos resultados de campañas de medida realizadas nestes escenarios. Nas simulacións empréganse os diferentes fluxos de información destes escenarios para comprobar que se cumpren os requisitos de calidade de servicio (QoS). Por exemplo, os fluxos críticos para o control ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) ou Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), necesitan unha alta fiabilidade e un retardo mínimo nas comunicacións para garantir o correcto funcionamento do sistema.[Resumen] Los sistemas de comunicación inalámbricos de cuarta y quinta generación (4G y 5G) utilizan una capa física (PHY) basada en modulaciones multiportadora para la transmisión de datos con un gran ancho de banda. Este tipo de modulaciones han demostrado tener una alta eficiencia espectral a la vez que permiten corregir de forma sencilla los efectos del canal radio. Estos sistemas utilizan OFDMA como mecanismo para el reparto de los recursos radio disponibles entre los diferentes usuarios. Este reparto se realiza asignando un subconjunto de subportadoras a cada usuario en un instante de tiempo determinado. Esto aporta una gran flexibilidad al sistema que le permite adaptarse tanto a los requisitos de calidad de servicio de los usuarios como al estado del canal radio. La capa de acceso al medio (MAC) de estos sistemas se encarga de configurar los diversos parámetros proporcionados por la capa física OFDMA, además de gestionar los diversos flujos de información de cada usuario, transformando los paquetes de capas superiores en paquetes de la capa física. En este trabajo se estudia el diseño e implementación de las capas MAC y PHY de sistemas de comunicación 4G además de su aplicabilidad en sistemas de transporte ferroviarios. Por una parte, se aborda el diseño e implementación en tiempo real del estándar WiMAX. Se estudian los mecanismos necesarios para establecer comunicaciones bidireccionales entre una estación base y múltiples dispositivos móviles. Además, se estudia cómo realizar esta implementación en una arquitectura hardware basada en DSPs y FPGAs, en la que se implementan las capas MAC y PHY. Dado que esta arquitectura tiene unos recursos computacionales limitados, también se estudian las necesidades de cada módulo del sistema para poder garantizar el funcionamiento en tiempo real del sistema completo. Por otra parte, también se estudia la aplicabilidad de los sistemas 4G a sistemas de transporte públicos. Los sistemas de comunicaciones y señalización son una parte vital para los sistemas de transporte ferroviario y metro. Las comunicaciones inalámbricas utilizadas por estos sistemas deben ser robustas y proporcionar una alta fiabilidad para permitir la supervisión, control y seguridad del tráfico ferroviario. Para llevar a cabo esta evaluación de viabilidad se realizan simulaciones de redes de comunicaciones LTE en entornos de transporte ferroviarios, comprobando si se cumplen los requisitos de fiabilidad y seguridad. Se realizan diferentes simulaciones del sistema de comunicaciones para poder ser evaluados y seleccionar la configuración y arquitectura del sistema más adecuada en función del escenario planteado. También se efectúan simulaciones de redes basadas en Wi-Fi, dado que es la solución más utilizada en los metros, para comparar los resultados con los obtenidos para LTE. Para que los resultados de las simulaciones sean realistas se deben utilizar modelos de propagación radio apropiados. En las simulaciones se utilizan tanto modelos deterministas como modelos basados en los resultados de campañas de medida realizadas en estos escenarios. En las simulaciones se utilizan los diferentes flujos de información de estos escenarios para comprobar que se cumplen sus requisitos de calidad de servicio. Por ejemplo, los flujos críticos para el control ferroviario, como European Train Control System (ETCS) o Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), necesitan una alta fiabilidad y un retardo bajo en las comunicaciones para garantizar el correcto funcionamiento del sistema.[Abstract] The fourth and fifth generation wireless communication systems (4G and 5G) use a physical layer (PHY) based on multicarrier modulations for data transmission using high bandwidth. This type of modulations has shown to provide high spectral efficiency while allowing low complexity radio channel equalization. These systems use OFDMA as a mechanism for distributing the available radio resources among different users. This allocation is done by assigning a subset of subcarriers to each user in a given instant of time. This provides great flexibility to the system that allows it to adapt to both the quality of service requirements of users and the radio channel state. The media access layer (MAC) of these systems is in charge of configuring the multiple OFDMA PHY layer parameters, in addition to managing the data flows of each user, transforming the higher layer packets into PHY layer packets. This work studies the design and implementation of MAC and PHY layers of 4G communication systems as well as their applicability in rail transport systems. On the one hand, the design and implementation in real time of the WiMAX standard is addressed. The required mechanisms to establish bidirectional communications between a base station and several mobile devices are also evaluated. Moreover, a MAC layer and PHY layer implementation is presented, using a hardware architecture based in DSPs and FPGAs. Since this architecture has limited computational resources, the requirements of each processing block of the system are also studied in order to guarantee the real time operation of the complete system. On the other hand, the applicability of 4G systems to public transportation systems is also studied. Communications and signaling systems are a vital part of rail and metro transport systems. The wireless communications used by these systems must be robust and provide high reliability to enable the supervision, control and safety of rail traffic. To carry out this feasibility assessment, LTE communications network simulations are performed in rail transport environments to verify that reliability and safety requirements are met. Several simulations are carried out in order to evaluate the system performance and select the most appropriate system configuration in each case. Simulations of Wi-Fi based networks are also carried out, since it is the most used solution in subways, to compare the results with those obtained for LTE. To perform the simulations correctly, appropriate radio propagation models must be used. Both deterministic models and models based on the results of measurement campaigns in these scenarios are used in the simulations. The simulations use the different information flows present in the railway transportation systems to verify that its quality of service requirements are met. For example, critical flows for railway control, such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) or Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), require high reliability and low delay communications to ensure the proper functioning of the system

Miracle: the multi-interface cross-layer extension of ns2

We present Miracle, a novel framework which extends ns2 to facilitate the simulation and the design of beyond 4G networks. Miracle enhances ns2 by providing an efficient and embedded engine for handling cross-layer messages and, at the same time, enabling the coexistence of multiple modules within each layer of the protocol stack. We also present a novel framework developed as an extension of Miracle called Miracle PHY and MAC. This framework facilitates the development of more realistic Channel, PHY and MAC modules, considering features currently lacking in most state-of-the-art simulators, while at the same time giving a strong emphasis on code modularity, interoperability and reusability. Finally, we provide an overview of the wireless technologies implemented in Miracle, discussing in particular the models for the IEEE 802.11, UMTS and WiMAX standards and for Underwater Acoustic Networks. We observe that, thanks to Miracle and its extensions, it is possible to carefully simulate complex network architectures at all the OSI layers, from the physical reception model to standard applications and system management schemes. This allows to have a comprehensive view of all the interactions among network components, which play an important role in many research areas, such as cognitive networking and cross-layer design

Subcarrier and Power Allocation in WiMAX

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is one of the latest technologies for providing Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) in a metropolitan area. The use of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmissions has been proposed in WiMAX to mitigate the complications which are associated with frequency selective channels. In addition, the multiple access is achieved by using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme which has several advantages such as flexible resource allocation, relatively simple transceivers, and high spectrum efficient. In OFDMA the controllable resources are the subcarriers and the allocated power per subband. Moreover, adaptive subcarrier and power allocation techniques have been selected to exploit the natural multiuser diversity. This leads to an improvement of the performance by assigning the proper subcarriers to the user according to their channel quality and the power is allocated based on water-filling algorithm. One simple method is to allocate subcarriers and powers equally likely between all users. It is well known that this method reduces the spectral efficiency of the system, hence, it is not preferred unless in some applications. In order to handle the spectral efficiency problem, in this thesis we discuss three novel resources allocation algorithms for the downlink of a multiuser OFDM system and analyze the algorithm performances based on capacity and fairness measurement. Our intensive simulations validate the algorithm performances.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Quality of service in WiMAX networks

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesO acesso à banda larga é um requisito importante na actualidade para satisfazer os utilizadores em termos de novas aplicações e serviços em tempo real. O WiMAX, como tecnologia sem fios para áreas metropolitanas, prometendo cobrir uma maior superfície e com maior débito, é uma tecnologia promissora para as redes de próxima geração. No entanto um requisito importante para a instalação e massificação desta tecnologia é o seu comportamento a nível de qualidade de serviços e garantia aos utilizadores do cumprimento eficiente dos requisitos de QoS. Esta tese aborda e estuda o suporte de qualidade de serviços para redes WiMAX presente em diferentes modelos de simulação, implementados na ferramenta de simulação ns-2. Para além da validação e comparação entre os modelos existentes, também é efectuada a especificação e implementação de uma solução de QoS composta por um classificador e escalonador, e é proposto e avaliado um algoritmo de escalonamento que utiliza prioritização de classes de serviço e informação física dinâmica “cross layer” para decisões de escalonamento no simulador. Para validar e avaliar as soluções propostas e desenvolvidas, um conjunto de cenários orientados para a utilização de vários serviços e aferição de métricas de QoS foram simulados. Os resultados obtidos mostram a diferenciação entre distintas classes de tráfego. O mecanismo proposto apresenta um pequeno ganho em débito e latência comparativamente às soluções previamente analisadas/implementadas. ABSTRACT: Broadband access is an important requirement to satisfy user demands and support a new set of real time services and applications. WiMAX, as a Broadband Wireless Access solution for Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks, covering large distances with high throughputs, is a promising technology for Next Generation Networks. Nevertheless, for the successful deployment and massification of WiMAX based solutions, Quality of Service (QoS) is a mandatory feature that must be supported. In this thesis , the QoS support for WiMAX in ns-2 simulation software is addressed. A QoS framework, composed by a packet classification mechanism and a scheduler, has been specified and implemented on the simulator, providing service differentiation over WiMAX networks. Furthermore, validation and comparison of different IEEE 802.16 simulation models is provided. Finally a scheduling solution is proposed and evaluated that uses prioritization and dynamic cross layer information for schedulling decisions in WiMAX networks. In order to validate the developed solutions, a set of QoS oriented scenarios have been simulated and the obtained results show that the implemented schedullers are able to efficiently differentiate between the different traffic classes and achieve gains in throughput and delay