1,931 research outputs found
A BLE-based multi-gateway network infrastructure with handover support for mobile BLE peripherals
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a popular technology within the Internet of Things. It allows low-power, star networks to be set up between a BLE gateway and multiple, power-constrained BLE devices. However, these networks tend to be static, not supporting BLE devices that can freely move around in an environment of multiple interconnected BLE gateways and perform handovers whenever necessary. This work proposes two alternative network architectures for mobile BLE peripherals. One leverages on IPv6 over BLE, whereas the other combines default BLE mechanisms with an additional custom controller. On top, we study in detail the handover mechanism that must be present in both architectures and compare the performance of both a passive and active handover approach. The passive handover approach can be set up without any extra implementation, but an active handover approach offers more proactive handover decisions and can provide a much lower handover latency. All proposed solutions have been implemented and validated on real hardware, showing the feasibility of having future infrastructures with support for mobile BLE devices
High-speed, in-band performance measurement instrumentation for next generation IP networks
Facilitating always-on instrumentation of Internet traffic for the purposes of performance measurement is crucial in order to enable accountability of resource usage and automated network control, management and optimisation. This has proven infeasible to date due to the lack of native measurement mechanisms that can form an integral part of the network‟s main forwarding operation. However, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) specification enables the efficient encoding and processing of optional per-packet information as a native part of the network layer, and this constitutes a strong reason for IPv6 to be adopted as the ubiquitous next generation Internet transport.
In this paper we present a very high-speed hardware implementation of in-line measurement, a truly native traffic instrumentation mechanism for the next generation Internet, which facilitates performance measurement of the actual data-carrying traffic at small timescales between two points in the network. This system is designed to operate as part of the routers' fast path and to incur an absolutely minimal impact on the network operation even while instrumenting traffic between the edges of very high capacity links. Our results show that the implementation can be easily accommodated by current FPGA technology, and real Internet traffic traces verify that the overhead incurred by instrumenting every packet over a 10 Gb/s operational backbone link carrying a typical workload is indeed negligible
IETF standardization in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT): a survey
Smart embedded objects will become an important part of what is called the Internet of Things. However, the integration of embedded devices into the Internet introduces several challenges, since many of the existing Internet technologies and protocols were not designed for this class of devices. In the past few years, there have been many efforts to enable the extension of Internet technologies to constrained devices. Initially, this resulted in proprietary protocols and architectures. Later, the integration of constrained devices into the Internet was embraced by IETF, moving towards standardized IP-based protocols. In this paper, we will briefly review the history of integrating constrained devices into the Internet, followed by an extensive overview of IETF standardization work in the 6LoWPAN, ROLL and CoRE working groups. This is complemented with a broad overview of related research results that illustrate how this work can be extended or used to tackle other problems and with a discussion on open issues and challenges. As such the aim of this paper is twofold: apart from giving readers solid insights in IETF standardization work on the Internet of Things, it also aims to encourage readers to further explore the world of Internet-connected objects, pointing to future research opportunities
Evolving SDN for Low-Power IoT Networks
Software Defined Networking (SDN) offers a flexible and scalable architecture
that abstracts decision making away from individual devices and provides a
programmable network platform. However, implementing a centralized SDN
architecture within the constraints of a low-power wireless network faces
considerable challenges. Not only is controller traffic subject to jitter due
to unreliable links and network contention, but the overhead generated by SDN
can severely affect the performance of other traffic. This paper addresses the
challenge of bringing high-overhead SDN architecture to IEEE 802.15.4 networks.
We explore how traditional SDN needs to evolve in order to overcome the
constraints of low-power wireless networks, and discuss protocol and
architectural optimizations necessary to reduce SDN control overhead - the main
barrier to successful implementation. We argue that interoperability with the
existing protocol stack is necessary to provide a platform for controller
discovery and coexistence with legacy networks. We consequently introduce
{\mu}SDN, a lightweight SDN framework for Contiki, with both IPv6 and
underlying routing protocol interoperability, as well as optimizing a number of
elements within the SDN architecture to reduce control overhead to practical
levels. We evaluate {\mu}SDN in terms of latency, energy, and packet delivery.
Through this evaluation we show how the cost of SDN control overhead (both
bootstrapping and management) can be reduced to a point where comparable
performance and scalability is achieved against an IEEE 802.15.4-2012 RPL-based
network. Additionally, we demonstrate {\mu}SDN through simulation: providing a
use-case where the SDN configurability can be used to provide Quality of
Service (QoS) for critical network flows experiencing interference, and we
achieve considerable reductions in delay and jitter in comparison to a scenario
without SDN
Sensor function virtualization to support distributed intelligence in the internet of things
It is estimated that-by 2020-billion devices will be connected to the Internet. This number not only includes TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones, but also billions of embedded sensors that will make up the "Internet of Things" and enable a whole new range of intelligent services in domains such as manufacturing, health, smart homes, logistics, etc. To some extent, intelligence such as data processing or access control can be placed on the devices themselves. Alternatively, functionalities can be outsourced to the cloud. In reality, there is no single solution that fits all needs. Cooperation between devices, intermediate infrastructures (local networks, access networks, global networks) and/or cloud systems is needed in order to optimally support IoT communication and IoT applications. Through distributed intelligence the right communication and processing functionality will be available at the right place. The first part of this paper motivates the need for such distributed intelligence based on shortcomings in typical IoT systems. The second part focuses on the concept of sensor function virtualization, a potential enabler for distributed intelligence, and presents solutions on how to realize it
MIPv6 Experimental Evaluation using Overlay Networks
The commercial deployment of Mobile IPv6 has been hastened by the concepts of Integrated
Wireless Networks and Overlay Networks, which are present in the notion of the
forthcoming generation of wireless communications. Individual wireless access networks
show limitations that can be overcome through the integration of different technologies
into a single unified platform (i.e., 4G systems). This paper summarises practical experiments
performed to evaluate the impact of inter-networking (i.e. vertical handovers) on
the Network and Transport layers. Based on our observations, we propose and evaluate a
number of inter-technology handover optimisation techniques, e.g., Router Advertisements
frequency values, Binding Update simulcasting, Router Advertisement caching, and Soft
Handovers. The paper concludes with the description of a policy-based mobility support
middleware (PROTON) that hides 4G networking complexities from mobile users, provides
informed handover-related decisions, and enables the application of different vertical
handover methods and optimisations according to context.Publicad
KRATOS: An Open Source Hardware-Software Platform for Rapid Research in LPWANs
Long-range (LoRa) radio technologies have recently gained momentum in the IoT
landscape, allowing low-power communications over distances up to several
kilometers. As a result, more and more LoRa networks are being deployed.
However, commercially available LoRa devices are expensive and propriety,
creating a barrier to entry and possibly slowing down developments and
deployments of novel applications. Using open-source hardware and software
platforms would allow more developers to test and build intelligent devices
resulting in a better overall development ecosystem, lower barriers to entry,
and rapid growth in the number of IoT applications. Toward this goal, this
paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of KRATOS, a low-cost
LoRa platform running ContikiOS. Both, our hardware and software designs are
released as an open- source to the research community.Comment: Accepted at WiMob 201
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