Prediction assisted fast handovers for seamless IP mobility

Word processed copy.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-98).This research investigates the techniques used to improve the standard Mobile IP handover process and provide proactivity in network mobility management. Numerous fast handover proposals in the literature have recently adopted a cross-layer approach to enhance movement detection functionality and make terminal mobility more seamless. Such fast handover protocols are dependent on an anticipated link-layer trigger or pre-trigger to perform pre-handover service establishment operations. This research identifies the practical difficulties involved in implementing this type of trigger and proposes an alternative solution that integrates the concept of mobility prediction into a reactive fast handover scheme

Using Link Layer Information to Enhance Mobile IP Handover Mechanism. An investigation in to the design, analysis and performance evaluation of the enhanced Mobile IP handover mechanism using link layer information schemes in the IP environment.

Mobile computing is becoming increasingly important, due to the rise in the number of portable computers and the desire to have continuous network connectivity to the Internet, irrespective of the physical location of the node. We have also seen a steady growth of the market for wireless communication devices. Such devices can only have the effect of increasing the options for making connections to the global Internet. The Internet infrastructure is built on top of a collection of protocols called the TCP/IP protocol suite. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) are the core protocols in this suite. There are currently two standards: one to support the current IPv4 and one for the upcoming IPv6 [1]. IP requires the location of any node connected to the Internet to be uniquely identified by an assigned IP address. This raises one of the most important issues in mobility because, when a node moves to another physical location, it has to change its IP address. However, the higher-level protocols require the IP address of a node to be fixed for identifying connections. The Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) is an extension to the Internet Protocol proposed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that addresses this issue. It enables mobile devices to stay connected to the Internet regardless of their locations, without changing their IP addresses and, therefore, an ongoing IP session will not be interrupted [2, 3, 4]. More precisely, Mobile IP is a standard protocol that builds on the Internet Protocol by making mobility transparent to applications and higher-level protocols like TCP. However, before Mobile IP can be broadly deployed, there are still several technical barriers, such as long handover periods and packet loss that have to be overcome, in addition to other technical obstacles, including handover performance, security issues and routing efficiency [7]. This study presents an investigation into developing new handover mechanisms based on link layer information in Mobile IP and fast handover in Mobile IPv6 environments. The main goal of the developed mechanisms is to improve the overall IP mobility performance by reducing packet loss, minimizing signalling overheads and reducing the handover processing time. These models include the development of a cross-layer handover scheme using link layer information and Mobile Node (MN) location information to improve the performance of the communication system by reducing transmission delay, packet loss and registration signalling overheads. Finally, the new schemes are developed, tested and validated through a set of experiments to demonstrate the relative merits and capabilities of these schemes

Radio Communications

In the last decades the restless evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) brought to a deep transformation of our habits. The growth of the Internet and the advances in hardware and software implementations modified our way to communicate and to share information. In this book, an overview of the major issues faced today by researchers in the field of radio communications is given through 35 high quality chapters written by specialists working in universities and research centers all over the world. Various aspects will be deeply discussed: channel modeling, beamforming, multiple antennas, cooperative networks, opportunistic scheduling, advanced admission control, handover management, systems performance assessment, routing issues in mobility conditions, localization, web security. Advanced techniques for the radio resource management will be discussed both in single and multiple radio technologies; either in infrastructure, mesh or ad hoc networks

Framework to facilitate smooth handovers between mobile IPv6 networks

Fourth generation (4G) mobile communication networks are characterised by heterogeneous access networks and IP based transport technologies. Different access technologies give users choices to select services such as levels of Quality of Service (QoS) support, business models and service providers. Flexibility of heterogeneous access is compounded by the overhead of scanning to discover accessible services, which added to the handoff latency. This thesis has developed mechanisms for service discovery and service selection, along with a novel proposal for mobility management architectures that reduced handoff latency. The service discovery framework included a service advertisement data repository and a single frequency band access mechanism, which enabled users to explore services offered by various operators with a reduced scanning overhead. The novel hierarchical layout of the repository enabled it to categorise information into various layers and facilitate location based information retrieval. The information made available by the repository included cost, bandwidth, Packet Loss (PL), latency, jitter, Bit Error Rate (BER), location and service connectivity information. The single frequency band access mechanism further enabled users to explore service advertisements in the absence of their main service providers. The single frequency access mechanism broadcasted service advertisements information piggybacked onto a router advertisement packet on a reserved frequency band for advertisements. Results indicated that scanning 13 channels on 802.11 b interface takes 189ms whereas executing a query with maximum permissible search parameters on the service advertisement data repository takes 67ms. A service selection algorithm was developed to make handoff decisions utilising the service advertisements acquired from the service discovery framework; based on a user's preference. The selection algorithm reduced the calculation overhead by eliminating unsuitable networks; based on interface compatibility, service provider location, unacceptable QoS (Quality of service) and unacceptable cost; from the selection process. The selection algorithm utilised cost, bandwidth, PL, latency, jitter, BER and terminal power for computing the most suitable network. Results indicated that the elimination based approach has improved the performance of the algorithm by 35% over non- elimination oriented selection procedures, even after utilising more selection parameters. The service discovery framework and the service selection algorithm are flexible enough to be employed in most mobility management architectures. The thesis recommends Seamless Mobile Internet Protocol (SMIP) as a mobility management scheme based on the simulation results. The SMIP protocol, a combination of Hierarchical Mobile Internet Protocol (HMIP) and Fast Mobile Internet Protocol (FMIP), suffered hand off latency increases when undergoing a global handoff due to HMIP. The proposed modification to the HMIP included the introduction of a coverage area overlap, to reduce the global handoff latency. The introduction of a Home Address (HA) in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) binding table enabled seamless handoffs from WLANs by having a redirection mechanism for the user's packets after handoff. The thesis delivered a new mobility management architecture with mechanisms for service discovery and service selection. The proposed framework enabled user oriented, application centric and terminal based approach for selecting IPv6 networks

Acesso banda larga sem fios em ambientes heterogéneos de próxima geração

Doutoramento em Engenharia InformáticaO acesso ubíquo à Internet é um dos principais desafios para os operadores de telecomunicações na próxima década. O número de utilizadores da Internet está a crescer exponencialmente e o paradigma de acesso "always connected, anytime, anywhere" é um requisito fundamental para as redes móveis de próxima geração. A tecnologia WiMAX, juntamente com o LTE, foi recentemente reconhecida pelo ITU como uma das tecnologias de acesso compatíveis com os requisitos do 4G. Ainda assim, esta tecnologia de acesso não está completamente preparada para ambientes de próxima geração, principalmente devido à falta de mecanismos de cross-layer para integração de QoS e mobilidade. Adicionalmente, para além das tecnologias WiMAX e LTE, as tecnologias de acesso rádio UMTS/HSPA e Wi-Fi continuarão a ter um impacto significativo nas comunicações móveis durante os próximos anos. Deste modo, é fundamental garantir a coexistência das várias tecnologias de acesso rádio em termos de QoS e mobilidade, permitindo assim a entrega de serviços multimédia de tempo real em redes móveis. Para garantir a entrega de serviços multimédia a utilizadores WiMAX, esta Tese propõe um gestor cross-layer WiMAX integrado com uma arquitectura de QoS fim-a-fim. A arquitectura apresentada permite o controlo de QoS e a comunicação bidireccional entre o sistema WiMAX e as entidades das camadas superiores. Para além disso, o gestor de cross-layer proposto é estendido com eventos e comandos genéricos e independentes da tecnologia para optimizar os procedimentos de mobilidade em ambientes WiMAX. Foram realizados testes para avaliar o desempenho dos procedimentos de QoS e mobilidade da arquitectura WiMAX definida, demonstrando que esta é perfeitamente capaz de entregar serviços de tempo real sem introduzir custos excessivos na rede. No seguimento das extensões de QoS e mobilidade apresentadas para a tecnologia WiMAX, o âmbito desta Tese foi alargado para ambientes de acesso sem-fios heterogéneos. Neste sentido, é proposta uma arquitectura de mobilidade transparente com suporte de QoS para redes de acesso multitecnologia. A arquitectura apresentada integra uma versão estendida do IEEE 802.21 com suporte de QoS, bem como um gestor de mobilidade avançado integrado com os protocolos de gestão de mobilidade do nível IP. Finalmente, para completar o trabalho desenvolvido no âmbito desta Tese, é proposta uma extensão aos procedimentos de decisão de mobilidade em ambientes heterogéneos para incorporar a informação de contexto da rede e do terminal. Para validar e avaliar as optimizações propostas, foram desenvolvidos testes de desempenho num demonstrador inter-tecnologia, composta pelas redes de acesso WiMAX, Wi-Fi e UMTS/HSPA.Ubiquitous Internet access is one of the main challenges for the telecommunications industry in the next decade. The number of users accessing the Internet is growing exponentially and the network access paradigm of “always connected, anytime, anywhere” is a central requirement for the so-called Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN). WiMAX, together with LTE, was recently recognized by ITU as one of the compliant access technologies for 4G. Nevertheless, WiMAX is not yet fully prepared for next generation environments, mainly due to the lack of QoS and mobility crosslayer procedures to support real-time multimedia services delivery. Furthermore, besides the 4G compliant WiMAX and LTE radio access technologies, UMTS/HSPA and Wi-Fi will also have a significant impact in the mobile communications during the next years. Therefore, it is fundamental to ensure the coexistence of multiple radio access technologies in what QoS and mobility procedures are concerned, thereby allowing the delivery of real-time services in mobile networks. In order to provide the WiMAX mobile users with the demanded multimedia services, it is proposed in this Thesis a WiMAX cross-layer manager integrated in an end-to-end all-IP QoS enabled architecture. The presented framework enables the QoS control and bidirectional communication between WiMAX and the upper layer network entities. Furthermore, the proposed cross-layer framework is extended with media independent events and commands to optimize the mobility procedures in WiMAX environments. Tests were made to evaluate the QoS and mobility performance of the defined architecture, demonstrating that it is perfectly capable of handling and supporting real time services without introducing an excessive cost in the network. Following the QoS and mobility extensions provided for WiMAX, the scope of this Thesis is broaden and a seamless mobility architecture with QoS support in heterogeneous wireless access environments is proposed. The presented architecture integrates an extended version of the IEEE 802.21 framework with QoS support, as well as an advanced mobility manager integrated with the IP level mobility management protocols. Finally, to complete the work within the framework of this Thesis, it is proposed an extension to the handover decisionmaking processes in heterogeneous access environments through the integration of context information from both the network entities and the enduser. Performance tests were developed in a real testbed to validate the proposed optimizations in an inter-technology handover scenario involving WiMAX, Wi-Fi and UMTS/HSPA

Intégration et gestion de mobilité de bout en bout dans les réseaux mobiles de prochaine génération

Résumé - Pendant les dix dernières années, l'utilisation des systèmes de communication sans fil est devenue de plus en plus populaire tant chez les entreprises que chez les particuliers. Cette nouvelle tendance du marché est due, en grande partie, à la performance grandissante des réseaux mobiles qui concurrencent davantage les réseaux filaires en termes de bande passante, de coût et de couverture. Toutefois, cette catégorie de solutions sans fil est conçue pour des services spécifiques et utilise des technologies très variées. De plus, les usagers sont de plus en plus mobiles et requièrent des applications sensibles au délai (voix, multimédia, etc.). Dans ce nouveau contexte de mobilité, la prochaine génération des réseaux sans fil (4G) s'annonce comme l'ultime solution visant à satisfaire les exigences des usagers tout en tirant profit de la complémentarité des services offerts par les systèmes mobiles existants. Pour ce faire, la principale vocation de la future génération (4G) consiste en l'intégration et la convergence des technologies sans fil existantes et celles à venir. Cette intégration passe obligatoirement par l'utilisation du protocole IP (Internet Protocol) qui permet de cacher l'hétérogénéité des systèmes intégrés puisqu'il demeure l'unique couche commune à toutes les plateformes mobiles. Plusieurs solutions d'intégration ont été proposées dans la littérature. Celles-ci concernent des architectures d'intégration et des mécanismes de gestion de mobilité. Cependant, les approches proposées ne font pas l'unanimité et souffrent de plusieurs handicaps liés, en particulier, à l'interopérabilité et la garantie des relèves sans coupures.----------ABSTRACT During the last few years, the use of wireless systems is becoming more and more popular. This tendency can be explained by the fact that mobile technologies are gaining in performance in terms of bandwidth, coverage and cost compared to the traditional wired solutions. However, each mobile network is tailored for a specific type of services and users. Moreover, end users are expected to become more and more mobile and show an increasing interest to real-time applications. In these circumstances, the next generation of mobile networks (4G) appears to be the ultimate solution that will satisfy mobile user demands and take benefit of the existing wireless systems. Indeed, the future generation consists of integrating, in an intelligent manner, the existing/future wireless systems in a way that users can obtain their services via the best available network. This integration passes through the use of the Internet Protocol (IP) that will hide the heterogeneity pertaining to the integrated networks. To deal with this very important task, several solutions are available in the literature. The proposed approaches cover some basic topics such as interworking architecture and mobility management. Nevertheless, these proposals suffer from drawbacks relevant to the guarantee of QoS through heterogeneous technologies

Analysis, design and experimental evaluation of connectivity management in heterogeneous wireless environments

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorThe future of network communications is mobile as many more users demand for ubiquitous connectivity. Wireless has become the primary access technology or even the only one, leading to an explosion in traffic demand. This challenges network providers to manage and configure new requirements without incrementing costs in the same amount. In addition to the growth in the use of mobile devices, there is a need to operate simultaneously different access technologies. As well, the great diversity of applications and the capabilities of mobile terminals makes possible for us to live in a hyper-connected world and offers new scenarios. This heterogeneity poses great challenges that need to be addressed to offer better performance and seamless experience to the final user. We need to orchestrate solutions to increase flexibility and empower interoperability. Connectivity management is handled from different angles. In the network stack, mobility is more easily handled by IP mobility protocols, since IP is the common layer between the different access technologies and the application diversity. From the end-user perspective, the connection manager is in charge of handling connectivity issues in mobile devices, but it is an unstandardized entity so its performance is heavily implementation-dependent. In this thesis we explore connectivity management from different angles. We study mobility protocols as they are part of our proposed solutions. In most of the cases we include an experimental evaluation of performance with 3G and IEEE 802.11 as the main technologies. We consider heterogeneous scenarios, with several access technologies where mobile devices have also several network interfaces. We evaluate how connectivity is handled as well as its influence in a handover. Based on the analysis of real traces from a cellular network, we confirm the suitability of more efficient mobility management. Moreover, we propose and evaluate three different solutions for providing mobility support in three different heterogeneous scenarios. We perform an experimental evaluation of a vehicular route optimization for network mobility, reporting on the challenges and lessons learned in such a complicated networking environment. We propose an architecture for supporting mobility and enhance handover in a passive optical network deployment. In addition, we design and deploy a mechanism for mobility management based on software-defined networking.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería TelemáticaPresidente: Arturo Azcorra Saloña.- Secretario: Ramón Agüero Calvo.- Vocal: Daniel Nunes Coruj

Actas da 10ª Conferência sobre Redes de Computadores

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