Service oriented networking for multimedia applications in broadband wireless networks

Extensive efforts have been focused on deploying broadband wireless networks. Providing mobile users with high speed network connectivity will let them run various multimedia applications on their wireless devices. In order to successfully deploy and operate broadband wireless networks, it is crucial to design efficient methods for supporting various services and applications in broadband wireless networks. Moreover, the existing access-oriented networking solutions are not able to fully address all the issues of supporting various applications with different quality of service requirements. Thus, service-oriented networking has been recently proposed and has gained much attention. This dissertation discusses the challenges and possible solutions for supporting multimedia applications in broadband wireless networks. The service requirements of different multimedia applications such as video streaming and Voice over IP (VoIP) are studied and some novel service-oriented networking solutions for supporting these applications in broadband wireless networks are proposed. The performance of these solutions is examined in WiMAX networks which are the promising technology for broadband wireless access in the near future. WiMAX networks are based on the IEEE 802.16 standards which have defined different Quality of Service (QoS) classes to support a broad range of applications with varying service requirements to mobile and stationary users. The growth of multimedia traffic that requires special quality of service from the network will impose new constraints on network designers who should wisely allocate the limited resources to users based on their required quality of service. An efficient resource management and network design depends upon gaining accurate information about the traffic profile of user applications. In this dissertation, the access level traffic profile of VoIP applications are studied first, and then a realistic distribution model for VoIP traffic is proposed. Based on this model, an algorithm to allocate resources for VoIP applications in WiMAX networks is investigated. Later, the challenges and possible solutions for transmitting MPEG video streams in wireless networks are discussed. The MPEG traffic model adopted by the WiMAX Forum is introduced and different application-oriented solutions for enhancing the performance of wireless networks with respect to MPEG video streaming applications are explained. An analytical framework to verify the performance of the proposed solutions is discoursed, and it is shown that the proposed solutions will improve the efficiency of VoIP applications and the quality of streaming applications over wireless networks. Finally, conclusions are drawn and future works are discussed

Improving energy efficiency and quality of service in an integrated wireless-optical broadband access network

Exponential growth in the volume of wireless data, boosted by the growing popularity of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, is forcing telecommunication industries to rethink network design, and focus on developing high capacity mobile broadband networks. Accordingly, researchers have undertaken developmental work for an integrated wireless-optical broadband access network (WOBAN). Passive optical networks (PONs) and fourth generation (4G) wireless networks are two major candidate technologies for the WOBAN. PON is a wired access technology, well-known for its high capacity, whereas 4G is a wireless broadband access technology, popular for its ease of deployment and ability to offer mobility. Integration of PON and 4G technologies, as a wireless-optical broadband access network, offers advantages such as extension of networks in rural areas, support for mobile broadband services, and rapid deployment of broadband networks. However, these two technologies have different design architectures for handling broadband services which require Quality of Service (QoS), for example, 4G networks use traffic classification for supporting different QoS demands whereas PON does not differentiate between traffic types. This integrated network must also be energy efficient, as a green broadband access network, without hindering QoS. While these technologies both use sleep mode, they differ in their power saving mechanisms. This thesis first addresses a QoS solution for the incompatibility between these technologies. Service class mapping is proposed in Chapter 3 for the integrated WOBAN, based on the M/G/1 queuing model supported by an innovative priority scheduler. Once class mapping is deployed, a power saving mechanism can be devised by exploiting traffic differentiation. Specifically, a class-based strategy is proposed which helps optimise the sleep period for the terminal units of the optical network, without compromising QoS. Since the optical network involves control and terminal nodes, both of which consume power, this thesis proposes an energy efficient mechanism that involves both components. In contrast, other published strategies (Chapter 2) have only considered the terminal units. Chapter 4 presents the mechanism for enabling global sleep (control and terminal nodes) and local sleep (terminal nodes), based on the available traffic\u27s class structure. This mechanism enables sleep for different components within the bandwidth allocation by adapting the switching between predefined polling cycle lengths. As the WOBAN is comprised of both wireless and optical parts, a dynamic resource management mechanism is needed which responds to changing daily traffic patterns across a green integrated network. Consequently, Chapter 5 proposes a mechanism which dynamically adapts the polling cycles, of the optical and wireless parts of the network, to the changing traffic volume and class composition. Tailored sleep durations for the components of the WOBAN are facilitated within the resource management regime, as these components differ in their ability to function efficiently if management of the sleep periods is not responsive to the changing traffic volumes and class composition. This dissertation creates new knowledge by seamlessly integrating the two parts of WOBAN and introducing differentiated, class-based sleep for the components of the hybrid network to help realise a green WOBAN

A business planning framework for WiMAX applications

Mobile networking refers to wireless technologies which provide communications between devices. Applications for mobile networking have a broad scope as they can be applied to many situations in either industrial or commercial sectors. The challenge for firms is to better match market-induced variability to the organizational issues and systems necessary for technological innovation. This chapter develops a business planning framework for mobile networking applications. This framework recognises the fluidity of the situation when trying to anticipate and model emerging wireless applications. The business planning framework outlined in this chapter is a generic model which can be used by companies to assess the business case for applications utilizing mobile networking technologies

Rate Optimal design of a Wireless Backhaul Network using TV White Space

The penetration of wireless broadband services in remote areas has primarily been limited due to the lack of economic incentives that service providers encounter in sparsely populated areas. Besides, wireless backhaul links like satellite and microwave are either expensive or require strict line of sight communication making them unattractive. TV white space channels with their desirable radio propagation characteristics can provide an excellent alternative for engineering backhaul networks in areas that lack abundant infrastructure. Specifically, TV white space channels can provide "free wireless backhaul pipes" to transport aggregated traffic from broadband sources to fiber access points. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of multi-hop wireless backhaul in the available white space channels by using noncontiguous Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (NC-OFDMA) transmissions between fixed backhaul towers. Specifically, we consider joint power control, scheduling and routing strategies to maximize the minimum rate across broadband towers in the network. Depending on the population density and traffic demands of the location under consideration, we discuss the suitable choice of cell size for the backhaul network. Using the example of available TV white space channels in Wichita, Kansas (a small city located in central USA), we provide illustrative numerical examples for designing such wireless backhaul network