System level modelling and design of hypergraph based wireless system area networks for multi-computer systems

This thesis deals with issues pertaining the wireless multicomputer interconnection networks namely topology and Medium Access Control (MAC). It argues that new channel assignment technique based on regular low-dimensional hypergraph networks, the dual radio wireless hypermesh, represents a promising alternative high-performance wireless interconnection network for the future multicomputers to shared communication medium networks and/or ordinary wireless mesh networks, which have been widely used in current wireless networks. The focus of this work is on improving the network throughput while maintaining a relatively low latency of a wireless network system. By means of a Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) based design of the MAC protocol and based on the desirable features of hypermesh network topology a relatively high performance network has been introduced. Compared to the CSMA shared communication channel model, which is currently the de facto MAC protocol for most of wireless networks, our design is shown to achieve a significant increase in network throughput with less average network latency for large number of communication nodes. SystemC model of the proposed wireless hypermesh, validated through mathematical models, are then introduced. The analysis has been incorporated in the proper SystemC design methodology which facilitates the integration of communication modelling into the design modelling at the early stages of the system development. Another important application of SystemC modelling techniques is to perform meaningful comparative studies of different protocols, or new implementations to determine which communication scenario performs better and the ability to modify models to test system sensitivity and tune performance. Effects of different design parameters (e.g., packet sizes, number of nodes) has been carried out throughout this work. The results shows that the proposed structure has out perform the existing shared medium network structure and it can support relatively high number of wireless connected computers than conventional networks

Wireless extension to the existing SystemC design methodology

This research uses a SystemC design methodology to model and design complex wireless communication systems, because in the recent years, the complexity of wireless communication systems has increased and the modelling and design of such systems has become inefficient and challenging. The most important aspect of modelling wireless communication systems is that system design choices may affect the communication behaviour and also communication design choices may impact on the system design. Whilst, the SystemC modelling language shows great promise in the modelling of complex hardware/software systems, it still lacks a standard framework that supports modelling of wireless communication systems (particularly the use of wireless communication channels). SystemC lacks elements and components that can be used to express and simulate wireless systems. It does not support noise links natively. To fill this gap, this research proposes to extend the existing SystemC design methodology to include an efficient simulation of wireless systems. It proposes to achieve this by employing a system-level model of a noisy wireless communication channel, along with a small repertoire of standard components (which of course can be replaced on a per application basis). Finally, to validate our developed methodology, a flocking behaviour system is selected as a demonstration (case study). This is a very complex system modelled based on the developed methodology and partitioned along different parameters. By applying our developed methodology to model this system as a case study, we can prove that incorporating and fixing the wireless channel, wireless protocol, noise or all of these elements early in the design methodology is very advantageous. The modelled system is introduced to simulate the behaviour of the particles (mobile units) that form a mobile ad-hoc communication network. Wireless communication between particles is addressed with two scenarios: the first is created using a wireless channel model to link each pair of particles, which means the wireless communication between particles is addressed using a Point-to-Point (P2P) channel; the other scenario is created using a shared channel (broadcast link). Therefore, incorporating wireless features into existing SystemC design methodology, as done in this research, is a very important task, because by developing SystemC as a design tool to support wireless systems, hardware aspects, software parts and communication can be modelled, refined and validated simultaneously on the same platform, and the design space expanded into a two-dimensional design space comprising system and communication

Tactical communication systems based on civil standards: Modeling in the MiXiM framework

In this paper, new work is presented belonging to an ongoing study, which evaluates civil communication standards as potential candidates for the future military Wide Band Waveforms (WBWFs). After an evaluation process of possible candidates presented in [2], the selection process in [1] showed that the IEEE 802.11n OFDM could be a possible military WBWF candidate, but it should be further investigated first in order to enhance or even replace critical modules. According to this, some critical modules of the physical layer has been further analyzed in [3] regarding the susceptibility of the OFDM signal under jammer influences. However, the critical modules of the MAC layer (e.g., probabilistic medium access CSMA/CA) have not been analysed. In fact, it was only suggested in [2] to replace this medium access by the better suited Unified Slot Allocation Protocol - Multiple Access (USAP-MA) [4]. In this regard, the present contribution describes the design paradigms of the new MAC layer and explains how the proposed WBWF candidate has been modelled within the MiXiM Framework of the OMNeT++ simulator.Comment: Published in: A. F\"orster, C. Sommer, T. Steinbach, M. W\"ahlisch (Eds.), Proc. of 1st OMNeT++ Community Summit, Hamburg, Germany, September 2, 2014, arXiv:1409.0093, 201

A methodological approach to BISDN signalling performance

Sophisticated signalling protocols are required to properly handle the complex multimedia, multiparty services supported by the forthcoming BISDN. The implementation feasibility of these protocols should be evaluated during their design phase, so that possible performance bottlenecks are identified and removed. In this paper we present a methodology for evaluating the performance of BISDN signalling systems under design. New performance parameters are introduced and their network-dependent values are extracted through a message flow model which has the capability to describe the impact of call and bearer control separation on the signalling performance. Signalling protocols are modelled through a modular decomposition of the seven OSI layers including the service user to three submodels. The workload model is user descriptive in the sense that it does not approximate the direct input traffic required for evaluating the performance of a layer protocol; instead, through a multi-level approach, it describes the actual implications of user signalling activity for the general signalling traffic. The signalling protocol model is derived from the global functional model of the signalling protocols and information flows using a network of queues incorporating synchronization and dependency functions. The same queueing approach is followed for the signalling transfer network which is used to define processing speed and signalling bandwidth requirements and to identify possible performance bottlenecks stemming from the realization of the related protocols

Using protocol analysis to explore the creative requirements engineering process

Protocol analysis is an empirical method applied by researchers in cognitive psychology and behavioural analysis. Protocol analysis can be used to collect, document and analyse thought processes by an individual problem solver. In general, research subjects are asked to think aloud when performing a given task. Their verbal reports are transcribed and represent a sequence of their thoughts and cognitive activities. These verbal reports are analysed to identify relevant segments of cognitive behaviours by the research subjects. The analysis results may be cross-examined (or validated through retrospective interviews with the research subjects). This paper offers a critical analysis of this research method, its approaches to data collection and analysis, strengths and limitations, and discusses its use in information systems research. The aim is to explore the use of protocol analysis in studying the creative requirements engineering process.<br /

A virtual environment to support the distributed design of large made-to-order products

An overview of a virtual design environment (virtual platform) developed as part of the European Commission funded VRShips-ROPAX (VRS) project is presented. The main objectives for the development of the virtual platform are described, followed by the discussion of the techniques chosen to address the objectives, and finally a description of a use-case for the platform. Whilst the focus of the VRS virtual platform was to facilitate the design of ROPAX (roll-on passengers and cargo) vessels, the components within the platform are entirely generic and may be applied to the distributed design of any type of vessel, or other complex made-to-order products

Predictable Reliability In Inter-Vehicle Communications

Predictably reliable communication in wireless networked sensing and control systems (WSC) is a basic enabler for performance guarantee. Yet current research efforts are either focus on maximizing throughput or based on inaccurate interference modelling methods, which yield unsatisfactory results in terms of communication reliability. In this dissertation, we discuss techniques that enable reliable communication in both traditional wireless sensor networks and highly mobile inter-vehicle communication networks. We focus our discussion on traditional wireless sensor networks in Chapter 2 where we discuss mechanisms that enable predictable and reliable communications with no centralized infrastructures. With the promising results in Chapter 2, we extend our methods to inter-vehicle communication networks in Chapter 3. We focus on the broadcast communication paradigm and the unique challenges in applying the PRK interference model into broadcast problems in highly mobile inter-vehicle communication networks. While Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 focus on average reliability, we switch our problem to a more challenging aspect: guaranteeing short-term per-packet reception probability in Chapter 4. Specifically, we describe the PRKS protocol in Chapter 2 which considers unicast transmission paradigm in traditional static wireless sensor networks. PRKS uses the PRK interference model as a basis for interference relation identification that captures characteristics of wireless communications. For communication reliability control, we design a controller that runs at each link receiver and is able to control the average link reliability to be no lower than an application requirement as well as minimizing reliability variation. We further evaluate PRKS with extensive ns-3 simulations. The CPS protocol described in Chapter 3 considers an one-hop broadcast problem in multi-hop inter-vehicle communication networks. We analyze the challenges of applying the PRK model in this particular setting and propose an approximated PRK model, i.e., gPRK model, that addresses the challenges. We further design principles that CPS uses to instantiate the gPRK model in inter-vehicle communications. We implement the CPS scheduling framework in an integrated platform with SUMO and ns-3 to evaluate our design. In Chapter 4, we conservatively estimate the background interference plus noise while nodes are receiving packets. In the meantime, receivers decide minimum power levels their sender should use and feedback their decisions to their senders. Senders fuse feedbacks and choose a power level that guarantees expected packet reception probability at each receivers’ side. We notice in our evaluation that guaranteeing short-term reliability causes extra concurrency loss

Modelling and Verification of a Cluster-tree Formation Protocol Implementation for the IEEE 802.15.4 TSCH MAC Operation Mode

Correct and efficient initialization of wireless sensor networks can be challenging in the face of many uncertainties present in ad hoc wireless networks. In this paper we examine an implementation for the formation of a cluster-tree topology in a network which operates on top of the TSCH MAC operation mode of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, and investigate it using formal methods. We show how both the mCRL2 language and toolset help us in identifying scenarios where the implementation does not form a proper topology. More importantly, our analysis leads to the conclusion that the cluster-tree formation algorithm has a super linear time complexity. So, it does not scale to large networks.Comment: In Proceedings MARS 2017, arXiv:1703.0581