Quality of Service improvements for real time multimedia applications using next generation network architectures and blockchain in Internet Service Provider cooperative scenario

Real time communications are becoming part of our daily life, requiring constrained requisites with the purpose of being enjoyed in harmony by end users. The factors ruling these requisites are Quality of Service parameters of the users' Internet connections. Achieving a satisfactory QoS level for real time communications depends on parameters that are strongly influenced by the quality of the network connections among the Internet Service Providers, which are located in the path between final users and Over The Top service providers that are supplying them with real time services. Final users can be: business people having real time videoconferences, or adopting crytpocurrencies in their exchanges, videogamers playing online games together with others residing in other countries, migrants talking with their relatives or watching their children growing up in their home countries, people with disabilities adopting tecnologies to help them, doctors performing remote surgeries, manufacturers adopting augmented reality devices to perform dangerous tasks. Each of them performing their daily activities are requiring specific QoS parameters to their ISPs, that nowadays seem to be unable to provide them with a satisfactory QoS level for these kinds of real time services. Through the adoption of next generation networks, such as the Information Centric Networking, it would be possible to overcome the QoS problems that nowadays are experienced. By adopting Blockchain technologies, in several use cases, it would be possible to improve those security aspects related to the non-temperability of information and privacy. I started this thesis analyzing next generation architectures enabling real time multimedia communications. In Software Defined Networking, Named Data Networking and Community Information Centric Networking, I highlighted potential approaches to solve QoS problems that are affecting real time multimedia applications. During my experiments I found that applications able to transmit high quality videos, such as 4k or 8k videos, or to directly interact with devices AR/VR enabled are missing for both ICN approaches. Then I proposed a REST interface for the enforcing of a specific QoS parameter, the round trip time (RTT) taking into consideration the specific use case of a game company that connects with the same telecommunication company of the final user. Supposing that the proposed REST APIs have been deployed in the game company and in the ISP, when one or more users are experiencing lag, the game company will try to ask the ISP to reduce the RTT for that specific user or that group of users. This request can be done by performing a call to a method where IP address(es) and the maximum RTT desired are passed. I also proposed other methods, through which it would be possible to retrieve information about the QoS parameters, and exchange, if necessary, an exceeding parameter in change of another one. The proposed REST APIs can also be used in more complex scenarios, where ISPs along the path are chained together, in order to improve the end to end QoS among Over The Top service provider and final users. To store the information exchanged by using the proposed REST APIs, I proposed to adopt a permissioned blockchain, analizying the ISPs cooperative use case with Hyperledger Fabric, where I proposed the adoption of the Proof of Authority consensus algorithm, to increase the throughput in terms of transactions per second. In a specific case that I examined, I am proposing a combination of Information Centric Networking and Blockchain, in an architecture where ISPs are exchanging valuable information regarding final Users, to improve their QoS parameters. I also proposed my smart contract for the gaming delay use case, that can be used to rule the communication among those ISPs that are along the path among OTT and final users. An extension of this work can be done, by defining billing costs for the QoS improvements

Small cells deployment for traffic handling in centralized heterogeneous network

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonAs the next phase of mobile technology, 5G is coming with a new vision that is characterized by a connected society, in which everything will be effectively connected, providing a variety of services and diverse business models that require more than just higher data rates and more capacity to target new kinds of ultra-reliable and flexible connection. However, next generation of applications, services and use cases will have extreme variation in requirements which in turn amplified the demand on the network resources. Therefore, 5G will require a whole new design that take into consideration efficient resource management and utilisation. An observation that was made throughout this research refers to the demand for more capacity, reduced latency, and increased density as common factors of many of the next generation use cases. This inescapably implies that the use of small cells is an ideal solution for next generation applications requirements, provided that the necessary storage and computing resources need to be distributed closer to the actual user. In this context, this research proposed an architecture of a centralised heterogenous network, consisting of Macro and Small cells with storage and computing resources, all controlled by a centralized functionality embedded within a gateway at the edge of the network. Compared to the basic network, the proposed solutions have been proven to provide overall system performance enhancement. This involves extending the system by adding small cells to serve dedicated services for User Equipment (UE) with dual connectivity from local server which reduces the overall system delay while increasing the overall system throughput. The added centralized mobility management was proven to be capable of tracing the mobility of the UEs within the system coverage, by keeping one connection with the main cell while moving between small cells resulting in enhancement to the handover delay by 11% without service interruptions. Finally, the proposed slicing model demonstrated the system’s ability to provide different levels of services to users based on different Quality of Service (QoS) requirements and to differentiate between various applications without affecting the performance of other services, benefiting from more flexible infrastructure than the traditional network. In addition, a 50% improvement in the performance was observed in terms of the CPU utilization. In such architecture, the required capacity can be added exactly where it is needed and when it is needed, coverage problems can be directly addressed, higher throughput, lower latency, and efficient mobility management can be achieved as a result of efficient resource management and distribution which is one of key factors in the deployment of next generation mobile network system

Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2011, nr 3

kwartalni

Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

Being infrastructure-less and without central administration control, wireless ad-hoc networking is playing a more and more important role in extending the coverage of traditional wireless infrastructure (cellular networks, wireless LAN, etc). This book includes state-of-the-art techniques and solutions for wireless ad-hoc networks. It focuses on the following topics in ad-hoc networks: quality-of-service and video communication, routing protocol and cross-layer design. A few interesting problems about security and delay-tolerant networks are also discussed. This book is targeted to provide network engineers and researchers with design guidelines for large scale wireless ad hoc networks

Actas de las XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL 2019) Zaragoza (España) 22-24 de octubre de 2019

En esta ocasión, es la ciudad de Zaragoza la encargada de servir de anfitriona a las XIV Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL 2019), que se celebrarán del 22 al 24 de octubre de 2019. Las Jornadas de Ingeniería Telemática (JITEL), organizadas por la Asociación de Telemática (ATEL), constituyen un foro propicio de reunión, debate y divulgación para los grupos que imparten docencia e investigan en temas relacionados con las redes y los servicios telemáticos. Con la organización de este evento se pretende fomentar, por un lado el intercambio de experiencias y resultados, además de la comunicación y cooperación entre los grupos de investigación que trabajan en temas relacionados con la telemática. En paralelo a las tradicionales sesiones que caracterizan los congresos científicos, se desea potenciar actividades más abiertas, que estimulen el intercambio de ideas entre los investigadores experimentados y los noveles, así como la creación de vínculos y puntos de encuentro entre los diferentes grupos o equipos de investigación. Para ello, además de invitar a personas relevantes en los campos correspondientes, se van a incluir sesiones de presentación y debate de las líneas y proyectos activos de los mencionados equipos

2022, nr 2, JTIT

kwartalni

Slight-Delay Shaped Variable Bit Rate (SD-SVBR) Technique for Video Transmission

The aim of this thesis is to present a new shaped Variable Bit Rate (VBR) for video transmission, which plays a crucial role in delivering video traffic over the Internet. This is due to the surge of video media applications over the Internet and the video typically has the characteristic of a highly bursty traffic, which leads to the Internet bandwidth fluctuation. This new shaped algorithm, referred to as Slight Delay - Shaped Variable Bit Rate (SD-SVBR), is aimed at controlling the video rate for video application transmission. It is designed based on the Shaped VBR (SVBR) algorithm and was implemented in the Network Simulator 2 (ns-2). SVBR algorithm is devised for real-time video applications and it has several limitations and weaknesses due to its embedded estimation or prediction processes. SVBR faces several problems, such as the occurrence of unwanted sharp decrease in data rate, buffer overflow, the existence of a low data rate, and the generation of a cyclical negative fluctuation. The new algorithm is capable of producing a high data rate and at the same time a better quantization parameter (QP) stability video sequence. In addition, the data rate is shaped efficiently to prevent unwanted sharp increment or decrement, and to avoid buffer overflow. To achieve the aim, SD-SVBR has three strategies, which are processing the next Group of Picture (GoP) video sequence and obtaining the QP-to-data rate list, dimensioning the data rate to a higher utilization of the leaky-bucket, and implementing a QP smoothing method by carefully measuring the effects of following the previous QP value. However, this algorithm has to be combined with a network feedback algorithm to produce a better overall video rate control. A combination of several video clips, which consisted of a varied video rate, has been used for the purpose of evaluating SD-SVBR performance. The results showed that SD-SVBR gains an impressive overall Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) value. In addition, in almost all cases, it gains a high video rate but without buffer overflow, utilizes the buffer well, and interestingly, it is still able to obtain smoother QP fluctuation

Heterogeneous Networks for the IoT and Machine Type Communications

The Internet of Things promises to be a key-factor in the forthcoming industrial and social revolution. The Internet of Things concept rely on pervasive communications where ’things’ are ’always connected’. The focus of the thesis is on Heterogeneous Networks for Internet of Things and Machine Type Communications. Heterogeneous Networks are an enabling factor of paramount important in order to achieve the ’always connected’ paradigm. On the other hand, Machine Type Communications are deeply different from Human-to-Human communications both in terms of traffic patterns and requirements. This thesis investigate both concepts. In particular, here are studied short and long range solutions for Machine-to-machine applications. For this work a dual approach has been followed: for the short-range solutions analysis an experimental approach has been privileged; meanwhile for the long-range solutions analysis a theoretical and simulation approach has been preferred. In both case, a particular attention has been given to the feasibility of the solutions proposed, hence solutions based on products that already exist in the market have been privileged