Modelling and Analysis of Wi-Fi and LAA Coexistence with Priority Classes

The Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) is shown asa required technology to avoid overcrowding of the licensedbands by the increasing cellular traffic. Proposed by 3GPP,LAA uses a Listen Before Talk (LBT) and backoff mechanismsimilar to Wi-Fi. While many mathematical models have beenproposed to study the problem of the coexistence of LAAand Wi-Fi systems, few have tackled the problem of QoSprovisioning, and in particular analysed the behaviour of thevarious classes of priority available in Wi-Fi and LAA. Thispaper presents a new mathematical model to investigate theperformance of different priority classes in coexisting Wi-Fi andLAA networks. Using Discrete Time Markov Chains, we modelthe saturation throughput of all eight priority classes used byWi-Fi and LAA. The numerical results show that with the 3GPPproposed parameters, a fair coexistence between Wi-Fi and LAAcannot be achieved. Wi-Fi users in particular suffer a significantdegradation of their performance caused by the collision withLAA transmissions which has a longer duration compared toWi-Fi transmissions

Random and Hybrid Medium Access for M2M Communication : Scalability and Energy Analysis

The term machine-to-machine (M2M) communication identifies any fully automated communication between intelligent devices, autonomous from human intervention. M2M communication is a key enabling technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), where it is used to provide ubiquitous connectivity between a large number of intelligent devices. M2M technologies find applications in numerous emerging use cases, such as smart metering, smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, eHealth monitoring, and surveillance/security. The service requirements placed onM2M communication can vary greatly depending on the intended area of application. In general, M2M applications are characterized by the high number of devices communicating with one another through sporadic and short transmissions. The devices are generally distributed over wide areas without easy access to the power grid, relying for their energy supply on batteries and energy harvesting. Therefore, the design of M2M communication technologies should meet the goal of supporting a large number of connected devices while retaining low energy consumption. One of the obstacles to achieving this goal is the high level of interference that can be present on the channel if a large number of M2M devices decide to transmit within a short period of time. To understand how to overcome this obstacle, it is necessary to explore new and old design options available in the channel access of M2M communication. The aim of this work is to study the performance and propose improvements to the channel access mechanisms of M2M communication technologies operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum. The two technologies discussed in this thesis are IEEE 802.11ah and LoRaWAN. The performance metrics that have been considered consistently throughout this work are the scalability and energy efficiency of the investigated channel access mechanisms, which are especially critical to massive M2M.The first part of the thesis focuses on the IEEE 802.11ah standard and its medium access mechanism with station grouping. An analytical model of the grouping mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah combined with enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is presented to assess the quality of service (QoS) differentiation available in IEEE 802.11ah. The throughput and delay of the access categories of EDCA are investigated for different group size and composition. The results reveal that grouping is effective at increasing the throughput of both high and low priority access categories up to 40% compared to the case without groups. A redesign of the access mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah is proposed to realize a hybrid channel access for energy efficient uplink data transmission.  The numerical results show that fora wide range of contending M2M devices and even for the relatively small frame size of 256 bytes, the use of an hybrid channel access can help reducing the average energy  consumption  of  the  devices  per  successful  uplink  frame  transmission.   In the  considered  scenarios,  the  proposed  MAC  mechanism  was  able  to  reduce  the average  energy  consumption  per  successful  transmission  up  to  55%  compared  to standard approach. The second part of the thesis focuses on LoRa, with an investigation on the performance of alternative random channel access mechanisms in LoRaWAN. The connection between the channel access mechanism and the intensity of interference in LoRa networks is characterized for pure Aloha, slotted Aloha, and CSMA channel access. The results reveal several assisting guidelines on the design and selection of a medium access solution within LoRa’s parameter space: device density, service area, and spreading factor allocation.  An out-of-band synchronization mechanism based on FM-Radio Data System (FM-RDS) is proposed to achieve synchronous channel access in LoRa.  The throughput and fairness results for the proposed communication show the clear advantages of synchronous communication in LoRa, meanwhile, the use of out-of-band synchronization reduces the usage of LoRa channels, improving the scalability.  The timing errors of FM-RDS are evaluated combining experimental approach and analytical methods. The observations reveal that despite the poor absolute synchronization, FM-RDS can effectively be used to realize time-slotted communication in LoRa, with performance similar to those obtained by more accurate but expensive time-dissemination technologies.  Finally, a comprehensive model of the interference in neighboring clusters of LoRa devices is proposed, highlights the disruptive effects of the inter-cluster interference on the transmissions success probability, particularly for the devices using the largest spreading factors.Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 5 inskickatAt the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 5 submitted</p

Comparative performance evaluation of MiraMesh and SmartMesh IP

Next Generation Industrial IoT (NIIT

Random and Hybrid Medium Access for M2M Communication : Scalability and Energy Analysis

The term machine-to-machine (M2M) communication identifies any fully automated communication between intelligent devices, autonomous from human intervention. M2M communication is a key enabling technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), where it is used to provide ubiquitous connectivity between a large number of intelligent devices. M2M technologies find applications in numerous emerging use cases, such as smart metering, smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, eHealth monitoring, and surveillance/security. The service requirements placed onM2M communication can vary greatly depending on the intended area of application. In general, M2M applications are characterized by the high number of devices communicating with one another through sporadic and short transmissions. The devices are generally distributed over wide areas without easy access to the power grid, relying for their energy supply on batteries and energy harvesting. Therefore, the design of M2M communication technologies should meet the goal of supporting a large number of connected devices while retaining low energy consumption. One of the obstacles to achieving this goal is the high level of interference that can be present on the channel if a large number of M2M devices decide to transmit within a short period of time. To understand how to overcome this obstacle, it is necessary to explore new and old design options available in the channel access of M2M communication. The aim of this work is to study the performance and propose improvements to the channel access mechanisms of M2M communication technologies operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum. The two technologies discussed in this thesis are IEEE 802.11ah and LoRaWAN. The performance metrics that have been considered consistently throughout this work are the scalability and energy efficiency of the investigated channel access mechanisms, which are especially critical to massive M2M.The first part of the thesis focuses on the IEEE 802.11ah standard and its medium access mechanism with station grouping. An analytical model of the grouping mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah combined with enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is presented to assess the quality of service (QoS) differentiation available in IEEE 802.11ah. The throughput and delay of the access categories of EDCA are investigated for different group size and composition. The results reveal that grouping is effective at increasing the throughput of both high and low priority access categories up to 40% compared to the case without groups. A redesign of the access mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah is proposed to realize a hybrid channel access for energy efficient uplink data transmission.  The numerical results show that fora wide range of contending M2M devices and even for the relatively small frame size of 256 bytes, the use of an hybrid channel access can help reducing the average energy  consumption  of  the  devices  per  successful  uplink  frame  transmission.   In the  considered  scenarios,  the  proposed  MAC  mechanism  was  able  to  reduce  the average  energy  consumption  per  successful  transmission  up  to  55%  compared  to standard approach. The second part of the thesis focuses on LoRa, with an investigation on the performance of alternative random channel access mechanisms in LoRaWAN. The connection between the channel access mechanism and the intensity of interference in LoRa networks is characterized for pure Aloha, slotted Aloha, and CSMA channel access. The results reveal several assisting guidelines on the design and selection of a medium access solution within LoRa’s parameter space: device density, service area, and spreading factor allocation.  An out-of-band synchronization mechanism based on FM-Radio Data System (FM-RDS) is proposed to achieve synchronous channel access in LoRa.  The throughput and fairness results for the proposed communication show the clear advantages of synchronous communication in LoRa, meanwhile, the use of out-of-band synchronization reduces the usage of LoRa channels, improving the scalability.  The timing errors of FM-RDS are evaluated combining experimental approach and analytical methods. The observations reveal that despite the poor absolute synchronization, FM-RDS can effectively be used to realize time-slotted communication in LoRa, with performance similar to those obtained by more accurate but expensive time-dissemination technologies.  Finally, a comprehensive model of the interference in neighboring clusters of LoRa devices is proposed, highlights the disruptive effects of the inter-cluster interference on the transmissions success probability, particularly for the devices using the largest spreading factors.Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 5 inskickatAt the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 5 submitted</p

Random and Hybrid Medium Access for M2M Communication : Scalability and Energy Analysis

The term machine-to-machine (M2M) communication identifies any fully automated communication between intelligent devices, autonomous from human intervention. M2M communication is a key enabling technology for the Internet of Things (IoT), where it is used to provide ubiquitous connectivity between a large number of intelligent devices. M2M technologies find applications in numerous emerging use cases, such as smart metering, smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, eHealth monitoring, and surveillance/security. The service requirements placed onM2M communication can vary greatly depending on the intended area of application. In general, M2M applications are characterized by the high number of devices communicating with one another through sporadic and short transmissions. The devices are generally distributed over wide areas without easy access to the power grid, relying for their energy supply on batteries and energy harvesting. Therefore, the design of M2M communication technologies should meet the goal of supporting a large number of connected devices while retaining low energy consumption. One of the obstacles to achieving this goal is the high level of interference that can be present on the channel if a large number of M2M devices decide to transmit within a short period of time. To understand how to overcome this obstacle, it is necessary to explore new and old design options available in the channel access of M2M communication. The aim of this work is to study the performance and propose improvements to the channel access mechanisms of M2M communication technologies operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum. The two technologies discussed in this thesis are IEEE 802.11ah and LoRaWAN. The performance metrics that have been considered consistently throughout this work are the scalability and energy efficiency of the investigated channel access mechanisms, which are especially critical to massive M2M.The first part of the thesis focuses on the IEEE 802.11ah standard and its medium access mechanism with station grouping. An analytical model of the grouping mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah combined with enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) is presented to assess the quality of service (QoS) differentiation available in IEEE 802.11ah. The throughput and delay of the access categories of EDCA are investigated for different group size and composition. The results reveal that grouping is effective at increasing the throughput of both high and low priority access categories up to 40% compared to the case without groups. A redesign of the access mechanism of IEEE 802.11ah is proposed to realize a hybrid channel access for energy efficient uplink data transmission.  The numerical results show that fora wide range of contending M2M devices and even for the relatively small frame size of 256 bytes, the use of an hybrid channel access can help reducing the average energy  consumption  of  the  devices  per  successful  uplink  frame  transmission.   In the  considered  scenarios,  the  proposed  MAC  mechanism  was  able  to  reduce  the average  energy  consumption  per  successful  transmission  up  to  55%  compared  to standard approach. The second part of the thesis focuses on LoRa, with an investigation on the performance of alternative random channel access mechanisms in LoRaWAN. The connection between the channel access mechanism and the intensity of interference in LoRa networks is characterized for pure Aloha, slotted Aloha, and CSMA channel access. The results reveal several assisting guidelines on the design and selection of a medium access solution within LoRa’s parameter space: device density, service area, and spreading factor allocation.  An out-of-band synchronization mechanism based on FM-Radio Data System (FM-RDS) is proposed to achieve synchronous channel access in LoRa.  The throughput and fairness results for the proposed communication show the clear advantages of synchronous communication in LoRa, meanwhile, the use of out-of-band synchronization reduces the usage of LoRa channels, improving the scalability.  The timing errors of FM-RDS are evaluated combining experimental approach and analytical methods. The observations reveal that despite the poor absolute synchronization, FM-RDS can effectively be used to realize time-slotted communication in LoRa, with performance similar to those obtained by more accurate but expensive time-dissemination technologies.  Finally, a comprehensive model of the interference in neighboring clusters of LoRa devices is proposed, highlights the disruptive effects of the inter-cluster interference on the transmissions success probability, particularly for the devices using the largest spreading factors.Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 5 inskickatAt the time of the doctoral defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 5 submitted</p

Comparative performance evaluation of MiraMesh and SmartMesh IP

Next Generation Industrial IoT (NIIT

Modelling of EnergyConsumption in IEEE 802.11.ah Networks for M2M Traffic

IEEE 802.11ah is a sub-1 GHz standard designed to meet the requirements of future machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. The standard should be able to support use cases for the M2M communications with thousands of stations capable of generating both periodic and aperiodic traffic for a single access point. In some cases, like environmental and agricultural monitoring. the nodes are typically powered by battery or through energy harvesting. For this application it is important for the communication to be energy efficient. IEEE 802.11ah introduces new energy saving mechanisms and a novel channel access mechanism to achieve this objective even for networks with a large nodes number. This work proposes a mathematical model to compute the energy consumption of an IEEE 802.11ah network.Reliable and secure M2M communication in smart grid network

Modelling of EnergyConsumption in IEEE 802.11.ah Networks for M2M Traffic

IEEE 802.11ah is a sub-1 GHz standard designed to meet the requirements of future machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. The standard should be able to support use cases for the M2M communications with thousands of stations capable of generating both periodic and aperiodic traffic for a single access point. In some cases, like environmental and agricultural monitoring. the nodes are typically powered by battery or through energy harvesting. For this application it is important for the communication to be energy efficient. IEEE 802.11ah introduces new energy saving mechanisms and a novel channel access mechanism to achieve this objective even for networks with a large nodes number. This work proposes a mathematical model to compute the energy consumption of an IEEE 802.11ah network.Reliable and secure M2M communication in smart grid network

Weaning from mechanical ventilation in intensive care units across 50 countries (WEAN SAFE): a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study

Background: Current management practices and outcomes in weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, management, timings, risk for failure, and outcomes of weaning in patients requiring at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: WEAN SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study done in 481 intensive care units in 50 countries. Eligible participants were older than 16 years, admitted to a participating intensive care unit, and receiving mechanical ventilation for 2 calendar days or longer. We defined weaning initiation as the first attempt to separate a patient from the ventilator, successful weaning as no reintubation or death within 7 days of extubation, and weaning eligibility criteria based on positive end-expiratory pressure, fractional concentration of oxygen in inspired air, and vasopressors. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients successfully weaned at 90 days. Key secondary outcomes included weaning duration, timing of weaning events, factors associated with weaning delay and weaning failure, and hospital outcomes. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03255109. Findings: Between Oct 4, 2017, and June 25, 2018, 10 232 patients were screened for eligibility, of whom 5869 were enrolled. 4523 (77·1%) patients underwent at least one separation attempt and 3817 (65·0%) patients were successfully weaned from ventilation at day 90. 237 (4·0%) patients were transferred before any separation attempt, 153 (2·6%) were transferred after at least one separation attempt and not successfully weaned, and 1662 (28·3%) died while invasively ventilated. The median time from fulfilling weaning eligibility criteria to first separation attempt was 1 day (IQR 0-4), and 1013 (22·4%) patients had a delay in initiating first separation of 5 or more days. Of the 4523 (77·1%) patients with separation attempts, 2927 (64·7%) had a short wean (≤1 day), 457 (10·1%) had intermediate weaning (2-6 days), 433 (9·6%) required prolonged weaning (≥7 days), and 706 (15·6%) had weaning failure. Higher sedation scores were independently associated with delayed initiation of weaning. Delayed initiation of weaning and higher sedation scores were independently associated with weaning failure. 1742 (31·8%) of 5479 patients died in the intensive care unit and 2095 (38·3%) of 5465 patients died in hospital. Interpretation: In critically ill patients receiving at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation, only 65% were weaned at 90 days. A better understanding of factors that delay the weaning process, such as delays in weaning initiation or excessive sedation levels, might improve weaning success rates. Funding: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Respiratory Society