Exploring Markov models for gate-limited service and their application to network-based services.

Our present model of distributed computing is built around network-based services. However, as yet, we do not have good analytical models for such systems. One way of analysing such systems is by using gate-limited queuing models. However, practical solutions for gate-limited models have not been readily available. This talk looks at development of a new Markov Model for gated-limited service. An approximate solution is presented by making use of the Standard Partial Batch model. The solution is then applied to a system designed for video-on-demand applications which are served over the network using pre-fetching techniques. Finally the effects of different network types as well as different network loads are also examined

Developing a secure service ecosystem to implement the intelligent edge environment for smart cities

In the future, smart cities will provide key services including seamless communication, intelligent transport systems, advanced healthcare platforms, urban and infrastructure management, and digital services for local and regional government. Therefore, a new service and networking paradigm, called the Intelligent Edge Environment, has been specified. As a key part of this system, a new secure service ecosystem must be developed to provide the secure real-time movement of services on different High-Performance Edge Cloud Systems. This paper explores these issues by introducing the following mechanisms: a Resource Allocation Algorithm, a Resource Allocation Secure Protocol and finally a Secure Service Protocol. These systems were integrated into the Basic Capability System Library and a multithreaded FUSE client connected to the Service Management Framework. Docker was used as the migration mechanism. A prototype was developed and implemented using a FUSE-Network Memory System in which the Network Memory Server was migrated as users moved around. The result shows that this approach was safe and could be used to develop new applications and services for smart cities

Building an intelligent edge environment to provide essential services in smart cities

Smart Cities will cause major societal change because they will provide a comprehensive set of key services including seamless communication, intelligent transport systems, advanced healthcare platforms, urban and infrastructure management, and digital services for local and regional government. Thus, a new service and networking environment which will provide low latency and sustainable high bandwidth is needed to build new applications and services for smart cities. In this system services will be managed from the edge of the Internet and not from the centre as they currently are. This represents a new computing paradigm which is called the Intelligent Edge Environment. This paper looks at how to build this new ecosystem. Firstly, a new framework which comprises seven layers is unveiled, showing the functions that must be supported to realise this brave new world. New mechanisms are then introduced and a small prototype is developed to support storage in highly mobile environments. The results show that this approach could be used to build smart city digital platforms. The paper ends by discussing the development of a Distributed Operating System for smart cities

Exploring analytical models for proactive resource management in highly mobile environments

In order to provide ubiquitous communication, seamless connectivity is now required in all environments including highly mobile networks. By using vertical handover techniques it is possible to provide uninterrupted communication as connections are dynamically switched between wireless networks as users move around. However, in a highly mobile environment, traditional reactive approaches to handover are inadequate. Therefore, proactive handover techniques, in which mobile nodes attempt to determine the best time and place to handover to local networks, are actively being investigated in the context of next-generation mobile networks. Using this approach, it is possible to enhance channel allocation and resource management by using probabilistic mechanisms; because, it is possible to explicitly detect contention for resources. This paper presents a proactive approach for resource allocation in highly mobile networks and analyzed the user contention for common resources such as radio channels in highly mobile wireless networks. The proposed approach uses an analytical modelling approach to model the contention and results are obtained showing enhanced system performance. Based on these results an operational space has been explored and are shown to be useful for emerging future networks such as 5G by allowing base stations to calculate the probability of contention based on the demand for network resources. This study indicates that the proactive model enhances handover and resource allocation for highly mobile networks. This paper analyzed the effects of and alpha and beta, in effect, how these parameters affect the proactive resource allocation requests in the contention queue has been modelled for any given scenario from the conference paper "Exploring analytical models to maintain quality-of-service for resource management using a proactive approach in highly mobile environments"

Supporting communication in information centric networks using the location/ID split protocol and time released caching

The vast majority of current Internet usage is data retrieval and information exchange. As a result, the focus has been shifted from the current location-based system to an Information-Centric system, where information can be cached and accessed from anywhere within the network rather than from the end hosts only. To support this functionality, data must be uniquely identified regardless of the location. Current research efforts in the area of Information-Centric Networks presume the existence of a Convergence Layer protocol that facilitates the functionalities of forwarding, while data caching takes place on a higher-plane. Therefore, this paper proposes a convergence layer protocol, based on the Location/ID Separation Protocol which uses two numbering spaces for data. Unlike other Information Centric architectures in the literature, the proposed approach introduces new procedures to deal with in-network data caching and forwarding separately

Enhancing digital forensics readiness in big data wireless medical networks: A secure decentralised framework

Wireless medical networks are pivotal for chronic disease management, yet the sensitive Big Data they generate presents administration challenges and cyber vulnerability. This Big Data is valuable within both healthcare and legal contexts, serving as a resource for investigating medical malpractice, civil cases, criminal activities, and network-related incidents. However, the rapid evolution of network technologies and data creates complexities in digital forensics investigations and audits. To address these issues, this paper proposes a secure decentralised framework aimed at bolstering digital forensics readiness (DFR) in Big Data wireless medical networks by identifying security threats, complexities, and gaps in current research efforts. By improving the network's resilience to cyber threats and aiding in medical malpractice investigations, this framework significantly advances digital forensics, wireless networks, and healthcare. It enhances digital forensics readiness, incident response, and the management of medical malpractice incidents in Big Data wireless medical networks. A real-world scenario-based evaluation demonstrated the framework's effectiveness in improving forensic readiness and response capabilities, validating its practical applicability and impact. A comparison of the proposed framework with existing frameworks concluded that it is an advancement in framework design for DFR, especially in regard to Big Data processing, decentralised DFR storage and scalabilit

Building an Intelligent Transport Information Platform for Smart Cities

Intelligent Transportation management is a key requirement in the development of Smart Cities. This can be realised with a new technology known as Vehicular Ad hoc Networks or VANETs. VANETs allow us to integrate our transport and communication infrastructures through communication devices deployed along the roads called Roadside Units (RSUs). The RSUs talk to a device in your car called an Onboard Unit (OBU). OBUs can exchange information with RSUs as well as with each other, and because VANETs have been engineered to deliver information quickly and reliably, they can be used in a number of safety-critical areas such as collision avoidance, accident notification and disaster management. This project was about building and evaluating a prototype VANET network on the Middlesex University Hendon Campus and surrounding roads. The information from this VANET Testbed was stored and processed using a Cloud platform at Middlesex University, enabling visual and data analytics to be applied in order to provide an intelligent platform for transport management

A smart sensor grid to enhance irrigation techniques in Jordan using a novel event-based routing protocol

Due to rapid changes in climatic conditions worldwide, environmental monitoring has become one of the greatest concerns in the last few years. With the advancement in wireless sensing technology, it is now possible to monitor and track fine-grained changes in harsh outdoor environments. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) provide very high quality and accurate analysis for monitoring of both spatial and temporal data, thus providing the opportunity to monitor harsh outdoor environments. However, to deploy and maintain a WSN in such harsh environments is a great challenge for researchers and scientists. Several routing protocols exist for data dissemination and power management but they suffer from various disadvantages. In our case study, there are very limited water resources in the Middle East, hence soil moisture measurements must be taken into account to manage irrigation and аgriculturаl projects. In order to meet these challenges, a Smart Grid that supports a robust, reactive, event-based routing protocol is developed using Ad hoc On-Demand Multipath Distance Vector (AOMDV) as a starting point. A prototype WSN network of 5 nodes is built and a detailed simulation of 30 nodes is also developed to test the scalability of the new system

Security and QoS integration for protecting service providers in hterogeneous environments

Similar to the Internet, connectivity in Next Generation Networks such as 4G will be IP-Based. This implies that they inherit all the security problems of the current Internet. Amongst these numerous threats, compromise and resource exhaustion threats which come in the form of Denial of Service attacks, are very common and particularly serious. The severity of such attacks will be fuelled by the development of heterogeneous devices which have several wireless interfaces, as multi-homed devices will be able to send multiple connection requests to the server and thus launch attacks over different access networks. This paper details a new model to address the problem of Denial of Service attacks against the current Internet which limit the accessibility of a server based on its operational scope such that the solution will work effectively in heterogeneous, multi-homed environments. However, Denial of service attacks target the system resources and degrade their performance thus, affecting the Quality of Service’s delivery to the subscribed users. Therefore, the proposed model suggests dealing with security and QoS in an integrated manner by using the concept of Quality of Security Service where security is considered as a Quality of Service’ parameter. This paper furthermore shows how security can be integrated into the infrastructure of future network systems. However, in order to implement the proposed model, it is necessary to enhance current networking infrastructure by extending current services such as the Domain Naming Service and evolving new services such as a Master Locator to support user mobility

The design of a storage architecture for mobile heterogeneous devices.

Mobile computing devices such as smart PDAs and ultra-light laptops with several networking interfaces are becoming commonplace. The provision of networked data storage facilities will greatly extend their use. This paper looks at the design of a storage architecture for such devices. A two-level structure is proposed in which one component, the mobile memory cache (MMC), moves when the node is mobile. A prototype MMC was designed and evaluated. Preliminary results are presented which show that the system should be able to provide a high performance service