Resource and Mobility Management in the Network Layer of 5G Cellular Ultra-Dense Networks

© 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permissíon from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertisíng or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.[EN] The provision of very high capacity is one of the big challenges of the 5G cellular technology. This challenge will not be met using traditional approaches like increasing spectral efficiency and bandwidth, as witnessed in previous technology generations. Cell densification will play a major role thanks to its ability to increase the spatial reuse of the available resources. However, this solution is accompanied by some additional management challenges. In this article, we analyze and present the most promising solutions identified in the METIS project for the most relevant network layer challenges of cell densification: resource, interference and mobility management.This work was performed in the framework of the FP7 project ICT-317669 METIS, which is partly funded by the European Union. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of their colleagues in METIS, although the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the project.Calabuig Soler, D.; Barmpounakis, S.; Giménez Colás, S.; Kousaridas, A.; Lakshmana, TR.; Lorca, J.; Lunden, P.... (2017). Resource and Mobility Management in the Network Layer of 5G Cellular Ultra-Dense Networks. IEEE Communications Magazine. 55(6):162-169. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2017.1600293S16216955

5G cross-border operation for connected and automated mobility: Challenges and solutions

The vision of cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM) across Europe can only be realized when harmonized solutions that support cross-border traffic exist. The possibility of providing CCAM services along different countries when vehicles drive across various national borders has a huge innovative business potential. However, the seamless provision of connectivity and the uninterrupted delivery of services along borders also poses interesting technical challenges. The situation is particularly innovative given the multi-country, multi-operator, multi-telco-vendor, and multi-car-manufacturer scenario of any cross-border layout. This paper introduces the challenges associated to a cross-border deployment of communication technologies through the analysis of three use cases: tele-operated driving, high-definition map generation and distribution for autonomous vehicles, and anticipated cooperative collision avoidance. Furthermore, a set of 5G solutions have been identified to ensure that CCAM services can be supported efficiently in cross-border scenarios. Faster handover of a data connection from one operator to another, generalized inter-mobile edge computing (MEC) coordination, and quality of service (QoS) prediction are some of the solutions that have been introduced to reduce the uncertainties of a real 5G cross-border deployment

Διαχείριση δικτυακών και ενεργειακών πόρων σε γνωσιακά και αυτο-οργανωμένα ασύρματα δίκτυα

The efficient usage of network resources and the reduction of the consumed energy in modern communication systems that operate in a dense urban environment are challenging tasks, due to the complexity and the spatio-temporal dynamics of wireless networks. Self-organization is considered as one of the most promising paradigms for the management of networks that operate in highly dynamic and dense environments. In this thesis a novel approach is proposed to dynamically control the size and configuration of a wireless network for the effective utilization of network resources and energy saving. Firstly, we define the functional and software architecture for a self-organizing network, based on the cognitive cycle concept. Central to our approach is the organization of access points into clusters to facilitate local management and coordination of the deployed cognitive managers. In each cluster, the elected cluster head monitors usage of resources as well as the energy consumption changes during the transmission and reception, at both the access point and user equipment sides, and decides on the appropriate adaptation action. Specifically, a scheme for access point dynamic deactivation and reactivation is proposed for efficient use of radio resources and reduction of access point energy consumption. Also, re-allocation of selected frequency channels and formation of multi-hop relays among user equipment is used to diminish the effect of access point deactivation on user equipment energy consumption. The energy consumption improvement attained under the proposed scheme, at both the access point and the user equipment sides, is evaluated via simulation. In addition a scheme has been proposed and evaluated for the coordination of different self-optimization actions, which are concurrently triggered by the cognitive managers in a self-organizing network (coverage and capacity optimization, energy saving, interference). The goal is to resolve conflicts on configuration actions and dependencies among performance metrics, ensuring network stability. Finally, an algorithmic framework is proposed to enhance the effectiveness of cognitive managers. Specifically, the accumulated history of previous events and a feedback-based scheme are introduced for the evolution of the decision making algorithms that are used for the improvement of VoIP QoS in a congested WiMAX network. The proposed algorithmic framework has been evaluated using the FIRE Panlab experimental facilities.Στην παρούσα διατριβή προτείνεται μια καινοτόμος λύση για το δυναμικό έλεγχο του μεγέθους αλλά και της διαμόρφωσης ενός ασύρματου αυτο-οργανωμένου δικτύου, με σκοπό την αποτελεσματική χρησιμοποίηση των δικτυακών πόρων και την εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας. Αρχικά, παρουσιάζεται η αρχιτεκτονική ενός αυτό-οργανώμενου δικτύου, η οποία βασίζεται στην ύπαρξη του γνωσιακού κύκλου. Κεντρική ιδέα της διατριβής είναι η οργάνωση των ασύρματων σταθμών βάσης σε συστάδες, οι οποίες διευκολύνουν το συντονισμό και τη τοπική διαχείριση των γνωσιακών διαχειριστών που είναι εγκατεστημένοι στα ασύρματα σημεία πρόσβασης. Σε κάθε σχηματιζόμενη συστάδα, ο επικεφαλής παρακολουθεί το επίπεδο χρησιμοποίησης των διαθέσιμων πόρων καθώς επίσης και τις αλλαγές στην καταναλισκόμενη ενέργεια, τόσο στην πλευρά των σταθμών βάσης όσο και σε αυτή των συσκευών των χρηστών. Αξιολογώντας τις παραπάνω πληροφορίες, επιλέγεται η κατάλληλη ενέργεια αναδιαμόρφωσης. Συγκεκριμένα, προτείνεται ένα σχήμα για τη δυναμική απενεργοποίηση ή ενεργοποίηση σταθμών βάσης με στόχο την εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας στην πλευρά του δικτύου και τη λελογισμένη χρήση των ραδιο-πόρων. Επιπλέον, εισάγονται αλγόριθμοι για την ανακατανομή των επιλεγμένων καναλιών/συχνοτήτων καθώς και το σχηματισμό μονοπατιών που αποτελούνται από πολλά άλματα, έχοντας ως ενδιάμεσους κόμβους (ή αναμεταδότες) συσκευές χρηστών. Η εξοικονόμηση στην καταναλισκόμενη ενέργεια που επιτυγχάνεται με τη χρήση του προτεινόμενου σχήματος, τόσο στην πλευρά των σταθμών βάσης όσο και των συσκευών του χρήστη, αξιολογείται μέσω πειραμάτων προσομοίωσης. Στη συνέχεια προτείνεται και αποτιμάται ένα αλγοριθμικό σχήμα για το συντονισμό των διαφόρων αναδιαμορφώσεων που προκύπτουν ταυτόχρονα από διαφορετικά προβλήματα αυτο-βελτίωσης σε έναν ή περισσότερους γνωσιακούς διαχειριστές. Σκοπός είναι ο εντοπισμός και η επίλυση συγκρούσεων στις αναδιαμορφώσεις που ενεργοποιούνται καθώς και η συνολικά καλύτερη απόδοση του δικτύου, επιδιώκοντας τη μικρότερη δυνατή αρνητική επίδραση στις υπόλοιπες μετρικές απόδοσης. Τέλος, στα πλαίσια ενός αυτό-διαχειριζόμενου δικτύου, το οποίο ανήκει σε έναν πάροχο, εισάγεται ένα αλγοριθμικό πλαίσιο για την ενίσχυση της αποτελεσματικότητας των γνωσιακών διαχειριστών. Το εν λόγω πλαίσιο χρησιμοποιήθηκε για τη βελτίωση της ποιότητας της υπηρεσία μεταφοράς φωνής μέσω διαδικτύου σε ένα ασύρματο δίκτυο ευρείας περιοχής, ενώ η αποτίμηση της απόδοσής του έγινε στην πειραματική πλατφόρμα FIRE Panlab

Mobile financial services: a scenario-driven requirements analysis

Mobile devices are expected to extend financial information systems, providing additional communication interfaces and new dimensions in computing. Several architectures and commercial systems have been proposed and implemented during the last years for m-payment and m-banking services. However, few of them have met wide acceptance. In this paper, a real case scenario is described; where payment and banking services are taking place using a mobile phone. Through this scenario, we identify the main characteristics and the fundamental functional and technological requirements that should be satisfied by advanced mobile financial systems

An open financial services architecture based on the use of intelligent mobile devices

The scope of this paper is to explore, analyze and develop a universal architecture that supports mobile payments and mobile banking, taking into consideration the third and the emerging fourth generation communication technologies. Interaction and cooperation between payment and banking systems, integration of existing technologies and exploitation of intelligent procedures provide the prospect to develop an open financial services architecture (OFSA), which satisfies requirements of all involved entities. A unified scenario is designed and a prototype is implemented to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed architecture