Bounds on the error probability ofml decoding for block and turbo-block codes

The performance of either structured or random turbo-block codes and binary, systematic block codes operating over the additive white Gaussian noise (Awgn) channel, is assessed by upper bounds on the error probalities of maximum likelihood (Ml) decoding. These bounds on the block and bit error probability which depend respectively on the distance spectrum and the input-output weight enumeration function (Iowef) of these codes, are compared, for a variety of cases, to simulated performance of iterative decoding and also to some reported simulated lower bounds on the performance ofMl decoders. The comparisons facilitate to assess the efficiency of iterative decoding (as compared to the optimalMl decoding rule) on one hand and the tightness of the examined upper bounds on the other. We focus here on uniformly interleaved and parallel concatenated turbo-Hamming codes, and to that end theIowefs of Hamming and turbo-Hamming codes are calculated by an efficient algorithm. The usefulness of the bounds is demonstrated for uniformly interleaved turbo-Hamming codes at rates exceeding the cut-off rate, where the results are compared to the simulated performance of iteratively decoded turbo-Hamming codes with structured and statistical interleavers. We consider also the ensemble performance of ‘repeat and accumulate’ (Ka) codes, a family of serially concatenated turbo-block codes, introduced by Divsalar, Jin and McEliece. Although, the outer and inner codes possess a very simple structure: a repetitive and a differential encoder respectively, our upper bounds indicate impressive performance at rates considerably beyond the cut-off rate. This is also evidenced in literature by computer simulations of the performance of iteratively decodedRa codes with a particular structured interleaver.     

LDPC-based space-time coded OFDM systems: Turbo-EM receiver design with channel state information guessing algorithms

In this paper we study some turbo receiver architectures employing low-density parity check (Ldpc) codes together with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (Ofdm) for high data rate wireless transmissions. Different demodulation schemes based on expectation-maximization (Em) algorithm are studied along with the channel impulse response (Em) algorithms. We studied differentCir guessing algorithms including the EM-based algorithms such as a space-alternating generalized expectation-maximization algorithm (Sage). It is shown that the proposed turbo-Em receiver employing a soft maximum a posteriori (Map)Em demodulator and a belief propagationLdpc decoder can perform within 1 dB from the ergodic capacity of the studiedMimo ofdm channels. Besides, we find that a suboptimum structure based on a soft interference cancellationMmse filtering demodulator exhibits negligible loss in non-correlated fadingMimo channels but suffer extra performance loss in highly correlatedMimo channels.     

Multiple parallel concatenation of circular recursive systematic convolutional (Crsc) codes

This paper deals with a family of error correcting codes based on circular recursive systematic convolutional (Crsc) codes. A multiple or multidimensional parallel concatenation ofCrsc codes is proposed in order to reach minimum distances comparable to those of random codes. For information blocks of size k, minimum distances as large as k/4, for a 1/2 coding rate, may be obtained if the code dimension is raised to 4 or 5. Such codes can be decoded using an iterative (“turbo”) process relying on the extrinsic information concept.     

Web-based interorganizational information systems for logistics outsourcing

This article examines how web-based interorganizational information systems(ios)can efficiently support coordination mechanisms between outsourcer and third party logistics (3PL). First, we review the literature on coordination mechanisms andios. Second, we report on the methodology used for gathering information on outsourcers and 3PLs. Third, armed with limited but quality data, we identified two fundamental dimensions: 3PL involvement andios impacts on logistics outsourcing decisions. By combining the two dimensions, we propose a conceptual framework that highlights four main categories ofios that we characterize as neutralios, supply chainios, strategicios and dynamicios. After characterizing and analyzing each category, we discuss how these web basedios support outsourcers and 3PL along the supply chain. Finally, the article discusses the framework’s relevancy and its limits.     

On turbo encodedBicm

The superior performance of the binary turbo codes has stimulated vigorous efforts in generating bandwidth efficient modulation schemes adhering to these codes. Several approaches for the integration of turbo-coding and modulation have emerged in recent years but none seem to dominate. In the bit interleaved coded modulation (Bicm) scheme is used to achieve high bandwidth and power efficiency, while separating coding and modulation. As is now well known, theBicm scheme achieves capacity remarkably close to the constellation channel capacity. The turbo-Bicm scheme enjoys high coding diversity (well suited for fading channels), high flexibility as well as design and implementation simplicity, while maintaining good power efficiency. The system comprises one standard turbo code, an interleaver, a mapper and a modulator at the transmitter, corresponding to a demodulator, a de-interleaver and a turbo decoder at the receiver. A modified system, which improves on performance by incorporating the demodulation in the iterative decoding procedure, is investigated, and some performance gain is demonstrated, especially for low rate codes. Information theoretic arguments for the somewhat minor potential improvement in performance are detailed. The preferred mapper and interleaver for this system are considered. Extending previous works, for higher level modulations, we analyze a system including a convolutional code, an interleaver, a differential encoder (De), a mapper and a modulator at the transmitter. As for theBpsk modulation, the serial concatenation of a convolutional code withDe outperforms the single convolutional code. The serial concatenation withDe approach is analyzed also for a turbo code, where it is found to fail in achieving performance improvement. Several structures for the serial concatenation withDe are examined. These results are substantiated through the ‘spectral thinning’ phenomena of the weight distribution of the convolutional and turbocodes.     

Un environnement de conception de systèmes distribués basé sur UML

This paper introduces a new environment for developing distributed systems. It is based on theTurtle uml profile. Analysis and design phases, described in previous papers, have been extended with an additional deployment phase. In this new step,Turtle components are deployed over hardware execution nodes, and nodes are connected together throughout links,Turtle deployment diagrams are given a formal semantics inRt-lotos, therefore following the approach used forTurtle analysis and design diagrams. Moreover, the paper presents a Java code generator which outputs appropriate Java code forTurtle deployment diagrams. This code is automatically deployable on networks because it implements node communication using network protocols such asUdp orRmi. ttool, the turtle toolkit has been extended to support these new diagrams and code generators. The attack of protected data exchanged throughout securedHttp sessions serves as example.     

Advanced decoding algorithms for Reed-Solomon/Convolutional concatenated codes

The evaluation of the union bound for theber of Reed-Solomon/Convolutional concatenated codes indicates that their performance might largely improve through the application of soft iterative decoders. This paper presents an iterative decoding algorithm for concatenated codes consisting of an outer Reed-Solomon code, a symbol interleaver and an inner convolutional code. The performance improvement for iterative and non-iterative decoders is evaluated. Existing solutions for the different decoding stages and their interfaces are discussed and their performance is compared. A new procedure is proposed to define the feedback signal from the output of the Reed-Solomon decoder to the input of the convolutional decoder, which captures the reliability information that can be inferred from errors-and-era-suresrs decoders and includes the “state pinning” approach as a particular case. The decoding schemes are applied to the specificdvb-s concatenated code.     

Les outils du commerce électronique

Electronic commerce (ec) is a combination of practices, strategies, processes, applications and technologies, enabling business transactions. This paper focuses on software and technologies forec. In the first part, the different categories of applications forec are reviewed. A fully integrated solution does not seem to be the major trend. However, the “best of breed” approach implies an integration problem. The second part of the paper includes modeling languages andec applications core technologies. Theuml appears to be used at different levels in the development of anec solution. Web technologies are continually evolving:XML could be the language of the future for information exchanges between heterogeneous applications. The third part deals with component and application integration. In spite of converging standards for languages as well as for models, system interoperability is a major problem, when informations are to be shared and processes to be jointed. Two major trends can be identified: Web services andEDI approaches.     

Codage pour modulation d’amplitude en quadrature à grand nombre d’états avec partition à plusieurs niveaux

We present a new multilevel coding technique for the quadrature amplitude modulation with a high number of states (64-QAM and 256-QAM). The constellation is partitioned into four subsets, two bits coded with the samebch code selecting the label of each subset. We show that our system, with a double error correctingbch code, gives better results, considering redundancy, decoding simplicity and performance, than the systems known bx now (using the Reed-Solomon code (64,62), the Lee-Nakamura and Hamming codes). Preliminary differential encoding of the two coded bits and utilisation of a transparentbch code can solve the phase ambiguity problem in a simple way.     

Design and performance of a product code turbo encoding-decoding prototype

This paper presents the latest results on a block turbo decoder design. We propose a block turbo decoder circuit for the error protection of small data blocks such asAtm cells on anAwgn (additive white Gaussian noise) channel with a code rate close to 0.5. A prototype was developed atEnst Bretagne. It allowsBer (bit error rate) measurements down to 10^?9 and uses programmable gate arrays (Fpga Xilinx circuits). The elementary extendedBch code and the data block size can be modified to fit specifications of different applications.     

IP-based transport of voice traffic in the UMTS radio access network: analytical study and empirical validation

In this paper, we investigate theIp protocol as a transport option for the user traffic in the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (Utran), where stringent delay bounds are to be met for both real-time and non real-time traffic. We focus on real-time voice traffic and present an analytical model for the multiplexing and transport of voice channels in theUtran usingIp. The novelty of our model is that it analytically includes and quantifies the performance of the timer used in multiplexing arriving Frame Protocol (Fp) frames into largerIp packets. We then validate our work through empirical results on a test-bed emulating theUtran transport functionalities. We show the trade-offs between performance, in terms of delay and link utilization, and quantify optimal values for the timer as well as the number ofFp frames perIp packet for a given output link capacity.     

Bandwidth sharing under the assured forwarding Per-Hop behavior

The DiffServ’s Assured Forwarding (af) Per-Hop Behavior (phb) Group defines a differentiated forwarding of packets in four independent classes, each class having three levels of drop precedence. Specific end-to-end services based on thisphb are still being defined. A particular type of service that could assure a given rate to a traffic aggregate has been outlined elsewhere. In such a service, a fair distribution of bandwidth is one of the main concerns. This paper presents experimental work carried out to evaluate howaf distributes bandwidth among flows under different load conditions and traffic patterns. We focused on the effect that marking mechanisms have on bandwidth sharing among flows within a singleaf class. The traffic types we used includeudp flows, individual and aggregatedtcp flows, mix oftcp andudp, tcp sessions with heterogeneous round-trip times, as well as color-blind and color-aware re-marking at the aggregation point fortcp flows. Tests were performed on real and simulated networks. We have found certain conditions under whichaf distributes bandwidth fairly among nonadaptiveudp flows andtcp aggregates. Finally, we evaluate a basic rule for setting the parameters of the two-rate Three-Color Marker conditioning algorithm (trtcm) in order to achieve a better bandwidth distribution fortcp flows.     

Parallel interference cancellation efficiency for noisy signals in O-CDMA system

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the robustness of Parallel Interference Cancellation (Pic) to noise contribution for an optical Code Division Multiple Access system. The theoretical expression of thePic error probability is developed in the case of white additive Gaussian noise. From theoretical analysis, we show that, even with noise contribution, thePic receiver outperforms the Conventional Correlation Receiver (Ccr). Moreover, the results highlight that, for a given performance, thePic receiver relaxes not only the constraint on the code length, but also the Signal to Noise Ratio compared toCcr. Particularly, this is proofed in access network context, i.e. 30 users withBer lt; 10^?9.     

Improving parallel EKF-based nonlinear channel equalization using unscented transformation

The paper presents a new review of parallel Kalman filtering for nonlinear channel equalization. A Network of Extended Kalman Filters (nekf) has already been suggested for this purpose. This equalizer gives recursively a minimum mean squared error (mmse) estimation of a sequence of transmitted symbols according to a state formulation of a digital communication scheme. It is essentially based on two mechanisms: the approximation of the non Gaussiana posteriori probability density function (pdf) of the symbol sequence by a Weighted Gaussian Sum (wgs); and the local linearization of the nonlinear channel function for each branch of the network. Since the linearization, bearing on scattered symbol states, is one of the major limitations of thenekf, a new Kalman filtering approach, the Unscented Kalman Filter (ukf) suggested by Julier and Uhlman is considered in this paper for an interesting adaptation to the equalization context. Theukf algorithm is based on the equations of a Kalman filter, as the optimal linear minimum variance estimator, and on determining conditional expectations based on a kind of deterministic Monte-Carlo simulations. The new equalizer referred to as the Network ofukf (nukf), thus combines density approximation by awgs and the Unscented Transformation (ut) principle to circumvent the linearization brought within eachekf and is shown to perform better than thenekf based equalizer for severe nonlinear channels. Also, an adaptive version of thenukf is developed using the k-means clustering algorithm for noise-free channel output identification, since thenukf-based algorithm does not require the knowledge of the channel nonlinearity model.     

A MC-CDMA system analysis in a software radio context

This paper presents a Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (Mc-Cdma) system analysis in a software radio context. Based on a combination of multi-carrier modulation and code division multiple access,Mc-Cdma benefits from the main advantages from both schemes: high spectral efficiency, high flexibility, multiple access capabilities, etc. It is firstly shown why, nowadays,Mc-Cdma is undoubtedly a high potential candidate for the air interface of the 4G cellular networks. TheMc-Cdma concept and the block-diagrams of the transmitter and the receiver are presented first. Afterwards, the technical issues concerning the processing devices for the implementation ofMc-Cdma systems in a software radio context are analysed. The advantages and disadvantages of Digital Signal Processors (Dsps) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (Fgpas) components are discussed. The implementation ofMc-Cdma systems and the integration of signal processing algorithms as Fast Hadamard Transform (Fht) and Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (Ifft) are considered and analysed for the first time. Finally, implementation results with a mixed prototyping board are presented. Then, it is shown that a new combination of the flow graphs ofFht andIfft leads to interesting computation savings and that hardware structures asFgpas are more adapted thanDsps to those intensive computation functions. Finally, for the completeMc-Cdma modem implementation, the necessity of a Co-Design methodology is highlighted in order to obtain the best matching between algorithms and architecture.     

Network-controlled mobility within radio access networks based onWLAN technologies

This article presents a network-controlled approach of user terminal mobility within anIP based WirelessLAN Access Network. In a first part, this article makes a review of the mobility support, on the subject of emergingWLAN technologies asHIPERLAN/2 andIEEE 802.11, on the one hand, and, regardingIP networks as currently studied withinIETF, on the other hand. Both types ofIP mobility protocols are presented, either global mobility protocols such as MobileIP, or local mobility management protocols (micro mobility). In the next part, the overall principles of our mobility management approach are explained; this approach is based on the implementation of a new network entity dedicated to the control of user terminal mobility. The last part details a practical implementation of this approach. The implementation is carried out on the basis of Hierarchical MobileIPv6 (HMIPv6). The experimental results confirm the importance to carefully plan and control the user terminal mobility within largeIP based Access Networks, as this brings benefit to the user as well as to the operator.     

Architecture d’un réseau actif à base de services Web

This paper presents a novel active architecture for building and deploying network services:aswa, Web Services based Active network Architecture. At the architectural level,aswa defines an active node whose functionalities are divided into the Node Operating System, the Execution Environment, and the Active Applications. At the implementation level,aswa is a Web Services based platform where new components could be added and deployed, in order to dynamically modify network nodes behavior. Applications can be developed with any language and communicate across heterogeneous environments, and across Internet and Intranet structures. At the deployment levelaswa uses an active node approach, and offers a controlled deployment mode. In terms of security, Authentication of deployed code and protection of the nodes is achieved by the use ofhttps and the header extensions of thesoap envelope. Finally to validate this architecture,aswa defines a Firewall as an Active Application to secure the code deployment.     

Securing communications overAtm networks: the remoteAtm private networks interconnection example

When remoteAtm sites communicate through anAtm public network, a number of security problems arise, such as hacking, eavesdropping and traffic tampering. This paper proposes three contributions to these security problems. Firstly, risks due toAtm technology usage are detailed. Secondly, a survey of existing techniques aiming at securingAtm communications is presented with emphasis on theAtm Forum’s security specifications. Thirdly, a new solution called Safe (which stands for Solution for anAtm Frequent communications Environment) developed in the Démostène project is described. Safe realizes both firewall’s filtering functions and communications protection over theAtm network. The main idea of Safe is to use signaling (Uni 3.1) as a means to exchange security information over the network. This idea has been implemented and introduced to theAtm Forum.     

Characterization and evaluation of TCP and UDP-based transport on real networks

StandardTcp (RenoTcp) does not perform well on fast long distance networks, due to its AMD congestion control algorithm. In this paper we consider the effectiveness of various alternatives, in particular with respect to their applicability to a production environment. We then characterize and evaluate the achievable throughput, stability and intra-protocol fairness of differentTcp stacks (Scalable,Hstcp,Htcp, FastTcp, Reno,Bictcp, hstcp-lp andLtcp) and aUdp based application level transport protocol (Udtv2) on both production and testbed networks. The characterization is made with respect to both the transient traffic (entry and exit of different streams) and the steady state traffic on production Academic and Research networks, using paths withRtts differing by a factor of 10. We also report on measurements made with 10 Gbit/secNics with and withoutTcp Offload Engines, on 10 Gbit/s dedicated paths set up forSc2004.