UPS: Universal Protocol Stack for emerging wireless networks

Recent devices developed for emerging wireless networks, such as 4G cellular networks, wireless mesh networks, and mobile ad hoc networks, support multiple communication substrates and require execution of multiple protocols within a layer, which cannot be supported efficiently by traditional, layered protocol stack approaches. While cross-layer approaches can be designed to support these new requirements, the lack of modularity makes cross-layer approaches inflexible and hence difficult to adapt for future devices and protocols. Thus, there is a need for a new protocol architecture to provide universal support for cross-layer interactions between layers, while also supporting multiple communication substrates and multiple protocols within a stack. In this paper, we propose Universal Protocol Stack (UPS), which provides such support in a modular way through packet-switching, information-sharing and memory management. To show that UPS is realizable with very low overhead and that it enables concurrent and independent execution of protocols of the same stack layer, first, we present a wireless sensor network test-bed evaluation, where UPS is implemented in TinyOS and installed on individual sensor motes. Two cross-layer routing protocols are implemented and evaluated with UPS and without UPS. We also implemented UPS in the OPNET simulator, where the IP (e.g., Routing Information Protocol (RIP)) and AODV routing protocols are executed concurrently to support networks with both static and mobile wireless nodes. Our implementation shows that the overhead incurred to implement UPS is very low, and little or no modification is required to adapt existing protocols to the UPS framework. Both studies also show the advantage of enabling concurrent protocol execution within a stack layer, improving the successful packet delivery ratio or the total number of packets sent for the investigated scenarios.     

基于NS2的无线自组织网络路由协议仿真

在无线自组织网络中,由于节点移动,网络拓扑结构变化频繁,所以路由协议的选择一直都是关键问题。该文采用NS2软件对两种主要的协议：动态源路由协议（DSR）和自组网按需距离矢量路由协议（AODV）进行了仿真。并且通过端到端延时、路由开销和分组投递率三种参数在不同条件下的数据对两种协议进行了评估。实验结果表明没有一种协议能够完全适用于自组网,对于特殊环境选择不同协议以满足需要。     

AdaptNet: an adaptive protocol suite for the next-generation wireless Internet

Over the last decade, the tremendous growth in the mobile Internet user population has been accompanied by an equally exciting evolution in wireless data networks. However, quite understandably, the evolution has been distinctly characterized by an increasing degree of heterogeneity along several dimensions such as the access technology, network model, device, and application requirements. This heterogeneity, in turn, imposes a significant challenge on the design of the network protocol stack, and leads to the question: how can the protocol stack at a mobile host cater effectively to the heterogeneous characteristics of the operating environment? In this article we provide an overview of AdaptNet, an adaptive protocol suite for next-generation wireless data networks. AdaptNet consists of protocol solutions at different layers of the protocol stack addressing several problems, including rate adaptation, congestion control, mobility support, and coding. A common underlying theme in the design of the protocols in the AdaptNet suite is adaptiveness to the operating environment. Through high-level discussions, preliminary results, and pointers to relevant related work, we show how AdaptNet achieves the goal of effectively addressing heterogeneity in next-generation wireless data networks.     

下一代无线网络中的跨层设计

下一代无线通信系统必须能够与互联网实现信息交互,这就需要利用通信协议来实现系统与其他通信系统间的互连互通。但是,现有通信协议基于OSI标准,其协议栈按照严格的分层方式工作,很难适应快速变化的无线通信环境。通过对现有协议栈进行改进,加入跨层设计方案则有助于改善下一代无线系统性能。文章简要分析了分层协议栈局限性,讨论了跨层设计原理,并系统地阐述了跨层设计时物理层、链路层、网络层、传输层和应用层协议应考虑的因素。     

ECRP: an energy-aware cluster-based routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

Energy conservation is the main issue in wireless sensor networks. Many existing clustering protocols have been proposed to balance the energy consumption and maximize the battery lifetime of sensor nodes. However, these protocols suffer from the excessive overhead due to repetitive clustering resulting in high-energy consumption. In this paper, we propose energy-aware cluster-based routing protocol (ECRP) in which not only the cluster head (CH) role rotates based on energy around all cluster members until the end of network functioning to avoid frequent re-clustering, but also it can adapt the network topology change. Further, ECRP introduces a multi-hop routing algorithm so that the energy consumption is minimized and balanced. As well, a fault-tolerant mechanism is proposed to cope up with the failure of CHs and relay nodes. We perform extensive simulations on the proposed protocol using different network scenarios. The simulation results demonstrate the superiority of ECRP compared with recent and relevant existing protocols in terms of main performance metrics.

     

An adaptive transmission-scheduling protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Transmission-scheduling protocols can support contention-free link-level broadcast transmissions and delay sensitive traffic in mobile, multiple-hop packet radio networks. Use of transmission-scheduling protocols, however, can be very inefficient in mobile environments due to the difficulty in adapting transmission schedules. The paper defines a new adaptive and distributed protocol that permits a terminal to adapt transmission assignments to changes in topology using information it collects from its local neighborhood only. Because global coordination among all the terminals is not required and changes to transmission assignments are distributed to nearby terminals only, the protocol can adapt quickly to changes in the network connectivity. The two key parameters that affect the ability of the protocol to adapt to changes in connectivity are the rate of connectivity changes and the number of terminals near the connectivity changes. Using simulation, we determine the ranges for these parameters for which our adaptive protocol can maintain collision-free schedules with an acceptable level of overhead. The stability of the protocol is also characterized by showing that the protocol can quickly return to a collision-free transmission schedule after a period of very rapid changes in connectivity. Our channel-access protocol does not require a contention-based random-access phase to adapt the transmission schedules, and thus its ability to adapt quickly does not deteriorate with an increase in the traffic load.     

Meta-MAC protocols: automatic combination of MAC protocols tooptimize performance for unknown conditions

A systematic and automatic method to dynamically combine any set of existing MAC protocols into a single higher layer, or meta-MAC protocol, is presented. The new approach makes it possible to always achieve the performance of the best component protocol, without knowing in advance which protocol will match the potentially changing and unpredictable network conditions. Moreover, this dynamic optimization is entirely automatic and runs without any centralized control or any exchange of messages, using only local network feedback information. We describe the method and prove that the resulting meta-MAC protocol achieves optimal performance in a well-defined sense. Through simulation on different types of networks and with different component MAC protocols, we demonstrate that our simple and practical combination algorithm yields highly adaptive and scalable MAC solutions     

Performance comparison of trust-based reactive routing protocols

Ad hoc networks, due to their improvised nature, are frequently established in insecure environments and hence become susceptible to attacks. These attacks are launched by participating malicious nodes against different network services. Routing protocols, which act as the binding force in these networks, are a common target of these nodes. A number of secure routing protocols have recently been proposed, which make use of cryptographic algorithms to secure the routes. However, in doing so, these protocols entail a number of prerequisites during both the network establishment and operation phases. In contrast, trust-based routing protocols locate trusted rather than secure routes in the network by observing the sincerity in participation by other nodes. These protocols thus permit rapid deployment along with a dynamically adaptive operation, which conforms with the current network situation. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of three trust-based reactive routing protocols in a network with varying number of malicious nodes. With the help of exhaustive simulations, we demonstrate that the performance of the three protocols varies significantly even under similar attack, traffic, and mobility conditions. However, each trust-based routing protocol has its own peculiar advantage making it suitable for application in a particular extemporized environment.     

Application-driven cross-layer optimization for video streaming over wireless networks

Mobile multimedia applications require networks that optimally allocate resources and adapt to dynamically changing environments. Cross-layer design (CLD) is a new paradigm that addresses this challenge by optimizing communication network architectures across traditional layer boundaries. In this article we discuss the relevant technical challenges of CLD and focus on application-driven CLD for video streaming over wireless networks. We propose a cross-layer optimization strategy that jointly optimizes the application layer, data link layer, and physical layer of the protocol stack using an application-oriented objective function in order to maximize user satisfaction. In our experiments we demonstrate the performance gain achievable with this approach. We also explore the trade-off between performance gain and additional computation and communication cost introduced by cross-layer optimization. Finally, we outline future research challenges in CLD.     

Ad Hoc网络协议栈通用要求研究

Ad Hoc网络是由一组带有无线收发装置的移动节点组成的一个多跳的临时性的自治系统。Ad Hoc网络与有线网络相比有很多特殊点，会导致传统的网络协议栈在Ad Hoc下不能有效使用。解决的办法是使Ad Hoc网络的网络协议栈满足比传统协议栈更高的要求：物理层要能实现分布式多点发起的同步，媒体访问控制（MAC）层要能管理多个分布站点随机的收发行为，网络层要能高效地管理分布式的路由协议，传输层要针对各种不同的业务进行优化。     

A dynamic bandwidth-allocation-based priority mechanism for thepi-persistent protocol for MAN's

While a variety of medium access protocols have been proposed for metropolitan area networks (MANs), the problem of handling multipriority traffic effectively in these networks remains open. The authors present a simple and effective priority mechanism for an existing MAN protocol known as the p_i-persistent protocol, a probabilistic scheduling scheme that has been shown to be suitable for applications requiring large bandwidth over long, repeater-free distances. The mechanism works by clipping the low-priority stations in a controlled manner, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to the high-priority stations. This mechanism operates entirely within the framework of the basic p_i-persistent protocol and may be easily tailored to achieve specific performance goals by selection of a single operating parameter. A multipriority version of a distributed algorithm by which the stations can update their operating parameters and adapt to changing network conditions dynamically is also presented     

Advocating a Remote Socket Architecture for Internet Access Using Wireless LANs

One challenge in the development of telecommunication networks is the seamless integration of wireless devices into the global Internet. Although it is well known that the Internet protocols were designed for heterogeneous networks an end-system with the usual Internet protocol stack will suffer an inefficient communication while connected via a wireless link. The protocol mechanisms of the transport layer can lead to poor performance in case of TCP and a high loss rate in case of UDP. In this paper we advocate a Remote Socket Architecture (ReSoA) which is a kind of proxy-oriented architecture for wireless Internet access in Wireless LAN environment. This approach allows the use of a thin protocol stack on the wireless end-system to save scarce resources and a tailored protocol for the wireless link without breaking the original TCP semantics. We show the suitability of ReSoA by comparing its performance with that of pure TCP and Berkeley Snoop through actual measurements in a test environment.     

At what layer does mobility belong?

Internetworking is a complex problem, traditionally tackled by splitting responsibilities between several layers of protocols arranged in a stack. A shortcoming of the current Internet suite's layers is that the responsibilities of individual layers are somewhat ill defined. The result is that frequently a feature may cause problems for higher layers when it unexpectedly exists lower in the stack, or may be unnecessarily and inefficiently implemented in multiple layers. Mobility is one such feature with no well defined place in classical protocol stacks. If a link layer hands over between two distinctly administered networks, a network layer protocol will likely need to acquire a new address. Similarly, if mobility is implemented at the network layer, such as with mobile IP, transport layer protocols must be prepared to deal with a slew of problems (rapid changes in available capacity and delay, the asymmetry of triangle routes, and security policies, to name a few). Code for higher-level protocols (above transport) is less frequently reused, so higher-layer mobility schemes fail to leverage the large base of TCP sockets code. We discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of implementing mobility at three different layers of the protocol stack, concluding that a transport layer mobility scheme is likely to suit today's mobile Internet users best, and that ideally there should be more communication between layers to avoid conflict and inefficiency.     

Multi-Level Hierarchies for Scalable Ad hoc Routing

Ad hoc networks have the notable capability of enabling spontaneous networks. These networks are self-initializing, self-configuring, and self-maintaining, even though the underlying topology is often continually changing. Because research has only begun to scratch the surface of the potential applications of this technology, it is important to prepare for the widespread use of these networks. In anticipation of their ubiquity, the protocols designed for these networks must be scalable. This includes scaling to both networks with many nodes, and networks with rapidly changing topologies. This paper presents two hierarchical clustering protocols that improve the scalability of ad hoc routing protocols. The Adaptive Routing using Clusters (ARC) protocol creates a one-level clustered hierarchy across an ad hoc network, while the Adaptive Routing using Clustered Hierarchies (ARCH) protocol creates a multi-level hierarchy which is able to dynamically adjust the depth of the hierarchy in response to the changing network topology. It is experimentally shown that these protocols, when coupled with an ad hoc routing protocol, produce throughput improvements of up to 80% over the ad hoc routing protocol alone.     

Mobility support in wireless Internet

The tremendous advancement and popularity of wireless access technologies necessitates the convergence of multimedia (audio, video, and text) services on a unified global (seamless) network infrastructure. Circuit-switched proprietary telecommunication networks are evolving toward more cost-effective and uniform packet-switched networks such as those based on IP. However, one of the key challenges for the deployment of such wireless Internet infrastructure is to efficiently manage user mobility. To provide seamless services to mobile users, several protocols have been proposed over the years targeting different layers in the network protocol stack. In this article we present a cross-layer perspective on the mobility protocols by identifying the key features of their design principles and performance issues. An analysis of the signaling overhead and handoff delay for some representative protocols in each layer is also presented. Our conclusion is that although the application layer protocol is worse than the protocols operating in the lower layers, in terms of handoff delay and signaling overhead, it is better suited as a potential mobility solution for the next-generation heterogeneous networks, if we consider such factors as protocol stack modification, infrastructure change, and inherent operational complexity.     

仿真研究无线多跳网络跨层协议设计的优劣

为了改善无线多跳网络的性能，很多研究表明跨层协议设计比OSI模型更适合无线网络。本文分析了无线多跳网络的特征及对各协议层的影响，给出了跨层协议设计对网络性能的改善以及它可能带来的问题，并针对速率自适应MAC协议和网络层路由协议之间的相互影响给出了仿真实例，结果证明跨层协议设计要充分考虑不同协议之间的相互影响，合理规划、谨慎实施，否则网络的性能不升反降。     

XMSN: An efficient cross‐layer protocol for mixed wireless sensor networks

The application of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) technology in monitoring systems is demanding more efficient services to fulfill the requirements of the monitoring task. For this purpose, the simultaneous presence of features such as different communication mediums (air and water) used by nodes and various sizes of data generated by heterogeneous nodes are the key obstacles to build a communication protocol, which can ensure the reliable data delivery. This work terms such WSNs as mixed wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) which contains the aforementioned features. In this paper, we introduce a new cross‐layer protocol for mixed wireless sensor network (XMSN) which can adapt these features. The proposed cross layer protocol XMSN for such mixed environment is implemented and analyzed extensively in Castalia simulator. The performance of XMSN is compared with composition of well‐known protocols, namely, CTP plus BoX‐MAC‐2. The result shows that XMSN has better efficiency in terms of end‐to‐end delay, energy consumption, and goodput than that of CTP plus BoX‐MAC‐2 protocol.     

Congestion control in wireless sensor and 6LoWPAN networks: toward the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next big challenge for the research community where the IPv6 over low power wireless personal area network (6LoWPAN) protocol stack is a key part of the IoT. Recently, the IETF ROLL and 6LoWPAN working groups have developed new IP based protocols for 6LoWPAN networks to alleviate the challenges of connecting low memory, limited processing capability, and constrained power supply sensor nodes to the Internet. In 6LoWPAN networks, heavy network traffic causes congestion which significantly degrades network performance and impacts on quality of service aspects such as throughput, latency, energy consumption, reliability, and packet delivery. In this paper, we overview the protocol stack of 6LoWPAN networks and summarize a set of its protocols and standards. Also, we review and compare a number of popular congestion control mechanisms in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and classify them into traffic control, resource control, and hybrid algorithms based on the congestion control strategy used. We present a comparative review of all existing congestion control approaches in 6LoWPAN networks. This paper highlights and discusses the differences between congestion control mechanisms for WSNs and 6LoWPAN networks as well as explaining the suitability and validity of WSN congestion control schemes for 6LoWPAN networks. Finally, this paper gives some potential directions for designing a novel congestion control protocol, which supports the IoT application requirements, in future work.

     

Data link control emulation: rapid prototyping for high-speednetworks

Data link control (DLC) emulation is an efficient and effective methodology for rapid-prototyping of high-speed network technologies. In a high-speed network attachment, DLC emulation replaces the original protocol stack with one that has two DLC protocols and performs all the necessary conversions between them. The lower portion of the protocol stack implements the prototyped network, while the upper portion implements the original high-speed network stack. This allows applications to take advantage of the improved characteristics of emerging network technologies without restructuring, rewriting, or making any investment in application, protocol, or system software that interfaces to the original high-speed network adapter. In this fashion, evaluation of new technologies is feasible in real environments at a low cost. We show that DLC emulation is a flexible and general technique that supports a wide range of data link control protocols, and we demonstrate its effectiveness through a case study, where an FDDI adapter is used to provide SMDS connectivity over T1 and T3 links. We show that DLC emulation achieves high performance at a significantly low development cost for an attachment to a new network technology, because frame conversion between DIC protocols can be implemented efficiently “on-the-fly” using rapid-prototyping hardware techniques     

Airtime Fairness for IEEE 802.11 Multirate Networks

Under a multirate network scenario, the IEEE 802.11 DCF MAC fails to provide airtime fairness for all competing stations since the protocol is designed for ensuring max-min throughput fairness. As such, the maximum achievable throughput by any station gets bounded by the slowest transmitting peer. In this paper, we present an analytical model to study the delay and throughput characteristics of such networks so that the rate anomaly problem of IEEE DCF multirate networks could be mitigated. We call our proposal time fair CSMA (TFCSMA) which utilizes an interesting baseline property for estimating a target throughput for each competing station so that its minimum contention window could be adjusted in a distributed manner. As opposed to the previous work in this area, TFCSMA is ideally suited for practical scenarios where stations frequently adapt their data rates to changing channel conditions. In addition, TFCSMA also accounts for packet errors due to the time varying properties of the wireless channel. We thoroughly compare the performance of our proposed protocol with IEEE 802.11 and other existing protocols under different network scenarios and traffic conditions. Our comprehensive simulations validate the efficacy of our method toward providing high throughput and time fair channel allocation.