Fundamental design issues for the future Internet

The Internet has been a startling and dramatic success. Originally designed to link together a small group of researchers, the Internet is now used by many millions of people. However, multimedia applications, with their novel traffic characteristics and service requirements, pose an interesting challenge to the technical foundations of the Internet. We address some of the fundamental architectural design issues facing the future Internet. In particular, we discuss whether the Internet should adopt a new service model, how this service model should be invoked, and whether this service model should include admission control. These architectural issues are discussed in a nonrigorous manner, through the use of a utility function formulation and some simple models. While we do advocate some design choices over others, the main purpose here is to provide a framework for discussing the various architectural alternatives     

A correlation‐based and spectrum‐aware admission control mechanism for multimedia streaming in cognitive radio sensor networks

Bandwidth management and traffic control are critical issues to guarantee the quality of service in cognitive radio networks. This paper exploits a network load refinement approach to achieve the efficient resource utilization and provide the required quality of service. A connection admission control approach is introduced in cognitive radio multimedia sensor networks to provide the data transmission reliability and decrease jitter and packet end‐to‐end delay. In this approach, the admission of multimedia flows is controlled based on multimedia sensors' correlation information and traffic characteristics. We propose a problem, connection admission control optimization problem, to optimize the connection admission control operation. Furthermore, using a proposed weighting scheme according to the correlation of flows issued by multimedia sensors enables us to convert the connection admission control optimization problem to a binary integer‐programming problem. This problem is a kind of a Knapsack problem that is solved by a branch and bound method. Simulation results verify the proposed admission control method's effectiveness and demonstrate the benefits of admission control and traffic management in cognitive radio multimedia sensor networks. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel monitoring architecture for media services adaptation based on network QoS to perceived QoS mapping

One of the future visions of multimedia networking is the provision of multimedia content at a variety of quality and price levels. Of the many approaches to this issue, one of the most predominant techniques is the concept of Perceived Quality of Service (PQoS), which extends the traditional engineering-based QoS concept to the perceptual satisfaction that the user receives from the reception of multimedia content. In this context, PQoS monitoring is becoming crucial to media service providers (SPs) for providing not only quantified PQoS-based services, but also service assurance based on multimedia content adaptation across heterogeneous networks. This work proposes a novel cross-layer monitoring architecture that utilizes a new Network QoS (NQoS) to PQoS mapping framework at the application level. The resulting QoS monitoring should allow the content delivery system to take sophisticated actions for real time media content adaptation, and aims to provide perceived service performance verification with respect to the QoS guarantees that have been specified in contractual agreements between providers and end-users. A subsequent performance evaluation of the proposed model conducted using a real test-bed environment demonstrates both the accuracy and feasibility of the network level measurements, the NQoS to PQoS mapping and the overall feasibility of the proposed end-to-end monitoring solution. This work is partially funded by European Commission (ENTHRONE EU project IST 507637). See . The authors would like to thank ENTHRONE EU project partners for their inputs and valuable discussions.     

Internet QoS: Pieces of the puzzle

One of the biggest challenges faced when dealing with QoS over the Internet is how to deliver QoS over an unregulated, connectionless network that was designed, deployed, operated, managed, and commercialized without any QoS perspectives. This article gives a concise but comprehensive overview of the Internet QoS puzzle. We aim not only at identifying all the pieces of the puzzle, but also at discovering how to join them together. These include terminology, definitions and standards, architectures, traffic engineering, regulation, accounting, pricing, and marketing. We also explain throughout the article how network providers should envision their service offerings in the context of an SLA and QoS-centric Internet.     

Collaborative resource exchanges for peer-to-peer video streaming over wireless mesh networks

Peer-to-peer collaboration paradigms fundamentally change the passive way wireless stations currently adapt their transmission strategies to match available resources, by enabling them to proactively influence system dynamics through exchange of information and resources. In this paper, we focus on delay-sensitive multimedia transmission among multiple peers over wireless multi-hop enterprise mesh networks. We propose a distributed and efficient framework for resource exchanges that enables peers to collaboratively distribute available wireless resources among themselves based on their quality of service requirements, the underlying channel conditions, and network topology. The resource exchanges are enabled by the scalable coding of the video content and the design of cross-layer optimization strategies, which allow efficient adaptation to varying channel conditions and available resources. We compare our designed low complexity distributed resource exchange algorithms against an optimal centralized resource management scheme and show how their performance varies with the level of collaboration among the peers. We measure system utility in terms of the multimedia quality and show that collaborative approaches achieve ~50% improvement over non-collaborative approaches. Additionally, our distributed algorithms perform within 10% system utility of a centralized optimal resource management scheme. Finally, we observe 2-5 dB improvement in decoded PSNR for each peer due to the deployed cross-layer strategy     

Combined Connection Admission Control and Packet Transmission Scheduling for Mobile Internet Services

Mobile Internet access is expected to be the most popular communication service in the near future. In this paper, we investigate radio resource management for mobile Internet multimedia systems that use the orthogonal frequency division multiple access and adopt the adaptive modulation and coding technique. It is assumed that real-time (RT) service such as streaming video and best-effort (BE) services such as file transfer protocol and hypertext transfer protocol coexist in the systems. We suggest two levels of radio resource management schemes: the connection admission control (CAC) scheme at the first level and the packet transmission scheduler at the second level. The proposed scheduler does not assign higher priority to RT packets over BE packets unconditionally. Instead, only the RT packets that are close to the deadline are given higher priority. Therefore, the performance of BE services is improved at the cost of RT services. To control the performance degradation in RT services within an acceptable level, the CAC algorithm functions as a congestion controller. The combined effects of the proposed CAC and packet scheduling by using the cross-layer simulation that covers from the physical layer to the Internet application layer are evaluated. The numerical results show that the proposed schemes greatly improve the performance of BE services while maintaining the quality of video service at an acceptable level.     

QoS specification languages for distributed multimedia applications: a survey and taxonomy

Following considerable research into quality-of-service-aware application programming interface design and QoS specification language development for multimedia systems, we present a survey and taxonomy of existing QoS specification languages. As computer and communication technology evolves, distributed multimedia applications are becoming ubiquitous, and quality of service (QoS) is becoming ever more integral to those applications. Because they consume so many resources (such as memory and bandwidth), multimedia applications need resource management at different layers of the communications protocol stack to ensure end-to-end service quality, and to regulate resource contention for equitable resource sharing. However, before an application can invoke any QoS-aware resource management mechanisms and policies - such as admission control, resource reservation, enforcement, and adaptation - it must specify its QoS requirements and the corresponding resource allocations. Furthermore, the application must describe how QoS should be scaled and adapted in cases of resource contention or resource scarcity during runtime. Our goal in this article is to systematically classify and compare the existing QoS specification languages that span several QoS layers with diverse properties. The provided taxonomy and the extensive analysis will give us a detailed look at the existing QoS specification languages along with their properties and relations.     

A novel multicast traffic engineering technique in SDN using TLBO algorithm

In recent years, multicast communication is widely used by network providers to deliver multimedia contents. Quality of service (QoS) provisioning is one of the most important issues while transmitting multimedia contents using multicast. Traditional IP multicasting techniques suffer from reliability, scalability and have limitations to provide appropriate QoS for multimedia applications based on service level agreement (SLA). Nowadays, the advent of software defined networking (SDN), enables network providers to manage their networks dynamically and guarantee QoS parameters for customers based on SLA. SDN provides capabilities to monitor network resources and allows to dynamically configure desired multicasting policies. In this paper, we proposed a novel multicasting technique to guarantee QoS for multimedia applications over SDN. To deliver multimedia contents in an efficient manner, our proposed method models multicast routing as a delay constraint least cost (DCLC) problem. As DCLC problem is NP-Complete, we proposed an approximation algorithm using teaching–learning-based optimization to solve this problem. We evaluated our proposed method under different topologies. Experimental results confirmed that our proposed method outperforms IP multicast routing protocol, and it achieves a gain of about 25% for peak signal-to-noise ratio.     

服务水平协议(SLA)——Internet服务业的新趋势

本文首先详细介绍了服务水平协议（Ｓｅｒｖｉｃｅ Ｌｅｖｅｌ Ａｇｒｅｅｍｅｎｔ）的概念、优点及常用的一些性能指标,然后论述了ＳＬＡ管理工具应具备的功能,最后对国内外的ＳＬＡ管理工具进行了概括。     

Adaptive power allocation and call admission control in multiservice WiMAX access networks [Radio Resource Management and Protocol Engineering for IEEE 802.16]

To achieve a successful broadband wireless access solution, the IEEE 802.16 subcommittee has released a series of standards for WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access). From a technical viewpoint, WiMAX is a feasible alternative to the wired Internet access solutions such as cable modem and DSL. Nevertheless, from the commercial viewpoint, whether the promise of WiMAX will be materialized still depends on its revenue rate to telecom operators and its service quality to the subscribers. In such a context, this article addresses two resource management mechanisms in WiMAX access networks, that is, adaptive power allocation (APA) and call admission control (CAC), from the perspectives of both service providers and WiMAX subscribers. APA emphasizes how to share the limited power resource of base station among different WiMAX subscribers and further influences the access bandwidth of each subscriber; CAC highlights how to assign a subscriber's access bandwidth to different types of applications. Moreover, to build a WiMAX access network, APA and CAC have to work cooperatively to provide cross-layer resource management. In this article we focus on the OFDMA-TDD system, which allows high spectrum-utility efficiency on uplink and downlink channels in the asymmetric scenario of "lastmile" Internet access. We conclude the article with an optimization strategy to balance service provider's revenue and subscriber's satisfaction     

ARC: an integrated admission and rate control framework for competitive wireless CDMA data networks using noncooperative games

The competition among wireless data service providers brings in an option for the unsatisfied customers to switch their providers, which is called churning. The implementation of Wireless Local Number Portability (WLNP) is expected to further increase the churn rate (the probability of users switching the provider). However, the existing resource management algorithms for wireless networks fail to fully capture the far-reaching impact of this unforeseen competitiveness. From this perspective, we first formulate noncooperative games between the service providers and the users. A user's decision to leave or join a provider is based on a finite set of strategies. A service provider can also construct its game strategy set so as to maximize their utility (revenue) considering the churn rate. Based on the game theoretic framework, we propose an integrated admission and rate control (ARC) framework for CDMA-based wireless data networks. The admission control is at the session (macro) level while the rate control is at the link layer packet (micro) level. Two admission control modes are considered - one-by-one mode and batch processing mode, in which multiple users are admitted at a time. We show that: 1) for the one-by-one mode, the Nash equilibrium using pure strategy can be established for both under-loaded and fully-loaded systems and 2) for batch processing mode, there is either an equilibrium in pure strategy or a dominant strategy exists for the service provider. Therefore, the providers have clearly defined admission criteria as outcome of the game. Users are categorized into multiple classes and offered differentiated services based on the price they pay and the service degradation they can tolerate. We show that the proposed ARC framework significantly increases the provider's revenue and also successfully offers differentiated QoS to the users.     

DiffServ resource allocation for fast handoff in wireless mobileInternet

The next-generation wireless networks are evolving toward a versatile IP-based network that can provide various real-time multimedia services to mobile users. Two major challenges in establishing such a wireless mobile Internet are support of fast handoff and provision of quality of service (QoS) over IP-based wireless access networks. In this article, a DiffServ resource allocation architecture is proposed for the evolving wireless mobile Internet. The registration-domain-based scheme supports fast handoff by significantly reducing mobility management signaling. The registration domain is integrated with the DiffServ mechanism and provisions QoS guarantee for each service class by domain-based admission control. Furthermore, an adaptive assured service is presented for the stream class of traffic, where resource allocation is adjusted according to the network condition in order to minimize handoff call dropping and new call blocking probabilities     

QoS management through service level agreements: a short overview

The Internet protocol (IP) was created as a connectionless network layer protocol that takes no attempt to distinguish between various application types. Hence, the integration of a wide range of telecommunication services over the Internet is the main reason behind the need for the provision of quality of service (QoS) guarantees to end users. In such multiservice networks, resources are managed based on service level agreements (SLA), acknowledging different types of traffic in terms of bandwidth requirements, delay and other QoS parameters. An SLA is the documented result of a negotiation between a customer and a service provider that defines service characteristics, responsibilities and priorities of every party. An SLA may include statements about tariffing and billing, service delivery, and compensations. This paper provides a short overview of some aspects of quality of service, and identifies main issues and problems of defining and managing an SLA, based on its current standardization stage.     

Roaming and service management in public wireless networks using an innovative policy management architecture

Nowadays, public wireless local area networks (WLANs), commonly called hotspots, are being largely deployed by WISPs (Wireless Internet Service Providers) as a means of offering ubiquitous Internet access to their customers. Although a substantial number of solutions have been proposed to improve security, mobility and quality of service on the wireless area, access network management which is mandatory remains a very significant concern. This paper describes RSM‐WISP, a new management architecture designed for WISPs to facilitate the implementation and management of the services they offer at the access side of the WLAN, and to manage roaming contracts between WISPs. Our architecture is based upon the policy‐based management principles as introduced by the IETF, combined with more intelligence at the network edge. RSM‐WISP adopts an architecture that is composed of two elements: a WISP management center (MC) that deploys policies and monitors all the WLANs, and a programmable access router (CPE) located in each WLAN. The CPE ensures service enforcement, service differentiation (access to different service levels) and guarantee, user access management, and dynamic WLAN adaptation according to the user's SLA (service level agreement). It also permits automatic service updates according to the user's requirements. Concerning roaming management, this is achieved on the CPE through multiple service provider support capabilities. This approach provides WISPs with a simple, flexible and scalable solution that allows easy service deployment and management at the access. This management architecture has been implemented, tested and validated on the 6WINDGate routers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Opportunistic call admission control for wireless broadband cognitive networks

Wireless Broadband Cognitive Networks (WBCN) are new trend to better utilization of spectrum and resources. However, in multiservice WBCN networks, call admission control (CAC) is a challenging point to effectively control different traffic loads and prevent the network from being overloaded and thus provide promised quality of service. In this paper, we propose a CAC framework and formulate it as an optimization problem, where the demands of both WBCN service providers and cognitive subscribers are taken into account. To solve the optimization problem, we developed an opportunistic multivariate CAC algorithm based on a joint optimization of utility, weighted fairness, and greedy revenue algorithms. Extensive simulation results show that, the proposed call admission control framework can meet the expectations of both service providers and subscribers in wireless broadband cognitive networks.     

基于SLA的业务保障在光网络带宽租赁业务中的应用

电信管理网是一个庞大而复杂的网络，如何保障客户业务的质量是电信管理网需要解决的一个重要问题。本以电信管理网的TOM模型为基点，讨论基于SLA的业务保障管理系统的模型和功能实现，并以光传输网络的带宽租赁业务为实例来探讨SLA中的QoS参数的分析与计算，最后提出其系统的外部接口和功能的定义和实现。     

Adaptation techniques for ubiquitous Internet multimedia

We identify the importance of adaptation for the ubiquitous access to Internet multimedia content. The variety of media types combined with the diversity of Internet connection characteristics raises momentous challenges to the achievement of this goal. With adaptation, the characteristics of various media can be adjusted to better match those of the network path and the end device. As a result, adaptive streams enjoy superior robustness and provide substantially better presentation quality than traditional, non‐adaptive ones, especially in variable, capacity‐limited environments. We examine several important factors that influence the design and optimization of the adaptation architecture. First, the location of the adaptation mechanism on the end‐to‐end path must be chosen. Second, the adaptation policy, i.e., the agility in adapting to variations in network path performance, must be specified. Third, the adaptation mechanism needs to be aware of the value of the perceptual quality that the different representations of each medium and the necessary resources to sustain it. Finally, we emphasize the role of supporting mechanisms in enhancing the adaptation process, namely, prioritization, admission control and hand‐off notifications. Based on the aforementioned criteria, we classify existing research approaches and present some of them as case studies. We also describe current commercial solutions and, finally, we discuss future trends in application adaptation in conjunction with recent developments towards wireless access to the Internet. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rate adaptive multimedia streams: optimization and admission control

This work investigates support of rate adaptive multimedia streams on communication networks. Optimal and practical mechanisms to maximize the customer average quality of service (QoS), defined in terms of a normalized time average received rate, are established. By scaling the arrival rate and link capacity, we obtain asymptotic expressions for customer average QoS in the case of networks with single bottleneck links. The optimal adaptation policy is identified as the solution to an integer program which has an intuitive "sort by volume" interpretation for the case of single bottleneck links, where stream volume is the total number of bits associated with a stream at its maximum resolution. Our asymptotic analysis shows the optimal adaptation policy may yield performance improvements of up to 42% over baseline policies. We demonstrate that a static multi-class admission control policy can achieve the same asymptotic QoS as that of the optimal adaptation policy. This implies that dynamic adaptation may be unnecessary for large capacity networks with appropriate call admission.     

The use of service level agreements in tactical military coalition force networks

Tactical military coalition force IP networks will have to offer quality of service. Service level agreements and service level specifications are important elements of the QoS architecture in civilian networks. However, SLAs/SLSs in military coalition networks should not be applied in the same fashion as in a commercial network. Our contribution is to identify the useful role SLAs/SLSs can play in network engineering and QoS management of tactical coalition force networks. The SLS definition needs to be more detailed than for a commercial SLS, and its monitoring must be performed on a finer timescale than in comparable commercial networks. The security architecture of military coalition networks may also restrict the monitoring and SLA management. Finally, we sketch a measurement-based approach showing how SLSs can be used in tactical military coalition force networks to support both call admission control and network engineering. Parts of this analysis include a discussion of SLSs and the proposed NATO standards for tactical communications network.     

A LP-RR principle-based admission control for a mobile network

In mobile networks, the traffic fluctuation is unpredictable due to mobility and varying resource requirement of multimedia applications. Hence, it is essential to maintain traffic within the network capacity to provide service guarantees to running applications. This paper proposes an admission control (AC) scheme in a mobile cellular environment supporting hand-off and new application traffic. In the case of multimedia applications, each applications has its own distinct range of acceptable quality of service (QoS) requirements. The network provides the service by maintaining the application specified QoS range. We propose a linear programming resource reduction (LP-RR) principle for admission control by maintaining QoS guarantees to existing applications and to increase the percentage of admission to hand-off and new applications. Artificial neural networks are used to solve the linear programming problem, which facilitates in real time admission control decision in the practical systems. We present an analytical model and results for the proposed AC scheme with resource reduction principle and a simulation study of the AC for performance evaluation. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed AC scheme performs well in terms of increasing the number of admitted applications and maintains higher percentage of resource utilization. The suggested principle also shown that it is appropriate for the fair resource allocation with improved resource utilization.