Design and architecture of a new space priority mechanism for ATM network nodes

This paper presents the architecture of a new space priority mechanism intended to control cell loss in ATM switches. Our mechanism is a new generic concept called: the multiple pushout. It is based on the utilization of both AAL and ATM features and on a particular definition of the priority bit. Whenever one cell of a message overflows the buffer of an ATM switch, the algorithm causes the switch to discard other cells of the message (including later arrivals). Such discarding frees buffer spaces for cells of other messages that have a chance of arriving at their destination intact. Our objective is to emphasize that in case of overload, with most of proposed mechanisms, cells are discarded without any semantic information about the type of cells. Therefore, at the destination, all the fragments of the corrupted messages will be discarded anyway. Finally, we present simulation results comparing cell loss rates and message loss rates of several space priority mechanisms.     

Throughput of a satellite channel communication

Summary The throughput of a satellite channel communication is depending upon the link protocol. It is well known that the classical HDLC protocol is inadequate when applied to satellite links instead of short terrestrial links. Several modifications have been proposed to overcome this problem. The present paper gives an analysis and evaluation of a new class of protocols called Virtual Subchannel schemes which splits the satellite link into several components; these subchannels are assigned for transmission in cyclic order and are controlled independently of each other by the classical HDLC procedure.     

Transmission power and data rate aware routing on wireless networks

Wireless networks can vary both the transmission power and modulation of links. Existing routing protocols do not take transmission power control (TPC) and modulation adaptation (also known as rate adaptation – RA) into account at the same time, even though the performance of wireless networks can be significantly improved when routing algorithms use link characteristics to build their routes. This article proposes and evaluates extensions to routing protocols to cope with TPC and RA. The enhancements can be applied to any link state or distance vector routing protocols. An evaluation considering node density, node mobility and link error show that TPC- and RA-aware routing algorithms improve the average latency and the end-to-end throughput, while consuming less energy than traditional protocols.     

Distinguishing video quality through differential matrices

Multicast multi-layered communications must implement efficient control algorithms to address undesirable network behaviors. This paper proposes two multi-metric algorithms for computing the rates of the video layers and improve the global video quality of a multicast session. In fact, we show that a single-metric approach may degrade some network parameters without obtaining any substantial improvements. Our first algorithm combines three metrics and a set of weights in such a way that one metric can be prioritized. This leads to an improved quality of multicast sessions, as we show through a number of experiments. In networks where the available resources are highly variable, however, the stability of the video quality is compromised if absolute values of the metrics are adopted. We then propose a second algorithm that uses the relative values of the metrics on a per-entry basis. Computation of the global quality of the multicast session is based on a differential matrix that stores the metrics for each receiver. This scheme takes into account the dynamics of the available resources and the heterogeneity of receivers. The great benefit of this approach is that the global video quality is always improved for every loop of the algorithm.     

Spectrum mobility management in cognitive two‐tier networks

Recently, new type of small Base Station known as “femtocell” has emerged. Femtocells are deployed by customers with minimal or no radio frequency planning in arbitrary locations. Thus, operators must use new approaches rather than the classic network planning and optimization. Self‐organization techniques will allow femtocells to integrate themselves into the network, learn about their environment, and adjust their parameters (power, frequency) accordingly. In this paper, a new spectrum mobility management algorithm is proposed. It allows intelligent use of the spectrum by secondary user (femtocell guest user) accessing spectrum holes unoccupied by primary users (subscriber user) and handing over to new channels or femtocells when primary user appears. Our solution aims to have more adaptive and aware communication system, which can make better use of available natural resources.     

Modelling and evaluation of several internal network services

The recommendation X.25 ([1]) defines the interface between a network access point (data communications entity, DCE) and the network user (data terminal equipment, DTE) but the internal network service may be based on different principles. Some networks may use virtual circuit switching as an internal service whereas others could prefer datagram service or other facilities. The objective of the present paper is a comparison of four different possibilities of the internal switching networks by means of a mathematical modelling analysis. The maximum throughput of the system is used as the performance criterion. The results provide a global insight to the behavior of the system when different switching strategies are applied. They may also be used to determine the domain of other important parameters.     

Une nouvelle architecture de gestion de réseaux DiffServ basée sur la technologie de réseau actif et la gestion à base de règles

The objective of this work is to propose an architectural solution to the very complex problem of DiffServ network management and control. Despite the fact that DiffServ offers a scalable QoS provisioning solution, it introduces a high complexity in term of its deployment due to the number of complex configurations to perform in the highly distributed and heterogeneous network environment. The proposed solution aims to take benefit from the scalability and flexibility properties of Active Network technology for distributing the control in large scale as well as the autonomic property of Policy Based Management to automate the distribution of these tasks in the operator network. This solution constitutes an alternative to the client/server approach generally used.     

Conception d’une solution de sélection de passerelles Internet dans les réseaux ad hoc

In the past few years, Internet has raised increasing interest in various areas including research, education, and business. The number of people accessing the Internet at work or at home has increased considerably, just like the number of services offered (email, e-commerce, search engines, e-learning, e-government, etc.). Ad hoc networks were generally viewed as stand-alone networks, where communications are only supported between nodes in the network such as in military and rescue operations. The lack of connectivity to the wired infrastructure enables simple management and deployment, but limits the applicability of ad hoc networks to today’s scenarios, which require connectivity outside the ad hoc network and particularly to the Internet. However, to reach this goal, a number of problems need to be resolved because of the dynamic nature of such environment. In this article, we describe a new solution for dynamic gateway selection based on quality of service (QoS) criteria. The underlying architecture is based on a pro-active routing protocol.