A cautionary perspective on cross-layer design

Recently, in an effort to improve the performance of wireless networks, there has been increased interest in protocols that rely on interactions between different layers. However, such cross-layer design can run at cross purposes with sound and longer-term architectural principles, and lead to various negative consequences. This motivates us to step back and reexamine holistically the issue of cross-layer design and its architectural ramifications. We contend that a good architectural design leads to proliferation and longevity, and illustrate this with some historical examples. Even though the wireless medium is fundamentally different from the wired one, and can offer undreamt of modalities of cooperation, we show that the conventional layered architecture is a reasonable way to operate wireless networks, and is in fact optimal up to an order. However the temptation and perhaps even the need to optimize by incorporating cross-layer adaptation cannot be ignored, so we examine the issues involved. We show that unintended cross-layer interactions can have undesirable consequences on overall system performance. We illustrate them by certain cross-layer schemes loosely based on recent proposals. We attempt to distill a few general principles for cross-layer design. Moreover, unbridled cross-layer design can lead to spaghetti design, which can stifle further innovation and be difficult to upkeep. At a critical time when wireless networks may be on the cusp of massive proliferation, the architectural considerations may be paramount. We argue that it behooves us to exercise caution while engaging in cross-layer design.     

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。     

A survey of cross-layer design for VANETs

Recently, vehicular communication systems have attracted much attention, fueled largely by the growing interest in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). These systems are aimed at addressing critical issues like passenger safety and traffic congestion, by integrating information and communication technologies into transportation infrastructure and vehicles. They are built on top of self organizing networks, known as a Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANET), composed of mobile vehicles connected by wireless links. While the solutions based on the traditional layered communication system architectures such as OSI model are readily applicable, they often fail to address the fundamental problems in ad hoc networks, such as dynamic changes in the network topology. Furthermore, many ITS applications impose stringent QoS requirements, which are not met by existing ad hoc networking solutions. The paradigm of cross-layer design has been introduced as an alternative to pure layered design to develop communication protocols. Cross-layer design allows information to be exchanged and shared across layer boundaries in order to enable efficient and robust protocols. There has been several research efforts that validated the importance of cross-layer design in vehicular networks. In this article, a survey of recent work on cross-layer communication solutions for VANETs is presented. Major approaches to cross-layer protocol design is introduced, followed by an overview of corresponding cross-layer protocols. Finally, open research problems in developing efficient cross-layer protocols for next generation transportation systems are discussed.     

无线Mesh网络跨层路由技术研究

无线Mesh网络(WMN:wireless mesh networks)作为一种新型的无线网络,成为近几年研究的热点。由于无线信道不稳定等特性,如何设计WMN的路由协议成为决定其性能的关键因素之一。近几年来的研究表明,通过跨层设计的方式综合其他层的重要参数来实现路由选择,能够很好地解决这一难题。介绍了几种先进的跨层路由设计方案,总结了现有的跨层路由协议的优缺点,并对如何设计并实现跨层路由协议进行了分析和总结。     

The impact of imperfect scheduling on cross-Layer congestion control in wireless networks

In this paper, we study cross-layer design for congestion control in multihop wireless networks. In previous work, we have developed an optimal cross-layer congestion control scheme that jointly computes both the rate allocation and the stabilizing schedule that controls the resources at the underlying layers. However, the scheduling component in this optimal cross-layer congestion control scheme has to solve a complex global optimization problem at each time, and is hence too computationally expensive for online implementation. In this paper, we study how the performance of cross-layer congestion control will be impacted if the network can only use an imperfect (and potentially distributed) scheduling component that is easier to implement. We study both the case when the number of users in the system is fixed and the case with dynamic arrivals and departures of the users, and we establish performance bounds of cross-layer congestion control with imperfect scheduling. Compared with a layered approach that does not design congestion control and scheduling together, our cross-layer approach has provably better performance bounds,and substantially outperforms the layered approach. The insights drawn from our analyzes also enable us to design a fully distributed cross-layer congestion control and scheduling algorithm for a restrictive interference model.     

End-to-end throughput improvement for single radio multi-channel multi-path wireless mesh networks: a cross layer design

The distinguished feature of fixed backbone nodes in the wireless mesh networks (WMNs) can be utilized to design an efficient cross layer which cooperates routing and scheduling schemes for increasing end-to-end throughput. With only single radio nodes, by well designing the scheduling and routing schemes for multiple paths, we show that WMN can gain more throughput and reduce communication interference. Much of recent work has focused on those issues applied for “multi-channel, multi-path” environment using multi-radios that is costly and much more complex for implementation. Also, almost all of the proposals work on layer 2 or layer 3 separately that cannot support each other in performing efficiently. Instead, our paper introduces a cross-layer design with new routing algorithm that can balance the numbers of multi-paths and the needed transmission data in each communication session. We also propose a new channel scheduling and queuing models in MAC layer compatible with routing scheme and define a threshold with an effective algorithm to choose the optimal number of disjoint paths for routing scheme. The simulation results show that our multi-path routing scheme performs better than previous proposals in term of throughput improvement which can directly reduce the time of each communication session, especially in case of big size data transmission.     

Cross-layer feedback architecture for mobile device protocol stacks

Applications using traditional protocol stacks (e.g., TCP/IP) from wired networks do not function efficiently in mobile wireless environments. This is primarily due to the layered architecture and implementation of protocol stacks. One mechanism to improve the efficiency of the stack is cross-layer feedback, that is, making information from within one layer available to another layer of the stack. For example, TCP retransmissions can be reduced by making it aware of network disconnections or handoff events. We highlight the need for a cross-layer feedback architecture and identify key design goals for an architecture. We present our ECLAIR architecture, which satisfies these design goals. We describe a prototype implementation that validates ECLAIR. We also discuss other cross-layer architectures and provide a cross-layer design guide.     

Implementing TCP flow-level fairness using 802.11e in a multi-radio mesh testbed

TCP is known to be subject to poor performance in multi-hop mesh networks. While most work has focused on interference and related issues, we note that cross-layer interactions can also induce considerable unfairness. In this paper, we propose a simple 802.lie scheme to mitigate these interactions and regulate TCP fairness in a flexible manner. The practical effectiveness of the approach is confirmed in a multi- hop, multi-radio testbed.     

Cross-layer architecture for scalable video transmission in wireless network

Multimedia applications such as video conference, digital video broadcasting (DVB), and streaming video and audio have been gaining popularity during last years and the trend has been to allocate these services more and more also on mobile users. The demand of quality of service (QoS) for multimedia raises huge challenges on the network design, not only concerning the physical bandwidth but also the protocol design and services. One of the goals for system design is to provide efficient solutions for adaptive multimedia transmission over different access networks in all-IP environment. The joint source and channel coding (JSCC/D) approach has already given promising results in optimizing multimedia transmission. However, in practice, arranging the required control mechanism and delivering the required side information through network and protocol stack have caused problems and quite often the impact of network has been neglected in studies. In this paper we propose efficient cross-layer communication methods and protocol architecture in order to transmit the control information and to optimize the multimedia transmission over wireless and wired IP networks. We also apply this architecture to the more specific case of streaming of scalable video streams. Scalable video coding has been an active research topic recently and it offers simple and flexible solutions for video transmission over heterogeneous networks to heterogeneous terminals. In addition it provides easy adaptation to varying transmission conditions. In this paper we illustrate how scalable video transmission can be improved with efficient use of the proposed cross-layer design, adaptation mechanisms and control information.     

Enhanced performance based on cross-layer design from physical to transport layers for multihop wireless networks

This paper puts forward a novel cognitive cross-layer design algorithms for multihop wireless networks optimization across physical,mediam access control(MAC),network and transport layers.As is well known,the conventional layered-protocol architecture can not provide optimal performance for wireless networks,and cross-layer design is becoming increasingly important for improving the performance of wireless networks.In this study,we formulate a specific network utility maximization(NUM)problem that we believe is appropriate for multihop wireless networks.By using the dual algorithm,the NUM problem has been optimal decomposed and solved with a novel distributed cross-layer design algorithm from physical to transport layers.Our solution enjoys the benefits of cross-layer optimization while maintaining the simplicity and modularity of the traditional layered architecture.The proposed cross-layer design can guarantee the end-to-end goals of data flows while fully utilizing network resources.Computer simulations have evaluated an enhanced performance of the proposed algorithm at both average source rate and network throughput.Meanwhile,the proposed algorithm has low implementation complexity for practical reality.     

ad hoc网络中跨层设计方法的研究

ad hoc网络与传统有线和无线蜂窝网络有着显著的区别,基于传统的分层协议栈的设计方法不再适合ad hoc网络,而应采用一种新型的跨层协议栈和跨层设计方法.本文首先阐述了ad hoc网络的特点和传统的分层协议栈的弊端,介绍了跨层设计的概念.然后,详细分析了ad hoc网络中跨层设计的方法,包括策略、体系结构和信令交互方式,探讨了跨层设计的相关技术和面临的挑战.最后,总结了全文并指出了今后的工作方向.     

Cross-Layer Design for QoS Support in Multihop Wireless Networks

Due to such features as low cost, ease of deployment, increased coverage, and enhanced capacity, multihop wireless networks such as ad hoc networks, mesh networks, and sensor networks that form the network in a self-organized manner without relying on fixed infrastructure is touted as the new frontier of wireless networking. Providing efficient quality of service (QoS) support is essential for such networks, as they need to deliver real-time services like video, audio, and voice over IP besides the traditional data service. Various solutions have been proposed to provide soft QoS over multihop wireless networks from different layers in the network protocol stack. However, the layered concept was primarily created for wired networks, and multihop wireless networks oppose strict layered design because of their dynamic nature, infrastructureless architecture, and time-varying unstable links and topology. The concept of cross-layer design is based on architecture where different layers can exchange information in order to improve the overall network performance. Promising results achieved by cross-layer optimizations initiated significant research activity in this area. This paper aims to review the present study on the cross-layer paradigm for QoS support in multihop wireless networks. Several examples of evolutionary and revolutionary cross-layer approaches are presented in detail. Realizing the new trends for wireless networking, such as cooperative communication and networking, opportunistic transmission, real system performance evaluation, etc., several open issues related to cross-layer design for QoS support over multihop wireless networks are also discussed in the paper.     

Asymptotic loss of real-time traffic in wireless mobile networks with selective-repeat ARQ

We study the issue of quality of service (QoS) for real-time traffic over a wireless channel deploying automatic repeat request (ARQ) error control. An analytical model has been derived to evaluate the queueing related loss and the wireless channel related loss. In contrast to previous work, this model quantifies the interaction between the network layer and the physical layer, and then it enables the admission controllers of wireless networks to improve utilization while satisfying the traffic QoS constraints through cross-layer design techniques.     

Self-organization in spontaneous networks: the approach of DHT-based routing protocols

The increase demand for flexibility, spontaneity, adaptability, independence of a wire infrastructure, and easy-managed architectures are driving a revolutionary change in the network community research. The number of proposals in the literature related to technologies like ad hoc, and more recently, sensor networks witnesses for the interest on the deployment of distributed, autonomous, spontaneous, and self-organizing systems. Distributed hash tables (DHTs) have been largely adopted as a useful substrate to the design and specification of self-organizing systems. The functionality of decoupling identification from location, and of providing a general mapping between them, have made the DHT abstraction an interesting principle to be integrated in network-level routing protocols. Although improving scalability, this integration also introduces new challenges for the network architecture specification. In this paper, we examine the main components related to the design of network architectures having DHT interactions in mind. We survey the recent proposals that attempt to deal with DHT-based self-organizing systems, and discuss their differences according the way in which the DHT functionalities are applied. It is verified that initial decisions of the designers about priorities of different issues and requirements are reflected on proposals’ strengths and weakness. We conclude our investigations by presenting a discussion about the proposals’ more significant features. Finally, based on our concluding observations, we also discuss a new and promising approach for the deployment of a distributed and self-organizing system.     

A cross-layer framework for multi-layer-video multicast with QoS requirements in multirate wireless networks

We propose a cross-layer framework for efficient multi-layer-video multicast with rate adaptation and quality-of-service (QoS) requirements in multirate wireless networks. We employ time division multiple access at the physical layer to transmit different video layers' data. The multicast sender then dynamically regulates the transmission rate and time-slot allocation based on the channel state information (CSI) and loss QoS requirements imposed by upper protocol layers. Under our proposed cross-layer framework, we first design a rate adaptation algorithm to fulfill the diverse loss QoS requirements for all video layers while achieving high multicast throughput. We then develop a time-slot allocation scheme which synchronizes data transmission across different video layers. Also conducted are simulation results to validate and evaluate our designed adaptive multicasting schemes under the proposed cross-layer framework.     

Exploiting spatial multiplexing and reuse in multi-antenna wireless ad hoc networks

Efficient exploitation of multiple antenna capabilities in ad hoc networks requires carefully designed cross-layer techniques. The work presented in this paper provides a medium access control (MAC)/physical cross-layer scheme for ad hoc networks to address several of the challenges involved in cross-layer design. Multiple antenna systems can be used to increase data rate by spatial multiplexing, that is communicating multiple parallel streams, and to increase spatial reuse by interference suppression. Our proposed scheme, called HYB, exploits both spatial multiplexing and reuse so a receiver node can receive multiple simultaneous data streams from a desired transmitter while suppressing interference from other transmitters in the neighborhood. HYB partitions the available degrees of freedom in the antenna array between spatial multiplexing and reuse which allows the user to obtain different performance characteristics. The applicability of HYB spans across all wireless environments, including line-of-sight and dense multipath scenarios.Simulations demonstrate the significant performance gains and flexibility offered by HYB. The simulation results also offer key insights into the multi-antenna resource allocation problem in ad hoc networks based on traffic patterns and network/transport layer protocols, and consequently provide guidelines for network configuration/management. We show that throughput increases when the degrees of freedom allocated to spatial multiplexing increases, while fairness increases when the degrees of freedom allocated to spatial reuse increases.     

Privacy preservation in wireless sensor networks: A state-of-the-art survey

Much of the existing work on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has focused on addressing the power and computational resource constraints of WSNs by the design of specific routing, MAC, and cross-layer protocols. Recently, there have been heightened privacy concerns over the data collected by and transmitted through WSNs. The wireless transmission required by a WSN, and the self-organizing nature of its architecture, makes privacy protection for WSNs an especially challenging problem. This paper provides a state-of-the-art survey of privacy-preserving techniques for WSNs. In particular, we review two main categories of privacy-preserving techniques for protecting two types of private information, data-oriented and context-oriented privacy, respectively. We also discuss a number of important open challenges for future research. Our hope is that this paper sheds some light on a fruitful direction of future research for privacy preservation in WSNs.     

In-network aggregation techniques for wireless sensor networks: a survey

In this article we provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature on techniques and protocols for in-network aggregation in wireless sensor networks. We first define suitable criteria to classify existing solutions, and then describe them by separately addressing the different layers of the protocol stack while highlighting the role of a cross-layer design approach, which is likely to be needed for optimal performance. Throughout the article we identify and discuss open issues, and propose directions for future research in the area     

Design challenges for energy-constrained ad hoc wireless networks

Ad hoc wireless networks enable new and exciting applications, but also pose significant technical challenges. In this article we give a brief overview of ad hoc wireless networks and their applications with a particular emphasis on energy constraints. We then discuss advances in the link, multiple access, network, and application protocols for these networks. We show that cross-layer design of these protocols is imperative to meet emerging application requirements, particularly when energy is a limited resource.