System-level modeling of IEEE 802.16E mobile wimax networks: Key issues [recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards

WiMAX1 has attracted a lot of attention recently in the telecommunication community including researchers, product developers, and service providers. Numerous papers have been published on various design issues of WiMAX networks. Since the issues being discussed are usually ahead of product availability, most of these studies require simulation. It is important to have some common features among these models so that their results can be compared. Therefore, the Application Working Group of the WiMAX Forum has developed a standard simulation methodology that describes the key features to be simulated, the method of simulating these features, and various parameter values to be used. This system-level methodology has been used in several public and commercial WiMAX simulation models. This article presents a summary of the simulation methodology, and discusses the key issues and common mistakes in simulating various features of network configuration, and the physical, MAC, and application layers.     

Recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards [guest editorial]

Standardization of wireless technologies is a continuous process, and even established standards are updated and modified in response to changes in the technology and the marketplace. One such example is the successful IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which was originally designed for 1 and 2 Mb/s traffic, and is now being upgraded to support 600 Mb/s in 802.11n and being considered as a high-throughput (up to 1 Gb/s) wireless interface for the nomadic scenarios of the next generation of wireless systems. Similarly, enhancements to the IEEE 802.16 standard for wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) are being considered to develop a mobile air interface with support for up to 100 Mb/s in high mobility scenarios. This continuous evolution of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN and 802.16 WMAN standards is made possible with new innovation and contribution from both academia and industry. Given the rapid growth of these technologies, it is important to understand what new application scenarios have triggered the recent developments within WLAN and WMAN standards, how they are evolving, the technological challenges they face, and the opportunities for both the industry and research communities. In this issue, from a large number of submissions, we have selected five key articles for inclusion, which provide the reader with ongoing developments in these standards, technology roadmaps, current research challenges, and comprehensive evolution of these technologies, as well as deployment experience and application requirements.     

IEEE 802.16J relay-based wireless access networks: an overview [recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards]

Multihop wireless systems have the potential to offer improved coverage and capacity over single-hop radio access systems. Standards development organizations are considering how to incorporate such techniques into new standards. One such initiative is the IEEE 802.16j standardization activity, adding relay capabilities to IEEE 802.16 systems. This article provides an overview of this relay-based technology, focusing on some of the most pertinent aspects. In particular, the different modes of operation (transparent and non-transparent), framing structures, and network entry procedures are described. Some consideration of the issues in designing such systems is then given, which highlights when different features within the standard are most appropriate. As these systems are very new, many open issues remain to be resolved.     

OFDMA vs. SC-FDMA: performance comparison in local area imt-a scenarios [recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards]

The system requirements for IMT-A are currently being specified by the ITU. Target peak data rates of 1 Gb/s in local areas and 100 Mb/s in wide areas are expected to be provided by means of advanced MIMO antenna configurations and very high spectrum allocations (on the order of 100 MHz). For the downlink, OFDMA is unanimously considered the most appropriate technique for achieving high spectral efficiency. For the uplink, the LTE of the 3GPP, for example, employs SCFDMA due to its low PAPR properties compared to OFDMA. For future IMT-A systems, the decision on the most appropriate uplink access scheme is still an open issue, as many benefits can be obtained by exploiting the flexible frequency granularity of OFDMA. In this article we discuss the suitability of using OFDMA or SC-FDMA in the uplink for local area high-data-rate scenarios by considering as target performance metrics the PAPR and multi-user diversity gain. Also, new bandwidth configurations have been proposed to cope with the 100 MHz spectrum allocation. In particular, the PAPR analysis shows that a localized (not distributed) allocation of the resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain shall be employed for SC-FDMA in order to keep its advantages over OFDMA in terms of PAPR reduction. Furthermore, from the multiuser diversity gain evaluation emerges the fact that the impact of different RB sizes and bandwidth configurations is low, given the propagation characteristics of the assumed local area environment. For full bandwidth usage, OFDMA only outperforms SC-FDMA when the number of frequency multiplexed users is low. As the spectrum load decreases, instead, OFDMA outperforms SC-FDMA also for a high number of frequency multiplexed users, due to its more flexible resource allocation. In this contex different channel-aware scheduling algorithms have been proposed due to the resource allocation differences between the two schemes.     

Secure handover in enterprise WLANs: capwap, hokey, and IEEE 802.11R [recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards]

As wireless LANs become more and more ubiquitous, the number and types of applications they support are ever increasing. As realtime performance requirements begin to emerge, the latency involved in a handover from one access point to another becomes crucial. CAPWAP and HOKEY are two suites of protocols being defined and standardized within the IETF that include support for fast handover. IEEE 802.11r is implementing extensions to the IEEE 802.11 base specification to directly support fast handover in the MAC protocol. This article details all three protocols, and compares their relative security properties, performance, and use cases.     

Capacity estimation and TCP performance enhancement over mobile WiMAX networks - [WiMAX update]

The mobile WiMAX system is based on IEEE 802.16e, which defines radio interface supporting several classes of Internet Protocol applications and services. While the mobile WiMAX system is being deployed, IEEE 802.16m TG is developing an amendment to the IEEE 802.16e to greatly improve the system performance, and it is focusing not only on the PHY and MAC performance but also on a level of end-to-end performance improvement that includes the scope of the network and application to embrace the strong market request and interest. To evaluate the mobile WiMAX system capacity and performance, all the aspects of performance evaluation ? from air link to application ? are required. For the network and application-level capacity and performance analysis, we first provide an overview of mobile WiMAX systems, especially of the OFDMA/TDD systems of IEEE 802.16e and then describe subscriber and application profiles that include traffic-mix ratio, data-session attempts for applications, diurnal-application traffic distribution, and the application-traffic model. Afterward, the simulation results of network- traffic characteristics and demand estimation are provided. Finally, in the last section, we provide simulation results of end-to-end application performance evaluation using the examples of VoIP and a TCP/IP performance-enhancement method that can be implemented in the mobile WiMAX MAC or MAC/IP cross layer.     

Seamless IP mobility support for flat architecture mobile WiMAX networks - [WiMAX update]

The growing demand for wireless Internet services is accelerating the evolution of wireless networks toward all-IP architecture, and the mobile WiMAX network is a prominent example. Although currently deployed mobile WiMAX networks use hierarchical architecture, flat architecture is feasible and specified as a design alternative in the mobile WiMAX standard. In flat architecture the functionalities of the ASN-GW and BS are consolidated into a single element. In this article we first discuss the benefits and challenges of flat architecture mobile WiMAX networks. We then present a scheme to deal with the seamless mobility issue, which is one of the key challenges of the flat architecture. The proposed scheme combines two standard IP-mobility protocols, Proxy Mobile IP and Fast Mobile IP, and customizes them for IEEE 802.16e-based mobile WiMAX networks. This provides interoperability with existing mobile WiMAX networks. We demonstrate the viability of the proposed scheme through simulations using NS-2.     

使用IEEE 802.21的WLAN与WiMAX网的融合与切换

为了给移动用户提供最好的无所不在的无线宽带接入,不同无线网的融合是当前通信领域的热点研究。而切换管理又是解决无线网无缝融合的最具挑战性的问题。文中讨论了IEEE 802.11WLAN与IEEE 802.16e移动WiMAX网的融合与切换管理。描述其结构和应用场景,介绍了IEEE802.21,它为介质独立的异类网切换提供了一个信令框架,提出了如何使用IEEE802.21解决WLAN与移动WiMAX网之间的切换,并给出了详细的切换过程。说明了使用IEEE 802.21解决WLAN与移动WiMAX网之间的切换是可行有效的。     

WiMAX与WLAN跨层优化切换的研究

通过结合IETF提议的快速移动IPv6（FMIPv6）协议与IEEE802.21工作组提出MIH（Media Independent Handover）草案,引入了一种WiMAX与WLAN垂直切换的跨层优化方案。此外,移动节点引入信息映射表,在存储链路质量下降之前以MIH消息检索介质独立信息服务器MIIS获取邻居网络信息,减少了IP层切换初始化获取邻居网络信息的时间,增强了FMIPv6预测切换成功概率,减少了切换时延和丢包率。     

Handover management for mobile nodes in IPv6 networks

We analyze IPv6 handover over wireless LAN. Mobile IPv6 is designed to manage mobile nodes' movements between wireless IPv6 networks. Nevertheless, the active communications of a mobile node are interrupted until the handover completes. Therefore, several extensions to Mobile IPv6 have been proposed to reduce the handover latency and the number of lost packets. We describe two of them, hierarchical Mobile IPv6, which manages local movements into a domain, and fast handover protocol, which allows the use of layer 2 triggers to anticipate the handover. We expose the specific handover algorithms proposed by all these methods. We also evaluate the handover latency over IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN. We compare the layer 2 and layer 3 handover latency in the Mobile IPv6 case in order to show the saving of time expected by using anticipation. We conclude by showing how to adapt the IEEE 802.11b control frames to set up such anticipation.     

An overview of next-generation mobile WiMAX technology - [WiMAX update]

The growing demand for mobile Internet and wireless multimedia applications has motivated the development of broadband wirelessaccess technologies in recent years. Mobile WiMAX has enabled convergence of mobile and fixed broadband networks through a common wide-area radio-access technology and flexible network architecture. Since January 2007, the IEEE 802.16 Working Group has been developing a new amendment of the IEEE 802.16 standard (i.e., IEEE 802.16m) as an advanced air interface to meet the requirements of ITU-R/IMT-advanced for 4G systems, as well as for the next-generation mobile network operators. Depending on the available bandwidth and multi-antenna mode, the next-generation mobile WiMAX will be capable of over-the-air datatransfer rates in excess of 1 Gb/s and of supporting a wide range of high-quality and high-capacity IP-based services and applications while maintaining full backward compatibility with the existing mobile WiMAX systems to preserve investments and continuing to support first-generation products. This tutorial describes the prominent technical features of IEEE 802.16m and the potential for successful deployment of the next generation of mobile WiMAX in 2011+.     

Overview of mobile WiMAX technology and evolution

Mobile WiMAX is a fast growing broadband access technology that enables low-cost mobile Internet applications, and realizes the convergence of mobile and fixed broadband access in a single air interface and network architecture. Mobile WiMAX combines OFDMA and advanced MIMO schemes along with flexible bandwidth and fast link adaptation, creating a highly efficient air interface that exceeds the capacity of existing and evolving 3G radio access networks. WiMAX networks, built on all-IP network architecture for plug and play network deployments, can support a mix of different usage and service models. While some consider mobile WiMAX as a candidate for the fourth generation of mobile networks, others view it as the first generation of mobile Internet technologies emerging from a wider ecosystem targeting to extend the success of WiFi over wide area networks supporting mobility. This article provides a high-level overview of mobile WiMAX technology and its evolution roadmap from both radio and network perspectives.     

Handover and channel assignment in mobile cellular networks

A taxonomy of channel assignment strategies is provided, and the complexity in each cellular component is discussed. Various handover scenarios and the roles of the base station and the mobile switching center are considered. Prioritization schemes are discussed, and the required intelligence distribution among the network components is defined     

Mobility management for all-IP mobile networks: mobile IPv6 vs. proxy mobile IPv6 [architectures and protocols for mobility management in all-IP mobile networks]

Recently, a network-based mobility management protocol called Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) is being actively standardized by the IETF NETLMM working group, and is starting to attract considerable attention among the telecommunication and Internet communities. Unlike the various existing protocols for IP mobility management such as Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6), which are host-based approaches, a network-based approach such as PMIPv6 has salient features and is expected to expedite the real deployment of IP mobility management. In this article, starting by showing the validity of a network-based approach, we present qualitative and quantitative analyses of the representative host-based and network-based mobility management approaches (i.e., MIPv6 and PMIPv6), which highlight the main desirable features and key strengths of PMIPv6. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison among the various existing well-known mobility support protocols is investigated. Although the development of PMIPv6 is at an early stage yet, it is strongly expected that PMIPv6 will be a promising candidate solution for realizing the next-generation all-IP mobile networks.     

Handover in multihop cellular networks [Accepted from Open Call]

This article introduces various handover scenarios in multihop cellular networks. In addition, this article presents handover schemes where relay stations are located either inside a cell or on the boundary between two adjacent cells and investigates the effects of the deployment position of relay stations to handover performance. The simulation results show that multihop cellular networks for both deployment scenarios can achieve 90 percent throughput increase over single-hop cellular networks. The results also show that the overall throughput of the multihop cellular networks with relay stations inside a cell is higher than for those with relay stations on the boundary between two adjacent cells, whereas the opposite is observed for the throughput of cell-boundary users. The intercell handover latency in multihop cellular networks is increased by 20 ~ 56 percent compared with that in singlehop cellular networks because of the increased number of handovers and signaling overhead. However, by deploying relay stations on the boundary between two adjacent cells, the service-interruption time caused by inter-cell handover is reduced by 80 percent compared with that of single-hop cellular networks.     

Architectures and protocols for mobility management in all-IP mobile networks [guest editorial]

The seven Special Topic articles focus on the architectures and protocols for mobility management in all-IP mobile networks. The articles are summarized here.     

Future trust management framework for mobile ad hoc networks [security in mobile ad hoc]

In mobile ad hoc networks nodes should collaborate with each other to support the functions of the network. The trust management framework, which evaluates the trust of participating nodes, is used to force nodes to cooperate in a normal way. We make an effort to design a robust and attack-resistant trust management framework for the future. In this article we describe the vulnerabilities of and possible attacks on existing frameworks. An objective trust management framework is proposed to overcome these vulnerabilities. We provide a theoretical basis and skeleton for this framework. The performance evaluation and security analysis are provided showing the effectiveness and robustness of the OTMF compared with existing frameworks.     

Mobility management protocols for next-generation all-IP satellite networks [architectures and protocols for mobility management in all-IP mobile networks]

To provide ubiquitous terrestrial Internet coverage mobility and Internet-based access to data generated by satellites, there is a strong desire to integrate the terrestrial Internet and satellite networks. This requires satellites that are based on IP for communications. Rotation of low Earth orbit satellites around the Earth results in communicating with different ground stations over time, and requires mobility management protocols for seamless communication between the Internet and satellite networks. In this article we provide a comprehensive summary and comparison of state-of-the-art research on mobility management schemes for satellite networks. The schemes are based on network and transport layers for managing host and network mobility. This article clearly indicates the aspects that need further research and which mobility management schemes are the best candidates for satellite networks.     

Seamless integration of mobile WiMAX in 3GPP networks

As the wireless industry makes its way to the next generation of mobile systems, it is important to engineer solutions that enable seamless integration of emerging 4G access technologies within the currently deployed and/or evolved 2G/3G infrastructures. In this article we address a specific case of such a seamless integration, that of mobile WiMAX in evolved 3GPP networks. In this context we investigate the architecture and the key procedures that enable this integration, and we also introduce a novel handover mechanism that enables seamless mobility between mobile WiMAX and legacy 3GPP access, such as UTRAN or GERAN. The core characteristic of this novel handover mechanism is that mobile terminals do not need to support simultaneous transmission on both WiMAX and 3GPP accesses; therefore, it mitigates the RF coexistence issues that exist otherwise and improves handover performance. In addition, we provide a brief overview of mobile WiMAX and the evolved 3GPP network technologies, and we set the appropriate background material before presenting our proposed handover mechanism. Our main conclusion is that integrating mobile WiMAX in evolved 3GPP networks is a compelling approach for providing wireless broadband services, and mobility across WiMAX and 3GPP access can become seamless and efficient with no need for mobile terminals to support simultaneous transmission on both types of access.