A novel delay-aware routing algorithm (DARA) for a hybrid wireless-optical broadband access network (WOBAN)

A hybrid wireless-optical broadband access network (WOBAN) is a promising architecture for future access networks. Recently, the WOBAN has been gaining increasing attention, and early versions are being deployed as municipal access solutions. This architecture saves on network deployment cost because fiber need not penetrate to each end user. However, a major research opportunity exists in developing an efficient routing algorithm for the wireless front-end of the WOBAN. We propose and investigate the characteristics of the delay-aware routing algorithm (DARA) that minimizes the average packet delay in the wireless front-end of a WOBAN. In DARA we model wireless routers as queues and predict wireless link states periodically. Our performance studies show that DARA achieves less delay and congestion, and improved load balancing compared to traditional approaches such as the minimum-hop routing algorithm, shortest-path routing algorithm, and predictive throughput routing algorithm.     

Hybrid wireless-optical broadband access network(woban) : prototype development and research challenges

The hybrid wireless-optical broadband access network is emerging as a promising technology to provide economical and scalable broadband Internet access. In this cross-domain network architecture, end users receive broadband services through a wireless, mesh front end that is connected to the optical backhaul through gateway nodes. In this article, we present the architecture and functional characteristics of a WOBAN prototype built in the Networks Lab at UC Davis. We discuss research challenges for hybrid networks based on our experimental observations.     

Performance evaluation of the survivability schemes in WOBAN: a quality of recovery (QoR) method

The hybrid wireless optical broadband access network (WOBAN) is a combination of an optical backhaul and a wireless front‐end, which combine the huge amount of available bandwidth of optical networks and the ubiquity and mobility of wireless access networks with the objective of reducing their cost and complexity. Survivability is one of the most important issues in WOBAN. In this paper, the survivability schemes in WOBAN are addressed from a particular point of view of the quality of recovery (QoR) method. The QoR is a comprehensive measure to evaluate the survivability schemes in terms of availability, recovery time, redundancy, and bandwidth of backup path. The specific procedures to set up the analytical models for the survivability schemes in WOBAN are given based on the QoR concept, including abstract, normalization, and application. Besides, the weights assignment is provided to calculate the QoR value for the operators, home users, or business users with different requirements, which in turn offers the user‐perceptive quality of service. To verify the performance of the survivability schemes by the QoR method, extensive simulations are made under different WOBAN configurations. Numerical results show that for the intra‐domain survivability schemes, the wireless and optical mixed protection scheme is the best choice for failure recovery in WOBAN. The wireless scheme is the second choice for the solution, which emphasizes cost control, while for the solution that emphasizes the network performance, the 1:1 scheme is the second choice. The 1:N scheme obtains the worst QoR value as the splitter ratios increase. For the inter‐domain survivability schemes, optimizing backup optical networking units selection and backup fibers deployment scheme outperforms maximum protection with minimum cost scheme from the point of view of QoR. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-availability free space optical and RF hybrid wireless networks

We introduce hybrid free-space optical and RF wireless links as potential technology for designing next-generation broadband wireless networks. We present various design challenges and potential solutions for real-time link performance characterization and adaptation for enhanced performance during adverse weather conditions. First, we introduce the hybrid wireless architecture and emphasize its significant role in achieving ubiquitous carrier-grade wireless connectivity. Second, we propose a link monitoring scheme that accurately reflects the performance of optical wireless links under various weather conditions. In addition, we examine the role of known link performance restoration schemes - power and data rate control. Third, we propose two novel link restoration schemes that efficiently utilize the hybrid architecture: dynamic load switching and multihop routing. Finally, the article describes an elaborate field testbed based on the hybrid architecture and various link restoration techniques. The dynamic load switching scheme is shown to have a profound impact on the overall hybrid link availability. The results, recorded from the experiments during extreme weather conditions, validate the impact of the hybrid architecture concept and conclusively prove the availability and reliability of the architecture in achieving sustained highspeed wireless connectivity.     

Call admission control for QoS provisioning in 4G wireless networks: issues and approaches

This article presents a survey on the issues and the approaches related to designing call admission control schemes for fourth-generation wireless systems. We review the state of the art of CAC algorithms used in the traditional wireless networks. The major challenges in designing the CAC schemes for 4G wireless networks are identified. These challenges are mainly due to heterogeneous wireless access environments, provisioning of quality of service to multiple types of applications with different requirements, provisioning for adaptive bandwidth allocation, consideration of both call-level and packet-level performance measures, and consideration of QoS at both the air interface and the wired Internet. To this end, architecture of a two-tier CAC scheme for a differentiated services cellular wireless network is presented. The proposed CAC architecture is based on the call-level and packet-level QoS considerations at both the wireless and wired parts of the network. A performance analysis model for an example CAC scheme based on this architecture is outlined, and typical numerical results are presented.     

Fiber-Wireless Networks and Subsystem Technologies

Hybrid fiber-wireless networks incorporating WDM technology for fixed wireless access operating in the sub-millimeter-wave and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequency regions are being actively pursued to provide untethered connectivity for ultrahigh bandwidth communications. The architecture of such radio networks requires a large number of antenna base-stations with high throughput to be deployed to maximize the geographical coverage with the main switching and routing functionalities located in a centralized location. The transportation of mm-wave wireless signals within the hybrid network is subject to several impairments including low opto-electronic conversion efficiency, fiber chromatic dispersion and also degradation due to nonlinearities along the link. One of the major technical challenges in implementing such networks lies in the mitigation of these various optical impairments that the wireless signals experience within the hybrid network. In this paper, we present an overview of different techniques to optically transport mm-wave wireless signals and to overcome impairments associated with the transport of the wireless signals. We also review the different designs of subsystems for integrating fiber-wireless technology onto existing optical infrastructure.      

基于OpenFlow的移动自由空间光网络的控制架构(英文)

Mobile free space optical networks have aroused much attention due to the ability of providing high speed connectivity over long distance using the wireless laser links,while requiring relatively high available bandwidth resource and less energy consumption.However,maintaining the network with laserlinks is quite challenging due to a number of issues,such as the link fragility,the difficulty in pointingand tracking of the link,which also raises the great difficulty in the control of the network.In this paper,we present the methodology for the deployment of the mobile freespace optical networks based on our proposed OpenFlow-based control architecture.In addition,a new routing scheme is proposed and demonstrated on the testbed based on this control architecture.Delivery ratio,average delivery delay and time complexity are given to verify the performance of the OpenFlow-based control architecture.     

Lifetime Maximization Based on Coverage and Connectivity in Wireless Sensor Networks

We consider information retrieval in a wireless sensor network deployed to monitor a spatially correlated random field. We address optimal sensor scheduling and information routing under the performance measure of network lifetime. Both single-hop and multi-hop transmissions from sensors to an access point are considered. For both cases, we formulate the problems as integer programming based on the theories of coverage and connectivity in sensor networks. We derive upper bounds for the network lifetime that provide performance benchmarks for suboptimal solutions. Suboptimal sensor scheduling and data routing algorithms are proposed to approach the lifetime upper bounds with reduced complexity. In the proposed algorithms, we consider the impact of both the network geometry and the energy consumption in communications and relaying on the network lifetime. Simulation examples are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithms as compared to the lifetime upper bounds.     

On Joint MAC and Network Coding in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

This paper addresses network coding in wireless networks in conjunction with medium access control (MAC). It is known that coding over wired networks enables connections with rates that cannot be achieved by routing. However, the properties of wireless networks (e.g., omnidirectional transmissions, destructive interference, single transceiver per node, finite energy) modify the formulation of time-varying network coding in a way that reflects strong interactions with underlying MAC protocols and deviates from the classical approach used in wired network coding. To perform network coding over conflict-free transmission schedules, predetermined network realizations are separately activated by a time-division mechanism and the content of network flows is derived through network coding to optimize performance measures such as achievable throughput and energy costs. A systematic method is presented to construct linear wireless network codes and interactions with MAC schedules are discussed under wireless assumptions. Network coding is also extended to operate with arbitrary (random or scheduled access based) MAC protocols. Alternatively, conflict-free transmission schedules are jointly constructed with network codes by decomposing wireless networks into subtrees and employing graph coloring on simplified subtree graphs. Finally, network coding and plain routing are compared in terms of throughput, energy and delay performance under different MAC solutions.     

光无线混合宽带接入网的路由技术研究

文章研究了光无线混合宽带接入网(HOW BAN)后端无源光网络(PON)采用的多点控制协议以及前端无线网状网(WMN)中的各种路由机制,重点研究了几种适用于HOW BAN前端WMN的路由算法:最小跳路由算法、最短路径路由算法、风险和时延感知的路由算法、感知时延路由算法、预测吞吐量路由算法、容量和时延感知的路由算法、能量感知的路由算法、流量限制路由算法、时延区分路由算法。对HOW BAN中的传输协议,文章指出保持服务公平性、保证健壮性、提高服务质量(QoS)、节约能源、保障安全性、适应多频道网络等问题值得深入研究。     

Integration of Mobile-IP and OLSR for a Universal Mobility

Trends in fourth generation (4G) wireless networks are clearly identified by the full-IP concept where all traffic (data, control, voice and video services, etc.) will be transported in IP packets. Many proposals are being made to enhance IP with the functionalities necessary to manage the mobility of nodes, so that networks can provide global seamless roaming between heterogeneous wireless and wired networks. In this paper, we focus on the management of universal mobility, including both large scale macro-mobility and local scale micro-mobility. We propose a hierachical architecture (i) extending micro-mobility management of a wireless access network to an ad-hoc access network, (ii) connecting this ad-hoc network to the Internet and (iii) integrating Mobile IP and OLSR, a routing protocol for ad-hoc networks, to manage universal mobility. This architecture is validated by an implementation based on DynamicsMobile-IP and OLSR version 7. We show how the brodcast of Mobile-IP Agent Advertisement can be optimized using OLSR MPR-flooding.     

Traffic load metrics for multihomed mobile IP and global connectivity

Support for host mobility an essential and necessary feature for roaming users who connect to wireless networks via access points. Access points may have different capabilities, be connected to different networks and be installed by different providers. A mobile host will discover multiple access points in this environment. In such an environment, a mobile host should be able to use the best available connection to communicate with a correspondent host and perhaps use multiple connections for different hosts. In areas with wireless local area network access, pockets with limited or no coverage could exist. Such restricted connectivity could be compensated by neighbor hosts who form an ad hoc network and relay packets until they reach an access point. This paper describes and discusses a proposed solution towards enabling and supporting connectivity in wireless networks. In the proposed solution the network layer software will evaluate and decide which wireless network connections to use. A Running Variance Metric (RVM) and a Relative Network Load(RNL) are used to measure the traffic load of access points in wireless access networks. RVM and RNL can be efficiently used for both infrastructure networks and ad hoc networks. Multihomed Mobile IP (M-MIP) is an extension of Mobile IP that enables mobile hosts to use multiple care-of addresses simultaneously. The extension enhances network connectivity by enabling the mobile host, the home agent and correspondent hosts to evaluate and select the best connection. A proposed gateway architecture using M-MIP that integrates wired IP networks with ad hoc networks is described. The M-MIP and gateway architecture using the RVM and RNL metrics have been validated with simulation studies and results are presented.     

A flexible overlay architecture for mobile IPv6 multicast

The Internet has evolved from a wired infrastructure to a hybrid of wired and wireless domains. As network access is now provided with much of the last mile being a wireless mobile environment, delivering rich multimedia to users is now a necessity. However, despite the advent of new technology and standards such as Mobile Internet protocol version 6 (MIPv6), there is still an important dilemma over the choice of systems that either achieve high levels of performance or offer easier deployment. The very deployment of IPv6 is delayed for this reason; network providers continue to use legacy systems. The goal of this paper then is to offer insight into this issue by examining the case of data streaming to MIPv6 users through the use of multicast. By specifically considering the debate over network and application layer multicast, we examine a spectrum of possible alternatives and evaluate the potential of enhancing the functionality of access routers. The result is an overlay architecture that can bring the desired balance between deployment complexity and performance.     

IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN: can we use it for multimedia?

The IEEE P802.11 committee developed the 802.11 Wireless LAN standard to cover wireless networks for fixed, portable, and moving stations within a local area. This standard addresses the need for wireless connectivity to stations, equipment, or automatic machinery that requires rapid deployment and may be portable, handheld, or mounted on moving vehicles. It can function totally wireless or connected to a wired network. Most people familiar with the standard expect to use it in providing wireless networks for personal computers or stations connected to the global wired infrastructure through access points. Now that the 802.11 standard is finally here, it will energize the wireless LAN market and result in the proliferation of low cost wireless connectivity in the office and home. Study groups are working on higher rates at 2.4 GHz and at 5 GHz for future inclusion into the standard. These higher rates will make it even more practical to employ this standard for multimedia traffic     

Optimal Routing for Wireless Mesh Networks With Dynamic Traffic Demand

Wireless mesh networks have attracted increasing attention and deployment as a high-performance and low-cost solution to last-mile broadband Internet access. Traffic routing plays a critical role in determining the performance of a wireless mesh network. To investigate the best routing solution, existing work proposes to formulate the mesh network routing problem as an optimization problem. In this problem formulation, traffic demand is usually implicitly assumed as static and known a priori. Contradictorily, recent studies of wireless network traces show that the traffic demand, even being aggregated at access points, is highly dynamic and hard to estimate. Thus, in order to apply the optimization-based routing solution into practice, one must take into account the dynamic and unpredictable nature of wireless traffic demand. This paper presents an integrated framework for wireless mesh network routing under dynamic traffic demand. This framework consists of two important components: traffic estimation and routing optimization. By studying the traces collected at wireless access points, we first present a traffic estimation method which predicts future traffic demand based on its historical data using time-series analysis. This method provides not only the mean value of the future traffic demand estimation but also its statistical distribution. We further investigate the optimal routing strategies for wireless mesh network which take these two forms of traffic demand estimations as inputs. The goal is to balance the traffic load so that minimum congestion will be incurred. This routing objective could be transformed into the throughput optimization problem where the throughput of aggregated flows is maximized subject to fairness constraints that are weighted by the traffic demands. Based on linear programming, we present two routing algorithms which consider the mean value and the statistical distribution of the predicted traffic demands, respectively. The trace-driven simulation study demonstrates that our integrated traffic estimation and routing optimization framework can effectively incorporate the traffic dynamics in mesh network routing.     

A genetic approach to joint routing and link scheduling for wireless mesh networks

Wireless mesh networks are an attractive technology for providing broadband connectivity to mobile clients who are just on the edge of wired networks, and also for building self-organized networks in places where wired infrastructures are not available or not deemed to be worth deploying. This paper investigates the joint link scheduling and routing issues involved in the delivery of a given backlog from any node of a wireless mesh network towards a specific node (which acts as a gateway), within a given deadline. Scheduling and routing are assumed to be aware of the physical interference among nodes, which is modeled in the paper by means of a signal-to-interference ratio. Firstly, we present a theoretical model which allows us to formulate the task of deriving joint routing and scheduling as an integer linear programming problem. Secondly, since the problem cannot be dealt with using exact methods, we propose and use a technique based on genetic algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, these algorithms have never been used before for working out these kinds of optimization problems in a wireless mesh environment. We show that our technique is suitable for this purpose as it provides a good trade-off between fast computation and the overall goodness of the solution found. Our experience has in fact shown that genetic algorithms would seem to be quite promising for solving more complex models than the one dealt with in this paper, such as those including multiple flows and multi-radio multi-channels.     

Supporting carrier grade services over wireless mesh networks: the approach of the european FP-7 strep carmen - [very large projects/edited by ken young]

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are a very promising technology to provide an easily deployable and cost-efficient solution for access to packet-based services for metropolitan areas with high population densities. Thus, WMNs may be a key technology in future 4G wireless networks and are currently becoming attractive in situations where it is not convenient to deploy wired backhaul connectivity. For example, it is often impractical to deploy wired infrastructure cost effectively or under tight time constraints. This is particularly true if the deployment is only transient in nature. Another key feature of WMNs is that unlike wireless multihop relay networks, WMNs are not restricted to tree-shaped topologies rooted at the gateway to the wired network and hence do not suffer from the same performance bottlenecks. Instead, any mesh node may communicate with any other one over multiple paths, allowing more efficient utilization of network resources. In contrast to ad hoc networks, WMNs are operated by a single entity, and their components have far fewer restrictions in terms of energy, resilience, and processing power.     

Convergence of ethernet PON and IEEE 802.16 broadband access networks and its QoS-aware dynamic bandwidth allocation scheme

IEEE 802.16 and Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) are two promising broadband access technologies for high-capacity wireless access networks and wired access networks, respectively. They each can be deployed to facilitate connection between the end users and the Internet but each of them suffers from some drawbacks if operating separately. To combine the bandwidth advantage of optical networks with the mobility feature of wireless communications, we propose a convergence of EPON and 802.16 networks in this paper. First, this paper starts with presenting the converged network architecture and especially the concept of virtual ONU-BS (VOB). Then, it identifies some unique research issues in this converged network. Second, the paper investigates a dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) scheme and its closely associated research issues. This DBA scheme takes into consideration the specific features of the converged network to enable a smooth data transmission across optical and wireless networks, and an end-toend differentiated service to user traffics of diverse QoS (Quality of Service) requirements. This QoS-aware DBA scheme supports bandwidth fairness at the VOB level and class-of-service fairness at the 802.16 subscriber station level. The simulation results show that the proposed DBA scheme operates effectively and efficiently in terms of network throughput, average/maximum delay, resource utilization, service differentiation, etc.     

QoS Routing for Mesh-Based Wireless LANs

Wireless LANs with their increased data rate become an attractive technology for connecting mobile users to the Internet. Efficient deployment of wireless LANs will require the ability to extend the wireless LANs coverage without the need to deploy a very large number of access points. Mesh-based wireless LANs are an attractive solution to this problem. These networks extend wireless LAN coverage by using each node in the network as a router, resulting in a multihop topology. In this paper we introduce a novel routing algorithm, wireless mesh routing (WMR), that provides quality-of-service (QoS) support and accounts for the characteristics of both infrastructure-based wireless LANs and ad hoc networks. The algorithm is validated using the OPNET modeler. The simulation results show that the mesh network using WMR protocol can provide QoS support and react dynamically to the network status changes with low control overheads. Using the proposed software architecture the proposed routing protocol can be implemented with any MAC protocol, resulting in easy implementation in existing wireless nodes.     

Optimal Transmit Power in Wireless Sensor Networks

Power conservation is one of the most important issues in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, where nodes are likely to rely on limited battery power. Transmitting at unnecessarily high power not only reduces the lifetime of the nodes and the network, but also introduces excessive interference. It is in the network designer's best interest to have each node transmit at the lowest possible power while preserving network connectivity. In this paper, we investigate the optimal common transmit power, defined as the minimum transmit power used by all nodes necessary to guarantee network connectivity. This is desirable in sensor networks where nodes are relatively simple and it is difficult to modify the transmit power after deployment. The optimal transmit power derived in this paper is subject to the specific routing and medium access control (MAC) protocols considered; however, the approach can be extended to other routing and MAC protocols as well. In deriving the optimal transmit power, we distinguish ourselves from a conventional graph-theoretic approach by taking realistic physical layer characteristics into consideration. In fact, connectivity in this paper is defined in terms of a quality of service (QoS) constraint given by the maximum tolerable bit error rate (BER) at the end of a multihop route with an average number of hops.