On the Accuracy of Packet Delay Estimation in Distributed Service Networks

Packet delay (either one-way time or round-trip time) is a very important metric for measuring the performance of networks in a highly dynamic environment such as the Internet. Many network applications are also sensitive to packet delay or delay variation for ensuring an acceptable level of quality in providing network-based services such as VoIP, multimedia streaming, etc. A very important property of packet delay is that it is very dynamic and therefore should be measured frequently with measurement results being updated on a timely basis. Measurement of packet delay has thus generated a great deal of interest in the past years and a lot of research has been performed in the development of measurement architecture as well as specific measurement techniques. However, how to reduce network overhead resulting from measurement while achieving a reasonable level of accuracy still remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose to use delay estimation as an alternative to delay measurement for reducing measurement overhead and, in particular, examine the level of accuracy that delay estimation can achieve. With delay estimation, measurement nodes can be dynamically selected and activated and other nodes can share measurement results by performing delay estimation, thus reducing measurement overhead while supporting the dynamic requirement for delay measurement. Consequently, while measurement overhead can be reduced by activating only a subset of network nodes to perform actual measurement, desired accuracy can be achieved by exploring the correlation between delays as well as by sharing measurement results to do delay estimation based on such a correlation. We illustrate how packet delays of network nodes can correlate to each other based on topological properties and show how delays can be estimated based on such a correlation to meet accuracy requirements, which would make delay measurement in the Internet highly dynamic and adaptable to the accuracy requirements and measurement results highly reliable. We also show how delay estimation can be applied by presenting three application scenarios as well as an example to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of delay estimation in the measurement of packet delays.     

Moving from the Consortium to the Reference Desk: Keeping Chat and Improving Reference at the MSU Libraries

The experience of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries illustrates the challenges presented by moving from consortial to local chat, as well as an evaluation of the advantages of chat reference in an academic setting. Countering the consortial, instant-messaging model prevalent in virtual reference today, the MSU Libraries have found chat offers advantages in an academic community. Moving to a local setting, it was possible for the MSU Libraries to maintain quality control over chat transactions while building relationships with faculty and students across campus.     

Extension of the gap statistics index to fuzzy clustering

The well-known gap statistic index proposed by Tibshirani et al. has successfully applied in many clustering evaluations. However, the gap statistic index cannot evaluate the clustering partitions from any fuzzy clustering algorithm. This is because fuzzy clustering cannot provide the within-cluster similarity measure that is used in the gas statistic index. Thus, the applicable range of the gap statistic index is very limited. In this paper, we present a new method that extends the gap statistic index to fuzzy clustering by using fuzzy membership notations. Our proposed method can extend the applicability of the gap statistic index, and outperform other existing fuzzy indices in several aspects. Experiments on eight sets of synthetic and real datasets are used to verify the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method.     

城市河口填海特征及其生态影响的形态学研究

淤泥质河口是填海建港主要地区,体现出明显城市化形态特征,却未在城市形态学领域引发实质性研究,导致填海规划缺乏指导。本文选择20个研究对象,以适宜分辨率Goo对eEanh影像为数据源,利用形态绘制方法,依据基础形态指数稳定域,得出河口区适宜研究幅度和精度,并利用填海方式破碎度和潮间带特征指数分析河口形态与生态特征。结果显示,多数案例河口因填海使潮间带衰退严重;亚洲填海河口在以潮间带相关指数为生态评价要素的前提下,反映出较差形态稳定性和生态状况;同等填海规模下,单斑块填海比多斑块分散填海对潮间带侵占破坏更大。     

多路径自组织无线传感器网络平衡路由算法

为了降低网络延时,提高数据传输的可靠性,同时延长无线传感器网络寿命,提出了一种多路径平衡路由算法。该算法利用洪泛法生成一棵多路径路由树;数据发送失败后无需进行动态路由修复,降低了网络延时。仿真实验结果证明,该算法在延长网络生命期和缩短延时方面要明显优于分层算法。     

Fuzzy clustering based ET image fusion

Electrical tomography (ET) is a technique to visually reconstruct inhomogeneous medium distributions by injecting currents or voltages at the boundary of the medium and measuring the resulted changes in the investigated fields. The ET techniques have been widely used in industrial practices owing to the low cost, rapid response time, non-existent radiation exposure, and non-intrusive characteristics comparing to other tomographic modalities. However, the spatial resolution of ET images using single modality or single-driven patterns (adjacent pattern vs. opposite pattern for imaging reconstruction) is low, which may limit its applications. In this research, the application of fuzzy clustering based fusion techniques for ET imaging is studied. Both multi-modality imaging and multi-driven patterns are of interest. Specifically, two modality images are fused: Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT), which performs well for imaging material of large permittivity difference, and Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT), which is suited for imaging materials having large conductivity differences. The research also explores the fusion of adjacent and opposite patterns for either ECT or ERT modalities. Experiments show that the proposed method can construct high quality ET images by discovering the strong complementary natures of the modalities and/or driven patterns.     

Group decision making with multi-attribute interval data

The aim of this paper is to present a group decision making methodology, in which the decision information, including the attribute values, attribute weights and weights of decision makers, is expressed in interval data. An extended TOPSIS technique is twice used in the proposed method, which is first used to determine the weights of decision makers, and second used to rank the preference order of alternatives. There is no aggregation of decision information in decision process, except that the ideal decisions as auxiliary decision tools are used in decision process. We give a comparison with another method for group decision making to show the technical advance of reported method. Additionally, we also give a real life application for supplier selection and a discussion to test the effectiveness and practical implications of the proposed method.     

计算机网络安全威胁分析及防护体系架构研究

通过分析计算机网络面临的主要威胁,指出了网络防护的重要性。在此基础上重点提出一种以信息安全保密策略为核心,综合采用网络加密技术和可信计算技术为枝术支撑的、动态的、多方位的计算机网络安全防护体系架构。     

OpenStack Heat与企业应用部署

OpenStack Heat在开源应用的部署上有很大优势,但在企业应用部署方面有不少问题。本文罗列这些问题．并就其中的一部分给出解决方案,对尚无成熟解决方案的问题努力使其明朗化。     

高压切割喷嘴冲击磨损的数值分析

以复用矿井含煤颗粒的水对高压切割喷嘴的磨损物理问题为研究对象,采用计算流体力学理论进行数值计算,分析讨论了质量浓度为10、15、20、25、30、40 mg/L条件下速度、剪应力、磨损的分布以及变化关系。计算、分析结果表明:磨损主要发生在出口部位和锥体的后半部份,入口部份和锥体前半部份磨损较小;入口部位、锥体部位磨损量、剪应力随质量浓度增加变化较小;出口部位磨损量在质量浓度为10～20 mg/L减小较快,超过20 mg/L后变化不大;出口部位流体速度、磨损量、剪应力与质量浓度间存在对应关系。煤粒入口速度与混合物速度相同、锥体部位煤粒流体速度低于锥体部位混合物速度(平均值)约79.4%;煤粒出口部位速度随质量浓度的增大而呈现先增加后减小的趋势,速度最大值发生在浓度20 mg/L。