Interworking wireless mesh networks: Problems,performance characterization,and perspectives

Wireless broadband networks based on the IEEE 802.11 technology are being increasingly deployed as mesh networks to provide users with extended coverage for wireless Internet access. These wireless mesh networks, however, may be deployed by different authorities without any coordination a priori, and hence it is possible that they overlap partially or even entirely in service area, resulting in contention of radio resources among them. In this paper, we investigate the artifacts that result from the uncoordinated deployment of wireless mesh networks. We use a network optimization approach to model the problem as resource sharing among nodes belonging to one or different networks. Based on the proposed LP formulation, we then conduct simulations to characterize the performance of overlaying wireless mesh networks, with the goal to provide perspectives for addressing the problems. We find that in a system with multiple overlaying wireless mesh networks, if no form of inter-domain coordination is present, individual mesh networks could suffer from capacity degradation due to increased network contention. One solution toward addressing the performance degradation is to “interwork” these wireless mesh networks by allowing inter-domain traffic relay through provisioning of “bridge” nodes. However, if such bridge nodes are chosen arbitrarily, the problems of throughput sub-optimality and unfairness may arise. We profile the impact of bridge node selection and show the importance in controlling network unfairness for wireless mesh network interworking. We conclude that mesh network interworking is a promising direction to address the artifacts due to uncoordinated deployment of wireless mesh networks if it is supplemented with appropriate mechanisms.     

Energy-efficient topology control algorithm for maximizing network lifetime in wireless sensor networks with mobile sink

Uneven energy consumption is an inherent problem in wireless sensor networks characterized by multi-hop routing and many-to-one traffic pattern. Such unbalanced energy dissipation can significantly reduce network lifetime. In this paper, we study the problem of prolonging network lifetime in large-scale wireless sensor networks where a mobile sink gathers data periodically along the predefined path and each sensor node uploads its data to the mobile sink over a multi-hop communication path. By using greedy policy and dynamic programming, we propose a heuristic topology control algorithm with time complexity O(n(m + n log n)), where n and m are the number of nodes and edges in the network, respectively, and further discuss how to refine our algorithm to satisfy practical requirements such as distributed computing and transmission timeliness. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that our algorithm is superior to several earlier algorithms for extending network lifetime.     

Using artificial intelligence in routing schemes for wireless networks

For the latest 10 years, many authors have focused their investigations in wireless sensor networks. Different researching issues have been extensively developed: power consumption, MAC protocols, self-organizing network algorithms, data-aggregation schemes, routing protocols, QoS management, etc. Due to the constraints on data processing and power consumption, the use of artificial intelligence has been historically discarded. However, in some special scenarios the features of neural networks are appropriate to develop complex tasks such as path discovery. In this paper, we explore the performance of two very well-known routing paradigms, directed diffusion and Energy-Aware Routing, and our routing algorithm, named SIR, which has the novelty of being based on the introduction of neural networks in every sensor node. Extensive simulations over our wireless sensor network simulator, OLIMPO, have been carried out to study the efficiency of the introduction of neural networks. A comparison of the results obtained with every routing protocol is analyzed. This paper attempts to encourage the use of artificial intelligence techniques in wireless sensor nodes.     

LIAD: Adaptive bandwidth prediction based Logarithmic Increase Adaptive Decrease for TCP congestion control in heterogeneous wireless networks

For accessing plentiful resources in the Internet through wireless mobile hosts, diverse wireless network standards and technologies have been developed and progressed significantly. The most successful examples include IEEE 802.11 WiFi for wireless networks and 3G/HSDPA/HSUPA for cellular communications. All IP-based applications are the primary motivations to make these networks successful. In TCP/IP transmissions, the TCP congestion control operates well in the wired network, but it is difficult to determine an accurate congestion window in a heterogeneous wireless network that consists of the wired Internet and various types of wireless networks. The primary reason is that TCP connections are impacted by not only networks congestion but also error wireless links. This paper thus proposes a novel adaptive window congestion control (namely Logarithmic Increase Adaptive Decrease, LIAD) for TCP connections in heterogeneous wireless networks. The proposed RTT-based LIAD has the capability to increase throughput while achieving competitive fairness among connections with the same TCP congestion mechanism and supporting friendliness among connections with different TCP congestion control mechanisms. In the Congestion Avoidance (CA) phase, an optimal shrink factor is first proposed for Adaptive Decreasing cwnd rather than a static decreasing mechanism used by most approaches. Second, we adopt a Logarithmic Increase algorithm to increase cwnd while receiving each ACK after causing three duplicate ACKs. The analyses of congestion window and throughput under different packet loss rate are analyzed. Furthermore, the state transition diagram of LIAD is detailed. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed LIAD outperforms other approaches in goodput, fairness, and friendliness under diverse heterogeneous wireless topologies. Especially, in the case of 10% packet loss rate in wireless links, the proposed approach increases goodput up to 156% and 1136% as compared with LogWestwood+ and NewReno, respectively.     

Analysis and scheduling of practical network coding in OFDMA relay networks

Network coding has become a prominent approach to improve throughput of wireless networks. However, most of work in the literature concentrates mainly on 802.11-like random access networks. New technologies such as OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), offer new opportunities for employing network coding. This paper considers how to apply the practical network coding scheme in OFDMA relay networks via cross-layer optimization. Specifically, we aim to explore the following questions: (1) When and how can wireless nodes select relay paths in the presence of network coding? (2) How can an OFDMA relay system assign network resource such as subcarrier and power for all the transmitting nodes? (3) What are the impacts of OFDMA system parameters on the network coding gain? To answer these questions, two efficient coding-aware relay strategies are presented to select forwarding paths with fixed and dynamic power allocation. In order to exploit the network capacity in slow frequency selective fading channels, we formulate optimization frameworks and propose channel-aware coding-aware resource allocation algorithms for an arbitrary traffic pattern. Our studies show that the network coding (i.e. XOR) gain depends on the nodes’ powers, traffic patterns etc. Especially, OFDMA relay network with dynamic power possesses both coding gain and power gain. Extensive simulations are performed to verify our analysis and demonstrate the throughput improvement of our proposals in the presence of XOR coding.     

Reinforcement learning for context awareness and intelligence in wireless networks: Review, new features and open issues

In wireless networks, context awareness and intelligence are capabilities that enable each host to observe, learn, and respond to its complex and dynamic operating environment in an efficient manner. These capabilities contrast with traditional approaches where each host adheres to a predefined set of rules, and responds accordingly. In recent years, context awareness and intelligence have gained tremendous popularity due to the substantial network-wide performance enhancement they have to offer. In this article, we advocate the use of reinforcement learning (RL) to achieve context awareness and intelligence. The RL approach has been applied in a variety of schemes such as routing, resource management and dynamic channel selection in wireless networks. Examples of wireless networks are mobile ad hoc networks, wireless sensor networks, cellular networks and cognitive radio networks. This article presents an overview of classical RL and three extensions, including events, rules and agent interaction and coordination, to wireless networks. We discuss how several wireless network schemes have been approached using RL to provide network performance enhancement, and also open issues associated with this approach. Throughout the paper, discussions are presented in a tutorial manner, and are related to existing work in order to establish a foundation for further research in this field, specifically, for the improvement of the RL approach in the context of wireless networking, for the improvement of the RL approach through the use of the extensions in existing schemes, as well as for the design and implementation of RL in new schemes.     

Cooperative radio resource management framework for future IP-based multiple radio access technologies environment

Heterogeneity and convergence are two distinctive connotations of future wireless networks emanated from International Telecommunications Union (ITU)’s vision of Optimally Connected, Anywhere, Anytime. Multiple access networks, multiple terminals and multiple services are expected to converge in a manner where heterogeneity can be exploited to realize this ultimate goal. This raises the importance of radio resource management (RRM) for a multiple radio access technologies (multi-RAT) environment, where coalitions of heterogeneous access networks are each connected to a common Internet Protocol (IP)-based core network. In this article, we develop a cooperative RRM framework for future IP-based multi-RAT environment to coordinate better utilization of radio resources in an opportunistic yet altruistic manner. We motivate the importance of cooperation which can exploit heterogeneity as an enabler to improve system capacity and quality of service (QoS) of users. We exemplify the proof of concept based on a heterogeneous multiple access points (multi-AP) wireless local area network (WLAN) and argue that our technology agnostic approach is readily applicable to future IP-based multi-RAT environment. We demonstrate that our cooperative RRM framework benefits from the unified actions of joint optimization and results in a QoS-balanced system by enabling different functional entities to form synergies and multiple access networks to interact. We further show that a QoS-balanced system has salient traits of providing statistical QoS guarantee to support demanding multimedia applications while maximizing overall system capacity. Consequently, we advocate the notion of QoS balancing as criterion to quantify the state of balance in future IP-based multi-RAT environment.     

An H∞ approach to congestion control design for AQM routers supporting TCP flows in wireless access networks

In this paper, we aim at developing an H_∞ approach, from control-theoretic viewpoint, to the design of an active queue management (AQM) based congestion control algorithm for wireless networks supporting the Internet Protocol. We study networks in which the backbone is a traditional wired network supporting Internet TCP, while end user access is via wireless. First, a dynamic model for the congestion control problem of wireless networks is built up, which enables the application of modern control theory on time-delay systems to this problem. Second, an H_∞ design approach for general time-delay systems is presented. Finally, the proposed approach is applied to the congestion control algorithm design of wireless networks, yielding an effective and systematic way for the design problem. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the design procedure and the effectiveness of the proposed method. Our design method is described by linear matrix inequalities (LMI), which can be solved very efficiently by LMI toolbox in Matlab.     

End-to-End Security Across Wired-Wireless Networks for Mobile Users

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in mobile computing and wireless communication technologies are enabling high mobility and flexibility of anytime, anywhere service access for mobile users. As a result, network connections of such users often span over heterogeneous networking environments consisting of wired and wireless networking technologies. Both network heterogeneity and user mobility make the securing of data transmission over heterogeneous networks challenging and complex. In this paper, we focus on the challenge of providing secure end-to-end network transmissions to wireless mobile users. To minimize service interruption during ongoing secure sessions of mobile users, we present the design and implementation of an approach based on the well-known Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) standard. We conducted a performance evaluation of our implementation using a Voice over IP (VoIP) application over an actual network testbed. Our empirical performance results demonstrate a packet loss improvement of 17% to 34% (for various VoIP packet sizes) and a handoff delay improvement of almost 24% validating the high efficiency of our proposed approach.     

Complexity results on labeled shortest path problems from wireless routing metrics

Metrics to assess the cost of paths through networks are critical to ensuring the efficiency of network routing. This is particularly true in multi-radio multi-hop wireless networks. Effective metrics for these networks must measure the cost of a wireless path based not only on traditional measures such as throughput, but also on the distribution of wireless channels used. In this paper, we argue that routing metrics over such networks may be viewed as a class of existing shortest path problems, the formal language constrained path problems.On this basis, we describe labeled path problems corresponding to two multi-radio wireless routing metrics: Weighted Cumulative Expected Transmission Time (WCETT), developed by Draves et al., and Metric for Interference and Channel-switch (MIC), developed by Yang et al. For the first, we give a concise proof that calculating shortest WCETT paths is strongly NP-Complete for a variety of graph classes. We also show that the existing heuristic given by Draves et al. is an approximator. For the second, we show that calculating loop-free (simple) shortest MIC paths is NP-Complete, and additionally show that the optimization version of the problem is NPO PB-Complete. This result implies that shortest simple MIC paths are only poorly approximable in the worst case.Furthermore, we demonstrate how the polynomial-time algorithm for shortest MIC paths is derivable from an existing language constrained shortest path algorithm. We use this as a basis to exhibit the general utility of viewing multi-channel wireless routing metrics as labeled graph problems, and discuss how a class of related polynomial-time computable metrics are derivable from this algorithm.     

Rematch: a highly reliable scheduling algorithm on heterogeneous wireless mesh network

In highly dynamic and heterogeneous wireless mesh networks (WMN), link quality will seriously affect network performance. Two challenges hinder us from achieving a highly efficient WMN. One is the channel dynamics. As in real network deployment, channel qualities are changing over time, which would seriously affect network bandwidth and reliability. Existing works are limited to the assumption that link quality values are fixed, and optimal scheduling algorithms are working on the fixed values, which would inevitably suffer from the link quality dynamics. Another challenge is the channel diversity. In single channel wireless networks, channel assignment and scheduling are NP\mathcal{NP} -hard. And in multichannel wireless networks, it could be even harder for higher throughput and efficient scheduling. In this study, we firstly characterize the stochastic behavior on wireless communications in a Markov process, which is based on statistical methodology. Secondly, on exploiting the stochastic behavior on wireless channels, we propose a stochastic programming model in achieving maximized network utilization. Considering the NP\mathcal{NP} -hardness, we propose a heuristic solution for it. The key idea in the proposed algorithm is a two-stage matching process named “Rematch.” Indeed, our solution to the stochastic network scheduling is a cross-layer approach. Also, we have proved that it is 2-approximate to the optimal result. Moreover, extensive simulations have been done, showing the efficiency of “Rematch” in highly dynamic and distributed wireless mesh networks.     

OmniCon: a Mobile IP‐based vertical handoff system for wireless LAN and GPRS links

Wi‐Fi based hotspots offer mobile users broadband wireless Internet connectivity in public work spaces and corporate/university campuses. Despite the aggressive deployment of these hotspots in recent years, high‐speed wireless Internet access remains restricted to small geographical areas due to the limited physical coverage of wireless LANs. On the other hand, despite their lower throughput, cellular networks have a significantly wider coverage and are thus much more available. Recognizing that 2.5G or 3G cellular networks can effectively complement wireless LANs, we set out to develop a vertical handoff system that allows mobile users to seamlessly fall back to such cellular networks as the general packet radio service (GPRS) or 3G whenever wireless LAN connectivity is not available. The resulting handoff mechanism allows a network connection of a mobile node to operate over multiple wireless access networks in a way that is transparent to end user applications. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a fully operational vertical handoff system, called OmniCon, which enables mobile nodes to automatically switch between wireless LAN and GPRS, based on wireless LAN availability, by introducing a simple extension to the existing Mobile IP implementation. We discuss the design issues in the proposed vertical handoff system for heterogeneous networks, including connection setup problems due to network address translation, and the disparity in link characteristics between wireless LANs and GPRS. A detailed performance evaluation study of the OmniCon prototype demonstrates its ability to migrate active network connections between these two wireless technologies with low handoff latency and close to zero packet loss. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SU: An efficient algorithm for optimal integrated points placement in hybrid optical-wireless access networks

Integration of optical and wireless networks is considered as one of the promising technologies for next generation Internet access. In this paper, we consider the integrated points placement problem in the hybrid optical-wireless system for optimal resource utilization under the given constraints including hop count, cluster size, and relay load. While the optimization formulation is an NP-hard problem in general, we propose a polynomial-time heuristic algorithm - S²U algorithm to obtain the near-optimal solution that minimizes the number of integrated points required to support all wireless BSs residing in the wireless part of the integrated system. In contrast to the existing work, our S²U algorithm forms the clusters starting from the network edge towards its center and the construction of clusters is not only based on the greedy idea but also considers load balancing. We present a theoretical analysis of the complexity of the proposed S²U algorithm and its approximation ratio to the optimal solution. Furthermore, we present extensive numerical results to compare the proposed S²U algorithm with the main existing methods. It is shown that S²U can not only cover a network with a smaller number of integrated points, but also achieve better network performance in terms of the average transmission delay (average hop count) and load balance. In addition, we compare our results with the optimal solution obtained via CPLEX in terms of the minimum number of integrated points. The results show that the gap between the results obtained from our S²U algorithm and the optimal results is within 5% in average.     

An IMS-based integration architecture for WiMax/LTE handover

To enable seamless handovers for broadband networks, many researchers have addressed the integration of heterogeneous access technologies to provide users with always-on connectivity. Currently, there are several researches reported in the literature that discuss the integration of beyond 3G networks such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution LTE and mobile WiMax networks. They mainly focused on providing mobile users with seamless mobility when switching between heterogeneous access networks. In this context, many solutions for integration architecture have been proposed with mobility management considerations such as loose and tight coupling, IP Multimedia Subsystem IMS-based architecture and Evolved Packet Core EPC-based solutions for the purpose of providing mobile users with seamless handovers. In this paper, we present the different integration solutions and propose an integration architecture for WiMax and LTE access technologies with EPC as core network and IMS for service provisioning. A vertical handover VHO scheme is presented based on cross-layer approach that enables vertical handover with less handover latency and signaling cost.     

Admissible bilinear map-based key management protocol for HPCCS in heterogeneous network

The high-speed transfer rate and various services of the wired network have been combined with the convenience and mobility of wireless networks. This era of combined wire/wireless is being disseminated by new technology that creates new service applications and brings changes to both users and service providers. Network integration is a very important in this wire/wireless service, it is integrated by the convergence between heterogeneous networks and the integration of transmission technologies across networks. In this situation, existing security and communication technologies are difficult to apply due to the need to integrate with heterogeneous networks. Network security has many vulnerabilities. In existing homogeneous networks, user authentication and key management between heterogeneous networks are needed to be adapted to new technology. The establishment of security technologies to heterogeneous devices is also crucial between homogeneous networks. In this paper, we propose secure, efficient key management in a heterogeneous network environment. Therefore, it provides secure communication between heterogeneous network devices.     

A virtual infrastructure for large-scale wireless sensor networks

The primary goal of a wireless sensor network is to collect useful information from the network. Most wireless sensor networks are assumed that the number of nodes are very large and they should operate with confined resources. Consequently it is important to take a scalable and energy-efficient architecture.In this paper, we present Railroad, a data collection and topology management architecture for large-scale wireless sensor networks. It proactively exploits a virtual infrastructure called Rail, which acts as a rendezvous area of the event data and queries. By using Rail, Railroad achieves scalability and energy efficiency under dynamic conditions with multiple mobile observers and targets. We evaluate the communication cost and the hot area message complexity of Railroad and compare them with previous approaches. We evaluate communication cost of Railroad by both an analytic model and simulations.     

Multi-hop multicast path construction in modern wireless relay networks

In recent years, multicast over wireless access networks has become a popular research topic. However, if relay nodes are supported in such a network, forming an efficient multicast topology becomes a challenging task. Since existing works fail to solve this problem satisfyingly, we in this paper propose a multi-hop multicast routing scheme for modern wireless relay networks. First, we formulate this important problem as Multi-Hop Multicast Maximization (MHMM), which involves forming a resource allocation of the base-station and relay stations in order to maximize the number of recipients with the given resource budget and channel conditions. To solve MHMM, we propose a heuristic called Multi-Hop Path Selection (MHPS). We prove that MHMM is NP-complete, and also analyze MHPS’s computational complexity and its worst-case performance. The results of simulations conducted to evaluate the heuristic’s performance demonstrate that, under variant conditions, MHPS utilizes bandwidth resources and relay nodes effectively such that it significantly outperforms all existing approaches. Moreover, its performance difference to the optimum is bounded. To the best of our knowledge, MHPS is the only scheme that focuses on this important issue and achieves such a satisfactory performance.     

Green framework for future heterogeneous wireless networks

Energy-efficient communication has sparked tremendous interest in recent years as one of the main design goals of future wireless Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets). This has resulted in paradigm shift of current operation from data oriented to energy-efficient oriented networks. In this paper, we propose a framework for green communications in wireless HetNets. This framework is cognitive in holistic sense and aims at improving energy efficiency of the whole system, not just one isolated part of the network. In particular, we propose a cyclic approach, named as energy-cognitive cycle, which extends the classic cognitive cycle and enables dynamic selection of different available strategies for reducing the energy consumption in the network while satisfying the quality of service constraints.