Davide Mandato

End-to-end quality-of-service coordination for mobile multimedia applications

Transmitting real-time multimedia streams over heterogeneous mobile networks is a challenging task. Variation in network and system conditions can dramatically affect application performance. When providing end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS) multiple system facets should be coordinated: orchestration of local and peer resources, reservation of network resources, adaptation of multimedia streams, etc. This paper presents an end-to-end negotiation protocol (E2ENP) for negotiating and coordinating QoS on an end-to-end basis both at application and network layer. Based on a flexible extensible markup language (XML) model and extending SDPng concepts, the protocol enables the negotiation of system capabilities and allows provider-services to effectively influence the negotiation process. The aim of the E2ENP design is to optimize the efficiency of multimedia call setup and reduce the time for QoS renegotiations, whenever vertical handovers or spontaneous network reconfigurations occur. The basic protocol is presented, together with implementation and measurement results, stemming from several studies on current and future third-generation/fourth-generation scenarios.

CAMP: a context-aware mobile portal

Context-awareness enhancing mobile computing is expected to be one of the major ingredients of the future wireless services based on IP technologies. This paper proposes the concept of a modular mobile Internet portal enhanced with context-awareness features. Some context-aware services built into the portal are explained and the benefit for the mobile users analyzed. We present a functional prototype, which has been successfully used as a concept proof.

QoS support for an all IP system beyond 3G

Mobile radio systems beyond the third generation will evolve into all-IP systems, integrating Internet and mobile system advantages. The BRAIN project is developing a system architecture which combines local coverage broadband radio access systems based on HIPERLAN/2 with several wider-coverage mobile radio systems, enabling full coverage of seamless IP-based services for users in hot spot areas and on the move. End-to-end QoS provision is one of the major challenges in the design of such a system and must be supported by the application, network, and wireless access layers. This article proposes a QoS system architecture, including the terminal architecture, the IP-based access network, and the main characteristics of the enhancements to the air interface based on HIPERLAN/2 focusing on its wireless QoS support.

The BRAIN quality of service architecture for adaptable services with mobility support

Next generation IP networks and applications will have to address the increasingly important challenges of wireless access, mobility management, the provision of quality of service (QoS), and multimedia issues. These problems form the basis of the research within the EU financed BRAIN (Broadband Radio Access for IP based Networks) project. The project is developing a novel architecture that will be able to deal with the extreme QoS violations that are likely to occur during a running session that is exposed to the radio access environment. The core of this architecture supports different types of applications. It inherits and develops from the traditional Internet approach, but incorporates aspects of a modern flexible QoS middleware solution. The given problem is addressed in a comprehensive, modular, and open manner, by providing different APIs to different types of applications. It provides powerful functions to application programmers, but does not assume that lower level functionality must be hidden from the application programmer. It encompasses a variety of objects, APIs, end-system mechanisms and protocols to cope with the dynamic variation in mobility management and QoS. This solution will provide applications with more predictable services and allow applications to react in a pre-determined way to QoS violations.