Paolo Conforto

Mobility management incorporating fuzzy logic for heterogeneous a IP environment

The next generation in mobility management will enable different mobile networks to interoperate with each other to ensure terminal and personal mobility and global portability of network services. However, in order to ensure global mobility, the deployment and integration of both satellite and terrestrial components are necessary. This article is focused on issues related to mobility management in a future mobile communications system, in a scenario where a multisegment access network is integrated into an IP core network by exploiting the principles of Mobile IP. In particular, attention is given to the requirements for location, address, and handover management. In a heterogeneous environment, the need to perform handover between access networks imposes particular constraints on the type of information available to the terminal and network. In this case, consideration will need to be given to parameters other than radio characteristics, such as achievable quality of service and user preference. This article proposes a new approach to handover management by applying the fuzzy logic concept to a heterogeneous environment. The article concludes with a presentation of mobility management signaling protocols.

Mobile Internet access for high-speed trains via heterogeneous networks

This paper describes how a heterogeneous network that comprises of satellite and WLAN systems could be implemented in a high-speed train environment to provide Internet access. The focus of the paper is on the design of the network architecture and mobility management procedures. In particular, the implementation of WLAN to complement satellite coverage in various operating environments is investigated. For mobility management, issues related to location and handover management are described. In addition, the paper also elaborates on the use of location detection procedures and antenna diversity in trains to aid the process of handover.

Routing and dynamic resource assignment joint game: a non-cooperative model for QoS routing

In this paper we present an innovative game theoretic non-cooperative model for the quality of service (QoS) routing in communication networks implementing a differentiated service model for the QoS support. The proposed model allows us to solve a joint problem of non-cooperative QoS routing and dynamic capacity allocation over a network of parallel links. This problem is solved by playing a Nash game taking place among players belonging to two categories: (i) the category of individual users, whose objectives are to ship their macroflows from the source node to the destination node, by suitably splitting them over the parallel links, and (ii) the category of capacity players, whose task is to partition and to assign to the classes of traffic upon which the macroflows are mapped, the dynamic portion of capacity over each link. One of the main innovative aspects of our model is that the allocation of the dynamic portion of capacity to each class of traffic over each link is realised during the actual operation of the network, i.e. in conjunction with the QoS routing. Extensive simulation results validate the proposed model, show some of its interesting properties and highlight the remarkable performance enhancements that it achieves with respect to the other results present in the literature.In this paper we present an innovative game theoretic non-cooperative model for the quality of service (QoS) routing in communication networks implementing a differentiated service model for the QoS support. The proposed model allows us to solve a joint problem of non-cooperative QoS routing and dynamic capacity allocation over a network of parallel links. This problem is solved by playing a Nash game taking place among players belonging to two categories: (i) the category of individual users, whose objectives are to ship their macroflows from the source node to the destination node, by suitably splitting them over the parallel links, and (ii) the category of capacity players, whose task is to partition and to assign to the classes of traffic upon which the macroflows are mapped, the dynamic portion of capacity over each link. One of the main innovative aspects of our model is that the allocation of the dynamic portion of capacity to each class of traffic over each link is realised during the actual opera...

Performance analysis of mobility procedures in a hybrid space terrestrial IP environment

The emphasis of this paper is on investigating the performance of signalling protocols designed for a mobility management scheme, which uses Mobile IP for inter-segment mobility in a hybrid space and terrestrial environment. Initially, the system architecture, which consists of three wireless access networks attached to an IP backbone, is presented. This is followed by a description of the proposed mobility procedures employed in the system, which aim at minimising modifications to existing satellite and terrestrial network protocols. The mobility procedures are simulated in order to evaluate their performance and determine their effectiveness in an operational environment. Results verify the efficiency of the protocols and show that the additional signalling time introduced by the procedures is minimal.

Design and evaluation of signaling protocols for mobility management in an integrated IP environment

In the future mobile network, satellites will operate alongside cellular networks in order to provide seamless connectivity irrespective of the location of the user. Such a service scenario requires that the next generation of mobility management (MM) procedures are able to ensure terminal and user mobility on a global scale. This paper considers how the principles of Mobile-IP can be used to develop MM procedures for a heterogeneous access network, comprizing of satellite and cellular elements, connected to an IP core network.Initially, the system architecture is described. This is followed by a discussion of issues related to MM, where location, address and handover management are considered. A description of the signaling protocols for macro-mobility using Mobile-IP is then presented, emphasizing the need to minimize the change to the existing access network procedures. Finally, the performance of the protocols is analyzed in terms of the additional signaling time required for registration and handover.

Space/Terrestrial Mobile Networks: Internet Access and QoS Support

Preface.1. Introduction.2. Multi-Segment Access Network.3. GMBS Multi-Mode Terminal.4. Service Requirements.5. End-to-End Qquality of Service Support.6. Mobility Support.7. Network Protocol Design.8. Performance Validation.Appendix A: Related Publications.Index.

Existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium in the non-cooperative QoS routing

Researchers dealing with game theoretic issues are well aware that the definition of a model capturing some physical behaviours such as the routing, the pricing, the flow and congestion control, the admission control just to mention some examples in the telecommunication field, is a difficult task, but it is only half of the overall effort. As a matter of fact, a key aspect is the analysis of the equilibrium (or equilibria) towards which the game will (hopefully) converge. The existence, the uniqueness, the efficiency and the structure of the equilibrium are some of the typical properties which are investigated. In this article, we propose a game theoretic model for quality of service (QoS) routing in networks implementing a Differentiated Service model for the QoS support. In particular, we focus on a parallel link network model and we consider a non-cooperative joint problem of QoS routing and dynamic capacity allocation. For this model, we demonstrate that the Nash equilibrium exists, so overcoming a typical problem in the existence proofs appeared in many papers in the area of routing game since 1990s, and we explicitly obtain a suitable set of relations characterising its structure. Moreover, we prove that Nash equilibrium uniqueness cannot be guaranteed in general.

Harmonised Network Management in DVB-RCS System with Connection Control

The interoperability, i.e. ability to operate terminals from different vendors in the same network, is a highly recommended feature enabling the evolution and the commercial success of DVB-RCS systems. The current DVB-RCS standard focuses on interoperability at physical access and media access control level while its application at management and control plane level is still on a weak side. This paper aims at bridging this gap by reporting harmonised management plane specifications. The proposed specifications, and the relevant management system architecture, are devised to support full interoperability among multivendor RCSTs operating in different DVB-RCS system scenarios implementing connection control by means of connection control protocol (C2P).

ANTARES System Design Options for Satellite-Based Air Traffic Management

The future European Air Traffic Management (ATM) System is currently being defined by the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme. Iris is the European Space Agency programme to develop an Air-Ground communication system for the SESAR programme. Within the Iris Programme, ANTARES focuses on the development of a new satellite-based communication system based on the use of low-cost user terminals through the realization of a new satellite communication standard. The present paper describes the system design process defined and adopted in the ANTARES project to cope with the uncertainties of the user requirements The proposed process is based on the definition of System Architecture Options allowing to evaluate the impact of requirements variability on the satellite system design. Each System Architecture Option will implement a set of Design Options which are system or technology solutions adopted to design the system or its elements. An insight on the Design Option relevant to the airborne user terminal features is provided in the paper.

End-to-End Telecommunication Satellite System with On-board IP Routing

Several fields of application of satellite systems may benefit from having on-board processing units able to route IP packets. Network Centric Operations (NCO) for dual-use applications, space exploration and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communication satellite constellations are among them. This paper describes an end-to-end (E2E) telecommunication (TLC) satellite system with on-board IP routing functionality. The on-board IP routing is performed at IP packet level by means of a ground-board system currently under study in Thales Alenia Space - Italia.