Serban Georgica Obreja

QualNet implementation for mobility management in a MIH enabled system

The heterogeneous wireless access technologies available on mobile terminals can be used by the operators to improve the quality of service offered to the users and to better manage the network resources. To take advantage of these opportunities support for seamless handover between the heterogeneous technologies available at terminal must be introduced. Media Independent Handover (MIH) standard is designed to optimize handover between heterogeneous IEEE 802 networks and facilitate handover between IEEE 802 networks and cellular networks. In this paper, we present an architecture built on the Media Independent Handover framework, and some aspects related to the implementation of the architecture modules in QualNet simulator. We will focus on this paper on the MIH Protocol implementation and how it is used to facilitate the vertical handover.

A simulation testbed for a MIH enabled system

Interoperability between heterogeneous wireless access networks will help the operators to improve the quality of service offered to the users and the networks resource utilization. Media Independent Handover (MIH) standard is designed by IEEE to optimize the handover between heterogeneous networks. This paper presents a solution for mobility management in heterogeneous networks which is based on the MIH framework. It is presented the architecture and the simulation testbed used for system validation. QualNet simulator was chose to implement the proposed solution.

Web-Service Solution for Inter-domain QoS Negotiation

Development of multimedia services, e.g. video on demand or IPTV and their flow transport over the IP multi-domain networks with quality of services (QoS) guarantees require appropriate management and control of QoS at service and also at the network level. The management and control system must first support cooperation between several independent network domains at service provisioning level while preserving independency of each domain at resource control level. Secondly, the system should integrate various low level mechanisms like QoS routing, resource reservation, admission control. Service Level Agreements and Specifications are used to express inter-entities commitments. This paper presents a web-service approach for implementing the inter-domain SLS negotiation process between network providers (pSLS). The solution is part of an end to end QoS integrated management system through heterogeneous networks defined by the ENTHRONE IST European project.

Web-service based implementation solution for a network service manager at network provider

The multimedia services over the Internet rapid development require QoS management solutions to be implemented in the actual networks. The Internet traffic is now mostly best effort. Additional QoS control mechanisms need to be defined for data networks to be able to offer high quality multimedia services like video on demand or IPTV. Such mechanisms are QoS routing, resource reservation, admission control, service provisioning. End to end QOS management systems should be defined for implementing such mechanisms. This paper presents a Web-service implementation solution for a network service manager in charge with the inter-domain pSLS negotiation process.

Overlay Topology Based Inter-domain Qos Paths Building

The transport of multimedia flows over the internet needs to manage and control end to end quality of services (QoS) at transport level. Open issues still exist related to finding and maintaining QoS enabled paths through one or several independently administered domains. Among others, two tasks need to be solved: QoS routing or QoS enabled path finding and then maintaining these paths during data transfer. This paper deals with the problem of establishing QoS enabled aggregated multi-domain paths, to be later used for many individual streams. It is proposed a simple but extendable procedure, running at management overlay level, to find through communication between domain managers, several potential inter-domain end to end paths. Then, through resource negotiation process performed also in the management plane, QoS enabled aggregated pipes are established.

A methodology for testbed validation and performance assessment of network/service management systems

Delivery of multimedia real time flows over multi-domain IP networks require end-to-end quality of service guarantees. In order to manage and control the high-level services (video on demand, IPTV, etc.) as well as the network connectivity services across multiple domains in a coherent way, a distributed but integrated management system is proposed. Such a system has been defined, specified, and is currently implemented in the framework of the ENTHRONE European project. The system is being validated and assessed through several complex interconnected test-beds/pilots. This paper proposes a test methodology for validating the network service management functionalities on a multi-domain test-bed environment.

Authorization Subsystem for WiMAX Access in a Multidomain End to End QoS Enabled Architecture

In IP end to end QoS enabled multidomain communications with guarantees and limited resources, the access control functionality is required. This paper proposes an AAA-based network authorization subsystem for granting authorized end-users access to the end to end QoS services running over the WiMAX access networks. The solution relies on the WiMAX Forum AAA Framework specification. Whereas, several QoS authorization models have been considered in the design phase, this paper focus on the functionality of the QoS assured model with no-precondition.

Performance evaluation of a wireless mesh network based on hybrid WiMAX mesh nodes

This paper proposes a solution for a wireless mesh network based on WiMAX mesh nodes equipped with Smart Antennas. A WiMAX mesh node is emulated by interconnecting via Ethernet link a Base Station and a Subscriber Station. To avoid interference between these two nodes, they are configured to operate on different frequency bands. This solution can be used to build wireless backhaul networks for rural areas or for public safety scenarios. To validate it, an experimental platform consisting of both a real and a simulated part was developed. The simulated part is implemented in OPNET, and is injected with real time traffic from the real part of the experimental platform, using the System in the Loop function.

Service provider anD Content Aware Network Provider cross-layer optimisation of multimedia distribution

This work is a part of complex multi-domain eco-system specification and design aiming to deliver multimedia Quality of Services (QoS) enabled services. A cooperation framework is proposed between a high level Service Provider (SP) - managing high level services - and a Content Aware Network Provider (CANP), managing an overlay, multi-domain, transportation network. The virtual CANs are requested by a SP, negotiated with, and realised by the CANP. This cooperation, through online Service Level Agreements, creates a cross-layer optimization loop between the transport, application, and services layers. Inside the VCANs the resources for QoS assurance are assured by static and dynamic provisioning, service differentiation and media flow dynamic adaptation.

Interdomain QoS Paths Finding Based on Overlay Topology and QoS Negotiation Approach

The real time multimedia services, delivered on Internet networks, raised new challenges for the network regarding the end to end (E2E) quality of services (QoS) control in order to ensure the proper delivery of the services from content provider (source) to content consumer (destination). But, despite a lot of studies and research done, the actual traffic processing in real Internet deployments is still mostly best effort. Several approaches have been proposed, focused on provisioning aspects – usually solved in the management plane and then performing monitoring and adjustments in the control plane: e.g., well known dynamic techniques have been standardized, like IntServ, Diffserv, or combinations. Offering multimedia services in multi-domain heterogeneous environments is an additional challenge at network/ transport level. Service management is important here for provisioning, offering, handling, and fulfilling variety of services. Appropriate means are needed to enable a large number of providers in order to extend their QoS offerings over multiple domains. To this aim, an integrated management system can be a solution to preserve each domain independency while offering integration at a higher (overlay) layer in order to achieve E2E controllable behaviour. This chapter deals with the problem of establishing QoS enabled aggregated multi-domain paths, to be later used for many individual streams. A general framework is described exposing the ideas of overlay topologies solutions. Then a simple but extendable procedure is proposed, running at management level, to find (through communication between domain managers) several potential inter-domain end to end paths. Then, using a resource negotiation process performed also in the management plane, QoS enabled aggregated pipes, spanning several IP domains, are established. All these functions are performed at an overlay level, based on abstract characterization of intra and inter-domain capabilities delivered by an intra-domain resource manager. This is important in the sense that each domain (or, Autonomous System – AS) can preserve its own independency in terms of resource management. The subsystem is part of an integrated management multi-domain system, dedicated to end to end distribution of multimedia streams. The QoS path finding solution presented here is not like a traditional routing process: it is not implemented on routers, and it does not choose a route between network devices, but between two or more nodes of an overlay virtual topology described at inter-domain level. 16