Shyamala C. Sivakumar

A multi-criterion optimization technique for energy efficient cluster formation in wireless sensor networks

Clustering techniques have emerged as a popular choice for achieving energy efficiency and scalable performance in large scale sensor networks. Cluster formation is a process whereby sensor nodes decide which cluster head they should associate with among multiple choices. Typically this cluster head selection decision involves a metric based on parameters including residual energy and distance to the cluster head. This decision is a critical embarkation point as a poor choice can lead to increased energy consumption, thus compromising network lifetime. In this paper we present a novel energy efficient cluster formation algorithm based on a multi-criterion optimization technique. Our technique is capable of using multiple individual metrics in the cluster head selection process as input while simultaneously optimizing on the energy efficiency of the individual sensor nodes as well as the overall system. The proposed technique is implemented as a distributed protocol in which each node makes its decision based on local information only. The feasibility of the proposed technique is demonstrated with simulation results. It is shown that the proposed technique outperforms all other well known protocols including LEACH, EECS and HEED resulting in a significant increase in network life.

Online stabilization of block-diagonal recurrent neural networks

This paper deals with a discrete-time recurrent neural network (DTRNN) with a block-diagonal feedback weight matrix, called the block-diagonal recurrent neural network (BDRNN), that allows a simplified approach to online training and to address network and training stability issues. The structure of the BDRNN is exploited to modify the conventional backpropagation through time (BPTT) algorithm. to reduce its storage requirement by a numerically stable method of recomputing the network state variables. The network and training stability is addressed by exploiting the BDRNN structure to directly monitor and maintain stability during weight updates by developing a functional measure of system stability that augments the cost function being minimized. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the BDRNN architecture, its training algorithm, and the stabilization method.

A web-based remote interactive laboratory for Internetworking education

A Web-based remote interactive laboratory (RIL) developed to deliver Internetworking laboratory experience to geographically remote graduate students is presented in this paper. The onsite Internetworking program employs hands-on laboratories in a group setting that correlates with the constructivist and collaborative pedagogical approach. This paper discusses the pedagogical and technical considerations that influence the design and implementation of the remote laboratory environment given the constraints of the special hardware and learning outcomes of the program. For wide-ranging usability, the remote Internetworking (INWK) laboratory uses de facto networking standards and commercial and broad-band Internet connectivity to ensure real-time secure interaction with equipment. A four-tier role architecture consisting of faculty, local facilitators, remote facilitators, and students has been determined appropriate to maintain academic integrity and ensure good quality of interaction with the remote laboratory. A survey employing a five-point scale has been devised to measure the usability of the remote access INWK laboratory.

A QoS-aware Routing Protocol for Reliability Sensitive Data in Hospital Body Area Networks

Abstract The reliability, energy efficiency, and real-time display of patients data are important factors for Body Area Network (BAN) communication in indoor hospital environments. In this paper we propose a novel routing protocol by considering the QoS requirements of BAN data with strict reliability requirements. Our proposed algorithm increases the reliable delivery of critical BAN data at the destination We have performed extensive simulations in the OMNeT++ based simulator Castalia to demonstrate the better performance of the proposed QoS based routing protocol for reliability sensitive data in terms of successful transmission rate, lower network routing traffic (hello packets) overhead, and lower end-to-end delay (latency) in both stationary and movable patient scenarios.

Energy Conserving Architectures and Algorithms for Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper derives an algorithm for minimizing energy spent by a hierarchical wireless sensor network in transmitting data to a sink, referred to as a base station. The network model considered is a single-hop multi-level clustered network. We draw on results from stochastic geometry to analytically determine the optimum number of clusters at each level. We show, both analytically and by simulation results, that a multi-level approach can significantly reduce the required network energy.

QPRD: QoS-aware Peering Routing Protocol for Delay Sensitive Data in Hospital Body Area Network Communication

The consistent performance, energy efficiency, and reliability are important factors for real-time monitoring of a patients data, especially in a hospital environment. In this paper a routing protocol is proposed by considering the Quality of Service requirements of the body area network data packets. A mechanism for handling delay-sensitive packets is provided by this protocol. Extensive simulations using OMNeT++ based simulator Castalia illustrate that the proposed algorithm provides better performance than other QoS-aware routing protocols in terms of higher successful transmission rates, lower overall network traffic load, and fewer number of packet timeouts in both the mobile and static patient scenarios.

Energy-aware Peering Routing Protocol for indoor hospital Body Area Network Communication

The recent research in Body Area Networks (BAN) is focused on making its communication more reliable, energy efficient, secure, and to better utilize system resources. In this paper we propose a novel BAN network architecture for indoor hospital environments, and a new mechanism of peer discovery with routing table construction that helps to reduce network traffic load, energy consumption, and improves BAN reliability. We have performed extensive simulations in the Castalia simulation environment to show that our proposed protocol has better performance in terms of reduced BAN traffic load, increased number of successful packets received by nodes, reduced number of packets forwarded by intermediate nodes, and overall lower energy consumption compared to other protocols.

A new patient monitoring framework and Energy-aware Peering Routing Protocol (EPR) for Body Area Network communication

The recent research in Body Area Networks (BANs) is focused on making its communication more reliable, energy efficient, secure, and to better utilize system resources. In this paper we propose a novel BAN architecture for indoor hospital environments, and a new mechanism of peer discovery with routing table construction that helps to reduce network traffic load, energy consumption, and improves BAN reliability. The three scenarios with fixed and variable number of packets sent by source nodes are considered for better analysis. Static nodes are considered in first and second scenarios whereas mobile nodes are used in third scenario. We have performed extensive simulations in the OMNeT++ based Castalia-3.2 simulation environment to show that our proposed protocol has better performance in terms of reduced BAN traffic load, increased successful transmission rate, reduced number of packets forwarded by intermediate nodes, no packets dropped due to buffer overflow, and overall lower energy consumption when compared with a similar protocols.

A Comparison of Software Defined Network (SDN) Implementation Strategies

Abstract Software defined networking (SDN) is an emerging approach to handle data forwarding and control separately. The notion of programmability has central importance in SDN. Two implementation strategies; proprietary and open source, are shaping the trends of the adoptability of SDN by major hardware manufacturers. A group of leading vendors believes that loose coupling between the logical and physical layers of a network hinders the proper provision of physical resources and suggests a proprietary fix to this problem. The other group regards the notion of openness as s key feature of SDN. This paper compares and contrasts these two implementation strategies of SDN by identifying their respective operating principles, features of the product lines, and weakness and strengths.

ZEQoS: A New Energy and QoS-Aware Routing Protocol for Communication of Sensor Devices in Healthcare System

This paper proposes a novel integrated energy and QoS-aware routing protocol with the considerations of energy, end-to-end latency, and reliability requirements of body area network (BAN) communication. The proposed routing protocol, called ZEQoS, introduces two main modules (MAC layer and network layer) and three algorithms (neighbor table constructor, routing table constructor, and path selector). To handle ordinary packets (OPs), delay-sensitive packets (DSPs), and reliability-sensitive packets (RSPs), the new mechanism first calculates the communication costs, end-to-end path delays, and end-to-end path reliabilities of all possible paths from a source to destination. The protocol then selects the best possible path(s) for OPs, RSPs, and DSPs by considering their QoS requirement. Extensive simulations using OMNeT++ based simulator Castalia 3.2 demonstrate that the performance of the proposed integrated algorithm is satisfactory when tested on a real hospital scenario, and all data types including OPs, DSPs, and RSPs are used as offered traffic. Simulations also show that the ZEQoS also offers better performance in terms of higher throughput, less packets dropped on MAC and network layers, and lower network traffic than comparable protocols including DMQoS and noRouting.