MESA System Reference Model and Architectures

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MESA System Reference Model and Architectures
MESA Meeting 6

• Gianni Redaelli
• CEFRIEL
• Via Fucini 2
• 20133 Milano MI, Italy
• Ph.39-0223954.217, Fax [phone]
• mailto gianni.redaelli_at_cefriel.it
• http//www.cefriel.it/amwts

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Outline

• MESA goal
• A proposal of the MESA system architecture
• Access Network
• Network elements
• Backbone
• Some proposed network architectures for different
  scenarios

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MESA Project

• The project aims at producing specifications for
  an advanced digital mobile broadband standard
  much beyond the scope of currently known
  technologies for Public Protection and Disaster
  Relief

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A Proposal of the main MESA System Features

• In order to fulfil user requirements MESA system
  should be
• flexible
• adaptable
• reconfigurable
• self-organizing
• easy and fast to deploy
• interoperable
• broadband
• able to guarantee the requested QoS
• reliable
• secure
• able to locate nodes, sensors, robots

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A possible MESA Network Architecture
A solution based on a multi hop mobile ad hoc
network can be foreseen
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MESA Components and Sub-Systems

• MESA nodes
• transceiver
• User devices (MSs, PDAs, Notebooks, fax machines,
  )
• Sensors
• Control robots
• Access network
• MESA Access Points
• IP Backbone
• MESA Router
• MESA Gateway
• MESA DBs (User profile, devices identification,
  authentication)

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Nodes Classification

• Mobility
• each node can be fixed, nomadic or mobile
• Elaboration capacity
• e.g. notebook, PDA, smart phones, sensors,
  control robots
• Power capacity
• different types of nodes are characterized by
  different power capacity
• nodes of the same type may have batteries with
  different power-life
• Transmitting capacity
• different types of nodes are characterized by
  different communication ranges
• Networking capability
• a MESA node may or not act as bridge (simple
  relay) or as a router (store and forwarding)

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Nodes Foreseen Connections

• A MESA Node could be able to establish
• a wireless peer-to-peer communication with other
  MESA Nodes
• single hop
• multi hops
• a connection with the MESA AP(s)
• a peer-to-peer or infrastructured connection with
  external networks
• TETRA
• TETRAPOL
• TETRA II (?)
• Project 25
• 2G/2.5G/3G (?)
• DVB-T
• Satellite (?)
• Fixed and Mobile BWA (?), (LMDS, MVDS, MMDS,
  802.16, 802.20)
• WLANs (802.11x, HiperLAN/2) (?)
• UWB (?)

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Traffic Type

• The following modes can be foreseen
• Unicast
• Multicast
• Broadcast

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MESA Access Point

• MESA AP provides an alternative way of
  communication between nodes whereas peer-to-peer
  communication is not feasible or it is too
  expensive
• When adjacent MESA APs communicate (depending on
  MESA network decisions) a light MESA backbone is
  built up using MESA APs
• MESA APs should access to the backbones of other
  networks only through a MESA router
• MESA APs can have
• switching capabilities (cheaper devices) and/or
• routing functionalities (more expensive)
  integrates the MESA router
• It can be
• fixed (previously deployed e.g. in hot spots
  areas)
• portable
• mobile

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Backbone

• MESA backbone should be able to interoperate with
  existing network infrastructures
• As backbone we can consider two classes of
  network solutions
• Terrestrial
• MESA backbone
• MAN
• WAN
• Aerial
• Satellite
• High Altitude Platform

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Terrestrial BackboneWired Connections

• The wired connection build the fixed MESA
  backbone
• Routers are fixed and available at occurrence for
  allowing nodes/APs to access the backbone
• Solutions
• A fiber optic network based on the SDH technology
  
• up to 40 Gbit/s per fiber with current technology
• guaranteeing very high network availability up to
  99.999
• transmission path backed-up and restored within
  50 ms in case of optical fiber cut or network
  card failure
• in case it is necessary to improve the network
  capacity, the Wavelength Division Multiplexing
  (WDM) technique can be used, where multiple
  optical channels are multiplexed on the same
  fibre
• exploit the existing copper (twisted pair and
  coaxial cable) infrastructure, when this
  infrastructure is able to fulfil all services
  requirements using VDSL, ADSL or SHDSL
  technologies

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Terrestrial BackboneWireless Connections

• MVDS
• MMDS (Multipoint Microwave Distribution Systems)
• IEEE 802.16 Wireless MAN Air Interface for Fixed
  Broadband Wireless Access
• IEEE 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access

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Aerial Backbone

• Two different solutions can be distinguished
• High Altitude Platforms (HAPs)
• HAPs are relatively easy to deploy and due to
  their intrinsic ad hoc nature they are
  particularly suited to be employed in
  emergency/disaster situations
• Satellite
• Satellite has the high advantage to be highly
  reliable and ensure a wide coverage
• the main drawbacks are
• the low SNR affecting the direct communication to
  specific small devices
• the considerable delay that could be critical for
  particular Real-Time applications
• Their use depends on the different applications
  requirements (QoS) and on the scenarios
• They can act as reliable redundancy links

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Backbone Network Elements

• MESA Router
• MESA Gateway
• MESA DBs (User profile, devices identification,
  authentication)

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MESA Router (1)

• MESA Router is used if
• the peer-to-peer connection between source and
  destination MESA node is not feasible or
  convenient
• the routing through MESA APs is not feasible or
  convenient
• the connection requires the MESA gateway to
  interconnect with external backbones
• MESA Routers can be fixed or portable (integrated
  in MESA APs)
• MESA Router can implement gateway functions
• A MESA Router is connected with
• MESA gateway
• other MESA Routers using
• the MESA backbone
• any other backbone
• MESA APs
• MESA nodes

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MESA Router (2)

• Connection can be either wired or wireless
• AP-to-Router connections could be wireless more
  likely
• while router-to-router and router-to-gateway
  connections can be wired, wireless, aerial
  depending on the scenarios

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MESA Gateway

• MESA Gateway is a particular router that manages
  MESA network communications to and from external
  networks

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MESA DBs

• MESA User Profiles Database tracks all users
  accesses to the MESA network
• The MESA Device Identification Database has to
  check all the devices (not users) authorized to
  access the MESA network
• The MESA Authentication Server manages and
  provides the parameters to perform
  authentication, authorization and data encryption

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Interoperability

• Interoperability with existing infrastructures
  and systems is a critical but fundamental task
  for the MESA system
• The MESA system should be able to inter-work with
  the existing
• Wireless networks
• TETRA, TETRAPOL, TETRA II (?), Project 25,
  2G/2.5G/3G (?), Fixed and Mobile BWA (?), DVB-T
  (?), WLANs (?), UWB and/or satellite depending
  on the implemented interfaces
• wired networks
• xDSL (?), PSTN (?), ISDN (?), GiBE (?), SDH
  and/or Ethernet (?) depending on the implemented
  interfaces