Research Activities in 4G Networks at INESC Porto

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Research Activities in 4G Networks at INESC Porto

• Manuel Ricardo and José Ruela

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Communication Networks and Services Group

• People
• 2 professors
• 2 senior researchers
• 6 PhD students
• 6 MSc students
• Variable number of Licenciatura students
• Located at
• INESC Porto
• Campus da FEUP Faculdade de Engenharia da
  Univ. do Porto

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Research in Mobile Communications Context

• Mobile communications networks vs fixed networks
• mobility of the terminals
• properties of wireless links
• variable bit rates, variable bit error ratios
• terminal characteristics
• low processing capabilities, low memory, low
  consumption
• 2 key research areas in Networking
• 4G networks
• Ambient networks

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Research in Mobile Communications 4G Networks

• 4G mobile terminal
• Always Best Connected to the available networks
• Multiple network interfaces, of different radio
  technologies
• Information conveyed as IP packets
• Research problems include
• Mobility support, routing
• QoS, radio resource management, traffic
  accounting
• Security
• Ad-hoc, mobile networks
• Improvement of existing PLMNs (e.g. GPRS, UMTS) ?
  VoIP, multicast
• Planning, management, and operation
• In Europe ? focused on IPv6

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Research in Mobile Communications Ambient
Networks

• Ambient intelligence
• People immersed in reacting environments
• Persons carry small devices ? may form a PAN
• Devices
• communicate over radio links connections with
  neighbour networks
• Research problems include
• Plug-and-play of unknown devices and networks
• Network composition
• Mobility, security
• Multihoming

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Topics under Research at INESC Porto

• Ad-hoc networking
• Generic link layer
• QoS, congestion control
• Testing
• Multicast

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Integrating Ad-hoc with Infrastructure Networks

• Ad-hoc used to extend the coverage of
  infrastrucure networks
• Current solution implements
• gateway discovery, address autoconfiguration,
  MIPv6, AODV OLSR
• Under work
• terminal handover between ad-hoc and
  infrastructure modes
• Multipath towards the infrastructure

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Automatic Networking

• Plug-and-play of computers and networks
• Development of new signaling, which
• Detects/establishes links
• Detects other (ambient) networks / devices
• Forms networks using existing technologies
• IPv4, NAT, DHCP, IPv6, MIPv6, HIP, tunnels,
  IPSec, PPox, PPTP
• Exchanges information about routing, security,
  and QoS
• Addresses also multi-homing, multicast and
  mobility

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Service Announcement over Ambient Networks
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Generic Link Layer for Heterogeneous Networks
QoS

• QoS reservation in heterogeneous wireless
  networks
• QoS-enabled virtual channels between MN and AR
• Technology-independent interface for
• 802.15.1, 802.11, 802.16, UMTS
• Support for handover and multicast

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Generic Link Layer RoHC, Robust Header
Compression

• VoIP, mobile VideoIP - very small IP packets
• IP/UDP/RTP headers ? significant overheads
• RoHC solution
• Adapts the IETF RoHC to heteregenous networks
• Compatible with QoS Generic Link layer

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Generic Link Layer RoHC, Robust Header
Compression
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End-to-End Quality of Service Framework
ScalServ

• Evolved from IntServ over DiffServ
• Provides end-to-end QoS to real time flows
• 3 service classes, with universal semantics
• Less than Best Effort, Best Effort, Assured
  Delivery (AD)
• AD service class
• Possible microflow aggregation
• Uses end-to-end signalling
• Interpreted at selected nodes in the access
  networks

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Congestion Control

• Assumption
• (some) networks do not provide QoS mechanisms
• but need to transport real time flows
• Development of new congestion control mechanisms
• preserve the network stability
• are media friendly
• can be combined with L4 (end-to-end) mobility
  solutions

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Passive Testing Monitoring Mobile Flows

• Detection of mobile flows and representing them
  for
• Operator traffic maps
• User received QoS under wireless and mobile
  conditions
• Sampling

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Passive Testing Monitoring Mobile Flows
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Testing Monitoring Platform for a 4G Operator

• Passive Measurements
• Traffic accounting
• Detection SLA violations
• User Location
• Active Measurements
• Bandwidth probing

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Testing Protocol Conformance

• Protocol / system functional testing
• Automatic generation of tests from specifications
• Tests and results obtained on-the-fly

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Multicast

• Addressed as an horizontal issue
• As a rule, every new work/ thesis addresses
  multicast
• Particular attention to video broadcast
• Definition of a secure IP multicast solution
• Transmission of multiple video channels
• Each channel viewed only by authorized users
• If a channel is not visualized, it is not
  transmitted

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Testbed 1 Infrastrucure and Ad-hoc
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Testbed 2 QoS
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Conclusions

• Research in mobile communications networks at
  INESC Porto
• Ad-hoc networking, Generic link layer, QoS,
  Testing, Multicast
• Area appealing and rewarding for research and
  business
• Group active at national and international level
• Other national research groups have similar
  growth
• We feel that, in Portugal, we are starting to
  reach the critical mass required to enable mobile
  communications to emerge as a relevant industry