Fountain codes have demonstrated great results for the binary erasure channel and have already been incorporated into several international standards to recover lost packets at the application layer. These include multimedia broadcast/multicast sessions and digital video broadcasting on global internet-protocol. The rateless property of Fountain codes holds great promise for noisy channels. These are more sophisticated mathematical models representing errors on communications links rather than only erasures. The practical implementation of Fountain codes for these channels, however, is hampered by high decoding cost and delay. In this work we study trapping sets in Fountain codes over noisy channels and their effect on the decoding process. While trapping sets have received much attention for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, to our knowledge they have never been fully explored for Fountain codes. Our study takes into account the different code structure and the dynamic nature of Fountain codes. We show that 'error-free' trapping sets exist for Fountain codes. When the decoder is caught in an error-free trapping set it actually has the correct message estimate, but is unable to detect this is the case. Thus, the decoding process continues, increasing the decoding cost and delay for naught. The decoding process for rateless codes consists of one or more decoding attempts. We show that trapping sets may reappear as part of other trapping sets on subsequent decoding attempts or be defeated by the reception of more symbols. Based on our observations we propose early termination methods that use trapping set detection to obtain improvements in realized rate, latency, and decoding cost for Fountain codes. / Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-10-29 14:33:06.548

[pt] Há, nos dias atuais, uma crescente demanda pelo transporte de video sobre IP, i.e., para distribuição de conteúdo pela Internet, por serviços de IPTV em definição padrão e em alta definição e, mesmo para uso interno nas redes de emissoras tradicionais de televisão, que transportam contribuições de elevada qualidade para seus programas. Em tais aplicações, o conteúdo dos programas é transportado usando MPEG-2 ou MPEG-4, sob a forma de MPEG-2 Transport Streams, encapsulados com protocolos tais como RTP, UDP e IP. As redes IP, que são modelizadas como Redes com Apagamento de Pacotes (PEC) não foram, no entanto, concebidas para o transporte de mídias em tempo real, esbarra portanto em problemas comuns como perdas de pacotes e jitter, gerando perturbações que se refletem na recepção do conteúdo. Os métodos tradicionais para superar estas dificuldades, como por exemplo, os que se baseiam em retransmissões usando protocolos ARQ (Automatic Repeat on Request), não são uma solução eficiente para proteger a transmissão de multimídia em tempo real. A proteção de multimídia transmitida em tempo real via IP recorre, neste caso, aos códigos para canal. Há códigos para canal recomendados em RFC s e Padrões, usados amplamente pelos fabricantes de equipamento. Os modernos Códigos Fontanais, possuem características atraentes para o transporte de conteúdos multimídia em tempo real. Neste trabalho, simulações são realizadas, onde o conteúdo encapsulado em Transport Stream, é protegido com Códigos Fontanais antes do encapsulamento para o envio através da rede. A título de comparação, o experimento é realizado também usando outros códigos para canal recomendados. Para realizar a comparação são usadas medições padronizadas do Transport Stream, medições objetivas como artefatos de blocagem e finalmente uma análise subjetiva do conteúdo recebido é usada. O trabalho conclui com a proposta de um Codificador de canal adaptável para Transport Stream. / [en] There is a growing demand for the transport of video over IP today, i.e., for content distribution over the Internet, IPTV services in Standard and High Definition, or even inside traditional broadcasters networks, transporting broadcast quality contributions to the main program. In such applications, the source encoded MPEG-2 or -4 content is transported in the form of MPEG-2 Transport Streams, encapsulated over network protocols. However, IP networks, which can be modeled as Packet Erasure Networks (PEC), were not originally designed for the transport of real time media. There are problems, such as packet drops and jitter, which generate severe impairments in the content that is decoded at the reception. Traditional methods for overcoming these problems, as for example retransmissions performed by Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) protocols, are not suitable for real-time multimedia protection. Channel coding is the solution of choice for protecting real-time multimedia over IP. There are channel coding schemes specified in open recommendations and Standards, widely adopted by equipment vendors today. Fountain Codes present very attractive characteristics for the transport of real-time multimedia. In the present work, simulations with a Fountain code, protecting Transport Stream contents prior to network encapsulation, are presented. The experiment if repeated with other channel coding techniques commonly employed today. In order to analyze the decoded contents and obtain comparative results, standardized Transport Stream measurements, objective Blocking Artifacts measurements and subjective analysis of the decoded samples are employed. This work is concluded with the proposal of a Transport Stream Adaptive channel encoder, that is explained in Appendix-B.

Ce manuscrit est centré sur la conception, l'amélioration et l'évaluation des protocoles des couches RESEAU, MAC et PHY. En particulier, nous nous focalisons sur la conception de nouveaux protocoles distribués pour une utilisation optimale/améliorée des ressources radio disponibles. Par ailleurs, nous caractérisons les performances des réseaux ad hoc à accès aléatoire au canal en utilisant des paramètres de plusieurs couches avec aptitude de transfert d'information (data forwarding). La majeure partie de nos analyses se base sur le concept d'interaction entre les couches OSI (cross-layer). En effet, cette nouvelle et attractive approche est devenue en peu de temps omniprésente dans le domaine de recherche et développement et dans le domaine industriel. Les métriques de performances qui nous intéressent sont la stabilité des files d'attentes de transfert, le débit, le délai et la consommation d'énergie. Principalement, la compréhension de l'interaction entre les couches MAC/PHY et routage du standard IEEE 802.11e DCF/EDCF, d'une part, et l'interaction entre noeuds en terme d'interférences, d'autre part, constituent le coeur central de notre travail / The present dissertation deals with the problem of under-utilization of collision channels and other related problems in wireless networks. It deals with the design of random access protocols for wireless systems and provides a mathematical framework for performance evaluation of multihop based heterogeneous wireless networks. This thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part, we propose new versions of slotted aloha incorporating power control, priority and hierarchy. Our simulations were important to understand the behaviour of such a system and the real impact of involved parameters (transmit power, transmit rate, arrival rate, hierarchy order). Both team problem (common objective function is maximized) and game problem (each user maximizes its own objective) were discussed. Introducing hierarchy seems to provide many promising improvement without/or with a low amount of external information. We also proposed two distributed algorithms to learn the desired throughput. Next, we developed in the second part an analytical Framework to evaluate performances of multihop based heterogeneous Wireless networks. We built a cross-layer model and derived expression of stability, end-to-end throughput and end-to-end delay. Furthermore, we provided an accurate approximation for the distribution of end-to-end delay in multihop ad hoc networks (operating with slotted aloha protocol). As a direct application, we highlighted how streaming and conversational flows could be supported in this class of ubiquitous networks. The third part of this thesis is devoted to understanding and modelling of IEEE 802.11e DCF/EDCF-operated multihop ad hoc networks. We indeed built a complete and simple APPLICATION/NETWORK/MAC/PHY cross-layered model with finite retries per packet per flow. We analyzed the stability of forwarding queues and derived expression of end-to-end throughput. We finally proposed a Fountain code-based MAC layer to improve the throughput/fairness over the network

Reliable and energy-efficient delivery of multimedia to mobile terminals in dynamic networks is a very challenging problem. In this thesis, we focus on a cooperative extension to the Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H) standard, forming a cooperative broadcast network whereby terminal-to-terminal cooperation creates a distributed form of multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) that supplements existing fixed network infrastructure. First, we develop a novel and computationally-efficient hierarchical Markov model that is able to accurately perform a cross-layer packet error mapping between the physical and transport layers of the DVB-H/IPDC (IP DataCast) protocol stack. We then construct a discrete-event simulator in MATLAB® that incorporates all of the necessary modules to conduct dynamic multiterminal network simulations. Next, the convergence of cooperative wireless communication, Raptor application layer forward error correction (AL-FEC) and Network Coding (NC) is examined. Originally proposed for broadcasting over the Internet, the application of Raptor codes to wireless cooperative communications networks has been limited to date, but they have been mandated for use in DVB-H. Network coding is used to reduce energy consumption by opportunistically recombining and rebroadcasting required combinations of packets. Two novel coding-enabled cooperative relaying protocols are developed for multicast and multiple unicast file distribution scenarios that are transparent, fully distributed, and backwards compatible with today's systems. Our protocols are able to exploit several different forms of diversity inherent to modern wireless networks, including spatial diversity, radio interface diversity, and symbol diversity. Extensive simulations show that our protocols simultaneously achieve breakthroughs in network energy efficiency and reliability for different terminal classes and densities, allowing greatly improved user experiences. / Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-03 19:45:54.943

Important sujet de recherche dans les télécommunications contemporaines, les réseaux de capteurs sont des réseaux sans fil constitués de plusieurs nœuds pouvant communiquer entre eux. Chaque capteur est autonome et possède une durée de vie limitée, liée à la taille de sa batterie. Dans ce contexte, l’énergie est une ressource critique qui peut être économisée en minimisant le nombre de paquets émis. De part la nature du médium radio, les données transmises subissent des pertes du canal. La fiabilisation de données dans ce contexte n’est pas simple et devient d’autant plus problématique lorsque la taille de réseau augmente. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrit cette thèse qui vise à fournir une technique de fiabilisation des transmissions dans un réseau de capteur. Pour cela, nous proposons de mettre en oeuvre un mécanisme de transmission qui exploite le code fontaine. Ce code est sans rendement et les symboles de redondance sont générés à la volée. Il permet de fiabiliser la transmission avec l’utilisation d’un canal de retour limité. Le code fontaine permet d’alléger le mécanisme de contrôle des transmissions tout en assurant un lien complètement fiable, ce qui permet de réduire la latence et la consommation énergétique d’une transmission. Afin d’optimiser la performance globale du réseau, nous étudions également dans cette thèse le cas où les nœuds sont autorisés à coopérer pour le relayage multi-sauts de paquets destinés à des nœuds distants. Nous montrons dans cette thèse que la technique de codage réseau permet d’introduire de la diversité d’information et ainsi d’améliorer la performance globale de transmissions multi-sauts mono-chemin. Ce résultat a été étendu à la transmission coopérative pour laquelle nous avons à la fois pu exploiter la diversité d’information et la diversité spatiale. / This thesis is dedicated to the deployment of fountain codes and network coding in a wireless sensor network (WSN). A WSN is composed of sensor nodes with restricted capacities : memory, energy and computational power. The nodes are usually randomly scattered across the monitored area and the environment may vary. In the presence of fading, outage and node failures, fountain codes are a promising solution to guaranty reliability and improve transmission robustness. The benefits of fountain codes are explored based on an event-driven WSNet simulator considering realistic implementation based on standard IEEE802.15.4. Fountain codes are rateless and capable of adapting their rate to the channel on the fly using a limited feedback channel. In this thesis, we highlight the benefits brought by fountain code in terms of energy consumption and transmission delay. In addition to the traditional transmission with fountain code, we propose in this thesis to study the network coding transmission scheme where nodes are allowed to process the information before forwarding it to their neighbors. By this means, we can say that packet diversity is exploited as each individual packet is unique and contains different representations of binary data. Redundancy is thus optimized since repetitions are avoided and replaced with diversified information. This can further lead to an overall improved performance in cooperative communication where nodes are allowed to assist in relaying packets from the source the destination. We highlight in this thesis the benefits of fountain code combined to network coding and show that it leads to a reduction in transmission delay and energy consumption. The latter is vital to the life duration of any wireless sensor network.

Ce manuscrit traite de la fiabilisation des CPL-BE dans le contexte smart grid avec l’application des techniques de codage correcteur d’erreurs et d’effacements. Après une introduction sur le concept de smart grid, le canal CPL-BE est caractérisé précisément et les modèles qui le décrivent sont présentés. Les performances des codes à métrique rang, simples ou concaténés avec des codes convolutifs, particulièrement intéressants pour combattre le bruit criss-cross sur les réseaux CPL-BE sont simulées et comparées aux performances des codes Reed-Solomon déjà présents dans plusieurs standards. Les codes fontaines qui s’adaptent à n’importe quelles statistiques d’effacements sur le canal CPL sont utilisés et les performances de schémas coopératifs basés sur ces codes fontaines sur des réseaux linéaires multi-sauts sont étudiés. Enfin des algorithmes permettant de combiner le codage réseau et le codage fontaine pour la topologie particulière des réseaux CPL pour les smart grid sont proposés et évalués. / This PhD dissertation deals with the mitigation of the impact of the Narrowband PowerLine communication (NB-PLC) channel impairments e.g., periodic impulsive noise and narrowband noise, by applying the error/erasure correction coding techniques. After an introduction to the concept of smart grid, the NB-PLC channels are characterized precisely and models that describe these channels are presented. The performance of rank metric codes, simple or concatenated with convolutional codes, that are particularly interesting to combat criss-cross errors on the NB-PLC networks are simulated and compared with Reed- Solomon (already present in several NB-PLC standards) codes performance. Fountain codes that can adapt to any channel erasures statistics are used for the NB-PLC networks and the performance of cooperative schemes based on these fountain codes on linear multi-hop networks are studied. Finally, algorithms to combine the network coding and fountain codes for the particular topology of PLC networks for the smart grid are proposed and evaluated.