The Bluetooth Scatternet Formation (BSF) problem can be defined as the problem of forming wireless networks of Bluetooth devices in an efficient manner. A number of restrictions imposed by the Bluetooth specifications make the BSF problem challenging and unique. Many interesting solution algorithms have been proposed in the literature to solve this problem. In this thesis, we investigate the BSF problem. We concentrate on problems introduced by the procedures of device discovery of the Bluetooth specifications and on the different solutions used by BSF algorithms to deal with these problems. We study also in this thesis problems introduced by the specifications of link establishment in Bluetooth due to their close interaction with the device discovery specifications. We survey and categorize the different device discovery techniques used by BSF algorithms. This categorization is then used as a basis to identify the different theoretical computational models used to study BSF algorithms. We argue, in this thesis, that the currently available models for Bluetooth wireless networks do not model adequately, in most cases, the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and we show that these models were oversimplified in many cases. A general computational model will be useful as a starting point to design BSF algorithms and to compare the different and numerous BSF algorithms – especially in term of the execution time efficiency. In this thesis, we provide a set of suggestions that will help in the creation of such model. We survey a number of studies that examined in more depth the specifications of device discovery in Bluetooth. We survey also other studies that attempted to simplify the Bluetooth network model, either by suggesting modifications on the Bluetooth specifications or by the use of communication technologies other than Bluetooth. Finally, we present some experiments accompanied with analyzes to show the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and their sensitivity to minor changes (whether in the specifications or in their implementation).

The Bluetooth Scatternet Formation (BSF) problem can be defined as the problem of forming wireless networks of Bluetooth devices in an efficient manner. A number of restrictions imposed by the Bluetooth specifications make the BSF problem challenging and unique. Many interesting solution algorithms have been proposed in the literature to solve this problem. In this thesis, we investigate the BSF problem. We concentrate on problems introduced by the procedures of device discovery of the Bluetooth specifications and on the different solutions used by BSF algorithms to deal with these problems. We study also in this thesis problems introduced by the specifications of link establishment in Bluetooth due to their close interaction with the device discovery specifications. We survey and categorize the different device discovery techniques used by BSF algorithms. This categorization is then used as a basis to identify the different theoretical computational models used to study BSF algorithms. We argue, in this thesis, that the currently available models for Bluetooth wireless networks do not model adequately, in most cases, the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and we show that these models were oversimplified in many cases. A general computational model will be useful as a starting point to design BSF algorithms and to compare the different and numerous BSF algorithms – especially in term of the execution time efficiency. In this thesis, we provide a set of suggestions that will help in the creation of such model. We survey a number of studies that examined in more depth the specifications of device discovery in Bluetooth. We survey also other studies that attempted to simplify the Bluetooth network model, either by suggesting modifications on the Bluetooth specifications or by the use of communication technologies other than Bluetooth. Finally, we present some experiments accompanied with analyzes to show the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and their sensitivity to minor changes (whether in the specifications or in their implementation).

The Bluetooth Scatternet Formation (BSF) problem can be defined as the problem of forming wireless networks of Bluetooth devices in an efficient manner. A number of restrictions imposed by the Bluetooth specifications make the BSF problem challenging and unique. Many interesting solution algorithms have been proposed in the literature to solve this problem. In this thesis, we investigate the BSF problem. We concentrate on problems introduced by the procedures of device discovery of the Bluetooth specifications and on the different solutions used by BSF algorithms to deal with these problems. We study also in this thesis problems introduced by the specifications of link establishment in Bluetooth due to their close interaction with the device discovery specifications. We survey and categorize the different device discovery techniques used by BSF algorithms. This categorization is then used as a basis to identify the different theoretical computational models used to study BSF algorithms. We argue, in this thesis, that the currently available models for Bluetooth wireless networks do not model adequately, in most cases, the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and we show that these models were oversimplified in many cases. A general computational model will be useful as a starting point to design BSF algorithms and to compare the different and numerous BSF algorithms – especially in term of the execution time efficiency. In this thesis, we provide a set of suggestions that will help in the creation of such model. We survey a number of studies that examined in more depth the specifications of device discovery in Bluetooth. We survey also other studies that attempted to simplify the Bluetooth network model, either by suggesting modifications on the Bluetooth specifications or by the use of communication technologies other than Bluetooth. Finally, we present some experiments accompanied with analyzes to show the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and their sensitivity to minor changes (whether in the specifications or in their implementation).

The Bluetooth Scatternet Formation (BSF) problem can be defined as the problem of forming wireless networks of Bluetooth devices in an efficient manner. A number of restrictions imposed by the Bluetooth specifications make the BSF problem challenging and unique. Many interesting solution algorithms have been proposed in the literature to solve this problem. In this thesis, we investigate the BSF problem. We concentrate on problems introduced by the procedures of device discovery of the Bluetooth specifications and on the different solutions used by BSF algorithms to deal with these problems. We study also in this thesis problems introduced by the specifications of link establishment in Bluetooth due to their close interaction with the device discovery specifications. We survey and categorize the different device discovery techniques used by BSF algorithms. This categorization is then used as a basis to identify the different theoretical computational models used to study BSF algorithms. We argue, in this thesis, that the currently available models for Bluetooth wireless networks do not model adequately, in most cases, the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and we show that these models were oversimplified in many cases. A general computational model will be useful as a starting point to design BSF algorithms and to compare the different and numerous BSF algorithms – especially in term of the execution time efficiency. In this thesis, we provide a set of suggestions that will help in the creation of such model. We survey a number of studies that examined in more depth the specifications of device discovery in Bluetooth. We survey also other studies that attempted to simplify the Bluetooth network model, either by suggesting modifications on the Bluetooth specifications or by the use of communication technologies other than Bluetooth. Finally, we present some experiments accompanied with analyzes to show the complexities of the Bluetooth specifications and their sensitivity to minor changes (whether in the specifications or in their implementation).

<p> Wireless communication has been thriving in recent years. Developments in the hardware and software industries enable more and more devices to be embedded in wireless communication modules. All kinds of interesting applications based on wireless connections are emerging, demanding simple and efficient ways to inter-connect different devices. Bluetooth is an industry standard initially proposed by Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft and some other leading IT companies to meet this growing demand. Initially, it intended to provide universal low cost, low power, and low complexity wireless interface to various devices. Furthermore, it also proposed to provide the possibility of interconnecting a number of mobile devices to form a network. However, the details of network formation and operation have not yet been regulated. In this work, we will investigate Bluetooth enabled network formation issues (especially when the traffic patterns on the network are well known).</p> <p> In this thesis, we use a small indoor area network model with a wired infrastructure network installed in the wall. A number of mobiles are distributed in the area and require inter-connectivity with each other and/or the outside world through multiple gateways. Unbalanced traffic in the network may result in hotspots leading to poor network throughput. Therefore, a centralized network formation algorithm is needed for Bluetooth networks to solve this problem.</p> <p> This thesis proposes novel Network Formation based on a Traffic Distribution (NFTD) mechanism. This centralized mechanism co-ordinates the behavior of mobiles and is implemented on gateways (also called access points). It forms the network topology according to the traffic distribution so that the path length of hotspot flows can be limited in order to maximize the network capacity. Last but not least, infrastructure networks provide free high-speed links for mobiles to further increase network capacity. The proposed mechanism is a promising mechanism as supported by simulation results.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision that aims at inter-connecting every physical identifiable object (or, a thing) via a global networking infrastructure (e.g., the legacy Internet). Several architectures are proposed to realize this vision; many of which agree that the IoT shall be considered as a global network of networks. These networks are used to manage wireless sensors, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags, RFID readers and other types of electronic devices and integrate them into the IoT. A major requirement of the IoT architectures is scalability, which is the capability of delivering high performance even if the input size (e.g., number of the IoT objects) is large. This thesis studies and proposes solutions to meet this requirement, and specifically focuses on the scalability issues found in the networks of the IoT. The thesis proposes several network formation algorithms to achieve these objectives, where a network formation algorithm is an algorithm that, if applied to a certain network, optimizes it to perform its tasks in a more efficient manner by virtually deleting some of its nodes and/or edges. The thesis focuses on three types of networks found in the IoT: 1) RFID readers coverage networks; whose main task is to cover (i.e., identify, monitor, track, sense) IoT objects located in a given area, 2) readers inter-communications networks; whose main task is to guarantee that their nodes are able to inter-communicate with each other and hence use their resources more efficiently (the thesis specifically considers inter-communication networks of readers using Bluetooth for communications), and 3) Object Name Systems (ONS) which are networks of several inter-connected database servers (i.e., distributed database) whose main task is to resolve an object identifier into an Internet address to enable inter-communication via the Internet. These networks are chosen for several reasons. For example, the technologies and concepts found in these networks are among the major enablers of the IoT. Furthermore, these networks solve tasks that are central to any IoT architecture. Particularly, the thesis a) studies the data and readers redundancy problem found in RFID readers coverage networks and introduces decentralized RFID coverage and readers collisions avoidance algorithms to solve it, b) contributes to the problem of forming multihop inter-communications networks of Bluetooth-equipped readers by proposing decentralized time-efficient Bluetooth Scatternet Formation algorithms, and c) introduces a geographic-aware ONS architecture based on Peer-To-Peer (P2P) computing to overcome weaknesses found in existing ONS architectures.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision that aims at inter-connecting every physical identifiable object (or, a thing) via a global networking infrastructure (e.g., the legacy Internet). Several architectures are proposed to realize this vision; many of which agree that the IoT shall be considered as a global network of networks. These networks are used to manage wireless sensors, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags, RFID readers and other types of electronic devices and integrate them into the IoT. A major requirement of the IoT architectures is scalability, which is the capability of delivering high performance even if the input size (e.g., number of the IoT objects) is large. This thesis studies and proposes solutions to meet this requirement, and specifically focuses on the scalability issues found in the networks of the IoT. The thesis proposes several network formation algorithms to achieve these objectives, where a network formation algorithm is an algorithm that, if applied to a certain network, optimizes it to perform its tasks in a more efficient manner by virtually deleting some of its nodes and/or edges. The thesis focuses on three types of networks found in the IoT: 1) RFID readers coverage networks; whose main task is to cover (i.e., identify, monitor, track, sense) IoT objects located in a given area, 2) readers inter-communications networks; whose main task is to guarantee that their nodes are able to inter-communicate with each other and hence use their resources more efficiently (the thesis specifically considers inter-communication networks of readers using Bluetooth for communications), and 3) Object Name Systems (ONS) which are networks of several inter-connected database servers (i.e., distributed database) whose main task is to resolve an object identifier into an Internet address to enable inter-communication via the Internet. These networks are chosen for several reasons. For example, the technologies and concepts found in these networks are among the major enablers of the IoT. Furthermore, these networks solve tasks that are central to any IoT architecture. Particularly, the thesis a) studies the data and readers redundancy problem found in RFID readers coverage networks and introduces decentralized RFID coverage and readers collisions avoidance algorithms to solve it, b) contributes to the problem of forming multihop inter-communications networks of Bluetooth-equipped readers by proposing decentralized time-efficient Bluetooth Scatternet Formation algorithms, and c) introduces a geographic-aware ONS architecture based on Peer-To-Peer (P2P) computing to overcome weaknesses found in existing ONS architectures.

An energy-aware on-demand Bluetooth scatternet formation and routing protocol taking into account network architecture and traffic pattern is proposed. The scatternet formation protocol is able to cope with multiple sources initiating traffic simultaneously as well as prolong network lifetime. A modified Inquiry scheme using extended ID packet is introduced for fast device discovery and power efficient propagation of route request messages with low delay. A mechanism employing POLL packets in Page processes is proposed to transfer scatternet formation and route reply information without extra overhead. In addition, the energy aware forwarding nodes selection scheme is based on local information and results in more uniform network resource utilization and improved network lifetime. Simulation results show that this protocol can provide scatternet formation with reasonable delay and with good load balance which results in prolonged network lifetime for Bluetooth-based wireless sensor networks. In this research, a metric-based scatternet formation algorithm for the Bluetooth-based sensor motes is presented. It optimizes the Bluetooth network formation from the hop distance and link quality perspectives. In addition, a smart repair mechanism is proposed to deal with link/node failure and recover the network connectivity promptly with low overhead. The experiments with the Intel Mote platform demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimizations. This research also investigates the scalability of ad hoc routing protocols in very large-scale wireless ad hoc networks. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted of the performance of an on-demand routing protocol on a very large-scale, with as many as 50,000 nodes in the network. The scalability analysis is addressed based on various network sizes, node density, traffic load, and mobility. The reasons for packet loss are analyzed and categorized at each network layer. Based on the observations, we observe the effect of the parameter selection and try to exhaust the scalability boundary of the on-demand routing protocol for wireless ad hoc networks.