The objective of this dissertation is to improve the service quality of broadband optical access networks by developing advanced link- and transport- layer protocols. Current access technologies represent a significant bottleneck in bandwidth and service quality between a high-speed residential/enterprise network and a largely overbuilt core network. Although it is believed that passive optical network (PON) will be the most promising solution to provide truly broadband connections to end users, a suit of protocols are required to provide quality of service (QoS). In this dissertation, we design a new reservation MAC scheme that arbitrates upstream transmission, prevents collisions, and varies bandwidth according to demand and priority. The new access scheme exploits both WDM and TDM to cater for both light and heavy bandwidth requirements. Next, we introduce delta compression as an efficient method for fast content download. In the third part of this dissertation, we enhance the transport performance of Ethernet services by addressing the throughput optimization issue at the edge of the network. A novel SLA-aware transport control scheme is proposed to utilize reserved bandwidth more efficiently using a shifted additive increase multiplicative decrease (AIMD) algorithm, and to detect congestion more accurately based on hypothesis test. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared with traditional TCP through theoretical analyses and simulations.

In this thesis, the study mainly focuses on the current trends in development of compact multi-media mobile phone and provides a wideband monopole antenna design suitable for application in wireless communicating system in the near future. By utilizing the planar monopole antenna structure, the proposed antenna design is easy to be embedded into the mobile phone. Further, by using a shielding metal cover, we create a zone with low surface current distribution. This effect will reduce the electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the electronic elements and make it possible to integrate more related elements into the mobile phones. Finally, we use the simulation software to analyze the dielectric effect caused by the casing of mobile phone and human body on the proposed antenna.

This study explores the application of wireless local area network (WLAN) in mobile learning. Although still in its infancy, Taiwan¡¦s government has devoted much resource on mobile learning as the extention of e-Taiwan project. National museums are among the key projects where the effectiveness of mobile learning can be soundly demonstrated. Taking national museums as observing objects, this study examines whether museum visitors appreciate WLAN environment within which personal digital assistants (PDA) operate as mobile educational tools. It further explores the key success factors that leads to successful deployment of mobile learning system. The researcher conducted a two-wave survey, firstly on museum visiters then on museum and e-learning experts for data gathering. Using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as the research method, this study filters out the priority setting of those six categories as follows according to their significance: learning content, network connection, interface design, mareking and promotion, and business model. It also shows that the priority setting might change as a matter of time. As far as implication for education is concerned, the study suggests that, in the learning space of museum, PDA equipped with WLAN proves to be an appropriate mobile learning tool, notably useful in conducting blending learning and self-directed learning. Such finding should contribute to the understanding and further deployment of mobile learning activities in the context of museums. Keywords: wireless local area network (WLAN), mobile learning, blending learning, self-directed learning, personal digital assistant (PDA), fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), key success factors, museum

Increasing number of ageing population and people who need continuous health monitoring and rising the costs of health care have triggered the concept of the novel wireless technology-driven human body monitoring. Human body monitoring can be performed using a network of small and intelligent wireless medical sensors which may be attached to the body surface or implanted into the tissues. It enables carers to predict, diagnose, and react to adverse events earlier than ever. The concept of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) was introduced to fully exploit the benefits of wireless technologies in telemedicine and m-health. The main focus of this research is the design and performance evaluation of strategies and architectures that would allow seamless and efficient interconnection of patient’s body area network and the stationary (e.g., hospital room or ward) wireless networks. I first introduce the architecture of a healthcare system which bridges WBANs and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). I adopt IEEE 802.15.6 standard for the patient’s body network because it is specifically designed for WBANs. Since IEEE 802.15.6 has strict Quality of Service (QoS) and priorities to transfer the medical data to the medical server a QoS-enabled WLAN for the next hop is needed to preserve the end-to-end QoS. IEEE 802.11e standard is selected for the WLAN in the hospital room or ward because it provides prioritization for the stations in the network. I investigate in detail the requirements posed by different healthcare parameters and to analyze the performance of various alternative interconnection strategies, using the rigorous mathematical apparatus of Queuing Theory and Probabilistic Analysis; these results are independently validated through discrete event simulation models. This thesis has three main parts; performance evaluation and MAC parameters settings of IEEE 802.11e Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), performance evaluation and tuning the MAC parameters of IEEE 802.15.6, and designing a seamless and efficient interconnection strategy which bridges IEEE 802.11e EDCA and IEEE 802.15.6 standards for a healthcare system.

Increasing number of ageing population and people who need continuous health monitoring and rising the costs of health care have triggered the concept of the novel wireless technology-driven human body monitoring. Human body monitoring can be performed using a network of small and intelligent wireless medical sensors which may be attached to the body surface or implanted into the tissues. It enables carers to predict, diagnose, and react to adverse events earlier than ever. The concept of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) was introduced to fully exploit the benefits of wireless technologies in telemedicine and m-health. The main focus of this research is the design and performance evaluation of strategies and architectures that would allow seamless and efficient interconnection of patient’s body area network and the stationary (e.g., hospital room or ward) wireless networks. I first introduce the architecture of a healthcare system which bridges WBANs and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). I adopt IEEE 802.15.6 standard for the patient’s body network because it is specifically designed for WBANs. Since IEEE 802.15.6 has strict Quality of Service (QoS) and priorities to transfer the medical data to the medical server a QoS-enabled WLAN for the next hop is needed to preserve the end-to-end QoS. IEEE 802.11e standard is selected for the WLAN in the hospital room or ward because it provides prioritization for the stations in the network. I investigate in detail the requirements posed by different healthcare parameters and to analyze the performance of various alternative interconnection strategies, using the rigorous mathematical apparatus of Queuing Theory and Probabilistic Analysis; these results are independently validated through discrete event simulation models. This thesis has three main parts; performance evaluation and MAC parameters settings of IEEE 802.11e Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA), performance evaluation and tuning the MAC parameters of IEEE 802.15.6, and designing a seamless and efficient interconnection strategy which bridges IEEE 802.11e EDCA and IEEE 802.15.6 standards for a healthcare system.

Metamaterials are humanly engineered artificial electromagnetic materials which produce electromagnetic properties that are unusual, yet can be observed readily in nature. These unconventional properties are not a result of the material composition but rather of the structure formed. The objective of this thesis is to investigate and design smaller and wideband metamaterial-inspired antennas for personal communication applications, especially for WiMAX, lower band and higher band WLAN applications. These antennas have been simulated using HFSS Structure Simulator and CST Microwave Studio software. The first design to be analysed is a low-profile metamaterial-inspired CPW-Fed monopole antenna for WLAN applications. The antenna is based on a simple strip loaded with a rectangular patch incorporating a zigzag E-shape metamaterial-inspired unit cell to enable miniaturization effect. Secondly, a physically compact, CSRR loaded monopole antenna with DGS has been proposed for WiMAX/WLAN operations. The introduction of CSRR induces frequency at lower WLAN 2.45 GHz band while the DGS has provided bandwidth enhancement in WiMAX and upper WLAN frequency bands, keeping the radiation pattern stable. The next class of antenna is a compact cloud-shaped monopole antenna consisting of a staircase-shaped DGS has been proposed for UWB operation ranges from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. The novel shaped antenna along with carefully designed DGS has resulted in a positive gain throughout the operational bandwidth. Finally, a quad-band, CPW-Fed metamaterial-inspired antenna with CRLH-TL and EBG is designed for multi-band: Satellite, LTE, WiMAX and WLAN.

Abstract The contemporary information age is equipped with rich and affordable telecommunication services. In the future, people have even more flexibility when true wireless Internet and real-time multimedia are provided seamlessly over heterogeneous wireless networks. Optimally combining the capacity and services of the current and emerging networks requires a holistic view of mobility, resource and service management. This thesis contributes to the research and development of these hybrid systems with three main contributions. Firstly, a system architecture for vertical handoff in location-aware heterogeneous wireless networks is proposed. The proposed architecture enables the mobile node to prepare for approaching vertical handoffs and wake-up a hotspot interface. The needed communication procedures are discussed, and inter-related issues of mobility and geolocation information are considered in proportion to usability, advantages and limitations. Secondly, a framework for the analysis of vertical handoff algorithm sensitivity to various mobility parameters including velocity, handoff delay and dwell time is introduced. Handoff smoothing with a dwell-timer is analyzed as one potential scheme for optimizing vertical handoff locally. It is compared to a power based algorithm to find out its sensitivity to the changes in effective data rates, velocity of the terminal and the amount of handoff delay. The analysis focuses on the transition region, having case studies on both moving-in and moving-out scenarios. An optimal value for dwell-timer is found through simulations, showing a performance gain over power based algorithm as a function of mean throughput. The analysis is extended also to a multiple network scenario. Thirdly, experimental results on the behaviour of protocols used in wireless IP networks are presented. Prototype systems demonstrate results of using Mobile IP with a fuzzy logic algorithm for vertical handoff in a heterogeneous network environment and the role of IPv6 when using a voice application in a wireless LAN environment. Latest contributions include developing plug-and-play middleware functionalities for Symbian mobile devices, extending the use of the earlier results to state-of-the-art mobile devices.

This Master’s thesis deals with project of blueprints for installation of data cabling in specific building following regulations. Theoretical part describes basic overview of used regulations and principles of data networks with focus on Ethernet and Wi-Fi standards. Separated chapters cover passive layer of data networks and computer-aided-design. Practical part contains implementational and architectural drawing of data network project in multipurpose building. According to these plans the project could be realized.

Wireless devices search for access points when they want to connect to a network. A devicechooses an access point based on the received signal strength between the device and theaccess point. That method is good for staying connected in a local area network but it doesnot always offer the best performance, which can result in a slower connection. This is thestandard method of connection for wireless clients, which will be referred to as the standardprotocol. Larger networks commonly have a lot of access points in an area, which increasesthe coverage area and makes loss of signal a rare occurrence. Overlapping coverage zonesare also common, offering multiple choices for a client. The company Inteno wanted an alternativeconnection method for their gateways. The new method that was developed wouldforce the client to connect to an access point depending on the bitrate to the master, as wellas the received signal strength. These factors are affected by many different parameters.These parameters were noise, signal strength, link-rate, bandwidth usage and connectiontype. A new metric had to be introduced to make the decision process easier by unifying theavailable parameters. The new metric that was introduced is called score. A score system wascreated based on these metrics. The best suited access point would be the one with the highestscore. The developed protocol chose the gateway with the highest bitrate available, while thestandard protocol would invariably pick the closest gateway regardless. The developed protocolcould have been integrated to the standard protocol to gain the benefits of both. Thiscould not be accomplished since the information was not easily accessible on Inteno’s gatewaysand had to be neglected in this thesis. / Trådlösa enheter söker efter accesspunkt när de vill ansluta till ett nätverk. En enhet väljer enaccesspunkt beroende på den mottagna signalstyrkan mellan enheten och accesspunkten.Denna metod medför en stabil uppkoppling i ett lokalt nätverk, men medför inte alltid bästamöjliga prestanda, vilket kan resultera i en långsammare anslutning till Internet. Detta ärstandard uppkopplings metod för trådlösa klienter, vilket kommer refereras som standardprotokollen. Större nätverk har vanligtvis en mängd olika accesspunkter i ett område, vilketgör att signalstyrkan sällan förloras. Överlappande täckningsområden är också vanliga ochger en klient flera alternativa accesspunkter att välja mellan. Företaget Inteno ville tacklaproblemet genom att skapa en ny anslutningsmetod för deras nätverksnoder. Den nya metodenskulle tvinga klienter att ansluta sig till en accesspunkt beroende på bithastigheten mothuvudnoden, så väl som den mottagna signalstyrkan. Faktorerna påverkas av många olikaparametrar. Parametrarna var, brus, signalstyrka, länkhastighet, dataanvändning och anslutningstyp.Ett nytt mått behövde införas för att göra beslutsprocessen enklare, genom att förenade tillgängliga parametrarna. Det nya måttet som infördes var poäng. Ett poängsystemskapades och baserades på de önskade värdena. Den accesspunkten med högst poäng erbjödden bästa uppkopplingen till huvudnoden. Det utvecklade protokollet valde nätverksnodenmed den högsta överföringshastighet som var tillgänglig, medan standardprotokollet alltidvalde den närmaste nätverksnoden utan hänsyn till andra faktorer. Den utvecklade protokolletkunde ha integrerats med standardprotokollet för att utnyttja fördelarna av bägge protokollen.Detta var inte möjligt eftersom informationen inte var lättåtkomlig på Intenos nätverksnoderoch fick försummas i avhandlingen.

Metamaterials are humanly engineered artificial electromagnetic materials which produce electromagnetic properties that are unusual, yet can be observed readily in nature. These unconventional properties are not a result of the material composition but rather of the structure formed. The objective of this thesis is to investigate and design smaller and wideband metamaterial-inspired antennas for personal communication applications, especially for WiMAX, lower band and higher band WLAN applications. These antennas have been simulated using HFSS Structure Simulator and CST Microwave Studio software. The first design to be analysed is a low-profile metamaterial-inspired CPW-Fed monopole antenna for WLAN applications. The antenna is based on a simple strip loaded with a rectangular patch incorporating a zigzag E-shape metamaterial-inspired unit cell to enable miniaturization effect. Secondly, a physically compact, CSRR loaded monopole antenna with DGS has been proposed for WiMAX/WLAN operations. The introduction of CSRR induces frequency at lower WLAN 2.45 GHz band while the DGS has provided bandwidth enhancement in WiMAX and upper WLAN frequency bands, keeping the radiation pattern stable. The next class of antenna is a compact cloud-shaped monopole antenna consisting of a staircase-shaped DGS has been proposed for UWB operation ranges from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz. The novel shaped antenna along with carefully designed DGS has resulted in a positive gain throughout the operational bandwidth. Finally, a quad-band, CPW-Fed metamaterial-inspired antenna with CRLH-TL and EBG is designed for multi-band: Satellite, LTE, WiMAX and WLAN.