<p>When using Voice over IP (VoIP) in Wireless Mesh Networks the overhead induced by the IEEE 802.11 PHY and MAC layer accounts for more than 80% of the channel utilization time, while the actual payload only uses 20% of the time. As a consequence, the Voice over IP capacity is very low. To increase the channel utilization efficiency and the capacity several IP packets can be aggregated in one large packet and transmitted at once. This paper presents a new hop-by-hop IP packet aggregation scheme for Wireless Mesh Networks.</p><p>The size of the aggregation packets is a very important performance factor. Too small packets yield poor aggregation efficiency; too large packets are likely to get dropped when the channel quality is poor. Two novel distributed protocols for calculation of the optimum respectively maximum packet size are described. The first protocol assesses network load by counting the arrival rate of routing protocol probe messages and constantly measuring the signal-to-noise ratio of the channel. Thereby the optimum packet size of the current channel condition can be calculated. The second protocol, which is a simplified version of the first one, measures the signal-to-noise ratio and calculates the maximum packet size.</p><p>The latter method is implemented in the ns-2 network simulator. Performance measurements with no aggregation, a fixed maximum packet size and an adaptive maximum packet size are conducted in two different topologies. Simulation results show that packet aggregation can more than double the number of supported VoIP calls in a Wireless Mesh Network. Adaptively determining the maximum packet size is especially useful when the nodes have different distances or the channel quality is very poor. In that case, adaptive aggregation supports twice as many VoIP calls as fixed maximum packet size aggregation.</p>

Due to the high availability of cheap hardware, wireless multi-hop networks and in particular Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) are becoming popular in more and more contexts. For instance, IEEE 802.11 based WMNs have already started to be deployed as means to provide Internet access to rural areas in the developing world. To lower the cost and increase the coverage in such deployments, the wired network is extended with a wireless backbone of fixed mesh routers. With advances in technology and reduction in price comes also the possibility for more powerful wireless nodes, having multiple radios that allow transmitting on different channels in parallel. To be a successful platform for providing general Internet access, wireless multi-hop networks must provide support for common Internet applications. As most of the applications in the Internet today use the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), TCP performance is crucial. Unfortunately, the design of TCP’s congestion control that made it successful in today’s Internet makes it perform less than optimal in wireless multi-hop networks. This is due to, among others, TCP’s inability to distinguish wireless losses from congestion losses. The current trend for operating system designers is also to focus TCP development on high-speed fixed networks, rather than on wireless multi-hop networks. To enable wireless multi hop networks as a successful platform there is therefore a need to provide good performance using TCP variants commonly deployed in the Internet. In this thesis, we develop novel proposals for the network layer in wireless multi-hop networks to support TCP traffic more efficiently. As an initial study, we experimentally evaluate different TCP variants, with and without mobile nodes, in a MANET context. Our results show that TCP Vegas, which does not provoke packet loss to determine available bandwidth, reduces the stress on the network while still providing the same or slightly increased performance, compared to TCP Newreno. We further propose and evaluate packet aggregation combined with aggregation aware multi-path forwarding to better utilize the available bandwidth. IP layer packet aggregation, where small packets are combined to larger ones before sent to the link layer, has been shown to improve the performance in wireless multi-hop networks for UDP and small packet transfers. Only few studies have been made on the impact of packet aggregation on TCP traffic, despite the fact that TCP traffic constitutes the majority of the Internet traffic. We propose a novel aggregation algorithm that is specifically addressing TCP relevant issues like packet reordering, fairness and TCP timeouts. In a typical WMN scenario, the aggregation algorithm increases TCP performance by up to 70 % and decreases round trip time (RTT) by up to 40 %. A detailed evaluation of packet aggregation in a multi radio setting has shown that a naive combination of multi path routing and packet aggregation can cause valuable aggregation opportunities to be lost. Therefore, we propose a novel combined packet aggregation and aggregation aware forwarding strategy that can reduce delay, packet loss and increase TCP performance by around 30 %.

When using Voice over IP (VoIP) in Wireless Mesh Networks the overhead induced by the IEEE 802.11 PHY and MAC layer accounts for more than 80% of the channel utilization time, while the actual payload only uses 20% of the time. As a consequence, the Voice over IP capacity is very low. To increase the channel utilization efficiency and the capacity several IP packets can be aggregated in one large packet and transmitted at once. This paper presents a new hop-by-hop IP packet aggregation scheme for Wireless Mesh Networks. The size of the aggregation packets is a very important performance factor. Too small packets yield poor aggregation efficiency; too large packets are likely to get dropped when the channel quality is poor. Two novel distributed protocols for calculation of the optimum respectively maximum packet size are described. The first protocol assesses network load by counting the arrival rate of routing protocol probe messages and constantly measuring the signal-to-noise ratio of the channel. Thereby the optimum packet size of the current channel condition can be calculated. The second protocol, which is a simplified version of the first one, measures the signal-to-noise ratio and calculates the maximum packet size. The latter method is implemented in the ns-2 network simulator. Performance measurements with no aggregation, a fixed maximum packet size and an adaptive maximum packet size are conducted in two different topologies. Simulation results show that packet aggregation can more than double the number of supported VoIP calls in a Wireless Mesh Network. Adaptively determining the maximum packet size is especially useful when the nodes have different distances or the channel quality is very poor. In that case, adaptive aggregation supports twice as many VoIP calls as fixed maximum packet size aggregation.

Après l'augmentation des capacités physiques des réseaux sans-fil, l'amélioration du faible rendement MAC permet aujourd'hui aux utilisateurs de bénéficier de bandes passantes inédites. Cette amélioration est notamment rendue possible par la création de systèmes d'agrégation. Or si ces systèmes permettent d'améliorer la bande passante offerte, plusieurs problématiques se posent quant à leur influence sur le comportement du système en particulier en cas de forte concurrence pour l'accès au medium. L'agrégation étudiée dans ce mémoire effectue une concaténation de plusieurs paquets dans une seule trame. Cette opération permet aux paquets de partager les en-têtes. Outre la perte de signification quant à la valeur d'un paquet, la configuration des paramètres d'un tel système reste aujourd'hui obscure pour le fournisseur d'accès. Comme les intérêts du fournisseur et de ses clients peuvent diverger, il est également nécessaire de tenir compte du compromis entre leurs exigences respectives. Afin d'adresser ces problématiques, ces travaux de thèse se concentrent sur une analyse approfondie du comportement et des implications d'un système d'agrégation de paquets (avec IEEE 802.11n pour cas d'étude). L'influence de l'agrégation sur la qualité de service offerte à une application est quantifiée au travers de plusieurs milliers de simulations effectuées avec Riverbed Modeler. Des recommandations sont ensuite proposées pour la bonne configuration du système d'agrégation dans l'optique d'optimiser les délais et l'arriéré de traitement. L'accent est mis sur les performances offertes à un flux particulier en concurrence pour le medium. Ceci dans le but de clarifier l'influence de l'agrégation sur chaque client. Cette thèse développe également un modèle analytique dudit système basé sur la théorie du calcul réseau. Les limites d'un tel modèle sont démontrées et son pessimisme est déterminé à l'aide d'une analyse fine du comportement de l'agrégation 802.11n. Cette étude démontre notamment une relative inadaptation de la théorie du calcul réseau au système d'agrégation considéré. Des ajustements de la théorie sont alors proposés, en particulier vis à vis du calcul du service rendu à un flux. Afin d'aider le fournisseur d'accès dans la configuration du système d'agrégation, cette thèse propose en dernier lieu un algorithme de configuration dynamique des paramètres d'agrégation. Cet algorithme est établi à partir des recommandations instructives établies précédemment. Son originalité repose sur la désactivation de l'agrégation en fonction de l'état des stations concurrentes. Implémenté dans Riverbed Modeler, cet algorithme montre son efficacité. De nouvelles problématiques se posent quant à son implémentation réelle (distribuée, centralisée, ...). / After the increase of the capacity of wireless networks, the improvement of the low efficiency allows users to benefit from higher bandwidths. This improvement is partly due to the creation of aggregation's systems. Now, if these systems allow to improve the offered bandwidth, several problems arise about their influence on the behavior of the system. In particular, the case of strong competition for the access to the medium remains unknown. The aggregation studied in this thesis makes a concatenation of several packets in a single frame. This operation allows the packets to share headers. Besides the loss of meaning about the value of a packet, the configuration of such a system remains today obscure for the access provider. As the interests of the provider and its customers may differ, it is also necessary to consider a compromise between their respective requirements. To address these issues, this thesis focuses on a thorough analysis of the behavior and the implications of a packet aggregation system (with IEEE 802.11n as case study). The impact of aggregation on the quality of service provided to an application is quantified through thousands of simulations with Riverbed Modeler. Recommendations are then proposed for the proper setup of the aggregation system to optimize delay and backlog. This thesis focuses on the performances offered to a particular flow in competition for the medium. Its aim is to show the influence of the aggregation on each customer. This thesis also develops an analytical model of the aggregation system using the network calculus theory. The limitations of such a model are demonstrated. Its pessimism is determined using a detailed analysis of the 802.11n aggregation. This study demonstrates a particular relative inadequacy of network calculus to the aggregation system considered. Adjustments of the theory are then proposed, particularly for the calculation of the residuel service offered to a customer. To help the access provider in the configuration of the aggregation system, this thesis lastly proposes an algorithm for a dynamic configuration of the aggregation. This algorithm is established from the recommendations previously established. Its originality is based on the deactivation of the aggregation according to the state of the competing stations. Implemented in Riverbed Modeler, this algorithm shows its efficiency. Then, new problems arise about its real implementation (distributed, centralized, ...).

Wireless communication has seen a tremendous growth in the last decades. Continuing on this trend, wireless multi-hop networks  are nowadays used or planned for use in a multitude of contexts, spanning from Internet access at home to emergency situations. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) provides reliable and ordered delivery of a data and is used by major Internet applications such as web browsers, email clients and file transfer programs. TCP traffic is also the dominating traffic type on the Internet. However, TCP performs less than optimal in wireless multi-hop networks due to packet reordering, low link capacity, packet loss and variable delay. In this thesis, we develop novel proposals for enhancing the network and transport layer to improve TCP performance in wireless multi-hop networks. As initial studies, we experimentally evaluate the performance of different TCP variants, with and without mobile nodes. We further evaluate the impact of multi-path routing on TCP performance and propose packet aggregation combined with aggregation aware multi-path forwarding as a means to better utilize the available bandwidth. The last contribution is a novel extension to multi-path TCP to  enable single-homed hosts to fully utilize the network capacity. / <p>Opponent changed. Prof. C. Lindeman from the University of Leipzig was substituted by Prof. Zhang.</p>

Abstract Substantially growing data traffic over wireless networks poses increased challenges for mobile network operators in deploying sufficient network resources and managing user mobility. This dissertation considers these challenges to providing satisfactory Quality of Service (QoS) for end-users and studies solutions for better utilization of the heterogeneous network environment. First, the dissertation examines what solutions mobile devices and network management entities can use to dynamically collect valid cross-layer information from different network entities. Cross-layer information allows monitoring of the condition of the network in multiple layers on a user and application basis. The second research topic considers the techniques the network management entities can use to improve resource usage in wireless networks based on the collected cross-layer information. The IEEE 802.21 standard, specified to facilitate handovers between heterogeneous networks, is used as the basis for cross-layer information delivery. This dissertation also focuses on utilization of the standard beyond the inter-access technology handovers. In order to improve resource usage in wireless networks dynamically, event delivery enhancements are proposed for the standard so that it better applies to the requirements of different techniques. Such techniques are traffic priority adjustment, traffic adaptation, packet aggregation, and network protocol header compression. The results show that when a handover is not feasible, these techniques effectively allow sharing of the limited radio resources for the user data according to applications’ importance and type. Mobility management is studied in terms of network information service, one of the main services of IEEE 802.21. The thesis proposes enhancing the information service with a base station cell coverage area database. The database provides significant improvements for the selection of a handover target in a dense base station environment. With all the results taken together, the dissertation provides mobile network operators various means to improve the usage of wireless networks on the basis of applications’ varying QoS requirements. / Tiivistelmä Voimakkaasti kasvava langattomien tietoverkkojen dataliikenne aiheuttaa verkko-operaattoreille haasteita tarjota riittävät verkkoresurssit ja hallita käyttäjien liikkuvuutta. Väitöskirja huomioi nämä haasteet tarjota loppukäyttäjille tyydyttävä palvelunlaatu (QoS) ja tutkii ratkaisuja, joilla heterogeenistä verkkoympäristöä voidaan hyödyntää tehokkaammin. Aluksi väitöskirja tutkii, mitä ratkaisuja päätelaitteet ja verkkohallintatoimijat voivat käyttää keräämään protokollakerrosten välistä (cross-layer) tietoa eri verkkotoimijoilta. Protokollakerrosten välinen tieto mahdollistaa verkon tilan seuraamisen usealla eri kerroksella käyttäjä- ja sovelluskohtaisesti. Toinen tutkimusaihe tarkastelee protokollakerrosten välistä tietoa hyödyntäviä tekniikoita, joita verkonhallintatoimijat voivat käyttää tehostamaan resurssien käyttöä langattomissa verkoissa. IEEE 802.21-standardia, joka on määritetty helpottamaan verkonvaihtoja heterogeenisten verkkojen välillä, käytetään pohjana protokollakerrosten välisen tiedon jakelulle. Väitöskirjassa keskitytään standardin hyödyntämiseen myös muussa kuin verkkoteknologioiden välisen verkonvaihdon yhteydessä. Väitöskirja ehdottaa parannuksia standardin tapahtumatietovälitykseen, jotta se täyttäisi paremmin eri tekniikoiden asettamat vaatimukset dynaamisesti toteutettavista toimista langattomien verkkojen resurssikäytön tehostamiseksi. Nämä tekniikat ovat liikenteen prioriteetin muutokset, liikenteen adaptointi, pakettien yhdistäminen ja verkkoprotokollaotsikoiden pakkaus. Tulokset osoittavat, että kun tukiasema- tai verkonvaihto ei ole mahdollinen, nämä tekniikat mahdollistavat rajattujen verkkoresurssien jakamisen tehokkaasti sovellusten tärkeyden ja tyypin mukaan. Liikkuvuudenhallintaa tutkitaan verkkoinformaatiopalvelun, joka on myös yksi IEEE 802.21-standardin pääpalveluista, kautta. Väitöskirja ehdottaa, että informaatiopalvelua tehostetaan liittämällä siihen tietokanta tukiasemasolujen peittoalueista. Tietokanta tehostaa huomattavasti verkonvaihdon kohteen valintaa tiheissä tukiasemaympäristöissä. Kun väitöskirjan tulokset huomioidaan kokonaisuutena, väitöskirja tarjoaa verkko-operaattoreille useita tapoja tehostaa langattomien verkkojen käyttöä sovellusten vaihtelevien palvelunlaatuvaatimusten perusteella.