Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We use Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimisation (EMOO) algorithms to optimise objective functions that reflect situations in communication networks. These include functions that optimise Network Engineering (NE) objective functions in core, metro and wireless sensor networks. The main contributions of this thesis are threefold. Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) for IP backbone networks. Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) is a problem that has been widely addressed by the optical research community. A recent interest in this problem has been raised by the need to achieve routing optimisation in the emerging generation multilayer networks where data networks are layered above a Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) network. We formulate the RWA as both a single and a multi-objective optimisation problem which are solved using a two-step solution where (1) a set of paths are found using genetic optimisation and (2) a graph coloring approach is implemented to assign wavelengths to these paths. The experimental results from both optimisation scenarios reveal the impact of (1) the cost metric used which equivalently defines the fitness function (2) the algorithmic solution adopted and (3) the topology of the network on the performance achieved by the RWA procedure in terms of path quality and wavelength assignment. Optimisation of Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) Metro Networks. An Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) is a device that can be used as a multiplexer or demultiplexer in WDM systems. It can also be used as a drop-and-insert element or even a wavelength router. We take a closer look at how the hardware and software parameters of an AWG can be fine tuned in order to maximise throughput and minimise the delay. We adopt a multi-objective optimisation approach for multi-service AWG-based single hop metro WDM networks. Using a previously proposed multi-objective optimisation model as a benchmark, we propose several EMOO solutions and compare their efficiency by evaluating their impact on the performance achieved by the AWG optimisation process. Simulation reveals that (1) different EMOO algorithms can exhibit different performance patterns and (2) good network planning and operation solutions for a wide range of traffic scenarios can result from a well selected EMOO algorithm. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) Topology (layout) Optimisation. WSNs have been used in a number of application areas to achieve vital functions in situations where humans cannot constantly be available for certain tasks such as in hostile areas like war zones, seismic sensing where continuous inspection and detection are needed, and many other applications such as environment monitoring, military operations and surveillance. Research and practice have shown that there is a need to optimise the topology (layout) of such sensors on the ground because the position on which they land may affect the sensing efficiency. We formulate the problem of layout optimisation as a multi-objective optimisation problem consisting of maximising both the coverage (area) and the lifetime of the wireless sensor network. We propose different algorithmic evolutionary multi-objective methods and compare their performance in terms of Pareto solutions. Simulations reveal that the Pareto solutions found lead to different performance patterns and types of layouts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons gebruik ”Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimisation (EMOO)” algoritmes om teiken funksies, wat egte situasies in kommunikasie netwerke voorstel, te optimiseer. Hierdie sluit funksies in wat ”Network Engineering” teiken funksies in kern, metro en wireless sensor netwerke optimiseer. Die hoof doelwitte van hierdie tesis is dus drievuldig. RWA vir IP backbone netwerke ”Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA)” is ’n probleem wat al menigte kere in die optiese navorsings kringe aangespreek is. Belangstelling in hierdie veld het onlangs ontstaan a.g.v. die aanvraag na die optimisering van routering in die opkomende generasie van veelvuldige vlak netwerke waar data netwerke in ’n vlak ho¨er as ’n ”Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)” netwerk gele is. Ons formuleer die RWA as beide ’n enkele and veelvuldige teiken optimiserings probleem wat opgelos word deur ’n 2-stap oplossing waar (1) ’n stel roetes gevind word deur genetiese optimisering te gebruik en (2) ’n grafiek kleuring benadering geimplementeer word om golflengtes aan hierdie roetes toe te ken. Die eksperimentele resultate van beide optimiserings gevalle vertoon die impak van (1) die koste on wat gebruik word wat die ekwalente fitness funksie definieer , (2) die algoritmiese oplossing wat gebruik word en (3) die topologie van die netwerk op die werkverrigting van die RWA prosedure i.t.v. roete kwaliteit en golflengte toekenning. Optimisering van AWG Metro netwerk ’n ”Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG)” is ’n toestel wat gebruik kan word as ’n multipleksor of demultipleksor in WDM sisteme. Dit kan ook gebruik word as ’n val-en-inplaas element of selfs ’n golflengte router. Kennis word ingestel na hoe die hardeware en sagteware parameters van ’n AWG ingestel kan word om die deurset tempo te maksimeer en vertragings te minimiseer. Ons neem ’n multi-teiken optimiserings benadering vir multi diens, AWG gebaseerde, enkel skakel, metro WDM netwerke aan. Deur ’n vooraf voorgestelde multi teiken optimiserings model as ”benchmark” te gebruik, stel ons ’n aantal EMOO oplossings voor en vergelyk ons hul effektiwiteit deur hul impak op die werkverrigting wat deur die AWG optimiserings proses bereik kan word, te vergelyk. Simulasie modelle wys dat (1) verskillende EMOO algoritmes verskillende werkverrigtings patrone kan vertoon en (2) dat goeie netwerk beplanning en werking oplossings vir ’n wye verskeidenheid van verkeer gevalle kan plaasvind a.g.v ’n EMOO algoritme wat reg gekies word. ”Wireless Sensor Network” Topologie Optimisering WSNs is al gebruik om belangrike funksies te verrig in ’n aantal toepassings waar menslike beheer nie konstant beskikbaar is nie, of kan wees nie. Voorbeelde van sulke gevalle is oorlog gebiede, seismiese metings waar aaneenlopende inspeksie en meting nodig is, omgewings meting, militˆere operasies en bewaking. Navorsing en praktiese toepassing het getoon dat daar ’n aanvraag na die optimisering van die topologie van sulke sensors is, gebaseer op gronde van die feit dat die posisie waar die sensor beland, die effektiwiteit van die sensor kan affekteer. Ons formuleer die probleem van uitleg optimisering as ’n veelvuldige vlak optimiserings probleem wat bestaan uit die maksimering van beide die bedekkings area en die leeftyd van die wireless sensor netwerk. Ons stel verskillende algoritmiese, evolutionˆere, veelvuldige vlak oplossings voor en vergelyk hul werkverrigting i.t.v Pareto oplossings. Simulasie modelle wys dat die Pareto oplossings wat gevind word lei na verskillende werkverrigtings patrone en uitleg tipes.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006. / From the 1990s onwards, significant developments have occurred in the international telecommunications sector that have affected the South African telecommunications industry and peoples' access to the telephony. Rapid developments in Information and Communication Technologies together with the reorganisation of telecommunications operators through commercialisation, privatisation and market liberalisation have resulted in monopoly operators moving away from their public service mandates. Globalisation and adherence to World Trade Organisation rules are causing operators to rebalance their tariffs, long-distance rates are decreasing while the cost of local calls is increasing. High-end users of telecommunication services are benefiting while low-end, largely residential users are being priced off the network. The end result is a negative effect on universal access to telecommunications. This study examines the extent of telecommunications reform within the South African telecommunications industry as it affects the provision of telecommunication services and the government's goal of achieving universal access in South Africa. Quantitative research methods utilising secondary data were utilised to establish that the state owned operator, Telkom, has transformed itself from a public service operator to one that is fully commercialised and prepared for competition. This study finds that despite the large roll-out programme in fixed-line telecommunications, there has been only very limited uptake for rural and low-income users. Although Telkom's exclusivity period initially caused an acceleration of the growth in net new lines from Telkom's greater investment levels, this acceleration only lasted until 2000/1 when Telkom started to enforce timely accounts payment more strictly. This resulted in an actual decrease in the total number of active lines in 2001 and 2002, despite new lines being rolled out. Household figures suggest that low-income households disconnected in large numbers. Fixed line telephony access was given to people who could not afford telephones and hence they were later disconnected. The end result was that fixed lines ended up growing at a similar rate to what they were prior to the exclusivity period, suggesting that the grand subsidisation of universal access was most likely a waste of resources and only resulted in temporary ownership improvements. A further problem now faced by government is the number of people who were disconnected from Telkom and remain indebted to the company. These households are prevented from getting a fixed-line phone until they repay their deb!. This has potentially far-reaching effects on their lives through destroying their credit rating. In contrast to fixed line telephones, the growth in cellular subscribers has grown beyond all expectations. Almost all the gains in ownership have come from the adoption of cellular by rural and low-income users. This study demonstrates that cellular is the rational choice for most low-income consumers given the different tariff structures and the average monthly spend on communication. The study further suggests that future use of universal service funds should be more technology neutral, this will enhance the role of cellular telecommunications in such plans. Removing the burden off fixed line for universal service provision may enable the acceleration of telecommunication liberalisation in South Africa. Obvious benefits are better prices and products for business users. Fixed-line technology remains the core technology for business users who require bandwidth for data services and make considerably more calls than residential users, making fixed-line the cheaper technology. Amongst the current biggest users are cellular network operators. Improving prices on leasing and interconnection should lower cellular call rates, making it even more attractive to low-income users. Finally, the new Intemational Telecommunication Union definitions for universal access and service now include cellular technology and move away from a fixed-line focus. These definitions are very much in line with the results identified in this study.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrial and Electronic Engineering.))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / This thesis covers the design and development of a radio telemetry system to assist in management of the Grumeti reserves. This was accomplished through the integration of a digital data transmission system into the existing analog voice radio network, while minimizing any possible interference. The primary application of the system is vehicle tracking, but it is also capable of supporting other telemetry data in the future. The system relies on a server based at the reserve headquarters and various client telemetry units installed in the vehicles. A vehicle’s location is requested via the server application. The results are displayed on a digital map and stored into a database. Various methods are used to reduce radio interference and support reliable transmission of data. The system is also designed to be affordable, maintainable and robust. Two prototypes were implemented to perform various tests and establish the feasibility of the sysem. It proved to be capable of meeting the main objectives and implementation will commence in the future.

Thesis (MEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The aim of this thesis is to find an a ordable and upgradeable manner of increasing the data rate of current satellite systems. The compression, modulation and amplification techniques and telecommunication regulations restrict the data rate, which are bypassed by designing a parallel channel configuration. In order to test this solution a system is developed that is based on the existing standards of DVB-S and MPEG-2. The combination of these standards protect the data from interference, package the data for ease of storage, modulate the data to more effectively radiate the signal and shape the spectrum to adhere to telecommunication regulations. The spacing between the channels is reduced and the transmitted signal is amplified to inject interference into the system. The effect of this interference on the receiver is shown by transmitting image data and comparing the received image with the original.

"The failure to consider the complexity of the regional telecommunication systems in planning has increased the telecom gap between other regions and the rural sectors in the developing countries. Earmarked funds generated by Universal Service Obligations and various types of other direct and cross-subsidies have not helped this situation. This research uses system dynamics modeling approach to understand the complexity of the system and to evaluate how different policies affect telephone densities. It is demonstrated that some of the prevalent policies may be counterproductive. Policy experiments with the model demonstrate that market-clearing pricing implemented with Universal Service Obligations, and a value-added service combination may significantly improve rural telecommunications."

"The failure to consider the complexity of the regional telecommunication systems in planning has increased the telecom gap between other regions and the rural sectors in the developing countries. Earmarked funds generated by Universal Service Obligations and various types of other direct and cross-subsidies have not helped this situation. This research uses system dynamics modeling approach to understand the complexity of the system and to evaluate how different policies affect telephone densities. It is demonstrated that some of the prevalent policies may be counterproductive. Policy experiments with the model demonstrate that market-clearing pricing implemented with Universal Service Obligations, and a value-added service combination may significantly improve rural telecommunications."

This thesis is concerned with the development of new mathematical models for the IEEE 802.11??s access mechanisms, with a particular focus on DCF and EDCA. Accurate mathematical models for the DCF and EDCA access mechanisms provide many benefits, such as improved performance analysis, easier network capacity planning, and robust network design. A feature that permeates the work presented in this thesis is the application of our new models to network environments where both saturated and non-saturated traffic sources are present. The scenario in which multiple traffic sources are present is more technically challenging, but provides for a more realistic setting. Our first contribution is the development of a new Markov model for non-saturated DCF in order to predict the network throughput. This model takes into account several details of the protocol that have been hitherto neglected. In addition, we apply a novel treatment of the packet service time within our model. We show how the inclusion of these effects provides more accurate predictions of network throughput than earlier works. Our second contribution is the development of a new analytical model for EDCA, again in order to predict network throughput. Our new EDCA model is based on a replacement of the normal AIFS parameter of EDCA with a new parameter more closely associated with DCF. This novel procedure allows EDCA to be viewed as a modified multi-mode version of DCF. Our third contribution is the simultaneous application of our new Markov models to both the non-saturated and the saturated regime. Hitherto, network throughput predictions for these regimes have required completely separate mathematical models. The convergence property of our model in the two regimes provides a new method to estimate the network capacity of the network. Our fourth contribution relates to predictions for the multimedia capacity of 802.11 networks. Our multimedia capacity analysis, which is based on modifications to our Markov model, is new in that it can be applied to a broad range of quality of service requirements. Finally, we highlight the use of our analysis in the context of emerging location-enabled networks.

The explosive growth in networked systems and applications and the increase in device capabilities (as evidenced by the availability of inexpensive multimedia devices) enable novel complex distributed applications, including video conferencing, on-demand computing services, and virtual environments. These applications' need for high performance, real-time, or reliability requires the provision of Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees along the path of information exchange between two or more communicating systems. Execution environments that are prone to dynamic variability and uncertainty make QoS provision a challenging task, e.g., changes in user behavior, resource requirements, resource availabilities, or system failures are difficult or even impossible to predict. Further, with the coexistence of multiple adaptation techniques and resource management mechanisms, it becomes increasingly important to provide an integrated or cooperative approach to distributed QoS management. This work's goals are the provision of system-level tools needed for the efficient integration of multiple adaptation approaches available at different layers of a system (e.g., application-level, operating system, or network) and the use of these tools such that distributed QoS management is performed efficiently with predictable results. These goals are addressed constructively and experimentally with the Q-Fabric architecture, which provides the required system-level mechanisms to efficiently integrate multiple adaptation techniques. The foundation of this integration is the event-based communication implemented by it, realizing a loosely-coupled group communication approach frequently found in multi-peer applications. Experimental evaluations are performed in the context of a mobile multimedia application, where the focus is directed toward efficient energy consumption on battery-operated devices. Here, integration is particularly important to prevent multiple energy management techniques found on modern mobile devices to negate the energy savings of each other.

Modern communication systems demand ever-increasing data rates. Meeting this increased demand is not easy due to regulation and fundamental physical constraints. The utilization of more than one antenna at both the transmitter and receiver produces a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel, thereby enabling (under certain channel conditions) increased data rates without the need for increased bandwidth or transmission power. Concurrent with this increase in bandwidth is an increase in the receiver's computational complexity which, for a brute-force detector, increases exponentially. For receivers that possess error correcting capabilities, the problem of constructing a detector with low computational complexity that allows for near-exact a posteriori detection is challenging for transmission schemes employing even a modest number of transmit antennas and modulation alphabet sizes. The focus of this dissertation is on the construction of MIMO detection algorithms with low and fixed computational complexity. Specifically, the detection algorithms in this dissertation generate a list of potential transmission vectors resulting in realizable communication receivers with low and fixed computational complexity combined with low error rate performance in both coded and uncoded systems. A key contribution in this dissertation is a breadth-first fixed-complexity algorithm known as the smart-ordered and candidate-adding algorithm that achieves a desirable performance-complexity tradeoff. This algorithm requires only a single pass of a search tree to find its list of transmission vectors. We then construct a framework within which we classify a large class of breadth-first detection algorithms. The design of receiver algorithms for MIMO systems employing space-time codes and error correction is an important area of study. In this dissertation we propose a low and fixed computational complexity algorithm for an increasingly significant algebraic space-time code known as the golden code. The notion of computational complexity is critical in the design of practical MIMO receivers. We provide an analysis of computational complexity in relation to list-based soft-output detection where, in some instances, bounds are placed on the computational complexity of MIMO detection. For this analysis we utilize a metric known as the number of branch metric computations. The value at which the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of conditional probabilities for a transmitted bit being either a 1 or a 0 is 'clipped' has an impact on a system's error rate performance. We propose a new approach for determining LLR clipping levels that, in contrast to prior approaches which clip to a predetermined fixed LLR clipping level, exploits channel state information to improve the error rate performance of suboptimal detection algorithms. Orthogonal frequency-division (OFDM) multiplexing is an effective technique for combating frequency-selective wideband communication channels. It is common practice for MIMO-OFDM detectors to implement the same detector at each subcarrier, in which case the overall performance is dominated by the weakest subcarrier. We propose a hard-output list detection receiver strategy for MIMO-OFDM channels called nonuniform computational complexity allocation, whereby the receiver adapts the computational resources of the MIMO detector at each subcarrier to match a metric of the corresponding channel quality. The proposed nonuniform algorithm improves performance over uniform allocation.

In this work, we focus on securing communication over wireless data networks from malicious eavesdroppers, using smart antennas. While conventional cryptography based approaches focus on hiding the meaning of the information being communicated from the eavesdropper, we consider a complimentary class of strategies that limit knowledge of the existence of the information from the eavesdropper. We profile the performance achievable using simple beamforming strategies using a newly defined metric called exposure region. We then present three strategies within the context of an approach called 'virtual arrays of physical arrays' to significantly improve the exposure region performance of a wireless LAN environment. Using simulations, analysis, and field experiments, we validate and evaluate the proposed strategies.