A mobile ad-hoc network is an autonomous network of mobile devices that are connected via wireless links. In such networks there is no pre-existing infrastructure and nodes are free to move in a random fashion. Due to this mobility mobile ad-hoc networks have dynamic topologies. A host in the network typically has limited bandwidth and energy resources. Routing is a major challenge in the development of such systems and there have been many solutions proposed in the recent past. The aim of this work is to design and implement a routing scheme for a Positional Communication System (PCS). The PCS is a network of mobile handheld pocket PCs connected via wireless interfaces. The system allows voice and data communication between nodes in the network. This dissertation addresses the process of designing a routing protocol for an ad-hoc network. There have been many proposed algorithms that solve the routing problem in a mobile ad-hoc network. It is a difficult task to compare the performance of'these protocols qualitatively as there are many parameters that affect network performance. Various simulation packages for networks of this type exist. One such package is the Network Simulator (NS-2). It is a discrete time event simulator that can be used to model wired and wireless networks. This dissertation presents NS-2 simulations that compare four recently proposed routing algorithms. From this comparison study it is shown that on-demand algorithms perform best in a mobile ad-hoc environment. The dissertation then describes the design of a novel on-demand routing algorithm. The ondemand algorithms proposed thus far use a blind flooding technique during the route discovery process. This method is inefficient and creates excessive routing overhead. The routing protocol proposed in the dissertation implements a query localization technique that significantly reduces the network traffic. The protocol also introduces a load checking metric in addition to the metric used by most on-demand schemes, namely hop count. Simulation results show that such a scheme makes the on-demand routing algorithm more efficient and scalable than existing ones. It is widely believed that prior to implementing a routing protocol in real world systems it is essential that it is tested and validated on a test-bed. The dissertation presents the implementation of an on-demand routing algorithm in a Positional Communication System test-bed, where each handheld PC in the network runs an embedded Linux operating system. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

There has been significant interest in the research community on detectors for DS-CDMA systems. The conventional detector, which detects users ' data bits, by using a filter matched to the users' spreading codes, has two major drawbacks. These drawbacks are (1) its capacity is limited by multiple access interference (MAl) and (2) it suffers from the near-far problem. The remedy to these problems is to use a multiuser detector, which exploits knowledge of users ' transmission and channel parameters to mitigate MAl. Such detectors are called multi user detectors (MUD). A number of these detectors have been proposed in the literature. The first such detector is the optimal detector proposed by Verdu. Following Verdu's work a number of suboptimal detector were proposed. These detectors offer better computational complexity at the expense of the bit error rate performance. Examples of these detectors are the decorrelating detector, the minimum mean squared error detector (MMSE), the successive interference cancellation and parallel interference cancellation. In this thesis, we consider the adaptive DS-CDMA MMSE detector, where lattice-based filter algorithms are employed to suppress MAl. Most of the work in the literature has considered the implementation of this detector using the Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm. The disadvantage of using the LMS algorithm to implement the MMSE detector is that the LMS algorithm converges very slowly. The main aims of this thesis are as follows. A review of the literature on MUD is presented. A lattice based MUD is then proposed and its performance evaluated using both simulation and analytical methods. The results obtained are compared with those of the LMSMMSE detector. From the results obtained the adaptive Lattice-MMSE detector is shown to offer good performance tradeoff between convergence results and BER results. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Recent studies have shown that considerable system capacity gains in mobile communication systems can be obtained by exploiting the use of antenna arrays at the base station. Unfortunately, these studies make little mention of practical issues concerning implementation. It is thus one of the objectives of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Radio Access Technologies at the University of Natal to investigate the development of a widehand CDMA adaptive array transceiver using Alcatel software radios as the transceiver platforms. Such a transceiver system can be subdivided into three major sections: RF front-end, signal digitization and baseband processing stages. Due to the enormity of such an undertaking, the research outlined in this thesis is focused on (but not isolated to) some aspects of the RF front-end implementation for the proposed system. The work in this thesis can be catergorized into two sections. The first section focuses on the theoretical and practical (or implementation) aspects of antenna arrays and beamforming. In particular, it is evident that digital (rather than analogue) beamforming in a multi user environment, is a more viable option from both a cost and implementation standpoint. The second section evaluates the impact of RF component noise and local oscillator generated phase noise in a DS-CDMA system. The implementation of a RP front-end for a BPSK transceiver also forms part of the work in this section. LO phase noise and Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) measurements are performed on this system to support relevant theory. By use of the HP89410A phase noise measurement utility and the phase noise theory developed in this thesis, a quantitative phase noise comparison between two frequency sources used in the system were made. EVM measurement results conclusively verified the importance of an LNA in the system. It has also been shown that the DS-CDMA simulated system exhibits superior performance to the implemented BPSK system. Furthermore, an EVM troubleshooting methodology is introduced to identify possible impairments within the BPSK receiver RF front-end. However, this thesis was written with the intention of bridging the gap between the theoretical and practical implementation aspects of RP wireless communication systems. It is the author's opinion that this has been achieved to a certain extent. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Wireless mobile communication is witnessing a rapid growth in, and demand for, improved technology and range of information types and services. Further, third generation cellular networks are expected to provide mobile users with ubiquitous wireless access to a global backbone architecture that carries a wide variety of electronic services. We examine the topic of power control and models that arc suitable for modem third generation wireless networks. CDMA technology is proving to be a promising and attractive approach for spectrally efficient, economical and high quality digital communications wireless networks. This thesis addresses the challenge of integrating heterogeneous transmitting sources with a broad range of Quality of Service characteristics in the cellular COMA networks. Provided the right power control can be devised, COMA offers the potential of extracting gain from the statistical multiplexing of such sources. A distributed power control algorithm is proposed which is required to update the transmitted power of the mobiles in each of the service classes locally. and enhance the performance of the system significantly. Algorithms for pragmatic issues like power level quantization and truncation of power are derived and incorporated into the proposed distributed power control algorithm. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Personal wireless communications networks have flourished over the last decade as advances in digital cellular technology have made them more accessible to the general public. Third Generation Cellular Communication systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA) as the multiple access technique, show great scope for improvement in terms of capacity, through the use of advanced signal processing techniques. Two of the leading areas that encompass these techniques are space-time processing (smart antennas) and multiuser detection (MUD). Space-time-MUD (ST-MUD) is a relatively new field that hopes to bring together these two techniques. The focus of this thesis is ST -MUD in the context of a multi-carrier direct sequence CDMA (MC-DS-CDMA) communications system, which is one of the adopted multiple access techniques for the upcoming third generation cellular communications systems. The concepts of MUD and smart antennas are discussed, and their performance enhancing capabilities are demonstrated. The use of vector channel models and their role in modelling the propagation phenomena of the communications channel in terms of the space, time and frequency domains is also illustrated. A ST-MUD receiver architecture is presented, and the performance of the architecture with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) decision criterion is analysed in a frequency selective Rayleigh fading channel. The analysis results are verified via simulation. Three subspace MUD techniques are adapted for ST -MUD, and the joint space-frequency- multi path MMSE solution on these subspaces is given. Simulation results are used to quantify their relative performance. The relevance and applications of the subspace techniques are elaborated. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Satellite networks provide an alternative to terrestrial networks where cost and lack of infrastructure are driving parameters. For a satellite network to be cost effective one needs to be able to increase the efficiency of the network: this is accomplished by focusing on the parameters that affect the performance of the system and improving on them where possible. The factors affecting the network performance include the capacity, the propagation delay, the protocol used, and the channel error rate, among others. There are various ways to implement a satellite network depending on the satellite orbit, the architecture used, the access technique used, the radio interfaces used, etc. This thesis work describes the chosen satellite standard, Digital Video Broadcasting – Return Channel via Satellite (DVB-RCS) and the associated Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols. Two protocols were designed and investigated under ideal channel conditions, these being the Combined Free/Demand Assigned Multiple Access with Piggy Backing – Packet Dropping (CF/DAMA-PB-PD) protocol; and the Combined Free/Demand Assigned Multiple Access with Piggy Backing – Prioritised Earliest Deadline First (CF/DAMA-PB-PEDF) protocol, both derived from the Combined Free/Demand Assigned Multiple Access with Piggy Backing (CF/DAMA-PB) protocol. The multimedia traffic models for voice, video and web classes are described, validated through simulations and presented; these provide the heterogeneous vi traffic required for evaluating the performance of the satellite system implemented and the designed protocols. Under the multimedia traffic, CF/DAMA-PB-PD was shown to excel in average packet delay reduction while reducing the overall system throughput. The CF/DAMA-PB-PEDF does not contribute to an improvement over the CF/DAMA-PB-PD protocol. The effects of a non-ideal channel on the CF/DAMA-PB-PD protocol was investigated and presented along with the design of three MAC protocols that take the channel characteristics into account to improve on the system performance. The cross-layer interactions, more specifically the interaction between the physical and data–link layers, were used, investigated and presented. The channel state information in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was used to improve the system performance. The five protocols evaluated under non-ideal channel conditions were the CF/DAMA-PB, CF/DAMA-PB-PD, CF/DAMA-PB-BSNRF, CF/DAMA-PB-DD and the CF/DAMA-PB-BSNRF+DD. The best overall performance, both in average packet delay while maintaining good QoS levels and throughput was shown to be that of the CF/DAMA-PB-DD protocol. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This project involved porting a Graphical Software Package (GSP) from the proprietary IDS-BO Gerber CAD system onto a more modern computer that would allow student access for further study and development. Because of the popularity of Unix as an "open systems environment", the computer chosen was an HP9000 using the HP-UX operating system. In addition, it was decided to implement a standard Graphical Kernel System (GKS) interface to provide further portability and to cater for the expected growth of the GKS as an international standard. By way of introduction, a brief general overview of computer graphics, some of the essential considerations for the design of a graphics package and a description of the work undertaken are presented. Then follows a detailed presentation of the two systems central to this project i) the lDS-8O Gerber proprietary CAD system, with particular attention being paid to the Graphical Software Package (GSP) which it uses and ii) the Graphical Kernel System (GKS) which has become a widely accepted international graphics standard. The major differences between the lDS-8O Gerber GSP system and the GKS system are indicated. Following the theoretical presentation of the GSP and GKS systems, the practical work involved in first implementing a "skeleton" GKS interface on the HP9000 Unix System, incorporating the existing Advanced Graphics Package (AGP) is presented. The establishment of a GKS interface then allows an lDS-8O Gerber GSP interface to be developed and mapped onto this. Detailed description is given of the methods employed for this implementation and the reasons for the data structures chosen. The procedures and considerations for the testing and verification of the total .system implemented on the HP9000 then follow. Original lDS-8O Gerber 2-D .applications software was used for the purpose of testing. The implementation of the data base that this software uses is also presented. Conclusions on system performance are finally presented as well as suggested areas for possible further work. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

The performance of an interactive graphics/computer aided design system, such as the IC layout and rule checking package implemented as part of the schematic drawing application on the Gerber Systems Technology IDS-80, is very closely related to the performance of the system's data base. This is due to the fact that most editing functions on an interactive graphics/CAD system are data base intensive functions and the data base and its management routines form one of the major building blocks of a CAD system. It can therefore be said that the performance of a CAD system is directly dependent on the data base access time and the efficiency of the managing routines. The primary objective of this project was to enhance the performance of the IC layout and rule checking package. This was done by improving the performance of the data base of the system. This was achieved by following two mutually supportive paths. The first was the transportation of the software to a new host machine which had a 32-bit processor and virtual memory capabilities. The second was to try and improve the performance of the transported data base by utilising sophisticated data base structures and memory management·techniques facilitated by the larger available memory of the new host to optimise the data base operations. The effectiveness of the two paths in achieving their respective goals was evaluated using evaluation programs which simulated characteristic data base activities.This thesis documents the above process, as well as expounds on some of the background related theory which was instrumental in the progress of the project and the drawing of the final conclusions. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1987.

The phenomenal growth of digital multimedia applications has forced the communications

This project was undertaken for a commercial electronics company, CONTROL LOGIC (CONLOG) which is involved in the research, design, development and manufacture of data acquisition, control, energy management and automotive equipment. Currently CONLOG uses an inhouse token passing local area network CONET for industrial data communications.The need had arisen to provide a means of data communication amongst widely geographically distributed remote terminal units (RTUs) generating demands at a very low duty cycle. A need for communications between RTUs and a centralised controller was also required. In addition to this, multihop communications between the RTUs was required. Packet switching using a broadcast radio network provides an efficient means of achieving this. An investigation into to the various media access control protocols and contention techniques using packet radio was carried out. The various media access techniques were compared with respect to throughput and normalised delay. This led to the selection of a media access scheme for the packet radio network using RTUs. A protocol specification control is centralised or Interconnect Organisation.The switching protocol (OSI) for the packet radio network, in which distributed, was done. The architechure of specified adheres to the Open Systems model of the International Standards.An experimental packet switching radio network was implemented using the protocol specification defined above. The packet radio network (PACNET) uses existing off the shelf radios and purpose built hardware for the remote terminal units. The thesis describes methods of data communications suitable for widely dispersed industrial data communications, the selection of the packet switching media access methods and control protocols, and the design and implementation of the prototype system. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, 1992.