Current research on securing public computing infrastructure like Internet kiosks has focused on the use of smartphones to establish trust in a computing platform or to offload the processing of sensitive information, and the use of new cryptosystems such as Hierarchical Identity-based Encryption (HIBE) to protect kiosk user data. Challenges posed by rural kiosks, specifically (a) the absence of specialized hardware features such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) or a modifiable BIOS in older recycled PCs, (b) the potential use of periodically disconnected links between kiosks and the Internet, (c) the absence of a production-ready implementation of HIBE and (d) the limited availability of smartphones in most developing regions make these approaches difficult, if not impossible, to implement in a rural public computing scenario. In this thesis, I present a practical, unobtrusive and easy-to-use security architecture for rural public computing that uses a combination of physical and cryptographic mechanisms to protect user data, public computing infrastructure and handheld devices that access this infrastructure. Key contributions of this work include (a) a detailed threat analysis of such systems with a particular focus on rural Internet kiosks and handheld devices, (b) a security architecture for rural public computing infrastructure that does not require any specialized hardware, (c) an application-independent and backward-compatible security API for securely sending and receiving data between these systems and the Internet that can operate over delay tolerant links, (d) an implementation of my scheme for rural Internet kiosks and (e) a performance evaluation of this implementation to demonstrate its feasibility.

Current research on securing public computing infrastructure like Internet kiosks has focused on the use of smartphones to establish trust in a computing platform or to offload the processing of sensitive information, and the use of new cryptosystems such as Hierarchical Identity-based Encryption (HIBE) to protect kiosk user data. Challenges posed by rural kiosks, specifically (a) the absence of specialized hardware features such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) or a modifiable BIOS in older recycled PCs, (b) the potential use of periodically disconnected links between kiosks and the Internet, (c) the absence of a production-ready implementation of HIBE and (d) the limited availability of smartphones in most developing regions make these approaches difficult, if not impossible, to implement in a rural public computing scenario. In this thesis, I present a practical, unobtrusive and easy-to-use security architecture for rural public computing that uses a combination of physical and cryptographic mechanisms to protect user data, public computing infrastructure and handheld devices that access this infrastructure. Key contributions of this work include (a) a detailed threat analysis of such systems with a particular focus on rural Internet kiosks and handheld devices, (b) a security architecture for rural public computing infrastructure that does not require any specialized hardware, (c) an application-independent and backward-compatible security API for securely sending and receiving data between these systems and the Internet that can operate over delay tolerant links, (d) an implementation of my scheme for rural Internet kiosks and (e) a performance evaluation of this implementation to demonstrate its feasibility.

Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are mobile wireless networks that are designed to work in highly-challenged environments where the density of nodes is insufficient to support direct end-to-end communication. Recent efforts in DTNs have shown that mobility provides a powerful means for delivering messages in such highly-challenging environments. Unfortunately, many mobility scenarios depend on untethered devices with limited energy supplies. Without careful management, depleted energy supplies will degrade network connectivity and counteract the robustness gained by mobility. A primary concern is the energy consumed by wireless communications because the wireless interface is one of the largest energy consumers in mobile devices whether they are actively communicating or just listening. However, mobile devices exhibit a tension between saving energy and providing connectivity through opportunistic encounters. In order to pass messages, the device must discover communication opportunities with other nodes. At the same time, energy can be conserved by ``sleeping,' i.e., turning off or disabling the wireless interfaces. However, if the wireless interface is asleep, the node cannot discover other nodes for communication. Thus, power management in DTNs must balance the discovery of other nodes while aggressively sleeping the radio during the remaining periods. In this thesis, we first develop a power management framework for a single radio architecture that allows a node to save energy while discovering communication opportunities. The framework is tailored to the available knowledge about network connectivity over time. Further, the framework supports explicit trade-offs between energy savings and connectivity, so network operators can choose, for example, to conserve energy at the cost of reduced message delivery performance. We next examine the possibility of using a hierarchical radio architecture in which nodes are equipped with two complementary radios: a long-range, high-power radio and a short-range, low-power radio. In this architecture, energy can be conserved by using the low-power radio to discover communication opportunities with other nodes and waking the high-power radio to undertake the data transmission. However, the short range of the low-power radio may result in missing communication opportunities. Thus, we develop a generalized power management framework in which both radios support the discovery. In addition, we incorporate the knowledge of traffic load and network dynamics and devise approximation algorithms to control the sleep/wake-up cycling of the radios to provide maximum energy conservation while discovering enough communication opportunities to handle the expected traffic load. Finally, we investigate the Message Ferrying (MF) routing paradigm as a means to save energy while trading off data delivery delay. In MF, special nodes called ferries move around the deployment area to deliver messages for nodes. While this routing paradigm has been developed mainly to deliver messages in partitioned networks, here we explore its use in a connected MANET. The reliance on the movement of the ferries to deliver messages increases the delivery delay if a network is not partitioned. However, delegating message delivery to the ferries provides the opportunity for nodes to save energy by aggressively putting their radios to sleep when ferries are far away. To exploit this feature, we present a power management framework, in which nodes switch their power management modes based on the knowledge of ferry location.

This dissertation is a study on the design and analysis of novel, optimal routing and rate control algorithms in wireless, mobile communication networks. Congestion control and routing algorithms upto now have been designed and optimized for wired or wireless mesh networks. In those networks, optimal algorithms (optimal in the sense that either the throughput is maximized or delay is minimized, or the network operation cost is minimized) can be engineered based on the classic time scale decomposition assumption that the dynamics of the network are either fast enough so that these algorithms essentially see the average or slow enough that any changes can be tracked to allow the algorithms to adapt over time. However, as technological advancements enable integration of ever more mobile nodes into communication networks, any rate control or routing algorithms based, for example, on averaging out the capacity of the wireless mobile link or tracking the instantaneous capacity will perform poorly. The common element in our solution to engineering efficient routing and rate control algorithms for mobile wireless networks is to make the wireless mobile links seem as if they are wired or wireless links to all but few nodes that directly see the mobile links (either the mobiles or nodes that can transmit to or receive from the mobiles) through an appropriate use of queuing structures at these selected nodes. This approach allows us to design end-to-end rate control or routing algorithms for wireless mobile networks so that neither averaging nor instantaneous tracking is necessary, as we have done in the following three networks. A network where we can easily demonstrate the poor performance of a rate control algorithm based on either averaging or tracking is a simple wireless downlink network where a mobile node moves but stays within the coverage cell of a single base station. In such a scenario, the time scale of the variations of the quality of the wireless channel between the mobile user and the base station can be such that the TCP-like congestion control algorithm at the source can not track the variation and is therefore unable to adjust the instantaneous coding rate at which the data stream can be encoded, i.e., the channel variation time scale is matched to the TCP round trip time scale. On the other hand, setting the coding rate for the average case will still result in low throughput due to the high sensitivity of the TCP rate control algorithm to packet loss and the fact that below average channel conditions occur frequently. In this dissertation, we will propose modifications to the TCP congestion control algorithm for this simple wireless mobile downlink network that will improve the throughput without the need for any tracking of the wireless channel. Intermittently connected network (ICN) is another network where the classic assumption of time scale decomposition is no longer relevant. An intermittently connected network is composed of multiple clusters of nodes that are geographically separated. Each cluster is connected wirelessly internally, but inter-cluster communication between two nodes in different clusters must rely on mobile carrier nodes to transport data between clusters. For instance, a mobile would make contact with a cluster and pick up data from that cluster, then move to a different cluster and drop off data into the second cluster. On contact, a large amount of data can be transferred between a cluster and a mobile, but the time duration between successive mobile-cluster contacts can be relatively long. In this network, an inter-cluster rate controller based on instantaneously tracking the mobile-cluster contacts can lead to under utilization of the network resources; if it is based on using long term average achievable rate of the mobile-cluster contacts, this can lead to large buffer requirements within the clusters. We will design and analyze throughput optimal routing and rate control algorithm for ICNs with minimum delay based on a back-pressure algorithm that is neither based on averaging out or tracking the contacts. The last type of network we study is networks with stationary nodes that are far apart from each other that rely on mobile nodes to communicate with each other. Each mobile transport node can be on one of several fixed routes, and these mobiles drop off or pick up data to and from the stationaries that are on that route. Each route has an associated cost that much be paid by the mobiles to be on (a longer route would have larger cost since it would require the mobile to expend more fuel) and stationaries pay different costs to have a packet picked up by the mobiles on different routes. The challenge in this type of network is to design a distributed route selection algorithm for the mobiles and for the stationaries to stabilize the network and minimize the total network operation cost. The sum cost minimization algorithm based on average source rates and mobility movement pattern would require global knowledge of the rates and movement pattern available at all stationaries and mobiles, rendering such algorithm centralized and weak in the presence of network disruptions. Algorithms based on instantaneous contact, on the contrary, would make them impractical as the mobile-stationary contacts are extremely short and infrequent. / text

在耐延遲網路中，沒有網路服務的使用者，可以藉由各節點間的短距離傳送，透過一個間斷性的連結將資料傳送至目的地。因此，在本研究，當使用者在校園環境中，欲將手邊的資料傳送給其他使用者，但無法連結上網際網路時，可以透過與目標節點關聯性較高的節點幫忙以達到傳送資料之目的。 本論文提出一基於個人與社群資訊的資料傳送方法，以個人興趣、個人資訊與朋友關係等三個面向去分析適合用來幫助傳送資料的節點。在每個訊息中，我們加入一級別值，並在相遇到其他節點時做資訊的交換與計算，並利用選擇較高級別值的節點轉送，使資料可以透過較有效率的路線傳送至目的地。最後，我們將本論文方法與其它資料傳送方法比較評估效能，模擬結果顯示我們提出的傳送方法有較優的傳送成功率與較低的資源耗費。 / In Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), the user without network service can, through short transmission between nodes, use an intermittent route to deliver messages to the destination. In our study, when a user in the campus environment wants to send its data to others but can’t link to Internet in that moment, the user can use the node which has higher relation degree with the destination to help forward the data. In this thesis, we proposed a social-based routing approach. It is based on aspects of personal interest, personal information, and social relation to analyze which node is appropriate for data relaying. For each data, a rank value is associated with it. When the node encounters with other nodes, it will exchange and calculate data information to renew the rank value. Based on the rank value, data can be relayed to nodes with higher rank values, and thus to the destination through a more efficient way. Finally, we evaluated our approach, and compared with other routing schemes. The simulation results showed that our proposed approach had better delivery probability and lower resource cost.

There is an increasing demand for multimedia services in heterogeneous wireless networks. Considering the highly dynamic wireless channels and the relatively large size of the multimedia data, how to support efficient and reliable multimedia delivery is a pressing issue. In this dissertation, we investigate the multimedia delivery algorithms in heterogeneous wireless networks from three different aspects. First, we study the single-flow rate adaptation of video streaming algorithm over multiple wireless interfaces. In order to maintain high video streaming quality while reducing the wireless service cost, the optimal video streaming process with multiple links is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP). The reward function is designed to consider the quality of service (QoS) requirements for video traffic, such as the startup latency, playback fluency, average playback quality, playback smoothness and wireless service cost. To solve the MDP in real time, we propose an adaptive, best-action search algorithm to obtain a sub-optimal solution. To evaluate the performance of the proposed adaptation algorithm, we implemented a testbed using the Android mobile phone and the Scalable Video Coding (SVC) codec and conducted experiments with real video flow. Then, with the multiple multimedia flows competing for limited wireless resources, we propose a utility-based scheduling algorithm for multimedia transmission in Drive-thru Internet. A utility model is devised to map the throughput to user's satisfaction level in terms of multimedia data quality, such as Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of video. The objective of the scheduling problem is to maximize the total utility. Then the optimization problem is formulated as a finite-state decision problem with the assumption that future arrival information is known, and it is solved by a searching algorithm as the benchmark. To obtain a real-time solution, a practical heuristic algorithm based on the concept of utility potential is devised. We further implemented the solution and conducted extensive simulations using NS-3. Finally, the multimedia dissemination problem in large-scale VANETs is investigated. We first utilize a hybrid-network framework to address the mobility and scalability issues in large-scale VANETs content distribution. Then, we formulate a utility-based maximization problem to find the best delivery strategy and select an optimal path for the multimedia data dissemination, where the utility function has taken the delivery delay, the Quality of Services (QoS) and the storage cost into consideration. We obtain the closed-form of the utility function, and then obtain the optimal solution of the problem with the convex optimization theory. Finally, we conducted extensive trace-driven simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm with real traces collected by taxis in Shanghai. In summary, the research outcomes of the dissertation can contribute to three different aspects of multimedia delivery in heterogeneous wireless networks. First, we have proposed a real-time rate adaptation algorithm for video streaming with multiple wireless interfaces, to maintain the high quality while reducing the wireless services cost. Second, we have presented an optimal scheduling algorithm which can maximize the total satisfaction for multimedia transmission in Drive-thru Internet. Third, we have derived the theoretical analysis of the utility functions including delivery delay, QoS and the storage cost, and have obtained an optimal solution for multimedia data dissemination in large-scale VANETs to achieve the highest utility. / Graduate / 0984 / 0544

在耐延遲網路上，離線的使用者，可以透過節點的相遇，以點對點之特定訊息繞送方法，將資訊傳遞至目的地。如此解決了使用者暫時無法上網時欲傳遞資訊之困難。因此，在本研究中，當使用者在某一地區，欲查詢該地區相關之資訊，但又一時無法連上網際網路時，則可透過耐延遲網路之特性，尋求其它同樣使用本服務之使用者幫忙以達到查詢之目的。 本論文提出一適地性服務之資料搜尋方法，以三層式區域概念，及混合式節點型態，並透過資料訊息複製、查詢訊息複製、資料回覆及資料同步等四項策略來達成使用者查詢之目的。特別在訊息傳遞方面，提出一訊息佇列選擇演算法，賦予優先權概念於每一訊息中，使得較為重要之訊息得以優先傳送，藉此提高查詢之成功率及減少查詢之延遲時間。最後，我們將本論文方法與其它查詢方法比較評估效能，其模擬結果顯示我們提出的方法有較優的查詢效率與延遲。 / In Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), the offline users can, through the encountering nodes, use the specific peer-to-peer message routing approach to deliver messages to the destination. Thus, it solves the problem that users have the demands to deliver messages while they are temporarily not able to connect to Internet. Therefore, by the characteristics of DTNs, people who are not online can still query some location based information, with the help of users using the same service in the nearby area. In this thesis, we proposed a Location-based content search approach. Based on the concept of three-tier area and hybrid node types, we presented four strategies to solve the query problem. They are Data Replication, Query Replication, Data Reply and Data synchronization strategies. Especially in message transferring, we proposed a Message Queue Selection algorithm. We set the priority concept to every message such that the most important one could be sent first. In this way, it can increase the query success ratio and reduce the query delay time. Finally, we evaluated our approach, and compared with other routing schemes. The simulation results showed that our proposed approach had better query efficiency and shorter delay.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T14:03:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Polianny Almeida Lima.pdf: 1135711 bytes, checksum: 18018c30e2dd4e938af7eadcae042cbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-27 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Standard networking technologies are based on typical assumptions such as the existence of connectivity end-to-end between source and destination for the entire period of communication, low error rates, retransmission mechanisms to repair errors, and relatively small communication delays. If one or more of these assumptions are not achieved in practice, blinks occur in communication, creating challenges that must be overcome to ensure the successful transmission. In this context, came the delay-tolerant networks and disconnection (DTN - Delay Tolerant Networks), an emerging technology for communications when there is no network infrastructure and disconnections may occur frequently due to the mobility of nodes. To bypass the problem of disconnections, DTN networks use the concept of persistent storage, which becomes a problem because the nodes have limited capacity of the buffers. The question is how to select the messages that remain in buffers longer considering the unpredictable mobility of nodes, short contacts between pairs of nodes, storage nodes achieved by finite and so on. This paper proposes a buffer management that transmits messages adaptively based on entropy variation of mobility network. / Tecnologias de redes tradicionais baseiam-se em suposições típicas, como a existência de conectividade fim a fim entre origem e destino durante todo o período de comunicação, baixas taxas de erros, mecanismos de retransmissão para reparar erros, e atrasos de comunicação relativamente pequenos. Caso uma ou mais dessas suposições não sejam alcançadas na prática, ocorrem intermitências na comunicação, criando desafios que devem ser superados a fim de garantir o sucesso na transmissão. Nesse contexto, surgiram as redes tolerantes a atraso e desconexão (DTN - Delay Tolerant Networks), uma tecnologia emergente para comunicações quando não há infraestrutura de rede e desconexões podem ocorrer com frequência devido à mobilidade dos nodos. Para contornar o problema das desconexões, as redes DTN utilizam o conceito de armazenamento persistente, o que se torna um problema, pois os nodos tem capacidade de buffers limitada. A questão é selecionar as mensagens que ficarão nos buffers por mais tempo levando em consideração a mobilidade imprevisível dos nodos, contatos de curta duração entre pares de nodos, armazenamento finito realizado pelos nodos e assim por diante. Este trabalho apresenta uma proposta de gerenciamento de buffer que transmite mensagens de forma adaptativa baseada na variação de entropia de mobilidade da rede.

Un système de systèmes est un système dont les composants sont eux-mêmes des systèmes indépendants, tous communiquant pour atteindre un objectif commun. Lorsque ces systèmes sont mobiles, il peut être difficile d'établir des connexions de bout-en-bout. L'architecture mise en place dans de telles situations est appelée réseau tolérant aux délais. Les données sont transmises d'un système à l'autre – selon les opportunités de communication, appelées contacts, qui apparaissent lorsque deux systèmes sont proches – et disséminées dans l'ensemble du réseau avec l'espoir que chaque message atteigne sa destination. Si une donnée est trop volumineuse, elle est découpée. Chaque fragment est alors transmis séparément.Nous supposons ici que la séquence des contacts est connue. On s'intéresse donc à des applications où la mobilité des systèmes est prédictible (les réseaux de satellites par exemple). Nous cherchons à exploiter cette connaissance pour acheminer efficacement des informations depuis leurs sources jusqu'à leurs destinataires. Nous devons répondre à la question : « Quels éléments de données doivent être transférés lors de chaque contact pour minimiser le temps de dissémination » ?Nous formalisons tout d'abord ce problème, appelé problème de dissémination, et montrons qu'il est NP-difficile au sens fort. Nous proposons ensuite des algorithmes pour le résoudre. Ces derniers reposent sur des règles de dominance, des procédures de prétraitement, la programmation linéaire en nombres entiers, et la programmation par contraintes. Une partie est dédiée à la recherche de solutions robustes. Enfin, nous rapportons des résultats numériques montrant l'efficacité de nos algorithmes. / Systems of systems are supersystems comprising elements which are themselves independent operational systems, all interacting to achieve a common goal. When the subsystems are mobile, these may suffer from a lack of continuous end-to-end connectivity. To address the technical issues in such networks, the common approach is termed delay-tolerant networking. Routing relies on a store-forward mechanism. Data are sent from one system to another – depending on the communication opportunities, termed contacts, that arise when two systems are close – and stored throughout the network in hope that all messages will reach their destination. If data are too large, these must be split. Each fragment is then transmitted separately.In this work, we assume that the sequence of contacts is known. Thus, we focus on applications where it is possible to make realistic predictions about system mobility (e.g. satellite networks). We study the problem of making the best use of knowledge about possibilities for communication when data need to be routed from a set of systems to another within a given time horizon. The fundamental question is: "Which elements of the information should be transferred during each contact so that the dissemination length is minimized"?We first formalize the so-called dissemination problem, and prove this is strongly NP-Hard. We then propose algorithms to solve it. These relies on different dominance rules, preprocessing procedures, integer-linear programming, and constraint programming. A chapter is dedicated to the search for robust solutions. Finally experimental results are reported to show the efficiency of our algorithms in practice.

O comportamento dinâmico das redes sem fio as torna muito peculiares e de difícil análise. No entanto, algumas destas redes, como as de sensores com funcionamento intermitente, redes periódicas ou cíclicas e as do sistema de satélites de órbita baixa têm um comportamento dinâmico relativamente previsível, pois as variações da topologia da rede no tempo são quase que determinísticas. Recentemente, um modelo teórico -- grafos evolutivos -- foi proposto com o intuito de capturar o comportamento dinâmico destas redes e formalizar algoritmos de roteamento de custo mínimo, além de outros. Os algoritmos e idéias obtidos com este modelo são teoricamente muito eficientes, mas, no entanto, antes deste trabalho não existiam estudos do uso destes modelos em situações práticas. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a aplicabilidade da teoria de grafos evolutivos na construção de protocolos de roteamento eficientes em cenários realistas. Foram implementados dois protocolos de roteamento para redes móveis ad hoc baseados nos algoritmos de grafos evolutivos, são eles: Jornada que Chega Mais Cedo e Jornada Mais Curta. Extensivas simulações foram realizadas utilizando o simulador de redes NS2 e os resultados foram comparados com outros quatro protocolos clássicos para este tipo de rede: AODV, DSR, OLSR e DSDV. Os resultados preliminares mostram que este recente modelo tem muito potencial para ser uma ferramenta poderosa no desenvolvimento e análise de algoritmos para redes dinâmicas com comportamento previsível. No entanto, foram apontados alguns aspectos que precisam ser melhores estudados para que estes algoritmos possam ser utilizados em situações reais. / The assessment of routing protocols for wireless networks is a difficult task, because of the networks\' highly dynamic behavior and the absence of benchmarks. However, some of these networks, such as intermittent wireless sensors networks, periodic or cyclic networks, and low earth orbit satellites systems, have more predictable dynamics, as the temporal variations in the network topology are somehow deterministic, which may make them easier to study. Recently, a graph theoretic model -- the evolving graphs -- was proposed to help to capture the dynamic behavior of these networks, in view of the construction of least cost routing and other algorithms. The algorithms and insights obtained through this model are theoretically very efficient and intriguing. However, before this work there was no study on the use of such theoretical results into practical situations. Therefore, the objective of our work is to analyze the applicability of the evolving graph theory in the construction of efficient routing protocols in realistic scenarios. We use the NS2 network simulator to first implement two evolving graph based routing protocols: Foremost Journey and Shortest Journey, They are evaluated and compared to four major ad-hoc protocols: AODV, DSR, OLSR and DSDV. Interestingly, our experiments show that evolving graphs have all the potentials to be an effective and powerful tool in the development and analysis of algorithms for dynamic networks, with predictable dynamics at least. In order to make this model widely applicable, however, some practical issues still have to be addressed and incorporated into the model.