Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis analyzes the feasibility, functionality, efficacy and usability of IEEE 802.x wireless mesh networks in multiple DoD contexts. Through multiple field and lab experiments and hardware investigations, an assessment is performed on the realistic implementation issues of wireless mesh networks and their possible applications. A detailed examination is conducted of the variable elements, operational constraints, and possible decision points for developing a usable, robust, self-organizing, wireless mesh network that can be leveraged for maximum usability and shared situational awareness in network-centric operations. The research investigates the suitability of currently available COTS hardware and software wireless mesh networking components for geographically distributed networks. Additionally, a product-line software architecture and a common data interchange XML vocabulary are proposed as the enabling technology elements to carry application layer mesh forward for integration of collaborative sensor-decision maker adaptive networks within the Global Information Grid. The thesis includes the design and implementation of the first Naval Postgraduate School testbed for tactical level mesh networking with unmanned vehicles, unattended sensors, and warrior networking nodes. This thesis also lays the groundwork for further research into lower OSI-layer routing protocols for DoD mesh networks, development of mesh-aware applications, as well as a GIG-wide mesh network architecture. / Lieutenant Commander, Supply Corps, United States Navy / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The need for broadband network access is experiencing rapid growth, but what is currently available is not sufficient. Copper-based technologies cannot address the requirements of today's bandwidth-intensive Internet applications. End-users in the "last mile" demand access speeds equivalent to those supported by fiber optics backbone networks, although, the cost and time associated with its installation are prohibitive factors for bringing fiber to every home and business. This results in the well-known "last mile access problem," which prevents the Internet from reaching its full potential, and has paved the way for the development of many innovative technologies. Driven by demands for more bandwidth, wireless broadband technologies have been proposed. This thesis provides an investigation of two candidates to address the lack of adequate bandwidth in the "last mile," Free Space Optics (FSO), and the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) standard. FSO uses optical signals to deliver information at extremely high data rates, more quickly and cost-effectively than fiber systems. The IEEE 802.11 standard uses radio technology to transfer data. They both use license-free frequency bands for transmission through the atmosphere. They both are quickly deployable, easily scalable, and cheaper than wired solutions, characteristics able to support applications requiring high bandwidth and a high degree of mobility. / Lieutenant Commander, Hellenic Navy

With Power System being restructured in the vision of Smart Grid, it is important now more than ever to find suitable locations to place Distributed Generators (DG). Distributed generators, which may be renewable, are not limited to specific locations as in the case of conventional generators. Several papers have been published that make suggestions on where the optimal location of DG should be in a system. Objectives ranging from loss minimization to total cost minimization have been the factor for such studies. In this study, a new method is introduced that hopes to improve a current system in three ways by maximizing load, minimizing the locational marginal price and improving line contingency scenarios. The proposed methodology is simulated using MATPOWER’s Optimal Power Flow on the IEEE 14 bus test system.

Theme of the thesis is research and possibility of using GPS system from localization in wireless sensor network. Paper deals with the accuracy and energy consumption of GPS localization. Thesis also solve using of localization in local anchor system. Theoretical part describes IEEE 802.15.4 standard, capability of used nodes and describe ways how to use RSSI value to resolve location

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) allows users of network equipment (i.e. Network Administrators) to remotely query the state of any device being tested for system load, utilization and configuration. Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional are all equipped with SNMP service so that an SNMP manager can communicate with an SNMP agent running on a wireless 802.11b client. However the rest of Windows operating systems, including Windows CE and a Pocket PC, have to run third party proxy SNMP agents in order to be recognized by an SNMP management application. This thesis describes an implementation of a Pocket PC SNMP agent for two Pocket PC mobile devices accessing a wired network via an 802.11b wireless link. As a result of the implementation performed in this thesis, an SNMP manager can wirelessly communicate with a Pocket PC client. However, other results found that only some of the commercially available SNMP managers are able to access the mobile SNMP client and its management information base, due to incompatible implementations of the server and client software. / Lieutenant, Royal Thai Air Force

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / As the need to send larger amounts of information increases, the military is looking into viable solutions to push this information throughout the battle space. IEEE 802.11a wireless LAN network presents an attractive high-speed solution by providing data rates up to 54 Mbps. At the same time, wireless LAN introduces increased security risk due to its vulnerability to exploitation of the wireless LAN physical layer. This research will develop a prototype system using low cost hardware and software solution to detect and process wireless IEEE 802.11a signals. Using the prototype, performance data will be collected to determine whether IEEE 802.11a is a feasible option as a high-speed information network for military use. Additionally, the performance data collected will provide a good basis for predicting the expected performance in an operational scenario and provide valuable information for proper deployment planning. / Major, Republic of Singapore Air Force

The convenience of IEEE 802.11-based wireless access networks has led to widespread deployment. However, these applications are predicated on the assumption of availability and confidentiality. Error-prone wireless networks afford an attacker considerable flexibility to exploit the vulnerabilities of 802.11-based mechanism. Two of most famous misbehaviors are selfish and malicious attacks. In this thesis we investigate two attacks: Spurious CTS attack (SCTS) and Jamming ACK attack (JACK). In the SCTS, malicious nodes may send periodic Spurious CTS packets to force other nodes to update their NAV values and prevent them from using the channel. In the JACK, an attacker ruins legitimate ACK packets for the intention of disrupting the traffic flow and draining the battery energy of victim nodes quickly. Correspondingly, we propose solutions: termed Carrier Sensing based Discarding (CSD), and Extended Network Allocation Vector (ENAV) scheme. We further demonstrate the performance of our proposed schemes through analysis and NS2 simulations.

[pt] O surgimento de tecnologias de enlace de rádio baratas e com altas taxas de transmissão possibilitou o desenvolvimento de métodos rápidos e economicamente viáveis para a implantação de infraestruturas de comunicação, algo antes possível apenas com a utilização de enlaces confinados. Uma manifestação deste avanço são as malhas sem fio. A ratificação da emenda IEEE 802.11s, que versa sobre as modificações necessárias para o suporte a LANs sem fio com múltiplos saltos por parte de dispositivos compatíveis com 802.11, apresenta o protocolo HWMP, para a seleção de caminhos multissalto em uma malha. Em um ambiente com comunicação bidirecional, nem sempre e garantido que as melhores opções de ida e volta sejam coincidentes, uma condição conhecida como assimetria de caminhos, e que não e considerada pelo protocolo HWMP. Este trabalho apresenta algumas adaptações ao protocolo que buscam permitir a melhor utilização dos enlaces assimétricos, bem como mensura as diferenças de desempenho em comparação com o protocolo original. / [en] The rise of inexpensive, high-bitrate wireless link technologies enabled the development of rapid and affordable techniques for the deployment of communication infrastructures, something only available before with the use of wired links. The ratification of the IEEE 802.11s ammendment, which establishes the necessary modifications to 802.11-compliant devices for supporting multi-hop WLANs, presents the HWMP protocol, that addresses multi-hop path selection in a wireless mesh. In a bidirectional communication environment, it is not always ensured that the best options for sending and receiving data are coincident, a condition known as path asymmetry, and not considered by HWMP. This work presents some adaptations to the protocol, seeking to allow better use of asymmetric links, as well as measures its performance differences in comparison to the original protocol.

Future broadband wireless networks should be able to support not only best effort traffic but also real-time traffic with strict Quality of Service (QoS) constraints. In addition, their available resources are scare and limit the number of users. To facilitate QoS guarantees and increase the maximum number of concurrent users, wireless networks require careful planning and optimization. In this monograph, we studied three aspects of performance optimization in wireless networks: resource optimization in WLAN infrastructure networks, quality of experience control in wireless mesh networks, and planning and optimization of wireless mesh networks. An adaptive resource management system is required to effectively utilize the limited resources on the air interface and to guarantee QoS for real-time applications. Thereby, both WLAN infrastructure and WLAN mesh networks have to be considered. An a-priori setting of the access parameters is not meaningful due to the contention-based medium access and the high dynamics of the system. Thus, a management system is required which dynamically adjusts the channel access parameters based on the network load. While this is sufficient for wireless infrastructure networks, interferences on neighboring paths and self-interferences have to be considered for wireless mesh networks. In addition, a careful channel allocation and route assignment is needed. Due to the large parameter space, standard optimization techniques fail for optimizing large wireless mesh networks. In this monograph, we reveal that biology-inspired optimization techniques, namely genetic algorithms, are well-suitable for the planning and optimization of wireless mesh networks. Although genetic algorithms generally do not always find the optimal solution, we show that with a good parameter set for the genetic algorithm, the overall throughput of the wireless mesh network can be significantly improved while still sharing the resources fairly among the users. / Die Anbindung an das Internet erfolgt zunehmend über drahtlose Netze. Deren Ressourcen sind allerdings limitiert, was die Anzahl der unterstützten Nutzer stark einschränkt. Zudem ist ein Trend dieser Nutzer weg von der Verwendung reiner Datendienste zu Diensten mit Echtzeitanforderungen wie Voice over IP (VoIP) zu erkennen, deren Dienstgüteanforderungen eingehalten werden müssen. Heutige drahtlose Zugangsnetze sind jedoch nur für den herkömmlichen Datenverkehr ausgelegt. Der IEEE 802.11 WLAN Standard unterscheidet zwar zwischen verschiedenen Dienstklassen, gibt aber keine Dienstgütegarantien. Um die Dienstgüte (Quality of Service, QoS), bzw. die vom Nutzer erfahrene Dienstgüte (Quality of Experience, QoE) zu garantieren, müssen die zukünftigen drahtlosen Netze daher sorgfältig geplant und optimiert werden. Um die limitierten Ressourcen auf der Luftschnittstelle effektiv zu nutzen und um Dienstgüteanforderungen für Echtzeitanwendungen einzuhalten, bedarf es eines adaptiven Ressourcenmanagements. Dabei sind sowohl drahtlose Infrastruktur, als auch drahtlose Mesh-Netze zu betrachten. Durch den randomisierten Medienzugriff und die hohe Dynamik im System ist eine a-priori Wahl der Zugangsparameter nicht sinnvoll. Vielmehr wird ein Managementsystem benötigt, das die Zugangsparameter dynamisch in Abhängigkeit der Last in einem Netz wählt. Während dies für drahtlose Infrastrukturnetze ausreicht, müssen in drahtlosen Mesh-Netzen zusätzlich noch Interferenzen von Nachbarpfaden und Eigeninterferenzen berücksichtigt werden. Desweiteren ist eine sorgfältige Planung der Kanalzuweisung und des Routings notwendig, um einerseits den Durchsatz in drahtlosen Mesh-Netzen zu maximieren und andererseits die Ressourcen fair zwischen den Stationen aufzuteilen. Da es dabei eine Vielzahl von Parametern zu berücksichtigen gilt, sind neue Optimierungsmethoden notwendig, die es ermöglichen, auch große Mesh-Netze in annehmbarer Zeit zu planen und zu optimieren. Diese Doktorarbeit arbeitet die folgenden drei Optimierungsmöglichkeiten für drahtlose Zugangsnetze aus: Optimierung der Zugangsparameter in drahtlosen Infrastrukturnetzen, Optimierung von drahtlosen Mesh-Netzen unter Berücksichtigung der QoE und Planung und Optimierung von drahtlosen Mesh-Netzen mit Berücksichtigung einer fairen Ressourcenallokation. Die Ergebnisse und Untersuchungen dieser Arbeit gliedern sich entsprechend dieser Optimierungsmöglichkeiten.

Trådlös kommunikation mellan noder sker genom att skicka data över det trådlösa mediet, för att få kommunikationen att samspela har flertalet standarder utvecklats. En av dessa standarder är 802.15.4 med UWB PHY vars utformning är av en sådan karaktär att signalöverföringen blir störningstålig och osynlig för andra standarder. UWB används ofta till lokalisering och positionering, men kan även användas till en samtida dataöverföring då standardens utformning tillåter detta. Det var dock oklart med vilken prestanda detta kunde genomföras. Därför har den datakommunikationsprestandan undersöks. Den hypotes som följdes under arbetet var att ''genom att skicka data mellan positioneringsimpulserna möjliggörs användandet av samma enhet för positionering och datakommunikation, systemets prestanda påverkas då av MAC-metoden''. Ur hypotesen kom det tre frågeställningar: Vilken MAC-metod är lämplig för både positionering och dataöverföring? Är det möjligt att använda systemet för både positionering och dataöverföring genom att skicka data mellan positioneringsimpulserna? Vilken kommunikationsprestanda kan uppnås när systemet används för både postionering och dataöverföring? I arbetet bevisas hypotesen samt frågeställningarna med syftet att detta kunde komma att hjälpa till inom exempelvis robotiken, men även som ett alternativ till WiFi då UWB är både störningståligt och osynligt för andra standarder. Den iterativa metoden användes för att utveckla ett system som kunde lösa den kombinerade positioneringen och datakommunikationen. I prestandatesterna gick det att utläsa att hypotesen stämde förutsatt att parametrarna är korrekt. / Wireless communication between nodes is achieved by sending data over the wireless medium. In order to have communications interact different standards have been developed. One such standard is 802.15.4 with UWB PHY, designed such that the signal transmission becomes interference-resistant and invisible to other standards. UWB is often used for location and positioning, but the standard design also allows for a contemporary data transfer. However, it was unclear with what performance this could be implemented. Therefore, the data communication performance has been investigated. The hypothesis that was followed during the work posits that ''by sending data between the positioning pulses, the use of the same unit for positioning and data communication is made possible, and that the system's performance is then affected by the MAC method.'' Three questions arose from this hypothesis. Which MAC method is suitable for both positioning and data transfer? Is it possible to use the system for both positioning and data transmission by sending data between the positioning pulses? What communication performance can be achieved when the system is used for both positioning and data transfer? In this work the hypothesis and the research questions are verified with the intended purpose that it could be of help in the field of robotics and also as an alternative to WiFi, due to UWBs robustness and invisibility characteristics. An iterative process has been utilized throughout this work to build a system which could solve the combined positioning and data communication. In the following performance tests the hypothesis is verified, provided that the parameters used are correct.