Radio Frequency Identification

In this chapter, we will start by briefly summarizing the history of radio frequency identification systems. After that, we will introduce the components of such systems and classify them based on programmability, data capacity, frequency, and reading distance, as well as power supplement and reply transfer methods. We will describe the various coupling types used in RFID systems, present the common coding schemes and modulations, and give an overview of the standardization efforts. This chapter will focus on collision detection and resolution algorithms and conclude by practical suggestions on RFID system selection for different tasks.

IPv6 Routing in a Special Context

This chapter gives an overview of the IPv6 routing techniques focusing on some special IPv6 routing mechanisms, which can ease and optimize IP level data aggregation. Data aggregation should become an important step in information collecting from sensors or other data sources in present-day, IP based networks. In general, a simple feedback message only costs a few bit, or bytes; therefore, using a whole IP packet for every one of them is rather wasteful according to the present resources. Our objective is to introduce a special IPv6 routing method called IPv6 anycasting, which makes possible to identify various services with an IPv6 network address. Basically, by the standard, anycasting is not able to maintain stateful communication sessions, but feedback data aggregation does not require stateful operation, therefore anycasting is an ideal solution to provide feedback routing. The chapter will concentrate on IPv6 advanced routing schemes, and introduce a new IPv6 anycast based system-level data aggregation mechanism.

The TFRC Protocol and Its Usage for Wireless Video Transmission

The subject of this chapter is to present the TFRC (TCP-Friendly Rate Control) protocol in the area of efficient wireless video transmission and its possible usage in cross-layer power management mechanisms. The basic aspects of TFRC operation are presented, along with the suitability of TFRC usage for video transmission. The chapter examines related work and presents several mechanisms for efficient wireless video transmission using TFRC that have been proposed. These mechanisms utilize cross-layer approaches for adaptation of the power transmission level of the sender and TFRC feedback information regarding the wireless connection status from the receiver for improved transmission statistics, and therefore user experience, without unnecessary power consumption.

Protocols in Next Generation Networks

This chapter focuses on Next Generation Networks (NGN), how protocols employed in different segments of the telecommunication infrastructure interwork to guarantee the quality for different service types. After the interpretation of the definition and concept of NGN, the general architecture of NGN is presented with regard to the heterogeneous demands of services. The protocols used in different sections of the end-to-end communication relation are introduced from the point of view of service and transport functions of NGN. The main focus of the chapter is on the fixed access solutions and Ethernet based multi-service access and regional networks, but configuration and streaming protocols are covered as well.

A Solution for Evaluating the QoS of Voice over IP

In this chapter, we present a solution for evaluating the Quality of Services (QoS) of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). First, we present an introduction to the main concepts and mathematical background relating to QoS and Internet Protocol (IP) traffic nature, which subsequently are used in the measurements, analysis, and modeling of VoIP traffic. Secondly, we analyze network measurements and the result of the simulation in order to characterize the VoIP traffic nature. As results of this analysis, it is shown that VoIP jitter can be modeled by alpha-stable distributions and self-similar processes, with either Short or Long Range Dependence (i.e., SRD or LRD). Thirdly, we investigate the packet loss effects on the VoIP jitter, and present a methodology for simulating packet loss on VoIP jitter. Finally, we found an empirical relationship between the Hurst parameter (H) and the Packet Loss Rate (PLR); this relationship is based on voice traffic measurements and can be modeled by means of a power-law function with three fitted parameters.

Network Mobility

Network mobility (NEMO) management is concerned about the mobility management of an entire wireless mobile network to provide uninterrupted network connectivity to many mobile devices moving together in the mobile network. This is particularly important for ubiquitous computing, which commonly means anytime, anywhere computing and communication. Most of the 3G and entire 4G and beyond wireless communication technology is all-IP. This growing use of IP devices in portable applications has created the demand for mobility support for entire networks of IP devices. NEMO solves this problem by extending Mobile IP. Devices on a mobile network are unaware of their network’s mobility; however, they are provided with uninterrupted Internet access even when the network changes its attachment point to the Internet. The main objective of NEMO is to provide continuous, optimal, and secure Internet access to all nodes and even recursively nested mobile sub-nets inside a moving network. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is engaged in standardizing NEMO Basic Support protocol that ensures uninterrupted connectivity to nodes within a mobile network via a mobile router. This protocol extends the mechanisms utilized in the host mobility management protocol Mobile IPv6. There are few open problems remain to be addressed in NEMO. In this chapter, we discuss about NEMO basic support protocols, its features, and other related issues.

Host Identity Protocol

This chapter is committed to give a comprehensive overview of the Host Identity Protocol (HIP), to introduce the basic ideas and the main paradigms behind it, and to show how HIP emerges from the list of potential alternatives with its wild range of possible usability in next generation mobile architectures. The broad scale of feasible advanced mobility management proposals and scenarios, together with the promising mobility management capabilities of HIP and its cryptographic identifier/locator separation technique, will be introduced based on an exhaustive survey of existing mobility solutions designed for the Host Identity Protocol. This broad and up-to-date outline of advanced HIP-based mobility supporting schemes will guide the readers from the basics of HIP through the protocol’s main functions to its complex feature set and power to create a novel Internet architecture for future mobility-centric communications.

Convergence of Fixed and Mobile Networks

This chapter gives overview of one of a recent trend in telecommunication convergence: fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). Its types, implications, and main challenges are identified and analyzed with special respect to the protocols employed. The future integration of fixed and mobile access to next generation networks (NGN) is investigated from several aspects, such as AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) protocols, network and application layer mobility management solutions, and policy control. The focus is on access and core networks where the convergence is going to take place. At the end, a short outlook is given to near future mobile trends.

Communication Protocols

The increasing importance of fast and reliable communication has resulted in the creation of certain communication rules, which nowadays, we call communication protocols. In this chapter, a historical overview of early protocol development and deployment is presented as a look-back to the evolution of communication protocols. Then we introduce the most important terms and notions of the protocol theory. To make it easier to understand these concepts, we use the INRES protocol as demonstration tool. In the next topic, we summarize the steps of the protocol engineering. At the end of the chapter, we give some guidelines for protocol classification.

Application-Driven Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor networks are built from tiny, resource limited nodes, which are able to communicate with each other, and thus, provide distributed services. The quality of communication, and especially of routing, is one of the major enablers of good performance, energy efficiency, and longevity in resource-deprived sensor networks. Since the advent of wireless sensor networks, literally hundreds of routing algorithms, tailored especially for this domain, have been proposed in the literature. This chapter highlights the main ideas and illustrates how these solutions help to reach various design goals. After a general overview, the taxonomy of routing algorithms in sensor networks will be presented, and then the mainstream algorithms, with the greatest impact on the field, will be introduced and analyzed. Through typical routing algorithms, we will show how and what kind of quality of services can be provided for various application needs.