Performance Analysis of Telecommunication Systems

Erwin Van de Velde

Contact information

• G2.36 - Building G
• Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science
• Middelheimlaan 1
• B-2020 Antwerpen
• Belgium

• erwin.vandevelde@ua.ac.be
• +32 3 265 35 19
• +32 3 264 37 77

Curriculum Vitae

Publications

2012

• Design and Prototype of a Train-to-Wayside Communication Architecture
  Johan Bergs, Erwin Van de Velde, Daan Pareit, Dries Naudts, Milos Rovcanin, Ivan De Baere, Walter Van Brussel, Chris Blondia, Ingrid Moerman & Piet Demeester
  Nets4Cars/Nets4Trains 2012, LNCS, Vol. 7266 (To be published), pp. 137-150, Springer-Verlag, A. Vinel and others, 2012.
  The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @inproceedings{bergs12,
  author = {{Johan Bergs} and {Erwin Van de Velde} and {Daan Pareit} and {Dries Naudts} and {Milos Rovcanin} and {Ivan De Baere} and {Walter Van Brussel} and {Chris Blondia} and {Ingrid Moerman} and {Piet Demeester}},
  title = {Design and Prototype of a Train-to-Wayside Communication Architecture},
  booktitle={Nets4Cars/Nets4Trains 2012},
  editor={A. Vinel and others},
  publisher={Springer-Verlag},
  series={{LNCS}},
  volume={7266 (To be published)},
  pages={137-150},
  year={2012},
  abstract = {Telecommunication has become very important in modern society and seems to be almost omnipresent, making daily life easier, more pleasant and connecting people everywhere. It does not only con- nect people, but also machines, enhancing the efficiency of automated tasks and monitoring automated processes. In this context the IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology) project TRACK (TRain Applications over an advanced Communication networK), sets the definition and prototyping of an end-to-end train-to-wayside commu- nication architecture as one of the main research goals. The architecture provides networking capabilities for train monitoring, personnel appli- cations and passenger Internet services. In the context of the project a prototype framework was developed to give a complete functioning demonstrator. Every aspect: tunneling and mobility, performance en- hancements, and priority and quality of service were taken into consider- ation. In contrast to other research in this area, which has given mostly high-level overviews, TRACK resulted in a detailed architecture with all different elements present.},
  URL={content/publications/2012/nets4trains2012.pdf},
  note={The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com}
  }
  
  Abstract:
  Telecommunication has become very important in modern society and seems to be almost omnipresent, making daily life easier, more pleasant and connecting people everywhere. It does not only con- nect people, but also machines, enhancing the efficiency of automated tasks and monitoring automated processes. In this context the IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology) project TRACK (TRain Applications over an advanced Communication networK), sets the definition and prototyping of an end-to-end train-to-wayside commu- nication architecture as one of the main research goals. The architecture provides networking capabilities for train monitoring, personnel appli- cations and passenger Internet services. In the context of the project a prototype framework was developed to give a complete functioning demonstrator. Every aspect: tunneling and mobility, performance en- hancements, and priority and quality of service were taken into consider- ation. In contrast to other research in this area, which has given mostly high-level overviews, TRACK resulted in a detailed architecture with all different elements present.

• A novel network architecture for train-to-wayside communication with Quality of Service over heterogeneous wireless networks
  Daan Pareit, Erwin Van de Velde, Dries Naudts, Johan Bergs, Jan Keymeulen, Ivan De Baere, Walter Van Brussel, Christophe Vangeneugden, Patrick Hauspie, Gerd De Vos, Ingrid Moerman, Chris Bondia & Piet Demeester
  EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, Vol. To be published, 2012.
  BibTeX | Abstract
  
  Bibtex:
  @article{pareit12,
  author = {{Daan Pareit} and {Erwin Van de Velde} and {Dries Naudts} and {Johan Bergs} and {Jan Keymeulen} and {Ivan De Baere} and {Walter Van Brussel} and {Christophe Vangeneugden} and {Patrick Hauspie} and {Gerd De Vos} and {Ingrid Moerman} and {Chris Bondia} and {Piet Demeester}},
  title = {A novel network architecture for train-to-wayside communication with Quality of Service over heterogeneous wireless networks},
  journal = {EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking},
  year = {2012},
  volume={To be published},
  abstract = {In the railway industry, there are nowadays different actors who would like to send or receive data from the wayside to an onboard device or vice versa. These actors are e.g. the Train Operation Company, the Train Constructing Company, a Content Provider, etc. This requires a communication module on each train and at the wayside. These modules interact with each other over heterogeneous wireless links. This system is referred to as the Train-to-Wayside Communication System (TWCS). While there are already a lot of deployments using a TWCS, the implementation of Quality of Service (QoS), Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEP) and the network mobility functions have not yet been fully integrated in TWCS systems. Therefore, we propose a novel and modular IPv6-enabled TWCS architecture in this article. It jointly tackles these functions and considers their mutual dependencies and relationships. DiffServ is used to differentiate between service classes and priorities. Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) are used to differentiate between different Service Level Agreements (SLAs). In the PEP, we propose to use a distributed TCP accelerator to optimize bandwidth usage. Concerning net- work mobility, we propose to use the SCTP protocol (with Dynamic Address Reconfiguration and PR-SCTP extensions) to create a tunnel per wireless link, in order to support the reliable transmission of data between the accelerators. We have analyzed different design choices, pinpointed the main implementa- tion challenges and identified candidate solutions for the different modules in the TWCS system. As such, we present an elaborated framework that can be used for prototyping a fully featured TWCS.},
  }
  
  Abstract:
  In the railway industry, there are nowadays different actors who would like to send or receive data from the wayside to an onboard device or vice versa. These actors are e.g. the Train Operation Company, the Train Constructing Company, a Content Provider, etc. This requires a communication module on each train and at the wayside. These modules interact with each other over heterogeneous wireless links. This system is referred to as the Train-to-Wayside Communication System (TWCS). While there are already a lot of deployments using a TWCS, the implementation of Quality of Service (QoS), Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEP) and the network mobility functions have not yet been fully integrated in TWCS systems. Therefore, we propose a novel and modular IPv6-enabled TWCS architecture in this article. It jointly tackles these functions and considers their mutual dependencies and relationships. DiffServ is used to differentiate between service classes and priorities. Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) are used to differentiate between different Service Level Agreements (SLAs). In the PEP, we propose to use a distributed TCP accelerator to optimize bandwidth usage. Concerning net- work mobility, we propose to use the SCTP protocol (with Dynamic Address Reconfiguration and PR-SCTP extensions) to create a tunnel per wireless link, in order to support the reliable transmission of data between the accelerators. We have analyzed different design choices, pinpointed the main implementa- tion challenges and identified candidate solutions for the different modules in the TWCS system. As such, we present an elaborated framework that can be used for prototyping a fully featured TWCS.,

2011

• Data traffic differentiation and QoS on the train, in fast parameter varying, heterogeneous wireless networks
  Milos Rovcanin, Daan Pareit, Dries Naudts, Erwin Van de Velde, Johan Bergs, Ingrid Moerman & Chris Blondia
  18th IEEE Symposium on Communications and Vehicular Technology in the Benelux, Ghent, Belgium, 2011.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{bergsvdv2011SCVT,
  author = { Milos Rovcanin and Daan Pareit and Dries Naudts and Erwin Van de Velde and Johan Bergs and Ingrid Moerman and Chris Blondia},
  title = {Data traffic differentiation and QoS on the train, in fast parameter varying, heterogeneous wireless networks},
  booktitle = {18th IEEE Symposium on Communications and Vehicular Technology in the Benelux},
  year = {2011},
  month = {November},
  location = {Ghent, Belgium},
  URL = {content/publications/2011/bergsvdv2011SCVT.pdf}
  abstract={Although Internet on the train and train to wayside communication in general becomes more and more available for train operators, there are still a lot of challenges for future research. We previously developed a network platform that is responsible for an uninterrupted and seamless connectivity from the train to the wayside through heterogeneous wireless access technologies. This paper mainly focuses on the concept for providing sufficient Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in a dynamic train environment. Within this network platform, IPv6 strategies are adopted for QoS, exploiting multi-homing and intelligent aggregation techniques. The implementation that has been done in the Click Modular Router programming environment will also be presented in details.}
  
  Abstract:
  Although Internet on the train and train to wayside communication in general becomes more and more available for train operators, there are still a lot of challenges for future research. We previously developed a network platform that is responsible for an uninterrupted and seamless connectivity from the train to the wayside through heterogeneous wireless access technologies. This paper mainly focuses on the concept for providing sufficient Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in a dynamic train environment. Within this network platform, IPv6 strategies are adopted for QoS, exploiting multi-homing and intelligent aggregation techniques. The implementation that has been done in the Click Modular Router programming environment will also be presented in details.

2009

• Impact of introducing road charging on supporting mobile data networks
  W. Vandenberghe, J. Bergs, D. Carels, N. Van den Wijngaert, E. Van de Velde, C. Blondia, I. Moerman, P. Demeester & N. Dedene
  Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on ITS Telecommunications, Lille, France, 2009.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{itst2009,
  author = {W. Vandenberghe, J. Bergs, D. Carels, N. Van den Wijngaert, E. Van de Velde, C. Blondia, I. Moerman, P. Demeester and N. Dedene},
  title = {Impact of introducing road charging on supporting mobile data networks},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on ITS Telecommunications},
  year = {2009},
  month = {OCT},
  location = {Lille, France},
  URL = {content/publications/2009/ITST2009.pdf},
  abstract = {}
  }
  
  Abstract:
  

• Architecture and Scalable Testbed for Cooperative Systems in the NextGenITS Project
  D. Carels, W. Vandenberghe, J. Bergs, H. Capelle, E. Van de Velde, N. Van den Wijngaert, L. Van der Perre, I. Moerman, C. Blondia & P. Demeester
  Proc. The 16th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services, Stockholm, Sweden, 2009.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{itsworld,
  author = { D. Carels and W. Vandenberghe and J. Bergs and H. Capelle and E. Van de Velde and N. Van den Wijngaert and L. Van der Perre and I. Moerman and C. Blondia and P. Demeester},
  title = {Architecture and Scalable Testbed for Cooperative Systems in the NextGenITS Project},
  booktitle = {Proc. The 16th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services},
  year = {2009},
  month = {SEP},
  location = {Stockholm, Sweden},
  URL = {content/publications/2009/johanbergs09ITSWorld.pdf},
  abstract = { In the past research has been done on cooperative systems resulting in, among others, the CALM architecture which is used in NextGenITS. The project focuses on the scalability issues of routing protocols and energy optimizations for cooperative vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) systems. The resulting solutions will be simulated using TraNS and Nsclick. Afterwards the architecture and routing protocols will be tested in real life on small and large scale. }
  }
  
  Abstract:
  In the past research has been done on cooperative systems resulting in, among others, the CALM architecture which is used in NextGenITS. The project focuses on the scalability issues of routing protocols and energy optimizations for cooperative vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) systems. The resulting solutions will be simulated using TraNS and Nsclick. Afterwards the architecture and routing protocols will be tested in real life on small and large scale.

2007

• Adaptive REACT Protocol for Emergency Applications in Vehicular Networks
  Erwin Van de Velde & Chris Blondia
  Proc. of First IEEE LCN Workshop On User MObility and VEhicular Networks (ON-MOVE), Dublin, Ireland, 2007.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{VdVelde07,
  author = { Erwin Van de Velde and Chris Blondia},
  title = {Adaptive REACT Protocol for Emergency Applications in Vehicular Networks},
  booktitle = {Proc. of First IEEE LCN Workshop On User MObility and VEhicular Networks (ON-MOVE)},
  year = {2007},
  month = {October},
  location = {Dublin, Ireland},
  URL = {content/publications/2007/adaptive_react.pdf},
  abstract = {Vehicular communication is gaining more and more interest from big consortia and companies in the car industry. Wireless communication in a vehicular environment creates unique opportunities but poses also its own challenges. Therefore we proposed in previous work a new routing protocol, REACT, which uses geographical information and is able to react to a fast changing environment. In this paper, we will look at a few optimizations for this protocol in order to make it more adaptive to the current network conditions. As vehicles move very fast, link breaks occur more often. We attempt to predict this behavior, trying to use a link as long as possible but not longer than it really exists. Another important part of the REACT protocol consists of beaconing as means of exchanging position information with neighbors. The interval between two consecutive beacons is an important parameter in determining the end-to-end delay and we propose an algorithm that adapts this parameter in order to speed up neighbor discovery without generating too much beaconing overhead. The two optimizations were implemented and tested in a simulator and the results show a performance amelioration in the end-to-end delay in scenarios with sparse and dense road traffic.}
  }
  
  Abstract:
  Vehicular communication is gaining more and more interest from big consortia and companies in the car industry. Wireless communication in a vehicular environment creates unique opportunities but poses also its own challenges. Therefore we proposed in previous work a new routing protocol, REACT, which uses geographical information and is able to react to a fast changing environment. In this paper, we will look at a few optimizations for this protocol in order to make it more adaptive to the current network conditions. As vehicles move very fast, link breaks occur more often. We attempt to predict this behavior, trying to use a link as long as possible but not longer than it really exists. Another important part of the REACT protocol consists of beaconing as means of exchanging position information with neighbors. The interval between two consecutive beacons is an important parameter in determining the end-to-end delay and we propose an algorithm that adapts this parameter in order to speed up neighbor discovery without generating too much beaconing overhead. The two optimizations were implemented and tested in a simulator and the results show a performance amelioration in the end-to-end delay in scenarios with sparse and dense road traffic.

2006

• REACT: Routing Protocol for Emergency Applications in Car-to-Car Networks using Trajectories
  Erwin Van de Velde, Chris Blondia & Luca Campelli
  Proceedings of Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop, Lipari, Italy, 2006.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @InProceedings{medhoc2006,
  author = {Erwin Van de Velde, Chris Blondia, Luca Campelli},
  title = {REACT: Routing Protocol for Emergency Applications in Car-to-Car Networks using Trajectories},
  year = {2006},
  month = {June},
  organization = {MedHoc},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop},
  location = {Lipari, Italy},
  abstract = {Traffic safety is a very important issue in modern society and the last couple of years researchers have started looking at telecommunication solutions to enhance traffic safety. More specifically researchers are looking at emergency alert services, enabling cars to warn eachother for incidents (slippery road, accident, \ldots). Existing forwarding protocols for vehicular networks often use an approach based on geographical information as a topology based forwarding protocol fails to adapt to the quick movement of the vehicles. A geographical based approach however uses only a part of the information available to the system. In this paper a new routing algorithm, REACT, will be proposed, using not only geographical information, for both position and speed, but also road map information. Using the knowledge of both neighbors and road maps, a node that wants to send a packet can choose the best forwarder along a given trajectory.},
  URL = {content/publications/2006/medhoc2006.pdf}
  }
  
  Abstract:
  Traffic safety is a very important issue in modern society and the last couple of years researchers have started looking at telecommunication solutions to enhance traffic safety. More specifically researchers are looking at emergency alert services, enabling cars to warn eachother for incidents (slippery road, accident, \ldots). Existing forwarding protocols for vehicular networks often use an approach based on geographical information as a topology based forwarding protocol fails to adapt to the quick movement of the vehicles. A geographical based approach however uses only a part of the information available to the system. In this paper a new routing algorithm, REACT, will be proposed, using not only geographical information, for both position and speed, but also road map information. Using the knowledge of both neighbors and road maps, a node that wants to send a packet can choose the best forwarder along a given trajectory.

2005

• MORHE: A Transparant Multi-level Routing Scheme for Ad Hoc Networks
  M. Voorhaen, E. Van de Velde & C. Blondia
  Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop (MED-HOC-NET 2005), Île de Porquerolles, France, 2005.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available | Technical report (extended version)
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{med_hoc_morhe,
  author = {M. Voorhaen, E. Van de Velde and C. Blondia},
  title = {MORHE: A Transparant Multi-level Routing Scheme for Ad Hoc Networks},
  booktitle = { Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Mediterranean Ad Hoc Networking Workshop (MED-HOC-NET 2005)},
  year = {2005},
  month = {JUN},
  location = {{\^I}le de Porquerolles, France},
  URL = {content/publications/2005/med_hoc_morhe.pdf},
  techreport = {content/publications/2005/technical_report_morhe.pdf},
  abstract = {This paper presents a transparent multi-level routing scheme, named MORHE, that improves the scalability of the OLSR protocol by exploiting the heterogeneous nature of nodes in the network. While ad hoc networks have been an active research topic over the past few years, the majority of the studies have focused on the homogeneous nature of the network. In our work we try to take a different approach by focusing on scenarios where ad hoc technology can be applied, but where we also find nodes in the network with varying capacity. The MORHE protocol makes use of nodes which have a large capacity (e.g. more energy, larger transmission range) to build something that could best be described as an ad hoc infrastructure. Nodes are grouped in clusters that need to be interconnected by specific nodes.This implies that a node no longer needs to know the entire network topology as is the case of the OLSR protocol, but only needs to maintain routes to the nodes inside its own cluster and to the other clusters.Using this approach the signalling overhead - which is one of the main reasons why OLSR is not scalable - is greatly reduced. We also introduce a simple mobility management scheme to allow nodes to roam the different ad hoc clusters.}
  }
  Abstract: We propose a MAC protocol which achieves better spatial reuse of spectrum thanks to power adjustments based on the number of neighbors in the one-hop neighborhood. Through many simulations we show that our algorithm outperforms the IEEE 802.11 standard, also in high interference environments.
  
  Abstract:
  This paper presents a transparent multi-level routing scheme, named MORHE, that improves the scalability of the OLSR protocol by exploiting the heterogeneous nature of nodes in the network. While ad hoc networks have been an active research topic over the past few years, the majority of the studies have focused on the homogeneous nature of the network. In our work we try to take a different approach by focusing on scenarios where ad hoc technology can be applied, but where we also find nodes in the network with varying capacity. The MORHE protocol makes use of nodes which have a large capacity (e.g. more energy, larger transmission range) to build something that could best be described as an ad hoc infrastructure. Nodes are grouped in clusters that need to be interconnected by specific nodes.This implies that a node no longer needs to know the entire network topology as is the case of the OLSR protocol, but only needs to maintain routes to the nodes inside its own cluster and to the other clusters.Using this approach the signalling overhead - which is one of the main reasons why OLSR is not scalable - is greatly reduced. We also introduce a simple mobility management scheme to allow nodes to roam the different ad hoc clusters. We propose a MAC protocol which achieves better spatial reuse of spectrum thanks to power adjustments based on the number of neighbors in the one-hop neighborhood. Through many simulations we show that our algorithm outperforms the IEEE 802.11 standard, also in high interference environments.

• WIDENS: Advanced Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks for Public Safety
  H. Aïache, V. Conan, G. Guibé, J. Leguay, C. Le Martret, J.M. Barceló, L. Cerdà, J. García, R. Knopp, N. Nikaein, X. Gonzalez, A. Zeini, O. Apilo, A. Boukalov, J. Karvo, H. Koskinen, L. Bergonzi, J. Diaz, J. Meessen, C. Blondia, P. De Cleyn, E. Van de Velde & M. Voorhaen
  Proceedings of the IST Mobile & Wireless Communications Summit 2005, Dresden, Germany, 2005.
  BibTeX | Abstract | PDF Available
  
  Bibtex:
  @INPROCEEDINGS{ist_widens,
  author = {H. A{\"i}ache and V. Conan and G. Guib{\'e} and J. Leguay and C. Le Martret and J.M. Barcel{\'o} and L. Cerd{\`a} and J. Garc{\'i}a and R. Knopp and N. Nikaein and X. Gonzalez and A. Zeini, O. Apilo and A. Boukalov and J. Karvo and H. Koskinen and L. Bergonzi and J. Diaz and J. Meessen and C. Blondia and P. De Cleyn and E. Van de Velde and M. Voorhaen},
  title = {WIDENS: Advanced Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks for Public Safety},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the IST Mobile & Wireless Communications Summit 2005},
  year = {2005},
  month = {JUN},
  location = {Dresden, Germany},
  URL = {content/publications/2005/ist_widens.pdf},
  abstract= {This paper provides an overview of the on-going European Project called WIreless DEployable Network System (WIDENS) which aims at defining a rapidly deployable communication system for public safety or emergency services. In this context, users expect a highly reliable communication system that can support real time applications to allow teams to collaborate in an efficient way. They also want the system to work in a spontaneous fashion and with no pre-installed infrastructures. To fit all the requirements, WIDENS takes advantage of the technology of wireless ad hoc networks to establish high data rate communication links on the fly. In this paper we describe the overall architecture of the WIDENS network and highlight the design of its major components.}
  }
  
  Abstract:
  This paper provides an overview of the on-going European Project called WIreless DEployable Network System (WIDENS) which aims at defining a rapidly deployable communication system for public safety or emergency services. In this context, users expect a highly reliable communication system that can support real time applications to allow teams to collaborate in an efficient way. They also want the system to work in a spontaneous fashion and with no pre-installed infrastructures. To fit all the requirements, WIDENS takes advantage of the technology of wireless ad hoc networks to establish high data rate communication links on the fly. In this paper we describe the overall architecture of the WIDENS network and highlight the design of its major components.

Poster Presentations

2005

• Multi-Mode Routing vs Multi-level Routing
  Jeroen Hoebeke, Erwin Van de Velde, Michael Voorhaen
  Presented at the MOTION site visit, 9 September 2005, Ghent
  PDF file available
• TERRAN: Test Environment for Repeatable Research and Analysis of Networks
  Johan Bergs, Michiel Mertens, Erwin Van de Velde
  Presented at the MOTION site visit, 9 September 2005, Ghent
  
• TERRAN: Test Environment for Repeatable Research and Analysis of Networks: Demonstration
  Johan Bergs, Michiel Mertens, Erwin Van de Velde
  Presented at the IBBT Brokerage event, 14 September 2005
  PPT file 1 available - PPT file 2 available