By Prof. Thomas Magedanz, Technical University of Berlin, Germany

Abstract

The Future Internet represents a global research topic, denoting a new omnipresent communications and service platform, which enables the smart interconnection of an open set of sensors, devices, things, humans, systems, data, and applications. Various application domains, such as eHealth, eGoverment, eTransport, eEnergy, eLearning, smart / human centric communications, etc. should be supported by such a platform.

In this context wireless broadband access represents an important factor and the incorporation of existing and emerging network technologies will be of fundamental importance the smooth introduction of the future internet. Particular the starting deployment of Mobile Broadband Networks will mark an important cornerstone in mobile network evolution towards the future internet.

This half day tutorial will provide an overview of the Mobile Broadband Networks and the corresponding 3GPP standards related to the Long term Evolution (LTE) and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which form together the Evolved Packet System (EPS). Major focus of this tutorial is on the EPC concepts, architecture, components, interfaces and functional capabilities. As the EPC provides a unified control platform for linking different IP application platforms with various broadband wireless access networks, the tutorial also addresses potential EPC application domains, namely the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), as well as potential open internet service architectures. The tutorial terminates with an introduction to the TU Berlin / Fraunhofer FOKUS OpenEPC (www.openepc.net) software toolkit enabling rapid Future Mobile Broadband Network prototyping for applied academic and industry research. In particular, it introduces the new open Future Seamless Communications Playground (www.FUSECO-Playground.org) established in Berlin, Germany in the spring 2010.

Session 1: Future Mobile Broadband Networks Overview
* Convergence: Network Evolution towards all IP
* Mobile Network Evolution
* Requirements as defined by the NGMN Alliance
* Potential Future Mobile Broadband Network services
* Related Fora & Standards (NGMN Alliance, 3GPP, LTSI)
* Service Architecture Evolution (SAE) = Evolved Packet System (EPS) Overview
* EPS = E-UTRAN + Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
* Comparing NGN and Future Mobile Broadband Network concepts

Session 2: EPS Overview
* Introducing the 3GPP EPS Specifications
* E-UTRAN = Long-term Evolution (LTE) Overview
* 3GPP Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Overview
o EPC Motivation (= access network diversity)
o EPC Key capabilities (QoS, charging, handover, security, IP connectivity)
o EPC architecture for LTE (MME, S-GW, PDN-GW, PCC, etc.)
o EPC architecture for other access networks
* EPC in operation
* Applications over EPC: IMS vs Internet

Session 3: Application Domains: Telecommunications / IMS vs. Web 2.0 and beyond
* Service platforms above EPC
* IMS as common core service platform
* IMS overview: architecture, components, protocols
* IMS service example over EPC: Voice, 3Play, IPTV, etc.)
* Internet service architectures over EPC (Communities, Web 2.0, WebTV, etc.)
* Future Mobile Broadband Network Voice Challenges and architectural options

Session 4: Enabling Future Mobile Broadband Networks Application Prototyping
* Motivation for open testbeds to accelerate Future Mobile Broadband technology adoption and application prototyping
* Experiences form the Fraunhofer FOKUS open technology testbeds and tools
* An EPC testbed toolkit for academia and industry R&D: The OpenEPC (www.openepc.net)
* Showcase: The FUSECO Playground based on OpenEPC (www.FUSECO-Playground.org)

Session 5: Evolution of mobile and fixed NGN toward the Future Internet (FI)
* Definition of the Future Internet
* Related FI R&D and testbeds
* The role of NGN on the way to the FI
* Research Challenges ahead
* Questions and Answers

About Speaker

By Prof. Markus Fiedler, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden

Abstract

Churn of revenue-generating but dissatisfied users has become a major point of concern for service providers and network operators. As services rely on interconnecting networks, service performance and thus user satisfaction and loyalty depend on network performance. Consequently, it is of utmost importance to understand the relationships between user perception, captured by quantitative Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters, and network performance, described by Quality of Service (QoS) parameters. This talk will provide insights into fundamental concepts of QoE and QoS and relationships between them, formulated as partial differential equations describing changes in QoE with respect to specific QoS parameters. A set of illustrating examples is given. Furthermore, the different impacts of provisioning and degree of success or failure of delivery on QoE are discussed, leading to the so-called QoE provisioning-delivery hysteresis. This hysteresis provides a striking motivation for employing elastic adaptation mechanisms to available resources instead of suffering from uncontrolled data loss. The tutorial will also present concurrent challenges in quantifying QoE.

About Speaker

By Prof. Erdal Cayirci, University of Stavanger, Norway

Abstract

Ad hoc networks formed by randomly deployed self-organizing wireless nodes have a wide range of applications, such as tactical communications, disaster relief operations and temporary networking in sparsely populated areas, and therefore they have been studied extensively for two decades. More recently, sensor networks have attracted interest from the research community and industry. They are more energy constrained and scalable ad hoc networks. Another form of ad hoc network, namely mesh networks, is aimed at application areas such as infrastructureless network scenarios for developing regions, low-cost multihop wireless backhaul connections and community wireless networks. Characteristics such as wireless access, mobility, rapid and random deployment make these kinds of network a very challenging field for security. Security is also a key issue in making many ad hoc application scenarios practical. Although security for these networks has been a major research field for more than a decade, there are still many challenges waiting for better solutions. Therefore, many researchers and engineers from both academia and industry continue working on this topic.

The tutorial is self-contained with regard to wireless ad hoc networking issues and introduces the security related aspects of wireless ad hoc, sensor and mesh networks, providing advanced information on security issues for this domain. It has two parts: The first introduces fundamentals and key issues related to wireless ad hoc networking. In this part, security-related issues – the issues referred to in the second part – are emphasized. In the second part, security attacks and counter measures in wireless ad hoc, sensor and mesh networks are elaborated upon. The tutorial is based on our book titled “Security in Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks,” published by Wiley and Sons in 2009.

About Speaker

By Dr. Khoa Nguyen, Vice-President, Silicon Frontline, USA

Abstract

The tutorial covers challenges and solutions of RC extraction for advanced high-speed digital and precision analog circuits. A need for accurate, reliable, and efficient capacitance extraction will be illustrated using examples, where 3D metal shapes, complicated BEOL (Back End Of Line) stack, and various manufacturing and other effects dominate design parasitic. A comparison of various extraction tools including pattern-matching extractors, and mesh-based and mesh-less field solvers is included.

About Speaker

By Prof. Kris Steenhaut, VUB and Erasmushogeschool Brussel, Belgium

and Dr. Yann-Aël Le Borgne, Computational Modeling lab (COMO) and Informatics and Electronics Group (ETRO), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. 

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) form an emerging class of networks, which have driven numerous research efforts in the last decade. They are composed of numerous tiny wireless sensor nodes, embedded within an environment, which collaborate in order to extract information of interest. Such networks enable to monitor our world at an unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution, for applications in domains as diverse as ecology, industry, medicine, or defense. The very limited energy, communication, and computational resources of the sensor nodes however call for the design of new networking and information processing strategies. 

The tutorial provides an overview of the technology and its applications, and outlines the key challenges faced in operating such networks. In a second stage, it discusses some of the solutions which have been brought to the field, with an emphasis on algorithmic approaches where routing and information extraction are jointly optimized. The discussion is supported by case studies of greenhouse monitoring and urban acoustic pollution monitoring, in which our lab is currently involved. 

About Speaker

By Prof. Van Tam Nguyen, Telecom ParisTech, France

Abstract

Cognitive Radio (CR) proposed by J. Mitola III in 2000, has first been identified as a preferred technology for high-end applications in the military and public safety domain. Then, a series of research projects in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Community has been investigating means for adapting CR concepts to cellular and short-range communication systems. The involved industrial, regulatory and academic partners are studying the CR approach with the prospect of a hugely increased level of spectral efficiency and improved overall system capacity exploitation, among others, thanks to
- The dual exploitation of spectrum by applying opportunistic spectrum usage without harmful interferences;
- A Mobile Device (MD) being partially or fully aware of its heterogeneous context and dynamically adapting its parameters such that its operational objectives are reached in an optimum way;
- The related networks are sufficiently intelligent about radio resources, protocols and are dynamically self-organizing.

This tutorial has two parts. In the first part, we will present an overview of different FP7 research projects on cognitive radio networks, point out some big challenges, especially how to split the intelligence between cognitive terminals and cognitive networks; how to distribute cognitions between layers; what is the difference between opportunistic spectrum use, dynamic spectrum access and smart, context aware radio. In the second part, we will focus on hardware implementation issues, especially on Software Defined Radio (SDR) architecture for MD and flexible hardware implementation in radio frequency domain, interfaces as well as baseband. 

About Speaker