Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture for Public Transportation

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture for Public Transportation"

Bryce Lester
6 years ago
Views:

1 Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture for Public Transportation Zsuzsanna Ilona Kiss 1 Andrei Bogdan Rus 1 Virgil Dobrota 1 Angelo Consoli 2 Miguel Egido 3 Zsolt Alfred Polgar 1 1 Communications Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca 2 Eclexys SAGL 3 Gowex Wireless SL 21st International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

2 Outline 1 Introduction 2 System Architecture Basic Principles of the Connectivity System Ubiquitous Connectivity System Architecture 3 Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Functional Architecture of the Service Continuity Gateway 4 Platform Architecture Platform Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Platform Architecture of the Service Continuity Gateway Implementation Details 5 Conclusions and Future Work Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

3 Introduction Motivation Next Generation Networks have to: use multiple wireless access technologies; support generalized mobility; the users have to be Always Best Connected. Ubiquitous communication in heterogeneous networks requires new architecture elements and algorithms capable of: cross-layer operations; Network State Information (NSI) acquisition and processing; efficient radio resource management. One possible application is in smart public transportation: communication services for the passengers; benefits for transport companies. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

4 System Architecture Basic Principles of the Connectivity System Basic Principles Characteristics of seamless connectivity solutions for public transport: energy efficiency is not the main target, but it is important; transmission device of the vehicle has several wireless interfaces; loose coupling between the operator s core networks. We propose the architecture design on 3 distinct levels: system architecture; functional architecture; platform architecture. System architecture elements: Smart Mobile Router (SMR); Application Server Platform (ASP) formed of: Ubiquitous Connectivity Support Server (UCSS); Service Continuity Gateways (SCG). Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

5 System Architecture System Architecture Overview Ubiquitous Connectivity System Architecture Bus A SMR 3G+ LTE 3G/HSPA+ Central Database SCG UCSS 3G/HSPA+ INTERNET SMR 3G+ LTE Bus B WiMAX/LTE Router Backup SCG WiMAX/LTE Figure : Ubiquitous connectivity system architecture. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

6 System Architecture Ubiquitous Connectivity System Architecture System Architecture Details Smart Mobile Router (SMR): installed in the vehicle offers Internet access; with access control and authentication functions; equipped with several wireless interfaces; selects the target network for handover and load balancing; measures and processes the NSI and flow parameters. Application Server Platform (ASP): assists the SMRs in providing ubiquitous connectivity over several wireless networks. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

7 System Architecture Ubiquitous Connectivity System Architecture System Architecture Details Ubiquitous Connectivity Support Server (UCSS): gathers, processes and stores the context information (CI) from the SMRs; distributes the centralized CI among the SMRs. Service Continuity Gateway (SCG) assists the SMRs in: offering ubiquitous connectivity; active measurements of delay, available transfer rate, etc. The handover (HO) and load balancing (LB) operations can be combined into a single process: better connectivity; improved user experience. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

8 Functional Architecture SMR Functional Architecture Overview Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Authentication Subsystem SIM Authentication Module WEP/WPA/WPA2 Authentication Module HTTP Authentication Module Accounting Module HO & LB Manager Subsystem HO Necessity Estimation HO Triggering Condition Network Selection HO Decision Module (HOD) LB Necessity Estimation LB Triggering Condition Flow & Network Selection LB Decision Module (LBD) Policy Translator Connection & Mobility Manager Subsystem NAT Control Module HO & LB Execution Module HO & LB Policy Repository (POR) Database Information Forwarding Subsystem Context Information Manager Subsystem Network Information Handling Network State Information Service NSI Acquisition Network Discovery Velocity & Position Estimation Triggers & Events (Network Related) Network Information Acquisition (NIA) Required Resources Estimation Network Capabilities Estimation Triggers & Events (CRRM Related) Radio Resource Description (RRD) Configuration Interface Subsystem Service Information Handling Flow monitoring & Traffic Analysis Service Classification Triggers & Events (Service Related) Service Information Acquisition (SIA) Mobile Router Hardware Platform & Operating System Figure : Functional architecture of the SMR. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

Functional Architecture SMR Functional Architecture Details Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Communication subsystem = Information Forwarding Subsystem: acts as a switch, allows the

9 Functional Architecture SMR Functional Architecture Details Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Communication subsystem = Information Forwarding Subsystem: acts as a switch, allows the architecture modularization and easy subsystem integration. Configuration subsystem = Configuration Interface Subsystem: allows to specify the policies controlling the HO & LB operations and the QoS requirements. Data storage subsystem = Database (LD) Subsystem: stores the acquired NSI and the CI downloaded from the Central Database (CD). Authentication Subsystem: allows the SMR to get authenticated and authorized in the operator s networks. Figure : Authentication subsystem. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router SMR Functional Architecture Details Decision subsystem = HO and LB Manager uses the acquired NSI: HO Decision Module

10 Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router SMR Functional Architecture Details Decision subsystem = HO and LB Manager uses the acquired NSI: HO Decision Module controls the VHO process; LB Decision Module controls the possible load balancing operations. Execution subsystem = Connection and Mobility Manager: HO & LB Execution Module selects and switches data flows between IP paths; NAT Control Module creates new logical IP paths. Figure : HO & LB Manager subsystem. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router SMR Functional Architecture Details Operation support subsystem = Context Information Manager Subsystem including the

11 Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router SMR Functional Architecture Details Operation support subsystem = Context Information Manager Subsystem including the modules dealing with: NSI; service; flow related information acquisition and storage. Figure : CI Manager subsystem. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

12 Functional Architecture SCG Functional Architecture Functional Architecture of the Service Continuity Gateway The functional architecture of the SCG is similar with that of the SMR s. The main differences are: the lack of the HO & LB Manager Subsystem and of the Authentication Subsystem; no decision is taken by the SCG concerning the HO and LB operations; the CI Manager Subsystem has a simplified structure, it only helps the SMR in performing active measurements. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

13 Platform Architecture SMR Platform Architecture Overview Platform Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router Mobile Router Platform Hardware Monitoring Module Authentication Module Traffic Monitoring Module Monitoring Module Cellular Monitoring Module GPS Module Database & CI Handler Database Context Information Manager Subsystem HO & LB Manager HO & LB Manager Subsystem Information Forwarding Subsystem Interoperability Module Connectivity Manager Config. Files Repository Connection & Mobility Manager Subsystem Figure : Platform architecture of the SMR. Internet Configuration Interface Subsystem Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

14 Platform Architecture Platform Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router SMR Platform Architecture Details SMR implemented on a microcomputer with minimal Linux OS. The HO & LB Manager Subsystem, the Connection & Mobility Manager Subsystem, the Authentication Subsystem and the Configuration Interface Subsystem map on individual software modules. CI Manager Subsystem maps on several software modules: the monitoring modules of the wireless interfaces, GPS receiver and data flows; LD and CI Handler module processes and stores the NSI in the LD; Database module. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

15 Platform Architecture SMR Platform Architecture Details Platform Architecture of the Smart Mobile Router The hardware monitoring module identifies the potential operational issues or malfunctioning. The mapping of the functional architecture on the platform architecture is based on: functional criteria: the monitoring modules quickly detect any changes in the network or hardware state; the routing modules promptly react to the commands; the decision modules predict changes in the network or system state; the CI handling and storage modules have less stringent time constraints; nonfunctional criteria: the portability of the SMR platform. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

16 Platform Architecture SCG Platform Architecture Overview Platform Architecture of the Service Continuity Gateway Service Continuity Gateway Platform Hardware Monitoring Module Measurement Module Cellular Measurement Module GPS Module Context Information Manager Subsystem Information Forwarding Subsystem Interoperability Module Connectivity Manager Connection & Mobility Manager Subsystem Internet Figure : Platform architecture of the SCG. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

17 Platform Architecture Platform Architecture of the Service Continuity Gateway SCG Platform Architecture Details SCG implemented on a high performance computer platform. The platform architecture of the SCG: Connectivity Manager Module implements the routing operations; and the 2G/3G/4G Measurement modules work with the SMR s wireless Monitoring modules to perform active measurements; GPS Module used for synchronization purposes; Hardware Monitoring Module monitors the SCG hardware functioning. The mapping of the SCG s functional architecture on the software architecture is similar to the SMR. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

18 Platform Architecture Implementation Details NSI and Flow Parameter Acquisition 3 categories of NSI: link parameters (e.g. signal strength, SINR, etc.); traffic parameters (e.g. transmitted/received packets, traffic class, etc.); and network parameters (e.g. Service Set Identifier, operator name, etc). Monitoring of the WLAN parameters is based on the iw tool integrated in Linux OS. Monitoring of the cellular network interface can be achieved by using specific AT commands or the QMI (Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem Interface) protocol. The flow monitoring and traffic analysis is based on the libnetfilter_conntrack library. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

19 Monitoring Modules Platform Architecture Implementation Details Operating System s User Space Monitoring Software Module WLAN specific Linux commands Standard output replies specific function calls Daemon program (wpa_supplicant) Operating System Hardware Driver/Interface specific commands & replies Interface Driver Network Card GPS Monitoring Software Module Standard Linux commands Standard output replies GPS Flow Capture & Library Traffic Analysis functions Software Module call GPS Daemon (gpsd) GPS driver GPS receiver NTP Daemon (ntpd) Netfilter libraries function calls & commands Linux kernel netfilter support Network cards AT commands Virtual COM Ports Modem COM Port Standard output replies Application Diagnostic COM Port COM Port Cellular Monitoring Software Module Driver/Interface specific commands & replies qmi specific commands qminetwork qmicli cdc-wdm Driver 2G/3G/4G Interface Driver 2G/3G/4G Network Card Standard output replies QMI protocol Figure : The monitoring modules of the SMR. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

20 Module Integration Platform Architecture Implementation Details The Interoperability Module is composed of multiple threads. For each connected software module a dedicated thread is created. The communication is based on IPC sockets. Each software module has a unique ID within the platform. Process Process Process Process Process Interoperability Module Internet Interoperability Module Process Process Process Process Process UCONNECT Device connected to the Internet UCONNECT Device connected to the Internet Figure : Module and subsystem integration. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

21 Platform Architecture Implementation Details Routing over Heterogeneous Networks Virtual Private Network tunnels are created between the SMRs and the SCG using the OpenVPN software. The data flows are forwarded through the tunnels based on the decisions taken by the HO & LB Manager module. Multiple virtual routing tables are created for the connections using the iptables tool. Overlay Network Internet SMR SMR SCG SCG Destination interface Routing table NAT Interface emulator Decaps. Encaps. Interf. 1 Interf. 2 Tunnel 1 Operator 1 Tunnel N Operator N Interf. 1 Decaps. Encaps. Interface emulator Routing table NAT Interface 2 Internet Destination Figure : VPN Tunnels. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

22 Conclusions and Future Work Conclusions and Future Developments Architecture design is proposed involving: system; functional; platform architectures of a ubiquitous connectivity system for the public transportation. Future developments: implementation of more complex solutions for ubiquitous connectivity provisioning in vehicular scenarios; optimal selection of the VHO target network can be implemented; load balancing and other interoperability algorithms can be implemented. Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

23 Conclusions and Future Work References A. Macriga and A. Kumar Mobility Management for Seamless Information flow in Heterogeneous Networks Using Hybrid Handover. Intl. J. of Computer Science and Network Security, 10(2), F. Zarai, I. Smaoui, J-M. Bonnin and L. Kamoun Seamless Mobility in Heterogeneous Networks. Intl. J. of Next-Generation Networks, 2(4), M. Garcia, J. Lloret, M. Edo and R. Lacuesta IPTV Distribution Network Access System Using WiMAX and WLAN Technologies. Proc. of 4th UPGRADE-CN Workshop, 1, G. Lampropoulos, A. Kaloxylos, N. Passas and L. Merakos Handover Management Architectures in Integrated WLAN/Cellular Networks. IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, 7(4), UCONNECT Consortium Implementation of Ubiquitous Connectivity for Public Transport. Available: Kiss, Rus, Dobrota, Consoli, Egido, Polgar (TUCN, ECYS, GWX) Seamless Connectivity Platform Architecture SoftCom / 23

Ubiquitous Connectivity Platform for Intelligent Public Transportation Systems

Ubiquitous Connectivity Platform for Intelligent Public Transportation Systems Eng. Andrei Hosu, PhD student Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania Outline Introduction Proposed Scenario Connectivity