MC – UNIT 2

Ø INTERNET – THE UBIQUITOUS NETWORK

§ For any content to be available anywhere, we will need a ubiquitous network that will carry this content.
As of today there are two ubiquitous networks. One is the telecommunication network and the other is
the internet network. These networks are in real terms the network of networks.
§ Different networks have been connected together using a common protocol (glue). It is the SS7 for the
telecommunication networks and it is the TCP/IP for the Internet network.
§ A network can be divided into three main segments:
§ Core: As the name signifies is the backbone of the network. This is the innermost part of the
network. Its primary function is to deliver traffic efficiently at the least cost. Core looks at the traffic
from a bit stream point of view.
§ Edge: These are generally managed and owned by ISPs or local switches and exchanges. Edge looks
at the traffic from the service point of view
§ Access: This part of the network services the end point or the device by which the service will be
accessed. This deals with the last mile of transmission. This part is either a wireline or the wireless
§ Internet is a network of network and it supports many protocols. However for ubiquitous access, web-
based applications are desirable. A web-based application in the Internet uses HTTP protocol and works
like a request/response service.
§ User agents of the Internet will access the network using web browsers like Chrome, Safari etc.
Ø ARCHITECTURE OF MOBILE COMPUTING
§ The network-centric mobile computing architecture uses a three-tier architecture as shown in the
figures. In the three-tier architecture the layers are:
§ User Interface or Presentation Tier:
§ The user faces the system in this tier. This is the layer of agent applications and systems. These
applications run on the client and offer all the user interfaces.
§ This tier is responsible for presenting the information to the end user. Humans use audio and video
means to receive information from the system. And humans use keyboards, mouse etc to feed
information into the system
§ This tier includes softwares such as Web Browsers (Mozilla, Chrome, Safari etc.), WAP Browsers
and customized client programs.
§ In general, the agent software is an Internet Browser. In some cases it can be an Applet or a Virtual
Machine.
§ The functions in this tier are carried out using HTTP API, SOAP API etc.
§ Process Management or Application Tier:
§ This tier is the engine of the ubiquitous network. It performs the business logic of processing of
user input, obtaining data and making decisions. In some cases it will also do transcoding of data to
be rendered properly on the Presentation Tier.
§ This tier may use technologies like CGIs, Java, JSP, .NET Services, PHP etc. deployed in products
like Apache, WebSphere, IIS, iPlanet etc.
§ Apart from the business logic there are several other tasks to be executed by this tier and it is taken
care by the Middleware Software. This middleware framework is defined as the layer that sits
between the OS and the UI.
§ We can group the Middleware into the following categories:
• Message-Oriented Middleware
• Transaction Processing Middleware
• Database Middleware
• Communication Middleware
• Distributed Object and Components
• Transcoding Middleware
§ Data Management or Data Tier:
§ This tier is for database access and management. It is used to store the data needed by the
application and acts as a repository for both temporary and permanent data.
§ The data can be stored in any form of datastore or database. The data can also be stored in the
form of XML for interoperability between systems
 § It is always preferred that the business logic is independent of the database and its technology. This
is achieved by using Database Middleware. They run between the application program and the
database. Ex: ODBC, JDBC etc.

Ø MOBILE COMPUTING THROUGH INTERNET

§ We know that a network can be divided into three major areas, namely, Core, Edge and Access. Likewise
we can divide a ubiquitous network into three functional areas.
§ Out of the three the core and edge are likely to be Internet and internet. By internet we define a network
which is the combination of various networks and interworks with one another. Whereas Internet with
the capital I is the Internet as we know.
§ For mobile and ubiquitous computing, the access network will be both wireless and wired networks.

Ø GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS (GSM)

§ GSM is much more than just the abbreviation. It is an extremely successful technology and is the bearer
for the mobile communication system. It accounts to 71% of the digital wireless market.
§ GSM uses a combination of both FDMA and TDMA.

Ø GSM ARCHITECTURE
§ GSM Networks are structured in a hierarchic fashion. At the minimum, it consists of one administrative
region assigned to one MSC. This administrative region is called Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).
§ Each administrative region is subdivided into several Location Areas (LA). One LA consists of many cell
groups. Each group is assigned to one BSC. Cells in a BSC can belong to various LAs.
§ Cells are formed by the radio areas covered by a BTS (Base Transceiver Station). Several BTSs are
controlled by a BSC. Traffic from an MS is routed through an MSC.
§ GSM System Hierarchy
Ø GSM ENTITIES:

§ The GSM Network can be divided into five main groups

§ The Mobile Station (MS). Includes Mobile Equipment and SIM
§ The Base Subsystem (BSS). Includes BSC and BTS
§ The Network and Switching System (NSS). Includes MSC, HLR, VLR, EIR and AUC
§ The Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS). Includes OMC
§ The Data Infrastructure. Includes the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Public Data
Network (PDN) and Integrated System Digital Network (ISDN).

Ø CALL ROUTING IN GSM

§ Human interface is analog. However, the advancements in digital technology has proved that it is
convenient to handle data in digital fashion. Several complex technologies is used between the human
analog interface and the digital network
§ Digitizer and Source Coding: The user speech is digitized at 8Khz sampling rate using Regular Pulse
Excited – Linear Predictive Coder (RPE-LPC) with a long term predictor loop. In this technique
information from previous samples is used to predict the current sample
 § Channel Coding – This step introduces redundancy information into the data for error detection
and possible error correction.
§ Interleaving – This step arranges the group of bits in a particular way. This is to improve the
performance of the error detection mechanisms. At the same time is avoids losing whole bursts by
scattering the errors
§ Ciphering – Encrypts blocks of user data using a symmetric key shared by the mobile station and
the BTS
§ Burst Formatting – Adds some binary information to the ciphered block. This additional information
is used for synchronization and equalization of the received data.
§ Modulation – The modulation technique chosen for the GSM system is the Gaussian Minimum Shift
Keying (GMSK). Using this technique the binary data is converted back into analog signal to fit the
frequency and time requirements for the multiple access rules
§ Multipath and Equalizations – At the GSM frequency bands, radio waves reflect from buildings,
cars, hills etc. As a result not only is the “right” signal received but also various other signals which
can corrupt the information is received. In order to receive the “right” signal, the received signal is
passed through an inverse filter
§ Synchronization – For successful operation of a mobile radio system, time and frequency
synchronization is needed.

Ø CALL ROUTING EXAMPLE

Ø PLMN INTERFACES
Ø GSM ADDRESS AND IDENTIFIERS – GSM distinguishes explicitly between the user and equipment. It does
with many addresses and identifies. They are:
§ International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) – it is the unique identifier of every mobile in the world.
It can be found by typing *#06# in the phone.
§ International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) – when registered with a GSM operator each subscriber
is assigned a unique identifier. The IMSI is stored in the SIM card and secured by the operator. Every
IMSI number has many parts
§ Mobile Country Code (MCC) – For india it is 404
§ Mobile Network Code (MNC) – Unique identifies a network operator in a country. It is 10 for Airtel
in Delhi
§ Max 10 digits of Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (MSIN)
§ Mobile Subscriber ISDN (MSISDN) – is the real telephone number as is known to the external world.
MSISDN is public data and known to everyone while IMSI is private to the operator. Consists of the
following
§ Country Code (CC) – 1 to 3 digits
§ National Destination Code – Typically 2 to 3 digits
§ Subscriber Number (SN) max 10 digits.

§ Local Area Identity – Each LA in a PLMN has its own identity

§ Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN) – When a subscriber is roaming in another network it is
assigned a temporary ISDN number.
§ Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) – This is a temporary identifier assigned by the serving
VLR. It is used in place of IMSI for identification and addressing.
§ Local Mobile Subscriber Identity (LMSI) – This is assigned by the VLR and also stored in the HLR for
faster database access
§ Call Identifier – Within a LA every cell has a unique cell identifier.
§ Identification of MSCs and Location Registers

Ø NETWORK ASPECTS IN GSM