A Tale of Two Network Stacks

It was the
best of
Cross-Layer Designs and designs,…
architectures Application
…it was the
Application
Transport Transport
worst of
Network designs. Network
Data Link Data Link

Physical Physical
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Challenges and Opportunities Why and How to do Cross-Layer Design

• A central problem: How to efficiently transmit heterogeneous
traffic over wireless links? • Why:
• There exists direct coupling between physical layer and
• Physical-layer limits of wireless channel: upper protocol layers
• time-varying fading, multipath, …
• co-channel interference, … • Is cross-layer design the only approach to meeting the fast-
• mobility, dynamic network topology, … growing demands?

• Wireless networking: • How: Adaptive protocol design

• Applications: wireless Internet access, (tactical) ad hoc networks,
sensor networks
• Diverse requirements: high-bandwidth video and data, low-bandwidth
voice and data
• Goal: reliable communication-on-the-move in highly dynamic
environments, QoS provisioning
• Which layers should respond to channel variations?
• What layers should be jointly optimized/designed?
• Complexity and scalability: cross-layer versus layered
module –- conflicting paradigms ?

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 ISO - OSI
Application layer

Presentation layer

Session layer

Transport layer

Network layer

Data link layer

Physical layer

OSI model

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OSI Layer interaction CLD (Cross Layer Design)

• Early work done in wireline networks shows that
information exchange between protocol layers is useful
 TCP packet loss information communicated to the application layer
 Link-MAC layer tuning transmit power of the PHY based on BER
• Layer interaction can be categorized as:
• Top-down
• Bottom-up
• Also PHY layer transmit power and BER communicated
to the Link/MAC layer enables adaptation of error
mechanisms
• To design a wireless network, we need to identify each
process or module
• Research community is split in different groups because
each process or module has been treated seperately
• There is a difference between CLD in wireless and CLD in
wireline
• In wireless: fading, scattering and multipath can change
channel state

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 CLD basic definition CLD proposals
• The layered architecture like OSI defines a hierarchy of services to be
provided by individual layers

• Services at layers are realized by designing protocols for different layers

• A higher layer protocol only makes use of services at lower layers and is
not concerned how the service is being implemented

• Protocols can be designed by allowing direct communication between

protocols in non-adjacent layers

• Such communication between layers is named CLD. However, this is not

the only definition for CLD.

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CLD proposals [1]

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 Violation of Layered Arch. Ref. Layered Arch.
• We note that the layered architecture can be • The reference layered architecture we assume
violated in the following basic ways: is a five-layer model, with the application
– Creation of new interfaces (Figs. 1st to 3rd)
layer, transport layer, network layer, link layer
– Merging of adjacent layers (Fig. 4th)
– Design coupling without new interfaces (Fig. 5th)
(comprising the data link control [DLC] and
– Vertical calibration across layers (Fig. 6th) medium access control [MAC] sublayers) and
physical layer;
• the architectural violations we identify can be
combined to yield more complex cross-layer
designs.
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Creation of new interfaces Merging of adjacent layers

• Three subcategories depending on the direction
of information flow along the new interfaces: • To design two or more adjacent layers
– Upward: From lower layer(s) to a higher layer together such that the service provided by the
– The explicit congestion notification (ECN) from the router to the
transport layer at the TCP sender can explicitly tell the TCP sender new super-layer is the union of the services
if there is congestion in the network to enable it to differentiate
between errors on the wireless link and network congestion provided by the constituent layers.
– Downward: From higher layer(s) to a lower layer – NDMA is also an example which blurs the MAC-PHY boundary.
– Applications can inform the link layer about their delay
requirements, and the link layer can then treat packets from
delay-sensitive applications with priority
• Not practically used…
– Back and forth: Iterative flow between two layers
– network-assisted diversity multiple access (NDMA) proposal,
whereby the physical(PHY) and MAC layers collaborate in collision
resolution in the uplink of a wireless LAN system.
– self-adaptation loop is not CLD
• auto-rate fallback
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4
 Design coupling without new
interfaces
• This involves coupling two or more layers at
design time without creating any extra
interfaces for information sharing at runtime.
• E.g., the design of a MAC layer for the uplink of a
wireless LAN when the PHY is capable of providing
multi-packet reception capability. This capability at the
physical layer considerably changes the role of the MAC
layer; thus, it needs to be redesigned.
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Architectural blueprints for wireless
communications
• It determines how layers can communicate
specially in wireless networks…
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Vertical calibration across layers
• Simply, the performance seen at any layer is a
function of the parameters at all the layers apart
from it.
– E.g., the delay requirement dictates the persistence of link-layer
automatic repeat request (ARQ), which in turn becomes an input
for deciding the rate selection through a channel-adaptive
modulation scheme.
• It may be static or dynamic.
– Static: Setting parameters across the layers at design time with
the optimization of some metric in mind.
– Dynamic: it requires mechanisms to retrieve and update the
values of the parameters being optimized from the different
layers
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Direct communication between layers
• This is applicable when there has to be
runtime information sharing between layers
– In cross-layer designs that rely on new interfaces or in
dynamic vertical calibrations
• Direct communication between the layers
means making the variables at one layer
visible to the other layers at runtime
• E.g., cross-layer signaling shortcuts (CLASS)
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5
 A shared database across layers
• The common database is like a new layer,
providing the service of storage/retrieval of
information to all the layers
• The shared database approach is particularly
well suited to vertical calibrations across
layers.
• The main challenge here is the design of the
interactions between the different layers and
the shared database
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Open challenges for CLD
• How do the different cross-layer design proposals
coexist with one another?
• Will a given cross-layer design idea possibly give
innovation in the future?
• What are the cross-layer designs that will have the
most significant impact on network performance, and
hence should be most closely focused on?
• Has a given design proposal been made with a
thorough knowledge of the effect of the interactions
between the parameters at different layers on network
performance?
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Completely new abstractions
• Such novel organizations of protocols are
appealing as they allow rich interactions
between the building blocks of the protocols.
• Flexible during run-time
• Different system level implementations
required
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Open challenges for CLD
• Under which network and environmental
condition would a particular cross-layer design
proposal be invoked?
• Can the mechanisms/interfaces used to share
information between the layers be standardized?
• What should the role of the physical layer in
wireless networks be?
• Is the conventional view of the network, a
collection of point-to-point links, appropriate for
wireless networks?
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 Important cross-layer couplings Coexistence of CLDs
• CLD is needed between the network and MAC • say the MAC layer in a stack responds to the
layers for ad hoc networks since the variation in the channel by adjusting the data
functionalities of the two layers interact rate.
• explicit notifications by new interfaces to the • The question is, will additionally adjusting the frame length
transport layer improve end-to-end performance at the link layer help further?
• making use of channel knowledge at the MAC • How will an overriding control from, say, the transport layer,
trying to control the link layer parameters, interact with
layer allows opportunistic usage of the channel these adaptation loops?
and improves performance
• It is another part of research going on now to
• energy, delay, and security related issues need to
decide which CLDs can coexist and which can not.
be handled across the layers
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When to invoke a particular CLD Standardization of interfaces

• The network conditions in a wireless network are • The interfaces between layers determine how
usually time-varying
• The idea is to make the protocol stack responsive to variations in
efficiently information can be shared between
the underlying network conditions so that an optimal operating
point is always maintained
them,
• There are two complementary challenges in this issue. • What kinds of overheads and delays are
• designers need to establish the network conditions under which
the proposed cross-layer designs would result in performance
there?
improvements
– cross-layer design involving an iterative optimization of throughput and
• How effective dynamic back & forth
power leads to a loss in performance under a certain pathological
network condition
information sharing is possible?
• efficient mechanisms to make a timely and accurate assessment of
the state of the network need to be built into the stack, and the • The impact of delay in retrieval/updation of
corresponding overheads must be taken into account. information
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7
 The role of the physical layer The right communication model
• PHY layer plays bigger role in wireless networks • Wire-line communication takes place by point
• OSI reference model do not allow much of a role to point comm. link
for the physical layer besides providing a bit pipe • Wireless comm. works by broadcast. So
• Enhancements in the physical layer will have to optimizations are possible and violation of
be balanced by corresponding changes to the layered architecture is possible
higher layers. • CLD chooses wireless communication as the
right comm. model.
• CLDs can be designed efficiently by focusing more
– E.g., CLD deployed for WSN, cognitive radio
on PHY parameters
networks etc.

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A comparison
Rate-adaptive mac and DSDV [2]
• The idea behind rate-adaptive MAC protocols is to send
data at higher rates when the channel quality is good
• Such higher rates are achieved by changing the modulation
scheme
• RTS/CTS and broadcast packets are always transmitted at the
lowest data rate
• Depending upon the rate information in RTS-CTS sender send data
and ACK
• Minimum-hop routing chooses longer hops, for which
the signal strength is lower, and thus the data rate
achieved through channel quality adaptation is low.
E.g., DSDV.
• CLD is maintained when MAC uses PHY information • Scheme 1: adaptive rate mac
and uses the channel information in routing layer. • Scheme2: plain ieee 802.11
• Results obtained in [2] using NS2. (carrier sensing turned off in both the cases)
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 CLD Researches nowadays CLD in SDN
• CLD employing the predictability of Rayleigh channels to
improve the performance of ad hoc networks. [3] • Software Defined Networking (SDN) and optical
• Cross-Layer Design for Power Efficiency and QoS switching technology make it possible to program
Provisioning in Multi-Hop Wireless Networks [4] the network stack all the way from physical
• A Cross-Layer Approach to Multichannel MAC Protocol
Design for Video Streaming Over Wireless Ad Hoc Networks topology to flow level traffic control
[5] • [6] represents the run-time network
• a cross-layer design for a reliable video transmission over wireless ad
hoc networks (optimization of AODV & DSR) based on multichannel configuration for big data applications to jointly
MAC protocol with TDMA. optimize application performance and network
• [7] presents OpenRF, a cross-layer architecture for
managing MIMO signal processing. utilization
• This gives an waterfall between network and physical layer (MIMO
signal processing)
• So definitely SDN is going to revolutionize and
• OpenRF Controller coordinates network devices through this interface optimize CLD.
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References
1. “Cross-Layer Design: A Survey and the Road Ahead”, Vineet Srivastava, Mehul
Motani, IEEE Communications Magazine , December 2005
2. “A CAUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ON CROSS-LAYER DESIGN”, VIKAS
KAWADIA, P. R. KUMAR, IEEE Wireless Communications, February 2005
3. “New Cross-Layer Design Approach to Ad Hoc Networks Under Rayleigh Fading”,
Peter P. Pham, Sylvie Perreau, and Aruna Jayasuriya, IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON MULTIMEDIA, VOL. 11, NO. 6, OCTOBER 2009
4. “Cross-Layer Design for Power Efficiency and QoS Provisioning in Multi-Hop
Wireless Networks”, Ula¸s C. Kozat, Iordanis Koutsopoulos, and Leandros
Tassiulas, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS, VOL.
5, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2006
5. “A Cross-Layer Approach to Multichannel MAC Protocol Design for Video
Streaming Over Wireless Ad Hoc Networks”, Byung Joon Oh, Chang Wen Chen,
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MULTIMEDIA, VOL. 11, NO. 6, OCTOBER 2009
6. “Programming Your Network at Run-time for Big Data Applications”, Guohui
Wang, T. S. Eugene Ngy, Anees Shaikh, HotSDN’12, August 13, 2012, Helsinki,
Finland
7. “Bringing cross-layer MIMO to today’s wireless LANs”, S. Kumar, D. Cifuentes, S.
Gollakota, and D. Katabi, In ACM SIGCOMM, 2013
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