Mobile Networking

Prof. Jean-Pierre Hubaux

http://mobnet.epfl.ch

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 About this course

 The course is about the system aspects of mobile networking

 Therefore, it covers:
networking issues (MAC and routing, principally)
wireless security issues
estimation of network capacity and resource management
 It does not cover:
radio propagation models
modulation and equalization techniques
source or channel coding
speech coding or other signal processing aspects
Software-centric aspects (e.g., mobile agents)
 It is focused on mechanisms, and avoids a detailed (and
boring) description of standards
 However, it does propose an insight on IEEE 802.11

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 Course outline/calendar and textbook

http://mobnet.epfl.ch/index.php?page=calendar

- J. Schiller: Mobile Communications, Second Edition

Addison-Wesley, 2004
http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de/inst/ag-tech/resources/mobkom/mobile_communications.htm

- W. Stallings: Wireless Communications & Networks, Second Edition,

Prentice Hall, 2005

http://www.WilliamStallings.com/Wireless/Wireless2e.html
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Module A – Introduction
(Part A1)

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 Wireless communication and mobility
 Aspects of mobility:
user mobility: users communicate “anytime, anywhere, with anyone”
device portability: devices can be connected anytime, anywhere to the
network

 Wireless vs. mobile Examples

  stationary computer (desktop)
  notebook in a hotel
  wireless LANs in historic buildings
  Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

 The demand for mobile communication creates the need for

integration of wireless networks or mobility mechanisms into
existing fixed networks:
telephone network  cellular telephony (e.g., GSM)
local area networks  Wireless LANs (e.g., IEEE 802.11)
Internet  Mobile IP
 Examples of applications (1/2)

 Person to person communication (e.g., voice, SMS)

 Person to server (e.g., timetable consultation, telebanking)
 Vehicles
position via GPS
local ad-hoc network with vehicles close-by to prevent accidents,
guidance system, adaptive cruise control
transmission of news, road condition, weather, music via Digital Audio
Broadcasting
vehicle data (e.g., from buses, trains, aircrafts) transmitted for
maintenance
 Disaster situations
replacement of a fixed infrastructure in case of earthquakes,
hurricanes, fire etc.
 Military networks

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Typical application: road traffic

GSM, UMTS oc
h
TETRA, ... ad

http://ivc.epfl.ch
http://www.sevecom.org

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 Examples of applications (2/2)

 Traveling salespeople
direct access to customer files stored in a central location
consistent databases for all agents
mobile office
 Replacement of fixed networks
Sensors
trade shows networks
LANs in historic buildings
 Entertainment, education, ...
outdoor Internet access
travel guide with up-to-date
location dependent information

Buil C
150
t
B
ad-hoc networks for
multi user games
Location-dependent advertising

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 Location dependent services

 Location aware services

what services, e.g., printer, fax, phone, server etc. exist in the
local environment
 Follow-on services
automatic call-forwarding, transmission of the actual
workspace to the current location
 Information services
„push“: e.g., current special offers in the shop nearby
„pull“: e.g., where is the closest Migros?
 Support services
caches, intermediate results, state information etc. „follow“ the
mobile device through the fixed network
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 Mobile devices
Wireless sensors Laptop
• Limited proc. power • functionally eq. to desktop
• Small battery • standard applications

Mobile phones
• voice, data
• simple text displays

RFID tag
• A few thousands Pager
of logical gates • receive only
• Responds only • tiny displays PDA
to the RFID reader • simple text • simple graphical displays
requests (no battery) messages • character recognition
• simplified WWW

performance

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 Wireless networks in comparison to fixed
networks

 Higher data loss-rates due to notably to interferences

emissions of e.g., engines, lightning, other wireless networks, micro-
wave ovens
 Restrictive regulations of frequencies
Usage of frequencies has to be coordinated, useful frequencies are
almost all occupied
 Lower transmission rates
From a few kbit/s (e.g., GSM) to a few 10s of Mbit/s (e.g. WLAN)
 Higher jitter
 Lower security (higher vulnerability)
 Radio link permanently shared  need of sophisticated MAC
 Fluctuating quality of the radio links
 Unknown and variable access points  authentication procedures
 Unknown location of the mobile station  mobility management

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 History of wireless communication (1/3)
 Many people in History used light for communication
heliographs, flags („semaphore“), ...
150 BC smoke signals for communication
(Greece)
1794, optical telegraph, Claude Chappe

 Electromagnetic waves are of special importance:

1831 Faraday demonstrates electromagnetic induction
J. Maxwell (1831-79): theory of electromagnetic Fields, wave
equations (1864)
H. Hertz (1857-94): demonstrates
with an experiment the wave character
of electrical transmission through space
(1886)

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 History of wireless communication (2/3)

 1895 Guglielmo Marconi

first demonstration of wireless
telegraphy
long wave transmission, high
transmission power necessary (> 200kw)
 1907 Commercial transatlantic connections
huge base stations
(30 to 100m high antennas)
 1915 Wireless voice transmission New York - San Francisco
 1920 Discovery of short waves by Marconi
reflection at the ionosphere
smaller sender and receiver, possible due to the invention of the
vacuum tube (1906, Lee DeForest and Robert von Lieben)

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 History of wireless communication (3/3)
 1928 Many TV broadcast trials (across Atlantic, color TV,
TV news)
 1933 Frequency modulation (E. H. Armstrong)
 1946 First public mobile telephone service in 25 US cities (1
antenna per city…)
 1976 Bell Mobile Phone service for NY city
 1979 NMT at 450MHz (Scandinavian countries)
 1982 Start of GSM-specification
goal: pan-European digital mobile phone system with roaming
 1983 Start of the American AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone
System, analog)
 1984 CT-1 standard (Europe) for cordless telephones
 1992 Deployment of GSM
 2002 Deployment of UMTS
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 Wireless systems: development over the
last 25 years cordless wireless LAN
cellular phones satellites
phones
1980:
1981: CT0
NMT 450 1982:
1983: Inmarsat-A
AMPS 1984:
CT1
1986:
NMT 900 1987:
1988: CT1+
Inmarsat-C
1989:
CT 2
1991: 1991: 1991:
1992: CDMA D-AMPS 1992: DECT 199x:
GSM Inmarsat-B proprietary
1993:
Inmarsat-M
PDC
1994: 1997:
DCS 1800 IEEE 802.11
1998:
1999:
What is missing ? Iridium
802.11b, Bluetooth

2000: 2000:
analogue GPRS 2001: IEEE 802.11a,g
UMTS/IMT-2000
CDMA-2000 (USA)
digital
2005 – 2010 (?):
Fourth Generation
(Internet based)

NMT: Nordic Mobile Telephone DECT: Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecom.

AMPS: Advanced Mobile Phone System (USA) DCS: Digital Cellular System
CT: Cordless Telephone PDC: Pacific Digital Cellular
UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecom. System PAN: Personal Area Network
 Areas of research in mobile communication

 Wireless Communication
transmission quality (bandwidth, error rate, delay)
modulation, coding, interference
media access
...
 Mobility
location dependent services
location transparency
quality of service support (delay, jitter)
security
...
 Portability
integration (“system on a chip”)
power consumption
limited computing power, sizes of display, ...
usability
...

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 Reference model

Application Application

Transport Transport

Network Network Network Network

Data Link Data Link Data Link Data Link

Physical Physical Physical Physical

Radio
link

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 Influence of mobile communication on the
layer model
 Application layer location-dependent services

new applications, multimedia

 Transport layer adaptive applications
congestion and flow control
 Network layer quality of service
addressing, routing,
mobility management
security
hand-over
 Data link layer media access
multiplexing

modulation
power management, interference
 Physical layer attenuation
frequency allocation

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 Overlay Networks - the global view
Integration of heterogeneous fixed and
mobile networks with varying
transmission characteristics

wide area

vertical
hand-over

metropolitan area

campus-based
horizontal
hand-over

in-house

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 References (in addition to the 2
recommended textbooks)

 B. Walke: Mobile Radio Networks, Wiley, Second

Edition, 2002
 T. Rappaport: Wireless Communications, Prentice
Hall, Second Edition, 2001
 M. Schwartz: Mobile Wireless Communications,
Cambridge University Press, 2004

 L. Buttyan and JP Hubaux: Security and Cooperation

in Wireless Networks, Cambridge University Press,
2007, http://secowinet.epfl.ch

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