Protocol Stack Research Articles

Cross-Layer Routing Protocol Based on Channel Quality for Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks

Due to the physical characteristics of acoustic channels, the performance of underwater acoustic communication networks (UACNs) is more susceptible to the impacts of multipath and Doppler effects. Channel quality can serve as a measure of the reliability of underwater communication links. A cross-layer routing protocol based on channel quality (CLCQ) is proposed to improve the overall network performance and resource utilization. First, the BELLHOP ray model is used to calculate the channel impulse response combined with the winter sound speed profile data of a specific sea area. Then, the channel impulse response is integrated into the communication system to evaluate the channel quality between nodes based on the bit error rate (BER). Finally, during the selection of the next hop node, a reinforcement learning algorithm is employed to facilitate cross-layer interaction within the protocol stack. The optimal relay node is determined by the channel quality index (BER) from the physical layer, the buffer state from the data link layer, and the node residual energy. To enhance the algorithm’s convergence speed, a forwarding candidate set selection method is proposed which takes into account node depth, residual energy, and buffer state. Simulation results show that the packet delivery rate (PDR) of the CLCQ is significantly higher than that of Q-Learning-Based Energy-Efficient and Lifetime-Extended Adaptive Routing (QELAR) and Geographic and Opportunistic Routing (GEDAR).

The Possibility of Improving the Range and Quality of Air-to-Ground WebRTC-Based IoT Communication in Emergency Situations by Employing an External Transceiver.

The proliferation of new services, either interpersonal or machine-oriented, has generated new demands concerning the flexibility and efficiency of transmission. The ubiquity of multimedia communication in the current internet is seamlessly and successfully supported by the WebRTC concept. This paper reports on the study of the usage of a solution employing a proxy transmission unit for air-to-ground delivery of video streaming multiplexed with sensor data in the UAV-IoT system when using the WebRTC protocol stack. The comparative experiments were carried out for two cases employing the 802.11ac network with WebRTC: the first scenario (S1) without an external transceiver and the second scenario (S2) with an external transceiver working as a proxy of the ground receiver. The presented results compare the transmission conditions without (scenario S1) and with (scenario S2) the external transceiver in terms of the RSSI, the available data rate, and total throughput of transmission of multimedia data (video stream from the UAV camera and bursty data coming from employed sensors. The usefulness of the external transceiver used in a wide range of transmission conditions is clearly proven.

Modern Analysis Design And Implementation Of An (SMS) Application Banking

SMS –Banking is a value-added service solution that allows banked customers to be able to perform certain banking operations related to their account such as balance viewing, transfer, etc. via the mobile network operator's SMS service. The integrated platforms for these services include added values, with one part connected to the mobile network via the SS7 protocol stack and the other end to the IP network. The development of SMS-based mobile applications requires the installation of a text messaging gateway that allows interconnection between the two networks (telecommunications and computer). OZEKI is open source software. It is an SMS gateway that can receive SMS from GSM network and forward them to another network. It supports several types, allowing SMSC to be linked between them or between a GSM network and another network (IP for example). The OZEKI portal therefore makes it possible to set up value-added services. Computer Science has a dynamic computer park that allows them to develop and conduct effective research in Computer Science because information technology makes the fundamental pillar in development for the progress made in the world today as Computer Science Department students have the necessary tools for them to help in their research.

Dynamic and efficient device collaborations in 5G‐advanced and 6G networks

AbstractCollaborative transmission, comprising multiple devices owned by a single user, is progressively evolving into an essential strategy to meet the stringent demands of burgeoning collaborative scenarios in 5G‐advanced and 6G networks. This paper proposes three novel use cases for device collaboration, namely data duplication, data splitting and wireless backup, to address these requirements. To provide dynamic and efficient collaboration, both non‐transparent mode via the medium access control layer collaboration and transparent mode via the physical layer collaboration are proposed. The paper further introduces a comprehensive design framework including protocol stack design, user equipment capability reporting, user equipment pairing, scheduling mechanism and transmission mechanism for different collaborative use cases with different collaborative modes. Evaluation outcomes reveal that the recommended methods could decrease the resources consumed for data duplication while increasing the user perceived throughput for data duplication and data splitting. The proposed methods also augment transmission reliability for both data duplication and wireless backup.

Explore the Evolution of Computer Network Architecture

Since the invention of computer networks in the 1960s, their architecture has undergone many major innovations and evolutions. This review aims to sort out and analyze this evolution process and reveal its internal motivations and fundamental driving forces. We will analyze the development of network architecture from multiple dimensions such as network topology, protocol stack, and control mechanism, and reveal the internal logic of the architecture evolving with the times.First, the paper reviews the origins of computer network development, explains the original packet switching ideas and ARPANET architecture, and analyzes its influence on later generations. Then it focuses on the birth of the TCP/IP protocol family and its architecture, analyzing its design concepts and innovations. Subsequently, the paper will explore the rise of the Internet and the formation of its layered architecture model, commenting on the advantages and disadvantages of this model. We will also examine the ideas and attempts of the next generation Internet architecture, such as active networks and content-centric networks, and analyze their challenges and limitations.In addition, the paper will explore the new changes brought about by emerging network paradigms such as software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) to network architecture, and comment on their advantages and impacts. We will also focus on the driving role of emerging paradigms such as cloud computing and edge computing on network architecture. Finally, the paper will look forward to new trends and challenges in the development of future network architecture, such as the potential application prospects of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain in network architecture. By comprehensively analyzing and summarizing the evolution of network architecture, the paper hopes to provide readers with a macro perspective and a deep understanding of the internal driving force and development logic of network architecture innovation. This will not only help us understand the past, but also provide inspiration and ideas for future network architecture innovation.

Study to integrate Delay-Tolerant Network protocols in IoT LEO constellations for flood prevention

In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT) the development of Direct-to-Satellite IoT (DtS-IoT) applications are becoming increasingly relevant. These applications are based on enabling IoT devices to communicate directly with satellites. In this scenario, LEO satellites can provide global IoT service coverage, becoming essential to connect devices in remote areas. As an example, the deployment of NarrowBand-IoT (NB-IoT) service is being actively investigated with the apparition of Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) and DtS-IoT concepts. Although some initiatives propose seamless and ubiquitous service, these features may not be required for IoT applications. This relaxes the requirements in the satellite constellation architecture, enabling it to be more sparse. The connection between sensors, satellites and ground segment becomes intermittent and discontinuous in these non-dense architectures. Delay/Disruptive-tolerant protocols are essential to coexist with this network characteristics. Unfortunately, traditional IoT protocols have not been designed with this delay-tolerant feature. This work tackles this challenge by integrating Delay-Tolerant Network protocols with NB-IoT architecture. Specifically, the integration is based on interconnecting the Bundle Protocol and IP traffic through a novel interface. This development has been divided in three phases: (1) The definition of an architecture and protocol stack to tackle NTN IoT scenarios with discontinuities, (2) the analysis from simulated data of the resulting protocol stack in a realistic scenario based on flooding prevention, and (3) the implementation and validation of it in a laboratory testbed. The proposed case study uses a Direct-to-Satellite IoT architecture to create an early warning flooding detection system. The simulation results provide insights of the achieved performance with these architectures when servicing hundreds of sensing nodes.

Dynamic modeling of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells under real-world automotive driving cycle with experimental validation on segmented single cell

A 1+1D transient non-isothermal and multiphase polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell model is developed. The model is validated on experimental data gathered on a segmented single cell and representative of a real-world automotive driving cycle, derived from the stack protocol defined in the ID-FAST H2020 project. During Low-Power operation, cell voltage response is mainly controlled by platinum oxide and water dynamics: the low hydration significantly affects cathode inlet performance. Throughout High-Power operation, instead, voltage transients are ascribable to local mass-transport related phenomena: in particular, liquid water accumulation along the channel strongly decreases the efficiency of cathode outlet region. Finally, the effect of relative humidity at cathode channel inlet is investigated: an increase in the humidification of the air inlet stream from 30% to 50% leads to a better proton conductivity and, therefore, to a significant enhancement of the performance of cathode inlet regions, which also means a slight improvement in the average stack efficiency from 62.2% to 62.8%. Lowering RH of the air-inlet stream from 30% to 15%, a worsening of proton conductivity is observed, which exacerbates performance heterogeneities and leads to a reduction of the average stack efficiency from 62.2% to 61.5%, consistently with experimental results.

Exploiting stream scheduling in QUIC: Performance assessment over wireless connectivity scenarios

The advent of wireless technologies has led to the development of novel services for end-users, with stringent needs and requirements. High availability, very high throughput, low latency, and reliability are all of them crucial performance parameters. To address these demands, emerging technologies, such as non-terrestrial networks or millimeter wave (mmWave), are being included in 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) specifications. mmWave enables massive data transmissions, at the expense of a more hostile propagation, typical for high frequency bands. Consequently, the inherent instability of the physical channel significantly affects the upper layers of the protocol stack, resulting in congestion and data losses, which might strongly hinder the overall communication performance. These challenges can be addressed not only at the link layer, but at any affected layer. QUIC is a new transport protocol designed to reduce communications latency in many ways. Among other features, it enables the use of multiple streams to effectively manage data flows sent through its underlying UDP socket. This paper introduces an implementation of priority-based stream schedulers along with the design of a flexible interface. Exploiting the proposed approach, applications are able to set the required scheduling scheme, as well as the stream priorities. The feasibility of the proposed approach is validated through an extensive experiment campaign, which combines Docker containers, the ns-3 simulator and the Mahimahi framework, which is exploited to introduce realistic mmWave channel traces. The results evince that an appropriate stream scheduler can indeed yield lower delays for time-sensitive applications by up to 36% under unreliable conditions.

Democratizing Direct-to-Cell Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks

The emergent Direct-to-cell Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites promise to eliminate cellular coverage dead zones by enabling direct network access to our regular phones and IoTs everywhere on Earth via 4G, 5G, and beyond. However, their large-scale deployment can be impeded by scarce orbital slots in space, a lack of licensed cellular spectrums, and prohibitive capital costs for satellite deployment and operation. This article explores how to enable multi-tenant direct-to-cell LEO satellites as a cost-effective win-win solution for satellite operators, mobile operators, and users. We demonstrate that the state-of-the-art cellular networks' stateful hop-by-hop session-based architecture restricts the LEO satellite multi-tenancy. To remove this technical barrier, we propose MOSAIC [1], an alternative scheme to shift from the hop-by-hop session-based cellular service to pay-as-you-go satellite self-service. MOSAIC lets mobile operators supply their users with one-time digitally signed tokens as "coins" to pay for local satellite access on demand. Any satellite operator's authentic satellite can accept these tokens to serve this user without pre-establishing sessions or contacting mobile operators. Akin to cloud computing, this paradigm lets satellite operators flexibly lease their satellites to more mobile operators or higher revenues and return on investment, and allows mobile operators and users to enjoy competitive satellites for complementary coverage and cost optimizations. Our evaluations with the real satellite data and commodity 3GPP NTN protocol stack validate MOSAIC's scalability and performance advantages compared to the state-of-the-art.

Software-Defined Radio Implementation of a LoRa Transceiver.

The number of applications of low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) has been growing quite considerably in the past few years and so has the number of protocol stacks. Despite this fact, there is still no fully open LPWAN protocol stack available to the public, which limits the flexibility and ease of integration of the existing ones. The closest to being fully open is LoRa; however, only its medium access control (MAC) layer, known as LoRaWAN, is open and its physical and logical link control layers, also known as LoRa PHY, are still only partially understood. In this paper, the essential missing aspects of LoRa PHY are not only reverse engineered, but also, a new design of the transceiver and its sub-components are proposed and implemented in a modular and flexible way using GNU Radio. Finally, some examples of applications of both the transceiver and its components, which are made to be run in a simple setup by using cheap and widely available off-the-shelf hardware, are given to show how the library can be used and extended.

QUIC Congestion Control Algorithm characteristics in mixed satellite–terrestrial emergency communication scenarios

Reliable communications play a pivotal role in ensuring an efficient response and the coordination of recovery and rescue efforts. However, conventional communication methods may not always be accessible or dependable in such situations. In such circumstances, constellations of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites can provide high bandwidth capabilities with relatively low latency, making them well-suited for supporting on-the-ground disaster management teams. Satellites can either complement or replace terrestrial telecommunication infrastructures. In this context, reliance on the recently defined QUIC protocol allows for a seamless transition from terrestrial to satellite communication as needed. Therefore, we investigate the possible use of a dual-stack node architecture along with the employment of the QUIC transport protocol for emergency communications, assuming that the backhaul link used to transfer users’ applications data may need to be changed (seamlessly). We conduct an extensive emulation study, evaluating the performance of QUIC under varying queuing policies and Congestion Control Algorithm (CCA) behaviour, providing practical insights and recommendations to enhance the protocol’s efficiency and robustness. The key aspects and configurations of QUIC protocol stack are identified, presenting optimal communication configurations leveraging CoDel and BBR CCA.

Cooperative Communication Based Protocols for Underwater Wireless Sensors Networks: A Review.

Underwater wireless sensor networks are gaining popularity since supporting a broad range of applications, both military and civilian. Wireless acoustics is the most widespread technology adopted in underwater networks, the realization of which must face several challenges induced by channel propagation like signal attenuation, multipath and latency. In order to address such issues, the attention of researchers has recently focused on the concept of cooperative communication and networking, borrowed from terrestrial systems and to be conveniently recast in the underwater scenario. In this paper, we present a comprehensive literature review about cooperative underwater wireless sensor networks, investigating how nodes cooperation can be exploited at the different levels of the network protocol stack. Specifically, we review the diversity techniques employable at the physical layer, error and medium access control link layer protocols, and routing strategies defined at the network layer. We also provide numerical results and performance comparisons among the most widespread approaches. Finally, we present the current and future trends in cooperative underwater networks, considering the use of machine learning algorithms to efficiently manage the different aspects of nodes cooperation.

Design and performance evaluation of SEANet, a software-defined networking platform for the Internet of Underwater Things

This paper presents the design and performance evaluation of the SEANet platform, a software-defined acoustic modem designed for enhancing underwater networking and Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) applications. Addressing the limitations of traditional acoustic modems, which suffer from low data rates and rigid architectures, SEANet introduces a versatile, adaptive framework capable of reconfiguring all layers of the protocol stack in real-time to accommodate diverse marine applications. The platform integrates high-performance, wideband data converters with modular hardware and software components, enabling real-time adaptation to changing environmental and operational conditions. Experimental evaluations conducted in oceanic settings demonstrate the SEANet capability to significantly exceed the performance of existing commercial underwater modems, supporting data rates up to 150 kbit/s and effectively doubling the performance metrics of conventional systems. Our robust testing also highlights the SEANet proficiency in channel estimation, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) link establishment, and interoperability through the JANUS communication standard. Our results underscore the SEANet potential to transform underwater communication technologies, providing a scalable and efficient solution that supports high data rate applications and fosters the expansion of IoUT deployments.

A Generic High-Performance Architecture for VPN Gateways

Virtual private network (VPN) gateways are widely applied to provide secure end-to-end remote access and to relay reliable interconnected communication in cloud computing. As network convergence nodes, the performance of VPN gateways is limited by traditional methods of packet receiving and sending, the kernel protocol stack and the virtual network interface card. This paper proposes a generic high-performance architecture (GHPA) for VPN gateways in consideration of its generality and performance. In terms of generality, we redesign a generic VPN core framework by modeling a generic VPN communication model, formulating generic VPN core technologies and presenting corresponding core algorithms. In terms of performance, we propose a three-layer GHPA for VPN gateways by designing a VPN packet processing layer based on a data plane development kit (DPDK), implementing a user space basic protocol stack and applying our proposed generic VPN core framework. On the basis of the research work above, we implement a high-performance VPN (HP-VPN) and a traditional VPN (T-VPN) that complies with GHPA and traditional methods, respectively. Experimental results prove that the performance of HP-VPN based on GHPA is superior to T-VPN and other common VPNs in RTT, system throughput, packet forwarding rate and jitter. In addition, GHPA is extensible and applicable for other VPN gateways to improve their performance.

Receive wireless sensor data through IoT gateway using web client based on border gateway protocol

One of the significant topics in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT) pertains to the interaction and information sharing among people. The utilization of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) stack enhances the integration of web protocols and sensor networks, leading to greater accessibility. However, the BGP protocol stack introduces substantial overhead to messages transmitted at each layer, resulting in increased data overhead and energy consumption in networks by several orders of magnitude. This paper proposes a method to reduce the overhead on small and medium-sized packets. In multi-temporal networks utilizing BGP, scheduling and aggregating BGP packets at sensor nodes help achieve specific objectives. Various research methodologies and measures are employed to facilitate this, including request classification, BGP response prioritization within the network, determination of maximum acceptable delay, and overall network management. Synchronization and temporal integration of received messages at sensor nodes are performed, considering the maximum allowable delay for each message and the availability of the destination to process the accumulated messages. The evaluation results of the proposed method demonstrate a significant reduction in energy consumption and network traffic, particularly in monitoring applications within multi-stage networks. The protocol stack used is derived from the BGP standard.

Quick UDP Internet Connections and Transmission Control Protocol in unsafe networks: A comparative analysis

AbstractSecure data transmission and efficient network performance are both key aspects of the modern Internet. Traditionally, Transport Layer Security (TLS)/Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) has been used for reliable and secure networking communications. In the past decade, Quick User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Internet Connections QUIC has been designed and implemented on UDP, attempting to improve security and efficiency of Internet traffic. Real‐world platform investigations are carried out in this paper to evaluate TLS/TCP and QUIC/UDP in maintaining communication, security and efficiency under three different types of popular cyber‐attacks. A set of interesting findings, including delay, loss, server CPU utilisation and server memory usage are presented to provide a comprehensive understanding of the two protocol stacks in performing malicious traffic. More specifically, in terms of the efficiency in achieving short delays and low packet loss rates with limited CPU and memory resources, QUIC/UDP performs better under Denial of Service attacks but TLS/TCP overtakes QUIC/UDP when handling MitM attacks. In terms of security, the implementation of TCP tends to be more secure than QUIC, but QUIC traffic patterns are harder to learn using machine learning methods. We hope that these insights will be informative in protocol selection for future networks and applications, as well as shedding light on the further development of the two protocol stacks.

SMBLEEDING GHOST VULNERABILITY

SMB protocol or server message block, one of Windows-based file sharing and network communication’s cornerstones, has been subjected to concerns and examination of its security for a long time. However, as another episode in these concerns, a new spectre has arrived – SMBleeding Ghost. This abstract explains the details of the above-stated horror, discussing its starting points, effects, and ways of prevention. SMBleeding Ghost, as the name signifies, uses the SMB protocol stack vulnerabilities. Specifically, it occurs as a result of memory allocation weaknesses and the twisting of SMB packets developed to exploit these weaknesses. The latter is reserved for memory violation and, thus, may be used for remote code execution or trigger additional fancy issues including denial-of-service breaches and data leaks. Key Words: The 5 keywords will be listed below

COER: A Network Interface Offloading Architecture for RDMA and Congestion Control Protocol Codesign

RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) networks require efficient congestion control to maintain their high throughput and low latency characteristics. However, congestion control protocols deployed at the software layer suffer from slow response times due to the communication overhead between host hardware and software. This limitation has hindered their ability to meet the demands of high-speed networks and applications. Harnessing the capabilities of rapidly advancing Network Interface Card (NIC) can drive progress in congestion control. Some simple congestion control protocols have been offloaded to RDMA NIC to enable faster detection and processing of congestion. However, offloading congestion control to the RDMA NIC faces a significant challenge in integrating the RDMA transport protocol with advanced congestion control protocols that involve complex mechanisms. We have observed that reservation-based proactive congestion control protocols share strong similarities with RDMA transport protocols, allowing them to integrate seamlessly and combine the functionalities of the transport layer and network layer. In this paper, we present COER, an RDMA NIC architecture that leverages the functional components of RDMA to perform reservations and completes the scheduling of congestion control during the scheduling process of the RDMA protocol. COER facilitates the streamlined development of offload strategies for congestion control techniques, specifically proactive congestion control, on RDMA NIC. We use COER to design offloading schemes for eleven congestion control protocols, which we implement and evaluate using a network emulator with a cycle-accurate RDMA NIC model that can load MPI programs. The evaluation results demonstrate that the architecture of COER does not compromise the original characteristics of the congestion control protocols. Compared to a layered protocol stack approach, COER enables the performance of RDMA networks to reach new heights.

An adaptive MAC-agnostic ranging scheme for underwater acoustic mobile networks

In the last ten years several simulation studies on Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) swarm fleet formation have been performed, and some preliminary sea demonstrations of proof-of-concept prototypes were carried out. However, their actual realization is hindered by the challenges imposed by the underwater acoustic channel and the difficulties of keeping track of the vehicles’ positions due to the long latency required by traditional Two-Way Travel-Time (TWTT) ranging measurements, that require a specific signaling, hence limiting the throughput of the underwater network. Although One-Way Travel-Time (OWTT) halves the latency, it requires a high precision oscillator, such as an atomic clock or an oven controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO), to be installed in each modem processing unit: while atomic clocks are still very expensive, OCXO are very power demanding, making their application to underwater acoustic networks not always possible, especially in the case of low cost vehicle swarms.In this paper we present a network protocol stack able to perform ranging and localization within the communication task in underwater acoustic networks, limiting the network overhead. Specifically, new layers have been added to the preexisting DESERT Underwater protocol stack to perform the ranging tasks without compromising the correct operation of the communication network. A ranging layer is placed on top of the Medium Access Control (MAC) scheme, allowing the latter to be changed according to the network topology and requirements. This MAC-agnostic ranging layer is further optimized by adapting the amount of data transmitted according to the channel state, and the ranging entries inserted in the data packets according to the least recent information transmitted, hence minimizing the Age of Information. Simulation results obtained with the DESERT Underwater Framework show how this layer allows all AUVs in the swarm to know their distance from every other node in the network, thus limiting the probability of vehicle collisions and allowing better mission coordination.

Towards post-quantum authenticated key agreement scheme for mobile devices

Mobile device communication enables mobile devices to connect with each other, exchange data, and access services, where security is a crucial aspect to protect sensitive data and privacy. The authenticated key agreement (AKA) protocols ensure authorized and secure communication in such environments. As the security of current AKA protocols relies on the hardness of discrete logarithmic or factorization, it will lead to a greater threat in the post-quantum world. Consequently, Ding et al. created a lattice-based AKA scheme for the quantum world. Although the protocol is simple for mobile devices, it is susceptible to insider attacks. Moreover, the scope of efficiency enhancement of this protocol needs to be explored. Therefore, to provide a secure and efficient solution, a new lattice-based AKA scheme has been proposed in this paper. It is designed with the idea of zero knowledge-based authentication. Further, our protocol resists key mismatch, and signal leakage attacks and supports the reuse of the private key of the server, perfect forward secrecy, and anonymity features. Additionally, we have talked about how our protocol stacks up in terms of computing complexity when compared to competing with other zero knowledge-based authenticated key agreement systems.