Proxy Mobile IP extension for Mobile Multimedia Multicast Services

This chapter describes the support for IP based multimedia services on Third Generation (3G) wireless cellular networks. While earlier cellular networks offered only basic IP connectivity on a best-effort basis, 3G networks provide explicit support for real time multimedia services with guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). As a result, they can offer traditional voice telephony, rich telephony services and multimedia streaming over IP, both inside a 3G network and in conjunction with external networks such as the Internet, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). In fact, 3G networks will deploy for the first time in a large scale technologies such as IP version 6 (IPv6) and policy based IP QoS, spearheading the introduction of such technologies into the Internet. The two most important aspects of 3G networks with respect to IP based multimedia services are the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and the Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service (MBMS). The IMS enables complex IP based multimedia sessions to be created with guaranteed QoS for each media component. Example applications include voice telephony and video conferencing. The IMS interoperates with both traditional telephony services and external IP based multimedia services. The MBMS provides native IP broadcast and multicast support in 3G networks, allowing high bandwidth services to be economically offered to multiple users. Example applications include video streaming via multicast and location based services via broadcast. The MBMS interoperates directly with IP multicasting. While both the IMS and the MBMS are IP based, their standardization is proceeding independently. It is however clear that their combination would allow numerous new services to be provided. The outline of this chapter is as follows. In Section II we give an overview of cellular networks and their evolution, while in Section III we describe in detail a specific 3G network, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Section IV presents an introductory description of the features and services provided by the IMS and the MBMS. In Section V we provide the details of the IMS, including service architecture, session setup and control and interworking issues. Section VI describes the MBMS in the same manner as for the IMS. Finally, Section VII discusses the QoS issues for IP based multimedia services, describing the overall QoS concept, the policy based QoS control scheme and its application to IMS sessions. At the end of the chapter, Tables II and III list the acronyms used. An extensive UMTS vocabulary is provided in [1].

The Multicast Address Resolution Server architecture has been proposed as a mechanism for supporting IP multicast over ATM networks. Two basic techniques exist withing this architecture for the intra-subnet multicasting of IP packets over ATM networks. One approach makes use of a mesh of point-to-multipoint Virtual Circuits (VC Mesh) each of which is rooted at a multicast source, while the other uses a shared point-to-multipoint tree rooted at a Multicast Server (MCS). In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a MARS client and an MCS. We present a framework for comparing the VC Mesh and MCS approaches using experimental and simulation techniques. Finally we present three protocols for the usage of multiple MCSs per IP multicast group, a technique required for groups with large number of senders and group members. * *

Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) is an overlaid infrastructure above the packet-switched domain of the universal mobile telecommunication system core network. IMS enables and enhances real-time multimedia mobile services. IMS signaling and media are separated in IMS. For media session negotiation, two basic procedures in IMS are (i) IMS registration procedure and (ii) IMS incoming call setup procedure. IMS signaling needs to traverse a set of call session control functions (CSCFs), which are proxy-CSCF, interrogating-CSCF (I-CSCF) and serving-CSCF (S-CSCF). However, we observe that I-CSCFs need to query the home subscriber server (HSS) to obtain the name of S-CSCF for each subscriber's request in both the basic procedures. It results in a certain load occuring in the HSS and a certain procedure delay also occurs. Therefore, we employ the distributed hash table (DHT) into IMS to form a DHT-based I-CSCF network. Each I-CSCF in the DHT-based I-CSCF network can share and relieve HSS's load. As a result, the incoming call setup procedure can be speeded up. We also propose two maintaining procedures to maintain the DHT-based I-CSCF network for I-CSCFs join and leave scenarios. We propose one maintaining mechanism to guarantee the proposed system to be able to work well in the failure scenario of I-CSCF. According to the performance evaluation results, the load of HSS is reduced and shared among I-CSCFs in the home network and the signaling delay cost of the incoming call setup procedure is less than that of existent systems even if failure occurs and then is removed.

IP multicast offers the scalable point-to-multipoint delivery necessary for using group communication applications on the Internet. However, the IP multicast service has seen slow commercial deployment by ISPs and carriers. The original service model was designed without a clear understanding of commercial requirements or a robust implementation strategy. The very limited number of applications and the complexity of the architectural design-which we believe is a consequence of the open service model-have deterred widespread deployment as well. We examine the issues that have limited the commercial deployment of IP multicast from the viewpoint of carriers. We analyze where the model fails and what it does not offer, and we discuss requirements for successful deployment of multicast services.

The main stages of the historical development of telecommunication networks are shown. It is noted that today the most common concepts are NGN (Next Generation Network), supporting the functionality of Triple-Play Services (triple services – voice, video and data transmission), as well as IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), which combines cellular technology and landline communications. They are able to provide a wide range of services: basic, additional, intelligent. In addition, IMS is able to provide mobile services. The IMS architecture layers are presented – transport layer, control layer; layer of service and application servers. Particular attention is paid to the layer of service and application servers. Based on the analysis of ITU recommendations, the main telecommunication services quality indexes are determined, namely, the time of service provision, the length of the queue that the service request falls into to wait for service on the server, and the probability of refusing to provide services. Based on the proposed mathematical models of the NGN intelligent superstructure, analytical expressions are presented for calculating the quality indexes of intelligent services in NGN for one type of service and for K types of services, taking into account the self-similarity of traffic, and without taking into account. To evaluate the quality of services in IMS, it is proposed to use the approaches of queuing theory and tensor analysis. Tensor analysis offers a mathematical apparatus for transforming coordinate systems, considering IMS as a set of geometric objects whose projections are different in different coordinate systems, but the physical properties of the objects themselves do not change. Expressions are proposed that make it possible to calculate the following QoS indexes in IMS: average queue length, average residence time of an application in the system for all types of services in IMS. It is considered that the incoming traffic is the simplest. Further development of the work is to take into account the self-similar nature of traffic, which is created by the flow of requests for services that come to IMS, as well as the limitations of the server buffer, which will allow a more accurate assessment of the quality of services in IMS.

Even though IP multicast can be used for efficient bandwidth utilisation for one-to-many or many-to-many applications, it has not been widely deployed. To commercially deploy multicast services, it is important for the network providers to support AAA services for multicast applications whereby the network providers can control user access to the multicast content and account the multicast usage. Standard multicast protocols do not provide any method to restrict access to only paying customers. In view of this, this paper proposes a novel method to provide access control for multicast services. The proposed IGMPx method provides port-based service access control based for multicast services to ensure multicast user authentication prior to service delivery. The proposed IGMPx method supports multiple users running multiple multicast sessions and also supports older IGMP versions. An OPNET model is built to demonstrate the working of the IGMPx method.

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a new core network domain. IMS provides a service control platform that allows creation of new multimedia and multi-session applications utilizing wireless and wireline transport capabilities. In this paper we will cover the concepts and standards defining IMS and review the network architecture from a mobile perspective. We will see how IMS interacts with the Packet Switched Domain (e.g. Wireless LAN, GPRS, and UMTS networks), the Internet, and application services. Then we will examine the key IMS capabilities and show how they can be combined to create new mobile IP services. Finally, we present a software architecture, which is enabled by IMS and allows development of unique applications (with multimedia/multi-session functionality, single/multi-user, service to user). The software architecture is illustrated by an example of a prototype application.

Today's wireless and mobile services are typically monolithic and often centralized in nature, which limits heterogeneous service access and shared service usage. New sources of revenue for providers are expected to include tailored, personalized, and dynamically composed services that are fast to market, cost efficient, and provide compelling user experience. To meet these market needs, the SPICE service platform extends the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) by supporting added-value services that are composed of more basic services. The platform is presented through the architecture and through scenarios showing the interactions between the platform and its service components. We describe the IMS role and functions in SPICE, and the use of ontology and Semantic Web technologies for integrated knowledge management in such mobile service platforms. © 2007 IEEE.

Technical and economic opportunities of cloud computing become the focus for Internet applications and at the same time also for telco support infrastructures and network services. In fact, many telco providers are consolidating their service infrastructures towards converged and all-IP next generation networks providing typical telco services within LTE (and soon 5G) and also fixed network environments, e.g., often still adopting IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture solutions. This telco service infrastructure evolution requires a significant upfront investment in the necessary hardware and software, thereby slowing down the adoption process significantly more than any other Internet application. Cloud computing applied to telco infrastructures can allow pay-per-use business models and significantly lower investment risks by providing telco infrastructure functionality as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) on top of a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) platform. For this purpose we propose a quality audit and resource brokering framework that is fully NFV-compliant. Its current and reported implementation specifically targets IMS services because of the still relevant role played by IMS in converged provisioning and the wide availability of IMS deployment testbeds to validate the proposal. In particular, the proposed solution can monitor the quality offered by VNFs and scale in/out depending on dynamic requirements; it is fully based on industrial standards and open-source reference implementations, thus enabling rapid adoption in real industrial environments.

Recently 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) has standardised MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services) enabling broadcast and multicast transmissions over GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). Hence it makes an efficient usage of radio resources possible. 3GPP and 3GPP2 introduced the specification of IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and MMD (Multimedia Domain), receptively, which both are responsible for resource, admission and charging control. It allows for cost efficient and flexible provision of enriched multimedia services over IP networks. Up to now the controlling IMS and MBMS are separated subsystems sharing no common interfaces. This paper introduces both systems and depicts ongoing standardisation activities regarding their interworking. Finally, it proposes a service provision architecture and describes required signalling flows which enable the provision of multicast streaming using the MBMS specifications not only as access bearer technology. Thus, we present a step towards the evolution of IMS enabling it with multicast and broadcast capabilities.

The present state of the art establishes the basis for studying differentmechanisms to provide end-to-end Quality of Service on a network overthe IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Unlike traditional networks whichensure QoS individually depending on the service provided, IMS seeksthe convergence of fixed and mobile services with Quality of Servicethrough a set of policies defined by operators and Service Level Agreementsestablished with their users.

In this paper, we introduce Relayed Multicast Control Protocol (RMCP). The RMCP has been designed for realizing and managing the relayed multicast. Relayed multicast, as known as Overlay Multicasting or Application-level Multicasting, is a data delivery scheme for one-to-many multicast application, in which one or more intermediate Multicast Agents are employed for relaying application data from a sender to many receivers along a tree hierarchy. In RMCP, a special-purpose entity, named Session Manager, is used to manage the overall control operations. RMCP is designed to ensure that the multicast applications and services can be provided along with the associated relayed data transport schemes over current Internet environments in which IP multicast has not completely been deployed.

There has been a surge of interest in the delivery of personalized information to users (e.g., personalized stocks or travel information), particularly as mobile users with limited terminal device capabilities increasingly desire updated and targeted information in real time. When the number of information recipients is large and there is sufficient commonality in their interests, as is often the case, IP multicast is an efficient way of delivering the information. However, IP multicast services do not consider the structure and semantics of the information in the multicast process. We propose the use of Content-Based Multicast (CBM) where extra content filtering is performed at the interior nodes of the IP multicast tree; this will reduce network bandwidth usage and delivery delay, as well as the computation required at the sources and sinks. We evaluate the situations in which CBM is advantageous. The benefits of CBM depend critically upon how well filters are placed at interior nodes of the IP multicast tree and the costs depend upon those introduced by filters themselves. Further, we consider the benefits of allowing the filters to be mobile so as to respond to user mobility or changes in user interests and the corresponding costs of filter mobility. The criterion that we consider is the total network bandwidth utilization. For this criterion, we develop an optimal filter placement algorithm, as well as a heuristic that executes faster than the optimal algorithm. We evaluate the algorithms by means of simulation experiments. Our results indicate that filters can be effective in substantially reducing bandwidth. We also find filter mobility is worthwhile if there is marked large-scale user mobility. We conclude with suggestions for further work.

Offering new multicast services supporting quality of service becomes essential for an Internet service provider at the worldwide level. The "IP multicast" technology is stable, but scalability of "quality of service multicast" is further from being solved, since scalability problems appear with the increasing number of concurrently active multicast groups. In this paper, we propose a framework that offers quality of service enabled multicast. We start with discussing the drawbacks of quality of service policies that are currently adopted by service providers, and point out their real needs from a multicast view point. In our approach, a service provider will propose an independent class of service dedicated to multicast applications. We describe the properties of this "dedicated class of service", and associate "admission control" mechanisms. We discuss the advantages of our approach, based on multicast extensions and adaptations of Diffserv model. Implementation issues are also presented in an MPLS environment. We conclude, through a case study, that it is possible to dedicate a class of service for multicast traffic.

A prototype and demonstrator of Akogrimo’s architecture: An approach of merging grids, SOA, and the mobile Internet