Seamless multimedia service continuity with 3GPP IMS approach

The next-generation heterogeneous networks aim to offer users of various networks seamless high quality IP-based multimedia services access anywhere at any time. IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) comes as a promising overlay service that provides a platform through which telecommunications operators can merge various networks to provide seamless data services. In this paper, we propose an architecture framework for interworking of the Worldwide Interoperability for Long Term Evolution (LTE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies. The aim is the evolution of a seamless service provisioning heterogeneous networks. Thus, the proposed architecture extends IMS beyond 3G (UMTS) to 4G (LTE). The proposed LTE-WiMAX-WLAN tight coupled interworking is compared with the UMTS-WiMAX-WLAN tight coupled interworking. The two heterogeneous networks are simulated using OPNET Modeler 17.1. The performance metrices show that the proposed architecture outperforms the pervious architecture.

The Next-Generation Networks (NGN), which can provide advanced multimedia services over all-IP based networks, was the subject of a lot of attention many years ago. While there have been tremendous efforts to develop its architecture and protocols, especially for IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), which is a key technology of the NGN, it is far from being widely deployed. However, efforts to create an advanced signaling infrastructure realizing many requirements have resulted in a large number of functional components and interactions between those components. Thus, carriers are trying to explore effective ways to deploy IMS while offering the value-added and rich communication services. As one of such approaches, we have proposed self-organizing IMS (SOIMS). The self-organizing IMS enables IMS functional components and corresponding physical nodes to adapt dynamically and automatically, based on situations like network load and available system resources while continuing the IMS operation. To realize this, service continuity provisioning to end-users is an important requirement when a reconfiguration occurs during the operation. This chapter proposes a novel mechanism that provides service continuity to end-users. The proposed mechanism has been implemented in a real system (prototype), and its performance evaluation analyzed in terms of number of control signaling and processing time during reconfiguration.

As modern service industry (MSI) improves with economic restructuring in China, emerging user-central applications bring enormous challenges to current communication networks characterized with heterogeneity. In this paper, the next generation heterogeneous network (NGHN), which offers such an integrated end-to-end IP-based infrastructure, is envisaged to support personal mobility and seamless service continuity across disparate access technologies in a transparent manner. Since the traditional single-layer-mobility methods cannot support user-central mobility, a novel scheme integrates the benefits of application-layer SIP mobility with transport-layer mSCTP mobility is proposed. In our mobility scheme, location management mechanism of SIP is combined with dynamic address reconfiguration of mSCTP, and several new messages are designed to simplify the personal mobility and seamless service handover procedure.

In this paper we present a framework, called Futon, which provides a platform to integrate heterogeneous radio access networks. Futon is a hybrid fibre-radio network that replaces legacy base stations with simple remote antenna units, which are connected to a central unit. As a part of the Futon framework, a generic middleware architecture is discussed in detail, which provides interoperability, cooperative management and service provisioning to both underlying radio access networks (RANs) and IP layer for a heterogeneous network scenario. One of the middleware's functionality is to provide vertical handover between heterogeneous IP-based radio access technologies and to ensure seamless mobility and service continuity, which is implemented on top of an IPv4/IPv6 Mobile IP (MIP) core. In this paper, the Futon framework and a generic middleware architecture as a part of Futon framework for heterogeneous RANs is discussed. The main modules of the middleware, namely common radio resource management (CRRM), media independent handover, Service/Connection Manager and link selection are explained in detail. Radio over fibre (RoF) Manager is an important part of Central unit, which does performance, fault and security management of network elements. RoF manager helps middleware during handoff, by providing the status of fibre optic links. The implementation of Security management module as a part of RoF manager, and results of authentication with AAA protocol are explained. The CRRM as part of middleware is simulated and the results of experimental evaluation are presented.

This paper focuses on the concept of the seamless mobility (provided by vertical handover mechanisms) in heterogeneous Future Internet Networks in the context of the HURRICANE project. We discuss future open collaborative network architectures and propose a set of entities that ensure seamless mobility and service continuity, from infrastructural/operational and business standpoints: an 802.21-like implementation of vertical handover, supported by an innovative business modelling software package, which replaces the traditional operations support stack with a more dynamic, marketplace-oriented system. We also discuss, an approach to distributed, policy-based, vertical handover management and a model for such policies, based on the monitorization and analysis of Call Detail Records that reveals users’ behavioural patterns and allows personalization.

In mobile multi-network multi-domain environments services can be anything and can have any name. This poses problems for the service availability and consequently service continuity since services may not be discovered in time for being used. Services offering equivalent functions and capabilities such as GSM voice, IP telephony, etc. are usually considered as different by the network system and are not interchangeable. This paper proposes a mobile service architecture which enables the discovery and consumption of equivalent services. The solution provides also seamless service continuity by incorporating dynamic discovery of equivalent services with dynamic switching of available services. The solution offers personalisation while preserving both flexibility and control of the user. Although most of the storage and processing of data are located in the network the service continuity process is initiated, controlled and decided by the mobile device's side. A proof-of-concept including a client implementation on Android is presented.

SummaryDevice‐to‐device (D2D) communication was primarily proposed as a new concept to improve the cellular network performance by allowing direct communications among user equipment (UE). Because of the mobile nature of the UE, the D2D link tends to fail more often. In order to guarantee seamless proximity service (ProSe) continuity for the mobile devices, a competent mobility management technique is necessary. In this work, an optimal D2D handover (HO) scheme in LTE heterogeneous network is proposed for guaranteeing seamless ProSe continuity for the UE in D2D communication. The proposed optimal D2D HO scheme tries to improve the duration of D2D communication by not only considering the signal quality between the D2D UE pairs but also the distance between them. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme improves the D2D mode duration, even in high mobility, thereby reducing frequent HO of the D2D UE, which is in D2D communication.

Smartphones are gradually providing support for advanced user applications with high computation and network bandwidth requirements. However, their usually restricted size raises usability issues. A need is emerging for utilization and collaboration with devices in the user's reach that provide advanced capabilities. The 3GPP IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is making an important contribution toward this direction, through specifications for distribution and replication of a multimedia session's media components to multiple devices that either belong to the same or different subscriptions. The IMS Service Continuity capability enables the transfer of one or more media components of an IMS session across different user devices. Although IMS can handle the media flow transfer, the user is still required to be engaged in a tedious device discovery and configuration process. We propose an out-of-band signaling mechanism, based on Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity for fast and effortless initialization of a collaborative multimedia session between devices in close proximity that may involve the transfer of one or more media flows among them. We specify the utilization of an intuitive NFC touch interface for (a) user and device discovery and (b) negotiation of media stream properties (e.g. encoding, transport protocol) during the transfer of a media flow among different devices.

Among the key issues of next-generation wireless networks (NGWN), mobility management is one of the most crucial. In fact, provision of seamless roaming and services continuity is required for multimedia applications and particularly in presence of heterogeneous wireless environments. Although several IP-based mobility protocols have been proposed in the literature, they are not able to guarantee seamless roaming, especially for real-time applications. This paper proposes an efficient handoff protocol, called enhanced handoff protocol for integrated networks (eHPIN). This protocol carries out localized mobility management, fast or anticipated handoff, and access network discovery in order to alleviates services disruption during roaming in heterogeneous IPv6-based wireless environments. Simulation results show benefits of eHPIN in term of signaling traffic overhead cost, end-to-end throughput, handoff latency and packet loss compared to existing IPv6-based mobility management protocols.

The performance of signaling protocols in circuit and packet switching networks is a significant parameter to evaluate the performance of any telecom operator. Today, users demand continuous high data rate, service availability, network reliability, mobility, QoS and minimum service initialization time. IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standardized Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which categorize as a signaling protocol for management and maintenance of new multimedia IP-based services. Session setup time for the interactive and real-time application has become major QoS parameter to assess the performance of these applications. In the context of this communication application, in this paper, we analyze the performance of session setup time of SIP protocol over IMS network with different access networks (GSM, WLAN and PSTN). We measure and compare mean delay of each SIP message during session setup over these access networks. We also measure the mean delay with respect to distance of nodes in the network. Our results show that SIP message size, processing, transmission, queuing delay, transition from packet to switched network, node mobility and wireless channel have a consequence on the reliability, performance and efficiency of the protocol.

Future generation wireless networks should provide to mobile users the best connectivity to services anywhere at anytime. The most challenging problem is the seamless intersystem/vertical mobility across heterogeneous wireless networks. In order to answer it, a vertical handover management system is needed. In our paper, we propose an intelligent solution answering user requirements and ensuring service continuity. We focus on a vertical handover decision strategy based on the context-awareness concept. The given strategy chooses the appropriate time and the most suitable access network among those available to perform a handover. It uses advanced decision algorithms (for more efficiency and intelligence) and it is governed by handover policies as decision rules (for more flexibility and optimization). To maintain a seamless service continuity, handover execution is based on mobile IP functionalities. We study our decision system in a case of a 3G/UMTS-WLAN scenario and we discuss all the handover decision issues in our solution.

각 사용자들이 자료를 직접 주고받을 수 있는 P2P 네트워킹 방식에는 하이브리드 P2P 네트워킹 방식과 순수 P2P 네트워킹 방식이 있다. 하이브리드 P2P 네트워킹 방식에서는 각 피어들로 하여금 서버에 연결하여 서비스를 제공받게 하기 때문에, 서버가 운영되고 있는 한 각 피어들은 서버로부터 지속적인 서비스를 받을 수 있으며 다른 피어들간의 통신이 단절되는 네트워크 고립 현사이 발생되지 않는다. 그러나 순수 P2P 네트워킹 방식에서는 각 피어들이 서버가 아닌 다른 피어에게로 연결하여 서비스를 제공받게 함으로써, 피어들간의 통신을 중재하는 특정 피어가 종료할 경우 피어들간에 통신을 할 수 없는 네트워크 고립 현상이 발생될 수 있다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 문제점을 해결하기 위해 각 피어들로 하여금 인접한 피어들의 연결 상태를 관리하게 함으로써, 연결된 피어가 종료할 경우 종료한 피어의 인접 피어에게 연결하는 기법과 이때 특정 피어에게 집중될 수 있는 연결들을 제거하거나 다른 피어로 분산하는 기법을 제시한다. 그에 따라 이 제안기법은 각 피어들로 하여금 연결된 특정 피어가 종료되어도 다른 피어에게 연결하여 네트워크 그룹에 지속적으로 연결을 유지하게 함으로써, 특정 피어가 네트워크 그룹으로부터 고립되어 서비스를 제공받지 못하는 현상을 방지할 수 있다. 시뮬레이션을 통하여 각 피어들이 네트워크 그룹으로의 고립이 발생하지 않는 상태에서 네트워크 연결을 분산시키는 것을 확인하였고, 피어 하나당 권장 연결 수 에 따른 전체 네트워크 트래픽 양과 권장 연결 수에 따른 최대 흡수를 측정하여 비교하였다. According to the arbitration mechanism among the peers in the network, the P2P networking environments can be classified into hybrid P2P networking environments and pure P2P networking environments. In hybrid P2P networking environments, each peer gets continual services from the servers that arc operational most of the time, and so, network isolation does not occur because every peer can always keep connection to the server. In pure P2P networking environments, however, every peer directly connects to another peer without server intervention, and so, network isolation can occur when the per mediating the connection is terminated. In this paper, we propose a scheme for each peer to keep connection information of other peers by maintaining IDs of its neighbor peers, to reconnect to another peers when the mediating peer fails to work. and, for efficiency. to balance the number of connections that should be maintained by each peer. With our mechanism, each pier in the network can continuously maintain connection to the network and get seamless services from other peers. Through the simulation, we ascer-tained that network isolation does not occur in the pure P2P network adopting our mechanism and that our mechanism distributes and balances the connections that are maintained by each peer. We also analyzed the total network traffic and the mean number of hops for the connections made by each peer according to the recommended number of connections that is established at system setup time.

Purpose– Integrated health care lacks a theoretical concept of the user figure that is appropriate to reflect users’ various claims and multi-dimensional interrelations in the care process. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approach– Key goals of integrated health care, such as a continuity of care, seamless services and better health outcomes depend strongly on users’ capabilities to engage themselves in the care process. These goals are hardly reachable if integrated health care schemes operate with a one-dimensional understanding of users’ identity.Findings– The suggested concept of users’ identity facets suggests that users draw from different sources while receiving integrated health care. Thus, users are patients, co-producers, citizens, consumers and community members in one person and at the same time. Each facet of the user identity gains or loses relevance depending on health care contexts, health statuses, personal values and the design of service arrangements. As demonstrated by the example of disease management programmes (DMPs), care schemes for chronically ill persons, users have to apply different facets of their identities in order to benefit best from service provision. Moreover, addressing users’ identity may facilitate the extent of integration in DMPs.Originality/value– Integrated health care schemes are challenged to invent strategies that facilitate and support coherence among users’ diverse identities in the process of service provision. Lessons could be learned from small-scale and localized integrated health care networks.

A flexible handover mechanism for seamless service continuity in heterogeneous environments

Maintaining active sessions becomes uniquely strenuous in the case of user movement due to user expectations of connection and seamless handoff during the transition to 5G mobile networks. This paper addresses issues related to session continuity by predicting movement across cell borders using neural mobility predictors, thereby enhancing the user experience. The proposed system, which utilizes real mobility data and employs advanced predictive models such as LSTM and Transformer networks, enables accurate user trajectory prediction, thereby enhancing the efficiency of handover execution. Actual simulation results showcase remarkable improvements in overall session quality, handover success rate, and latency compared to the heuristic model. Proactive mobility prediction and advanced session control are essential for ensuring seamless service continuity within ultra-dense 5G infrastructure environments. These conclusions offer fundamental insights into the architecture of future networks, designed to meet the demanding needs of emerging use cases, including autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality experiences, and telepresence.