Evaluation of Zigbee Remote Sensor Networks

Presentation slides, demo slides, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
ZigBee is a wireless technology designed to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless sensor and control networks in any market. Zigbee's "realiable wireless performance and battery operation" [1] makes it ideal for remote sensor networks operating on limited battery power. This project will simulate and explore ZigBee sensor networking using OPNET or NS3 to study the performance fluctuation of a moderate size network with gradual increase in the number of nodes.

References:
[1] Zigbee Technology. Internet: http://www.zigbee.org/About/AboutTechnology/ZigBeeTechnology.aspx, Jan.2, 2012 [Feb. 09, 2012].
[2] Sinem Coleri Ergen. "ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 Summary" Internet: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~suman/courses/838/papers/zigbee.pdf, Sept.10, 2004 [Feb. 25, 2012].
[3] Dusan Stevanovic. "Zigbee / IEEE 802.15.4 Standard" Internet: http://www.cse.yorku.ca/~dusan/Zigbee-Standard-Talk.pdf, Jun.20, 2007 [Feb.25, 2012].
[4] Raul Morais. "A ZigBee multi-powered wireless acquisition device for remote sensing applications in precision viticulture" Internet: http://ageweb.age.uiuc.edu/classes/abe425/Lectures/Networks/A%20ZigBee%20multipowered%20wireless%20acquisition%20device%20for%20remote%20sensing%20applications.pdf, Dec 3, 2007 [Feb. 25, 2012].
[5] Tuan Le Dinh. "Design and Deployment of a Remote Robust Sensor Network: Experiences from an Outdoor Water Quality Monitoring Network" Internet: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/33774/1/33774.pdf, Oct.11, 2009 [Feb 25, 2012].

Analysis of Network Security Methods Against Attacks and Intrusions

Presentation slides, demo slidest, and final report (PDF files)

Abstract:
Today, security is a critical topic of discussion with the rapid growth of internet and communication networks. Currently, a lot of services such as HTTP, Email, and FTP are provided and made available to clients with internet access anywhere in the world. These networks offering the mentioned services are usually web servers located in different regions giving access to clients through routers. However, routers do not restrict access and allow all different kinds of traffic through. This could cause problems as some services or shared resources may be confidential and not viewable to general public. This can be solved by installing firewalls across networks to restrict access depending on various configurations. Firewall is simply a router positioned in between 2 or more networks to filter unwanted traffic and packets that flow through it. Virtual Public Networks (VPN) can also provide a method of controlled connectivity between two or more nodes on the internet for clients to have full or limited access and authority over the provided services and resources online. Our group will analyze the use of Firewall and VPN along with different types of intrusions using OPNET 16.0. Different scenarios along with simulation and results will be discussed in this project.

References:
[1] http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc958037.aspx
[2] http://computer.howstuffworks.com/vpn5.htm
[3] Network Intrusion Detection: Monitoring, Simulation and Visualization, Mian Zhou
[4] Security Comparison of Wired and Wireless Network with Firewall and Virtual Private Network (VPN), Dr Y.P Kosta, Upena D Dalal, Rakesh Kumar Jha
[5] The Simulation on Attack and defence in OPNET Environment, Zhou Feifei, Wen He
[6] Performance Evaluation of a wired Network With & Without Load Balancer and Firewall, Sapna, Manju Sharma

Analysis of Quality of Service (QoS) of Video Conferencing over WiFi and Ethernet Network

Presentation slides, demo slides, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
VoIP has gained a great deal of popularity in the past few years as an alternative and much cheaper way for family and friends to stay connected. Big companies like Google, Facebook, MSN have promoted this technology by providing free or affordable voice and video calling to any computer or calling device around the world. In this project, we will examine the performance quality of video conferencing between two computers over WiFi and Ethernet connections. We will evaluate the difference in performance based on aspects of the QoS requirements such as end-to-end delay, dropped packets, low throughput, and jitter. We will attempt to simulate a more realistic model by adding various load sizes to the network and modeling this in OpNet.

References:
[1] J. Shin, D. C. Lee and C. J. Kuo, Quality of Service for Internet Multimedia, New Jersey: Pearson Eduactaion Inc., 2003.
[2] M. Marcese, QoS Over Heterogeneous Networks, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2007. [3] O. Hersent, Beyond VoIP Protocols, Wiley, 2005.
[4] V. Fotheringham, Wireless Broadband: Conflit and Convergence, Wiley-IEEE Press, 2008.
[5] A. Leon-Garcia and I. Widjaja, Communication Networks: Fundamental Concepts and Key Architectures, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Mobile IP over WLAN Simulation using ns-3

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Mobile IP (MIP) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) protocol that is used to maintain a consistent IP address while moving through a number of networks. This is done by switching networks overlapping networks once the device has gone out of range of one network. The type of network that will be simulated is the common Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN). MIPv4 will be simulated using the ns-2 simulator to demonstrate how MIP can be used to maintain a connection when moving through several WLANs.

References:
[1] J. Geier, Wireless LANs, Second Edition. United States of America. Sams Publishing. pp. 189 July 2001.
[2] "NS-2: User Information" [Internet] Avaiblable: http://nsnam.isi.edu/nsnam/index.php/User_Information, [April 2012]
[3] Mobile Networking ? Research Areas [Online]. Available: http://monet.postech.ac.kr/research.html
[4] M. Greis. "Marc Greis Tutorial for the UCB/LBNL/VINT Network Simulator "ns"." [Online] Available: http://www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns/tutorial/, [April 2012].
[5] B. Shahabi and S. Yang, .Analysis of Mobile IP in Wireless LANs,. [Online] Available: http://www2.ensc.sfu.ca/~ljilja/ENSC835/Projects/khan_sarai/Group6Final_report_ensc835.pdf. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, 2011 [April 2012]
[6] G. Goebel. "An Awk Primer." [Online] Available: http://www.vectorsite.net/tsawk.html [April 2012]
[7] C. Palazzi, B. Chin, P. Ray, G. Pau, M. Gerla, M. Rochetti. "High Mobility in a Realistic Wireless Environment: a Mobile IP Handoff Model for NS-2." [Internet] Available: http://www.math.unipd.it/~cpalazzi/papers/Palazzi-MobileIP.pdf. [April 2012].

UMTS Cellular & Wi-Fi Network Simulation in NS-2

Presentation slides, demo slides, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation (3G) network that is built up on top of General System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. To offer a greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators, UMTS also implements the Wide Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) radio access technology. Our project will be simulating data packet exchange performance in UMTS cellular network using NS-2 .30 between stationary nodes and mobile nodes and compare the simulation results.

References:
[1] A.-C. Pang, J.-C. Chen, Y.-K. Chen, and P. Agrawal, .Mobility and Session Management: UMTS vs. CDMA2000,. IEEE Wireless Communications, Aug. 2004, pp. 30-43.
[2] OSS/BSS on UMTS Network UMTS architecture [Online]. Available: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Pf5g52hk3uw/S4HgRlEjCGI/AAAAAAAAAiY/hLXTpRmBd8o/s1600/RF_3G_OVERVW_UMTS_WIRELESS_NTWK.gif, Feb. 2010
[3] EURANE [Online]. Available: http://eurane.ti-wmc.nl/eurane/, Oct. 2006
[4] 3rd Generation Partnership Project, UE Radio Access Capabilities. Available: http://www.3gpp.org, Mar. 2012
[5] P. C. Mason, J. M. Cullen, and N. C. Lobley, .UMTS Architecture., IEE Colloquium on Mobile Communications Towards the Next Millennium and Beyond, May 1996. London, UK.
[6] Wireless LAN (Wifi) Tutorial. Available: http://www.tutorial-reports.com/wireless/wlanwifi, Dec, 2007
[7] M. Vranjes, T. Svedek, and S. Imac-Drlje, .The Use of NS-2 Simulator in Studying UMTS Performances., International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering Systems, Vol. 1, No. 2, Dec. 2010.
[8] N. R. Prasaad, .IEEE 802.11 System Design., IEEE International Conference on Personal Wireless Communications, Dec. 2000, pp 490-494.
[9] Overview of the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System. Available online: http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/overview.htm, Jul. 2002

Video and Voice Backup over Mobile WiMAX

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Most of vehicle black boxes use their own internal auxiliary data storage device to record the images and data (such as, GPS location and speed of the vehicle) at the time the accidents happen. The saved data and video provide significant and crucial information for the road accident victims. The problem occurs when the crash is severe and the internal data storage gets destroyed. The backing up of the black box information to main server will take care of this matter. The Wibro IEEE 802.16e (mobile WiMax) supports the connection across the hotspots while the fixed WiMax IEEE 802.16d does not guarantee the connection. Wibro offers maximum transfer rate of 10 Mbps and maximum cover range of 1 km under the movement speed of 120 km/h. The specification of the Wibro suits for the network that requires the high transmission rate and the flexible mobility. We will be applying the information backups from the vehicle black box using Wibro technology.

References:
[1] IEEE 802.16e WIMAX OFDMA Signal Measurements and Troubleshooting, IEEE Standard 802.16e, 2010.
[2] RF Measurements for WiMAX (802.16-2004) eSeminar, Jan. 2005.
[3] WiBro is better than WiMAX? [Online]. Available: http://www.wifinotes.com/wimax/Wibro-or-wimax.html (Feb. 2012).
[4] K. Han-Seok, "Introduction to WiBro (mobile WiMAX)," Seoul, Korea, Sep. 2005.
[5] Wibro searched in Wikipedia [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiBro (Feb. 2012).

BitTorrent Protocol: Priority Evaluation

Presentation slides, demo slides, website page, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Peer-to-peer file sharing is one of the biggest consumers of bandwidth in the Internet. BitTorrent is one of the most used file sharing protocols and thus, we will examine its effectiveness. Using ns2 as our simulator, we can examine the protocol in more depth. The key to the BitTorrent protocol operation is established via a TCP connection between the peers, and seeds, in the swarm. The more clients in the swarm, the faster file transfer may occur. However, some users choose to limit their sharing ratio, hurting the health of the swarm. Using ns2 we will examine priority sharing in a swarm where good sharing ratio users get priority in downloading in hopes to allow the swarm as a whole to finish downloading sooner.

References:
[1] "BitTorrent," 10 1 2008. [Online]. Available: http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0003.html. [Accessed 19 1 2012].
[2] D. Schoder, K. Fischbach and C. Schmitt, "Core Concepts in peer to peer networking," University of Cologne, Germany, 2005.
[3] K. Aberer, "Distributed Data Management Peer-to-Peer System," 2006.
[4] R. Steinmetz and K. Wehrle, Peer-to-peer Systems, 2005.
[5] J. E. Berkes, Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Network Architecture: Gnutella and Freenet, Winnipeg, 2003.

Performance evaluation of TDMA vs. 802.11 (CSMA)

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a probabilistic media Access Control (MAC) protocol in which is a channel access method for shared medium network. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots[1]. Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) is also a probabilistic media Access Control (MAC) a node verifies the absence of other traffic before transmitting on a shared transmission medium[2].

In this project, we plan to use ns2 to simulate the TDMA to transmit data at first, and then simulate the data transfer with CSMA. After the simulations, we will use AWK to analysis data and then Xgraph to plot the end-to-end delay and packet loss rate for two protocols. At last, we are going to compare those two protocols, and analysis the better protocol.

References:
1. What is TDMA? An explanation of TDMA. [Online] http://www.satsig.net/vsat-equipment/tdma-explanation.htm
2. CSMA/CD [Online] http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/CSMA_CD.html
3. Leonidas Georgiadis, Carrier-Sence Multiprle Access (CSMA) Protocols[A], February 13, 2002
4. Jean Torrilhes, The MAC level (link layer), 3 August 2000 [online] http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.mac.html4.
5. Marek Miskowicz, Analysis of Mean Access Delay in Variable-Window CSMA[A], AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, al. Mickiewicza 30,
6.Simon S. Lam, Delay Analysis of Packet-switched TDMA System[A], IBM Thomas J Watson Research Center Yorktown Heights, New York 10598

Comparison of QoS between WiFi, WiMAX, and Ethernet LAN for Online Gaming Traffic

Presentation slides, demo slides, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
As online video gaming becomes more common as a form of entertainment, quality of service (QoS) factors such as packet loss, delay, etc are important considerations for the users. Over the recent years, the development of Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) with superior data rate and wireless range allowed it to gain much ground in the wireless technology sector over the current Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) technology. Ethernet Local Area Connection (LAN) currently assumes one of the fastest data transfer rates in computer technology. By using LAN as a baseline, we will be able to accurately gauge all these technologies. In this project, we will use OPNET simulation tool to compare the QoS factors mentioned. We will make comparisons between WiFi, WiMAX, and LAN.

References:
[1] T. Cheung, K. Ho, G. Nogayev, "Evaluation of online gaming traffic over WiMAX". Simon Fraser University, Apr. 2010.
[2] S. Chiu, "Evaluation of Interactive Gaming Traffic over 802.11 Network", ENSC 835: High Performance Networks Final Project, Simon Fraser University, Apr. 2006.
[3] J.Farber, "Network game traffic modelingD". University of Stuttgart. 2002.
[4] R. Paul, S. Lally, and Lj. Trajkovic, "Simulation and performance evaluation of WiFi and WiMAX using OPNET," OPNETWORK 2011, Washington, DC, Aug. 2011.
[5] C. Zhang, R. Chau, W. Sun, "Wi-Fi Network Simulation OPNET", Simon Fraser University, Apr. 2009.

Simulation of VoIP using ns-2

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
Due to the recent technological advancement in packet switching networks, VoIP has become an industry favourite over Public Switching Telephone Networks (PSTN) with regards to voice communication. The cheap cost of making a call through VoIP internationally and paying just one bill for data usage is a huge benefit. Recently, Rogers has taken advantage of VoIP with their Rogers one number promotion where calls can be transferred and made through your computer. Although, there are huge advantages to using VoIP there are some known issues such as, packet loss, jitter and latency due to the connection through the computer internet. Our project consists of creating a VoIP network (in ns-2) implemented with Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) and testing for its known faults. Through this we want to get a better understanding of the underlying layers of the network and see if and where improvements can be made.

References:
[1] J. Rosenberg, H. Schulzrinne, G. Camarillo, A. Johnston, J. Peterson, R. Sparks, M. Handley, and E. Schooler, "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol," IETF RFC 3261, Jun. 2002.
[2] O. Hersent, "IP Telephony: Deploying VoIP Protocols and IMS Infrastructure," West Sussex, UK: Wiley, 2011.
[3] D. Collins, "Carrier Grade Voice Over IP," McGraw-Hill, 2002.
[4] J.F. Kurose and K.W. Ross, "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (5th Edition)", Boston, MA: Addison Wesley, 2009.
[5] "Voice over IP Protocols for voice transmission," July 7, 2011. Available: http://www.erlang.com/protocols.html. [Accessed: Feb 18, 2012]

Analysis of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

Presentation slides, demo slides, and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is an advanced technology that has a great potential to develop new telecommunication with much lower cost and better QoS. In our project, we shall analyze VoIP over digital communication on popular application such as Skype and msn. The quality of video streaming and the voice encoding and decoding, transmitting the data packet over the Internet without packet loss and quality preserved.We also plant to examine the delays and distortion issues that VoIP might have while transmitting and propose an improvement of the current model.

References:
[1] J. Rosenberg, H. Schulzrinne, G. Camarillo, A. Johnston, J. Peterson, R. Sparks, M. Handley, and E. Schooler, "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol," IETF RFC 3261, Jun. 2002.
[2] O. Hersent, "IP Telephony: Deploying VoIP Protocols and IMS Infrastructure," West Sussex, UK: Wiley, 2011.
[3] D. Collins, "Carrier Grade Voice Over IP," McGraw-Hill, 2002.
[4] J.F. Kurose and K.W. Ross, "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (5th Edition)", Boston, MA: Addison Wesley, 2009.
[5] "Voice over IP Protocols for voice transmission," July 7, 2011. Available: http://www.erlang.com/protocols.html. [Accessed: Feb 18, 2012]

Analysis of IP VPN Performance

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a mechanism that allows remote users to gain access to a central network over the Internet. In addition, there can be a firewall that prevents unauthorized use of the VPN tunnel connection to the respective server. As it is an important part of an office environment, the goal of this project is to analyze the performance of some commonly used applications such as email, FTP and video-conferencing over a firewall-protected IP VPN connection. OPNET Modeler will be used to model and simulate a basic network scenario of an office with minimal number of workstations, as well as a scenario created to model an expansion in the office's network.

References:
[1] A. Zaballos, G. Corral, I. Serra, J. Abella, "Testing Network Security Using OPNET," OPNETWORK.2003, Washington DC (United States), August 2003.
[2] E. Aboelela, "Firewalls and VPN: Network Security and Virtual Private Networks," Computer Networks: A Systems Approach - Network Simulation Experiments Manual, 5ed, March 2011.
[3] H. Bourdoucen, A. Al Naamany, A. Al Kalbani, "Impact of Implementing VPN to Secure Wireless LAN," International Journal of Computer and Information Engineering, 2009.
[4] R. Malhotra, R. Narula, "Techno-Evaluation and Empirical Study of Virtual Private Networks Using Simulations," Journal of Computing, Volume 3, Issue 7, July 2011.
[5] Matutes Mestre, Manuel, "Simulation-Based Analysis of VPN Technologies," 2003.

Evaluation of Zigbee Remote Sensor Networks

Presentation slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
The ZigBee protocol stack based on IEEE 802.15.4 offers a practical, cost-effective solution for low-cost and low power consumption WPANs. These characteristics make ZigBee networks the ideal candidate for Wireless Sensor Networks in many applications such as Commercial Building and Home Automation, Medical equipment monitoring and Industrial control. Latency and reliability are significant performance measurements in sensor networks; this project focuses on simulating and assessing a Wireless Sensor Network implementing the ZigBee protocol using the OPNET 16 network simulation tool.

References:
[1] I.S. Hamoodi et al (2009) 'Comprehensive Performance Study of OPNET Modeler For ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network' 2009 Third International Conference on Next Generation Mobile Applications, Services and Technologies. [On-line]. 3, pp. 357-362. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=05337413 [Mar. 26, 2012].
[2] Holger Karl, Andres WIllig 'Protocols and Architectures for Wireless Sensor Networks', John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2006.
[3] Sinem Coleri Ergen. "ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 Summary" Internet: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~suman/courses/838/papers/zigbee.pdf, Sept.10, 2004 [Mar.15 , 2012].
[4] Zigbee Technology. Internet: http://www.zigbee.org/About/AboutTechnology/ZigBeeTechnology.aspx, Jan.2, 2012 [Mar. 17, 2012].
[5]How to use the ZigBee Device Object (ZDO). Internet: http://www.ember.com/faq/zdo, [Apr. 8, 2012].
[6] ZigBee Technology Overview. Internet: https://docs.zigbee.org/zigbee-docs/dcn/09-5376.pdf, 2009, [Apr. 8, 2012]

A Study of Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Presentatin slides and final report (PDF files).

Abstract:
This project is a study of the performance of the current IEEE 802.11p standard for Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE networks). Inter-vehicle or V2V networks are ad-hoc networks that demand high reliability and versatility to perform as part of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS). In this project a vehicle simulation environment will be integrated with the ns-2/3 discrete event network simulator. A scalable realistic vehicle scenario will test and compare the performance metrics of equivalent wireless standards.

References:
[1] Gerges D. , "Vehicle-to-Vehicle Channel Simulation in a Network Simulator",Carnegie Mellon University, 2009 [Online] www.ece.cmu.edu/wireless/downloads/Dib_MSIN.pdf
[2] Indranil Sen, David W. Matolak, "Vehicle–Vehicle Channel Models for the 5-GHz Band", IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol.9, no.2, 2009
[3] Boeglen H., Hilt B.,Lorenz P.,Ledy J.,Poussard A.-M.,Vauzelle R., "A survey of V2V channel modeling for VANET simulations", International Conference on Wireless On-Demand Network Systems and Services, p.117-123, 2011
[4] Bilstrup K., Uhlemann E., Strom E.G., Bilstrup U., "Evaluation of the IEEE 802.11p MAC Method for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication ", IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, p.1-5, 2008