Wireless Convergence Architecture: A Case Study Using GSM and Wireless LAN

The evolution of wireless networks has motivated the expansion of the static business environment to a mobile and wireless one. However, current and forthcoming wireless technologies are characterized by different attributes, regarding coverage area, offered bandwidth and delay. The transparent conj...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mobile networks and applications 2002-08, Vol.7 (4), p.259-267
Main Authors: Nikolaou, Nikos A, Vaxevanakis, Konstantinos G, Maniatis, Sotirios I, Venieris, Iakovos S, Zervos, Nicholas A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access control
Architecture
Bandwidths
Case studies
Communications networks
Connectivity
Convergence
Experiments
Global System for Mobile Communications
Internet Protocol
Local area networks
Mobility
Network adapters
Network interface cards
Outdoors
Restrictions
Satellite communications
Service introduction
Software
Studies
TCP-IP
Telecommunications systems
Wireless networks
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Summary:The evolution of wireless networks has motivated the expansion of the static business environment to a mobile and wireless one. However, current and forthcoming wireless technologies are characterized by different attributes, regarding coverage area, offered bandwidth and delay. The transparent conjunction of various wireless technologies into a single mobile terminal can further boost the wireless explosion. This paper presents the Wireless Convergence Architecture (WCA) that incorporates different wireless interfaces under the same mobile terminal. Depending on the location and the availability of the underlying wireless network, automatic and seamless switching is performed to the most appropriate wireless network interface. Special care is taken to maintain continuous connectivity at the transport layer (TCP). WCA introduces software components both at the terminal and network side. A specific implementation is presented, based on two complementary wireless technologies - in terms of coverage area - an IEEE 802.11-compliant in the short local and a GSM in the wide area. To demonstrate the operational correctness of the architecture, experiments were performed using standard and proprietary networking applications. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1383-469X
1572-8153
DOI:10.1023/A:1015499510588