Ambient Networks defines a new kind of network architecture, which embeds support for co operation and competition between diverse network types within a common control layer. This unified networking concept can adapt to the heterogeneous environments of different radio technologies and service and network environments. Special focus is placed on facilitating both competition and co-operation of various market players, by defining interfaces which allow the instant negotiation of cooperation agreements. The Ambient Networking concept has been developed in the framework of the Ambient Networks project, which is co-sponsored by the European Union under the Information Society Technology (IST) priority of the 6th Framework Programme. The Ambient Networks project mobilised the work of researchers from over forty different organisations, both major industrial corporations and leading academic institutions, from Europe and worldwide. This book offers a complete and detailed overview of the Ambient Networking concept and its core technologies. The authors explain the problems with current mobile IP networks and the need for a new mobility-aware IP-based control architecture, before presenting the Ambient Networking concept itself and the business opportunities that it offers. The architecture, components, features and challenges of Ambient Networking are covered in depth, with comprehensive discussions of multi-radio access, generic Ambient Network signalling, mobility support, context and network management and built-in media delivery overlay control. Ambient Networks: Co-operative Mobile Networking for the Wireless World Explains the need for Ambient Networking, discussing the limitations of today’s proposed architectures, and explaining the business potential of edge networks and network co-operation. Describes Ambient Networking technology in detail, and addresses the technical challenges for implementation. Includes practical user scenarios which are fully analysed and assessed through simulation studies. Including a complete examination of the research and technologies arising from the Ambient Networks concept, Ambient Networks will be invaluable for research and development teams in networking and communications technology, as well as advanced students in electrical engineering and computer science faculties. Standardisation specialists, research departments, and telecommunications analysts will also find this a helpful resource.

This book focuses on the latest trends and research results in Cooperative Networking This book discusses the issues involved in cooperative networking, namely, bottleneck resource management, resource utilization, servers and content, security, and so on. In addition, the authors address instances of cooperation in nature which actively encourage the development of cooperation in telecommunication networks. Following an introduction to the fundamentals and issues surrounding cooperative networking, the book addresses models of cooperation, inspirations of successful cooperation from nature and society, cooperation in networking (for e.g. Peer-to-Peer, wireless ad-hoc and sensor, client-server, and autonomous vehicular networks), cooperation and ambient networking, cooperative caching, cooperative networking for streaming media content, optimal node-task allocation, heterogeneity issues in cooperative networking, cooperative search in networks, and security and privacy issues with cooperative networking. It contains contributions from high profile researchers and is edited by leading experts in this field. Key Features: Focuses on higher layer networking Addresses the latest trends and research results Covers fundamental concepts, models, advanced topics and performance issues in cooperative networking Contains contributions from leading experts in the field Provides an insight into the future direction of cooperative networking Includes an accompanying website containing PowerPoint slides and a glossary of terms (www.wiley.com/go/obaidat_cooperative) This book is an ideal reference for researchers and practitioners working in the field. It will also serve as an excellent textbook for graduate and senior undergraduate courses in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, software engineering, and information engineering and science.

Based on cutting-edge research projects in the field, this book (part of a comprehensive 4-volume series) provides the latest details and covers the most impactful aspects of mobile, wireless, and broadband communications development. These books present key systems and enabling technologies in a clear and accessible manner, offering you a detailed roadmap the future evolution of next generation communications. Other volumes cover Networks, Services and Applications; Reconfigurability; and Ad Hoc Networks.

The beginning of the twenty-first century is characterized by global markets, and the mobility of people is becoming an important fact of life. Consequently, the mobile user is demanding appropriate technical solutions to make use of customized information and communication services. In this context the notion of next-generation networks (NGNs), which are driven by the convergence of the entertainment sector, the mobile Internet, and fixed/mobile telecommunications, is emerging. Such NGNs are aggregating a variety of different access networks and supporting the seamless connection of an open set of end-user devices, and due to the adoption of an all-IP network paradigm they enable a much better integration of voice and data services. Coincidently the buzzword ‘fixed mobile convergence’ (FMC) describes the current trend towards providing common services across fixed and mobile networks resulting in the medium term in the full integration of fixed and mobile telecommunication networks. The adoption of appropriate middleware technologies and the provision of - called service delivery platforms driven by the ongoing innovation in the field of information technologies provides today the technical foundation for supporting terminal, personal and service mobility and thus the implementation of real seamless information and communication services. Furthermore, users are nowadays looking, in light of an omnipresent service environment, for a much higher degree of customization and context awareness in the services they use. The papers in this volume look at these enabling mobility-aware technologies and their use for implementing mobility-aware and context-aware applications.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second IEEE International Workshop on Self-Managed Networks, Systems, and Services, SelfMan 2006, held in Dublin, Ireland in June 2006. The 12 revised full papers presented together with 3 work-in-progress papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 51 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on middleware and infrastructure for self-management, peer-to-peer and overlay networks, self-adaptation, self-managed mobile systems, and networking.