Handoff management in communication-based train control networks using stream control transmission protocol and IEEE 802.11p WLANs

Zhu Li, Yu Fei, Ning Bin, Tang, Tang Tao

Description

Communication-based train control (CBTC) network is an automated control network for railways that ensures the safe operation of rail vehicles using data communications. CBTC networks have stringent requirements for communication availability and latency. Wireless local area network (WLAN) is a popular choice in CBTC networks due to the available commercial-off-the-shelf WLAN equipments. However, handoffs in WLANs may result in communication interruption and long latency in WLANs-based CBTC networks. In this article, we propose a handoff management scheme for CBTC networks using stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) and IEEE 802.11p WLANs to provide high communication availability and low latency in CBTC networks. We formulate the handoff decision problem as a stochastic Semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP) with the objectives of minimizing the handoff latency and maximizing the SCTP throughput. Simulation results are presented to show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the handoff performance in CBTC networks.

Informations

• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 13
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Zhu et al. EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking 2012, 2012 :211 http://jwcn.eurasipjournals.com/content/2012/1/211

R E S E A R C H Open Access Handoff management in communication- based train control networks using stream control transmission protocol and IEEE 802.11p WLANs Li Zhu 1* , Fei Richard Yu 2 , Bin Ning 1 and Tao Tang 1

Abstract Communication-based train control (CBTC) network is an automated control network for railways that ensures the safe operation of rail vehicles using data communications. CBTC networks have stringent requirements for communication availability and latency. Wireless local area network (WLAN) is a popular choice in CBTC networks due to the available commercial-off-the-shelf WLAN equipments. However, handoffs in WLANs may result in communication interruption and long latency in WLANs-based CBTC networks. In this article, we propose a handoff management scheme for CBTC networks using stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) and IEEE 802.11p WLANs to provide high communication availability and low latency in CBTC networks. We formulate the handoff decision problem as a stochastic Semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP) with the objectives of minimizing the handoff latency and maximizing the SCTP throughput. Simulation results are presented to show that the proposed scheme can significantly improve the handoff performance in CBTC networks. Keywords: Communication-based train control (CBTC), Handoff, Stream control transmission protocol (SCTP), IEEE 802.11p wireless local area networks (WLANs)

Introduction systems, WLAN is a better choice due to the available Communication-based train control (CBTC) network is commercial-off-the-shelf equipments [2]. WLAN-based an automated control network for railways that ensures CBTC has been deployed in many real systems, such as the safe operation of rail vehicles using data commu- New York City Canarsie Line, Beijing Metro Line 10 from nications [1]. CBTC is based on two important tech- Siemens [3], and Las Vegas Monorail from Alcatel [4]. We nologies that marked profoundly the development of will focus on WLAN-based CBTC networks in this article. our society in the last century: railways and commu- Communication-based train control networks have nication technologies. It is a modern successor of tra- stringent requirements for wireless communication avail- ditional railway signaling systems that provide a lim- ability and latency [5]. Whereas in commercial wireless ited control using track circuits, interlockings and sig- networks, less service availability and long latency mean nals. In most CBTC networks, data between trains and  less revenues or/and poor quality of services (QoSs) [6]; trackside equipments are transferred bidirectionally by in CBTC networks, less service availability could cause wireless communication networks, such as global system train derailment, collision or even catastrophic loss of life for mobile communications-railway (GSM-R) and wire- or assets. Therefore, it is important to ensure the wire- less local area network (WLAN). For urban mass transit less communications are available when they are needed, and the latency is minimized in CBTC networks. Further- 1 *Correspondence:zh y ul o ib f j R tu ail @ T g ra m ffi ai c l.c C o o m ntrolandSafety,BeijingJiaotong o m p o m re e , n i t n s r o e f ce hi n g t h ye s a p r e s e , d th t e r r a e in ha s v y e ste be m e s n a s r i o g u ni n fi d ca t n h t e d w e o v r e l l d - State Key Laborator University, Beijing, P. R. China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article ( m e. a g x ., im C u hi m na sp ra e i e l d wa o y f h 3 i 5 g 2 h k -s m p / e h ed [7 ( ]) C , R w H h ) ic s h ys i t n e t m ro s d w u i c t e h n t e h w e © 2012 Zhu et al.; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.