[1] What are the essential functional differences between 1st Generation, 2nd Generation,

and 3rd Generation of networks?

First generation (Analog):

First-generation mobile systems used analog transmission for speech services. In 1979, the first
cellular system in the world became operational by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) in
Tokyo, Japan. Two years later, the cellular epoch reached Europe. In the United States, the
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was launched in 1982. The two most popular analogue
systems were Nordic Mobile Telephones (NMT) and Total Access Communication Systems
(TACS). The system was allocated a 40-MHz bandwidth within the 800 to 900 MHz frequency
range by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for AMPS. In fact, the smallest reuse
factor that would fulfill the 18db signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) using 120-degree directional
antennas was found to be 7. Hence, a 7-cell reuse pattern was adopted for AMPS. Transmissions
from the base stations to mobiles occur over the forward channel using frequencies between 869-
894MHz.The reverse channel is used for transmissions from mobiles to base station, using
frequencies between 824-849 MHz AMPS and TACS use the frequency modulation (FM)
technique for radio transmission. Traffic is multiplexed onto an FDMA (frequency division
multiple access) system [3, 5].

2. Second Generation (Digital):

Second-generation (2G) mobile systems were introduced in the end of 1980s. Compared to first-
generation systems, second-generation (2G) systems use digital multiple access technology, such
as TDMA (time division multiple access) and CDMA (code division multiple access).
Consequently, compared with first-generation systems, higher spectrum efficiency, better data
services, and more advanced roaming were offered by 2G systems. In the United States, there
were three lines of development in second-generation digital cellular systems. The first digital
system, introduced in 1991, was the IS-54 (North America TDMA Digital Cellular), of which a
new version supporting additional services (IS-136) was introduced in 1996.Meanwhile, IS-95
(CDMA One) was deployed in 1993 [3]. 2G communication is generally associated with global
system for mobile (GSM) services; 2.5G is usually identified as being fueled by general packet
radio service (GPRS) along with GSM [6].

3. Third Generation (WCDMA in UMTS, CDMA2000 & TD-SCDMA):

3G uses Wide Brand Wireless Network with which clarity is increased. 3G telecommunication
networks support services that provide an information transfer rate of at least 2Mbps.In EDGE,
high-volume movement of data was possible, but still the packet transfer on the air-interface
behaves like a circuit switches call. Thus part of this packet connection efficiency is lost in the
circuit switch environment. Moreover, the standards for developing the networks were different
for different parts of the world. Hence, it was decided to have a network which provides services
independent of the technology platform and whose network design standards are same globally.
Thus, 3G was born [7]. 3G is not one standard; it is a family of standards which can all work
together. An organization called 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has continued the
work by defining a mobile system that fulfills the IMT-2000 standard. In Europe, it was called
UMTS (Universal Terrestrial Mobile System), which is ETSI-driven. IMT2000 is the ITU-T
name for the third generation system, while cdma2000 is the name of the American 3G variant.
WCDMA is the air-interface technology for the UMTS. The main components includes BS
(Base Station) or nod B, RNC (Radio Network Controller), apart from WMSC (Wideband
CDMA Mobile Switching Centre) and SGSN/GGSN. 3G networks enable network operators to
offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity
through improved

[2] Describe what do you understand by Wireless PAN, Wireless LAN, Wireless MAN?

A personal area network (PAN) is the interconnection of information technology devices

within the range of an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters. For example, a
person traveling with a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a portable printer could
interconnect them without having to plug anything in, using some form of wireless technology.
Typically, this kind of personal area network could also be interconnected without wires to the
Internet or other networks.

Wireless Personal Area Network (PAN): Interconnects devices in a short span, generally
within a person’s reach.

A wireless LAN (or WLAN, for wireless local area network, sometimes referred to as LAWN,
for local area wireless network) is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network
(LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection. The IEEE 802.11 group of standards specify the
technologies for wireless LANs. 802.11 standards use the Ethernet protocol and CSMA/CA
(carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance) for path sharing and include an
encryption method, the Wired Equivalent Privacy algorithm.

Wireless Local Area Network (LAN): Links two or more devices using a wireless distribution
method, providing a connection through access points to the wider Internet.

A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that interconnects users with computer
resources in a geographic area or region larger than that covered by even a large local area
network (LAN) but smaller than the area covered by a wide area network (WAN). The term is
applied to the interconnection of networks in a city into a single larger network (which may then
also offer efficient connection to a wide area network). It is also used to mean the
interconnection of several local area networks by bridging them with backbone lines. The latter
usage is also sometimes referred to as a campus network.

Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN): Connects several wireless LANs.

What is an ISM band? Why is it called free band?

ISM band. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The industrial, scientific and medical (ISM)
radio bands are radio bands (portions of the radio spectrum) reserved internationally for the use
of radio frequency (RF) energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than
telecommunications.

The industrial, scientific, and medical radio band (ISM band) refers to a group of radio
bands or parts of the radio spectrum that are internationally reserved for the use of radio
frequency (RF) energy intended for scientific, medical and industrial requirements rather than for
communications.

The industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands are radio bands (portions of the radio
spectrum) reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency (RF) energy for industrial,
scientific and medical purposes other than telecommunications.[1] Examples of applications in
these bands include radio-frequency process heating, microwave ovens, and medical diathermy
machines. The powerful emissions of these devices can create electromagnetic interference and
disrupt radio communication using the same frequency, so these devices are limited to certain
bands of frequencies. In general, communications equipment operating in these bands must
tolerate any interference generated by ISM applications, and users have no regulatory protection
from ISM device operation.

Despite the intent of the original allocations, in recent years the fastest-growing use of these
bands has been for short-range, low power wireless communications systems, since these bands
are often approved for such devices which can be used without a government license, as would
otherwise be required for transmitters; ISM frequencies are often chosen for this purpose as they
already have interference issues. Cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, near field communication
(NFC) devices, garage door openers, baby monitors and wireless computer networks (WiFi) may
all use the ISM frequencies, although these low power transmitters are not considered to be ISM
devices.

The ISM bands are defined by the ITU Radio Regulations (article 5) in footnotes 5.138, 5.150,
and 5.280 of the Radio Regulations. Individual countries' use of the bands designated in these
sections may differ due to variations in national radio regulations. Because communication
devices using the ISM bands must tolerate any interference from ISM equipment, unlicensed
operations are typically permitted to use these bands, since unlicensed operation typically needs
to be tolerant of interference from other devices anyway. The ISM bands share allocations with
unlicensed and licensed operations; however, due to the high likelihood of harmful interference,
licensed use of the bands is typically low. In the United States, uses of the ISM bands are
governed by Part 18 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, while Part 15
contains the rules for unlicensed communication devices, even those that share ISM frequencies.
In Europe, the ETSI is responsible for regulating the use of Short Range Devices, some of which
operate in ISM bands.

[4] What are the characteristic of a mobile computing environment?

1. Portability - The Ability to move a device within a learning environment or to different

environments with ease.

2. Social Interactivity - The ability to share data and collaboration between users.

3. Context Sensitivity - The ability to gather and respond to real or simulated data unique to a
current location, environment, or time.

4. Connectivity - The ability to be digitally connected for the purpose of communication of

data in any environment.

5. Individual - The ability to use the technology to provide scaffolding on difficult activities
and lesson customization for individual learners.

6. Small Size - Mobile devices are also known as handhelds, palmtops and smart phones due
to their roughly phone-like dimensions. A typical mobile device will fit in the average adult's
hand or pocket. Some mobile devices may fold or slide from a compact, portable mode to a
slightly larger size, revealing built-in keyboards or larger screens. Mobile devices make use of
touch screens and small keypads to receive input, maintaining their small size and independence
from external interface devices. The standard form of a mobile device allows the user to operate
it with one hand, holding the device in the palm or fingers while executing its functions with the
thumb.

Netbooks and small tablet computers are sometimes mistaken for true mobile devices, based on
their similarity in form and function, but if the device's size prohibits one-handed operation or
hinders portability, then it cannot be considered a true mobile device.

7. Wireless Communication - Mobile devices are typically capable of communication with

other similar devices, with stationary computers and systems, with networks and portable
phones. Base mobile devices are capable of accessing the Internet through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi
networks, and many models are equipped to access cell phone and wireless data networks as
well. Email and texting are standard ways of communicating with mobile devices, although
many are also capable of telephony, and some specialized mobile devices, such as RFID and
barcode.
 [5] What are the advantages and disadvantages of standards? Name the standard
committees

responsible for 3G?

Advantages

1. Standards are used to train software engineers andsoftware project participants (e.g. project
manager, QA),

2. Standards define common terminology to avoid contradictions, confusion and communication

problems,

3. Since standards are developed by experts and practitioners, they capture knowledge and
lessons

Learned by them, Do have to repeat the mistakes of the past

4. Standards developed by practitioners document the practices of the software engineering

community and not the opinion of a person or an organization,

5. Standards are updated regularly (5 years) to capture the latest developments in the field,

6. Standards enable the rapid development of new technologies by defining communication

protocols and interface facilitating the portability of applications,

7. Standards can facilitate the selection of qualified subcontractors (e.g. ISO 9000, ISO 15504),

8. Standards can be used to define a development process or maintenance. (e.g. CMM),

9. Standards protect the public,

10. Standards indicate good practice to adopt,

11. Describe the ‘what’ not the ‘how’ to let organizations select the appropriate practices,

12. Protect the software engineers who use the practices of Standards

13. Specify techniques to develop software faster, cheaper,better,

14. Provide a systematic treatment of “ilities”, • ISO 9126

15. Clarify the roles and interfaces of participants

16. Clarify the types and contents of documentation

Disadvantages

1. Focusing too much on the details of standards and forgetting the end user

2. Using too many standards for software development

3. Slow evolution of standards for fast evolving technologies (web tech)

4. Misinterpretation of the standard

5. Literal application of the standard (forgetting the intent)

6. Too many standards imposed by a customer

7. Contradiction between the standards imposed

8. Wrong context (military standard for commercial application)

9. Very small projects not being able to adapt standards to their needs

10. Be satisfied with complying to a standard, forgetting the goals

11. Adding tasks that do not contribute to the quality

12. Define ‘what’ to do and do not define ‘how’ to do,

13. Difficult to demonstrate ‘savings’ when using standards,

14. Expensive to buy for many organisations,

15. Difficult to understand,

16. Difficult to adapt in very small organisations since they have often been developed by
delegates from large organisations,

17. Difficult to demonstrate an increase of quality,

18. Not having the competencies to understand and apply the standards,

19. Bureaucratic, generating large quantity of documents,

20. Not enough support to apply them,

21. Need many standards to develop a good process,

22. Not enough guidance to apply them

Chapter-2
[6] Describe the significance of core, edge, and access network. What are their

functions?

Definition - What does Core Network mean?

A core network is a telecommunication network's core part, which offers numerous services to
the customers who are interconnected by the access network. Its key function is to direct
telephone calls over the public-switched telephone network.

In general, this term signifies the highly functional communication facilities that interconnect
primary nodes. The core network delivers routes to exchange information among various sub-
networks. When it comes to enterprise networks that serve a single organization, the term
backbone is often used instead of core network, whereas when used with service providers the
term core network is prominent.

The facilities and devices used for the core or backbone networks are usually routers and
switches, with switches being used more often. The technologies used for the core facilities are
mainly network and data link layer technologies, including asynchronous transfer mode (ATM),
IP, synchronous optical networking (SONET) and dense wavelength division multiplexing
(DWDM). For backbone networks used for enterprises, a 10 Gb Ethernet or gigabit Ethernet
technology is also used in many instances.

Core networks usually offer the following features:

Aggregation: The top degree of aggregation can be seen in a service provider network. Next in
the hierarchy within the core nodes is the distribution networks, followed by the edge networks.

Authentication: Determines whether the user demanding a service from a telecom network is
permitted to complete the task within the network.

Call Control or Switching: Determines the future span of a call depending on the processing of
call signaling.

Charging: Deals with the processing and collation of charging the data created by multiple
network nodes.

Service Invocation: A core network executes the service invocation task for its customers.
Service invocation may occur in line with some precise activity (such as call forwarding) by the
users or unconditionally (such as for call waiting).
Gateways: Should be used in core network for accessing other networks. The functionality of
gateways depends on the kind of network to which it is connected.

Edge network

Edge also provides connections into carrier and service provider networks. Edge router: Also
called a provider edge router, is placed at the edge of an ISP network. ... (1) A network located
on the periphery of a centralized network. The edge network feeds the central, or core, network.

In the LAN, WAN, or datacenter network, edge devices do most of the work. The network edge
has more features and performs more functions than other layers of the network topology.

As we move from the edge to the core, we expect more throughput but fewer features, because
core devices should involve little except packet forwarding. Fewer protocols and features should
be deployed, requiring less configuration and keeping control plane states at a minimum.

Access network

An access network is a type of telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their

immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, (for example the Network
Switching Subsystem in GSM) which connects local providers to one another. The access
network may be further divided between feeder plant or distribution network, and drop plant or
edge network.

An access network is a user network that connects subscribers to a particular service provider
and, through the carrier network, to other networks such as the Internet.

Some types of access networks:

Ethernet is the most commonly installed wired LAN (local area network) technology. Ethernet
LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires.

Wireless LANs allow mobile users to connect through a wireless (radio) connection.

Fibre optic networks such as fiber to the home (FTTH) use optical fiber from a central point
directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for transmitting digital information
at a high bandwidth on existing phone lines to homes and businesses.

Defining network access control

Network access control is exactly what it says it is, a security solution that controls access to
your network.

To be a bit more detailed, NAC is a solution that integrates with both your wireless and wired
infrastructure to identify, assign, and enforce pre-determined rules or policies to manage the
access to your network.

Identify

Managing access to your network starts with having proper visibility. If you can’t see who or
what is accessing your network and where they’re trying to go, then it’s going to be difficult to
deliver a reliable and secure wireless experience.

Network access control allows you to identify who, what, where, when and how an end-user or
device is accessing your network.

 Who is the end-user and are they a known user inside of your active directory?
 What is the end-user or device (IoT) trying to access on your network?
 Where are they connecting to the wifi? In their office, the cafeteria, hotel room,
dorms…etc.
 When are your end-users or IoT devices accessing the network? Knowing this will also
give you insights into when they are most active and least active, helping you to
distribute bandwidth more efficiently.

How your end-users are accessing your network (smartphones, laptops, tablets) as well as what
IoT devices/systems are accessing your network (security cameras, vending machines, HVAC,
scanners, printers, POS systems etc.)

[7] What are the different tiers in three-tier architecture? Describe the functions of these
tiers?

What is a 3-Tier Architecture?

A 3-tier architecture is a type of software architecture which is composed of three “tiers” or

“layers” of logical computing. They are often used in applications as a specific type of client-
server system. 3-tier architectures provide many benefits for production and development
environments by modularizing the user interface, business logic, and data storage layers. Doing
so gives greater flexibility to development teams by allowing them to update a specific part of an
application independently of the other parts. This added flexibility can improve overall time-to-
market and decrease development cycle times by giving development teams the ability to replace
or upgrade independent tiers without affecting the other parts of the system.

For example, the user interface of a web application could be redeveloped or modernized without
affecting the underlying functional business and data access logic underneath. This architectural
system is often ideal for embedding and integrating 3rd party software into an existing
application. This integration flexibility also makes it ideal for embedding analytics software into
pre-existing applications and is often used by embedded analytics vendors for this reason. 3-tier
architectures are often used in cloud or on-premises based applications as well as in software-as-
a-service (SaaS) applications.

What Do the 3 Tiers Mean?

Presentation Tier- The presentation tier is the front end layer in the 3-tier system and consists of
the user interface. This user interface is often a graphical one accessible through a web browser
or web-based application and which displays content and information useful to an end user. This
tier is often built on web technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, or through other
popular web development frameworks, and communicates with others layers through API calls.

Application Tier- The application tier contains the functional business logic which drives an
application’s core capabilities. It’s often written in Java, .NET, C#, Python, C++, etc.

Data Tier- The data tier comprises of the database/data storage system and data access layer.
Examples of such systems are MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MongoDB,
etc. Data is accessed by the application layer via API calls.

The typical structure for a 3-tier architecture deployment would have the presentation tier
deployed to a desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile device either via a web browser or a web-based
application utilizing a web server. The underlying application tier is usually hosted on one or
more application servers, but can also be hosted in the cloud, or on a dedicated workstation
depending on the complexity and processing power needed by the application. And the data layer
would normally comprise of one or more relational databases, big data sources, or other types of
database systems hosted either on-premises or in the cloud.

A simple example of a 3-tier architecture in action would be logging into a media account such
as Netflix and watching a video. You start by logging in either via the web or via a mobile
application. Once you’ve logged in you might access a specific video through the Netflix
interface which is the presentation tier used by you as an end user. Once you’ve selected a video
that information is passed on to the application tier which will query the data tier to call the
information or in this case a video back up to the presentation tier. This happens every time you
access a video from most media sites.

What Are the Benefits of Using a 3-Layer Architecture?

There are many benefits to using a 3-layer architecture including speed of development,
scalability, performance, and availability. As mentioned, modularizing different tiers of an
application gives development teams the ability to develop and enhance a product with greater
speed than developing a singular code base because a specific layer can be upgraded with
minimal impact on the other layers. It can also help improve development efficiency by
allowing teams to focus on their core competencies. Many development teams have separate
developers who specialize in front- end, server back-end, and data back-end development, by
modularizing these parts of an application you no longer have to rely on full stack developers
and can better utilize the specialties of each team.

Scalability is another great advantage of a 3-layer architecture. By separating out the different
layers you can scale each independently depending on the need at any given time. For example,
if you are receiving many web requests but not many requests which affect your application
layer, you can scale your web servers without touching your application servers. Similarly, if you
are receiving many large application requests from only a handful of web users, you can scale
out your application and data layers to meet those requests without touch your web servers. This
allows you to load balance each layer independently, improving overall performance with
minimal resources. Additionally, the independence created from modularizing the different tiers
gives you many deployment options. For example, you may choose to have your web servers
hosted in a public or private cloud while you’re application and data layers may be hosted onsite.
Or you may have your application and data layers hosted in the cloud while your web servers
may be locally hosted, or any combination thereof.
By having disparate layers you can also increase reliability and availability by hosting different
parts of your application on different servers and utilizing cached results. With a full stack
system you have to worry about a server going down and greatly affecting performance
throughout your entire system, but with a 3-layer application, the increased independence created
when physically separating different parts of an application minimizes performance issues when
a server goes down.

Benefits of a 3-tier app architecture

The benefits of using a 3-layer architecture include improved horizontal scalability, performance
and availability. With three tiers, each part can be developed concurrently by different team of
programmers coding in different languages from the other tier developers. Because the
programming for a tier can be changed or relocated without affecting the other tiers, the 3-tier
model makes it easier for an enterprise or software packager to continually evolve an application
as new needs and opportunities arise. Existing applications or critical parts can be permanently
or temporarily retained and encapsulated within the new tier of which it becomes a component.

Here are 5 benefits of separating an application into tiers:

It gives you the ability to update the technology stack of one tier, without impacting other areas
of the application.

It allows for different development teams to each work on their own areas of expertise. Today’s
developers are more likely to have deep competency in one area, like coding the front end of an
application, instead of working on the full stack.

You are able to scale the application up and out. A separate back-end tier, for example, allows
you to deploy to a variety of databases instead of being locked into one particular technology. It
also allows you to scale up by adding multiple web servers.

It adds reliability and more independence of the underlying servers or services.

It provides an ease of maintenance of the code base, managing presentation code and business
logic separately, so that a change to business logic, for example, does not impact the presentation
layer.

With 3-tier architecture, you have the ability to utilize new technologies as they become
available. This ensures your product is ready to adapt; ready for the future. You have the
opportunity to redesign your product or application and actually look not only to today’s needs
but into the future. Stay ahead of the game and maintain a competitive advantage.

We designed our platform around a 3-tier architecture with the future in mind. Learn more about
our purpose-built embedded BI platform.
[8] What do you understand by context? Why is context important? To develop a
navigational system for a car, what types of context information will be necessary?

Understanding context

A number of studies have investigated the concept of context. Schilit and Theimer7 refer to
context as comprising location, identities of neighboring users and objects and changes to those
objects. Brown, Bovey and Chen 8 define context as location, identities of neighboring
users, time, and environment characteristics such as season and temperature.

Ryan, Pascoe and Morse9 define context as the user’s location, environment, identity, and the
time. Dey 10 states that context is the user’s emotional state, focus of attention, location and
orientation, date and time, objects and people in the user’s environment. All of these definitions
characterize context by examples, and as such their application is difficult. Schilit, Adams and
Want 11 argue that the only important aspects of context are user location, the user’s
neighbour, and resources near the user. Furthermore, they define context to be subject to the
constantly changing execution environment.

The environment is thus three-fold:

• computing environment, such as available processors, devices accessible for user input
and output, network capacity, connectivity, and cost of computing;

• user environment, such as location, collection of nearby people, and social context;

• physical environment, such as temperature, lighting and noise levels.

Context-aware applications based on these environments are discussed later.

Application of context

Nowadays ubiquity is fully embedded, with smart devices integrating intelligence for processing
various kinds of data. In such an environment the interaction and management of the various
devices that a user may hold is a tough task. 14 Context-aware systems are an emerging
solution; they can be in charge of supervising the way users interact with the ubiquitous
environment for automating users’ repetitive actions. For example, a context-aware system
can detect that a user never responds to phone calls whilst driving, and thus propose
automatically to transfer all incoming calls to the user’s voicemail when they are driving.
Dey4 propose three basic functions that should be implemented by any context-aware
application: presentation of information and services, automatic execution of services and
storage (and retrieval) of context information. Presentation of information and services refers
to functions that either present context information to the user, or use context to propose
appropriate selections of actions to the user. Examples here are showing a user their
location on a map and possibly indicating nearby sites of interest, presenting a choice of
services close by;

11 sensing and presenting input/output information for a group of users;16and providing remote
awareness of others. 17

The second function, automatic execution of services, describes functions that trigger a
command or reconfigure the system on behalf of the user according to context changes.
Examples include a system where a user’s desktop environment follows them as they move
from workstation to workstation; car navigation systems that recompute driving directions
when the user misses a turn; and a camera that captures an image when the user is
startled as sensed by biometric sensors.

In the third type of function, storage and retrieval of context information, applications tag
captured data with relevant context information. For example, a zoology application may
tag notes taken by the user with the location and time of a species observation; and a meeting
capture system may provide an interface to access meeting notes based on who was there,
when the meeting occurred and where it was located.4

Design principles

In this section we describe basic design principles of context-aware applications and

depict different models for representing, storing and communicating contextual

information. Context-aware systems can be implemented in many ways. The typical

approach considers a number of special requirements and conditions, such as location of
sensors (local or remote), number of possible users, available resources (such as high-end
personal computers or small mobile devices), and extensibility of the system.

Context-awareness models

A context-awareness model is needed to define and store context information in a machine-

readableform. Strang and Linnhoff-Popien18 summarised the most relevant contextmodelling
approaches based on data structures used for representing and exchanging contextual
information in their respective systems. These are highlighted below.

Key-value models

These represent the simplest data structure for context modelling. They are frequently
used in various service frameworks, where key-value pairs are used to describe the

capabilities of a service. Service discovery is then applied with matching algorithms which
use these key-value pairs.
Mark-up models

These use a hierarchical data structure comprising mark-up tags, attributes and content to create
profiles which represent a typical mark-up scheme model.

Graphical models

A number of approaches have been proposed where contextual aspects are modelled using
Unified Modelling Language.19

Object-oriented models

Modelling context using object-oriented techniques offersthe full power of object

orientation (e.g. encapsulation, reusability and inheritance). Existing approaches use various
objects to represent different context information (such as temperature, location, etc.), and
encapsulate details of context processing and representation. Access to the context and context-
processing logic is provided by well-defined interfaces like the hydrogen model.

Logic-based models

These models have a high degree of formality, and typically facts, expressions and rules are used
to define a context model. A logic-based system is used to manage the aforementioned terms and
allows addition, updating or removal of new facts. The inference (also called reasoning) process
is used to derive new facts based on existing rules in the systems. Contextual information is then
represented in a formal way as facts.21

Ontology-based models

Ontology represents a description of concepts and their relationships. These models are
very promising for modelling contextual information due to their high and formal
expressiveness and possibilities for applying ontology reasoning techniques.18

User-context perception model

This is a model created to help the designer understand thechallenge(s) faced in creating context-
aware systems. As an example, a car navigation system works very well if one is in a new city;
however, when using it around a familiar area one may sometimes be surprised at the route it
tries to direct one to. To explain this phenomenon with this model, we assume the context-
aware system (right side in Figure 2) is of equal quality in both locations; this means that the
difference must be on the user’s side. The sensory perception (e.g. visual matching of
buildings and places you know, based on your sight) is different in familiar and new places. In
the new place you lack reference points, and the memory and experience parts in the model
differ significantly. In the familiar environment you will have expectations about which route
to take and which would be a good choice. In the unfamiliar environment you lack experience
and reference points, and hence your expectation is simply that the system will guide you to your
destination. The result is that a navigation system that successfully guides you to your
destination with a nonoptimal route will satisfy your expectations in an unfamiliar environment,
but be frowned upon in a familiar environment. In the familiar environment we have a
substantial awareness mismatch, whereas when navigating in new surroundings we have
minimal awareness mismatch.

CONTEXTS IN CAR NAVIGATION SYSTEM

According to the mentioned definition of context, one needs to find out how to select the relevant
factors and ensure that they are taken into account in the application design phase, i.e., consider
which context information will be relevant in the usage situation and have impact on the device
or the user [9]. Until now, very few researches focus on the related context in navigation
systems. ample et al.[10] categorized navigation-related context s in four classes, namely:

 Skills and experience:

Experienced with maps, knowledge about

signatures

Abstraction ability (turning the map to north)

Knowledge about environment

Familiar to features of map

Age, health

• Mode of movement:

By car

By bicycle

As pedestrian

• Reason for moving:

Direct path to goal (shortest, fastest path)

Tourist tour (specific distance, most scenery,

secure or easy route (e.g. hiking))

• External factors:
 Rush hour, traffic jam, accidents, holidays

Road restrictions

Daytime/nighttime (objects cannot be seen in the dark, special objects are illuminated at
night)

Summer/winter (restricted visibility because of trees and bushes in the summer time)

[9] You have been asked to develop a location aware restaurant guide system for
the Restaurant Foundation of India. Describe 4 main functions of this system. Describe
how will you implement these 4 functions?

TOP 10 RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

FEATURES AND WHY YOU NEED THEM

1. TRACKING OF SALES AND TAXES

Restaurants handle a high amount of credit card and cash transactions. So your restaurant
management software should make your life easier as the owner or restaurant manager by
tracking all business sales data down to the last cent.

With this sales data, you can keep tabs on your all your items sold, which gives you the power to
make smart decisions for your business. For example, it allows you to adjust your menu
accordingly to best or worst items sold, know your busiest selling times, and determine who your
best servers are. Most importantly, you get the sales data you need to determine your profit.

Additionally, you need to keep reliable records for taxes, especially for your local or state
business and alcohol tax laws. For instance in Texas, in addition to sales tax, there is a mixed
beverage sales tax, and that needs to be reported accordingly. So you need to consult with your
accountant and know your local tax tables and make sure your system has the reporting features
you need.

Most real POS systems have robust sales and tax reporting data. Any good provider will be able
to explain the sales reporting features built into the system and describe your available options
for accounting integrations like Quickbooks.

2. SIMPLE MENU SETUP

The menu on a restaurant management system should be easy to configure and setup. Sounds
like a no-brainer, but it’s an essential consideration. There are so many systems on the market
that can make your life very difficult when all you want to do is make simple menu updates or
pricing changes.

Especially with the big brand name POS companies where you may be required to contact
support to make a menu change or be a programming genius to figure it out yourself. Sometimes
the terminals or the server has to be rebooted to make a minor menu change. You don’t need
that headache.

Before you decide on your software, ask your POS provider to show you how easy it is to make
adjustments to the menu programming. If it takes more than 2 minutes to adjust a menu item or
make a special price change, you might want to consider looking at other options.

The Harbortouch Bar & Restaurant POS system is one such system that has dynamic and flexible
pricing options to quickly create coupons, happy hours, manual comps, and automatic discounts.

3. USER FRIENDLY ORDER MANAGEMENT

Your order management software should be easy for users and management to use. Your
restaurant staff should be able to transfer tickets quickly, split checks, change tables, change item
quantities, change item prices, repeat drinks or menu items, manage tables, keep track of
reservations, and adjust gratuity or taxes.

As an example for owners and managers, you need to be able to control refunds, voids, comps,
and view order status at any given time to keep a pulse on the business.

For a bar, you need to be able to open and start tabs with a credit card that performs a
preauthorization. Preauthorization is a predefined amount placed on a credit card until the
bartender or server closes out the check. A tab pre-auth protects your business by validating the
credit card and confirming there is enough money to pay for the ticket.

Table management and accepting online reservations are great options to consider as well. A
good example would be Eat App which offers ‘Grid View,’ a significantly faster method of
inputting and editing table reservations as compared to other providers. These are features that
can complement your software package, make you more efficient, and increase revenue.

The best way to know if what the order management interface is going to look like and what
options are available is to get a live or online demo of the software. So be sure to spend the time
to make sure the interface is intuitive and straightforward to use for you and your staff.

4. CREDIT CARD PROCESSING INTEGRATION

If you plan on being a cash-only business, you might want to think again. According to this
TSYS consumer payment study, for dine-in restaurants, 68% of the respondents chose to use a
credit or debit card, while only 18% of respondents prefer cash. So by not accepting debit and
credit cards, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to increase your revenue.

So to this point, you obviously need to accept credit card payments, and you’ll want to have
credit card processing integrated into your restaurant management software.

Due to POS system PCI compliance standards, if you are accepting credit card payments, you
also need to accept EMV (smart credit cards) to protect your customer’s data and to protect your
business from chargebacks. So you want to make sure your restaurant POS system is EMV
ready and PCI compliant.

An important consideration with credit card integration is what processing company you’re
going to use. Some POS companies are the processor, which can help you out a great deal. If
your point of sale is with one company and your processing is with another, you can anticipate
making multiple calls when dealing with processing issues.

Some mobile or tablet systems come with cheap card readers that plug into the data port or
headphone jack. Avoid these like the plague unless you enjoy unreliable card processing.

Harbortouch is a complete touchscreen solution with reliable integrated card processing and only
one support number to cover all your POS and processing needs.

5. ACCEPT GIFT CARDS AND INCREASE INCOME

Why accept restaurant gift cards? You might not think accepting gift cards is an important
feature, but you’d be wrong. Some restaurant owners and managers never fully realize the
potential to increase sales and to generate repeat business by offering gift cards. Here are a few
advantages.

Did you know when a customer has a gift card, they will typically visit more than one time to use
the card balance? The more a customer visits equals more upselling opportunities.

Give your loyal customers gift cards that are pre-paid instead of a coupon because two thirds of
customers will spend over 35% more than a gift’s cards balance. And let’s be honest, gift cards
are way more convenient and more cost effective than running a coupon promotion or marketing
campaign.

And probably the biggest advantage is improving your cash flow by generating revenue before
sales. Some gift cards don’t ever get redeemed and that’s good and bad. You want the gift card
holder to visit your business, but if they don’t, that’s money in your pocket. However, having
the money upfront keeps you in the black until the card is redeemed.

Every new Harbortouch customer gets 50 free gift cards.

6. INVENTORY CONTROL

Inventory control is a must-have feature for any restaurant business software. Most bar or
restaurant POS software has options to deduct items from your inventory when you sell a
product after they are programmed to do so, of course.

So for instance, if you sell a steak dinner, your POS should be configured to subtract the steak
from the inventory. And if you want to get granular, you could even deduct the sides from the
steak dinner by proportions, like reducing 5oz of mashed potatoes from one serving.

It’s important to know the amount of food you have on hand and to set a par level, so you know
when to order more product from your vendor. Inventory is necessary because you want to
understand your profit margins entirely and that starts by following your food usage and costs.
It should be noted not all systems are going to have inventory controls built in and may require
3rd party integrations. Adding 3rd party integrations may add to your costs. So do your due
diligence here to make sure you get what you need for inventory management.

Harbortouch has incredible inventory control and also includes fresh sheets, and now we are
integrated with Orca inventory management where you can monitor your inventory in real time
with low-level notifications.

7. EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT WITH POS SECURITY

No actual point of sale system is complete without employee management features. You’ll want
this option fully integrated, or some systems may use a 3rd party integration program to expand
your options.

But primarily you need the ability for employees to clock in and out so you can track hours
worked and to monitor staff productivity. Most systems, including Harbortouch, can set different
user permissions and access levels to keep your system secure. So it’s important to know what
options are required by your establishment and what features are available in the program.

For instance, owners or managers should have the ability to access employee records to adjust
details about employees like their pin codes, track and adjust their hours worked, calculate
employee overtime, monitor sales performance, and set security levels to protect the system.

Harbortouch has all these features and more including a time clock with shift and time break
options so you can easily track all details for payroll.

8. COMPREHENSIVE REPORTING AND CUSTOMER DATA

Tracking your standard sales data is great for beginners, but real restaurant professionals need
and want comprehensive reporting data. Restaurant owners need to be able to filter their sales
and customer data to help grow their business. For instance, you may want to filter sales by
brand, product type, season, time of year or other trends your business has not yet identified.
Having the ability to filter your reporting data is massively important, and not all systems have
this ability.

Power in data and numbers allows owners to gain more control over the productivity of staff,
food costs, as well as picking the perfect time for marketing promotions or offering
discounts. Additionally, it’s vital to understand if specific products aren’t selling well, so you
have the knowledge to discontinue or phase them out.

Included in your reporting should be data retrieved from your customer database. If you can
identify who your most loyal customers are, the products they buy the most, and their purchasing
frequency, this can assist when considering loyalty programs or offering product specials.

Combining all this data will ultimately allow you to grow your business, make smart marketing
decisions, keep your customers coming back for more and give you a leg up on your
competition.

Harbortouch offers all this data remotely with Lighthouse, in the cloud, so you always have
everything you need online to make smart decisions.

9. MARKETING, LOYALTY, AND REWARD PROGRAMS

If you’re opening a new restaurant or even if your an existing establishment, marketing is a

requirement these days. You can hire the best chef in the world, but if you have no one come to
try his food, then what’s the point?

Some restaurant management software will have built-in marketing tools like a loyalty program
to help drive repeat business and increase the customer base, but it’s not enough. The reality is,
there are so many marketing companies out there that specialize and do this better with 3rd party
integration, usually at additional costs.

For instance, Harbortouch works with a marketing platform called FiveStars. FiveStars combines
rewards, automated promotions, acquisition and loyalty in one powerful marketing program.
Having this sort of all-in-one marketing platform that integrates into your POS is very powerful.
No matter what system you end up getting, make sure you budget for marketing tools and find
out what works together.

10. HEAVENLY TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Last but not least, you going to need the best possible technical support you can find. The hurt is
real when your system is down on a busy Friday night, and you can’t get a human on the phone
to help troubleshoot your problem.

No matter what system you end up choosing, to protect your investment and sanity, be sure to
ONLY work with a company that offers 24/7 support.

You might want to work with a local company near you, and that’s great, but determine the
support expectations BEFORE you purchase any POS software or hardware. Most of the major
players offer 24/7 support with a paid subscription, so just be sure to ask.

A tip learned from someone in the industry is to call the tech support line first before buying the
product you’re considering. You’ll get a good feeling of the level of responsiveness and
expertise by having a quick conversation. If it takes 30 minutes to get someone on the support
line and if they’re rude, you might want to consider another provider.

Chapter-3

[10] Describe what is multiple accesses? Why is multiple accesses important? Describe
FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, and SDMA with the application areas and examples?
Fundamentals of Communications Access Technologies: FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDMA,
AND SDMA

An introduction to the access technologies that allow multiple users to share a common
communications channel.

Access methods are multiplexing techniques that provide communications services to multiple
users in a single-bandwidth wired or wireless medium. Communications channels, whether
they’re wireless spectrum segments or cable connections, are expensive. Communications
services providers must engage multiple paid users over limited resources to make a profit.
Access methods allow many users to share these limited channels to provide the economy of
scale necessary for a successful communications business. There are five basic access or
multiplexing methods: frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple
access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple
access (OFDMA), and spatial division multiple access (SDMA).

FDMA

TDMA

CDMA

OFDMA
SDMA

Other Methods

References

FDMA

FDMA is the process of dividing one channel or bandwidth into multiple individual bands, each
for use by a single user (Fig. 1). Each individual band or channel is wide enough to
accommodate the signal spectra of the transmissions to be propagated. The data to be transmitted
is modulated on to each subcarrier, and all of them are linearly mixed together.

1. FDMA divides the shared medium bandwidth into individual channels. Subcarriers
modulated by the information to be transmitted occupy each subchannel.

The best example of this is the cable television system. The medium is a single coax cable
that is used to broadcast hundreds of channels of video/audio programming to homes. The
coax cable has a useful bandwidth from about 4 MHz to 1 GHz. This bandwidth is divided
up into 6-MHz wide channels. Initially, one TV station or channel used a single 6-MHz
band. But with digital techniques, multiple TV channels may share a single band today
thanks to compression and multiplexing techniques used in each channel.

This technique is also used in fiber optic communications systems. A single fiber optic cable
has enormous bandwidth that can be subdivided to provide FDMA. Different data or
information sources are each assigned a different light frequency for transmission. Light
generally isn’t referred to by frequency but by its wavelength (λ). As a result, fiber optic
FDMA is called wavelength division multiple access (WDMA) or just wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM).

One of the older FDMA systems is the original analog telephone system, which used a hierarchy
of frequency multiplex techniques to put multiple telephone calls on single line. The analog 300-
Hz to 3400-Hz voice signals were used to modulate subcarriers in 12 channels from 60 kHz to
108 kHz. Modulator/mixers created single sideband (SSB) signals, both upper and lower
sidebands. These subcarriers were then further frequency multiplexed on subcarriers in the 312-
kHz to 552-kHz range using the same modulation methods. At the receiving end of the system,
the signals were sorted out and recovered with filters and demodulators.

Original aerospace telemetry systems used an FDMA system to accommodate multiple sensor
data on a single radio channel. Early satellite systems shared individual 36-MHz bandwidth
transponders in the 4-GHz to 6-GHz range with multiple voice, video, or data signals via FDMA.
Today, all of these applications use TDMA digital techniques.

TDMA

TDMA is a digital technique that divides a single channel or band into time slots. Each time slot
is used to transmit one byte or another digital segment of each signal in sequential serial data
format. This technique works well with slow voice data signals, but it’s also useful for
compressed video and other high-speed data.

A good example is the widely used T1 transmission system, which has been used for years in the
telecom industry. T1 lines carry up to 24 individual voice telephone calls on a single line (Fig.
2). Each voice signal usually covers 300 Hz to 3000 Hz and is digitized at an 8-kHz rate, which
is just a bit more than the minimal Nyquist rate of two times the highest-frequency component
needed to retain all the analog content.
2. This T1 digital telephony frame illustrates TDM and TDMA. Each time slot is allocated to one
user. The high data rate makes the user unaware of the lack of simultaneity.

The digitized voice appears as individual serial bytes that occur at a 64-kHz rate, and 24 of these
bytes are interleaved, producing one T1 frame of data. The frame occurs at a 1.536-MHz rate (24
by 64 kHz) for a total of 192 bits. A single synchronizing bit is added for timing purposes for an
overall data rate of 1.544 Mbits/s. At the receiving end, the individual voice bytes are recovered
at the 64-kHz rate and passed through a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that reproduces the
analog voice.

The basic GSM (Global System of Mobile Communications) cellular phone system is TDMA-
based. It divides up the radio spectrum into 200-kHz bands and then uses time division
techniques to put eight voice calls into one channel. Figure 3 shows one frame of a GSM TDMA
signal. The eight time slots can be voice signals or data such as texts or e-mails. The frame is
transmitted at a 270-kbit/s rate using Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK), which is a form
of frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation.

3. This GSM digital cellular method shows how up to eight users can share a 200-kHz channel in
different time slots within a frame of 1248 bits.
CDMA

CDMA is another pure digital technique. It is also known as spread spectrum because it takes the
digitized version of an analog signal and spreads it out over a wider bandwidth at a lower power
level. This method is called direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) as well (Fig. 4). The
digitized and compressed voice signal in serial data form is spread by processing it in an XOR
circuit along with a chipping signal at a much higher frequency. In the cdma IS-95 standard, a
1.2288-Mbit/s chipping signal spreads the digitized compressed voice at 13 kbits/s.

4. Spread spectrum is the technique of CDMA. The compressed and digitized voice signal is
processed in an XOR logic circuit along with a higher-frequency coded chipping signal. The
result is that the digital voice is spread over a much wider bandwidth that can be shared with
other users using different codes.

The chipping signal is derived from a pseudorandom code generator that assigns a unique code
to each user of the channel. This code spreads the voice signal over a bandwidth of 1.25 MHz.
The resulting signal is at a low power level and appears more like noise. Many such signals can
occupy the same channel simultaneously. For example, using 64 unique chipping codes allows
up to 64 users to occupy the same 1.25-MHz channel at the same time. At the receiver, a
correlating circuit finds and identifies a specific caller’s code and recovers it.

The third generation (3G) cell-phone technology called wideband CDMA (WCDMA) uses a
similar method with compressed voice and 3.84-Mbit/s chipping codes in a 5-MHz channel to
allow multiple users to share the same band.
OFDMA

OFDMA is the access technique used in Long-Term Evolution (LTE) cellular systems to
accommodate multiple users in a given bandwidth. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(OFDM) is a modulation method that divides a channel into multiple narrow orthogonal bands
that are spaced so they don’t interfere with one another. Each band is divided into hundreds or
even thousands of 15-kHz wide subcarriers.

The data to be transmitted is divided into many lower-speed bit streams and modulated onto the
subcarriers. Time slots within each subchannel data stream are used to package the data to be
transmitted (Fig. 5). This technique is very spectrally efficient, so it provides very high data
rates. It also is less affected by multipath propagation effects.

5. OFDMA assigns a group of subcarriers to each user. The subcarriers are part of the large
number of subcarriers used to implement OFDM for LTE. The data may be voice, video, or
something else, and it’s assembled into time segments that are then transmitted over some of the
assigned subcarriers.

To implement OFDMA, each user is assigned a group of subchannels and related time slots. The
smallest group of subchannels assigned is 12 and called a resource block (RB). The system
assigns the number of RBs to each user as needed.

SDMA

SDMA uses physical separation methods that permit the sharing of wireless channels. For
instance, a single channel may be used simultaneously if the users are spaced far enough from
one another to avoid interference. Known as frequency reuse, the method is widely used in
cellular radio systems. Cell sites are spaced from one another to minimize interference.

In addition to spacing, directional antennas are used to avoid interference. Most cell sites use
three antennas to create 120° sectors that allow frequency sharing (Fig. 6a). New technologies
like smart antennas or adaptive arrays use dynamic beamforming to shrink signals into narrow
beams that can be focused on specific users, excluding all others (Fig. 6b).

6. SDMA separates users on shared frequencies by isolating them with directional antennas.
Most cell sites have three antenna arrays to separate their coverage into isolated 120° sectors (a).
Adaptive arrays use beamforming to pinpoint desired users while ignoring any others on the
same frequency (b).

One unique variation of SDMA, polarization division multiple access (PDMA), separates signals
by using different polarizations of the antennas. Two different signals then can use the same
frequency, one transmitting a vertically polarized signal and the other transmitting a horizontally
polarized signal.

The signals won’t interfere with one another even if they’re on the same frequency because
they’re orthogonal and the antennas won’t respond to the oppositely polarized signal. Separate
vertical and horizontal receiver antennas are used to recover the two orthogonal signals. This
technique is widely used in satellite systems.

Polarization is also used for multiplexing in fiber optic systems. The new 100-Gbit/s systems use
dual polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) to achieve high speeds on a single
fiber. The high-speed data is divided into two slower data streams, one using vertical light
polarization and the other horizontal light polarization. Polarization filters separate the two
signals at the transmitter and receiver and merge them back into the high-speed stream.

Other Methods

A unique and widely used method of multiple access is carrier sense multiple access with
collision detection (CSMA-CD). This is the classical access method used in Ethernet local-area
networks (LANs). It allows multiple users of the network to access the single cable for
transmission. All network nodes listen continuously. When they want to send data, they listen
first and then transmit if no other signals are on the line. For instance, the transmission will be
one packet or frame. Then the process repeats. If two or more transmissions occur
simultaneously, a collision occurs. The network interface circuitry can detect a collision, and
then the nodes will wait a random time before retransmitting.

A variation of this method is called carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
(CSMA-CA). This method is similar to CSMA-CD. However, a special scheduling algorithm is
used to determine the appropriate time to transmit over the shared channel. While the CSMA-CD
technique is most used in wired networks, CSMA-CA is the preferred method in wireless
networks.

References

Frenzel, Louis E., Principles of Electronic Communication Systems, 3rd Edition, McGraw Hill,
2008.

Gibson, Jerry D., Editor, The Communications Handbook, CRC Press, 1997.

Skylar, Bernard, Digital Communications, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, 2001.

Tomasi, Wayne, Advanced Electronic Communications Systems, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall,
1998.

[11] You have been asked by a bank to develop an account enquiry system over
telephone. Design the architecture of such a system?
Chapter -4

[12] How does a new Bluetooth device discover a Bluetooth network?

Bluetooth network connection & pairing

Pairing Bluetooth devices has been designed to be easy, but Bluetooth can also support
networking.

The most common method of using Bluetooth is to pair two devices like a set of headphones and
a mobile phone or laptop. This provides a convenient wire-less connection.

Bluetooth pairing in this manner is well established and very easy to achieve, but it is also
possible to set up networks. This capability has been available since the inception of Bluetooth,
but with Bluetooth 5, this capability has been enhanced to accommodate many IoT applications.

The Bluetooth specification defines a variety of forms of Bluetooth network connection that may
be set up. In this way Bluetooth networking is a particularly flexible form of wireless system for
use in a variety of short range applications.

Bluetooth network connection basics

There are a variety of ways in which Bluetooth networks can be set up. In essence Bluetooth
networks adopt what is termed a piconet topology. In this form of network, one device acts as the
master and it is able to talk to a maximum of seven slave nodes or devices.

The limit of seven slave nodes in a Bluetooth network arises from the three bit address that is
used. This number relates to the number of active nodes in the Bluetooth network at any given
time.

Bluetooth scatternets

Bluetooth network connections are also able to support scatternets, although because of timing
and memory constraints this form of Bluetooth network has rarely been implemented. For a
Bluetooth scatternet, a slave node or slave device is able to share its time between two different
piconets. This enables large star networks to be built up.

Bluetooth connection basics

The way in which Bluetooth devices make connections is more complicated than that associated
with many other types of wireless device. The reason for this is the frequency hopping nature of
the devices. While the frequency hopping reduces the effects of interference, it makes connecting
devices a little more complicated.

Bluetooth is a system in which connections are made between a master and a slave. These
connections are maintained until they are broken, either by deliberately disconnecting the two, or
by the link radio link becoming so poor that communications cannot be maintained - typically
this occurs as the devices go out of range of each other.

Within the connection process, there are four types of Bluetooth connection channel:
Basic piconet channel: This Bluetooth connection channel is used only when all 79 channels are
used within the hop-set - it is now rarely used as the Adaptive piconet channel is more often used
as it provides greater flexibility.

Adapted piconet channel: This Bluetooth connection channel is used more widely and allows
the system to use a reduced hop-set, i.e. between 20 and 79 channels. Piconet channels are the
only channels that can be used to transfer user data.

Inquiry channel: The Bluetooth connection channel is used when a master device finds a slave
device or devices within range.

Paging channel: This Bluetooth connection channel is used where a master and a slave device
make a physical connection.

Bluetooth pairing

In order that devices can connect easily and quickly, a scheme known as Bluetooth pairing may
be used. Once Bluetooth pairing has occurred two devices may communicate with each other.

Bluetooth pairing is generally initiated manually by a device user. The Bluetooth link for the
device is made visible to other devices. They may then be paired.

The Bluetooth pairing process is typically triggered automatically the first time a device receives
a connection request from a device with which it is not yet paired. In order that Bluetooth pairing
may occur, a password has to be exchanged between the two devices. This password or
"Passkey" as it is more correctly termed is a code shared by both Bluetooth devices. It is used to
ensure that both users have agreed to pair with each other.

The process of Bluetooth pairing is summarised below:

Bluetooth device looks for other Bluetooth devices in range: To be found by other Bluetooth
devices, the first device, Device 1 must be set to discoverable mode - this will allow other
Bluetooth devices in the vicinity to detect its presence and attempt to establish a connection.

Two Bluetooth devices find each other: When the two devices: Device 1 and device 2 find each
other it is possible to detect what they are. Normally the discoverable device will indicate what
type of device it is - cellphone, headset, etc., along with its Bluetooth device name. The
Bluetooth device name is the can be allocated by the user, or it will be the one allocated during
manufacture.

Prompt for Passkey: Often the default passkey is set to "0000", but it is advisable to use
something else as hackers will assume most people will not change this.

However many more sophisticated devices - smartphones and computers - both users must agree
on a code which must obviously be the same for both.

Device 1 sends passkey: The initiating device, Device 1 sends the passkey that has been entered
to Device 2.

Device 2 sends passkey: The passkeys are compared and if they are both the same, a trusted
pair is formed, Bluetooth pairing is established.

Communication is established: Once the Bluetooth pairing has occurred, data can be exchanged
between the devices.

Practical elements of Bluetooth pairing

Normally Bluetooth devices will pair very easily. Dependent upon the device there may be
slightly different instructions for pairing devices.

For some devices with limited accessibility for control, a button may need to be pressed for
certain time to put it into a pairing mode. It will then search for devices with which to pair. If
pairing with similar devices they will automatically pair when placed in pairing mode and they
discover each other.

For devices like mobile phones and laptops, they will constantly look for devices with which to
pair and then the pairing will need to be accepted before pairing takes place. This provides
additional security.

On occasions some devices may have difficulty in pairing. It may be that they do not have the
required profiles available, or it may be that the device is not fully Bluetooth compatible. There
are some manufacturers who may not fully manufacture to the Bluetooth specification, even
though they are advertised as Bluetooth.

Once the Bluetooth pairing has been established it is remembered by the devices, which can then
connect to each without user intervention.

If necessary, the Bluetooth pairing relationship may be removed by the user at a later time if
required.

Normally Bluetooth pairing and network setup is very easy. One of the advantages of Bluetooth
is that it is easy for even non-technical people to use effectively.

How Bluetooth Works

The Bluetooth protocol operates at 2.4GHz in the same unlicensed ISM frequency band where
RF protocols like ZigBee and WiFi also exist. There is a standardized set of rules and
specifications that differentiates it from other protocols. If you have a few hours to kill and want
to learn every nook and cranny of Bluetooth, check out the published specifications, otherwise
here's a quick overview of what makes Bluetooth special.

Masters, Slaves, and Piconets

Bluetooth networks (commonly referred to as piconets) use a master/slave model to control when
and where devices can send data. In this model, a single master device can be connected to up to
seven different slave devices. Any slave device in the piconet can only be connected to a single
master.
Examples of Bluetooth master/slave piconet topologies.

The master coordinates communication throughout the piconet. It can send data to any of its
slaves and request data from them as well. Slaves are only allowed to transmit to and receive
from their master. They can't talk to other slaves in the piconet.

Bluetooth Addresses and Names

Every single Bluetooth device has a unique 48-bit address, commonly abbreviated BD_ADDR.
This will usually be presented in the form of a 12-digit hexadecimal value. The most-significant
half (24 bits) of the address is an organization unique identifier (OUI), which identifies the
manufacturer. The lower 24-bits are the more unique part of the address.

This address should be visible on most Bluetooth devices. For example, on this RN-42 Bluetooth
Module, the address printed next to "MAC NO." is 000666422152:
The "000666" portion of that address is the OUI of Roving Networks, the manufacturer of the
module. Every RN module will share those upper 24-bits. The "422152" portion of the module is
the more unique ID of the device.

Bluetooth devices can also have user-friendly names given to them. These are usually presented
to the user, in place of the address, to help identify which device it is.

The rules for device names are less stringent. They can be up to 248 bytes long, and two devices
can share the same name. Sometimes the unique digits of the address might be included in the
name to help differentiate devices.

Connection Process
Creating a Bluetooth connection between two devices is a multi-step process involving three
progressive states:

Inquiry -- If two Bluetooth devices know absolutely nothing about each other, one must run an
inquiry to try to discover the other. One device sends out the inquiry request, and any device
listening for such a request will respond with its address, and possibly its name and other
information.

Paging (Connecting) -- Paging is the process of forming a connection between two Bluetooth
devices. Before this connection can be initiated, each device needs to know the address of the
other (found in the inquiry process).

Connection -- After a device has completed the paging process, it enters the connection state.
While connected, a device can either be actively participating or it can be put into a low power
sleep mode.

Active Mode -- This is the regular connected mode, where the device is actively transmitting or
receiving data.

Sniff Mode -- This is a power-saving mode, where the device is less active. It'll sleep and only
listen for transmissions at a set interval (e.g. every 100ms).

Hold Mode -- Hold mode is a temporary, power-saving mode where a device sleeps for a defined
period and then returns back to active mode when that interval has passed. The master can
command a slave device to hold.

Park Mode -- Park is the deepest of sleep modes. A master can command a slave to "park", and
that slave will become inactive until the master tells it to wake back up.

Bonding and Pairing

When two Bluetooth devices share a special affinity for each other, they can be bonded together.
Bonded devices automatically establish a connection whenever they're close enough. When I
start up my car, for example, the phone in my pocket immediately connects to the car's Bluetooth
system because they share a bond. No UI interactions are required!
Bonds are created through one-time a process called pairing. When devices pair up, they share
their addresses, names, and profiles, and usually store them in memory. The also share a
common secret key, which allows them to bond whenever they're together in the future.

Pairing usually requires an authentication process where a user must validate the connection
between devices. The flow of the authentication process varies and usually depends on the
interface capabilities of one device or the other. Sometimes pairing is a simple "Just Works"
operation, where the click of a button is all it takes to pair (this is common for devices with no
UI, like headsets). Other times pairing involves matching 6-digit numeric codes. Older, legacy
(v2.0 and earlier), pairing processes involve the entering of a common PIN code on each device.
The PIN code can range in length and complexity from four numbers (e.g. "0000" or "1234") to a
16-character alphanumeric string.

Power Classes

The transmit power, and therefore range, of a Bluetooth module is defined by its power class.
There are three defined classes of power:

[13] What is active RFID? Describe two applications of active RFID. How is active
RFID different from passive RFID? Describe two applications of passive RFID?

Active RFID vs. Passive RFID: What’s the Difference?

Short Answer:

Passive RFID systems use tags with no internal power source and instead are powered by the
electromagnetic energy transmitted from an RFID reader. Passive RFID tags are used for
applications such as access control, file tracking, race timing, supply chain management, smart
labels, and more. The lower price point per tag makes employing passive RFID systems
economical for many industries.

Active RFID systems use battery-powered RFID tags that continuously broadcast their own
signal. Active RFID tags are commonly used as “beacons” to accurately track the real-time
location of assets or in high-speed environments such as tolling. Active tags provide a much
longer read range than passive tags, but they are also much more expensive.
Long Answer:

Passive RFID

Generally speaking, three main parts make up in a passive RFID system – an RFID reader or
interrogator, an RFID antenna, and RFID tags. Unlike active RFID tags, passive RFID tags only
have two main components – the tag’s antenna and the microchip or integrated circuit (IC).

As the name implies, passive tags wait for a signal from an RFID reader. The reader sends
energy to an antenna which converts that energy into an RF wave that is sent into the read zone.
Once the tag is read within the read zone, the RFID tag’s internal antenna draws in energy from
the RF waves. The energy moves from the tag’s antenna to the IC and powers the chip which
generates a signal back to the RF system. This is called backscatter. The backscatter, or change
in the electromagnetic or RF wave, is detected by the reader (via the antenna), which interprets
the information.

As mentioned above, passive RFID tags have no internal power source, and a standard passive
RFID tag consists only of an IC and internal antenna; this basic structure is commonly referred to
as an RFID inlay. Countless other types of passive RFID tags exist on the market, but all tags
generally fall into two categories – inlays or hard tags. Hard RFID tags are durable and made of
plastic, metal, ceramic and even rubber. They come in all shapes and sizes and are typically
designed for a unique function, material, or application.

A few different groups work to further divide passive hard tags; however, some tags will exist
within two or more groups.

High Temperature – Certain industries, like healthcare, track the number of cycles that
instruments undergo in punishing autoclaves. Specific passive RFID tags are designed to
withstand extreme temperatures and accommodate for those types of applications, among others.

Rugged – Applications in outdoor environments or tough warehouses need a tag that can
withstand snow and ice, dust and debris, or even the crushing forces felt under a tractor wheel.
For these applications, a highly rugged passive tag is needed to make the application successful.
Size – Some applications have specific size constraints when tracking small or large items. Size
is one of the more important questions to answer when choosing an RFID tag because there are
many different sizes available.

Materials – If an application requires tracking metal assets, UHF metal-mount tags may be
the only option. These tags are specifically designed to mitigate the problems UHF RFID faces
around metal.

Embeddable – If tagging an item becomes a problem for specific applications due to significant
wear and tear, embeddable tags can fit in small crevices and be covered in epoxy so the RFID tag
is out of harm’s way.

A roll of Passive RFID inlays

Inlays are usually the cheapest RFID tags costing as low as $0.12 per tag in high volumes, but
the price does not affect the performance. These inlays are grouped into three main types:

Dry Inlays – An RFID microchip (IC) and antenna attached to a material or substrate called a
web. These inlays look like they have been laminated and come standard with no adhesive.

Wet Inlays – An RFID microchip (IC) and antenna attached to a material, usually PET or PVT,
with an adhesive backing. Most of the time these inlays are clear and can be peeled off their roll
and immediately stuck on an item.

Paper Face Tags – These are essentially wet inlays with a white paper or poly face. These are
ideal for applications that need printed numbers or logos on the front for identification.
Passive RFID tags do not all operate at the same frequency. There are three main frequencies
within which passive RFID tags operate. The frequency range, along with other factors, strongly
determines the read range, attachment materials, and application options.

125 – 134 KHz – Low Frequency (LF) – An extremely long wavelength with usually a short read
range of about 1 – 10 centimeters. This frequency is typically used with animal tracking because
it is not affected much by water or metal.

13.56 MHz – High Frequency (HF) & Near-Field Communication (NFC) – A medium
wavelength with a typical read range of about 1 centimeter up to 1 meter. This frequency is used
with data transmissions, access control applications, DVD kiosks, and passport security –
applications that do not require a long read range.

865 – 960 MHz – Ultra High Frequency (UHF) – A short, high-energy wavelength of about a
one meter which translates to long read range. Passive UHF tags can be read from an average
distance of about 5 – 6 meters, but larger UHF tags can achieve up to 30+ meters of read range in
ideal conditions. This frequency is typically used with race timing, IT asset tracking, file
tracking, and laundry management as all these applications typically need more than a meter of
read range.

As a general rule, higher frequencies will have shorter, higher-energy wavelengths and, in turn,
longer read ranges. Moreover, the higher the frequency, generally speaking, the more issues
an RFID system will have around non-RFID-friendly materials like water and metal.

Pros of Passive RFID:

Smaller tags

Much cheaper tags

Thinner/more flexible tags

Higher range of tag options

Tags can last a lifetime without a battery (depending on the wear and tear)

Active RFID

There are two main frequencies used by active systems – 433 MHz and 915 MHz. User
preference, tag selection, or environmental considerations usually dictate which frequency to use
for most applications. Companies generally favor RFID systems that operate on the 433 MHz
because it has a longer wavelength enabling it to work a little better with non-RF friendly
materials like metal and water.

Active RFID systems have three essential parts – a reader or interrogator, antenna, and a tag.
Active RFID tags possess their own power source – an internal battery that enables them to have
extremely long read ranges as well as large memory banks.

Example of an extremely rugged Active RFID tag

Typically, active RFID tags are powered by a battery that will last between 3 – 5 years, but when
the battery fails, the active tag will need to be replaced. As the active tag market matures,
replaceable batteries will be a cost saving option. The system’s functionality depends entirely on
the type of tag chosen for the application.

Essentially, two different types of active RFID tags are available – transponders and beacons.

Transponders – In a system that uses an active transponder tag, the reader (like passive systems)
will send a signal first, and then the active transponder will send a signal back with the relevant
information. Transponder tags are very efficient because they conserve battery life when the tag
is out of range of the reader. Active RFID transponders are commonly used in secure access
control and in toll booth payment systems.

Beacons – In a system that uses an active beacon tag, the tag will not wait to hear the reader’s
signal. Instead, true to its name, the tag will ‘beacon’, or send out its specific information every 3
– 5 seconds. Beacon tags are very common in the oil and gas industry, as well as mining and
cargo tracking applications. Active tag’s beacons can be read hundreds of meters away, but, in
order to conserve battery life, they may be set to a lower transmit power in order to reach around
100 meters read range.

Tasked with weathering harsh environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures and
moisture, most active RFID tags are encased in a rugged shell. Because of the size of the
enclosed battery, circuitry, and bulk of a durable exterior, active RFID tags are usually much
larger than passive tags. Also, some active tags may have on-board sensors that track
environmental parameters. These sensors can track moisture levels, temperature, and other key
identifiers that a company can use for their application.

An example of a hardshell Active RFID tag

All these additional features translate to increased costs for the customer, but the return on
investment of a system may far outweigh the initial costs. The prices of active RFID tags range
anywhere from $20 to $100+ depending on the tag’s ability to withstand harsh conditions and
other key functional features of the tag. Given the required investment of an active RFID system,
active tags are usually reserved for tracking high worth assets or for items where accurate
location tracking is necessary to the success of the system. A few examples of these type of
assets are pipes, cargo containers, and machinery.

While new applications for active RFID systems appear daily, these systems are usually used in
the oil and gas industry, shipping and logistics, construction, mining, and high-value
manufacturing.

Pros of Active RFID Tags:

Extremely Long Read Range

Increased tag abilities with partnered technologies (GPS, sensors, etc.)

Extremely Rugged tag options

WHAT APPLICATIONS IS EACH TYPE OF TAG USED FOR?

PASSIVE RFID
Because passive tags have the lowest cost of these three types, they are commonly used to tag
high volumes of items in applications that will not require long read ranges. Because passive tags
utilize multiple frequencies, that result in different tag performance, their applications also differ
by frequency.

Passive Low Frequency (125 kHz) tags have very short read ranges but very good penetration of
liquids and moist materials. They are commonly used for animal tracking (livestock and pets) as
well as in car immobilizers (the tag is embedded in the key).

Passive High Frequency (13.56 MHz) tags have also quite short read ranges (around few inches)
and also good penetration of liquids and moist materials. They are perhaps most used tags in
general as they are used for access control cards. Another application is tagging pharmaceuticals,
library books or laundry. Lately you have probably heard about NFC (Near Field
Communication), which is a type of RFID and also utilizes High Frequency and some of the
same standards. NFC is widely used for touchless payment. You can find examples of HF and
NFC tags here.

Passive Ultra High Frequency (860-960 MHz) tags have the longest read ranges of all passive
tags (up to 15 feet, sometimes more) but do not penetrate water or moist materials. They are
most commonly used for inventory control and supply chain management of goods, parts and
materials, and for case and pallet tracking in retail, manufacturing, pharma, logistics, military
and other industries. Passive tags are also used for asset management that includes computer and
IT asset tracking, furniture, equipment, uniform and laundry tracking; and returnable asset
management in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and other industries. Passive tags can be also
used for personnel tracking, patient tracking and event management. Passive tags in very small
form factors can be also used for anti-counterfeiting. Within passive UHF there are also Near
Field tags that utilize the near field and these have read ranges only a few inches. Their
advantage is usage of same protocols and frequency as far-field UHF combined with good
penetration of liquids and moist materials and short read range. Great examples of passive UHF
tags are here and here.

Passive Microwave Frequency (2.45 GHz) tags are the least common within the passive family,
however, they are used for inventory tracking and various applications that do not require long
read ranges but have a need for very fast data transfer rates. This frequency is more commonly
used for active RFID applications.
ACTIVE RFID

Active RFID tags are the most expensive of the three types, however, they also provide the
longest read range counted in hundreds of feet and they are best used for high value assets.
Because they have a transmitter within a tag, the signal is very strong and can bounce and reflect
off of surrounding materials, therefore this technology provides very reliable reading over long
distances and in difficult environments.

Active RFID tags most often come in two frequencies and their performance differs mainly by
the data transfer rate (the higher the frequency the faster the rate), memory, sensors and usage.

Active tags that are most often used (and deployed by the U.S. military) are the ones operating at
433 MHz, under the ISO18000-7 protocol. These tags are used to track pallets and containers as
well as large military assets. In commercial sector, these tags are used in logistics, tracking land
and ocean containers, vehicles and other large and high value assets.

Active Microwave Tags (2.45 GHz) are often used for toll collection as well as Real Time
Location Systems (RTLS) for locating assets within a facility such as a warehouse, a hospital, or
an office building.
There are active tags that utilize also other frequencies, which are much less common. Some tags
use UHF frequency (915 MHz) for active technology and they are used for logistics and
container tracking, personnel tracking and asset location.

Active RFID tags due to the presence of the battery can carry sensors (such as temperature,
humidity, or intrusion), LEDs, buttons and perform various functions. Such tags are used for
temperature tracking in refrigerated trucks for transporting produce and frozen goods,
temperature tracking of lab samples and pharmaceuticals, or intrusion tracking in sealed
containers. They can be used for picking – the tag’s LED lights up when item is to be picked –
this can be used for logistics, pharmacy operations, etc.

SEMI-PASSIVE RFID

Semi-passive or BAP tags often use UHF frequency and protocols that are same as passive UHF,
therefore, they can be read by regular passive UHF interrogators. The advantage is longer read
range and also possibility of sensors, most often a temperature sensor, as well as higher memory
than passive tags. You can see some great examples here. These tags are often used to track high
value assets, track and monitor temperature sensitive products like perishable foods and
pharmaceuticals, during transportation and storage, and track chemicals and other industrial
products.

No matter your application, there is a suitable RFID technology for you. If you’d like help with
picking the right one, let us know! Check back for next post that will go into Active RFID
applications more in detail!
RFID Technology and Its Applications

AUGUST 16, 2015 BY ADMINISTRATOR LEAVE A COMMENT

RFID is abbreviation of Radio Frequency Identification. RFID signifies to tiny electronic

gadgets that comprise of a small chip and an antenna. This small chip is competent of
accumulating approx 2000 bytes of data or information. RFID devices is used as a substitute of
bar code or a magnetic strip which is noticed at the back of an ATM card or credit card, it gives a
unique identification code to each item. And similar to the magnetic strip or bar code, RFID
devices too have to be scanned to get the details (identifying information).

A fundamental advantage of RFID gadgets above the other stated devices is that the RFID device
is not required to be placed exactly near to the scanner or RFID code reader. As all of us are well
aware of the difficulty which store billers face while scanning the bar codes and but obviously
the credit cards & ATM cards need to be swiped all though a special card reader. In comparison
to it, RFID device can function from few feet away (approx 20 feet for high frequency devices)
of the scanner machine.

[14] Explain three limitations of IPv4 that are overcome by IPv6. You have a
communication application that uses sockets in IPv4, what are the steps you need to
follow to port this application from IPv4 to IPv6

Chapter 15 Transitioning From IPv4 to IPv6

As hosts and routers are upgraded to support IPv6, they must be able to interoperate over the
network with the nodes (hosts and routers) that support only IPv4. This chapter provides an
overview of the approach and the standardized solutions to transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6. RFC
1933 also provides detailed solutions to the transition problem.

"Transition Requirements"

"Standardized Transition Tools"

"Site Transition Scenarios"

"Other Transition Mechanisms"

Transition Requirements

The transition does not require any global coordination. Instead, it allows sites and Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) to transition at their own pace. Furthermore, an effort has been made to
minimize the number of dependencies during the transition. For instance, the transition does not
require that routers be upgraded to IPv6 prior to upgrading hosts.

Different sites have different constraints when transitioning. Also, early adopters of IPv6 are
likely to have different concerns than production users of IPv6. RFC 1933 defines the transition
tools currently available. The driving force for transition is either the lack of IPv4 address space
or required use of new features in IPv6, or both. The IPv6 specification requires 100%
compatibility for the existing protocols and applications during the transition.

To understand the transition approaches, the following terms have been defined.

IPv4-only node - A host or router that implements only IPv4. An IPv4-only node does not
understand IPv6. The installed base of IPv4 hosts and routers existing before the transition
begins are IPv4-only nodes.

IPv6/IPv4 node - A host or router that implements both IPv4 and IPv6, also known as dual stack

IPv6-only node - A host or router that implements IPv6, and does not implement IPv4

IPv6 node - Any host or router that implements IPv6. IPv6/IPv4 and IPv6-only nodes are both
IPv6 nodes.

IPv4 node - Any host or router that implements IPv4. IPv6/IPv4 and IPv4-only nodes are both
IPv4 nodes.
Site - Piece of the private topology of the Internet, that is, topology that does not carry transit
traffic for anybody and everybody. The site can span a large geographic area. For instance, the
private network on a multinational corporation is one site.

Standardized Transition Tools

RFC 1933 defines the following transition mechanisms:

When you upgrade your hosts and routers to IPv6, they retain their IPv4 functionality to provide
compatibility for all IPv4 protocols and applications. These hosts and routers are known as dual
stack.

They use the name service (for example, DNS) to carry information about which nodes are IPv6
capable.

IPv6 address formats can contain IPv4 addresses.

You can tunnel IPv6 packets in IPv4 packets as a means of crossing routers that have not been
upgraded to IPv6.

Implementing Dual Stack

The dual stack term normally refers to a complete duplication of all levels in the protocol stack
from applications to the network layer. An example of this would be OSI and TCP/IP protocols
running on the same machine. However, in the context of IPv6 transition, it means a protocol
stack contains both IPv4 and IPv6, with the rest of the stack being identical. Consequently, the
same transport protocols (TCP, UDP, and so on) and the same applications will run over both
IPv4 and IPv6.

The following figure illustrates dual stack protocols through the OSI layers.
Figure 15-1 Dual Stack Protocols

In the dual stack approach, subsets of both hosts and routers are upgraded to support IPv6, in
addition to IPv4. This ensures that the upgraded nodes can always interoperate with IPv4-only
nodes by using IPv4. Thus, upgrading from IPv4 to dual stack does not break anything.

Configuring Name Services

A dual node must determine if the peer can support IPv6 or IPv4 in order to know which IP
version to use when transmitting. Controlling what information goes in the name service
accomplishes this. You define an IPv4 node's IP address and the IPv6 node's IP address in the
name service. Thus, a dual node has both addresses in the name service.

However, the presence of an IPv6 address in the name service also signifies that the node is
reachable, using IPv6 from all nodes that get information from that name service. For example,
placing an IPv6 address in NIS implies that the IPv6 host is reachable using IPv6 from all IPv6
and dual nodes that belong to that NIS domain. Placing an IPv6 address in global DNS requires
that the node is reachable from the Internet IPv6 backbone. This is no different than in IPv4
where, for example, mail delivery and HTTP proxy operation depend on there being only IPv4
addresses for nodes that can be reached using IPv4. When no reachability exists in IPv4, for
instance, due to firewalls, the name service must be partitioned into an inside firewall and
outside firewall database so that IPv4 addresses are visible only where they are reachable.

The protocol used to access the name service (DNS, NIS, NIS+, or something else) is
independent of the type of address that can be retrieved from the name service. This name
service support, coupled with dual stacks, allows a dual node to use IPv4 when communicating
with IPv4-only nodes and use IPv6 when communicating with IPv6 nodes, provided that there is
an IPv6 route to the destination.

Using IPv4 Compatible Address Formats

In many cases you can represent a 32-bit IPv4 address as an 128-bit IPv6 address. The transition
mechanism defines the following two formats.

IPv4 compatible address

000 ... 000

IPv4 Address

IPv4 mapped address

000 ... 000

0xffff

IPv4 Address

The compatible format is used to represent an IPv6 node. This format enables you to configure
an IPv6 node to use IPv6 without having a real IPv6 address. This address format lets you
experiment with different IPv6 deployments because you can use automatic tunneling to cross
IPv4-only routers. However, you cannot configure these addresses using the IPv6 stateless
address autoconfiguration mechanism. This mechanism requires existing IPv4 mechanisms such
as DHCPv4 or static configuration files.

The mapped address format is used to represent an IPv4 node. The only currently defined use of
this address format is part of the socket API. It is convenient for an application to have a
common address format for both IPv6 addresses and IPv4 addresses by representing an IPv4
address as a 128-bit mapped address. However, these addresses can also be used when there are
IPv4 to IPv6 protocol translators.

[15] What is WiMax (Wireless broadband)? How is it different from WiFi (Wireless
LAN)?

wireless broadband (WiBB)

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

WhatIs.com

What is wireless broadband (WiBB)?

Wireless broadband is high-speed Internet and data service delivered through a wireless local
area network (WLAN) or wide area network (WWAN).

As with other wireless service, wireless broadband may be either fixed or mobile. A fixed
wireless service provides wireless Internet for devices in relatively permanent locations, such as
homes and offices. Fixed wireless broadband technologies include LMDS (Local Multipoint
Distribution System) and MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service) systems for
broadband microwave wireless transmission direct from a local antenna to homes and businesses
within a line-of-sight radius. The service is similar to that provided through digital subscriber
line (DSL) or cable modem but the method of transmission is wireless.

A mobile broadband service provides connectivity to users who may be in temporary locations,
such as coffee shops. Mobile broadband works through a variety of devices, including portable
modems and mobile phones, and a variety of technologies including WiMAX, GPRS, and LTE.
Mobile broadband does not rely on a clear line of sight because connectivity is through the
mobile phone infrastructure. Mobile devices can connect from any location within the area of
coverage. WiMAX supports both fixed and mobile wireless and is often predicted to become the
standard for wireless broadband.
In the United States, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides
for funding to stimulate broadband adoption, with an emphasis on wireless broadband. The
Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) was created to promote broadband
access in unserved and underserved areas. Because such areas are typically remote or rural,
deploying wired technology is much more difficult and expensive than wireless.

Wireless broadband is sometimes abbreviated as WiBB and is also known as "broadband

wireless."

Wireless vs. Wi-Fi: What is the difference between Wi-Fi and WLAN?

Learn the differences between WLAN (Wireless LAN) and a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) and why
knowing the difference between networking protocols is so important, from our expert Tessa
Parmenter.

WiMAX is similar to the wireless standard known as Wi-Fi, but on a much larger scale and at
faster speeds. A nomadic version would keep WiMAX-enabled devices connected over large
areas, much like today’s cell phones. We can compare it with Wi-Fi based on the following
factors.

IEEE Standards

Wi-Fi is based on IEEE 802.11 standard whereas WiMAX is based on IEEE 802.16. However,
both are IEEE standards.

Range

Wi-Fi typically provides local network access for a few hundred feet with the speed of up to 54
Mbps, a single WiMAX antenna is expected to have a range of up to 40 miles with the speed of
70 Mbps or more. As such, WiMAX can bring the underlying Internet connection needed to
service local Wi-Fi networks.
Scalability

Wi-Fi is intended for LAN applications, users scale from one to tens with one subscriber for each
CPE device. Fixed channel sizes (20MHz).

WiMAX is designed to efficiently support from one to hundreds of Consumer premises

equipments (CPE)s, with unlimited subscribers behind each CPE. Flexible channel sizes from
1.5MHz to 20MHz.

Bit rate

Wi-Fi works at 2.7 bps/Hz and can peak up to 54 Mbps in 20 MHz channel.

WiMAX works at 5 bps/Hz and can peak up to 100 Mbps in a 20 MHz channel.

Quality of Service

Wi-Fi does not guarantee any QoS but WiMax will provide your several level of QoS.

As such, WiMAX can bring the underlying Internet connection needed to service local Wi-Fi
networks. Wi-Fi does not provide ubiquitous broadband while WiMAX does.

Internet access has become a standard feature on most of our mobile devices. But there’s more
than one way to connect to the Web with those devices these days. In this article, we’ll help you
determine what you need in order to get started with each of these technologies and explain a bit
about why you would want to choose one over the other or perhaps go with both.

Mobile Broadband
The term “mobile broadband” (3G/4G) covers two versions of the same technology. Both are
capable of delivering a reliable Web connection to your mobile broadband-capable device of
choice from coast to coast (depending on your carrier’s coverage area).

4G is the newest speed tier of mobile broadband, and as you may guess, it provides you with the
fastest downloads and Web access. The downside of 4G is that it’s generally only available in
major cities at the moment. On the flip side, 3G coverage is available nearly everywhere in the
U.S. 3G’s speed is typically fast enough to stream audio, video chat, and download email
attachments in minutes. The extra speed of 4G allows for faster Web downloads and for
streaming high-quality video.

To get running with a mobile brotadband network, you’ll need a mobile broadband subscription
with a wireless carrier or a pay-as-you-go service, and one of the following: a device with
embedded mobile broadband (only available on select notebooks and devices), a USB-based
mobile broadband device, a USB-based mobile hotspot device, or a mobile phone with a limited
or unlimited data plan.

What Mobile Broadband Can Do For You

1. Listen to streaming music or watch TV shows while you commute to work.

2. Look up a map and get detailed directions if you ever get lost.

3. Access your email whether you’re in the office or on the road.

4. Download the latest pageturner from your favorite author right from the beach.

Chapter-5
[16] In GSM network, there are some databases used for
various purposes.What are these databases? What are their
functions?
GSM network databases contain lists of subscribers, devices, services,
and other Identifiable items that may be used by the GSM system. Some
of the key GSM network databases include a master subscriber database
(home location register), temporary active user subscriber database
(visitor location register), unauthorized or suspect user database
(equipment identity register), billing database, and authorization and
validation center (authentication).

Home Location Register - HLR - is a subscriber database containing

each customer’s international mobile subscriber identity - IMSI and
international mobile equipment identifier - IMEI to uniquely identify
each customer. The HLR holds each customer’s user profile, which
includes the selected long distance carrier, calling restrictions, service
fee charge rates, and other selected network options.

Visitor Location Register - VLR - contains a subset of a subscriber’s

HLR information for use while a mobile telephone is active on a
particular MSC. The VLR holds both visiting and home customers’
information. The user's required HLR information is temporarily stored
in the VLR memory and then erased, either when the wireless telephone
registers with another MSC or in another system, or after a specified
period of inactivity.

Equipment Identity Register - EIR - is a database that contains the

identity of telecommunications devices (such as wireless telephones)
and the status of these devices in the network (such as authorized or not-
authorized). The EIR is primarily used to identify wireless telephones
that may have been stolen or have questionable usage patterns that may
indicate fraudulent use.

Authentication Center - AuC - The authentication center (AuC) stores

and processes information that is required to validate the identity
("authenticate") of a wireless telephone before service is provided.

SMS Center - SMSC - receives, stores, delivers, and confirms receipt of

short messages.
Group Call Register - GCR - is a network database that holds a list of
group members and the attributes that allow the set-up and processing of
calls to and from group members. The GCR holds the membership lists,
account features, priority authorization and the current location of group
members.

The Network switching system (NSS), the main part of which is the Mobile Switching Center
(MSC), performs the switching of calls between the mobile and other fixed or mobile network
users, as well as the management of mobile services such as authentication.
The switching system includes the following functional elements:

Home Location Register (HLR)

The HLR is a database used for storage and management of subscriptions. The HLR is
considered the most important database, as it stores permanent data about subscribers, including
a subscriber's service profile, location information, and activity status. When an individual buys
a subscription in the form of SIM, then all the information about this subscription is registered in
the HLR of that operator.

Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC)

The central component of the Network Subsystem is the MSC. The MSC performs the switching
of calls between the mobile and other fixed or mobile network users, as well as the management
of mobile services such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call
routing to a roaming subscriber. It also performs such functions as toll ticketing, network
interfacing, common channel signaling, and others. Every MSC is identified by a unique ID.

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

The VLR is a database that contains temporary information about subscribers that is needed by
the MSC in order to service visiting subscribers. The VLR is always integrated with the MSC.
When a mobile station roams into a new MSC area, the VLR connected to that MSC will request
data about the mobile station from the HLR. Later, if the mobile station makes a call, the VLR
will have the information needed for call setup without having to interrogate the HLR each time.

Authentication Center (AUC)

The Authentication Center is a protected database that stores a copy of the secret key stored in
each subscriber's SIM card, which is used for authentication and ciphering of the radio channel.
The AUC protects network operators from different types of fraud found in today's cellular
world.

Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

The Equipment Identity Register (EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid mobile
equipment on the network, where its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) identifies
each MS. An IMEI is marked as invalid if it has been reported stolen or is not type approved.

GSM Network Architecture

The GSM network architecture consists of different elements including Base Station Subsystem
BSS, Network & Switching Subsystem NSS, Operation & Support Subsystem as well as
elements including- MSC, AuC, HLR, VLR, etc.

The GSM network architecture provided a simple and yet effective architecture to provide the
services needed for a 2G cellular system.

There were four main elements to the overall GSM network architecture and these could often be
further split. Elements like the base station controller, MSC, AuC, HLR, VLR and the like are
brought together to form the overall system.

The 2G GSM network architecture, although now superseded gives an excellent introduction into
some of the basic capabilities required to set up a mobile phone network and how all the entities
operate together.
GSM network architecture elements

In order that the GSM system operates together as a complete system, the overall network
architecture brings together a series of data network identities, each with several elements.

The GSM network architecture is defined in the GSM specifications and it can be grouped into
four main areas:

Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS)

Base-Station Subsystem (BSS)

Mobile station (MS)

Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

The different elements of the GSM network operate together and the user is not aware of the
different entities within the system.

As the GSM network is defined but he specifications and standards, it enables the system to
operate reliably together regardless of the supplier of the different elements.

[18] What is handover/handoff? How is handoff different from roaming?

Definition - What does Handoff mean?

A handoff refers to the process of transferring an active call or data session from one cell in a
cellular network to another or from one channel in a cell to another. A well-implemented handoff
is important for delivering uninterrupted service to a caller or data session user.

In Europe and other countries, a handoff is known as a handover.

Techopedia explains Handoff

Cellular networks are composed of cells, each of which is capable of providing

telecommunications services to subscribers roaming within them. Each cell can only serve up to
a certain area and number of subscribers. Thus, when any of these two limits is reached, a
handoff ensues.

For instance, if a subscriber moves out of the coverage area of a particular cell while entering
another, a handoff takes place between the two cells. The cell that served the call prior to the
handoff is relieved of its duties, which are then transferred to the second cell. A handoff may
also be triggered when the number of subscribers using a particular cell has already reached the
cell’s maximum limit (capacity).

Such a handoff is possible because the reach of the cell sites serving these cells can sometimes
overlap. Thus, if a subscriber is within an overlapping area, the network may opt to transfer one
subscriber's call to the cell involved in the overlap.

Sometimes a handoff can take place even if no limit is breached. For example, suppose that a
subscriber initially inside the jurisdiction of a large cell (served by an umbrella-type cell site)
enters the jurisdiction of a smaller cell (one served by a micro cell). The subscriber can be
handed off to the smaller cell in order to free up capacity on the larger one.
Handoffs may be classified into two types:

Hard Handoff: Characterized by an actual break in the connection while switching from one cell
or base station to another. The switch takes place so quickly that it can hardly be noticed by the
user. Because only one channel is needed to serve a system designed for hard handoffs, it is the
more affordable option. It is also sufficient for services that can allow slight delays, such as
mobile broadband Internet.

Soft Handoff: Entails two connections to the cell phone from two different base stations. This
ensures that no break ensues during the handoff. Naturally, it is more costly than a hard handoff

Roaming and Handoff

Posted on December 23, 2015 by sree — 0

Roaming and Handoff are technical words in telecommunication world.Now a days these are
very popular these words both in communication field and normal life.So knowlede with this
simple technical word is very important.

* What is the roaming ?

When we going to knowing this roaming before we want to know basical telecommunication
happening in a simple wireless device (Typically cellphone/Mobile).Mobile/cell phones are
working with the help of radio signals.Electromagnetic Radio signal has very low frequencies.So
they are using Cellular network system.In Cellular network system our earth is divided as
different cells for making good quality of calls and data services.This Cell system will help to
getting good quality of radio signal transmitting and receiving process.Modern mobile telephone
services use a cellular networks So its name comes as cell phone.
Working

……….

When we are using mobile /cell phone our input data for example voice converts to
electromagnetic signal.A microchip (Sim card) inside the phone will converts this
electromagnetic signal number of strings (binary digits 0 and 1).This packed up numbers are
mixed with electromagnetic signal are send to air by antenna.This signal will receive in local
tower.This local tower will send our information to nearest Base station .From the base station,
the calls are routed onward to their destination.Base station will help that signal to find out the
destination phone.And basestation will send this signal to nearest tower located at destination
phone.And this tower will receive the signal and this local tower will send this signal to
destination point.And sim card decode the information in signal it will give output.

Roaming

……….

In roaming we are away from our base station so signal strength is very low.so our cellphone will
try to connect nearest base station this one is not our home station .So cell phone is automatically
founding base station nearer to cellphone. This process is known as hands off/handover.Simply
our cellphone is handed over to another base station.So they will make some charges for this
service.

Roaming is a general term that refers to the extending of connectivity service in a location that is
different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the
wireless device keeps connected to the network, without losing the connection.
Cellular Handover / Handoff

- a summary or tutorial about the basics of cellular handover or handoff occurs with mobile
phone networks, including hard, soft and softer handover or handoff.

The concept of a cellular phone system is that it has a large number base stations covering a
small area (cells), and as a result frequencies are able to be re-used.

Cell phone systems also provide mobility. As a result it is a very basic requirement of the system
that as the mobile handset moves out of one cell to the next, it must be possible to hand the call
over from the base station of the first cell, to that of the next with no discernable disruption to the
call.

There are two terms for this process: cellular handover is used within Europe, whereas cellular
handoff is the term used in North America.

The handover or handoff process is of major importance within any cellular telecommunications
network. It is necessary to ensure it can be performed reliably and without disruption to any
calls.

Failure for it to perform reliably can result in dropped calls, and this is one of the key factors that
can lead to customer dissatisfaction, which in turn may lead to them changing to another cellular
network provider. Accordingly handover or handoff is one of the key performance indicators
monitored so that a robust cellular handover / handoff regime is maintained on the cellular
network.

Handover basics

Although the concept of cellular handover or cellular handoff is relatively straightforward, it is

not an easy process to implement in reality. The cellular network needs to decide when handover
or handoff is necessary, and to which cell. Also when the handover occurs it is necessary to re-
route the call to the relevant base station along with changing the communication between the
mobile and the base station to a new channel. All of this needs to be undertaken without any
noticeable interruption to the call. The process is quite complicated, and in early systems calls
were often lost if the process did not work correctly.

Different cellular standards handle hand over / handoff in slightly different ways. Therefore for
the sake of an explanation the example of the way that GSM handles handover is given.

There are a number of parameters that need to be known to determine whether a handover is
required. The signal strength of the base station with which communication is being made, along
with the signal strengths of the surrounding stations. Additionally the availability of channels
also needs to be known. The mobile is obviously best suited to monitor the strength of the base
stations, but only the cellular network knows the status of channel availability and the network
makes the decision about when the handover is to take place and to which channel of which cell.

Accordingly the mobile continually monitors the signal strengths of the base stations it can hear,
including the one it is currently using, and it feeds this information back. When the strength of
the signal from the base station that the mobile is using starts to fall to a level where action needs
to be taken the cellular network looks at the reported strength of the signals from other cells
reported by the mobile. It then checks for channel availability, and if one is available it informs
this new cell to reserve a channel for the incoming mobile. When ready, the current base station
passes the information for the new channel to the mobile, which then makes the change. Once
there the mobile sends a message on the new channel to inform the network it has arrived. If this
message is successfully sent and received then the network shuts down communication with the
mobile on the old channel, freeing it up for other users, and all communication takes place on the
new channel.

Under some circumstances such as when one base transceiver station is nearing its capacity, the
network may decide to hand some mobiles over to another base transceiver station they are
receiving that has more capacity, and in this way reduce the load on the base transceiver station
that is nearly running to capacity. In this way access can be opened to the maximum number of
users. In fact channel usage and capacity are very important factors in the design of a cellular
network.
Cellular handover or cellular handoff are performed by all cellular telecommunications networks,
and they are a core element of the whole concept of cellular telecommunications. There are a
number of requirements for the process. The first is that it occurs reliably and if it does not, users
soon become dissatisfied and choose another network provider in a process known as "churn".
However it needs to be accomplished in the most efficient manner. Although softer handoff is
the most reliable, it also uses more network capacity. The reason for this is that it is
communicating with more than one sector or base station at any given instance. Soft handover is
also less efficient than hard handover, but again more reliable as the connection is never lost.

It is therefore necessary for the cellular telecommunications network provider to arrange the
network to operate in the most efficient manner, while still providing the most reliable service

Definition

In cellular communications, the handoff is the process of transferring an active call or data
session from one cell in a cellular network or from one channel to another. In satellite
communications, it is the process of transferring control from one earth station to another.
Handoff is necessary for preventing loss of interruption of service to a caller or a data session
user. Handoff is also called handover.
Situations for triggering Handoff

Handoffs are triggered in any of the following situations −

If a subscriber who is in a call or a data session moves out of coverage of one cell and enters
coverage area of another cell, a handoff is triggered for a continuum of service. The tasks that
were being performed by the first cell are delineating to the latter cell.

Each cell has a pre-defined capacity, i.e. it can handle only a specific number of subscribers. If
the number of users using a particular cell reaches its maximum capacity, then a handoff occurs.
Some of the calls are transferred to adjoining cells, provided that the subscriber is in the
overlapping coverage area of both the cells.

Cells are often sub-divided into microcells. A handoff may occur when there is a transfer of
duties from the large cell to the smaller cell and vice versa. For example, there is a traveling user
moving within the jurisdiction of a large cell. If the traveler stops, then the jurisdiction is
transferred to a microcell to relieve the load on the large cell.

Handoffs may also occur when there is an interference of calls using the same frequency for
communication.

Types of Handoffs

There are two types of handoffs −

Hard Handoff − In a hard handoff, an actual break in the connection occurs while switching from
one cell to another. The radio links from the mobile station to the existing cell is broken before
establishing a link with the next cell. It is generally an inter-frequency handoff. It is a “break
before make” policy.

Soft Handoff − In soft handoff, at least one of the links is kept when radio links are added and
removed to the mobile station. This ensures that during the handoff, no break occurs. This is
generally adopted in co-located sites. It is a “make before break” policy.
Mobile Assisted Handoff

Mobile Assisted Handoff (MAHO) is a technique in which the mobile devices assist the Base
Station Controller (BSC) to transfer a call to another BSC. It is used in GSM cellular networks.
In other systems, like AMPS, a handoff is solely the job of the BSC and the Mobile Switching
Centre (MSC), without any participation of the mobile device. However, in GSM, when a mobile
station is not using its time slots for communicating, it measures signal quality to nearby BSC
and sends this information to the BSC. The BSC performs handoff according to this information.

Difference Between Handoff Vs Handover in Tabular Form

A handoff refers to the process of transferring an active call or data session from one cell in a
cellular network to another or from one channel in a cell to another

A handover is a process in telecommunications and mobile communications in which a

connected cellular call or a data session is transferred from one cell site (base station) to another
without disconnecting the session.

Handoff Handover

Three types of handoff are:

1.) NCHO

2.) MCHO

3.) MAHO Three types of handoff are:

1.) Soft handover

2.) Hard handover

3.) Softer handover

In NCHO (network controlled handoff), the network makes the decision. It is used in AMPS.
In hard handover (break before make) the mobile connects only to a single base station at
a time.

In MCHO(Mobile controlled handoff), the mobile decides for itself:

(a) Forward: the mobile initiates Handoff and sends the request to the new AP.

(b) Backward: the mobile initiates Handoff and sends the request to the old AP. In soft
handover (make before break) the mobile receives from and transmits to multiple base stations
simultaneously.

In MAHO (mobile assisted handoff), the mobile provides data for network to make the decision.
It is used in GSM and IS-95 CDMA. Softer handover is a situation where one base station
receives two user signals from two adjacent sectors it serves through multipath propagation.

Handoff is the process that occurs when a mobile is “handed over” from one access point to
another, i.e., the access point which the mobile is using changes. Handover is the transference
of authority, control, power or knowledge from one base station to another.

Chapter-6
[19] What are various strengths of SMS? Explain all of them. *Also, state what are the
applications areas where these strengths can be used|?

SMS has several advantages. It is more discreet than a phone conversation, making it the ideal
form for communicating when you don't want to be overheard. It is often less time-consuming to
send a text message than to make a phone call or send an e-mail. SMS doesn't require you to be
at your computer like e-mail and instant messaging (IM) do -- although some phones are
equipped for mobile e-mail and IM services. SMS is also a convenient way for deaf and hearing-
impaired people to communicate.

SMS is a store-and-forward service, meaning that when you send a text message to a friend, the
message does not go directly to your friend's cell phone. The advantage of this method is that
your friend's cell phone doesn't have to be active or in range for you to send a message. The
message is stored in the SMSC (for days if necessary) until your friend turns his cell phone on or
moves into range, at which point the message is delivered. The message will remain stored on
your friend's SIM card until he deletes it.

In addition to person-to-person messages, SMS can be used to send a message to a large number
of people at a time, either from a list of contacts or to all the users within a particular area. This
service is called broadcasting and is used by companies to contact groups of employees or by
online services to distribute news and other information to subscribers.

In a 2004 University of Plymouth study on the psychology of SMS users, researchers found that
mobile phone users were primarily either "texters" or "talkers." Compared to the talkers, the
texters sent nearly double the number of SMS messages and made less than half as many voice
calls per month. The texters preferred SMS to voice calls for its convenience as well as for the
ability to review a message before sending it.

Companies have come up with many uses for the service beyond just your typical person-to-
person message. Because SMS doesn't overload the network as much as phone calls, it is
frequently used by TV shows to let viewers vote on a poll topic or for a contestant. As a
promotional tool, wireless carriers put up giant screens- at concerts and other large-scale events
to display text messages from people in the audience.

You can use text messaging subscription services to get medication reminders sent to your
phone, along with weather alerts, news headlines or even novels broken into 160-character
"chapters." Internet search engines such as Yahoo! and Google have short messaging services
that enable users to get information such as driving directions, movie showtimes or local
business listings just by texting a query to the search engine's phone number. Social networking
services such as Dodgeball use SMS to alert people who live in big cities when their friends or
crushes are nearby. The possibilities for integrating SMS into your lifestyle seem endless.

Next, we'll discuss the disadvantages of SMS and look at some alternative communication
technologies.

SMS HISTORY

SMS was created during the late 1980s to work with a digital technology called GSM (global
system for mobile communications), which is the basis for most modern cell phones. The
Norwegian engineers who invented it wanted a very simple messaging system that worked when
users' mobile phones were turned off or out of signal range. Most sources agree that the first
SMS message was sent in the UK in 1992.

As SMS was born in Europe, it's not surprising that it took a little longer to make its way to the
United States. Even today, texting enjoys much greater popularity in Europe, though its stateside
use is on the rise. A July 2005 study found that 37 percent of U.S. mobile phone owners had sent
or received at least one text message in the previous

What are SMS and MMS and How do They Differ?

There are so many different ways to send text messages today that regardless of whether you use
an iPhone or an Android, you’ve probably used multiple texting applications. You’ve also
probably heard of different acronyms like SMS and MMS and come across popular mobile text
messaging apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, and WeChat. We discuss what each of these terms
mean and the differences in the technologies powering them. In particular, we’ll cover:

How SMS and MMS differ

Examples of OTT applications like iMessage and WhatsApp

The differences between SMS and OTT apps

What drives app popularity in different parts of the world

Commercial applications of texting

SMS and MMS: What are the differences and similarities?

SMS stands for Short Message Service. Invented in the 1980s and defined in the 1985 GSM
standards, it is one of the oldest texting technologies. It is also the most widespread and
frequently used.

MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It was built using the same technology as SMS
to allow SMS users to send multimedia content. It’s most popularly used to send pictures, but
can also be used to send audio, phone contacts, and video files.

Because SMS and MMS are sent over a cellular network, they only require a wireless plan from
cellular carriers to get started. Standard SMS messages are limited to 160 characters per
message. If a message exceeds this limit, it is broken up into multiple segments of 160 characters
each, depending on its length. Most carriers today automatically chain these messages together to
ensure they arrive in the order they are sent. Unlike SMS, MMS messages do not have a standard
limit. While their maximum size depends on the carrier and the device receiving the message,
300 KB is often mentioned as the largest size most carriers will reliably handle.

What are iMessage, WhatsApp, and other OTT applications?

iMessage, Whatsapp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and other messaging applications are often
referred to as “Over The Top” (OTT) applications. They’re called this because they do not
require a cellular network connection, and use IP (internet protocols) instead. To send and
receive texts using these apps, your device needs to be connected to the internet, either over WiFi
or via a mobile internet connection.
iMessage is exclusively available on iOS and works through the Messages app on the iPhone.
While composing a text message, iOS automatically uses iMessage if it detects that the
recipient’s phone number is used with an iPhone. Otherwise, it falls back to regular SMS.

To use WhatsApp, WeChat, and other OTT apps you need to download the respective
application from the app store. Once installed, these apps will identify every phone number in
your contact list that uses the same application and allow you to send messages and multimedia
to those contacts. Some, like WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger can also make audio
and video calls.

How do iMessage, Whatsapp, and other OTT applications differ from SMS?

Because OTT applications and SMS use completely different protocols to send messages, each
has different platform and network requirements. OTT applications require an internet
connection while SMS needs a mobile network connection. And while OTT apps need to be
downloaded from iOS or Android app stores, SMS is supported by all modern mobile phones. As
a result, each has its own relative advantages and disadvantages.

SMS is a universal technology supported by every single mobile network and device today. All
you need to start texting over SMS is another person’s phone number. This makes SMS a
popular channel for businesses to communicate with customers because it is more immediate
than email and doesn’t require any additional app downloads. OTT apps, on the other hand, are
‘walled gardens.’ Someone using WhatsApp can’t text someone else using WeChat. They both
need to be using the same apps.

OTT apps are preferred over MMS for sharing multimedia files since they don’t have the same
file size limitations. They also have more features like group messaging, message broadcasting,
and audio and video calling. And most importantly, OTT apps are —unlike SMS— free to use.

SMS and MMS: Global Usage

As mentioned above, SMS is most popular in the US since most carriers offer plans with
unlimited texting, making SMS free or nearly free to use. iMessage is a close second because of
the large number of iPhone users in the country. Texting has exploded over the last decade to the
point where we’re currently witnessing over 6 billion SMS messages sent daily in the US alone.
Annual MMS traffic in the US increased from 57 billion to 96 billion messages from 2010 to
2013. And with no significant costs to hold them back, we’re seeing US smartphone owners aged
18 to 24 send an average of 67 texts a day.

Unlimited texting plans are less common in other parts of the world. This is the primary reason
why messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat gained such a significant foothold in these
markets. WhatsApp is by far the most popular messaging application in the world today, with
more than 1 billion people using it at least once a month. Person-to-person SMS usage in
countries like India and Brazil — where mobile operators rarely offer unlimited texting plans —
has been largely replaced by the free-to-use WhatsApp.

Resembling WhatsApp, WeChat also needs to be installed from the app store and has similar
communications capabilities. It’s extremely popular in China, having amassed almost 500
million users to date. Like WhatsApp, WeChat was able to displace SMS because it is free to
use.

Commercial applications of SMS

People are spending a significant amount of time on their phones these days: the average
American adult uses a mobile device nearly 3 hours every day. Since much of this time is spent
texting, many businesses have correctly surmised that SMS is one of the most effective channels
for businesses to reach new and existing customers.

People simply prefer to communicate with businesses by text. The higher open and response
rates — 90% of all text messages are read within 3 seconds — make SMS marketing even more
attractive, especially when used in the context of customer service. For example, hospitals and
clinics are successfully using SMS to send alerts and appointment reminders. And e-commerce
and logistics companies are using it to provide customers with delivery notifications. For routine
customer service channel inquiries, many businesses rely on automated workflows and hand off
more sensitive requests to human customer service agents.
Twilio is your SMS Marketing partner

Twilio offers a comprehensive suite of developer-friendly APIs to help you easily add
communications capabilities such as SMS, voice and video to your applications and mobile
marketing solutions. Twilio manages the complexity of the global carrier network to provide
industry-leading message deliverability, allowing you to maximize conversion. You can also
easily add new features like automated response handling or new channels like voice and push
notifications, allowing your marketing platform to respond to and evolve with the preferences of
your audience. This way, you'll have the right conversation at the right time, every time.

Interested in learning more? Here are additional resources for your consideration.

[20] Explain the difference between SM MT and SM MO?

1. What is an MO message?

The term MO message stands for “mobile originated” messaging. This type of message refers to
a message sent from a mobile phone. More precisely, this is a message that customer/subscriber
sends from mobile phone to mobile marketing and mobile SMS provider through the SMS
platform.

This means that MO message is the first step in the SMS marketing journey after marketer
informs people/customers they can participate and win or get some benefit by sending a message
with a specific keyword to a dedicated short code or virtual number.

For instance, if pizza restaurant wants to reward its loyal customers with special discount SMS
voucher, it can organize and market this SMS marketing campaign by sending SMS info to those
customers who have already opted in to receive notifications from their favourite pizza place. Or
it can share the update via its social media profiles, or even advert on its walls. The next step is
MO message, coming from the customer who wants to participate. He needs to send a keyword
to a specific number to participate and win.
Example:

Step 1: Marketing message sent via SMS or promoted through other online/offline marketing
channels:

“Send PIZZA to 1234 for 20% off your next order!”

Step 2: Customer sends MO message consisting of:

Keyword: PIZZA

Shortcode: 1234

The whole point is that mobile originated message originates from the phone and is being sent to
the system via shortcode or specific virtual number.

2. What is an MT message?

The term MT message stands for “mobile terminated” message. This means that MT message is
being terminated on the mobile phone or, to put it simply, this is a message sent from mobile
SMS provider system to subscriber’s mobile phone. So this message is terminated at the mobile
phone; hence the name mobile terminated. This type of SMS message can be triggered by MO
message as a response to a specific action taken by the customer sending MO message to the
system. Once the system receives customer’s mobile originated message (keyword PIZZA sent
to short code 1234), the shortcode sends back a new message to customer’s phone. This is a
mobile terminated (MT) message.
In the use case we used previously, when a customer sends keyword PIZZA to 1234 (shortcode),
this MO message triggers the response message (mobile terminated / MT message) carrying
discount SMS voucher and information like: “Show this voucher for 20% off your next order.”

To conclude, the whole process starts with mobile originated (MO) message and ends with
mobile terminated (MT) message.

If you want to learn more about the MO/MT message types, read our blog post about A2P SMS
Messaging for Enterprises.

remium SMS - MO and MT Messages aka Mobile Originated and Mobile Terminated

What is the difference between MO (Mobile Originated) and MT (Mobile Terminated)

messages?

MO: refers to a message being sent in from a mobile handset. The message is ORIGINATED at
the mobile/cellphone end.

MT: refers to a message being sent to a mobile handset. The message is TERMINATED at the
mobile/cellphone end.

In addition to this there are the terms MO Billing and MT Billing.

Certain networks and countries operate billing in different ways. Some support only MT billing;
others only MO billing (also referred to as MO Billed Messages).
MT billed refers to when the transaction is confirmed when the message hits the handset, e.g. it
terminates at the mobile.

MO billed refers to when the transaction is confirmed when the message leaves the mobile and
hits the shortcode, e.g. it originates from the mobile.

Advantages of MT Billing

- Can run subscription services.

- In the event of insufficient available fund for pre-paid users the billing transaction will simply
be rejected, this opens up possibilities to

retry billing the user in the future, increasing revenues.

- MT billing can sometimes, depending on regulations open up possibilities for different types of
opt-in, e.g. pin based opt-in / wap based

opt-in / MSISDN billing.

Advantages of MO billing

- Can increase consumer confidence in markets, knowing that they will only be billed one-off,
and reducing complaints. In litigious MT billed

countries, markets are increasingly complicated, for example insisting on double opt-in
sometimes even for transactional services, or

limiting the amount of premium MT messages you can send.

- You are in a good position to identify if you will receive the money from the operators without
having to use delivery reports. The carriers
 check to see if the user has the credit balance available to send the premium message before
passing you the MO.

- As the MT is returned to the user at a premium charge, there is no direct cost to you to send this
SMS. With MO billed countries there can

be a charge to return the standard rate message.

- You don't necessarily have to return a standard rate MT to the user, although it is often required
by clients to deliver the service the user

has paid for. See http://clients.txtnation.com/entries/216133-mbill-account-balance-not-

showing-all-incoming-transactions if you are

operating in an MO billed country, and not returning an MT.

Other billing types

There are other variances of MO and MT billed, which are adopted in different countries
worldwide. See http://clients.txtnation.com/entries/163712-all-products-what-are-the-sms-
billing-types-available-what-are-mt-mo-no-do-io-mf-lc for more detail.

SMS MO and MT call flow

As we know SMS has become everyone's daily need.In this article we will know MO and MT
SMS call flow.

Let us assume that MS-A is sending SMS to MS-B as shown in the figure. SMS delivery will go
through two phases before it is finally delivered. The phase of SMS travelling from originating
mobile subscriber A to SMSC is referred as MO(Mobile Originated) call and the phase from
SMSC to mobile subscriber B is referred as MT(Mobile Terminated) call w.r.t. SMS.
SMS Mobile Originated and terminated Call Flow

The diagram below depicts message flow or signals between various network elements when
SMS is sent from MS-A to MS-B.

Behind this SMS, there are basic protocols such as SS7(Signaling System No.7) and
SMPP(Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol). SS7 supports communication between core
network elements. SMPP is used in IP domain. SMPP is responsible for communication between
SMS center(SMSC) and ESME(e.g. service provider/content provider).

Following are the steps for entire SMS process from originating mobile(MO) to terminating
mobile(MT).
• The SMS-SUBMIT is the MO FSM message(Mobile originating forward short message)
which is between origin MSC and origin SMSC.

• The message received by SMSC is acknowledged to the origin subscriber MS-A by SMS-
SUBMIT REPORT. The MS-A gets indication message as "message sent" from origin SMSC.

• Origin SMSC gets the required information from HLR regarding destination MSC/VLR to
route the SMS. This information is obtained by SRI SM request(Send Routing information for
short message). HLR responds the required information to origin SMSC in RESP message.

• After receiving the routing information origin SMSC delivers the message to respective
destination MSC/VLR, which in turn delivers the SMS to MS-B. The same is indicated in the
figure by MT-FSM and MT-FSM ACK.

• Once the SMS is delivered to the MS-B, MS-A gets indication message as "message delivered"
OR "message succeddfully delivered". The same is mentioned by SMS-STATUS REPORT in
the figure.

Please note that connection from MS-A and MS-B is with the BTS as shown and BTS is
connected with BSC and BSC is interfaced with the MSC.

Testing Mobile Originated and Mobile terminated SMS using Agilent 8960

MO SMS TEST from mobile subscriber:

AT+CMGS=20 <PRESS ENTER>

>0001000491214300150B48692074686572652E2E2E <PRESS ctrl+shift+Z>

Agilent 8960 displays message received.

Following are the steps to perform MT SMS TEST from Agilent 8960:

• click short message service

• click point to point

• click send message, it will display sending

• finally Agilent 8960 should get message status as "Acknowledged by DUT"

For detail kindly download Agilent manual and refer.