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SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks

Networking is an interesting field that is always evolving as new technologies that connect the world are adopted. There are many distinct types of networks, each of which is classified in a different way. One categorization is based on cellular wireless network generations, which have progressed fr...

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Main Author: Ashipala, Aili Kanee
Other Authors: Falowo, Olabisi
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Electrical Engineering 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Ashipala, Aili Kanee
author2 Falowo, Olabisi
author_browse Ashipala, Aili Kanee
Falowo, Olabisi
author_facet Falowo, Olabisi
Ashipala, Aili Kanee
author_sort Ashipala, Aili Kanee
collection Thesis
description Networking is an interesting field that is always evolving as new technologies that connect the world are adopted. There are many distinct types of networks, each of which is classified in a different way. One categorization is based on cellular wireless network generations, which have progressed from 1G to 5G. Several additional interconnected technologies have emerged as networking has progressed. SDN (Software Defined Networking) is a significant networking technology that represents a new paradigm. SDN distinguishes between the data and control planes and allows software-controlled networking for a wide range of applications. Cellular networks are critical for sending digital data from mobile or stationary senders to mobile or stationary receivers in wireless networks. Cellular networks are currently experiencing a data explosion because of the ever-increasing bandwidth demands of today's mobile applications. This has resulted in traffic congestion and a scarcity of resources. The network must handle a high volume of traffic and serve many customers, which may result in poor service quality for users. A single access network struggles to handle such a tremendous volume of traffic. Operators of cellular networks are attempting to alleviate the problem by offloading mobile data from cellular networks to complementary networks like Wi-Fi. However, without centralized control, traffic offloading may not significantly improve overall network load balancing, network usage, or users' quality of experience. This dissertation proposes a traffic offloading and load balancing algorithm between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, to enhance the overall utilization of cellular network. The proposed algorithm uses an SDN controller for making decisions of offloading users from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network and to balance the load across access points. The algorithm makes use of the SDN controller's view in making decisions. Simulation results obtained show that the proposed data offloading scheme improves load distribution and throughput.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:56.154Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Department of Electrical Engineering
publisherStr Department of Electrical Engineering
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/36973 SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks Ashipala, Aili Kanee Falowo, Olabisi Electrical Engineering Networking is an interesting field that is always evolving as new technologies that connect the world are adopted. There are many distinct types of networks, each of which is classified in a different way. One categorization is based on cellular wireless network generations, which have progressed from 1G to 5G. Several additional interconnected technologies have emerged as networking has progressed. SDN (Software Defined Networking) is a significant networking technology that represents a new paradigm. SDN distinguishes between the data and control planes and allows software-controlled networking for a wide range of applications. Cellular networks are critical for sending digital data from mobile or stationary senders to mobile or stationary receivers in wireless networks. Cellular networks are currently experiencing a data explosion because of the ever-increasing bandwidth demands of today's mobile applications. This has resulted in traffic congestion and a scarcity of resources. The network must handle a high volume of traffic and serve many customers, which may result in poor service quality for users. A single access network struggles to handle such a tremendous volume of traffic. Operators of cellular networks are attempting to alleviate the problem by offloading mobile data from cellular networks to complementary networks like Wi-Fi. However, without centralized control, traffic offloading may not significantly improve overall network load balancing, network usage, or users' quality of experience. This dissertation proposes a traffic offloading and load balancing algorithm between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, to enhance the overall utilization of cellular network. The proposed algorithm uses an SDN controller for making decisions of offloading users from a cellular network to a Wi-Fi network and to balance the load across access points. The algorithm makes use of the SDN controller's view in making decisions. Simulation results obtained show that the proposed data offloading scheme improves load distribution and throughput. 2023-02-22T11:51:21Z 2023-02-22T11:51:21Z 2022 2023-02-20T12:13:18Z Master Thesis Masters MSc (Eng) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36973 eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering
Ashipala, Aili Kanee
SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
thesis_degree_str Master's
title SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
title_full SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
title_fullStr SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
title_full_unstemmed SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
title_short SDN-Enabled Data Offloading and Load Balancing In WLAN and Cellular Networks
title_sort sdn enabled data offloading and load balancing in wlan and cellular networks
topic Electrical Engineering
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36973
work_keys_str_mv AT ashipalaailikanee sdnenableddataoffloadingandloadbalancinginwlanandcellularnetworks