Optimising Data Transmission in Heterogeneous Sensor Networks

Authors: M. Hammerton, J. Trevathan, T. Myers, W. Read

Abstract:

The transfer rate of messages in distributed sensor network applications is a critical factor in a system's performance. The Sensor Abstraction Layer (SAL) is one such system. SAL is a middleware integration platform for abstracting sensor specific technology in order to integrate heterogeneous types of sensors in a network. SAL uses Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) as its connection method, which has unsatisfying transfer rates, especially for streaming data.  This paper analyses different connection methods to optimize data transmission in SAL by replacing RMI.  Our results show that the most promising Java-based connections were frameworks for Java New Input/Output (NIO) including Apache MINA, JBoss Netty, and xSocket. A test environment was implemented to evaluate each respective framework based on transfer rate, resource usage, and scalability. Test results showed the most suitable connection method to improve data transmission in SAL JBoss Netty as it provides a performance enhancement of 68%.

Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, remote method invocation, transmission time.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1087784

References:

[1] M. Stonebraker, U. Çetintemel, and S. Zdonik, "The 8 requirements of real-time stream processing," ACM SIGMOD Rec., vol. 34, pp. 42-47, 2005.
[2] G. Gigan and I. Atkinson, "Sensor Abstraction Layer: a unique software interface to effectively manage sensor networks," in Third International Conference Intelligent Sensors, Sensor Networks and Information Processing (ISSNIP 07), Melbourne, Australia, 2007.
[3] C. Huddlestone-Holmes, G. Gigan, and I. Atkinson, "Infrastructure for a sensor network on Davies Reef, Great Barrier Reef," in 3rd International Conference Intelligent Sensors, Sensor Networks and Information Processing (ISSNIP 07) Melbourne, Australia: IEEE Xplore, 2007.
[4] J. Trevathan, H. Ghodosi, and T. Myers, "Efficient Batch Authentication for Hierarchical Wireless Sensor Networks," in Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Intelligent Sensors, Sensor Networks and Information Processing (ISSNIP 2011), Adelaide, Australia, 2011, pp. 217-222.
[5] J. Trevathan, I. Atkinson, W. Read, N. Bajema, Y. J. Lee, R. Johnstone, and A. Scarr, "Developing Low-Cost Intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks for Aquatic Environments," in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Intelligent Sensors, Sensor Networks and Information Processing (ISSNIP'10) Brisbane, Australia, 2010, pp. 13- 18.
[6] S. P. Ahuja and R. Quintao, "Performance evaluation of Java RMI: a distributed object architecture for Internet based applications," in Modeling, Analysis and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, 2000. Proceedings. 8th International Symposium on, 2000, pp. 565-569.
[7] W. R. Cook and J. Barfield, "Web Services versus Distributed Objects: A Case Study of Performance and Interface Design," in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Web Services: IEEE Computer Society, 2006.
[8] C. Demarey, G. Harbonnier, R. Rouvoy, and P. Merle, "Benchmarking the round-trip latency of various java-based middleware platforms," Studia Informatica Universalis Regular Issue, vol. 4, pp. 7-24, 2005.
[9] M. Juric, I. Rozman, B. Brumen, M. Colnaric, and M. Hericko, "Comparison of performance of Web services, WS-Security, RMI, and RMI SSL," Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 79, pp. 689-700, 2006.
[10] G. Aloisio, D. Conte, C. Elefante, G. P. Marra, G. Mastrantonio, and G. Quarta, "Globus Monitoring and Discovery Service and SensorML for Grid Sensor Networks," in Proceedings of the 15th IEEE International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises, Manchester, United Kingdom 2006, pp. 201-206.
[11] S. Heinzl and M. Mathes, Middleware in Java: Leitfaden Zum Entwurf Verteilter Anwendungen: Vieweg+ teubner Verlag, 2005.
[12] T. Lee. (2011) Rapid Network Application Development with Apache MINA(Online).Available: http://developers.sun.com/learning/j avaoneonlin e/2008/pdf/TS-4814.pdf