MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Questions
1. Factors that can affect the transmission, detection, and interference of signals in
both wired networks, and wireless communication networks.
2. Four applications of mobile computing that can benefit from wireless networks and
mobile communications technology.
3. Limitations of mobile technology that the traveling salesman is likely to face while trying to
access the company’s database.
4. Three major Subsystems of the GSM architecture
5. Pull and push mechanisms
 Question 1

a). Factors that can affect the transmission, detection, and interference of signals in both
wired networks, and wireless communication networks.

 Electrical interference: Motorized equipment may all cause electrical interference in

both wired and wireless communication networks. Examples of equipment that can cause
electrical interference to include Computers, refrigerators, fans, lighting fixtures, and
many more. Depending on how close an electrical device is to the network’s access point,
electrical interference will affect the signal differently.
 Signal reflection: Signal reflection, sometimes referred to as Multi-Path Fade
technically, frequently happens in buildings with sophisticated and complicated structural
layouts. When signals are being transmitted from the sender to the receiver, they take
different paths and they can reflect off the surroundings this can cause variations in the
total path lengths that signals take on their journey to the receiver which leads to
interference and affects signal transmission in wireless communication networks mostly.
 Network Range & Distance Between Devices: The signal strength decreases with
increasing distance between networked devices that are attempting to connect. This is
because wireless signals spread out across a larger region as they go farther, and as a
result, the weaker the signal gets as it does so. About the distance between the two
devices, the signal intensity approximately falls in an inverse cubic relationship.

b). Four applications of mobile computing that can benefit from wireless networks and
mobile communications technology.

 Improved Information Accessibility: Information can be quickly and effectively retrieved from
the main information system using mobile computing. Employees can obtain the information they
require to fulfill their jobs thanks to the ability to access central information and conduct fixed or
ad hoc searches of company databases. Mobile computing also makes it possible for all mobile
users to send up-to-date operational data in native digital format to the main fixed information
system. The data from the mobile user can be processed and made available to all other users of
the central information system once it has been delivered to the fixed information system (Hema,
Jayasree, & Shireesha, 2017).
  Transportation and Shipping: A whole transportation fleet's operations may be controlled from
one place using mobile computers, GPS/GIS, and an associated vehicle information system
(VIS). Operators have a two-way connection with the operations center, and the central office is
aware of the whereabouts, conditions, and status of every vehicle. With the aid of this data, it is
possible to deploy cars in the best way possible to optimize efficiency as indicated by time, fuel
consumption, and delivery priority (Hema, Jayasree, & Shireesha, 2017).
 Paging, Communication, and E-mail: Mobile devices make it simple to send and read emails
for any size business or individual. They also enable users to stay in touch with coworkers and
stay informed of any developments that could have an impact on their job and this makes
communication around the world much easier. The ability to browse the internet while using
mobile computing technology gives the user access to a vast amount of knowledge. With the use
of paging, you also increase the possibility of intercommunication between people and use a
single mobile computing device.
 Health Care: Mobile computing improves efficiency on the road or within a hospital. The
mobile healthcare worker has access to patient records for research and may update records with
the most recent information on diagnoses and treatments. Mobile computers can be used by
emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to record vital signs, patient information, and other
crucial information while they are responding to an accident site. Depending on the type and
extent of the injuries, this information is wirelessly relayed to the receiving hospital, which either
makes preparations to accept and treat the patient or recommends another healthcare facility with
better treatment capabilities. Mobile computing makes it possible for medical personnel and
ambulance EMTs to transfer information more effectively, potentially saving lives that may have
been lost (Hema, Jayasree, & Shireesha, 2017).

c). Limitations of mobile technology that the traveling salesman is likely to face while trying to
access the company’s database.

 Power Consumption: Mobile computers' main power supply will be their batteries. In a perfect
world, batteries would be as light as feasible while yet having a longer operating life. To prolong
battery life, power usage should be kept to a minimum. So, if the salesmen haven’t kept the
power usage to the minimum, they might not be able to access the company’s database as their
mobile devices will be off.
 Insufficient Bandwidth: If the salesman wants to access the company’s database, they will need
to have internet access on their mobile device and if they don’t that means they can’t have access.
 Using GPRS, EDGE, and more recently 3G networks, mobile Internet access is typically slower
than direct cable connections. Typically, these networks are accessible through commercial
mobile phone towers. Wireless LANs with higher speeds cost less money but have much shorter
ranges (Deepak & Dr. Pradeep, 2012).
 Security Issues: The salesman is at risk as long as he/she is connected to the internet since their
information might be stolen. Some programs can track their location and the search phrases they
use on numerous websites. If they use their credit/check cards online, their money is also at risk.
Hackers can steal their confidential information from your mobile device, tablet, or PC.
Therefore, it is wiser to avoid storing any of your bank or credit/charge card information on your
portable.
 Location Intelligence: when we are using mobile computers, they come across networks with
various functionalities as they travel about from one place to another. As it goes from indoors to
outdoors, a mobile computer must be able to transition from infrared mode to radio mode. As the
computer goes between urban and rural locations, it should also be able to transition from cellular
mode of operation to satellite mode. If a mobile device is not capable of doing that, it would be a
limitation because the salesman at some point will not have a network to access the company’s
database.

d). Three major Subsystems of the GSM architecture

1. Network Switching Subsystem (NSS)

The GSM system architecture, which is sometimes referred to as the core network, consists of a wide
range of various aspects. It functions as the primary control and interface for the whole mobile network
and is essentially a data network with several different entities (electronicnotes, n.d.). Flow management
and call processing for mobile devices traveling between base stations are provided by the NSS, a GSM
component. The main functions of the NSS are controlling calls, charging which includes collecting
information about a call, mobility management which maintains information about the subscriber’s
location, signaling, and subscriber data handling which is the permanent data storage in the Home
Location Register (HLR). The NSS consists of five different functional units which are;

 Mobile Services Switching Centre (MSC).

 Home Location Register (HLR).
 Visitor Location Register (VLR).
  Equipment Identity Register (EIR.
 Authentication Centre (AuC).

2. Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

It is also sometimes referred to as the "radio subsystem" and it offers and controls radio transmission
pathways between mobile stations and Mobile Switching Centers (MSC). The interface between the
mobile station and all other GSM subsystems is likewise managed by the BSS. There are two components
to it.

 A Base Transceiver Station (BTS) which consists of transceiver units and is responsible for
decoding, encryption, multiplexing, modulating, and feeding the antenna with RF signals.
 Base Station Controller (BSC) which manages all the radio resources for BTS and all frequency
and times slots for mobile stations in the area are assigned by it. Each MS radio's power control is
handled by it, along with call setup, transcoding, and adaptation functionality handover (Team
Ques, 2016).

3. Operation and Support Subsystem (OSS)

The NSS and BSC components are connected to this. The GSM network and BSS traffic load are
primarily managed by the OSS. A few maintenance tasks are transferred to the base transceiver stations
when the number of BS rises as a result of the customer population growing, reducing the system's
financial liability. Having a network overview and assisting various services and maintenance groups
with their routine maintenance plans are the key goals of OSS.

f.) Pull and push mechanisms

1. Pull-based data delivery mechanism

Under a pull-based algorithm, the user device or computing system pulls the data records from the service
provider's application database server or a group of distributed computing systems. On-demand mode
from a group of distributed computing systems, music album servers, ring tones servers, video clips
servers, or bank account activity servers.

How it works

 Records are pulled, and only in response to demand

  The server responds by sending data packets in a selected manner.
 Following customer identification, confirmation, or subscription account review

Pull Bandwidth

1. Depending on the number of pull requests, it is used for the uplink channel.
 Assume that the service provider's application distribution system server can handle 384
kbps and a 19.2 kbps uplink bandwidth.
 At 19.2 kbps, only 20 pull requests may be utilized.
 More pull requests have been sent, resulting in a reduction in connection channel capacity
to 9.8 kbps or 4.8 kbps.
 In a similar vein, if the server is unable to send the answer within an acceptable amount
of time, the service provider's application distribution system will adjust to the bandwidth
needed for servicing the requests (downlink).
2. Threshold places a cap on how many pull requests may be made in a certain amount of time.
 Limits the frequency of server outages
3. a system put in place to bar access when a cell is passed over to another.
 The subscription is terminated or transferred to the new service provider's system during
device handoff.

2. Push-based data delivery mechanism

1. Choose a data record structure to be pushed.

 After organizing data items according to their relative relevance, an algorithm offers a
flexible multi-level method that allows data items to be delivered evenly or not
uniformly.
2. Data is pushed using an adaptive mechanism at predetermined intervals.

 Only pressing once conserves bandwidth

 Pushing at regular intervals is crucial, though, since it gives devices that were not
connected during the last push a chance to cache the data for the next time it is sent.
3. Employing an algorithm, downlink (for pushes) bandwidths
4. All records can be pushed during the same defined intervals, however, often more bandwidth is
provided to records with more subscribers or records with greater access probability.
5. When a gadget is transferred to another cell, a mechanism is also used to cease pushes.
 Question 2

a.) Purposes of Mobile TCP in Mobile computing

 Prevents window shrinking in the event of faults or disconnections
 Enhances the end-to-end packet transfer

b.) Power-aware computing

Energy conservation for message routing from source to destination is the core objective of power-aware
computing. The wireless networks of today's world use many hops to communicate between the nodes. In
this technology, many data transfer protocols are employed. Various routing techniques will use more
battery life. Power-conscious computing has benefited greatly from power-aware routing metrics.

c.) Cache Invalidation mechanisms

The process of "cache invalidation" involves the computer system marking cache entries as invalid and
deleting or replacing them. The main goal of utilizing cache invalidation is to always return the most
recent version of the requested information to the client.

Importance of data cache maintenance

First, cache data maintenance is the act of storing memory and frequently used data so that they may be
utilized later. In addition to this, it speeds up data processing, saving time and money when purchasing or
accessing later.

Importance of web cache maintenance

When the web data is kept at the web server, there are often two ways to maintain the web cache. The
Time to Live approach, which is the first, includes saving data on the computer without needing to start
an offline session every five minutes. The device's web cache may also be kept up to date by storing a
cyclic redundancy check, which ensures that if one record is updated in a cache, the other is likewise
changed in the (CYC) bits across websites. Re-visits are made very quickly, which enhances user
happiness, SEO rankings, and online purchases.
 d.) Data recovery process
 The approach makes advantage of an atomicity-based recovery architecture to guarantee
abortions on begun but uncommitted failed transactions on the log-in fly and durability, which
prevents files committed to transactions from being impacted by recovery failure.
 Transaction commands are then delivered to the database command manager with the assistance
of the recovery manager from the cache.
 Following the database manager's processing of the queries using a database buffer, the
committed transactions are transferred to secondary storage using the flush instructions.
 When the recovery manager notices the outcome operations, it retrieves the previously lost
records from the backup storage by spotting the data during the transaction.

e.) Context-aware

Context-awareness is the capacity of a system or a system component to learn about its surroundings at
any given time and modify behavior accordingly. Software and technology are used in contextual or
context-aware computing to automatically gather and evaluate data to inform replies (Wigmore, 2016).

Context-aware computing

On the other hand, context-aware computing is a sort of computer operation that anticipates user
scenarios or, to put it another way, operates in a manner that is tailored to the context of user activity.
This may refer to the user's actions on the gadget or the actual setting in which they are using it
(Techopedia, 2017). In scenarios where a human relies on a piece of hardware to perform a task, whether
they are indoors or outdoors, in offices or on manufacturing floors, context-aware computing aims to
foresee the ways that computers will require assistance from people. This is a key component in creating
cutting-edge technology for the consumer and corporate sectors of today. Examples of context-aware
computing include how mobile devices can now automatically switch between a vertical and a landscape
orientation based on the user's position and devices that adjust their displays and illumination based on
the level of light in the space where they are being used.
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