| Network awareness, which is defined as the capability of network devices and applications to be aware of network characteristics, is the basis for network quality-of-service (QoS) provisions and network management. The necessity of network awareness in heterogeneous data networks is illustrated by several experimental studies, such as multimedia collaboration, QoS provisioning, and cluster computing in heterogeneous data networks.; Existing techniques of network awareness are studied in three research areas: link-type awareness, link-bandwidth awareness, and service awareness. Considering the limitations and/or unsuitability in their applications to various heterogeneous data networks, original techniques in these areas are presented: (i) fuzzy reasoning for wireless awareness; (ii) accurate bandwidth measurement in digital subscriber line (xDSL) networks; and (iii) service awareness in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET).; A novel piecewise framework for network awareness service (NAS) for efficient integration of various network awareness techniques in heterogeneous data networks is presented. Analytical results on the performance of the piecewise NAS framework demonstrate that it has significant advantages over traditional unitary frameworks in terms of reducing wireless bandwidth consumption and saving battery energy of mobile devices. |
