Abstract: Well-known port numbers can no longer be used to reliably identify network applications. There is a variety of new Internet applications that either do not use well-known port numbers or use other protocols, such as HTTP, as wrappers in order to go through firewalls without being blocked. One consequence of this is that a simple inspection of the port numbers used by flows may lead to the inaccurate classification of network traffic. In this work, we look at these inaccuracies in detail. Using a full payload packet trace collected from an Internet site we attempt to identify the types of errors that may result from port-based classification and quantify them for the specific trace under study. To address this question we devise a classification methodology that relies on the full packet payload. We describe the building blocks of this methodology and elaborate on the complications that arise in that context. A classification technique approaching 100% accuracy proves to be a labor-intensive process that needs to test flow-characteristics against multiple classification criteria in order to gain sufficient confidence in the nature of the causal application. Nevertheless, the benefits gained from a content-based classification approach are evident. We are capable of accurately classifying what would be otherwise classified as unknown as well as identifying traffic flows that could otherwise be classified incorrectly. Our work opens up multiple research issues that we intend to address in future work.

Abstract: Few studies have investigated the quantitative relationship between port ownership structure and port efficiency with mixed results. This study applies a stochastic frontier model proposed by Battese and Coelli [Battese, G.E., Coelli, T.J., 1995. A model for technique inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier production function for panel data. Empirical Economics 20, 325–332], which incorporates the inefficiency effect, to show whether port privatization is a necessary strategy for ports to gain a competitive advantage. While this stochastic frontier model has been used to a wide number of industries where the technical inefficiency effect is required, this method has rarely been employed to port industry. This study also investigates the determinants of port competitiveness. Both the principal component analysis (PCA) and the linear regression model are used to examine the effects of identified key factors on port competitiveness. Based on a sample of selected container terminals around the world, the results of this study have shown that private sector participation in the port industry to some extent can improve port operation efficiency, which will in turn increase port competitiveness. Another important determinant of port competitiveness is the adaptability to the customers’ demand. All these results provide some policy implications and guidance for port authorities and port operators in formulating effective strategies to improve their competitiveness vis-a-vis rivals.

Abstract: This study utilizes a wide range of new source materials to reconstruct the day-to-day operations of the port of Canton during the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries Using a bottom-up approach, it provides a fresh look at the successes and failures of the trade by focusing on the practices and procedures rather than on the official policies and protocols

Abstract: In an apparatus and method for providing device sharing, a first plurality of upstream ports are each connectable to a respective host and at least one downstream port is connectable to a device. A virtual port is defined that is associated a routing table to effect device virtualization by redirection of information packets received by the virtual port.

Abstract: The Port Autonome de Liege, with its 26 kilometres of berths and several multimodal platforms, plays an important role in the Walloon and Belgian economy. This update paper gives an extensive overview of the economic importance and the latest developments of the Port Autonome de Liege, through revised results for the period 1997 - 2003. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, it also provides some information about the financial situation of a few vital sectors. An indication concerning the financial health of the companies studied is also provided, using the National Bank's bankruptcy prediction model. In addition, it includes figures of several cargo traffics and draws a picture of social developments in the Port Autonome de Liege. Annual accounts data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects of these port activities are estimated in terms of value added (VA) and employment, on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. In the Liege harbour's network, direct VA came to 1 billion euro and total VA - the sum of direct and indirect VA - to 2 billion euro in 2003. In the same year direct and total employment respectively attained 12,400 and 28,500 fulltime equivalents, while investment directly linked with the port fell to 121 million euro. The position of the Port Autonome de Liege as the second largest inland port in Europe is threatened by the planned closure of the Cockerill Sambre's blast furnaces. This will take place gradually but will be completed by 2009. 2,700 direct and 4,500 indirect jobs are concerned, as well as 8 million tonnes of transhipment. However new spaces will be opened up, which means that new businesses will be created in the port area. New development sites are under construction and will soon be operative. An overall restructuring of the Liege harbour's network is under way and constitutes the main challenge for the Port Autonome de Liege's authorities in the next five years. In spite of this climate of uncertainty, the Port Autonome de Liege is striving to establish itself as a major logistic centre in the region, able to add value to the goods passing through it, in order to withstand the climate of increasing regional and international competition.

Abstract: This paper quantifies the evolution of technical efficiency in port infrastructure service provision in the major Spanish port authorities involved in container traffic. The paper also analyzes the extent to which port reforms that took place in the 1990's had an impact on the efficiency of the Spanish container ports. Because of the multi-output nature of port activities, we have estimated a distance function, which is a novel methodology in the study of the port industry. The results show that the reforms resulted in significant improvements in technological change, but that technical efficiency has in fact changed little on average. However, there is a significant movement of the efficiency within ports over time as a result of these reforms.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a container transport and loading system. The system generally comprises a load port for presenting articles to a tool and a container transport system. In one embodiment, the load port includes a vertically movable FOUP advance plate assembly that is adapted to load and unload a FOUP from a conveyor that passes by the load port and move the FOUP horizontally. In another embodiment, the load port includes a vertically movable support structure that is adapted to load and unload a container from a shuttle that passes by the load port. The various embodiments of the load port and container transport system are improvements over conventional container transport systems. The present invention also includes a shuttle for simultaneously transporting multiple containers that a load port may load or unload a container from.

Abstract: This paper explores the notion that cruise ships can be conceptualized as spaces of containment. The cruise ships that perhaps best exemplify containment are ‘super-sized’ cruise ships. In this paper, super-sized cruise ships are defined as vessels that can accommodate more than 2,000 tourists. These ships are built for the purpose of revenue capture. In fact, they could be viewed as travel destinations since they have become places where many tourists are inclined to spend their time and money. Tourists on board a super-sized cruise ship may also have the opportunity to spend time and money at a private island or beach operated by the cruise-ship company. There are several cruise-ship companies that have rented or purchased private islands and beaches in the Caribbean that serve as port destinations for cruise ships. These islands and beaches, similar to super-sized cruise ships, are spaces of containment. Tourists, it should be noted, are not the only individuals who experience containment. There are al...

Abstract: The Flemish maritime ports play a major role in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of the industries they encompass but also as intermodal centres where transhipment activities are concentrated. This update1 paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, through revised results for the period 1997 - 2003. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, it also provides some information about the financial situation of a few vital sectors in each port. A global indication concerning the financial health of the companies studied is also provided, using the NBB bankruptcy prediction model. In addition, it includes figures with respect to the ongoing growth of several cargo traffic segments and provides an overall picture of social developments in the Flemish maritime ports. The indirect effects of these port activities are estimated in terms of value added and employment. Annual account data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects were estimated on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. In the Flemish maritime ports, direct VA came to almost 11.5 billion euro and total VA - the sum of direct and indirect VA - to 22 billion euro in 2003. In the same year direct and total employment reached respectively 105,000 and 239,000 full-time equivalents, while direct investment reached 2.5 billion euro. The ongoing developments in the maritime ports sector in the Hamburg - Le Havre range continue to affect the port operations: concentration of capital, privatisation of port logistic services, expansion and dispersion of foreign trade, internationalisation of production and consumption patterns, increase in containerised shipments, etc. Production, trade and transport are no longer considered as individual and isolated activities, but are integrated within a single system, while economies of scale continue. Therefore, ports are becoming real logistic centres: ports able to add value to the goods passing through the port area have a major advantage in a climate of increasing international competition. Flemish ports are following this trend, and that is also reflected in the analysis presented in this report.

Abstract: The fundamental objective of the Container Security Initiative (CSI) is to engage both so-called ‘mega-ports’ (ports sending the highest volume of ocean going container traffic into the US) and the national governments where these ports are located in a way that will facilitate the pre-screening of outbound containers destined to the US. The emerging issue of security as a key factor in global supply chains can be perceived as inconsistent with the objective of facilitating international trade (Dulbecco and Laporte, 2003). However, this perception does not stand up to analysis. Security is an evident part of the mainstream supply-chain paradigm while security can also become a driver for trade facilitation. The purpose of this paper is therefore to discuss the impact of the US CSI on maritime supply chains. The first section will mostly be related to the issue of security and supply chains while the second section will investigate CSI and its impact while exploring some of the financing implications of th...

Abstract: In AD 42, the Emperor Claudius initiated work on the construction of a new artificial harbour a short distance to the north of the mouth of the Tiber. The harbour facilities were enlarged at the instigation of the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the second century AD, and Portus remained the principal port for the City of Rome into the Byzantine period. The surviving archaeological remains and comments by ancient sources make it clear that Portus lay at the heart of Rome's maritime facade. As well as being a key Mediterranean centre for passengers and for the loading, unloading, transshipment and storage of products from across the Empire, it was also designed to make an ideological statement about the supremacy of Rome in the world. Portus is, thus, of key importance to understanding Rome and her relationship to the Empire. The project that forms the subject of this book was designed to use non-destructive techniques of topographic and geophysical survey in combination with systematic surface collection to provide a new understanding of the plan of Portus. The work was undertaken between 1997 and 2002 as a collaboration between the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di Ostia, the British School at Rome, and the Universities of Southampton, Durham and Cambridge. This volume presents the full results of the survey and uses them as the basis for a re-evaluation of the whole port complex. The geophysical survey results are interpreted in the context of earlier work at the site in order to offer new perspectives on the character and development of the site.

Abstract: The invention relates to a network access controlling method based on network access device port: according to message address information, configuring the processing mode of message passing through the network access device; obtaining the address information of the massage and processing the message according to the obtained address information and corresponding configuration information. It binds user-source MAC address and source IP address with the corresponding port and binds exchanger-supported VLAN ID and the member corresponding to the VLAN ID, thus effectively preventing the illegal user which uses counterfeit source MAC address, source IP address and VLAN ID from viciously accessing or attacking the network. It also makes access limitations on the message entering in the network through the network access device port in view of the destination address of the message, including the network access control of broadcast message, unicast message, multicast message, the message transmitted to the server and the message with specific destination MAC address, and effectively prevents legal user from viciously attacking the network by counterfeiting some destination MAC addresses.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the resources, including operations and information technology that have contributed to the competitive position of the Port of Singapore. We present a detailed discussion of the Port and its resources, and analyze the case using the resource-based view of strategy. A firm with a competitive advantage excels in time, quality, or cost, or a combination of such over its competitors. We argue that a combination of resources including supportive government policies, ample investment, and well thought out operations and information technology along with location and a natural deep harbor to help create a sustainable advantage for the Port. We find that Singapore compensated for some of its natural disadvantages like small land area by successfully applying information technology in critical areas to increase the island's capacity to handle shipping.

Abstract: A sensor node or a control device node is for a home system including a server and a fob. The node includes a household object, and a sensor, control or display device embedded in or substantially within the household object. The sensor, control or display device includes a first wireless port adapted to wirelessly communicate with the server, a second port adapted to communicate with the fob when the fob is proximate to the second port, and a processor operatively associated with the first wireless port and the second port. The processor is adapted to receive proximity information from the second port and responsively communicate with the server through the first wireless port, in order to configure the sensor, control or display device.

Abstract: The paper introduces a mixed integer programming model on the selection of a hub port in the East Coast of South America, among a set of 11 ports that are servicing the regional demand for container transportation. Ports in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are considered, together with several origin/destination ports in the world. The model minimises total system costs, taking into account both port costs (dues and terminal handling charges) and shipping costs (feedering and mainline). In total, the model consists of 3,883 decision variables and 4,225 constraints. It turns up the port of Santos (Brazil) as the optimal single-hub solution, with the port of Buenos Aires (Argentina) as a close runner up. In addition, the model provides tentative estimates of improvements in demand and costs necessary to bring a certain port up to hub status. Despite some bold assumptions and limitations – mainly due to data availability – the model offers a straightforward decision tool to all ports in the world aspiring to achieve hub status and all that comes with it.

Abstract: The network switches and computer readable mediums of the present invention allocate port assignments based on load, that is, the amount of data being forwarded through each port in the group. The load balancing of the present invention is preferably dynamic, that is, packets from a given stream may be forwarded on different ports depending upon each port's current utilization. When a new port is selected to transmit a particular packet stream, it is done so that the packets cannot be forwarded out of order. This is preferably accomplished by ensuring passage of a period of time sufficient to allow all packets of a given stream to be forwarded by a port before a different port is allocated to transmit packets of the same stream. The invention may be used in a variety of different network environments and speeds, including 10Base-T, 100Base-T, and Gigabit Ethernet, and other network environments.

Abstract: A robotic data storage library comprising a virtual port and a method for providing a virtual port for a robotic data storage library are disclosed. The virtual exit port, for example, comprises one or more storage locations of the library that are defined as a virtual port. In one embodiment, for example, the virtual port comprises a virtual exit port for holding a data storage element that is to be exported from the library. In this embodiment, for example, the virtual exit port is defined prior to the library receiving a command to export a data storage element. In another embodiment, the virtual port comprises an entry port, an exit port or an entry/exit port. In yet another embodiment, a method for transferring a data storage element directly between an actual port (entry and/or exit) of a robotic data storage library and another location within the robotic data storage library not defined as the virtual port is disclosed.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for dynamic network access device port and user device configuration are disclosed. According to one method, when a user device is connected to a port of a network access device, the type of user device is determined. The type of user device is used to locate a corresponding port configuration policy. The port to which the device is connected is dynamically configured based on the port configuration policy.

Abstract: The ports of Mediterranean basin have experienced significant growth in container traffic over the last decade. In the western Mediterranean two distinct types of port have emerged: the established ports of the northern part of the basin which serve a gateway function and a set of new ports in the south which act as transhipment hubs. In this paper we explore the dynamics of change and reveal how growth is driven by shifts in individual trades. While the hub ports are integrated into Asian pendulum services, the gateway ports are experiencing growth because of new direct services to Asia and North America. We suggest that the distinctions between the transhipment hubs and the gateway ports are becoming blurred, especially because the gateway ports are also assuming greater transhipment roles. We also explore whether this new dynamism in the Mediterranean ports is reversing the long-standing hinterland domination of the ports of the northern range. We demonstrate that the gateway ports of the western Medit...

Abstract: Goddard takes a number of topics which are of daily concern to people in urban Papua New Guinea and tries to give a viewpoint or an interpretation which is sufficiently nuanced and well described so as to bring the topic from the remote, hostile cold into the perspective of shared human experience. He does this for the troublesome topics of gangs, money-lending, squatter settlements, alcohol related community problems, village courts and the intentions of big men in politics. In almost every chapter I had the feeling of relief that at last someone was trying to account for all the facts, as they really are on the ground.

Abstract: The Flemish maritime ports play a major role in the Belgian economy, not only in terms of the industries they encompass but also as intermodal centres where transhipment activities are concentrated. This update1 paper provides an extensive overview of the economic importance and development of the Flemish maritime ports, through revised results for the period 1997 - 2003. Focusing on the three major variables of value added, employment and investment, it also provides some information about the financial situation of a few vital sectors in each port. A global indication concerning the financial health of the companies studied is also provided, using the NBB bankruptcy prediction model. In addition, it includes figures with respect to the ongoing growth of several cargo traffic segments and provides an overall picture of social developments in the Flemish maritime ports. The indirect effects of these port activities are estimated in terms of value added and employment. Annual account data from the Central Balance Sheet Office were used for the calculation of direct effects, the study of financial ratios and the analysis of the social balance sheet. The indirect effects were estimated on the basis of data from the National Accounts Institute. In the Flemish maritime ports, direct VA came to almost 11.5 billion euro and total VA - the sum of direct and indirect VA - to 22 billion euro in 2003. In the same year direct and total employment reached respectively 105,000 and 239,000 full-time equivalents, while direct investment reached 2.5 billion euro. The ongoing developments in the maritime ports sector in the Hamburg - Le Havre range continue to affect the port operations: concentration of capital, privatisation of port logistic services, expansion and dispersion of foreign trade, internationalisation of production and consumption patterns, increase in containerised shipments, etc. Production, trade and transport are no longer considered as individual and isolated activities, but are integrated within a single system, while economies of scale continue. Therefore, ports are becoming real logistic centres: ports able to add value to the goods passing through the port area have a major advantage in a climate of increasing international competition. Flemish ports are following this trend, and that is also reflected in the analysis presented in this report.

Abstract: Over the past decade many ports, with the exception of the UK and New Zealand ports that were privatised, have introduced private participation in port operations through different forms of concession or lease agreements. One of the most common reasons for private participation was believed to be efficiency gains through the introduction of competition. However, the potential for creating private monopolies in most cases is contentious, because the investment in the cost structure of ports render them natural monopolies; if not dealt with carefully, this could give rise to anti-competitive behaviour. It is normally accepted that terminal operations in the ports of developed countries are contestable due to the size of the markets and the competition with adequately adjacent foreign ports. However, that is not the case in developing countries with low cargo volumes; remote countries that only serve natural hinterlands; and end ports on the north–south routes that are not located on existing major shipping networks. Most of these ports pursue private participation in order to generate funds for investment; increase efficiencies; and ensure cost-effective services. To avoid monopolistic behaviour in such cases, a sound regulatory framework is necessary, but without preventing commercial entrepreneurship. In this article, port reform and the issues regarding concessioning of terminals will be discussed along with the regulation needed, if free market competition does not already exist. The implications of concessioning under such circumstances of regulated competition will be discussed and applied to South Africa as an example.

Abstract: A radio networking system includes at least a first communication port operable to facilitate communication between the radio networking system and a first communication platform. The system further includes at least a second communication port operable to facilitate communication between the radio networking system and a second communication platform. Additionally, a call control software module is operable to automatically and intelligently switch an incoming call from the first communication platform to the second communication platform which is controlled by a processor operable to execute the call control software module according to the information contained in a system configuration database. The call control software module further manages the configuration of call connections and conferencing services and supports real time user control of desired communication services.

Abstract: A network device for implementing mirroring on packets. The network device includes a plurality of ports, each of which is at least one of an ingress port, an egress port and a mirror-to port. The network device also includes processing means for supporting a plurality of mirroring types. Each of the ingress port, egress port and mirror-to port includes at least one register for supporting the plurality of mirroring types. To support mirroring at each of the ingress port, egress port and mirror-to port predefined bits in the at least one register are set. When an incoming packet is received, the predefined bits are examined to determine which of the plurality of mirroring types to apply to the packet.