4 research outputs found
Application of advanced machine learning techniques to early network traffic classification
The fast-paced evolution of the Internet is drawing a complex context which
imposes demanding requirements to assure end-to-end Quality of Service. The
development of advanced intelligent approaches in networking is envisioning
features that include autonomous resource allocation, fast reaction against
unexpected network events and so on. Internet Network Traffic Classification
constitutes a crucial source of information for Network Management, being decisive
in assisting the emerging network control paradigms. Monitoring traffic flowing
through network devices support tasks such as: network orchestration, traffic
prioritization, network arbitration and cyberthreats detection, amongst others.
The traditional traffic classifiers became obsolete owing to the rapid Internet
evolution. Port-based classifiers suffer from significant accuracy losses due to port
masking, meanwhile Deep Packet Inspection approaches have severe user-privacy
limitations. The advent of Machine Learning has propelled the application of
advanced algorithms in diverse research areas, and some learning approaches have
proved as an interesting alternative to the classic traffic classification approaches.
Addressing Network Traffic Classification from a Machine Learning perspective
implies numerous challenges demanding research efforts to achieve feasible
classifiers. In this dissertation, we endeavor to formulate and solve important
research questions in Machine-Learning-based Network Traffic Classification. As a
result of numerous experiments, the knowledge provided in this research constitutes
an engaging case of study in which network traffic data from two different
environments are successfully collected, processed and modeled.
Firstly, we approached the Feature Extraction and Selection processes providing our
own contributions. A Feature Extractor was designed to create Machine-Learning
ready datasets from real traffic data, and a Feature Selection Filter based on fast
correlation is proposed and tested in several classification datasets. Then, the
original Network Traffic Classification datasets are reduced using our Selection
Filter to provide efficient classification models. Many classification models based on
CART Decision Trees were analyzed exhibiting excellent outcomes in identifying
various Internet applications. The experiments presented in this research comprise
a comparison amongst ensemble learning schemes, an exploratory study on Class
Imbalance and solutions; and an analysis of IP-header predictors for early traffic
classification. This thesis is presented in the form of compendium of JCR-indexed
scientific manuscripts and, furthermore, one conference paper is included.
In the present work we study a wide number of learning approaches employing the
most advance methodology in Machine Learning. As a result, we identify the
strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms, providing our own solutions to
overcome the observed limitations. Shortly, this thesis proves that Machine
Learning offers interesting advanced techniques that open prominent prospects in
Internet Network Traffic Classification.Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería TelemáticaDoctorado en Tecnologías de la Información y las Telecomunicacione
Machine learning model selection with multi-objective Bayesian optimization and reinforcement learning
A machine learning system, including when used in reinforcement learning, is usually fed with only limited data, while aimed at training a model with good predictive performance that can generalize to an underlying data distribution. Within certain hypothesis classes, model selection chooses a model based on selection criteria calculated from available data, which usually serve as estimators of generalization performance of the model.
One major challenge for model selection that has drawn increasing attention is the discrepancy between the data distribution where training data is sampled from and the data distribution at deployment. The model can over-fit in the training distribution, and fail to extrapolate in unseen deployment distributions, which can greatly harm the reliability of a machine learning system. Such a distribution shift challenge can become even more pronounced in high-dimensional data types like gene expression data, functional data and image data, especially in a decentralized learning scenario. Another challenge for model selection is efficient search in the hypothesis space. Since training a machine learning model usually takes a fair amount of resources, searching for an appropriate model with favorable configurations is by inheritance an expensive process, thus calling for efficient optimization algorithms.
To tackle the challenge of distribution shift, novel resampling methods for the evaluation of robustness of neural network was proposed, as well as a domain generalization method using multi-objective bayesian optimization in decentralized learning scenario and variational inference in a domain unsupervised manner.
To tackle the expensive model search problem, combining bayesian optimization and reinforcement learning in an interleaved manner was proposed for efficient search in a hierarchical conditional configuration space. Additionally, the effectiveness of using multi-objective bayesian optimization for model search in a decentralized learning scenarios was proposed and verified.
A model selection perspective to reinforcement learning was proposed with associated contributions in tackling the problem of exploration in high dimensional state action spaces and sparse reward. Connections between statistical inference and control was summarized.
Additionally, contributions in open source software development in related machine learning sub-topics like feature selection and functional data analysis with advanced tuning method and abundant benchmarking were also made
Socio-Cognitive and Affective Computing
Social cognition focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in social interactions. On the other hand, the term cognitive computing is generally used to refer to new hardware and/or software that mimics the functioning of the human brain and helps to improve human decision-making. In this sense, it is a type of computing with the goal of discovering more accurate models of how the human brain/mind senses, reasons, and responds to stimuli. Socio-Cognitive Computing should be understood as a set of theoretical interdisciplinary frameworks, methodologies, methods and hardware/software tools to model how the human brain mediates social interactions. In addition, Affective Computing is the study and development of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects, a fundamental aspect of socio-cognitive neuroscience. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer science, electrical engineering, psychology, and cognitive science. Physiological Computing is a category of technology in which electrophysiological data recorded directly from human activity are used to interface with a computing device. This technology becomes even more relevant when computing can be integrated pervasively in everyday life environments. Thus, Socio-Cognitive and Affective Computing systems should be able to adapt their behavior according to the Physiological Computing paradigm. This book integrates proposals from researchers who use signals from the brain and/or body to infer people's intentions and psychological state in smart computing systems. The design of this kind of systems combines knowledge and methods of ubiquitous and pervasive computing, as well as physiological data measurement and processing, with those of socio-cognitive and affective computing