Machine Learning-based Orchestration Solutions for Future Slicing-Enabled Mobile Networks

The fifth generation mobile networks (5G) will incorporate novel technologies such as network programmability and virtualization enabled by Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) paradigms, which have recently attracted major interest from both academic and industrial stakeholders. Building on these concepts, Network Slicing raised as the main driver of a novel business model where mobile operators may open, i.e., “slice”, their infrastructure to new business players and offer independent, isolated and self-contained sets of network functions and physical/virtual resources tailored to specific services requirements. While Network Slicing has the potential to increase the revenue sources of service providers, it involves a number of technical challenges that must be carefully addressed. End-to-end (E2E) network slices encompass time and spectrum resources in the radio access network (RAN), transport resources on the fronthauling/backhauling links, and computing and storage resources at core and edge data centers. Additionally, the vertical service requirements’ heterogeneity (e.g., high throughput, low latency, high reliability) exacerbates the need for novel orchestration solutions able to manage end-to-end network slice resources across different domains, while satisfying stringent service level agreements and specific traffic requirements. An end-to-end network slicing orchestration solution shall i) admit network slice requests such that the overall system revenues are maximized, ii) provide the required resources across different network domains to fulfill the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) iii) dynamically adapt the resource allocation based on the real-time traffic load, endusers’ mobility and instantaneous wireless channel statistics. Certainly, a mobile network represents a fast-changing scenario characterized by complex spatio-temporal relationship connecting end-users’ traffic demand with social activities and economy. Legacy models that aim at providing dynamic resource allocation based on traditional traffic demand forecasting techniques fail to capture these important aspects. To close this gap, machine learning-aided solutions are quickly arising as promising technologies to sustain, in a scalable manner, the set of operations required by the network slicing context. How to implement such resource allocation schemes among slices, while trying to make the most efficient use of the networking resources composing the mobile infrastructure, are key problems underlying the network slicing paradigm, which will be addressed in this thesis

Gestão de recursos em redes AII-IP

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesA banalização do contacto com a Internet, despertou num crescente número de indivíduos, a interacção com equipamentos, tecnologias, serviços e funcionalidades que se tornam cada vez mais, parte integrante do seu estilo de vida. Esta explosão, tanto no número de acessos, como na variedade de serviços, veio colocar novos desafios às redes, no que toca ao tratamento dos fluxos de informação gerados pelos dispositivos terminais. Serviços com características de tempo-real impõem requisitos de qualidade de serviço (QoS) bastante objectivos, em termos de perdas, atraso e variação do atraso sofridos pelos pacotes IP ao atravessar uma rede baseada nessa tecnologia. Elementos inteligentes, gestores de recursos apresentam-se como uma das soluções mais eficazes no controlo dos parâmetros de qualidade de serviço. Por sua vez, mecanismos de controlo de admissão cada vez mais sofisticados, apresentam-se como peças-chave no centro dos motores dos gestores de recursos referidos. Esta Dissertação define e testa um modelo híbrido para um módulo de controlo de admissão, a integrar numa entidade gestora de recursos IP. O modelo utiliza uma filosofia de aprendizagem baseada em experiência, alimentada por uma plataforma de medidas. O processo de aprendizagem é efectuado por meio do registo e actualização do comportamento da rede. Este conhecimento vai permitir inferir qual o padrão de tráfego da rede e utilizar essa informação para prever a ocorrência de sobrecargas e fim das mesmas. Desta forma é então possível aplicar um factor de overbooking permitindo uma conservatividade adaptativa, aumentando assim a utilização da rede e em simultâneo proteger de uma forma mais eficaz, os níveis de QoS da rede. Através de procedimentos experimentais utilizando o simulador OMNET++, verifica-se que o modelo proposto permite um aumento na utilização de rede, mantendo os níveis de QoS dentro de intervalos predefinidos.As the average population gained generalized access to the Internet, it also became more exposed to a vast number of equipments, technologies, services and functionalities, which are strongly becoming an integrated part of its lifestyle. This explosion in access numbers, as well as in service diversity, placed new challenges to the networks, as far as the treatment of terminal generated information flows. Real-time services put well defined constraints of quality of service, for IP packet loss, delay, and jitter. Resource management entities present themselves as one of the more efficient solutions to control the quality of service parameters. Meanwhile, the more sophisticated admission control mechanisms play key-roles in the center of the resource manager’s engines. This thesis presents and tests a hybrid model for an admission control module, to be integrated in an IP resource manager. The model has roots on an experience based learning philosophy, fed and regulated by a measurement platform. The learning procedure is ensured by the storage and update of the network’s behavior. This knowledge will allow the generation of the network’s traffic pattern and the use of that information to predict overload and its end. This way, the use of an overbooking factor is possible, allowing and adaptative conservativeness, enhancing network usage while protecting more accurately the network’s QoS levels. It is verified, by means of experimental results, using the OMNET++ simulator, that the proposed model allows an increase in network usage, while maintaining the network under predefined QoS levels

The edge cloud: A holistic view of communication, computation and caching

The evolution of communication networks shows a clear shift of focus from just improving the communications aspects to enabling new important services, from Industry 4.0 to automated driving, virtual/augmented reality, Internet of Things (IoT), and so on. This trend is evident in the roadmap planned for the deployment of the fifth generation (5G) communication networks. This ambitious goal requires a paradigm shift towards a vision that looks at communication, computation and caching (3C) resources as three components of a single holistic system. The further step is to bring these 3C resources closer to the mobile user, at the edge of the network, to enable very low latency and high reliability services. The scope of this chapter is to show that signal processing techniques can play a key role in this new vision. In particular, we motivate the joint optimization of 3C resources. Then we show how graph-based representations can play a key role in building effective learning methods and devising innovative resource allocation techniques.Comment: to appear in the book "Cooperative and Graph Signal Pocessing: Principles and Applications", P. Djuric and C. Richard Eds., Academic Press, Elsevier, 201

Traffic Profiles and Performance Modelling of Heterogeneous Networks

This thesis considers the analysis and study of short and long-term traffic patterns of heterogeneous networks. A large number of traffic profiles from different locations and network environments have been determined. The result of the analysis of these patterns has led to a new parameter, namely the 'application signature'. It was found that these signatures manifest themselves in various granularities over time, and are usually unique to an application, permanent virtual circuit (PVC), user or service. The differentiation of the application signatures into different categories creates a foundation for short and long-term management of networks. The thesis therefore looks from the micro and macro perspective on traffic management, covering both aspects. The long-term traffic patterns have been used to develop a novel methodology for network planning and design. As the size and complexity of interconnected systems grow steadily, usually covering different time zones, geographical and political areas, a new methodology has been developed as part of this thesis. A part of the methodology is a new overbooking mechanism, which stands in contrast to existing overbooking methods created by companies like Bell Labs. The new overbooking provides companies with cheaper network design and higher average throughput. In addition, new requirements like risk factors have been incorporated into the methodology, which lay historically outside the design process. A large network service provider has implemented the overbooking mechanism into their network planning process, enabling practical evaluation. The other aspect of the thesis looks at short-term traffic patterns, to analyse how congestion can be controlled. Reoccurring short-term traffic patterns, the application signatures, have been used for this research to develop the "packet train model" further. Through this research a new congestion control mechanism was created to investigate how the application signatures and the "extended packet train model" could be used. To validate the results, a software simulation has been written that executes the proprietary congestion mechanism and the new mechanism for comparison. Application signatures for the TCP/IP protocols have been applied in the simulation and the results are displayed and discussed in the thesis. The findings show the effects that frame relay congestion control mechanisms have on TCP/IP, where the re-sending of segments, buffer allocation, delay and throughput are compared. The results prove that application signatures can be used effectively to enhance existing congestion control mechanisms.AT&T (UK) Ltd, Englan

Dimensioning of LTE Network.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is 3GPP enhancement to the current cellular system in use. The purpose of developing this system is to keep 3GPP systems competent enough for decades to come. LTE is designed to have wider channels up to 20MHz, with low latency and packet optimized radio access technology. The peak data rate envisaged for LTE is 100 Mbps in downlink and 50 Mbps in the uplink. With OFDM as the radio access technology, LTE has very promising features, like bandwidth scalability and both FDD and TDD duplexing methods. This thesis is related to the dimensioning of LTE radio access networks and the development of tool for dimensioning purpose. Different steps of the dimensioning process are listed and explained. Methods and models for coverage and capacity planning are developed for dimensioning of LTE radio access networks. Special emphasis is laid on radio link budget along with detailed coverage and capacity. The results are fabricated in an easy-to-use tool for dimensioning. The tool is made in Excel to serve the ease of working. Particular importance is given to clarity in the design of dimensioning tool, achieved by dividing the tool into clearly defined sections. Inputs and outputs are placed on separate sheets. The dimensioning tool calculates the number of cells needed to cover a given area with the user-provided parameters. Excel based tool covers all the basic aspects of the dimensioning process for LTE Access Networks

The edge cloud. A holistic view of communication, computation, and caching

The evolution of communication networks shows a clear shift of focus from just improving the communications aspects to enabling new important services, from Industry 4.0 to automated driving, virtual/augmented reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), and so on. This trend is evident in the roadmap planned for the deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) communication networks. This ambitious goal requires a paradigm shift toward a vision that looks at communication, computation, and caching (3. C) resources as three components of a single holistic system. The further step is to bring these 3. C resources closer to the mobile user, at the edge of the network, to enable very low latency and high reliability services. The scope of this chapter is to show that signal processing techniques can play a key role in this new vision. In particular, we motivate the joint optimization of 3. C resources. Then we show how graph-based representations can play a key role in building effective learning methods and devising innovative resource allocation techniques

The Montclarion, September 20, 1990

Student Newspaper of Montclair State Collegehttps://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/montclarion/1595/thumbnail.jp

Dimensioning mobile WiMAX in the access and core network : a case study

Existing broadband wireless technologies such as evolving 3G and WiFi have enjoyed widespread adoption but are far from offering the flexibility in deployment and high data rates. Mobile WiMAX, an emerging broadband wireless technology promises to bring a new experience to mobile broadband services by offering users high data rates and efficient network access techniques. This thesis work provides a technical description of mobile WiMAX and compares its technical capabilities with the existing technologies such as WiFi and 3G. The work continues further on dimensioning mobile WiMAX in the access and core network. In the access network, we determine the number of base stations required to cover a given metropolitan area, explore their configurations, and perform frequency selection. In the core network we dimension the interfaces, and nodes involved. From the study we will show that WiMAX provides the operator with the antenna configurations options of high capacities, large cell coverage area, and a wide selection of QoS classes. The study will also show that the data density requirements of customers, resulting from the capacity analysis are fulfilled by properly dimensioning the elements in the access and core network

Enhanced Quality of Experience Based on Enriched Network Centric and Access Control Mechanisms

In the digital world service provisioning in user satisfying quality has become the goal of any content or network provider. Besides having satisfied and therefore, loyal users, the creation of sustainable revenue streams is the most important issue for network operators [1], [2], [3]. The motivation of this work is to enhance the quality of experience of users when they connect to the Internet, request application services as well as to maintain full service when these users are on the move in WLAN based access networks. In this context, the aspect of additional revenue creation for network operators is considered as well. The enhancements presented in this work are based on enriched network centric and access control mechanisms which will be achieved in three different areas of networks capabilities, namely the network performance, the network access and the network features themselves. In the area of network performance a novel authentication and authorisation method is introduced which overcomes the drawback of long authentication time in the handover procedure as required by the generic IEEE 802.1X process using the EAP-TLS method. The novel sequential authentication solution reduces the communication interruption time in a WLAN handover process of currently several hundred milliseconds to some milliseconds by combining the WPA2 PSK and the WPA2 EAP-TLS. In the area of usability a new user-friendly hotspot registration and login mechanisms is presented which significantly simplifies how users obtain WLAN hotspot login credentials and logon to a hotspot. This novel barcode initiated hotspot auto-login solution obtains user credentials through a simple SMS and performs an auto-login process that avoids the need to enter user name and password on the login page manually. In the area of network features a new system is proposed which overcomes the drawback that users are not aware of the quality in which a service can be provided prior to starting the service. This novel graceful denial of service solution informs the user about the expected application service quality before the application service is started