An IDE for NETCONF management applications

The development of network and system management software typically requires data models definition, the creation of specific applications respecting the data model, and yet the implementation of communication interfaces. Skilled professionals usually perform such tasks in a predefined sequence and using different development solutions, but any error or lacks in the data model frequently force to repeat several time-consuming tasks. In this paper we present an integrated development framework that simplifies the construction of NETCONF management applications, from data model specification to deployment and evaluation. The framework is available at http://atnog.av.it.pt/∼ptavares/ yangplugin

Editor de Yang

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e TelemáticaO desenvolvimento de aplicações de gestão tipicamente requer a definição do modelo de dados, a criação das aplicações que respeitem esse modelo de dados e a implementação das interfaces de comunicação. Apesar de essas tarefas serem normalmente desenvolvidas por profissionais bem treinados, estes têm que as implementar usando diferentes aplicações, numa sequência coordenada que frequentemente são obrigados a repetir devido a um qualquer erro na definição inicial do modelo de dados. A adopção de tecnologias Web no desenvolvimento de aplicações de gestão NETCONF permite a automatização de vários procedimentos. Este documento apresenta uma plataforma de desenvolvimento integrado para soluções baseadas em NETCONF sob a forma de um plug-in para o IDE Eclipse. O trabalho inclui a criação de um parser para a linguagem YANG que foi integrado com o IDE que permite o desenvolvimento total de aplicações de gestão baseados neste protocolo.The development of network and systems management software typically requires the data model definition, the construction of applications respecting that data model and also the implementation of the communication interfaces. Although such tasks are usually performed by welltrained professionals, they have to perform those tasks using different applications, in a coordinated sequence that they may unfortunately repeat due to errors in data model definition. The adoption of web technologies in NETCONF design allows the automation of several development tasks. Current work presents an integrated development platform for NETCONF based-solutions in the form of a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE. The work includes the creation of a YANG parser that was integrated within the IDE and that enables the complete creation of the management applications

An ICT-oriented Management Solution for NGNs

NGN architecture reused several standards from the IP world, as exemplified by the Session Initiation Protocol SIP, which is ubiquitous in the majority of these network components. However, the NGN management architecture simply presented a very generic management model that follows TMN. Several management technologies are proposed, such as Web services, CORBA and SNMP, to implement management solutions. Network and systems management standardizing bodies currently promote newer technologies that aim to solve known shortcomings to these. This paper proposes a management solution for NGNs based on recent IP world technologies. The presented solution was implemented in the form of a middleware to manage NGN elements. This middleware was used in the management of an element belonging to the IP Multimedia Subsystem platform, namely the Policy and Charging Rules Function

Deliverable JRA1.1: Evaluation of current network control and management planes for multi-domain network infrastructure

This deliverable includes a compilation and evaluation of available control and management architectures and protocols applicable to a multilayer infrastructure in a multi-domain Virtual Network environment.The scope of this deliverable is mainly focused on the virtualisation of the resources within a network and at processing nodes. The virtualization of the FEDERICA infrastructure allows the provisioning of its available resources to users by means of FEDERICA slices. A slice is seen by the user as a real physical network under his/her domain, however it maps to a logical partition (a virtual instance) of the physical FEDERICA resources. A slice is built to exhibit to the highest degree all the principles applicable to a physical network (isolation, reproducibility, manageability, ...). Currently, there are no standard definitions available for network virtualization or its associated architectures. Therefore, this deliverable proposes the Virtual Network layer architecture and evaluates a set of Management- and Control Planes that can be used for the partitioning and virtualization of the FEDERICA network resources. This evaluation has been performed taking into account an initial set of FEDERICA requirements; a possible extension of the selected tools will be evaluated in future deliverables. The studies described in this deliverable define the virtual architecture of the FEDERICA infrastructure. During this activity, the need has been recognised to establish a new set of basic definitions (taxonomy) for the building blocks that compose the so-called slice, i.e. the virtual network instantiation (which is virtual with regard to the abstracted view made of the building blocks of the FEDERICA infrastructure) and its architectural plane representation. These definitions will be established as a common nomenclature for the FEDERICA project. Other important aspects when defining a new architecture are the user requirements. It is crucial that the resulting architecture fits the demands that users may have. Since this deliverable has been produced at the same time as the contact process with users, made by the project activities related to the Use Case definitions, JRA1 has proposed a set of basic Use Cases to be considered as starting point for its internal studies. When researchers want to experiment with their developments, they need not only network resources on their slices, but also a slice of the processing resources. These processing slice resources are understood as virtual machine instances that users can use to make them behave as software routers or end nodes, on which to download the software protocols or applications they have produced and want to assess in a realistic environment. Hence, this deliverable also studies the APIs of several virtual machine management software products in order to identify which best suits FEDERICA’s needs.Postprint (published version

MANET Network Management and Performance Monitoring for NHDP and OLSRv2

Mobile Ad Hoc NETworks (MANETs) are generally thought of as infrastructureless and largely ``un-managed'' network deployments, capable of accommodating highly dynamic network topologies. Yet, while the network infrastructure may be ``un-managed'', monitoring the network performance and setting configuration parameters once deployed, remains important in order to ensure proper ``tuning'' and maintenance of a MANET. This memorandum describes a management framework for the MANET routing protocol OLSRv2, and its constituent protocol NHDP. It does so by presenting considerations for ``what to monitor and manage'' in an OLSRv2 network, and how. The approach developed is based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and thus this paper details the various Management Information Bases (MIBs) for router status monitoring and control -- as well as a novel approach to history-based performance monitoring. While SNMP may not be optimally designed for MANETs, it is chosen due to it being the predominant protocol for IP network management -- and thus, efforts are made in this paper to ``adapt'' the management tools within the SNMP framework for reasonable behavior also in a MANET environment

Model-oriented co-design of homogeneous computing systems

This article proposes an approach to the construction of a technological platform for designing function-oriented processors (FOP) built on the basis of homogeneous computing environments (OVS). A feature of the proposed approach is the use of co-design - a simultaneous and interconnected design of hardware (HW) and software (SW) FOP components. The paper presents proposals for the implementation of this approach, based on the use of the prin-ciple of model-based design, which allows you to make the co-design process iterative and effectively distribute data processing procedures between HW and SW - components of FOP. Based on the consideration of the experience in implementing such solutions, the paper presents the composition of functional subsystems of technological platforms, a diagram of information interaction between these subsystems based on intensive using of web-technologies at all stages of the design and operation of FOP. © 2019 Tomsk State University. All rights reserved

An SDN QoE Monitoring Framework for VoIP and video applications

Τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει σημειωθεί ραγδαία άνοδος του κλάδου των κινητών επικοινωνιών, αφού η χρήση των κινητών συσκευών εξαπλώνεται με ταχύτατους ρυθμούς και αναμένεται να συνεχίσει τη διείσδυσή της στην καθημερινότητα των καταναλωτών. Το γεγονός αυτό, σε συνδυασμό με τους περιορισμούς που θέτει η τρέχουσα δομή των δικτύων επικοινωνιών, καθιστά αναγκαία την ανάπτυξη νέων δικτύων με αυξημένες δυνατότητες, ώστε να είναι δυνατή η εξυπηρέτηση των χρηστών με την καλύτερη δυνατή ποιότητα εμπειρίας και ταυτόχρονα τη βέλτιστη αξιοποίηση των πόρων του δικτύου. Μία νέα δικτυακή προσέγγιση αποτελεί η δικτύωση βασισμένη στο λογισμικό (Software Defined Networking - SDN), η οποία αφαιρεί τον έλεγχο από τις συσκευές προώθησης του δικτύου, και οι αποφάσεις λαμβάνονται σε κεντρικό σημείο. Η ποιότητα υπηρεσίας που αντιλαμβάνεται ο χρήστης, ή αλλιώς ποιότητα εμπειρίας, κρίνεται ζήτημα υψηλής σημασίας στα δίκτυα SDN. Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει ως στόχο την παρουσίαση της τεχνολογίας SDN, την επισκόπηση της υπάρχουσας έρευνας στο πεδίο της ποιότητας εμπειρίας σε SDN δίκτυα και στη συνέχεια την ανάπτυξη μίας SDN εφαρμογής η οποία παρακολουθεί και διατηρεί την ποιότητας εμπειρίας σε υψηλά επίπεδα για εφαρμογές VoIP και video. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, η εφαρμογή SQMF (SDN QoE Monitoring Framework) παρακολουθεί περιοδικά στο μονοπάτι μετάδοσης των πακέτων διάφορες παραμέτρους του δικτύου, με βάση τις οποίες υπολογίζει την ποιότητα εμπειρίας. Εάν διαπιστωθεί ότι το αποτέλεσμα είναι μικρότερο από ένα προσδιορισμένο κατώφλι, η εφαρμογή αλλάζει το μονοπάτι μετάδοσης, και έτσι η ποιότητα εμπειρίας ανακάμπτει. Η δομή της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η εξής: Στο κεφάλαιο 1 παρουσιάζεται η σημερινή εικόνα των δικτύων επικοινωνιών και οι προβλέψεις για τη μελλοντική εικόνα, καθώς και οι προκλήσεις στις οποίες τα σημερινά δίκτυα δε θα μπορούν να αντεπεξέλθουν. Στη συνέχεια στο κεφάλαιο 2 περιγράφεται αναλυτικά η τεχνολογία SDN ως προς την αρχιτεκτονική, το κύριο πρωτόκολλο που χρησιμοποιεί, τα σενάρια χρήσης της, την προτυποποίηση, τα πλεονεκτήματα και τα μειονεκτήματά της. Το κεφάλαιο 3 εισάγει την έννοια της ποιότητας εμπειρίας του χρήστη και παραθέτει ευρέως γνωστά μοντέλα υπολογισμού της για διάφορους τύπους εφαρμογών, που χρησιμοποιούνται στην παρούσα εργασία. Σχετικές υπάρχουσες μελέτες στο πεδίο της ποιότητας εμπειρίας σε δίκτυα SDN αλλά και συγκριτικός πίνακας μπορούν να βρεθούν στο κεφάλαιο 4. Τα επόμενα κεφάλαια αφορούν στην εφαρμογή SQMF που υλοποιήθηκε στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας: το κεφάλαιο 5 περιγράφει αναλυτικά όλα τα προαπαιτούμενα εργαλεία και οδηγίες για την ανάπτυξη του SQMF, ενώ το κεφάλαιο 6 παρουσιάζει παραδείγματα όπου η ποιότητα εμπειρίας ενός δικτύου μπορεί να υποστεί μείωση. Τέλος, το κεφάλαιο 7 αναλύει σε βάθος τις σχεδιαστικές προδιαγραφές, τη λογική και τον κώδικα του SQMF και παρέχει επίδειξη της λειτουργίας του και αξιολόγησή του, ενώ το κεφάλαιο 8 συνοψίζει επιγραμματικά τα συμπεράσματα της παρούσας εργασίας και ανοιχτά θέματα για μελλοντική έρευνα.Lately, there has been a rapid rise of the mobile communications industry, since the use of mobile devices is spreading at a fast pace and is expected to continue its penetration into the daily routine of consumers. This fact, combined with the limitations of the current communications networks’ structure, necessitates the development of new networks with increased capabilities, so that users can be served with the best possible quality of service and at the same time with the optimal network resources utilization. A new networking approach is Software Defined Networking (SDN) which decouples the control from the data plane, transforming the network elements to simple forwarding devices and making decisions centrally. The quality of service perceived by the user, or quality of experience (QoE), is considered to be a matter of great importance in software defined networks. This diploma thesis aims at presenting SDN technology, reviewing existing research in the field of QoE on SDN networks and then developing an SDN application that monitors and preserves the QoE for VoIP and video applications. More specifically, the developed SDN QoE Monitoring Framework (SQMF) periodically monitors various network parameters on the VoIP/video packets transmission path, based on which it calculates the QoE. If it is found that the result is less than a predefined threshold, the framework changes the transmission path, and thus the QoE recovers. The structure of this diploma thesis is the following: Chapter 1 presents the current state of communications networks and predictions for the future state, as well as the challenges that current networks will not be able to cope with. Chapter 2 then describes in detail the SDN technology in terms of architecture, main control-data plane communication protocol, use cases, standardization, advantages and disadvantages. Chapter 3 introduces the concept of QoE and lists well-known QoE estimation models for various applications types, some of which were used in this thesis. Relevant existing studies in the field of QoE on SDN networks as well as a comparative table can be found in chapter 4. The following chapters concern the framework implemented in the context of this diploma thesis: Chapter 5 describes in detail all the required tools and instructions for the development of SQMF, while Chapter 6 presents examples where the QoE in a network can face degradation. Finally, Chapter 7 analyzes in depth SQMF's design principles, logic and code files, provides a demonstration of its operation and evaluates it, whereas Chapter 8 briefly summarizes the conclusions and of this thesis and future work points

OpenDaylight SDN controller platform

Implementació d'una solució SDN amb opendaylightImplementación of a SDN solution based on OpenDaylight: controller architecture and developer guideImplementación de una solución SDN basada en OpenDaylight: arquitectura y guia de desarrollo.Implementació d'una solució SDN basada en OpenDaylight: arquitectura del controlador i guia de desenvolupament

PIACERE: Programming trustworthy Infrastructure As Code in a Secure Framework

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), enables the automation of several deployment, configuration and management tasks. IaC has a lot of potential in cloud computing as it results in a significant saving of time when an application needs to be redeployed on a different set of resources, even running on different infrastructures. Unfortunately, IaC still suffers from some important issues, such as the large variety of competing tools or the strong orientation toward the cloud, leaving aside e.g. the edge. Also, trustworthiness and security aspects of are often left for the end of the cycle, where errors and vulnerabilities are often too late or too expensive to correct. We present here the PIACERE project, which provides tools, methods and techniques for the Infrastructure-as-Code approach. The project will make the creation of IaC more accessible to designers, developers and operators, increasing the quality, security, trustworthiness and evolvability of infrastructural code while ensuring its business continuity by providing self-healing mechanisms anticipation of failures and violations.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101000162