Interoperability and portability of cloud service enablers in a PaaS environment

Nowadays, the competition in the telecommunications market is exciting and new entities with value-added services have emerged over the core network of Telecommunications operators (Telcos). These new participants have taken out the operators’ relevance since they are entirely agnostic from infrastructure service connectivity. Therefore Telcos, like Portugal Telecom Inovação (PTIN), need to focus on the provision of services to a user’s point of view to not become just a dumb-pipe between the consumers and Cloud service providers. This paper proposes a definition of a distributed architecture that allows developers to create and expose services through a Service Delivery Platform (SDP). The benefit of such Cloud-enabled SDP architecture is the portability of service enablers between Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) providers through a standardized API. Service developers may thus select the more suitable PaaS offering in order to build on-top applications, based on the performance required by a service. An example of applications which can take advantage from more versatile Cloud platforms, is the delivery of mobile context-aware services that react to both environment and user conditions selecting the right type of content (e.g. photos, videos, etc.) to deliver.(undefined

Optimizing IETF multimedia signaling protocols and architectures in 3GPP networks : an evolutionary approach

Signaling in Next Generation IP-based networks heavily relies in the family of multimedia signaling protocols defined by IETF. Two of these signaling protocols are RTSP and SIP, which are text-based, client-server, request-response signaling protocols aimed at enabling multimedia sessions over IP networks. RTSP was conceived to set up streaming sessions from a Content / Streaming Server to a Streaming Client, while SIP was conceived to set up media (e.g.: voice, video, chat, file sharing, …) sessions among users. However, their scope has evolved and expanded over time to cover virtually any type of content and media session. As mobile networks progressively evolved towards an IP-only (All-IP) concept, particularly in 4G and 5G networks, 3GPP had to select IP-based signaling protocols for core mobile services, as opposed to traditional SS7-based protocols used in the circuit-switched domain in use in 2G and 3G networks. In that context, rather than reinventing the wheel, 3GPP decided to leverage Internet protocols and the work carried on by the IETF. Hence, it was not surprise that when 3GPP defined the so-called Packet-switched Streaming Service (PSS) for real-time continuous media delivery, it selected RTSP as its signaling protocol and, more importantly, SIP was eventually selected as the core signaling protocol for all multimedia core services in the mobile (All-)IP domain. This 3GPP decision to use off-the-shelf IETF-standardized signaling protocols has been a key cornerstone for the future of All-IP fixed / mobile networks convergence and Next Generation Networks (NGN) in general. In this context, the main goal of our work has been analyzing how such general purpose IP multimedia signaling protocols are deployed and behave over 3GPP mobile networks. Effectively, usage of IP protocols is key to enable cross-vendor interoperability. On the other hand, due to the specific nature of the mobile domain, there are scenarios where it might be possible to leverage some additional “context” to enhance the performance of such protocols in the particular case of mobile networks. With this idea in mind, the bulk of this thesis work has consisted on analyzing and optimizing the performance of SIP and RTSP multimedia signaling protocols and defining optimized deployment architectures, with particular focus on the 3GPP PSS and the 3GPP Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) service. This work was preceded by a detailed analysis work of the performance of underlying IP, UDP and TCP protocol performance over 3GPP networks, which provided the best baseline for the future work around IP multimedia signaling protocols. Our contributions include the proposal of new optimizations to enhance multimedia streaming session setup procedures, detailed analysis and optimizations of a SIP-based Presence service and, finally, the definition of new use cases and optimized deployment architectures for the 3GPP MCPTT service. All this work has been published in the form of one book, three papers published in JCR cited International Journals, 5 articles published in International Conferences, one paper published in a National Conference and one awarded patent. This thesis work provides a detailed description of all contributions plus a comprehensive overview of their context, the guiding principles beneath all contributions, their applicability to different network deployment technologies (from 2.5G to 5G), a detailed overview of the related OMA and 3GPP architectures, services and design principles. Last but not least, the potential evolution of this research work into the 5G domain is also outlined as well.Els mecanismes de Senyalització en xarxes de nova generació es fonamenten en protocols de senyalització definits per IETF. En particular, SIP i RTSP són dos protocols extensibles basats en missatges de text i paradigma petició-resposta. RTSP va ser concebut per a establir sessions de streaming de continguts, mentre SIP va ser creat inicialment per a facilitar l’establiment de sessions multimèdia (veu, vídeo, xat, compartició) entre usuaris. Tot i així, el seu àmbit d’aplicació s’ha anat expandint i evolucionant fins a cobrir virtualment qualsevol tipus de contingut i sessió multimèdia. A mesura que les xarxes mòbils han anat evolucionant cap a un paradigma “All-IP”, particularment en xarxes 4G i 5G, 3GPP va seleccionar els protocols i arquitectures destinats a gestionar la senyalització dels serveis mòbils presents i futurs. En un moment determinat 3GPP decideix que, a diferència dels sistemes 2G i 3G que fan servir protocols basats en SS7, els sistemes de nova generació farien servir protocols estandarditzats per IETF. Quan 3GPP va començar a estandarditzar el servei de Streaming sobre xarxes mòbils PSS (Packet-switched Streaming Service) va escollir el protocol RTSP com a mecanisme de senyalització. Encara més significatiu, el protocol SIP va ser escollit com a mecanisme de senyalització per a IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), l’arquitectura de nova generació que substituirà la xarxa telefònica tradicional i permetrà el desplegament de nous serveis multimèdia. La decisió per part de 3GPP de seleccionar protocols estàndards definits per IETF ha representat una fita cabdal per a la convergència del sistemes All-IP fixes i mòbils, i per al desenvolupament de xarxes NGN (Next Generation Networks) en general. En aquest context, el nostre objectiu inicial ha estat analitzar com aquests protocols de senyalització multimèdia, dissenyats per a xarxes IP genèriques, es comporten sobre xarxes mòbils 3GPP. Efectivament, l’ús de protocols IP és fonamental de cara a facilitar la interoperabilitat de solucions diferents. Per altra banda, hi ha escenaris a on és possible aprofitar informació de “context” addicional per a millorar el comportament d’aquests protocols en al cas particular de xarxes mòbils. El cos principal del treball de la tesi ha consistit en l’anàlisi i optimització del rendiment dels protocols de senyalització multimèdia SIP i RTSP, i la definició d’arquitectures de desplegament, amb èmfasi en els serveis 3GPP PSS i 3GPP Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT). Aquest treball ha estat precedit per una feina d’anàlisi detallada del comportament dels protocols IP, TCP i UDP sobre xarxes 3GPP, que va proporcionar els fonaments adequats per a la posterior tasca d’anàlisi de protocols de senyalització sobre xarxes mòbils. Les contribucions inclouen la proposta de noves optimitzacions per a millorar els procediments d’establiment de sessions de streaming multimèdia, l’anàlisi detallat i optimització del servei de Presència basat en SIP i la definició de nous casos d’ús i exemples de desplegament d’arquitectures optimitzades per al servei 3GPP MCPTT. Aquestes contribucions ha quedat reflectides en un llibre, tres articles publicats en Revistes Internacionals amb índex JCR, 5 articles publicats en Conferències Internacionals, un article publicat en Congrés Nacional i l’adjudicació d’una patent. La tesi proporciona una descripció detallada de totes les contribucions, així com un exhaustiu repàs del seu context, dels principis fonamentals subjacents a totes les contribucions, la seva aplicabilitat a diferents tipus de desplegaments de xarxa (des de 2.5G a 5G), així una presentació detallada de les arquitectures associades definides per organismes com OMA o 3GPP. Finalment també es presenta l’evolució potencial de la tasca de recerca cap a sistemes 5G.Postprint (published version

An Experimental Platform for large-scale research facing FI-IoT scenarios

Providing experimental facilities for the Internet of Things (IoT) world is of paramount importance to materialise the Future Internet (FI) vision. The level of maturity achieved at the networking level in Sensor and Actuator networks (SAN) justifies the increasing demand on the research community to shift IoT testbed facilities from the network to the service and information management areas. In this paper we present an Experimental Platform fulfilling these needs by: integrating heterogeneous SAN infrastructures in a homogeneous way; providing mechanisms to handle information, and facilitating the development of experimental services. It has already been used to deploy applications in three different field trials: smart metering, smart places and environmental monitoring and it will be one of the components over which the SmartSantander project, that targets a large-scale IoT experimental facility, will rely o

Serviços multimédia multicast de próxima geração

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesUma das mais recentes conquistas na evolução móvel foi o 3G, permitindo o acesso a serviços multimédia com qualidade de serviço assegurada. No entanto, a tecnologia UMTS, tal como definida na sua Release ’99, é apenas capaz de transmitir em modo unicast, sendo manifestamente ineficiente para comunicações multimédia almejando grupos de utilizadores. A tecnologia IMS surge na Release 5 do 3GPP que começou a responder já a algumas necessidades, permitindo comunicações sobre IP oferecendo serviços Internet a qualquer momento e em qualquer lugar sobre tecnologias de comunicação móveis fornecendo pela primeira vez sessões multimédia satisfatórias. A Release 6 por sua vez trouxe a tecnologia MBMS que permite transmissões em broadcast e multicast para redes móveis. O MBMS fornece os serviços de aplicações multimédia que todos estavam à espera, tanto para os utilizadores como para os prestadores de serviços. O operador pode agora fazer uso da tecnologia existente aumentando todo o tipo de benefícios no serviço prestado ao cliente. Com a possível integração destas duas tecnologias passa a ser possível desenvolver serviços assentes em redes convergentes em que os conteúdos são entregues usando tecnologias unicast, multicast ou broadcast. Neste contexto, o principal motivo deste trabalho consiste essencialmente em fazer uso dos recursos da rede terminando com o desperdício dos mesmos e aumentando a eficiência dos serviços através da integração das tecnologias IMS e MBMS. O trabalho realizado começa com o estudo do estado da arte das telecomunicações móveis com referência às tecnologias referidas, seguindo-se a apresentação da possível integração IMS-MBMS e terminando com o projecto de uma plataforma de demonstração que no futuro possa ser uma implementação de serviço multimédia multicast. O objectivo principal é mostrar os benefícios de um serviço que era normalmente executado em unicast relativamente ao modo multicast, fazendo uso da nova convergência de tecnologias IMS e MBMS. Na conclusão do trabalho são referidas as vantagens do uso de portadoras multicast e broadcast, tendo como perspectiva de que este trabalho possa ser um ponto de partida para um novo conjunto de serviços poupando recursos de rede e permitindo uma eficiência considerável em serviços inovadores.3G is bang up to date in the mobile phone industry. It allows access to multimedia services and gives a guarantee of quality of service. The UMTS technology, defined in 3GPP Release ’99, provides an unicast transmission, but it is completely inefficient when it comes to multimedia group communications. The IMS technology first appeared in Release 5 that has already started to consider the interests of the clients. It provides communications over IP, offering Internet services anytime, anywhere on mobile communication technologies. Also, it offers for the first time satisfactory multimedia sessions. On the other hand, Release 6 gave rise to the MBMS technology that provides broadcast and multicast transmissions for mobile networks. The MBMS provides multimedia applications services that everyone was waiting, including users and service providers. Now the operator makes use of existing technology in order to provide better costumer services. The possible integration of these two technologies will contribute to develop services based on converged networks in which contents are delivered through the unicast, multicast or broadcast technologies. Therefore, the objective of this work is basically to make use of network resources avoiding wastes and improving customer services through the integration of the IMS and the MBMS technologies. The executed work starts with the mobile telecommunications state of the art with reference to the referred technologies, followed by the IMS-MBMS convergence presentation and finishing with the proposal for implementation of a service platform that can be used for a multimedia multicast service. The main point is to show the benefits of a service that has been normally executed in unicast mode over the multicast mode, making use of the new IMS and MBMS technologies integration. To closure the work it is referred the advantages to use multicast and broadcast bearers, with the perspective that this work could be a starting point to a new set of services, saving network resources and allowing for innovate services a considerable efficency

Parlay X Web Services for Policy and Charging Control in Multimedia Networks

The paper investigates the capabilities of Parlay X Web Services for Policy and Charging Control (PCC) in managing all Internet-protocol-based multimedia networks (IMSs). PCC is one of the core features of evolved packet networks. It comprises flow-based charging including charging control and online credit control, gating control, and Quality of Service (QoS) control. Based on the analysis of requirements for PCC, the functionality for open access to QoS management and advanced charging is identified. Parlay X Web Services are evaluated for the support of PCC, and some enhancements are suggested. Implementation aspects are discussed, and Parlay X interfaces are mapped onto IMS control protocols. Use cases of Parlay X Web Services for PCC are presented

Study, Analysis and Modeling of IP Multimedia systems on next generation networks providing mobile and fixed multimedia services

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Linking session based services with transport plane resources in IP multimedia subsystems.

The massive success and proliferation of Internet technologies has forced network operators to recognise the benefits of an IP-based communications framework. The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) has been proposed as a candidate technology to provide a non-disruptive strategy in the move to all-IP and to facilitate the true convergence of data and real-time multimedia services. Despite the obvious advantages of creating a controlled environment for deploying IP services, and hence increasing the value of the telco bundle, there are several challenges that face IMS deployment. The most critical is that posed by the widespread proliferation ofWeb 2.0 services. This environment is not seen as robust enough to be used by network operators for revenue generating services. However IMS operators will need to justify charging for services that are typically available free of charge in the Internet space. Reliability and guaranteed transport of multimedia services by the efficient management of resources will be critical to differentiate IMS services. This thesis investigates resource management within the IMS framework. The standardisation of NGN/IMS resource management frameworks has been fragmented, resulting in weak functional and interface specifications. To facilitate more coherent, focused research and address interoperability concerns that could hamper deployment, a Common Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture is presented that defines a set of generic terms and functional elements. A review of related literature and standardisation reveals severe shortcomings regarding vertical and horizontal coordination of resources in the IMS framework. The deployment of new services should not require QoS standardisation or network upgrade, though in the current architecture advanced multimedia services are not catered for. It has been found that end-to-end QoS mechanisms in the Common PCC framework are elementary. To address these challenges and assist network operators when formulating their iii NGN strategies, this thesis proposes an application driven policy control architecture that incorporates end-user and service requirements into the QoS negotiation procedure. This architecture facilitates full interaction between service control and resource control planes, and between application developers and the policies that govern resource control. Furthermore, a novel, session based end-to-end policy control architecture is proposed to support inter-domain coordination across IMS domains. This architecture uses SIP inherent routing information to discover the routes traversed by the signalling and the associated routes traversed by the media. This mechanism effectively allows applications to issue resource requests from their home domain and enable end-to-end QoS connectivity across all traversed transport segments. Standard interfaces are used and transport plane overhaul is not necessary for this functionality. The Common PCC, application driven and session based end-to-end architectures are implemented in a standards compliant and entirely open source practical testbed. This demonstrates proof of concept and provides a platform for performance evaluations. It has been found that while there is a cost in delay and traffic overhead when implementing the complete architecture, this cost falls within established criteria and will have an acceptable effect on end-user experience. The open nature of the practical testbed ensures that all evaluations are fully reproducible and provides a convenient point of departure for future work. While it is important to leave room for flexibility and vendor innovation, it is critical that the harmonisation of NGN/IMS resource management frameworks takes place and that the architectures proposed in this thesis be further developed and integrated into the single set of specifications. The alternative is general interoperability issues that could render end-to-end QoS provisioning for advanced multimedia services almost impossible

Future Open Mobile Services

The major barriers for the success of mobile data services are the lack of comprehensible mobile service architectures, their confusing business models and the complexity combined with the inconsistency of the technology enablers. This paper attempts to present a more structured and comprehensive analysis of the current mobile service architectures and their technology enablers. The paper starts with a thorough study of the evolution of mobile services and their business models, and a collection of expectations of the different actors, including the end-user. Next, starting from the original mobile services architecture and environment, an attempt to place the different technology enablers in relation to each other and in relation to their position in the mobile system, will be carried out. Each technology enabler together with their contribution in the enhancement of mobile services are then summarised in a complete and comprehensive way. The paper concludes with a recapitulation of the achievement of the state-of-the-art technology enablers and an identification of future improvements