Cost functions in optical burst-switched networks

Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is a new paradigm for an all-optical Internet. It combines the best features of Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) and Optical Packet Switching (OPS) while avoidmg the mam problems associated with those networks .Namely, it offers good granularity, but its hardware requirements are lower than those of OPS. In a backbone network, low loss ratio is of particular importance. Also, to meet varying user requirements, it should support multiple classes of service. In Optical Burst-Switched networks both these goals are closely related to the way bursts are arranged in channels. Unlike the case of circuit switching, scheduling decisions affect the loss probability of future burst This thesis proposes the idea of a cost function. The cost function is used to judge the quality of a burst arrangement and estimate the probability that this burst will interfere with future bursts. Two applications of the cost functio n are proposed. A scheduling algorithm uses the value of the cost function to optimize the alignment of the new burst with other bursts in a channel, thus minimising the loss ratio. A cost-based burst droppmg algorithm, that can be used as a part of a Quality of Service scheme, drops only those bursts, for which the cost function value indicates that are most likely to cause a contention. Simulation results, performed using a custom-made OBS extension to the ns-2 simulator, show that the cost-based algorithms improve network performanc

High-speed, in-band performance measurement instrumentation for next generation IP networks

Facilitating always-on instrumentation of Internet traffic for the purposes of performance measurement is crucial in order to enable accountability of resource usage and automated network control, management and optimisation. This has proven infeasible to date due to the lack of native measurement mechanisms that can form an integral part of the network‟s main forwarding operation. However, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) specification enables the efficient encoding and processing of optional per-packet information as a native part of the network layer, and this constitutes a strong reason for IPv6 to be adopted as the ubiquitous next generation Internet transport. In this paper we present a very high-speed hardware implementation of in-line measurement, a truly native traffic instrumentation mechanism for the next generation Internet, which facilitates performance measurement of the actual data-carrying traffic at small timescales between two points in the network. This system is designed to operate as part of the routers' fast path and to incur an absolutely minimal impact on the network operation even while instrumenting traffic between the edges of very high capacity links. Our results show that the implementation can be easily accommodated by current FPGA technology, and real Internet traffic traces verify that the overhead incurred by instrumenting every packet over a 10 Gb/s operational backbone link carrying a typical workload is indeed negligible

Realistic, Extensible DNS and mDNS Models for INET/OMNeT++

The domain name system (DNS) is one of the core services in today's network structures. In local and ad-hoc networks DNS is often enhanced or replaced by mDNS. As of yet, no simulation models for DNS and mDNS have been developed for INET/OMNeT++. We introduce DNS and mDNS simulation models for OMNeT++, which allow researchers to easily prototype and evaluate extensions for these protocols. In addition, we present models for our own experimental extensions, namely Stateless DNS and Privacy-Enhanced mDNS, that are based on the aforementioned models. Using our models we were able to further improve the efficiency of our protocol extensions.Comment: Published in: A. F\"orster, C. Minkenberg, G. R. Herrera, M. Kirsche (Eds.), Proc. of the 2nd OMNeT++ Community Summit, IBM Research - Zurich, Switzerland, September 3-4, 201

Efficient Resource Management Mechanism for 802.16 Wireless Networks Based on Weighted Fair Queuing

Wireless Networking continues on its path of being one of the most commonly used means of communication. The evolution of this technology has taken place through the design of various protocols. Some common wireless protocols are the WLAN, 802.16 or WiMAX, and the emerging 802.20, which specializes in high speed vehicular networks, taking the concept from 802.16 to higher levels of performance. As with any large network, congestion becomes an important issue. Congestion gains importance as more hosts join a wireless network. In most cases, congestion is caused by the lack of an efficient mechanism to deal with exponential increases in host devices. This can effectively lead to very huge bottlenecks in the network causing slow sluggish performance, which may eventually reduce the speed of the network. With continuous advancement being the trend in this technology, the proposal of an efficient scheme for wireless resource allocation is an important solution to the problem of congestion. The primary area of focus will be the emerging standard for wireless networks, the 802.16 or “WiMAX”. This project, attempts to propose a mechanism for an effective resource management mechanism between subscriber stations and the corresponding base station

Reliable Video Streaming over mmWave with Multi Connectivity and Network Coding

The next generation of multimedia applications will require the telecommunication networks to support a higher bitrate than today, in order to deliver virtual reality and ultra-high quality video content to the users. Most of the video content will be accessed from mobile devices, prompting the provision of very high data rates by next generation (5G) cellular networks. A possible enabler in this regard is communication at mmWave frequencies, given the vast amount of available spectrum that can be allocated to mobile users; however, the harsh propagation environment at such high frequencies makes it hard to provide a reliable service. This paper presents a reliable video streaming architecture for mmWave networks, based on multi connectivity and network coding, and evaluates its performance using a novel combination of the ns-3 mmWave module, real video traces and the network coding library Kodo. The results show that it is indeed possible to reliably stream video over cellular mmWave links, while the combination of multi connectivity and network coding can support high video quality with low latency.Comment: To be presented at the 2018 IEEE International Conference on Computing, Networking and Communications (ICNC), March 2018, Maui, Hawaii, USA (invited paper). 6 pages, 4 figure

FastM: Design and Evaluation of a Fast Mobility Mechanism for Wireless Mesh Networks

Although there is a large volume of work in the literature in terms of mobility approaches for Wireless Mesh Networks, usually these approaches introduce high latency in the handover process and do not support realtime services and applications. Moreover, mobility is decoupled from routing, which leads to inefficiency to both mobility and routing approaches with respect to mobility. In this paper we present a new extension to proactive routing protocols using a fast mobility extension, FastM, with the purpose of increasing handover performance in Wireless Mesh Networks. With this new extension, a new concept is created to integrate information between neighbor wireless mesh routers, managing locations of clients associated to wireless mesh routers in a certain neighborhood, and avoiding packet loss during handover. The proposed mobility approach is able to optimize the handover process without imposing any modifications to the current IEE 802.11 MAC protocol and use unmodified clients. Results show the improved efficiency of the proposed scheme: metrics such as disconnection time, throughput, packet loss and control overhead are largely improved when compared to previous approaches. Moreover, these conclusions apply to mobility scenarios, although mobility decreases the performance of the handover approach, as expected

Bounds on series-parallel slowdown

We use activity networks (task graphs) to model parallel programs and consider series-parallel extensions of these networks. Our motivation is two-fold: the benefits of series-parallel activity networks and the modelling of programming constructs, such as those imposed by current parallel computing environments. Series-parallelisation adds precedence constraints to an activity network, usually increasing its makespan (execution time). The slowdown ratio describes how additional constraints affect the makespan. We disprove an existing conjecture positing a bound of two on the slowdown when workload is not considered. Where workload is known, we conjecture that 4/3 slowdown is always achievable, and prove our conjecture for small networks using max-plus algebra. We analyse a polynomial-time algorithm showing that achieving 4/3 slowdown is in exp-APX. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

End-to-End Simulation of 5G mmWave Networks

Due to its potential for multi-gigabit and low latency wireless links, millimeter wave (mmWave) technology is expected to play a central role in 5th generation cellular systems. While there has been considerable progress in understanding the mmWave physical layer, innovations will be required at all layers of the protocol stack, in both the access and the core network. Discrete-event network simulation is essential for end-to-end, cross-layer research and development. This paper provides a tutorial on a recently developed full-stack mmWave module integrated into the widely used open-source ns--3 simulator. The module includes a number of detailed statistical channel models as well as the ability to incorporate real measurements or ray-tracing data. The Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers are modular and highly customizable, making it easy to integrate algorithms or compare Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) numerologies, for example. The module is interfaced with the core network of the ns--3 Long Term Evolution (LTE) module for full-stack simulations of end-to-end connectivity, and advanced architectural features, such as dual-connectivity, are also available. To facilitate the understanding of the module, and verify its correct functioning, we provide several examples that show the performance of the custom mmWave stack as well as custom congestion control algorithms designed specifically for efficient utilization of the mmWave channel.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials (revised Jan. 2018