LUNES: Agent-based Simulation of P2P Systems (Extended Version)

We present LUNES, an agent-based Large Unstructured NEtwork Simulator, which allows to simulate complex networks composed of a high number of nodes. LUNES is modular, since it splits the three phases of network topology creation, protocol simulation and performance evaluation. This permits to easily integrate external software tools into the main software architecture. The simulation of the interaction protocols among network nodes is performed via a simulation middleware that supports both the sequential and the parallel/distributed simulation approaches. In the latter case, a specific mechanism for the communication overhead-reduction is used; this guarantees high levels of performance and scalability. To demonstrate the efficiency of LUNES, we test the simulator with gossip protocols executed on top of networks (representing peer-to-peer overlays), generated with different topologies. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.Comment: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Modeling and Simulation of Peer-to-Peer Architectures and Systems (MOSPAS 2011). As part of the 2011 International Conference on High Performance Computing and Simulation (HPCS 2011

Quality of Service improvements for real time multimedia applications using next generation network architectures and blockchain in Internet Service Provider cooperative scenario

Real time communications are becoming part of our daily life, requiring constrained requisites with the purpose of being enjoyed in harmony by end users. The factors ruling these requisites are Quality of Service parameters of the users' Internet connections. Achieving a satisfactory QoS level for real time communications depends on parameters that are strongly influenced by the quality of the network connections among the Internet Service Providers, which are located in the path between final users and Over The Top service providers that are supplying them with real time services. Final users can be: business people having real time videoconferences, or adopting crytpocurrencies in their exchanges, videogamers playing online games together with others residing in other countries, migrants talking with their relatives or watching their children growing up in their home countries, people with disabilities adopting tecnologies to help them, doctors performing remote surgeries, manufacturers adopting augmented reality devices to perform dangerous tasks. Each of them performing their daily activities are requiring specific QoS parameters to their ISPs, that nowadays seem to be unable to provide them with a satisfactory QoS level for these kinds of real time services. Through the adoption of next generation networks, such as the Information Centric Networking, it would be possible to overcome the QoS problems that nowadays are experienced. By adopting Blockchain technologies, in several use cases, it would be possible to improve those security aspects related to the non-temperability of information and privacy. I started this thesis analyzing next generation architectures enabling real time multimedia communications. In Software Defined Networking, Named Data Networking and Community Information Centric Networking, I highlighted potential approaches to solve QoS problems that are affecting real time multimedia applications. During my experiments I found that applications able to transmit high quality videos, such as 4k or 8k videos, or to directly interact with devices AR/VR enabled are missing for both ICN approaches. Then I proposed a REST interface for the enforcing of a specific QoS parameter, the round trip time (RTT) taking into consideration the specific use case of a game company that connects with the same telecommunication company of the final user. Supposing that the proposed REST APIs have been deployed in the game company and in the ISP, when one or more users are experiencing lag, the game company will try to ask the ISP to reduce the RTT for that specific user or that group of users. This request can be done by performing a call to a method where IP address(es) and the maximum RTT desired are passed. I also proposed other methods, through which it would be possible to retrieve information about the QoS parameters, and exchange, if necessary, an exceeding parameter in change of another one. The proposed REST APIs can also be used in more complex scenarios, where ISPs along the path are chained together, in order to improve the end to end QoS among Over The Top service provider and final users. To store the information exchanged by using the proposed REST APIs, I proposed to adopt a permissioned blockchain, analizying the ISPs cooperative use case with Hyperledger Fabric, where I proposed the adoption of the Proof of Authority consensus algorithm, to increase the throughput in terms of transactions per second. In a specific case that I examined, I am proposing a combination of Information Centric Networking and Blockchain, in an architecture where ISPs are exchanging valuable information regarding final Users, to improve their QoS parameters. I also proposed my smart contract for the gaming delay use case, that can be used to rule the communication among those ISPs that are along the path among OTT and final users. An extension of this work can be done, by defining billing costs for the QoS improvements

On the design of a native Zero-touch 6G architecture

The complexity of envisioned 6G telecommunication networks requires an intrinsically intelligent architecture designed to autonomously adapt to dynamics with end-to-end zero-touch service automation operations. Motivated by this vision, this paper tries to formulate concepts and solution aspects towards designing a native Zero-touch 6G architecture. Our discussion concentrates around three main pillars, i.e. (i) introducing Machine Learning (ML) models in the core design of the 6G architecture as native functions rather than add-on model solutions; (ii) distributing 6G functionality to different components up to the extreme edge; to (iii) leverage technology leaps enabling, e.g., the use of multi-access technologies and peer-topeer communications besides the standard cellular connectivity and other centralised functionalit

A survey on interactive games over mobile networks

open4noThe mobile revolution has brought us the possibility to enjoy our favorite applications anywhere and anytime. In this context, interactive games over mobile networks embody a fascinating case study both for their commercial success and for their technical challenges, thus, sparking interest and development. The current state of the art of interactive games over mobile networks is captured in this article. We discuss main requirements and analyze possible combinations of existing solutions to provide better support for highly interactive game sessions with mobile players.This work has been partially supported by the UniPD Web Squared and MIUR/PRIN ALTER_NET projects.openGerla, M.; Maggiorini, D.; Palazzi, C.E.; Bujari, A.Gerla, M.; Maggiorini, D.; Palazzi, C.E.; Bujari, A

A survey of simulation techniques in commerce and defence

Despite the developments in Modelling and Simulation (M&S) tools and techniques over the past years, there has been a gap in the M&S research and practice in healthcare on developing a toolkit to assist the modellers and simulation practitioners with selecting an appropriate set of techniques. This study is a preliminary step towards this goal. This paper presents some results from a systematic literature survey on applications of M&S in the commerce and defence domains that could inspire some improvements in the healthcare. Interim results show that in the commercial sector Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) has been the most widely used technique with System Dynamics (SD) in second place. However in the defence sector, SD has gained relatively more attention. SD has been found quite useful for qualitative and soft factors analysis. From both the surveys it becomes clear that there is a growing trend towards using hybrid M&S approaches

Fast Session Resumption in DTLS for Mobile Communications

DTLS is a protocol that provides security guarantees to Internet communications. It can operate on top of both TCP and UDP transport protocols. Thus, it is particularly suited for peer-to-peer and distributed multimedia applications. The same holds if the endpoints are mobile devices. In this scenario, mechanisms are needed to surmount possible network disconnections, often arising due to the mobility or the scarce resources of devices, that can jeopardize the quality of the communications. Session resumption is thus a main issue to deal with. To this aim, we propose a fast reconnection scheme that employs non-connected sockets to quickly resume DTLS communication sessions. The proposed scheme is assessed in a performance evaluation that confirms its viability.Comment: Proceedings of the IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference 2020 (CCNC 2020