Dynamic Optical Networks for Data Centres and Media Production

This thesis explores all-optical networks for data centres, with a particular focus on network designs for live media production. A design for an all-optical data centre network is presented, with experimental verification of the feasibility of the network data plane. The design uses fast tunable (< 200 ns) lasers and coherent receivers across a passive optical star coupler core, forming a network capable of reaching over 1000 nodes. Experimental transmission of 25 Gb/s data across the network core, with combined wavelength switching and time division multiplexing (WS-TDM), is demonstrated. Enhancements to laser tuning time via current pre-emphasis are discussed, including experimental demonstration of fast wavelength switching (< 35 ns) of a single laser between all combinations of 96 wavelengths spaced at 50 GHz over a range wider than the optical C-band. Methods of increasing the overall network throughput by using a higher complexity modulation format are also described, along with designs for line codes to enable pulse amplitude modulation across the WS-TDM network core. The construction of an optical star coupler network core is investigated, by evaluating methods of constructing large star couplers from smaller optical coupler components. By using optical circuit switches to rearrange star coupler connectivity, the network can be partitioned, creating independent reserves of bandwidth and resulting in increased overall network throughput. Several topologies for constructing a star from optical couplers are compared, and algorithms for optimum construction methods are presented. All of the designs target strict criteria for the flexible and dynamic creation of multicast groups, which will enable future live media production workflows in data centres. The data throughput performance of the network designs is simulated under synthetic and practical media production traffic scenarios, showing improved throughput when reconfigurable star couplers are used compared to a single large star. An energy consumption evaluation shows reduced network power consumption compared to incumbent and other proposed data centre network technologies

Development of a Remotely Accessible Wireless Testbed for Performance Evaluation of AMI Related Protocols

Although smart meters are deployed in many countries, the data collection process from smart meters in Smart Grid (SG) still has some challenges related to consumer privacy that needs to be addressed. Referred to as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), the data collected and transmitted through the AMI can leak sensitive information about the consumers if it is sent as a plaintext. While many solutions have been proposed in the past, the deployment of these solutions in real-life was not possible since the actual AMIs were not accessible to researchers. Therefore, a lot of solutions relied on simulations which may not be able to capture the real performance of these solutions. In this thesis, two 802.11s wireless mesh-based SG AMI network testbeds are developed with Beaglebone Black and Raspberry Pi 3 boards to provide a baseline for the simulations. The Raspberry Pi 3 testbed is also configured to be remotely accessible

System-on-chip architecture for secure sub-microsecond synchronization systems

213 p.En esta tesis, se pretende abordar los problemas que conlleva la protección cibernética del Precision Time Protocol (PTP). Éste es uno de los protocolos de comunicación más sensibles de entre los considerados por los organismos de estandarización para su aplicación en las futuras Smart Grids o redes eléctricas inteligentes. PTP tiene como misión distribuir una referencia de tiempo desde un dispositivo maestro al resto de dispositivos esclavos, situados dentro de una misma red, de forma muy precisa. El protocolo es altamente vulnerable, ya que introduciendo tan sólo un error de tiempo de un microsegundo, pueden causarse graves problemas en las funciones de protección del equipamiento eléctrico, o incluso detener su funcionamiento. Para ello, se propone una nueva arquitectura System-on-Chip basada en dispositivos reconfigurables, con el objetivo de integrar el protocolo PTP y el conocido estándar de seguridad MACsec para redes Ethernet. La flexibilidad que los modernos dispositivos reconfigurables proporcionan, ha sido aprovechada para el diseño de una arquitectura en la que coexisten procesamiento hardware y software. Los resultados experimentales avalan la viabilidad de utilizar MACsec para proteger la sincronización en entornos industriales, sin degradar la precisión del protocolo

Optical packet networks : enabling innovative switching technologies

Les réseaux informatiques avec une grande capacité nécessitent des liaisons de transmission de données rapides et fiables pour prendre en charge les applications web en pleine croissance. Comme le nombre de serveurs interconnectés et la capacité de stockage des médias ne cessent daugmenter, les communications optiques et les technologies de routage sont devenues intéressantes grâce au taux binaire élevé et à lencombrement minimum offert par la fibre optique. Les réseaux optiques à commutation de paquets (OPSNs) offrent une flexibilité accrue dans la gestion de réseau. OPSNs exploitent les convertisseurs de longueur donde accordables (WC) pour minimiser la probabilité de blocage et fournir une allocation dynamique des longueurs donde. Les émetteurs optiques basés sur des sources multi-longueurs donde se présentent comme une solution intéressante en termes de coût, dencombrement et defficacité énergétique par rapport aux autres types de lasers. Les convertisseurs de longueurs donde doivent permettre des taux binaires élevés et une transparence à une grande variété de formats de modulation, tout en offrant une réponse rapide, des niveaux de puissance modérés et un rapport de signal à bruit optique (OSNR) acceptable à la sortie. Plusieurs technologies de conversion de longueur donde ont été proposées dans la littérature. Lutilisation du mélange à quatre ondes (FWM) dans les amplificateurs optiques à semi-conducteurs (SOA) permet lutilisation de faibles niveaux de puissance dentrée et offre une bonne efficacité de conversion ainsi que la possibilité dintégration photonique. Les SOAs offrent donc un excellent compromis par rapport aux autres solutions. Pour couvrir une plus large bande de conversion, nous utilisons le schéma exploitant le FWM avec doubles pompes dans les SOAs. Pour la stabilité de phase, les pompes viennent d’un laser en mode bloqué (QDMLL) qui sert comme source multi-longueurs donde. Deux modes du QDMLL sont sélectionnés par un filtrage accordable et servent comme doubles pompes. Un filtre accordable placé à la sortie du SOA sert à sélectionner le produit du FWM pour le signal final. Nous étudions le convertisseur de longueur donde proposé et comparons sa performance pour différents formats de modulation (modulation dintensité et de phase) et à différents débits binaires (10 et 40 Gbit/s). Le taux derreur binaire, lefficacité de conversion et la mesure de lOSNR sont présentés. Nous démontrons aussi la possibilité de simultanément convertir en longueurs donde les données et l’étiquette. Les données à haut débit et l’étiquette à faible débit se retrouvent dans une seule bande de longueurs d’onde, et ils sont convertis ensemble avec une bonne efficacité. Notre démonstration se concentre sur les performances de conversion, donc les données et létiquette sont des signaux continus plutôt que de paquets optiques. Des mesures de taux derreur binaire ont été effectuées à la fois pour les données et pour létiquette. Nous proposons aussi lutilisation de QDMLL comme source de transmetteurs WDM pour deux applications différentes: unicast et multicast. Nous démontrons aussi sa compatibilité avec le format de transmission DQPSK à haut débit binaire. Nous évaluons la performance du DQPSK en terme de taux derreur binaire et comparons sa performance à celle dune source laser à cavité externe.Large scale computer networks require fast and reliable data links in order to support growing web applications. As the number of interconnected servers and storage media increases, optical communications and routing technologies become interesting because of the high speed and small footprint of optical fiber links. Furthermore, optical packet switched networks (OPSN) provide increased flexibility in network management. Future networks are envisaged to be wavelength dependent routing, therefore OPSN will exploit tunable wavelength converters (WC) to enable contention resolution, reduce wavelength blocking in wavelength routing and switching, and provide dynamic wavelength assignment. Optical transmitters based on multi-wavelength sources are presented as an attrative solution compared to a set of single distributed feedback lasers in terms of cost, footprint and power consumption. Wavelength converters should support high bit rates and a variety of signal formats, have fast setup time, moderate input power levels and high optical signal-to-noise ratio at the output. Several wavelength conversion technologies have been demonstrated. The use of four wave mixing (FWM) in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) provides low input power levels, acceptable conversion efficiency and the possibility of photonic integration. SOAs therefore offer excellent trade-offs compared to other solutions. To achieve wide wavelength coverage and integrability, we use a dual pump scheme exploiting four-wave mixing in semiconductor optical amplifiers. For phase stability, we use a quantum-dash mode-locked laser (QD-MLL) as a multi-wavelength source for the dual pumps, with tunability provided by the frequency selective filter. We investigate the proposed wavelength converter and compare its performance of wavelength conversion for different non-return-to-zero (NRZ) intensity and phase modulation formats at different bit rates (10 and 40 Gbit/s). Bit error rate, conversion efficiency and optical signal-to-noise ratio measurements are reported. We demonstrate the possibility of tightly packed payload and label wavelength conversion at very high data baud rate over wide tuning range with good conversion efficiency. Our demonstration concentrates on conversion performance, hence continuous payload and label signals were used without gating into packets. Bit error measurements for both payload and label were performed. We propose the use of QD-MLL as multi-wavelength source for WDM unicast and multicast applications and we investigated its compatibility with DQPSK transmission at high bit rate. We quantify DQPSK performance via bit error rate measurements and compare performance to that of an external cavity laser (ECL) source

Multistage Packet-Switching Fabrics for Data Center Networks

Recent applications have imposed stringent requirements within the Data Center Network (DCN) switches in terms of scalability, throughput and latency. In this thesis, the architectural design of the packet-switches is tackled in different ways to enable the expansion in both the number of connected endpoints and traffic volume. A cost-effective Clos-network switch with partially buffered units is proposed and two packet scheduling algorithms are described. The first algorithm adopts many simple and distributed arbiters, while the second approach relies on a central arbiter to guarantee an ordered packet delivery. For an improved scalability, the Clos switch is build using a Network-on-Chip (NoC) fabric instead of the common crossbar units. The Clos-UDN architecture made with Input-Queued (IQ) Uni-Directional NoC modules (UDNs) simplifies the input line cards and obviates the need for the costly Virtual Output Queues (VOQs). It also avoids the need for complex, and synchronized scheduling processes, and offers speedup, load balancing, and good path diversity. Under skewed traffic, a reliable micro load-balancing contributes to boosting the overall network performance. Taking advantage of the NoC paradigm, a wrapped-around multistage switch with fully interconnected Central Modules (CMs) is proposed. The architecture operates with a congestion-aware routing algorithm that proactively distributes the traffic load across the switching modules, and enhances the switch performance under critical packet arrivals. The implementation of small on-chip buffers has been made perfectly feasible using the current technology. This motivated the implementation of a large switching architecture with an Output-Queued (OQ) NoC fabric. The design merges assets of the output queuing, and NoCs to provide high throughput, and smooth latency variations. An approximate analytical model of the switch performance is also proposed. To further exploit the potential of the NoC fabrics and their modularity features, a high capacity Clos switch with Multi-Directional NoC (MDN) modules is presented. The Clos-MDN switching architecture exhibits a more compact layout than the Clos-UDN switch. It scales better and faster in port count and traffic load. Results achieved in this thesis demonstrate the high performance, expandability and programmability features of the proposed packet-switches which makes them promising candidates for the next-generation data center networking infrastructure

Multi-Stream Management for Supporting Multi-Party 3D Tele-Immersive Environments

Three-dimensional tele-immersive (3DTI) environments have great potential to promote collaborative work among geographically distributed participants. However, extensive application of 3DTI environments is still hindered by problems pertaining to scalability, manageability and reliance of special-purpose components. Thus, one critical question is how to organize the acquisition, transmission and display of large volume real-time 3D visual data over commercially available computing and networking infrastructures so that .everybody. would be able to install and enjoy 3DTI environments for high quality tele-collaboration. In the thesis, we explore the design space from the angle of multi-stream Quality-of-Service (QoS) management to support multi-party 3DTI communication. In 3DTI environments, multiple correlated 3D video streams are deployed to provide a comprehensive representation of the physical scene. Traditional QoS approach in 2D and single-stream scenario has become inadequate. On the other hand, the existence of multiple streams provides unique opportunity for QoS provisioning. We propose an innovative cross-layer hierarchical and distributed multi-stream management middleware framework for QoS provisioning to fully enable multi-party 3DTI communication over general delivery infrastructure. The major contributions are as follows. First, we introduce the view model for representing the user interest in the application layer. The design revolves around the concept of view-aware multi-stream coordination, which leverages the central role of view semantics in 3D video systems. Second, in the stream differentiation layer we present the design of view to stream mapping, where a subset of relevant streams are selected based on the relative importance of each stream to the current view. Conventional streaming controllers focus on a fixed set of streams specified by the application. Different from all the others, in our management framework the application layer only specifies the view information while the underlying controller dynamically determines the set of streams to be managed. Third, in the stream coordination layer we present two designs applicable in different situations. In the case of end-to-end 3DTI communication, a learning-based controller is embedded which provides bandwidth allocation for relevant streams. In the case of multi-party 3DTI communication, we propose a novel ViewCast protocol to coordinate the multi-stream content dissemination upon an end-system overlay network