Data driven SMART intercontinental overlay networks

This paper addresses the use of Big Data and machine learning based analytics to the real-time management of Internet scale Quality-of-Service Route Optimisation with the help of an overlay network. Based on the collection of large amounts of data sampled each $2$ minutes over a large number of source-destinations pairs, we show that intercontinental Internet Protocol (IP) paths are far from optimal with respect to Quality of Service (QoS) metrics such as end-to-end round-trip delay. We therefore develop a machine learning based scheme that exploits large scale data collected from communicating node pairs in a multi-hop overlay network that uses IP between the overlay nodes themselves, to select paths that provide substantially better QoS than IP. The approach inspired from Cognitive Packet Network protocol, uses Random Neural Networks with Reinforcement Learning based on the massive data that is collected, to select intermediate overlay hops resulting in significantly better QoS than IP itself. The routing scheme is illustrated on a $20$-node intercontinental overlay network that collects close to $2\times 10^6$ measurements per week, and makes scalable distributed routing decisions. Experimental results show that this approach improves QoS significantly and efficiently in a scalable manner

Traffic and task allocation in networks and the cloud

Communication services such as telephony, broadband and TV are increasingly migrating into Internet Protocol(IP) based networks because of the consolidation of telephone and data networks. Meanwhile, the increasingly wide application of Cloud Computing enables the accommodation of tens of thousands of applications from the general public or enterprise users which make use of Cloud services on-demand through IP networks such as the Internet. Real-Time services over IP (RTIP) have also been increasingly significant due to the convergence of network services, and the real-time needs of the Internet of Things (IoT) will strengthen this trend. Such Real-Time applications have strict Quality of Service (QoS) constraints, posing a major challenge for IP networks. The Cognitive Packet Network (CPN) has been designed as a QoS-driven protocol that addresses user-oriented QoS demands by adaptively routing packets based on online sensing and measurement. Thus in this thesis we first describe our design for a novel ``Real-Time (RT) traffic over CPN'' protocol which uses QoS goals that match the needs of voice packet delivery in the presence of other background traffic under varied traffic conditions; we present its experimental evaluation via measurements of key QoS metrics such as packet delay, delay variation (jitter) and packet loss ratio. Pursuing our investigation of packet routing in the Internet, we then propose a novel Big Data and Machine Learning approach for real-time Internet scale Route Optimisation based on Quality-of-Service using an overlay network, and evaluate is performance. Based on the collection of data sampled each $2$ minutes over a large number of source-destinations pairs, we observe that intercontinental Internet Protocol (IP) paths are far from optimal with respect to metrics such as end-to-end round-trip delay. On the other hand, our machine learning based overlay network routing scheme exploits large scale data collected from communicating node pairs to select overlay paths, while it uses IP between neighbouring overlay nodes. We report measurements over a week long experiment with several million data points shows substantially better end-to-end QoS than is observed with pure IP routing. Pursuing the machine learning approach, we then address the challenging problem of dispatching incoming tasks to servers in Cloud systems so as to offer the best QoS and reliable job execution; an experimental system (the Task Allocation Platform) that we have developed is presented and used to compare several task allocation schemes, including a model driven algorithm, a reinforcement learning based scheme, and a ``sensible’’ allocation algorithm that assigns tasks to sub-systems that are observed to provide lower response time. These schemes are compared via measurements both among themselves and against a standard round-robin scheduler, with two architectures (with homogenous and heterogenous hosts having different processing capacities) and the conditions under which the different schemes offer better QoS are discussed. Since Cloud systems include both locally based servers at user premises and remote servers and multiple Clouds that can be reached over the Internet, we also describe a smart distributed system that combines local and remote Cloud facilities, allocating tasks dynamically to the service that offers the best overall QoS, and it includes a routing overlay which minimizes network delay for data transfer between Clouds. Internet-scale experiments that we report exhibit the effectiveness of our approach in adaptively distributing workload across multiple Clouds.Open Acces

QoE in Pull Based P2P-TV Systems: Overlay Topology Design Tradeoff

Abstract—This paper presents a systematic performance anal-ysis of pull P2P video streaming systems for live applications, providing guidelines for the design of the overlay topology and the chunk scheduling algorithm. The contribution of the paper is threefold: 1) we propose a realistic simulative model of the system that represents the effects of access bandwidth heterogeneity, latencies, peculiar characteristics of the video, while still guaranteeing good scalability properties; 2) we propose a new latency/bandwidth-aware overlay topology design strategy that improves application layer performance while reducing the underlying transport network stress; 3) we investigate the impact of chunk scheduling algorithms that explicitly exploit properties of encoded video. Results show that our proposal jointly improves the actual Quality of Experience of users and reduces the cost the transport network has to support. I

Tracking Human Mobility using WiFi signals

We study six months of human mobility data, including WiFi and GPS traces recorded with high temporal resolution, and find that time series of WiFi scans contain a strong latent location signal. In fact, due to inherent stability and low entropy of human mobility, it is possible to assign location to WiFi access points based on a very small number of GPS samples and then use these access points as location beacons. Using just one GPS observation per day per person allows us to estimate the location of, and subsequently use, WiFi access points to account for 80\% of mobility across a population. These results reveal a great opportunity for using ubiquitous WiFi routers for high-resolution outdoor positioning, but also significant privacy implications of such side-channel location tracking

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

Session 1B Internet Expansion Plan Proposal in Developing Countries: Peru as a Case Study

Full text available. The presentation will explore how cell phone carriers have helped countries work toward SDG 9, Target 9.c. It will be a critical perspective and will include economic, social, and political implications in the countries researched

Computing Without Borders: The Way Towards Liquid Computing

Despite the de-facto technological uniformity fostered by the cloud and edge computing paradigms, resource fragmentation across isolated clusters hinders the dynamism in application placement, leading to suboptimal performance and operational complexity. Building upon and extending these paradigms, we propose a novel approach envisioning a transparent continuum of resources and services on top of the underlying fragmented infrastructure, called liquid computing. Fully decentralized, multi-ownership-oriented and intent-driven, it enables an overarching abstraction for improved applications execution, while at the same time opening up for new scenarios, including resource sharing and brokering. Following the above vision, we present liqo, an open-source project that materializes this approach through the creation of dynamic and seamless Kubernetes multi-cluster topologies. Extensive experimental evaluations have shown its effectiveness in different contexts, both in terms of Kubernetes overhead and compared to other open-source alternatives

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF\u27s 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt will affect trade, fisheries, tourism, coastal ecology, air and water quality, animal migration, and demographics not only in the Arctic but also in lower latitude coastal regions such as New England. With profound changes on the horizon, this is a critical opportunity for New England to prepare for uncertain yet inevitable economic and environmental impacts of Arctic change

Novel applications and contexts for the cognitive packet network

Autonomic communication, which is the development of self-configuring, self-adapting, self-optimising and self-healing communication systems, has gained much attention in the network research community. This can be explained by the increasing demand for more sophisticated networking technologies with physical realities that possess computation capabilities and can operate successfully with minimum human intervention. Such systems are driving innovative applications and services that improve the quality of life of citizens both socially and economically. Furthermore, autonomic communication, because of its decentralised approach to communication, is also being explored by the research community as an alternative to centralised control infrastructures for efficient management of large networks. This thesis studies one of the successful contributions in the autonomic communication research, the Cognitive Packet Network (CPN). CPN is a highly scalable adaptive routing protocol that allows for decentralised control in communication. Consequently, CPN has achieved significant successes, and because of the direction of research, we expect it to continue to find relevance. To investigate this hypothesis, we research new applications and contexts for CPN. This thesis first studies Information-Centric Networking (ICN), a future Internet architecture proposal. ICN adopts a data-centric approach such that contents are directly addressable at the network level and in-network caching is easily supported. An optimal caching strategy for an information-centric network is first analysed, and approximate solutions are developed and evaluated. Furthermore, a CPN inspired forwarding strategy for directing requests in such a way that exploits the in-network caching capability of ICN is proposed. The proposed strategy is evaluated via discrete event simulations and shown to be more effective in its search for local cache hits compared to the conventional methods. Finally, CPN is proposed to implement the routing system of an Emergency Cyber-Physical System for guiding evacuees in confined spaces in emergency situations. By exploiting CPN’s QoS capabilities, different paths are assigned to evacuees based on their ongoing health conditions using well-defined path metrics. The proposed system is evaluated via discrete-event simulations and shown to improve survival chances compared to a static system that treats evacuees in the same way.Open Acces