Algorithms for advance bandwidth reservation in media production networks

Media production generally requires many geographically distributed actors (e.g., production houses, broadcasters, advertisers) to exchange huge amounts of raw video and audio data. Traditional distribution techniques, such as dedicated point-to-point optical links, are highly inefficient in terms of installation time and cost. To improve efficiency, shared media production networks that connect all involved actors over a large geographical area, are currently being deployed. The traffic in such networks is often predictable, as the timing and bandwidth requirements of data transfers are generally known hours or even days in advance. As such, the use of advance bandwidth reservation (AR) can greatly increase resource utilization and cost efficiency. In this paper, we propose an Integer Linear Programming formulation of the bandwidth scheduling problem, which takes into account the specific characteristics of media production networks, is presented. Two novel optimization algorithms based on this model are thoroughly evaluated and compared by means of in-depth simulation results

Enabling multi-segment 5G service provisioning and maintenance through network slicing

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of Network and Systems Management . The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10922-019-09509-9The current deployment of 5G networks in a way to support the highly demanding service types defined for 5G, has brought the need for using new techniques to accommodate legacy networks to such requirements. Network Slicing in turn, enables sharing the same underlying physical infrastructure among services with different requirements, thus providing a level of isolation between them to guarantee their proper functionality. In this work, we analyse from an architectural point of view, the required coordination for the provisioning of 5G services over multiple network segments/domains by means of network slicing, considering as well the use of sensors and actuators to maintain slices performance during its lifetime. We set up an experimental multi-segment testbed to demonstrate end-to-end service provisioning and its guarantee in terms of specific QoS parameters, such as latency, throughput and Virtual Network Function (VNF) CPU/RAM consumption. The results provided, demonstrate the workflow between different network components to coordinate the deployment of slices, besides providing a set of examples for slice maintenance through service monitoring and the use of policy-based actuations.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Network Function Virtualization: state-of-the-art and research challenges

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has drawn significant attention from both industry and academia as an important shift in telecommunication service provisioning. By decoupling Network Functions (NFs) from the physical devices on which they run, NFV has the potential to lead to significant reductions in Operating Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenses (CAPEX) and facilitate the deployment of new services with increased agility and faster time-to-value. The NFV paradigm is still in its infancy and there is a large spectrum of opportunities for the research community to develop new architectures, systems and applications, and to evaluate alternatives and trade-offs in developing technologies for its successful deployment. In this paper, after discussing NFV and its relationship with complementary fields of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and cloud computing, we survey the state-of-the-art in NFV, and identify promising research directions in this area. We also overview key NFV projects, standardization efforts, early implementations, use cases and commercial products.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Deployment and validation of a communication suite using an NFV service platform

Telecommunications are in permanent and constant change. The arrival of 5G brings new use cases to the table, wich drive the standarisation and where the efforts shall be directed. Also, Vertical Industries are demanding better performance in terms of network flexibility and computation power to Infrastructure Providers, and even vertical applications are requiring more complex scenarios (e.g., in Industrial, Immersive Media and Real Time Communication applications). Vertical industries do not only require a reliable, fast platform, but also to reduce on time-to-market and capability to manage Quality of Service (QoS) for certain applications. ETSI Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) ISG is doing an effort to give solutions to these new problems aroused. In NFV nomenclature, these applications are abstracted by a concept called Network Service. Some of these Network Services might be instantiated in complex scenarios, which must be connected across a Wide Area Networks (WAN), where recently Software Defined Networks (SDN) have been acquiring more importance, reducing Capex and Opex costs for WAN providers but also speeding up the process of network configuration, where Open and well-defined APIs are becoming a key to success. To solve the problem of instantiating services across a WAN, there exist the concept of WAN Infrastructure Manager (WIM), a component defined in ETSI NFV architecture and which currently Orchestration Platforms developers are bringing up some solutions with. WIM(s) communicates directly with the NFV Orchestrator, the main component governing a NFV Management and Orchestration Platform. In this respect, this thesis has developed a solution within 5GPPP 5GTANGO project to extend SONATA NFV platform in order to be used to deploy network services over multiple Virtualisation Infrastructure Managers (VIM), which are interconnected through one or multiple WIM(s), using ONF Transport API (T-API) definition as WIM Southbound API Interface. Moreover, these instantiation has been validated and it has been analyzed the benefit of using a Point Of Presence (PoP) closer located at the 'edge' for instantiating a QoS reliant Network Service. T-API has been also extended in order to be used in application connectivity services, allowing an extension of what is called in SDN 'flow matching'. Thus, the main output of this thesis is going to be included in new SONATA Service Platform release 5.0, and furthermore is going to have a critical importance to give functionality to one of 5GTANGO project pilots

Redes definidas por software e funções de redes virtualizadas em ambientes com recursos restritos

With technologies such as SDN and NFV pushing the the development of the next generation networks, new paradigms, such as Fog Computing, appeared in the network scene. However, these technologies have been associated with the network infrastructure, such as the datacenter. In order for these technologies to be used, for instance, in a Fog Computing scenario it is necessary to, therefore, study and develop these technologies to form new control and operation mechanisms. So, a Fog Computing scenario composed by resource-constrained devices, typical in these types of situations, was developed, and, a solution proposal is presented. The solution consists in customizing an existent VIM, OpenVIM, to this kind of devices, after the implementation of the solution, where a Raspberry Pi is used to exemplify this type of devices. Tests are done to measure and compare this devices to more powerful ones. The tests are comprised by benchmarks runs, focusing on instantiation times, and power consumption. The results show some drawbacks inherent to this kind of devices when compared to more powerful ones. However, it is possible to see the potential that this kind of devices might have in the near future.Com tecnologias como SDN e NFV a impulsionar o desenvolvimento das redes da próxima geração, novos paradigmas como por exemplo, Fog Computing, apareceram na área de redes. Contudo, estas tecnologias têm estado associadas à infraestrutura das redes, como o datacenter. Para que estas tecnologias possam ser utilizadas, como por exemplo, num cenário de Fog Computing é necessário, então, estudar e desenvolver estas tecnologias para formar novos mecanismos de controlo e operação. Desta forma, um cenário de Fog Computing composto por dispositivos com recursos limitados, típicos neste tipo de situação, é desenvolvido, e, uma proposta de solução é apresentada. A solução consiste em adaptar uma VIM existente, OpenVIM, para este tipo de dispositivos, após a implementação da solução, onde um Raspberry Pi é utilizado para exemplificar este tipo de dispositvos. Testes são realizados para medir e comparar como estes dispositivos se comportam em comparação com dispositivos mais poderosos. Estes testes são compostos por testes de desempenho, focando o tempo de instanciação e consumo energético. Os resultados apresentam algumas limitações inerentes a este tipo de dispositivos resultantes dos seus recursos limitados, quando comparados com hardware com maior capacidade. Contudo, é possível verificar o potencial que este tipo de dispositivos podem apresentar no futuro próximo.Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e Telecomunicaçõe

Orchestration of Network Services Across Multiple Operators: The 5G Exchange Prototype

Future 5G networks will rely on the coordinated allocation of compute, storage, and networking resources in order to meet the functional requirements of 5G services as well as guaranteeing efficient usage of the network infrastructure. However, the 5G service provisioning paradigm will also require a unified infrastructure service market that integrates multiple operators and technologies. The 5G Exchange (5GEx) project, building heavily on the Software-Defined Network (SDN) and the Network Function Virtualization (NFV) functionalities, tries to overcome this market and technology fragmentation by designing, implementing, and testing a multi-domain orchestrator (MdO) prototype for fast and automated Network Service (NS) provisioning over multiple-technologies and spanning across multiple operators. This paper presents a first implementation of the 5GEx MdO prototype obtained by extending existing open source software tools at the disposal of the 5GEx partners. The main functions of the 5GEx MdO prototype are showcased by demonstrating how it is possible to create and deploy NSs in the context of a Slice as a Service (SlaaS) use-case, based on a multi-operator scenario. The 5GEx MdO prototype performance is experimentally evaluated running validation tests within the 5GEx sandbox. The overall time required for the NS deployment has been evaluated considering NSs deployed across two operators

A flexible information service for management of virtualized software-defined infrastructures

Summary There is a major shift in the Internet towards using programmable and virtualized network devices, offering significant flexibility and adaptability. New networking paradigms such as software-defined networking and network function virtualization bring networks and IT domains closer together using appropriate architectural abstractions. In this context, new and novel information management features need to be introduced. The deployed management and control entities in these environments should have a clear, and often global, view of the network environment and should exchange information in alternative ways (e.g. some may have real-time constraints, while others may be throughput sensitive). Our work addresses these two network management features. In this paper, we define the research challenges in information management for virtualized highly dynamic environments. Along these lines, we introduce and present the design details of the virtual infrastructure information service, a new management information handling framework that (i) provides logically centralized information flow establishment, optimization, coordination, synchronization and management with respect to the diverse management and control entity demands; (ii) is designed according to the characteristics and requirements of software-defined networking and network function virtualization; and (iii) inter-operates with our own virtualized infrastructure framework. Evaluation results demonstrating the flexible and adaptable behaviour of the virtual infrastructure information service and its main operations are included in the paper. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Virtualized Network Infrastructures: Performance Analysis, Design and Implementation

In recent decades, there has been a tremendous evolution in the traffic on the Internet and enterprises networks. Networks assisted since the beginning to two phenomena: on the one hand, the birth of a multitude of applications, each posing different requirements; on the other hand, the explosion of personal mobile networking, with an ever increasing demand of devices that require connectivity. These trends resulted in increased network complexity, leading to difficult management and high costs. At the same time, evolution in the Information Technology (IT) field led to the birth of cloud computing and growth of virtualization technologies, opening new opportunities not only for companies but for individuals (be it PC or mobile users), as well as Service and Infrastructure Providers. Emerging technologies such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) seems to be promising solutions to today’s network problems. Neither standardized solutions, nor how to properly combine their usage to achieve flexible and proactive control management have been discovered yet. This Ph.D. thesis focuses on the exploration of three plane of functionality in which software-defined (computer) networks can be divided: the data, the control and the management plane. In this thesis, we present insights on several aspects of network virtualization, starting from virtual network performance of cloud computing infrastructures, and introducing the Service Function Chaining (SFC) mechanism, discussing its analysis, design and implementation. In particular, the original contribution of this dissertation concerns (i) performance evaluation of the OpenStack cloud platform (the data plane); (ii) the design and implementation of a stateful SDN controller for dynamic SFC (the control plane); (iii) design, implementation and performance analysis of a proposed Intent-based approach for dynamic SFC (the management plane)