Demonstrator for Objective Driven SON Operation

Abstract-The demonstrator shows a self-management system for heterogeneous mobile wireless networks that uses contextspecific and weighted Key Performance Indicator (KPI) target values defined by the operator to automatically and autonomously configure and control the operation of Self-Organising Network (SON) functions such that they contribute to achieving these KPI targets by appropriately optimising the network configuration. Changing KPI targets, context or weights leads to an automatic re-configuration of the SON functions by using a policy system, and the impact of the changes to the policy and the network configuration can be seen and traced in the demonstrator's realistic network scenario and KPI charts

Dynamic, Context-Specific SON Management Driven by Operator Objectives

Abstract-The management and operation of a SelfOrganizing Network (SON)-enabled mobile network still requires considerable human effort. On the one hand, SON Functions need to be configured through low-level parameters in order to control the optimization of the network. On the other hand, an operator wants to steer the system with solely technical objectives, and the underlying network should be adapted accordingly. This opens up a gap in network management that is currently closed manually. This paper presents an approach that overcomes the manual gap between technical objectives and SON Functions by choosing the best values for the SON Functions' configurations automatically. Main advantage of this approach is that it allows to manage a system at a high level of abstraction and, at the same time, reduces manual effort. The approach is explained by applying it in a case study in the field of mobile networks with four SON Functions, namely Mobility Load Balancing (MLB), Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO), Energy Savings Management (ESM) and Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO)

Policy-Driven Adaptive Protection Systems.

PhDThe increasing number and complexity of security attacks on IT infrastructure demands for the development of protection systems capable of dealing with the security challenges of today’s highly dynamic environments. Several converging trends including mobilisation, externalisation and collaboration, virtualisation, and cloud computing are challenging traditional silo approaches to providing security. IT security policies should be considered as being inherently dynamic and flexible enough to trigger decisions efficiently and effectively taking into account not only the current execution environment of a protection system and its runtime contextual factors, but also dynamically changing the security requirements introduced by external entities in the operational environment. This research is motivated by the increasing need for security systems capable of supporting security decisions in dynamic operational environments and advocates for a policy-driven adaptive security approach. The first main contribution of this thesis is to articulate the property of specialisation in adaptive software systems and propose a novel methodological framework for the realisation of policy-driven adaptive systems capable of specialisation via adaptive policy transformation. Furthermore, this thesis proposes three distinctive novel protection mechanisms, all three mechanisms exhibit adaptation via specialisation, but each one presenting its own research novelty in its respective field. They are: 1. A Secure Execution Context Enforcement based on Activity Detection; 2. Privacy and Security Requirements Enforcement Framework in Internet-Centric Services; 3. A Context-Aware Multifactor Authentication Scheme Based On Dynamic Pin. 3 Along with a comprehensive study of the state of the art in policy based adaptive systems and a comparative analysis of those against the main objectives of the framework this thesis proposes, these three protection mechanisms serve as a foundation and experimental work from which core characteristics, methods, components, and other elements are analysed in detail towards the investigation and the proposition of the methodological framework presented in this thesis

Self-organising smart grid architectures for cyber-security

PhD ThesisCurrent conventional power systems consist of large-scale centralised generation and unidirectional power flow from generation to demand. This vision for power system design is being challenged by the need to satisfy the energy trilemma, as the system is required to be sustainable, available and secure. Emerging technologies are restructuring the power system; the addition of distributed generation, energy storage and active participation of customers are changing the roles and requirements of the distribution network. Increased controllability and monitoring requirements combined with an increase in controllable technologies has played a pivotal role in the transition towards smart grids. The smart grid concept features a large amount of sensing and monitoring equipment sharing large volumes of information. This increased reliance on the ICT infrastructure, raises the importance of cyber-security due to the number of vulnerabilities which can be exploited by an adversary. The aim of this research was to address the issue of cyber-security within a smart grid context through the application of self-organising communication architectures. The work examined the relevance and potential for self-organisation when performing voltage control in the presence of a denial of service attack event. The devised self-organising architecture used techniques adapted from a range of research domains including underwater sensor networks, wireless communications and smart-vehicle tracking applications. These components were redesigned for a smart grid application and supported by the development of a fuzzy based decision making engine. A multi-agent system was selected as the source platform for delivering the self-organising architecture The application of self-organisation for cyber-security within a smart grid context is a novel research area and one which presents a wide range of potential benefits for a future power system. The results indicated that the developed self-organising architecture was able to avoid control deterioration during an attack event involving up to 24% of the customer population. Furthermore, the system also reduces the communication load on the agents involved in the architecture and demonstrated wider reaching benefits beyond performing voltage control