System architecture and deployment scenarios for SESAME: small cEllS coordinAtion for Multi-tenancy and Edge services

The surge of the Internet traffic with exabytes of data flowing over operators’ mobile networks has created the need to rethink the paradigms behind the design of the mobile network architecture. The inadequacy of the 4G UMTS Long term Evolution (LTE) and even of its advanced version LTE-A is evident, considering that the traffic will be extremely heterogeneous in the near future and ranging from 4K resolution TV to machine-type communications. To keep up with these changes, academia, industries and EU institutions have now engaged in the quest for new 5G technology. In this paper we present the innovative system design, concepts and visions developed by the 5G PPP H2020 project SESAME (Small cEllS coordinAtion for Multi-tenancy and Edge services). The innovation of SESAME is manifold: i) combine the key 5G small cells with cloud technology, ii) promote and develop the concept of Small Cells-as-a-Service (SCaaS), iii) bring computing and storage power at the mobile network edge through the development of non-x86 ARM technology enabled micro-servers, and iv) address a large number of scenarios and use cases applying mobile edge computing

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

Will SDN be part of 5G?

For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already, the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul, backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment, business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities, softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure

Network Service Orchestration: A Survey

Business models of network service providers are undergoing an evolving transformation fueled by vertical customer demands and technological advances such as 5G, Software Defined Networking~(SDN), and Network Function Virtualization~(NFV). Emerging scenarios call for agile network services consuming network, storage, and compute resources across heterogeneous infrastructures and administrative domains. Coordinating resource control and service creation across interconnected domains and diverse technologies becomes a grand challenge. Research and development efforts are being devoted to enabling orchestration processes to automate, coordinate, and manage the deployment and operation of network services. In this survey, we delve into the topic of Network Service Orchestration~(NSO) by reviewing the historical background, relevant research projects, enabling technologies, and standardization activities. We define key concepts and propose a taxonomy of NSO approaches and solutions to pave the way towards a common understanding of the various ongoing efforts around the realization of diverse NSO application scenarios. Based on the analysis of the state of affairs, we present a series of open challenges and research opportunities, altogether contributing to a timely and comprehensive survey on the vibrant and strategic topic of network service orchestration.Comment: Accepted for publication at Computer Communications Journa

Testbed para aplicações e serviços 5G

With 5G technologies growing, there is the need to adopt the NFV paradigm to align with the demands of a 5G environment. This entails the decoupling of hardware from the functions it provides, expediting service development. However, the adoption of NFV raises many challenges, one of which is the validation of Virtualized Network Functions. 5GASP is a European project that aims to shorten the idea-to-market process by creating a fully automated and self-service 5G testbed. In alignment with 5GASP’s objectives, this dissertation seeks to design tests for the validation of Network Applications used within a 5G environment. Furthermore, the Service-Based Architecture offers the NEF, which enables external application access to 5G core functions. With these concepts in mind, the solution provided by this dissertation uses NEF to verify whether a Network Application can correctly interact with a 5G Network. This is achieved by integrating NEF into the validation pipeline of 5GASP and developing tests to assess the behavior of Network Applications. In summary, this document presents the designed architecture and the implementation of these mechanisms, along with their respective results and outcomes.Com o crescimento das tecnologias 5G, há a necessidade de adotar o paradigma NFV para responder às necessidades de um ambiente 5G, o que leva à separação do hardware das funções que ele fornece, acelerando o desenvolvimento de serviços. No entanto, a adoção de NFV traz muitos desafios, um dos quais é a validação das VNF. O 5GASP é um projeto europeu que visa a encurtar o processo de ideia-ao-mercado, criando um ambiente de teste 5G totalmente automatizado. Em alinhamento com os objetivos do 5GASP, esta dissertação procura criar testes para a validação de Network Applications usadas em ambiente 5G. Além disso, a Arquitetura Baseada em Serviços oferece o NEF, que permite o acesso de aplicações externas às funções da rede 5G. Com estes conceitos em mente, a solução apresentada por esta dissertação utiliza o NEF para verificar se uma Network Application consegue interagir corretamente com uma rede 5G. Isto é alcançado integrando o NEF no pipeline de validação do 5GASP e desenvolvendo testes para avaliar o comportamento das Network Applications. No geral, este documento apresenta a arquitetura definida e a implementação desses mecanismos, juntamente com seus respectivos resultados.Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e Telemátic

View on 5G Architecture: Version 2.0

The 5G Architecture Working Group as part of the 5GPPP Initiative is looking at capturing novel trends and key technological enablers for the realization of the 5G architecture. It also targets at presenting in a harmonized way the architectural concepts developed in various projects and initiatives (not limited to 5GPPP projects only) so as to provide a consolidated view on the technical directions for the architecture design in the 5G era. The first version of the white paper was released in July 2016, which captured novel trends and key technological enablers for the realization of the 5G architecture vision along with harmonized architectural concepts from 5GPPP Phase 1 projects and initiatives. Capitalizing on the architectural vision and framework set by the first version of the white paper, this Version 2.0 of the white paper presents the latest findings and analyses with a particular focus on the concept evaluations, and accordingly it presents the consolidated overall architecture design

A unified service-based capability exposure framework for closed-loop network automation

The ongoing quest for the tight integration of network operation and the network service provisioning initiated with the introduction of 5G often clashes with the capacity of current network architectures to provide means for such integration. Owing to the traditional design of mobile networks, which barely required a tight interaction, network elements offer capabilities for their continuous optimization just within their domain (eg, access, or core), allowing for a "silo-style" automation that falls short when aiming at closed-loop automation that embraces all the actors involved in the network, from network functions up to the service-provider network functions. To this end, in this article, we make the case for the network-wide capability exposure framework for closed-loop automation by (i) defining the different entities that shall expose capabilities, and (ii) discussing why the state of the art solutions are not enough to support this vision. Our proposed architecture, which relies on registration and discovery, and exposure functions, allows for enhanced use cases that are currently not possible with state of the art solution. We prove the feasibility of our solution by implementing it in a real-world testbed, employing Artificial Intelligence algorithms to close the loop for the management of the radio access network.Part of this work was performed in the context of the H2020 5G-MoNArch project (grant agreement no. 761445). The work of Marco Gramaglia has been partially funded by the H2020 5G-TOURS project (grant agreement no. 856950), and by the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and the European Union-NextGenerationEU through the UNICO 5G I+D projects 6G-CLARION-NFD, 6G-CLARION-OR, 6G-CLARION-SI, and 6G-CLARION-O

Network Slicing Landscape: A holistic architectural approach, orchestration and management with applicability in mobile and fixed networks and clouds

Tutorial at IEEE NetSoft2018 - 29th June 2018 Montreal Abstract: A holistic architectural approach, orchestration and management with applicability in mobile and fixed networks and clouds Topics: Key Slicing concepts and history Slicing Key Characteristics & Usage scenarios & Value Chain Multi-Domain Network Function Virtualisation Review of Research projects and results in network and cloud slicing Open Source Orchestrators Standard Organization activities: NGMN, ITU-T, ONF, 3GPP, ETSI, BBF, IETF Industrial perspective on Network Slicing Review of industry Use Cases Network Slicing Challenges Concluding remarks of Network Slicing Acknowledgements & Reference