1,458 research outputs found
Design, implementation and experimental evaluation of a network-slicing aware mobile protocol stack
Mención Internacional en el título de doctorWith the arrival of new generation mobile networks, we currently observe a paradigm
shift, where monolithic network functions running on dedicated hardware are now
implemented as software pieces that can be virtualized on general purpose hardware
platforms. This paradigm shift stands on the softwarization of network functions and
the adoption of virtualization techniques. Network Function Virtualization (NFV)
comprises softwarization of network elements and virtualization of these components.
It brings multiple advantages: (i) Flexibility, allowing an easy management of the virtual
network functions (VNFs) (deploy, start, stop or update); (ii) efficiency, resources can be
adequately consumed due to the increased flexibility of the network infrastructure; and
(iii) reduced costs, due to the ability of sharing hardware resources. To this end, multiple
challenges must be addressed to effectively leverage of all these benefits.
Network Function Virtualization envisioned the concept of virtual network, resulting in
a key enabler of 5G networks flexibility, Network Slicing. This new paradigm represents
a new way to operate mobile networks where the underlying infrastructure is "sliced"
into logically separated networks that can be customized to the specific needs of the
tenant. This approach also enables the ability of instantiate VNFs at different locations
of the infrastructure, choosing their optimal placement based on parameters such as the
requirements of the service traversing the slice or the available resources. This decision
process is called orchestration and involves all the VNFs withing the same network slice.
The orchestrator is the entity in charge of managing network slices. Hands-on experiments
on network slicing are essential to understand its benefits and limits, and to validate the
design and deployment choices. While some network slicing prototypes have been built
for Radio Access Networks (RANs), leveraging on the wide availability of radio hardware
and open-source software, there is no currently open-source suite for end-to-end network
slicing available to the research community. Similarly, orchestration mechanisms must
be evaluated as well to properly validate theoretical solutions addressing diverse aspects
such as resource assignment or service composition.
This thesis contributes on the study of the mobile networks evolution regarding its
softwarization and cloudification. We identify software patterns for network function
virtualization, including the definition of a novel mobile architecture that squeezes the virtualization architecture by splitting functionality in atomic functions.
Then, we effectively design, implement and evaluate of an open-source network
slicing implementation. Our results show a per-slice customization without paying the
price in terms of performance, also providing a slicing implementation to the research
community. Moreover, we propose a framework to flexibly re-orchestrate a virtualized
network, allowing on-the-fly re-orchestration without disrupting ongoing services. This
framework can greatly improve performance under changing conditions. We evaluate
the resulting performance in a realistic network slicing setup, showing the feasibility and
advantages of flexible re-orchestration.
Lastly and following the required re-design of network functions envisioned during
the study of the evolution of mobile networks, we present a novel pipeline architecture
specifically engineered for 4G/5G Physical Layers virtualized over clouds. The proposed
design follows two objectives, resiliency upon unpredictable computing and parallelization
to increase efficiency in multi-core clouds. To this end, we employ techniques such as tight
deadline control, jitter-absorbing buffers, predictive Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request,
and congestion control. Our experimental results show that our cloud-native approach
attains > 95% of the theoretical spectrum efficiency in hostile environments where stateof-
the-art architectures collapse.This work has been supported by IMDEA Networks InstitutePrograma de Doctorado en Ingeniería Telemática por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Francisco Valera Pintor.- Secretario: Vincenzo Sciancalepore.- Vocal: Xenofon Fouka
5G-MEC Testbeds for V2X Applications
Fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks fulfill the demands of critical applications, such as Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), particularly in the automotive industry. Vehicular communication requires low latency and high computational capabilities at the network’s edge. To meet these requirements, ETSI standardized Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), which provides cloud computing capabilities and addresses the need for low latency. This paper presents a generalized overview for implementing a 5G-MEC testbed for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) applications, as well as the analysis of some important testbeds and state-of-the-art implementations based on their deployment scenario, 5G use cases, and open source accessibility. The complexity of using the testbeds is also discussed, and the challenges researchers may face while replicating and deploying them are highlighted. Finally, the paper summarizes the tools used to build the testbeds and addresses open issues related to implementing the testbeds.publishedVersio
An Architecture for Creating Slices to Experiment on Wireless Networks.
Researchers in mobile technologies and services are currently requesting testbeds to validate their proposals in a realistic large-scale and controlled environment. Such demands are some times satisfied with private ad-hoc deployments in a given area of
coverage. However, given national regulations related to the use of the spectrum and the cost of deployments, these solutions are not feasible for most researchers. In this paper, we introduce the architecture of the research infrastructure developed in the
EuWireless project. EuWireless’ objective is to provide private networks that can be dynamically created as slices with different levels of configuration and control, as a cost-effective way to access large-scale testbeds with a licensed spectrum even in
different countries. The paper focuses on the architecture of the Point of Presence, the key element in the EuWireless project, and how it will work in practice. We also present a proof of concept implementation that satisfies some of the design objectives
and demonstrates the feasibility of the proposal.The EuWireless project is funded by the EU Commission under the H2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 777517 and is coordinated by the University of Malaga (UMA). This work is also funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities project RTI2018-099777-B-I00
Fatias de rede fim-a-fim : da extração de perfis de funções de rede a SLAs granulares
Orientador: Christian Rodolfo Esteve RothenbergTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de ComputaçãoResumo: Nos últimos dez anos, processos de softwarização de redes vêm sendo continuamente diversi- ficados e gradativamente incorporados em produção, principalmente através dos paradigmas de Redes Definidas por Software (ex.: regras de fluxos de rede programáveis) e Virtualização de Funções de Rede (ex.: orquestração de funções virtualizadas de rede). Embasado neste processo o conceito de network slice surge como forma de definição de caminhos de rede fim- a-fim programáveis, possivelmente sobre infrastruturas compartilhadas, contendo requisitos estritos de desempenho e dedicado a um modelo particular de negócios. Esta tese investiga a hipótese de que a desagregação de métricas de desempenho de funções virtualizadas de rede impactam e compõe critérios de alocação de network slices (i.e., diversas opções de utiliza- ção de recursos), os quais quando realizados devem ter seu gerenciamento de ciclo de vida implementado de forma transparente em correspondência ao seu caso de negócios de comu- nicação fim-a-fim. A verificação de tal assertiva se dá em três aspectos: entender os graus de liberdade nos quais métricas de desempenho de funções virtualizadas de rede podem ser expressas; métodos de racionalização da alocação de recursos por network slices e seus re- spectivos critérios; e formas transparentes de rastrear e gerenciar recursos de rede fim-a-fim entre múltiplos domínios administrativos. Para atingir estes objetivos, diversas contribuições são realizadas por esta tese, dentre elas: a construção de uma plataforma para automatização de metodologias de testes de desempenho de funções virtualizadas de redes; a elaboração de uma metodologia para análises de alocações de recursos de network slices baseada em um algoritmo classificador de aprendizado de máquinas e outro algoritmo de análise multi- critério; e a construção de um protótipo utilizando blockchain para a realização de contratos inteligentes envolvendo acordos de serviços entre domínios administrativos de rede. Por meio de experimentos e análises sugerimos que: métricas de desempenho de funções virtualizadas de rede dependem da alocação de recursos, configurações internas e estímulo de tráfego de testes; network slices podem ter suas alocações de recursos coerentemente classificadas por diferentes critérios; e acordos entre domínios administrativos podem ser realizados de forma transparente e em variadas formas de granularidade por meio de contratos inteligentes uti- lizando blockchain. Ao final deste trabalho, com base em uma ampla discussão as perguntas de pesquisa associadas à hipótese são respondidas, de forma que a avaliação da hipótese proposta seja realizada perante uma ampla visão das contribuições e trabalhos futuros desta teseAbstract: In the last ten years, network softwarisation processes have been continuously diversified and gradually incorporated into production, mainly through the paradigms of Software Defined Networks (e.g., programmable network flow rules) and Network Functions Virtualization (e.g., orchestration of virtualized network functions). Based on this process, the concept of network slice emerges as a way of defining end-to-end network programmable paths, possibly over shared network infrastructures, requiring strict performance metrics associated to a par- ticular business case. This thesis investigate the hypothesis that the disaggregation of network function performance metrics impacts and composes a network slice footprint incurring in di- verse slicing feature options, which when realized should have their Service Level Agreement (SLA) life cycle management transparently implemented in correspondence to their fulfilling end-to-end communication business case. The validation of such assertive takes place in three aspects: the degrees of freedom by which performance of virtualized network functions can be expressed; the methods of rationalizing the footprint of network slices; and transparent ways to track and manage network assets among multiple administrative domains. In order to achieve such goals, a series of contributions were achieved by this thesis, among them: the construction of a platform for automating methodologies for performance testing of virtual- ized network functions; an elaboration of a methodology for the analysis of footprint features of network slices based on a machine learning classifier algorithm and a multi-criteria analysis algorithm; and the construction of a prototype using blockchain to carry out smart contracts involving service level agreements between administrative systems. Through experiments and analysis we suggest that: performance metrics of virtualized network functions depend on the allocation of resources, internal configurations and test traffic stimulus; network slices can have their resource allocations consistently analyzed/classified by different criteria; and agree- ments between administrative domains can be performed transparently and in various forms of granularity through blockchain smart contracts. At the end of his thesis, through a wide discussion we answer all the research questions associated to the investigated hypothesis in such way its evaluation is performed in face of wide view of the contributions and future work of this thesisDoutoradoEngenharia de ComputaçãoDoutor em Engenharia ElétricaFUNCAM
CN2F: A Cloud-Native Cellular Network Framework
Upcoming 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) cellular networks aim to improve the
efficiency and flexibility of mobile networks by incorporating various
technologies, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function
Virtualization (NFV), and Network Slicing (NS). In this paper, we share our
findings, accompanied by a comprehensive online codebase, about the best
practice of using different open-source projects in order to realize a flexible
testbed for academia and industrial Research and Development (R&D) activities
on the future generation of cellular networks. In particular, a Cloud-Native
Cellular Network Framework (CN2F) is presented which uses OpenAirInterface's
codebase to generate cellular Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) and deploys
Kubernetes to disperse and manage them among some worker nodes. Moreover, CN2F
leverages ONOS and Mininet to emulate the effect of the IP transport networks
in the fronthaul and backhaul of real cellular networks. In this paper, we also
showcase two use cases of CN2F to demonstrate the importance of Edge Computing
(EC) and the capability of Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing
Building the Future Internet through FIRE
The Internet as we know it today is the result of a continuous activity for improving network communications, end user services, computational processes and also information technology infrastructures. The Internet has become a critical infrastructure for the human-being by offering complex networking services and end-user applications that all together have transformed all aspects, mainly economical, of our lives. Recently, with the advent of new paradigms and the progress in wireless technology, sensor networks and information systems and also the inexorable shift towards everything connected paradigm, first as known as the Internet of Things and lately envisioning into the Internet of Everything, a data-driven society has been created. In a data-driven society, productivity, knowledge, and experience are dependent on increasingly open, dynamic, interdependent and complex Internet services. The challenge for the Internet of the Future design is to build robust enabling technologies, implement and deploy adaptive systems, to create business opportunities considering increasing uncertainties and emergent systemic behaviors where humans and machines seamlessly cooperate
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