NFaaS: Named Function as a Service

In the past, the Information-centric networking (ICN) community has focused on issues mainly pertaining to traditional content delivery (e.g., routing and forwarding scalability, congestion control and in-network caching). However, to keep up with future Internet architectural trends the wider area of future Internet paradigms, there is a pressing need to support edge/fog computing environments, where cloud functionality is available more proximate to where the data is generated and needs processing. With this goal in mind, we propose Named Function as a Service (NFaaS), a framework that extends the Named Data Networking architecture to support in-network function execution. In contrast to existing works, NFaaSbuilds on very lightweight VMs and allows for dynamic execution of custom code. Functions can be downloaded and run by any node in the network. Functions can move between nodes according to user demand, making resolution of moving functions a first-class challenge. NFaaSincludes a Kernel Store component, which is responsible not only for storing functions, but also for making decisions on which functions to run locally. NFaaSincludes a routing protocol and a number of forwarding strategies to deploy and dynamically migrate functions within the network. We validate our design through extensive simulations, which show that delay-sensitive functions are deployed closer to the edge, while less delay-sensitive ones closer to the core

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

Content Centric Mechanisms for Efficient Data Dissemination in Delay Tolerant Networks

Today’s internet was founded as a host centric abstraction for connecting machines over a geographically distributed data base. Since then it has exploded into a trillion dollar industry for providing services and content to the world. For meeting these ever growing consumer demands, internet service providers have used bolt-on approaches to patch the internet. On the other hand, the last decade has witnessed the worst natural disasters on earth which resulted in total or partial destruction of communication infrastructure. Understanding these challenges, researchers are committed to re-architect the internet with clean slate information centric approaches. These future internet architectures have shifted the dynamics from predominately location oriented models to data oriented models. These models provide location independence which eases the network configuration and implementation of network services in mobile environments. In this perspective, this thesis aims to hack content centric abstraction to provide optimized solutions for delay tolerant network scenarios. We provide information aware mechanisms which help to take adequate forwarding and caching decisions in these dynamic and challenged environments. This thesis proposes a unique popularity estimation algorithm and a name based prioritization algorithm for disseminating data more productively in intermittently connected networks. For evaluation it analyses the performance for both mechanisms and compare them with the latest solutions. Furthermore the thesis discusses potential research areas in the field of information centric networking and future directions for this thesis

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