Multi-layer virtual transport network design and management

Nowadays there is an increasing need for a general paradigm that can simplify network management and further enable network innovations. Software Defined Networking (SDN) is an efficient way to make the network programmable and reduce management complexity, however it is plagued with limitations inherited from the legacy Internet (TCP/IP) architecture. On the other hand, service overlay networks and virtual networks are widely used to overcome deficiencies of the Internet. However, most overlay/virtual networks are single-layered and lack dynamic scope management. Furthermore, how to solve the joint problem of designing and mapping the overlay/virtual network requests for better application and network performance remains an understudied area. In this thesis, in response to limitations of current SDN management solutions and of the traditional single-layer overlay/virtual network design, we propose a recursive approach to enterprise network management, where network management is done through managing various Virtual Transport Networks (VTNs) over different scopes (i.e., regions of operation). Different from the traditional overlay/virtual network model which mainly focuses on routing/tunneling, our VTN approach provides communication service with explicit Quality-of-Service (QoS) support for applications via transport flows, i.e., it involves all mechanisms (e.g., addressing, routing, error and flow control, resource allocation) needed to meet application requirements. Our approach inherently provides a multi-layer solution for overlay/virtual network design. The contributions of this thesis are threefold: (1) we propose a novel VTN-based management approach to enterprise network management; (2) we develop a framework for multi-layer VTN design and instantiate it to meet specific application and network goals; and (3) we design and prototype a VTN-based management architecture. Our simulation and experimental results demonstrate the flexibility of our VTN-based management approach and its performance advantages

Multi-layered virtual transport network design and management (PhD Thesis)

Nowadays there is an increasing need for a general paradigm that can simplify network management and further enable network innovations. Softwa re Defined Networking (SDN) is an efficient way to make the network programmable and reduce management complexity, however it is plagued with limitations inherited from the legacy Internet (TCP/IP) architecture. On the other hand, service overlay networks and virtual networks are widely usedto overcome deficiencies of the Internet. However, most over lay/virtual networks are single- layered and lack dynamic scope management. Furthermore, how to solve the joint problem of designing and mapping the overlay/virtual network requests for better application and network performance remains an understudied area. In this thesis, in response to limitations of current SDN management solutions and of the traditional single-layer overlay/virtual network design, we propose a recursive approach to enterprise network management, where network management is done through managing various Virtual Transport Networks (VTNs) over different scopes (i.e., regions of opera-tion). Different from the traditional overlay/virtual network model which mainly focuses on routing/tunneling, our VTN approach provides communication service with explicit Quality-of-Service (QoS) support for applications via transport flows, i.e., it involves all mechanisms (e.g., addressing, routing, error and flow control, resource allocation) needed to meet application requirements. Our approach inherently provides a multi-layer solution for overlay/virtual network design. The contributions of this thesis are threefold: (1) we propose a novel VTN-based management approach to enterprise network management; (2) we develop a framework for multi-layer VTN design and instantiate it to meet specific application and network goals; and (3) we design and prototype a VTN-based management architecture. Our simulation and experimental results demonstrate the flexibility of our VTN-based management approach and its performance advantages

Logical topology design for IP rerouting: ASONs versus static OTNs

IP-based backbone networks are gradually moving to a network model consisting of high-speed routers that are flexibly interconnected by a mesh of light paths set up by an optical transport network that consists of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) links and optical cross-connects. In such a model, the generalized MPLS protocol suite could provide the IP centric control plane component that will be used to deliver rapid and dynamic circuit provisioning of end-to-end optical light paths between the routers. This is called an automatic switched optical (transport) network (ASON). An ASON enables reconfiguration of the logical IP topology by setting up and tearing down light paths. This allows to up- or downgrade link capacities during a router failure to the capacities needed by the new routing of the affected traffic. Such survivability against (single) IP router failures is cost-effective, as capacity to the IP layer can be provided flexibly when necessary. We present and investigate a logical topology optimization problem that minimizes the total amount or cost of the needed resources (interfaces, wavelengths, WDM line-systems, amplifiers, etc.) in both the IP and the optical layer. A novel optimization aspect in this problem is the possibility, as a result of the ASON, to reuse the physical resources (like interface cards and WDM line-systems) over the different network states (the failure-free and all the router failure scenarios). We devised a simple optimization strategy to investigate the cost of the ASON approach and compare it with other schemes that survive single router failures

De-ossifying the Internet Transport Layer : A Survey and Future Perspectives

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions and comments.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Computing infrastructure issues in distributed communications systems : a survey of operating system transport system architectures

The performance of distributed applications (such as file transfer, remote login, tele-conferencing, full-motion video, and scientific visualization) is influenced by several factors that interact in complex ways. In particular, application performance is significantly affected both by communication infrastructure factors and computing infrastructure factors. Several communication infrastructure factors include channel speed, bit-error rate, and congestion at intermediate switching nodes. Computing infrastructure factors include (among other things) both protocol processing activities (such as connection management, flow control, error detection, and retransmission) and general operating system factors (such as memory latency, CPU speed, interrupt and context switching overhead, process architecture, and message buffering). Due to a several orders of magnitude increase in network channel speed and an increase in application diversity, performance bottlenecks are shifting from the network factors to the transport system factors.This paper defines an abstraction called an "Operating System Transport System Architecture" (OSTSA) that is used to classify the major components and services in the computing infrastructure. End-to-end network protocols such as TCP, TP4, VMTP, XTP, and Delta-t typically run on general-purpose computers, where they utilize various operating system resources such as processors, virtual memory, and network controllers. The OSTSA provides services that integrate these resources to support distributed applications running on local and wide area networks.A taxonomy is presented to evaluate OSTSAs in terms of their support for protocol processing activities. We use this taxonomy to compare and contrast five general-purpose commercial and experimental operating systems including System V UNIX, BSD UNIX, the x-kernel, Choices, and Xinu

Multi-layer virtual transport network management

Nowadays there is an increasing need for a general paradigm which can simplify network management and further enable network innovations. Software Defined Networking (SDN) is an efficient way to make the network programmable and reduce management complexity, however it is plagued with limitations inherited from the legacy Internet (TCP/IP) architecture. In this paper, in response to limitations of current Software Defined Networking (SDN) management solutions, we propose a recursive approach to enterprise network management, where network management is done through managing various Virtual Transport Networks (VTNs) over different scopes (i.e., regions of operation). Different from the traditional virtual network model which mainly focuses on routing/tunneling, our VTN provides communication service with explicit Quality-of-Service (QoS) support for applications via transport flows, and it involves all mechanisms (e.g., addressing, routing, error and flow control, resource allocation) needed to support such transport flows. Based on this approach, we design and implement a management architecture, which recurses the same VTN-based management mechanism for enterprise network management. Our experimental results show that our management architecture achieves better performance.National Science Foundation awards: CNS-0963974 and CNS-1346688