Virtual lines, a deadlock-free and real-time routing mechanism for ATM networks

In this paper, we present a routing mechanism and buffer allocation mechanism for an ATM switching fabric. Since the fabric will be used to transfer multimedia traffic, it should provide a guaranteed throughput and a bounded latency. We focus on the design of a suitable routing mechanism that is capable of fulfilling these requirements and is free of deadlocks. We will describe two basic concepts that can be used to implement deadlock-free routing. Routing of messages is closely related to buffering. We have organized the buffers into parallel FIFO's, each representing a virtual line. In this way, we not only have solved the problem of head of line blocking, but we can also give real-time guarantees. We will show that for local high-speed networks, it is more advantageous to have a proper flow control than to have large buffers. Although the virtual line concept can have a low buffer utilization, the transfer efficiency can be higher. The virtual line concept allows adaptive routing. The total throughput of the network can be improved by using alternative routes. Adaptive routing is attractive in networks where alternative routes are not much longer than the initial route(s). The network of the switching fabric is built up from switching elements interconnected in a Kautz topology

Virtual lines, a deadlock free and real-time routing mechanism for ATM networks

In this paper we present a routing mechanism and buffer allocation mechanism for an ATM switching fabric. Since the fabric will be used to transfer multimedia traffic it should provide a guaranteed throughput and a bounded latency. We focus on the design of a suitable routing mechanism that is capable to fulfil these requirements and is free of deadlocks. We will describe two basic concepts that can be used to implement deadlock free routing. Routing of messages is closely related to buffering. We have organized the buffers into parallel fifos, each representing a virtual line. In this way we not only have solved the problem of Head Of Line blocking, but we can also give real-time guarantees. We will show that for local high-speed networks it is more advantageous to have a proper flow control than to have large buffers. Although the virtual line concept can have a low buffer utilization, the transfer efficiency can be higher. The virtual lines concept allows adaptive routing. The total throughput of the network can be improved by using alternative routes. Adaptive routing is attractive in networks where alternative routes are not much longer than the initial route(s). The network of the switching fabric is built up from switching elements interconnected in a Kautz topology

Total order in opportunistic networks

Opportunistic network applications are usually assumed to work only with unordered immutable messages, like photos, videos, or music files, while applications that depend on ordered or mutable messages, like chat or shared contents editing applications, are ignored. In this paper, we examine how total ordering can be achieved in an opportunistic network. By leveraging on existing dissemination and causal order algorithms, we propose a commutative replicated data type algorithm on the basis of Logoot for achieving total order without using tombstones in opportunistic networks where message delivery is not guaranteed by the routing layer. Our algorithm is designed to use the nature of the opportunistic network to reduce the metadata size compared to the original Logoot, and even to achieve in some cases higher hit rates compared to the dissemination algorithms when no order is enforced. Finally, we present the results of the experiments for the new algorithm by using an opportunistic network emulator, mobility traces, and Wikipedia pages.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

On the Experimental Evaluation of Vehicular Networks: Issues, Requirements and Methodology Applied to a Real Use Case

One of the most challenging fields in vehicular communications has been the experimental assessment of protocols and novel technologies. Researchers usually tend to simulate vehicular scenarios and/or partially validate new contributions in the area by using constrained testbeds and carrying out minor tests. In this line, the present work reviews the issues that pioneers in the area of vehicular communications and, in general, in telematics, have to deal with if they want to perform a good evaluation campaign by real testing. The key needs for a good experimental evaluation is the use of proper software tools for gathering testing data, post-processing and generating relevant figures of merit and, finally, properly showing the most important results. For this reason, a key contribution of this paper is the presentation of an evaluation environment called AnaVANET, which covers the previous needs. By using this tool and presenting a reference case of study, a generic testing methodology is described and applied. This way, the usage of the IPv6 protocol over a vehicle-to-vehicle routing protocol, and supporting IETF-based network mobility, is tested at the same time the main features of the AnaVANET system are presented. This work contributes in laying the foundations for a proper experimental evaluation of vehicular networks and will be useful for many researchers in the area.Comment: in EAI Endorsed Transactions on Industrial Networks and Intelligent Systems, 201

Multi-layer virtual transport network design

Service overlay networks and network virtualization enable multiple overlay/virtual networks to run over a common physical network infrastructure. They are widely used to overcome deficiencies of the Internet (e.g., resiliency, security and QoS guarantees). However, most overlay/virtual networks are used for routing/tunneling purposes, and not for providing scoped transport flows (involving all mechanisms such as error and flow control, resource allocation, etc.), which can allow better network resource allocation and utilization. Most importantly, the design of overlay/virtual networks is mostly single-layered, and lacks dynamic scope management, which is important for application and network management. In response to these limitations, we propose a multi-layer approach to Virtual Transport Network (VTN) design. This design is a key part of VTN-based network management, where network management is done via managing various VTNs over different scopes (i.e., ranges of operation). Our simulation and experimental results show that our multi-layer approach to VTN design can achieve better performance compared to the traditional single-layer design used for overlay/virtual networks.This work has been partly supported by National Science Foundation awards: CNS-0963974 and CNS-1346688

A Switch Architecture for Real-Time Multimedia Communications

In this paper we present a switch that can be used to transfer multimedia type of trafJic. The switch provides a guaranteed throughput and a bounded latency. We focus on the design of a prototype Switching Element using the new technology opportunities being offered today. The architecture meets the multimedia requirements but still has a low complexity and needs a minimum amount of hardware. A main item of this paper will be the background of the architectural design decisions made. These include the interconnection topology, buffer organization, routing and scheduling. The implementation of the switching fabric with FPGAs, allows us to experiment with switching mode, routing strategy and scheduling policy in a multimedia environment. The witching elements are interconnected in a Kautz topology. Kautz graphs have interesting properties such as: a small diametec the degree is independent of the network size, the network is fault-tolerant and has a simple routing algorithm