Flexi-WVSNP-DASH: A Wireless Video Sensor Network Platform for the Internet of Things

abstract: Video capture, storage, and distribution in wireless video sensor networks (WVSNs) critically depends on the resources of the nodes forming the sensor networks. In the era of big data, Internet of Things (IoT), and distributed demand and solutions, there is a need for multi-dimensional data to be part of the Sensor Network data that is easily accessible and consumable by humanity as well as machinery. Images and video are expected to become as ubiquitous as is the scalar data in traditional sensor networks. The inception of video-streaming over the Internet, heralded a relentless research for effective ways of distributing video in a scalable and cost effective way. There has been novel implementation attempts across several network layers. Due to the inherent complications of backward compatibility and need for standardization across network layers, there has been a refocused attention to address most of the video distribution over the application layer. As a result, a few video streaming solutions over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) have been proposed. Most notable are Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and the Motion Picture Experts Groups Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH). These frameworks, do not address the typical and future WVSN use cases. A highly flexible Wireless Video Sensor Network Platform and compatible DASH (WVSNP-DASH) are introduced. The platform's goal is to usher video as a data element that can be integrated into traditional and non-Internet networks. A low cost, scalable node is built from the ground up to be fully compatible with the Internet of Things Machine to Machine (M2M) concept, as well as the ability to be easily re-targeted to new applications in a short time. Flexi-WVSNP design includes a multi-radio node, a middle-ware for sensor operation and communication, a cross platform client facing data retriever/player framework, scalable security as well as a cohesive but decoupled hardware and software design.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201

Accelerating Network Functions using Reconfigurable Hardware. Design and Validation of High Throughput and Low Latency Network Functions at the Access Edge

Providing Internet access to billions of people worldwide is one of the main technical challenges in the current decade. The Internet access edge connects each residential and mobile subscriber to this network and ensures a certain Quality of Service (QoS). However, the implementation of access edge functionality challenges Internet service providers: First, a good QoS must be provided to the subscribers, for example, high throughput and low latency. Second, the quick rollout of new technologies and functionality demands flexible configuration and programming possibilities of the network components; for example, the support of novel, use-case-specific network protocols. The functionality scope of an Internet access edge requires the use of programming concepts, such as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). The drawback of NFV-based network functions is a significantly lowered resource efficiency due to the execution as software, commonly resulting in a lowered QoS compared to rigid hardware solutions. The usage of programmable hardware accelerators, named NFV offloading, helps to improve the QoS and flexibility of network function implementations. In this thesis, we design network functions on programmable hardware to improve the QoS and flexibility. First, we introduce the host bypassing concept for improved integration of hardware accelerators in computer systems, for example, in 5G radio access networks. This novel concept bypasses the system’s main memory and enables direct connectivity between the accelerator and network interface card. Our evaluations show an improved throughput and significantly lowered latency jitter for the presented approach. Second, we analyze different programmable hardware technologies for hardware-accelerated Internet subscriber handling, including three P4-programmable platforms and FPGAs. Our results demonstrate that all approaches have excellent performance and are suitable for Internet access creation. We present a fully-fledged User Plane Function (UPF) designed upon these concepts and test it in an end-to-end 5G standalone network as part of this contribution. Third, we analyze and demonstrate the usability of Active Queue Management (AQM) algorithms on programmable hardware as an expansion to the access edge. We show the feasibility of the CoDel AQM algorithm and discuss the challenges and constraints to be considered when limited hardware is used. The results show significant improvements in the QoS when the AQM algorithm is deployed on hardware. Last, we focus on network function benchmarking, which is crucial for understanding the behavior of implementations and their optimization, e.g., Internet access creation. For this, we introduce the load generation and measurement framework P4STA, benefiting from flexible software-based load generation and hardware-assisted measuring. Utilizing programmable network switches, we achieve a nanosecond time accuracy while generating test loads up to the available Ethernet link speed

Distributed Dynamic Replica Placement and Request Redirection in Content Delivery Networks

Chiara Petrioli, Giancarlo Bongiovanni, Francesco Lo Prest