IP-based virtual private networks and proportional quality of service differentiation

IP-based virtual private networks (VPNs) have the potential of delivering cost-effective, secure, and private network-like services. Having surveyed current enabling techniques, an overall picture of IP VPN implementations is presented. In order to provision the equivalent quality of service (QoS) of legacy connection-oriented layer 2 VPNs (e.g., Frame Relay and ATM), IP VPNs have to overcome the intrinsically best effort characteristics of the Internet. Subsequently, a hierarchical QoS guarantee framework for IP VPNs is proposed, stitching together development progresses from recent research and engineering work. To differentiate IP VPN QoS, the proportional QoS differentiation model, whose QoS specification granularity compromises that of IntServ and Diffserv, emerges as a potential solution. The investigation of its claimed capability of providing the predictable and controllable QoS differentiation is then conducted. With respect to the loss rate differentiation, the packet shortage phenomenon shown in two classical proportional loss rate (PLR) dropping schemes is studied. On the pursuit of a feasible solution, the potential of compromising the system resource, that is, the buffer, is ruled out; instead, an enhanced debt-aware mechanism is suggested to relieve the negative effects of packet shortage. Simulation results show that debt-aware partially curbs the biased loss rate ratios, and improves the queueing delay performance as well. With respect to the delay differentiation, the dynamic behavior of the average delay difference between successive classes is first analyzed, aiming to gain insights of system dynamics. Then, two classical delay differentiation mechanisms, that is,proportional average delay (PAD) and waiting time priority (WTP), are simulated and discussed. Based on observations on their differentiation performances over both short and long time periods, a combined delay differentiation (CDD) scheme is introduced. Simulations are utilized to validate this method. Both loss and delay differentiations are based on a series of differentiation parameters. Though previous work on the selection of delay differentiation parameters has been presented, that of loss differentiation parameters mostly relied on network operators\u27 experience. A quantitative guideline, based on the principles of queueing and optimization, is then proposed to compute loss differentiation parameters. Aside from analysis, the new approach is substantiated by numerical results

Managing Next Generation Networks (NGNs) based on the Service-Oriented Architechture (SOA). Design, Development and testing of a message-based Network Management platform for the integration of heterogeneous management systems.

Next Generation Networks (NGNs) aim to provide a unified network infrastructure to offer multimedia data and telecommunication services through IP convergence. NGNs utilize multiple broadband, QoS-enabled transport technologies, creating a converged packet-switched network infrastructure, where service-related functions are separated from the transport functions. This requires significant changes in the way how networks are managed to handle the complexity and heterogeneity of NGNs. This thesis proposes a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) based management framework that integrates heterogeneous management systems in a loose coupling manner. The key benefit of the proposed management architecture is the reduction of the complexity through service and data integration. A network management middleware layer that merges low level management functionality with higher level management operations to resolve the problem of heterogeneity was proposed. A prototype was implemented using Web Services and a testbed was developed using trouble ticket systems as the management application to demonstrate the functionality of the proposed framework. Test results show the correcting functioning of the system. It also concludes that the proposed framework fulfils the principles behind the SOA philosophy

Métricas de gestão de desempenho em tempo real e longo termo em redes móveis

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesThe Telecommunications industry is a “world” where services like data, voice and value-added services must be available at anytime, anywhere. Because of this requirement, it became a really aggressive market, where the least detail can make the difference. One of the details that can be really differentiating is related to network management. With all the changes and rapid evolution of telecommunications, this can be considered a critically important point. An efficient and optimized network management can save time and money and that is why it is a mandatory aspect in this market. There are two different paths to be considered: long term management, which consists in saving less detailed data for long periods of time, and real time management that allows much more detailed information for narrower time frame. Because of database and costs related issues, only one of them must be chosen and there is some important information that may become “invisible”, leading to unsolved problems that can be highly expensive. Regarding this situation, it would be extremely beneficial for the telecom operators if they could visualize both types of data, having the long term information along with the most important details of real time information in one view.A indústria das Telecomunicações é um mundo onde os serviços de dados, voz e outros serviços importantes têm que estar disponíveis sempre e em todo o lado. Por causa dessas exigências, tornou-se um mercado extremamente agressivo, onde o menor detalhe pode fazer a diferença. Um desses detalhes diferenciadores está relacionado com a gestão da rede. Com todas as mudanças e rápida evolução das telecomunicações, este pode ser considerado um ponto crítico. Uma gestão eficiente e otimizada pode poupar tempo e dinheiro e por isso é um aspeto crucial deste mercado. Em termos de gestão e monitorização das redes, há dois caminhos a considerar: gestão a longo prazo, que consiste em salvar dados menos detalhados por longos períodos de tempo; e gestão em tempo real, que permite dados muito mais detalhados mas durante uma janela temporal consideravelmente menor. Devido a limitações ao nível da base de dados e elevados custos, apenas um deve ser escolhido, o que leva a que se perca alguma informação em qualquer dos casos. Assim, podem surgir problemas cuja resolução será complicada e dispendiosa. Posto isto, seria extremamente benéfico para as Operadoras de Telecomunicações, se pudessem analisar os dois tipos de dados, tendo a informação a longo prazo juntamente com os detalhes mais importantes em tempo real numa só aplicação

A Generic Network and System Management Framework

Networks and distributed systems have formed the basis of an ongoing communications revolution that has led to the genesis of a wide variety of services. The constantly increasing size and complexity of these systems does not come without problems. In some organisations, the deployment of Information Technology has reached a state where the benefits from downsizing and rightsizing by adding new services are undermined by the effort required to keep the system running. Management of networks and distributed systems in general has a straightforward goal: to provide a productive environment in which work can be performed effectively. The work required for management should be a small fraction of the total effort. Most IT systems are still managed in an ad hoc style without any carefully elaborated plan. In such an environment the success of management decisions depends totally on the qualification and knowledge of the administrator. The thesis provides an analysis of the state of the art in the area of Network and System Management and identifies the key requirements that must be addressed for the provisioning of Integrated Management Services. These include the integration of the different management related aspects (i.e. integration of heterogeneous Network, System and Service Management). The thesis then proposes a new framework, INSMware, for the provision of Management Services. It provides a fundamental basis for the realisation of a new approach to Network and System Management. It is argued that Management Systems can be derived from a set of pre-fabricated and reusable Building Blocks that break up the required functionality into a number of separate entities rather than being developed from scratch. It proposes a high-level logical model in order to accommodate the range of requirements and environments applicable to Integrated Network and System Management that can be used as a reference model. A development methodology is introduced that reflects principles of the proposed approach, and provides guidelines to structure the analysis, design and implementation phases of a management system. The INSMware approach can further be combined with the componentware paradigm for the implementation of the management system. Based on these principles, a prototype for the management of SNMP systems has been implemented using industry standard middleware technologies. It is argued that development of a management system based on Componentware principles can offer a number of benefits. INSMware Components may be re-used and system solutions will become more modular and thereby easier to construct and maintain

Técnicas de previsão em sistemas de informação e comunicação: aplicação às redes móveis celulares

The rapid proliferation of information and communication technologies around the world has increased the need for careful planning of infrastructures. This is true in the situation like mobile telecommunication networks, data centers, web servers, etc. By developing and implementing intelligent solutions to improve the measurement and planning, telecommunication service operators can anticipate problems and minimize cost. This dissertation focuses on forecasting mobile telecommunication capacity networks to maximize existing resources and avoid problems related to performance or capacity, such as bottlenecks and latencies. In the case of mobile telecommunication networks, the data forecast can be used to predict traffic growth, contributing to better network planning. Therefore, a poorly designed forecast may lead to mobile network operators not being prepared for possible network problems, such as reaching the limit of an RNC, which may become expensive in terms of OPEX. Thus, it is fundamental to study different quantitative methods to forecast the trend and the volume of traffic in the RNCs. This paper analyzes some basic forecast methods used in scenarios where the data do not present behavioral complexity and some models such as ARIMA and Holt Winters used in data with behavioral complexity (presence of trend and seasonality). It also evaluates the accuracy of the forecasts determined from the application of these models.A rápida proliferação de tecnologias de informação e comunicação em todo o mundo aumentou a necessidade de um planeamento cuidadoso das infraestruturas. Este facto também é verdade em redes de telecomunicações móveis, data centers, servidores web, etc. Ao desenvolver e implementar soluções inteligentes para melhorar o dimensionamento e planeamento, os operadores de serviços de telecomunicações podem antecipar problemas e minimizar custos. Esta dissertação foca-se na previsão de capacidade de redes de telecomunicações móveis de forma a maximizar recursos existentes e evitar problemas relacionados ao desempenho ou capacidade, como “bottlenecks” e latências. No caso das redes de telecomunicações móveis, a previsão de dados pode ser aplicada para prever o crescimento de tráfego, contribuindo para um melhor planeamento da rede. Portanto, uma previsão mal projetada pode levar os operadores de redes móveis a não estarem preparados para possíveis problemas de rede, como alcance do limite de capacidade de um RNC, isto pode se tornar muito caro em termos de OPEX. Assim, é fundamental estudar diferentes métodos quantitativos para prever a tendência e o volume de tráfego nos RNCs. Neste trabalho são analisados alguns métodos básicos de previsão utilizados em cenários em que os dados não apresentam complexidade comportamental e alguns modelos como ARIMA e Holt Winters utilizados em dados com complexidade comportamental (presença de tendência e sazonalidade). Também se avalia a exatidão das previsões que resultam da aplicação destes modelos.Mestrado em Engenharia Informátic

Proposta 3GPP de indicadores de desempenho de rede - R4 CS Core Network

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesO mercado de telecomunicações tem vindo a tornar-se cada vez mais competitivo e agressivo devido à diminuição das margens dos operadores de telecomunicações. Este facto é igualmente relevante no mercado das redes móveis em que este trabalho se foca. A maior parte dos actuais mercados de redes móveis pauta-se por uma consolidação da sua base instalada e por uma optimização dos recursos existentes. Por uma questão de estratégia comercial e técnica (não dependência de um único fornecedor) é frequente os operadores de redes móveis terem mais do que um fornecedor de equipamentos de telecomunicações para a sua rede. Devido a este facto, os problemas das redes com multi-fabricantes agudizou-se o que levou à premente necessidade de se arranjar uma linguagem comum através da qual se consiga ter uma ideia do nível global de desempenho alcançado e dos pontos críticos em que a rede pode melhorar o seu desempenho. É nesta problemática que o presente trabalho se foca. Neste momento, o 3GPP tem definidos uma quantidade vasta de indicadores de desempenho de rede para a área Circuit Switch (CS) Core Network (CN) mas ainda não tem definidos os seus Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Tendo como base os indicadores de desempenho 3GPP existentes, esta Dissertação propõe um conjunto de KPIs que possibilitam a análise do desempenho da rede Core Network ao nível da sua parte CS. Esta Dissertação apresenta as propostas de KPIs para a rede CS, as quais estão divididas em três partes. Numa primeira parte são apresentados os KPIs relativos ao MSC Server (MSS) ao nível da análise de acessibilidade, utilização e mobilidade. Na segunda secção são apresentados os KPIs relativos ao Media Gateway (MGW) ao nível da análise de acessibilidade, integridade e utilização. Finalmente na terceira e última secção apresentam-se os KPIs associados ao HLR.The telecommunications market has become increasingly competitive and aggressive due to the decreasing margins of telecom operators. This fact is also relevant in the mobile networks market in which this Thesis is focused. Most of today's mobile networks is guided by a consolidation of its installed base and by optimizing existing resources. As a matter of business strategy and technique (not dependent on one supplier) it is common for the mobile network operators to have more than one telecommunications equipment supplier. Due to this, the problems of multi-vendor networks has worsened leading to the urgent need to find a common language that everyone speaks and, through which, can get an idea of overall performance level achieved and critical points where the network can improve its performance. This paper is focused on this issue. Currently, 3GPP has defined a wide range of network performance indicators for the Core Network (CN) Circuit Switch (CS) area but, nothing is yet set in what Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is concerned. The purpose of this Thesis is, based on already existent 3GPP performance indicators, recommend a set of KPIs to enable the CS CN performance analysis. This Thesis present the CS KPI proposals which are divided in three main parts. In the first part, are presented the MSC Server (MSS) KPIs at accessibility analysis, usage and mobility levels. In the second part are presented the Media Gateway (MGW) related KPIs at accessibility analysis, integrity and usage levels. Finally we have the third and last part where the HLR related KPIs are presented

A framework for abstracting complexities in service delivery platforms

The telecommunication (telco) and Information Technology (IT) industries are converging into a single highly competitive market, where service diversity is the critical success factor. To provide diverse services, the telco network operator must evolve the traditional voice service centric network into a generic service centric network. An appropriate, but incomplete, architecture for this purpose is the Service Delivery Platform (SDP). The SDP represents an IT-based system that simplifies access to telco capabilities using services. SDP services offer technology independent interfaces to external entities. The SDP has vendor-specific interpretations that mix standards-based and proprietary interfaces to satisfy specific requirements. In addition, SDP architectural representations are technology-specific. To be widely adopted the SDP must provide standardised interfaces. This work contributes toward SDP standardisation by defining a technology independent and extendable architecture, called the SDP Framework. To define the framework we first describe telecom-IT convergence and a strategy to manage infrastructure integration. Second, we provide background on the SDP and its current limitations. Third, we treat the SDP as a complex system and determine a viewpoint methodology to define its framework. Fourth, we apply viewpoints by extracting concepts and abstractions from various standard-based telecom and IT technologies: the Intelligent Network (IN), Telecommunication Information Networking Architecture (TINA), Parlay, enhanced Telecommunications Operations Map (eTOM), Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Fifth, by extending the concepts and abstractions we define the SDP framework. The framework is based on a generic business model and reference model. The business model shows relationships between SDP, telco and external entities using business relationships points. The reference model extends the business model by formalising relationships as reference points. Reference points expand into interfaces exposed by services. Applications orchestrate service functions via their interfaces. Service and application distribution is abstracted by middleware that operates across business model domains. Services, interfaces, applications and middleware are managed in Generic Service Oriented Architectures (GSOA). Multiple layered GSOAs structure the SDP framework. Last, we implement the SDP framework using standard-based technologies with open service interfaces. The implementation proves framework concepts, promotes SDP standardisation and identifies research areas

Service-Driven Networking

This thesis presents our research on service-driven networking, which is a general design framework for service quality assurance and integrated network and service management in large scale multi-domain networks. The philosophy is to facilitate bi-party open participation among the users and the providers of network services in order to bring about better service customization and quality assurance, without sacrificing the autonomy and objectives of the individual entities. Three primary research topics are documented: service composition and adaptation, self-stabilization in uncoordinated environment, and service quality modeling. The work involves theoretical analysis, algorithm design, and simulations as evaluation methodology

Internet of Things From Hype to Reality

The Internet of Things (IoT) has gained significant mindshare, let alone attention, in academia and the industry especially over the past few years. The reasons behind this interest are the potential capabilities that IoT promises to offer. On the personal level, it paints a picture of a future world where all the things in our ambient environment are connected to the Internet and seamlessly communicate with each other to operate intelligently. The ultimate goal is to enable objects around us to efficiently sense our surroundings, inexpensively communicate, and ultimately create a better environment for us: one where everyday objects act based on what we need and like without explicit instructions