69,009 research outputs found
Speed of synchronization in complex networks of neural oscillators Analytic results based on Random Matrix Theory
We analyze the dynamics of networks of spiking neural oscillators. First, we
present an exact linear stability theory of the synchronous state for networks
of arbitrary connectivity. For general neuron rise functions, stability is
determined by multiple operators, for which standard analysis is not suitable.
We describe a general non-standard solution to the multi-operator problem.
Subsequently, we derive a class of rise functions for which all stability
operators become degenerate and standard eigenvalue analysis becomes a suitable
tool. Interestingly, this class is found to consist of networks of leaky
integrate and fire neurons. For random networks of inhibitory
integrate-and-fire neurons, we then develop an analytical approach, based on
the theory of random matrices, to precisely determine the eigenvalue
distribution. This yields the asymptotic relaxation time for perturbations to
the synchronous state which provides the characteristic time scale on which
neurons can coordinate their activity in such networks. For networks with
finite in-degree, i.e. finite number of presynaptic inputs per neuron, we find
a speed limit to coordinating spiking activity: Even with arbitrarily strong
interaction strengths neurons cannot synchronize faster than at a certain
maximal speed determined by the typical in-degree.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Chao
Predictive and core-network efficient RRC signalling for active state handover in RANs with control/data separation
Frequent handovers (HOs) in dense small cell deployment scenarios could lead to a dramatic
increase in signalling overhead. This suggests a paradigm shift towards a signalling conscious cellular
architecture with intelligent mobility management. In this direction, a futuristic radio access network
with a logical separation between control and data planes has been proposed in research community. It
aims to overcome limitations of the conventional architecture by providing high data rate services under
the umbrella of a coverage layer in a dual connection mode. This approach enables signalling efficient
HO procedures, since the control plane remains unchanged when the users move within the footprint of
the same umbrella. Considering this configuration, we propose a core-network efficient radio resource
control (RRC) signalling scheme for active state HO and develop an analytical framework to evaluate its
signalling load as a function of network density, user mobility and session characteristics. In addition,
we propose an intelligent HO prediction scheme with advance resource preparation in order to minimise
the HO signalling latency. Numerical and simulation results show promising gains in terms of reduction
in HO latency and signalling load as compared with conventional approaches
Traffic Management Applications for Stateful SDN Data Plane
The successful OpenFlow approach to Software Defined Networking (SDN) allows
network programmability through a central controller able to orchestrate a set
of dumb switches. However, the simple match/action abstraction of OpenFlow
switches constrains the evolution of the forwarding rules to be fully managed
by the controller. This can be particularly limiting for a number of
applications that are affected by the delay of the slow control path, like
traffic management applications. Some recent proposals are pushing toward an
evolution of the OpenFlow abstraction to enable the evolution of forwarding
policies directly in the data plane based on state machines and local events.
In this paper, we present two traffic management applications that exploit a
stateful data plane and their prototype implementation based on OpenState, an
OpenFlow evolution that we recently proposed.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure
Security challenges of small cell as a service in virtualized mobile edge computing environments
Research on next-generation 5G wireless networks is currently attracting a lot of attention in both academia and industry. While 5G development and standardization activities are still at their early stage, it is widely acknowledged that 5G systems are going to extensively rely on dense small cell deployments, which would exploit infrastructure and network functions virtualization (NFV), and push the network intelligence towards network edges by embracing the concept of mobile edge computing (MEC). As security will be a fundamental enabling factor of small cell as a service (SCaaS) in 5G networks, we present the most prominent threats and vulnerabilities against a broad range of targets. As far as the related work is concerned, to the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate security challenges at the intersection of SCaaS, NFV, and MEC. It is also the first paper that proposes a set of criteria to facilitate a clear and effective taxonomy of security challenges of main elements of 5G networks. Our analysis can serve as a staring point towards the development of appropriate 5G security solutions. These will have crucial effect on legal and regulatory frameworks as well as on decisions of businesses, governments, and end-users
Container network functions: bringing NFV to the network edge
In order to cope with the increasing network utilization driven by new mobile clients, and to satisfy demand for new network services and performance guarantees, telecommunication service providers are exploiting virtualization over their network by implementing network services in virtual machines, decoupled from legacy hardware accelerated appliances. This effort, known as NFV, reduces OPEX and provides new business opportunities. At the same time, next generation mobile, enterprise, and IoT networks are introducing the concept of computing capabilities being pushed at the network edge, in close proximity of the users. However, the heavy footprint of today's NFV platforms prevents them from operating at the network edge. In this article, we identify the opportunities of virtualization at the network edge and present Glasgow Network Functions (GNF), a container-based NFV platform that runs and orchestrates lightweight container VNFs, saving core network utilization and providing lower latency. Finally, we demonstrate three useful examples of the platform: IoT DDoS remediation, on-demand troubleshooting for telco networks, and supporting roaming of network functions
HoPP: Robust and Resilient Publish-Subscribe for an Information-Centric Internet of Things
This paper revisits NDN deployment in the IoT with a special focus on the
interaction of sensors and actuators. Such scenarios require high
responsiveness and limited control state at the constrained nodes. We argue
that the NDN request-response pattern which prevents data push is vital for IoT
networks. We contribute HoP-and-Pull (HoPP), a robust publish-subscribe scheme
for typical IoT scenarios that targets IoT networks consisting of hundreds of
resource constrained devices at intermittent connectivity. Our approach limits
the FIB tables to a minimum and naturally supports mobility, temporary network
partitioning, data aggregation and near real-time reactivity. We experimentally
evaluate the protocol in a real-world deployment using the IoT-Lab testbed with
varying numbers of constrained devices, each wirelessly interconnected via IEEE
802.15.4 LowPANs. Implementations are built on CCN-lite with RIOT and support
experiments using various single- and multi-hop scenarios
Building Programmable Wireless Networks: An Architectural Survey
In recent times, there have been a lot of efforts for improving the ossified
Internet architecture in a bid to sustain unstinted growth and innovation. A
major reason for the perceived architectural ossification is the lack of
ability to program the network as a system. This situation has resulted partly
from historical decisions in the original Internet design which emphasized
decentralized network operations through co-located data and control planes on
each network device. The situation for wireless networks is no different
resulting in a lot of complexity and a plethora of largely incompatible
wireless technologies. The emergence of "programmable wireless networks", that
allow greater flexibility, ease of management and configurability, is a step in
the right direction to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of the wireless
networks. In this paper, we provide a broad overview of the architectures
proposed in literature for building programmable wireless networks focusing
primarily on three popular techniques, i.e., software defined networks,
cognitive radio networks, and virtualized networks. This survey is a
self-contained tutorial on these techniques and its applications. We also
discuss the opportunities and challenges in building next-generation
programmable wireless networks and identify open research issues and future
research directions.Comment: 19 page
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