Simulation and experimental evaluation of a flexible time triggered ethernet architecture applied in satellite nano/micro launchers

The success of small satellites has led to the study of new technologies for the realization of Nano and Micro Launch Vehicle (NMLV) in order to make competitive launch costs. The paper has the objective to define and experimentally investigate the performance of a communication system for NMLV interconnecting the End Systems as On-Board Computer (OBC), telemetry apparatus, Navigation Unit...we propose a low cost Ethernet-based solution able to provide the devices with high interconnection bandwidth. To guarantee hard delays to the Guide, Navigation and Control applications we propose some architectural changes of the traditional Ethernet network with the introduction of a layer implemented in the End Systems and allow for the lack of any contention on the network links. We show how the proposed solution has comparable performance to the one of TTEthernet standard that is a very expensive solution. An experimental test-bed equipped with Ethernet switches and Hercules boards by Texas Instruments is also provided to prove the feasibility of the proposed solution

Reconfiguration of optical-NFV network architectures based on cloud resource allocation and QoS degradation cost-aware prediction techniques

The high time required for the deployment of cloud resources in Network Function Virtualization network architectures has led to the proposal and investigation of algorithms for predicting trafc or the necessary processing and memory resources. However, it is well known that whatever approach is taken, a prediction error is inevitable. Two types of prediction errors can occur that have a different impact on the increase in network operational costs. In case the predicted values are higher than the real ones, the resource allocation algorithms will allocate more resources than necessary with the consequent introduction of an over-provisioning cost. Conversely, when the predicted values are lower than the real values, the allocation of fewer resources will lead to a degradation of QoS and the introduction of an under-provisioning cost. When over-provisioning and under-provisioning costs are different, most of the prediction algorithms proposed in the literature are not adequate because they are based on minimizing the mean square error or symmetric cost functions. For this reason we propose and investigate a forecasting methodology in which it is introduced an asymmetric cost function capable of weighing the costs of over-provisioning and under-provisioning differently. We have applied the proposed forecasting methodology for resource allocation in a Network Function Virtualization architectures where the Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure Point-of-Presences are interconnected by an elastic optical network.We have veried a cost savings of 40% compared to solutions that provide a minimization of the mean square error

Performance evaluation of 5G access technologies and SDN transport network on an NS3 simulator

In this article, we deal with the enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service class, defined within the new 5G communication paradigm, to evaluate the impact of the transition from 4G to 5G access technology on the Radio Access Network and on the Transport Network. Simulation results are obtained with ns3 and performance analyses are focused on 6 GHz radio scenarios for the Radio Access Network, where an Non-Standalone 5G configuration has been assumed, and on SDN-based scenarios for the Transport Network. Inspired by the 5G Transformer model, we describe and simulate each single element of the three main functional plains of the proposed architecture to aim a preliminary evaluation of the end-to-end system performances

Proposal and investigation of an artificial intelligence (Ai)-based cloud resource allocation algorithm in network function virtualization architectures

The high time needed to reconfigure cloud resources in Network Function Virtualization network environments has led to the proposal of solutions in which a prediction based-resource allocation is performed. All of them are based on traffic or needed resource prediction with the minimization of symmetric loss functions like Mean Squared Error. When inevitable prediction errors are made, the prediction methodologies are not able to differently weigh positive and negative prediction errors that could impact the total network cost. In fact if the predicted traffic is higher than the real one then an over allocation cost, referred to as over-provisioning cost, will be paid by the network operator; conversely, in the opposite case, Quality of Service degradation cost, referred to as under-provisioning cost, will be due to compensate the users because of the resource under allocation. In this paper we propose and investigate a resource allocation strategy based on a Long Short Term Memory algorithm in which the training operation is based on the minimization of an asymmetric cost function that differently weighs the positive and negative prediction errors and the corresponding over-provisioning and under-provisioning costs. In a typical traffic and network scenario, the proposed solution allows for a cost saving by 30% with respect to the case of solution with symmetric cost function

Dynamic in-network classification for service function chaining ready SDN networks

Service Function Chaining (SFC) paradigm consists in steering traffic flows through an ordered set of Service Functions (SFs) so that to realize complex end to end services. SFC architecture introduces all the logical functions that need to be developed in order to provide the required service. The SFC overlay infrastructure can be built on top of many different underlay network technologies. The high flexibility and centrally controlled feature of Software Defined Networking (SDN), make SDN networks to be a perfect underlay to build the SFC architecture. Due to Ternary Content Address Memory (TCAM) limited size, SDN switches have a limitation in the number of flow rules that can be hosted. This constraint is particularly penalizing in case of the SFC classifier function, since it requires to manage a high number of different flows. The limitation imposed by the TCAM size on the SFC classifier can be a bottleneck for the number of SFC requests that the SDN-based SFC architecture can handle. In this paper we define the Dynamic Chain Request Classification Offloading (D-CRCO) problem, as the one of maximizing the number of accepted SFC requests, having the possibility of: i) implement the SFC classifier also in a node that is internal to the SDN-based SFC domain, and ii) install classification rules in a reactive fashion. Furthermore, we propose the Dynamic Nearest Node (DNN) heuristic to solve the D-CRCO problem. Performance evaluation shows that by using DNN heuristic it is possible to triple the number of accepted requests, with respect to existing solutions

Cross-species analysis of viral nucleic acid interacting proteins identifies TAOKs as innate immune regulators

The cell intrinsic antiviral response of multicellular organisms developed over millions of years and critically relies on the ability to sense and eliminate viral nucleic acids. Here we use an affinity proteomics approach in evolutionary distant species (human, mouse and fly) to identify proteins that are conserved in their ability to associate with diverse viral nucleic acids. This approach shows a core of orthologous proteins targeting viral genetic material and species-specific interactions. Functional characterization of the influence of 181 candidates on replication of 6 distinct viruses in human cells and flies identifies 128 nucleic acid binding proteins with an impact on virus growth. We identify the family of TAO kinases (TAOK1, -2 and -3) as dsRNA-interacting antiviral proteins and show their requirement for type-I interferon induction. Depletion of TAO kinases in mammals or flies leads to an impaired response to virus infection characterized by a reduced induction of interferon stimulated genes in mammals and impaired expression of srg1 and diedel in flies. Overall, our study shows a larger set of proteins able to mediate the interaction between viral genetic material and host factors than anticipated so far, attesting to the ancestral roots of innate immunity and to the lineage-specific pressures exerted by viruses. Whether there are conserved nucleic acid (NA) binding proteins across species is not fully known. Using data from human, mouse and fly, the authors identify common binders, implicate TAOKs and show that these kinases bind NAs across species and promote virus defence in mammalian cells.We further thank Korbinian Mayr, Igor Paron, and Gaby Sowa for maintaining mass spectrometers and the MPI-B core facility, especially Judith Scholz, Leopold Urich, Sabine Suppmann, and Stephan Uebel, for support..

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Proposal and investigation of a reconfiguration cost aware policy for resource allocation in multi-provider NFV infrastructures interconnected by elastic optical networks

This paper proposes and investigates a reconfiguration policy of cloud and bandwidth resources in network function virtualization environments in which the network function virtualization infrastructure-point of presences are interconnected by an elastic optical network. The proposed policy is applied in dynamic traffic scenarios, it is based on virtual network function instances migrations and reconfiguration of optical circuits. The policy aims at minimizing the sum of three cost components: the cloud resource cost, the bandwidth cost, and the reconfiguration cost. The reconfiguration costs are characterized by the revenue loss of a network operator due to the bit loss occurring when the optical circuits are reconfigured. We formulate the optimization problem and because of its complexity we propose and investigate an effective heuristic. The achieved results show how the proposed heuristic allows, in typical traffic and network scenario, for a consistent cost reduction with respect to the solutions proposed in literature in which only the sum of cloud and bandwidth resource costs are considered and reconfiguration costs are not take into account

Processing and bandwidth resource allocation in multi-provider NFV cloud infrastructures interconnected by elastic optical networks

The paper proposes and investigates solutions to the computing and bandwidth resource allocation problem in Multi-Provider Network Function Virtualization (NFV) environment. The scenario is characterized by Cloud Infrastructures (CI) managed by different providers and interconnected by an Elastic Optical Networks (EON). The objective is to allocate resources for a given number of Service Function Chains (SFC) known in advance so as to minimize the sum of the processing and bandwidth costs and to take into account both the different processing costs charged by the Cloud Infrastructure (CI) providers and the sub-carrier consecutiveness, spectrum continuity and spectrum clash constraints.In particular we evaluate the operational cost saving that the proposed solutions allow us to obtain with respect to the case in which traditional resource allocation algorithms are applied