AI for Zero-Touch Management of Satellite Networks in B5G and 6G Infrastructures

Satellite Communication (SatCom) networks are become more and more integrated with the terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure. In this paper, we shows the current status of the still ongoing European Space Agency (ESA) project”Data-driven Network Controller Orchestration for Real time Network Management-ANChOR”. In particular, we propose a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)based methodology to drive the dynamic selection of the optimal satellite gateway station, which will be performed by combining different kinds of information (i.e. traffic profile, network and weather conditions). Some preliminary results on the real world dataset shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach

Service Delivery Models for Converged Satellite-Terrestrial 5G Network Deployment: A Satellite-Assisted CDN Use-Case

The current shift toward the virtualization of net- work infrastructure components enables a dynam- ic instantiation, deployment and configuration of virtual network functions (VNFs), which can be offered “as-a-service” to multiple tenants, thus enabling 5G architectures. Simultaneously, the recent high throughput satellite (HTS) systems can play an important role in the 5G era thanks to their characteristics, such as their large coverage, fast deployment of the ground infrastructure and native broadcast/multicast broadband capabili- ties. In this context, this paper proposes a review of the satellite service delivery models in order to identify viable alternatives to deploy converged satellite-terrestrial services. This objective is pur- sued by taking as a reference a satellite-assisted IP streaming service for the enhancement of current Content Delivery Network (CDN) infrastructures, as tackled by the European Space Agency within the SHINE (“Secure Hybrid In Network caching Environment”) project. SHINE aims at efficiently extending terrestrial CDN services to satellite-en- abled scenarios, by designing innovative mech- anisms for the secure distribution of real-time multimedia information across hybrid channels, leveraging both unicast and multicast communi- cation paradigms. The original contribution of the paper is the analysis of satellite architectures and configurations tailored to efficiently support the SHINE solution, together with a high-level appli- cability assessment taking into account different satellite-enabled service models

Satellite multi-beam multicast support for an efficient community-based CDN

The design and implementation of an efficient end-to-end IP-based infrastructure for the delivery of multimedia content is of paramount importance in current public networks, dominated by the constant growth of video streaming traffic. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent the main technological solution to manage the huge volumes of traffic involved, by guaranteeing high quality levels to applications and low impact to the core networks, thanks to the efficient distribution of content among edge caches that are located as close as possible to end-users. Nonetheless, the hierarchical data distribution associated with CDNs can be in principle subject to inefficiencies, as well as performance limitations in case of congested segments along the end-to-end delivery path. In this context, we propose the exploitation of satellite multicast capabilities offered by modern high throughput satellite (HTS) platforms, in a virtualized-compatible model, to compensate for flaws of terrestrial networks. The role of satellite communication is to offer multicast support (as a complement to landline connectivity) with wide geographical service areas based on the available satellite beams, enabling a popularity-based content distribution support. In addition, multi-beam satellite technology allows for a more fine-grained approach to popularity evaluation based on user location. The proposed service and the related network configuration are described in the paper, in relation with current and future SatCom platforms. We then present the results of the proposed CDN caching algorithms in a simulated environment, showing promising results associated with a preliminary performance evaluation

Satellite multi-beam multicast support for an efficient community-based CDN

The design and implementation of an efficient end-to-end IP-based infrastructure for the delivery of multimedia content is of paramount importance in current public networks, dominated by the constant growth of video streaming traffic. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent the main technological solution to manage the huge volumes of traffic involved, by guaranteeing high quality levels to applications and low impact to the core networks, thanks to the efficient distribution of content among edge caches that are located as close as possible to end-users. Nonetheless, the hierarchical data distribution associated with CDNs can be in principle subject to inefficiencies, as well as performance limitations in case of congested segments along the end-to- end delivery path. In this context, we propose the exploitation of satellite multicast capabilities offered by modern high throughput satellite (HTS) platforms, in a virtualized-compatible model, to compensate for flaws of terrestrial networks. The role of satellite communication is to offer multicast support (as a complement to landline connectivity) with wide geographical service areas based on the available satellite beams, enabling a popularity-based content distribution support. In addition, multi-beam satellite technology allows for a more fine-grained approach to popularity evaluation based on user location. The proposed service and the related network configuration are described in the paper, in relation with current and future SatCom platforms. We then present the results of the proposed CDN caching algorithms in a simulated environment, showing promising results associated with a preliminary performance evaluation

Automatic migration and deployment of cloud services for healthcare application development in FIWARE

Over the latest years due to the emergency of new requirements in the area of healthcare domain, the software to data cloud model attracted significant attention by bridging the gap between cloud service deployment and sensitive data storage and manipulation. In particular, in FI-STAR FP7 we develop innovative cloud services for the healthcare domain using the FIWARE platform. This offers new opportunities for building innovative applications that utilize FIWARE Generic Enablers as the building blocks of Future Internet (FI) applications. In this work we focus on (a) the automatic migration requirements in FIWARE systems and (b) on the automatic shipment and deployment of FI-STAR services among service providers infrastructures that is the FIWARE cloud nodes and service consumer infrastructures (FI-STAR use cases). We describe the design and implementation enabling the automatic shipment and deployment to support the software to data paradigm and to allow marketplace development of the FI-STAR catalogue. The deployment automation solution offers less error-prone and highly repeatable processes, efficient deployment and management of updates and new releases

SMARTSOS: Systems for maritime advanced rescue through satellite and optimized sensor networks

After a shipwreck people wear life vest and the available telecommunication systems for rescue operations offer, in the best case, just approximate localization of relicts or lifeboats. A communication system tailored to provide a reliable and real time updated map of positions and health conditions of floating people can improve efficiency of rescue operation. The aim of the SMARTSOS system is to introduce the capability for each person, equipped with GPS receiver and health sensors, to send information at low cost to a remote location, maximizing delivery probability and quality of service, ensuring also data integrity. Each life vest will be equipped with a terminal able to exchange data only with other life vest terminals; a subset of all life vests (masters) will be equipped also with very small Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 01 GEO satellite terminal to provide long range connectivity; the space segment and the remote service center will complete the architecture. To maximize message delivery probability and to limit power we propose a joint exploitation of linear Network Coding and a store-And-forward mechanism. Each node overhears broadcast communications of neighbors, gathers messages and code them with its own message to re- broadcast the result with an uucoded copy of its message. On the other side, the rescue team will get the position grid and health information of shipwrecked people, planning operations accordingly. The paper describes the system architecture and a project that will include the design of the Network Coding scheme and its validation via simulations and trials with prototypes