Scalable Media Coding Enabling Content-Aware Networking

Increasingly popular multimedia services are expected to play a dominant role in the future of the Internet. In this context, it is essential that content-aware networking (CAN) architectures explicitly address the efficient delivery and processing of multimedia content. This article proposes the adoption of a content-aware approach into the network infrastructure, thus making it capable of identifying, processing, and manipulating media streams and objects in real time to maximize quality of service (QoS) and experience (QoE). Our proposal is built on the exploitation of scalable media coding technologies within such a content-aware networking environment. This discussion is based on four representative use cases for media delivery (unicast, multicast, peer-to-peer, and adaptive HTTP streaming) and reviews CAN challenges, specifically flow processing, caching/buffering, and QoS/QoE management

Migrating to a NFV-based Home Gateway: Introducing a Surrogate vNF approach

International audienceVirtualizing network functions is becoming a major trend in today's research on cloud computing. Among networking elements, the Home Gateway appears to be one with the most diverse functions to handle and thus, with great potential for virtualization. To this end, the paper proposes a solution to ease adoption by Service Providers of the latest breakthroughs in cloud computing technologies towards a virtualized Home Gateway. Although the NFV approach globally pretends bringing operational advantages in terms of CAPEX and OPEX, it is essential to prove them for Home Gateways scenarios where compatibility and versatility are strong requirements. To achieve this goal, we introduce the concept of Surrogate vNF, which makes Home Gateways NFV aware. The paper highlights a migration path towards full Home Gateway virtualization and proves its concept through a real implementation and a simulated evaluation on a practical use case related to video content distribution

Mobility Issues in a DVB-T Environment

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Enthrone Core Networking Elements for End-to-End QoS Provision over Heterogeneous Settings

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IP and Broadcasting Systems Convergence

The vision of the Internet of the Future for service ubiquity dictates that end users should be able to access services—mostly media-oriented ones—at any time from a variety of networks, including mobile, broadband, and broadcast. In order to achieve network interworking and service ubiquity, IP arises as a key element for the realisation of a unified/fusion environment which enables the convergence/synergy between traditional and emerging technologies. In this context, IP can be also seen as the “gluing factor” in the rapidly progressing convergence between the technologically different sectors of Networking and Broadcasting

UAV-Assisted 5G Network Architecture with Slicing and Virtualization

Next generation networks promise not only extremely high data rates and low latency, but also ubiquitous coverage and massive IoT. One of the major challenges is the guaranteed service provision even in cases of network failure (e.g. infrastructure damage, remote areas, flash crowd areas etc.). Flying nodes that will act as aerial base stations or relays could back-up the network fast and prevent any service interruption or even enhance network performance. This paper discusses the architecture and possible applications of flying modes in the frame of a 5G network supporting network slicing and lightweight virtualization. It also provides aerial LTE measurement results to support the feasibility check for using UAVs in two possible scenarios, i.e. network capacity enhancement and increasing network coverage

T-NOVA: Network Functions as-a-Service over Virtualised Infrastructures

The EU funded FP7 project T-NOVA, with the specific goal of accelerating the evolution of NFV, proposes an open architecture to provide Virtual Network Functions as a Service (VNFaaS), together with a dynamic, and flexible platform for the management of Network Services (NSs) composed by those Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). The proposed architecture allows operators to deploy distinct virtualized network functions, not only for their internal operational needs, but also to offer them to their customers, as value-added services. Virtual network appliances (e.g. gateways, proxies or even traffic analyzers) can be provided on-demand, eliminating the need to acquire, install, and maintain specialized hardware at customer premises. This demo illustrates work carried out on the deployment of a VNF on a Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) using resource aware scheduling methods to ensure optimal use of resources and performance while we focus also on business-related and customer front-end aspects, i.e. how the stakeholders interact with the services, which T-NOVA identifies as the marketplace layer