The physical topology is emerging as the next frontier in an ongoing effort to render communication networks more flexible. While first empirical results indicate that these flexibilities can be exploited to reconfigure and optimize the network toward the workload it serves and, e.g., providing the same bandwidth at lower infrastructure cost, only little is known today about the fundamental algorithmic problems underlying the design of reconfigurable networks. This paper initiates the study of the theory of demand-aware, self-adjusting networks. Our main position is that self-adjusting networks should be seen through the lense of self-adjusting datastructures. Accordingly, we present a taxonomy classifying the different algorithmic models of demand-oblivious, fixed demand-aware, and reconfigurable demand-aware networks, introduce a formal model, and identify objectives and evaluation metrics. We also demonstrate, by examples, the inherent advantage of demand-aware networks over state-of-the-art demand-oblivious, fixed networks (such as expanders).
Self-adjusting networks (SANs) have the ability to adapt to communication demand by dynamically adjusting the workload (or demand) embedding, i.e., the mapping of communication requests into the network topology. SANs can thus reduce routing costs for frequently communicating node pairs by paying a cost for adjusting the embedding. This is particularly beneficial when the demand has structure, which the network can adapt to. Demand can be represented in the form of a demand graph, which is defined by the set of network nodes (vertices) and the set of pairwise communication requests (edges). Th…
This paper studies the design of self-adjusting networks whose topology dynamically adapts to the workload, in an online and demand-aware manner. This problem is motivated by emerging optical technologies which allow to reconfigure the datacenter topology at runtime. Our main contribution is ReNet, a self-adjusting network which maintains a balance between the benefits and costs of reconfigurations. In particular, we show that ReNets are statically optimal for arbitrary sparse communication demands, i.e., perform at least as good as any fixed demand-aware network designed with a perfect knowle…
Networking protocols are designed through long-time and hard-work human efforts. Machine Learning (ML)-based solutions have been developed for communication protocol design to avoid manual efforts to tune individual protocol parameters. While other proposed ML-based methods mainly focus on tuning individual protocol parameters (e.g., adjusting contention window), our main contribution is to propose a novel Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)-based framework to systematically design and evaluate networking protocols. We decouple a protocol into a set of parametric modules, each representing a mai…
Recently, the wireless community has initiated research on the sixth generation (6G) cellular network for the next decade. The 6G visions are still under development but are converging toward ubiquitous, sustainable, and automated digital society. A network-in-a-box (NIB) is a portable and fully-fledged networking solution that has many potentials to stimulate 6G visions, especially for ubiquitous and resilient network connectivity. In this article, we highlight how NIB features suit 6G use cases and requirements and how it can be used for 6G communications. In addition, we discuss the challen…
With smart devices, particular smartphones, becoming our everyday companions, the ubiquitous mobile Internet and computing applications pervade people's daily lives. With the surge demand on high-quality mobile services at anywhere, how to address the ubiquitous user demand and accommodate the explosive growth of mobile traffics is the key issue of the next generation mobile networks. The Fog computing is a promising solution towards this goal. Fog computing extends cloud computing by providing virtualized resources and engaged location-based services to the edge of the mobile networks so as t…
Data centres are growing in numbers and size, and their networks expanding to carry larger amounts of traffic. The traffic profile is constantly varying, particularly in cloud data centres where tenants arrive, leave, and may change their resource requirements in between, and so the network configuration must change at a commensurate rate. Software-Defined Networking - programmatic control of network configuration - has been critical to meeting the demands of modern data centre network management, and has been the subject of intense focus by the research community, working in conjunction with …
State-of-the-art topologies for datacenters (DC) and high-performance computing (HPC) networks are demand-oblivious and static. Therefore, such network topologies are optimized for the worst-case traffic scenarios and can't take advantage of changing demand patterns when such exist. However, recent optical switching technologies enable the concept of dynamically reconfiguring circuit-switched topologies in real-time. This capability opens the door for the design of self-adjusting networks: networks with demand-aware and dynamic topologies in which links between nodes can be established and re-…
Cache advertisements reduce the access cost by allowing users to skip the cache when it does not contain their datum. Such advertisements are used in multiple networked domains such as 5G networks, wide area networks, and information-centric networking. The selection of an advertisement strategy exposes a trade-off between the access cost and bandwidth consumption. Still, existing works mostly apply a trial-and-error approach for selecting the best strategy, as the rigorous foundations required for optimizing such decisions is lacking. Our work shows that the desired advertisement policy depen…
5G networks mainly rely on infrastructure-centric cellular solutions to address data traffic and service demands. Continuously scaling infrastructure-centric cellular networks is not exempt of challenges, and beyond 5G networks should consider the active coexistence and coordination of infrastructure-centric and device-centric wireless networks. Device-centric wireless networks will build from D2D and MCNs. Device-centric wireless networks can push the limits of edge computing and networking to smart devices (including smartphones, vehicles, machines and robots), and exploit their mobile compu…
The short-term adoption of opportunistic networks (OppNet) depends on improving the current performance of this type of network. Software-Defined Networks (SDN) architecture is used by Internet applications with high resource demand. SDN technology improves network performance by programmatically managing the network configuration by using a control layer. In this paper, we propose that OppNet nodes use a control layer to get an overview of the whole network and use this knowledge to apply policies to get a better performance of the network. As a use case for our experimentation, we have focus…
Forwarding decisions in classical IP-based networks are predetermined by routing. This is necessary to avoid loops, inhibiting opportunities to implement an adaptive and intelligent forwarding plane. Consequently, content distribution efficiency is reduced due to a lack of inherent multi-path transmission. In Named Data Networking (NDN) instead, routing shall hold a supporting role to forwarding, providing sufficient potential to enhance content dissemination at the forwarding plane. In this paper we design, implement, and evaluate a novel probability-based forwarding strategy, called Stochast…
Classical control and management plane for computer networks is addressing individual parameters of protocol layers within an individual wireless network device. We argue that this is not sufficient in phase of increasing deployment of highly re-configurable systems, as well as heterogeneous wireless systems co-existing in the same radio spectrum which demand harmonized, frequently even coordinated adaptation of multiple parameters in different protocol layers (cross-layer) in multiple network devices (cross-node). We propose UniFlex, a framework enabling unified and flexible radio and network…
Future practical implementation of secure quantum communication technology in a multiuser network environment would require automatic monitoring of the optical link condition and quantum system parameters, along with adjusting them in real time according to protocol restrictions. We demonstrate how software-defined networking (SDN) paradigm can be used for addressing this problem on the example of a subcarrier wave quantum communication system, which is promising for network applications. We propose a novel approach to dynamic quantum network routing and communication security based on SDN Ope…
Software-driven cloud networking is a new paradigm in orchestrating physical resources (CPU, network bandwidth, energy, storage) allocated to network functions, services, and applications, which is commonly modeled as a cross-layer network. This model carries a physical network representing the physical infrastructure, a logical network showing demands, and logical-to-physical node/link mappings. In such networks, a single failure in the physical network may trigger cascading failures in the logical network and disable network services and connectivity. In this paper, we propose an evaluation …
Next generation (5G) wireless networks are expected to support the massive data and accommodate a wide range of services/use cases with distinct requirements in a cost-effective, flexible, and agile manner. As a promising solution, wireless network virtualization (WNV), or network slicing, enables multiple virtual networks to share the common infrastructure on demand, and to be customized for different services/use cases. This article focuses on network-wide resource allocation for realizing WNV. Specifically, the motivations, the enabling platforms, and the benefits of WNV, are first reviewed…
The design of scalable and robust overlay topologies has been a main research subject since the very origins of peer-to-peer (p2p) computing. Today, the corresponding optimization tradeoffs are fairly well-understood, at least in the static case and from a worst-case perspective. This paper revisits the peer-to-peer topology design problem from a self-organization perspective. We initiate the study of topologies which are optimized to serve the communication demand, or even self-adjusting as demand changes. The appeal of this new paradigm lies in the opportunity to be able to go beyond the low…
The dramatic increase in data and connectivity demand, in addition to heterogeneous device capabilities, poses a challenge for future wireless networks. One of the promising solutions is Device-to-Device (D2D) networking. D2D networking, advocating the idea of connecting two or more devices directly without traversing the core network, is promising to address the increasing data and connectivity demand. In this paper, we consider D2D networks, where devices with heterogeneous capabilities including computing power, energy limitations, and incentives participate in D2D activities heterogeneousl…
Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is a promi- nent topic in current networking research. ICN design signifi- cantly considers the increased demand of scalable and efficient content distribution for Future Internet. However, intermittently connected mobile environments or disruptive networks present a significant challenge to ICN deployment. In this context, delay tolerant networking (DTN) architecture is an initiative that effec- tively deals with network disruptions. Among all ICN proposals, Content Centric Networking (CCN) is gaining more and more interest for its architectural design, bu…
the storage infrastructure is the foundation on which information relies and therefore must support a company's business objectives and business model. In this environment, simply deploying more and faster storage devices is not enough; a new kind of infrastructure is needed, one that provides more enhanced network availability, data accessibility, and system manageability than is provided by today's infrastructure. The SAN meets this challenge. The SAN liberates the storage device, so it is not on a particular server bus, and attaches it directly to the network. In other words, storage is ext…
Emerging networked systems become increasingly flexible and reconfigurable. This introduces an opportunity to adjust networked systems in a demand-aware manner, leveraging spatial and temporal locality in the workload for online optimizations. However, it also introduces a trade-off: while more frequent adjustments can improve performance, they also entail higher reconfiguration costs. This paper initiates the formal study of linear networks which self-adjust to the demand in an online manner, striking a balance between the benefits and costs of reconfigurations. We show that the underlying al…
The field of wireless networks has been rapidly developed during the past decade due to the increasing popularity of the mobile devices. The great demand for mobility and connectivity makes wireless networking a field whose continuous technological development is very important as new challenges and issues are arising. Many scientists and researchers are currently engaged in developing new approaches and optimization methods in several topics of wireless networking. This survey paper study works from the following topics: Cognitive Radio Networks, Interactive Broadcasting, Energy Efficient Net…
Deterministic IP (DIP) networking is a promising technique that can provide delay-bounded transmission in large-scale networks. Nevertheless, DIP faces several challenges in the mixed traffic scenarios, including (i) the capability of ultra-low latency communications, (ii) the simultaneous satisfaction of diverse QoS requirements, and (iii) the network efficiency. The problems are more formidable in the dynamic surroundings without prior knowledge of traffic demands. To address the above-mentioned issues, this paper designs a flexible DIP (FDIP) network. In the proposed network, we classify th…
Datacenters are the cornerstone of the big data infrastructure supporting numerous online services. The demand for interactivity, which significantly impacts user experience and provider revenue, is translated into stringent timing requirements for flows in datacenter networks. Thus low latency networking is becoming a major concern of both industry and academia. We provide a short survey of recent progress made by the networking community for low latency datacenter networks. We propose a taxonomy to categorize existing work based on four main techniques, reducing queue length, accelerating re…
Due to spectrum scarcity and increasing wireless capacity demands, terahertz (THz) communications at 0.1-10THz and the corresponding spectrum characterization have emerged to meet diverse service requirements in future 5G and 6G wireless systems. However, conventional compressed sensing techniques to reconstruct the original wideband spectrum with under-sampled measurements become inefficient as local spectral correlation is deliberately omitted. Recent works extend communication methods with deep learning-based algorithms but lack strong ties to THz channel properties. This paper introduces n…
Mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) is a growing technology that can support the operation of adaptive wireless networks. With the increased demand rate of wireless applications it is useful to have more adaptive and self organizing technologies that adapt to changes within a network region. In this paper we initially present a brief listing of table driven ad hoc routing protocols and eventually analyze in detail the behaviour of demand driven ad hoc routing protocols like - Ad Hoc On Demand Distance Vector Routing (AODV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR), Temporally-Ordered Routing Algorithm (TORA)…
Broadcast is a fundamental operation in networks, especially in wireless Mobile Ad Hoc NETworks (MANET). For example, some form of broadcasting is used by all on-demand MANET routing protocols, when there is uncertainty as to the location of the destination node, or for service discovery. Being such a basic operation of the networking protocols, the importance of efficient broadcasting has long been recognized by the networking community. Numerous papers proposed increasingly more efficient implementation of broadcasting, while other studies presented bounds on broadcast performance. In this w…
Introducing Large Language Models into the Design Flow of Time-Sensitive Networking
Electronic Information Engineering College, Beihang University（北京航空航天大学电子信息工程学院）；University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；DTU Compute, Technical University of Denmark（丹麦技术大学计算学院）；TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学计算、信息和技术学院）
With social networking sites providing increasingly richer context, User-Centric Service (UCS) creation is expected to explode following a similar success path to User-Generated Content. One of the major challenges in this emerging highly user-centric networking paradigm is how to make these exploding in numbers yet, individually, of vanishing demand services available in a cost-effective manner. Of prime importance to the latter (and focus of this paper) is the determination of the optimal location for hosting a UCS. Taking into account the particular characteristics of UCS, we formulate the …
Emerging information-centric networking architectures seek to optimally utilize both bandwidth and storage for efficient content distribution. This highlights the need for joint design of traffic engineering and caching strategies, in order to optimize network performance in view of both current traffic loads and future traffic demands. We present a systematic framework for joint dynamic interest request forwarding and dynamic cache placement and eviction, within the context of the Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture. The framework employs a virtual control plane which operates on the use…
The next generation of mobile networks is set to become increasingly complex, as these struggle to accommodate tremendous data traffic demands generated by ever-more connected devices that have diverse performance requirements in terms of throughput, latency, and reliability. This makes monitoring and managing the multitude of network elements intractable with existing tools and impractical for traditional machine learning algorithms that rely on hand-crafted feature engineering. In this context, embedding machine intelligence into mobile networks becomes necessary, as this enables systematic …
Many network applications, e.g., industrial control, demand Ultra-Low Latency (ULL). However, traditional packet networks can only reduce the end-to-end latencies to the order of tens of milliseconds. The IEEE 802.1 Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) standard and related research studies have sought to provide link layer support for ULL networking, while the emerging IETF Deterministic Networking (DetNet) standards seek to provide the complementary network layer ULL support. This article provides an up-to-date comprehensive survey of the IEEE TSN and IETF DetNet standards and the related research…
In this article I will first argue that a Service-Infrastructure Cycle is fundamental to networking evolution. Networks are built to accommodate certain services at an expected scale. New applications and/or a significant increase in scale require a rethinking of network mechanisms which results in new deployments. Four decades-worth of iterations of this process have yielded the Internet as we know it today, a common and shared global networking infrastructure that delivers almost all services. I will further argue, using brief historical case studies, that success of network mechanism deploy…
Modern cloud orchestrators like Kubernetes provide a versatile and robust way to host applications at scale. One of their key features is autoscaling, which automatically adjusts cloud resources (compute, memory, storage) in order to adapt to the demands of applications. However, the scope of cloud autoscaling is limited to the datacenter hosting the cloud and it doesn't apply uniformly to the allocation of network resources. In I/O-constrained or data-in-motion use cases this can lead to severe performance degradation for the application. For example, when the load on a cloud service increase…
To meet the increasing demands of next-generation cellular networks (e.g., 6G), advanced networking technologies must be incorporated. On one hand, the Fog Radio Access Network (F-RAN), has been proposed as an enhancement to the Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN). On the other hand, efficient network architectures, such as Named Data Networking (NDN), have been recognized as prominent Future Internet candidates. Nevertheless, the interplay between F-RAN and NDN warrants further investigation. In this paper, we propose an NDN-enabled F-RAN architecture featuring a strategy for distributed in-ne…
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) acting as Flying Access Points (FAPs) are being used to provide on-demand wireless connectivity in extreme scenarios. Despite ongoing research, the optimization of UAVs' positions according to dynamic users' traffic demands remains challenging. We propose the Traffic-aware UAV Placement Algorithm (TUPA), which positions a UAV acting as FAP according to the users' traffic demands, in order to maximize the network utility. Using a DRL approach enables the FAP to autonomously learn and adapt to dynamic conditions and requirements of networking scenarios. Moreover, …
Utilizing device-to-device (D2D) connections among mobile devices is promising to meet the increasing throughput demand over cellular links. In particular, when mobile devices are in close proximity of each other and are interested in the same content, D2D connections such as Wi-Fi Direct can be opportunistically used to construct a cooperative (and jointly operating) cellular and D2D networking system. However, it is crucial to understand, quantify, and exploit the potential of network coding for cooperating mobile devices in the joint cellular and D2D setup. In this paper, we consider this p…
As 5th Generation research reaches the twilight, the research community must go beyond 5G and look towards the 2030 connectivity landscape, namely 6G. In this context, this work takes a step towards the 6G vision by proposing a next generation communication platform, which aims to extend the rigid coverage area of fixed deployment networks by considering virtual mobile small cells (MSC) that are created on demand. Relying on emerging computing paradigms such as NFV (Network Function Virtualization) and SDN (Software Defined Networking), these cells can harness radio and networking capability l…
Toward Agentic AI: Generative Information Retrieval Inspired Intelligent Communications and Networking
College of Computing and Data Science, Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学计算与数据科学学院）；University of Technology and Design, Singapore（新加坡科技设计大学）；Institute for Infocomm Research, Agency for Science, Technology and Research（新加坡科技研究局信息通信研究院）；Auburn University（奥本大学）；University of Houston（休斯顿大学）；Kyung Hee University（庆熙大学）
In order to improve future network performance, this paper proposes scalable intelligence-enabled networking (SIEN) with eliminating traffic redundancy for audio-visual-tactile Internet in 5G scenarios such as enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable and low latency communication, and massive machine-type communication. The SIEN consists of an intelligent management plane (ImP), an intelligence-enabled plane (IeP), a control plane and a user plane. For the ImP, the containers with decision execution are constructed by a novel graph algorithm to organize objects such as network elements and re…
Foundation University（费登大学）；Ton Duc Thang University（同塔大学）；Wuhan University（武汉大学）；Wuhan University of Technology（武汉理工大学）；Palestine Technical University（巴勒斯坦技术大学）；Oxford Brookes University（牛津布鲁克斯大学）；Obuda University（欧布达大学）；Bauhaus University Weimar（魏玛包豪斯大学）
Cloud infrastructure provides computing services where computing resources can be adjusted on-demand. However, the adoption of cloud infrastructures brings concerns like reliance on the service provider network, reliability, compliance for service level agreements. Software-defined networking (SDN) is a networking concept that suggests the segregation of a network data plane from the control plane. This concept improves networking behavior. In this paper, we present an SDN-enabled resource-aware topology framework. The proposed framework employs SLA compliance, Path Computation Element (PCE) a…
