Deliver Network Services Research Articles

Service Chain Placement by Using an African Vulture Optimization Algorithm Based VNF in Cloud-Edge Computing

The use of virtual network functions (VNFs) enables the implementation of service function chains (SFCs), which is an innovative approach for delivering network services. The deployment of service chains on the actual network infrastructure and the establishment of virtual connections between VNF instances are crucial factors that significantly impact the quality of network services provided. Current research on the allocation of vital VNFs and resource constraints on the edge network has overlooked the potential benefits of employing SFCs with instance reuse. This strategy offers significant improvements in resource utilization and reduced startup time. The proposed approach demonstrates superior performance compared to existing state-of-the-art methods in maintaining inbound service chain requests, even in complex network typologies observed in real-world scenarios. We propose a novel technique called African vulture optimization algorithm for virtual network functions (AVOAVNF), which optimizes the sequential arrangement of SFCs. Extensive simulations on edge networks evaluate the AVOAVNF methodology, considering metrics such as latency, energy consumption, throughput, resource cost, and execution time. The results indicate that the proposed method outperforms BGWO, DDRL, BIP, and MILP techniques, reducing energy consumption by 8.35%, 12.23%, 29.54%, and 52.29%, respectively.

A Comprehensive Analysis of QoS in Wired and Wireless SDN Based on Mobile IP

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is the new network paradigm whose primary focus is to create a dynamic, scalable and flexible network. It provides programmable functions for implementation of network configuration management. The demand for wireless network functionality is rising simultaneously. Mobility management for a large network is an issue in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). There are also a number of solutions to support mobility within the network. The Mobile Internet Protocol (MIP) is used for managing mobility. Furthermore, for the SDN platform, mobility adds roaming capability for mobile nodes in the software-defined wireless network (SDWN). In the wired scenario, SDN has different capabilities to deliver network services according to the fixed node. This study provides a quality of service (QoS) analysis in both SDN and SDWN. Mininet WiFi and RYU network emulator as a controller is used to implement the mobility API. The random walk model is applied as mobility functionality toward the final nodes. Moreover, several QoS measurement matrices are analyzed according to the network topology. At the end, round trip time (RTT), cumulative distributed function (CDF), packet loss and throughput are analyzed for quality of service comparable in the SDN and SDWN scenarios according to the MIP.

Progressive Traffic-Oriented Resource Management for Reducing Network Congestion in Edge Computing.

Edge computing can deliver network services with low latency and real-time processing by providing cloud services at the network edge. Edge computing has a number of advantages such as low latency, locality, and network traffic distribution, but the associated resource management has become a significant challenge because of its inherent hierarchical, distributed, and heterogeneous nature. Various cloud-based network services such as crowd sensing, hierarchical deep learning systems, and cloud gaming each have their own traffic patterns and computing requirements. To provide a satisfactory user experience for these services, resource management that comprehensively considers service diversity, client usage patterns, and network performance indicators is required. In this study, an algorithm that simultaneously considers computing resources and network traffic load when deploying servers that provide edge services is proposed. The proposed algorithm generates candidate deployments based on factors that affect traffic load, such as the number of servers, server location, and client mapping according to service characteristics and usage. A final deployment plan is then established using a partial vector bin packing scheme that considers both the generated traffic and computing resources in the network. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using several simulations that consider actual network service and device characteristics.

Deep-FDA: Using Functional Data Analysis and Neural Networks to Characterize Network Services Time Series

In network management, it is important to model baselines, trends, and regular behaviors to adequately deliver network services. However, their characterization is complex, so network operation and system alarming become a challenge. Several problems exist: Gaussian assumptions cannot be made, time series have different trends, and it is difficult to reduce their dimensionality. To overcome this situation, we propose Deep-FDA, a novel approach for network service modeling that combines functional data analysis (FDA) and neural networks. Specifically, we explore the use of functional clustering and functional depth measurements to characterize network services with time series generated from enriched flow records, showing how this method can detect different separated trends. Moreover, we augment this statistical approach with the use of autoencoder neural networks, improving the classification results. To evaluate and check the applicability of our proposal, we performed experiments with synthetic and real-world data, where we show graphically and numerically the performance of our method compared to other state-of-the-art alternatives. We also exemplify its application in different network management use cases. The results show that FDA and neural networks are complementary, as they can help each other to improve the drawbacks that both analysis methods have when are applied separately.

Network Service Chaining and Embedding With Provable Bounds

Network function virtualization (NFV) is introduced to effectively deliver end-to-end network services for the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), multiaccess edge computing, and 5G communication techniques. In NFV, the network service request can be accommodated in the form of a service function chain (SFC). The SFC will have to reserve abundant resources, such as link bandwidth, service functions, and computation in the physical network to meet the demands of customers. Minimizing the cost from the resource reservation in NFV remains challenging, even though a few works in the literature proposed cost-optimization methodologies with assumptions to guarantee their correctness. In this article, we comprehensively investigate how to minimize the cost when delivering network services as SFCs with provable bounds and fewer assumptions. We formally define the problem of minimum cost service function chaining and embedding (MC-SFCE) and propose an algorithm, namely, cost factor-based SFCE optimization with shortcut (COFO-SC), for MC-SFCE. Novel mathematical analysis is provided to demonstrate the correctness of our approaches and related bounds. Our extensive simulations and analysis also show that the proposed COFO-SC outperforms the schemes directly extended from the existing work.

Vehicular software-defined networking and fog computing: Integration and design principles

Vehicular Networks (VN) enable the collaboration among vehicles and infrastructure to deliver network services, where usually value-added services are provided by cloud computing. In this context, fog computing can be deployed closer to the users to meet their needs with minimum help from the Internet infrastructure. Software Defined Networking (SDN) might support the use of large-scale fog-enabled VN services. However, the current management of each wireless network that composes the VN has restricted the exploration of fog-enabled VN services. Therefore, the design principles for a VN architecture is still an open issue, mainly because it is necessary to address the diversity of VN fog applications. In this article, we investigate the design principles for fog-enabled Vehicular Software Defined Networking (VSDN) focusing on the perspectives of the systems, networking, and services. We evaluated these design principles in a use case of a traffic management system for a fast traffic accident rescue, using real traffic accident data. Finally, potential research challenges and opportunities for integrated use fog-enabled VSDN are discussed.

COMPOSER: A compact open-source service platform

Compute and network virtualization enable to deliver network services with unprecedented agility and flexibility based on (a) the programmatic placement of service functions across the available infrastructure and (b) the real-time setup of the corresponding network paths. This paper presents and validates COMPOSER, a compact, flexible and high-performance service platform for the deployment of network services. COMPOSER supports multiple virtualization engines (e.g., virtual machines, containers, native network functions) and it can use seamlessly the above different execution environments to instantiate network services belonging to different chains, hence facilitating domain-oriented orchestration and enabling the joint optimization of compute and network resources. We demonstrate that COMPOSER can run on resource-constrained hardware, such as residential gateways, as well as on high-performance servers. Finally, COMPOSER integrates optimized data plane components that enable our platform to reach top-class results with respect to data plane performance as well.

Convergence of residential gateway technology

A new OSI-based model is described that can be used for the classification of residential gateways. It is applied to analyze current gateway solutions and draw evolutionary paths for the medium to long term. From this it is concluded that particularly set-top boxes and broadband modems, as opposed to game consoles and PCs, have a strong potential to evolve toward gateways that deliver network services to the home on all OSI layers, although they probably will not converge. In our model, we have not found any compelling reasons for the residential gateway industry to support concurrent multiple broadband access network connections on a single residential gateway in the near future.

Operations and maintenance centre — delivering network services

Network management, administration and maintenance activities have developed dramatically since the introduction of digital exchanges, with their ever-increasing capabilities for remote interrogation and control. The operations and maintenance centre (OMC) was born to exploit the exchange capabilities and fulfil the need for fast and efficient centralised administration and maintenance facilities. This paper describes and traces the development of the OMC, outlines its key role and achievements in the delivery of network services in pace with on-going requirements, and investigates the technical challenges being addressed as part of its evolutionary design.