Network Orchestration Research Articles

Kolmogorov-Arnold Representation Based Informed Orchestration in Solving Partial Differential Equations for Carbon Balance Sustainability

This paper introduces the Kolmogorov-Arnold Credit Informed Network Orchestration (KACINO), a novel framework proposed to comprehensively structure and analyze the carbon dynamic system. By synthesizing dynamic processes such as carbon emission and sequestration, a credit information of carbon dynamics is built accumulation, KACINO provides a holistic approach to model the complexities inherent in carbon dynamics. Through systematic analysis and scenario simulations, KACINO facilitates informed policy recommendations aimed at optimizing carbon credit utilization and achieving sustainable environmental outcomes. This paper outlines the theoretical foundation, methodology, and practical applications of KACINO, highlighting its potential to support transformative strategies in climate change mitigation and sustainable development.

Orchestrating innovation networks: the switching roles of orchestrators along startups’ lifecycle

Innovation networks enable innovating actors to access complementary assets beyond their corporate boundaries. Subsequently, the orchestration of such networks has attracted increasing attention. Network orchestration is a dynamic activity where orchestrator roles change along the innovation trajectory. However, research on network orchestration falls short of capturing the dynamic aspects of orchestration. Moreover, gaps in the literature limit our understanding of the dynamic nature of orchestration roles and the way these roles change over time. By drawing on network orchestration theory and the Resource Based View, this study introduces a capability-dependant framework to explain how the network orchestrator roles can adapt to the evolving situational circumstances of the startup's lifecycle. Our analysis is based on a longitudinal empirical investigation of nine technological startups and their dyadic (one-to-one) relationship to an innovation intermediary as a network orchestrator in southwest Germany. Our findings reveal that orchestrators play different roles simultaneously in response to changing environments and varying startup requirements. We further identify factors associated with orchestrator role changes based on the dyadic relationship as an additional criterion for characterizing dynamic orchestrator roles. Overall, this work aims to contribute to the literature on network orchestration by moving debates about orchestration roles beyond a static setting, thus offering a dynamic and more accurate picture of evolving orchestration roles and underlying mechanisms.

Computationally-Assisted Discovery and Assignment of a New Class of 6/6/5/5 Fused-Ring Diterpene Acting as Pregnane X Receptor Ligands from Isodon serra.

We report here the orchestration of molecular ion networking (MoIN) and a set of computationally assisted structural elucidation approaches in the discovery and assignment of a new class of rearranged 4,5-seco-abietane diterpenoids including serra A (1), which possesses an unusual 6/6/5/5 fused-ring skeleton system, together with two previously unreported diterpenoids serras B-C (2-3) and five known compounds were isolated from Isodon serra (I. serra). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis in conjunction with computationally assisted structure elucidation tools. In silico, serras A-C (1-3) bind well to PXR, suggesting their potential role in reducing inflammation. The results of serra A (1) with hPXR demonstrated agonist activity with an EC50 value of 15 μM. Serra A (1), graciliflorin F (4), gerardianin C (5), 11,12,15-trihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one (6), rabdosin D (7), and 15-hydroxysalprionin (8) exhibited promising anti-inflammatory activities in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 267.4 cells, and their inhibition rates on NO production were more than 65% at 10 μM.

Research on data-driven, multi-component distribution network attack planning methods

As the physical power information system undergoes continual advancement, mobile energy storage has become a pivotal component in the planning and orchestration of multi-component distribution networks. Furthermore, the evolution and enhancement of big data technologies have significantly contributed to enhancing the rationality and efficacy of various distribution network planning and layout approaches. At the same time, multi-distribution networks have also confronted numerous network attacks with increasing probability and severity. In this study, a Petri net is initially employed as a modeling technique to delineate the network attack flow within the distribution network. Subsequently, the data from prior network attacks are consolidated and scrutinized to evaluate the vulnerability of the cyber-physical system (CPS), thereby identifying the most critical network attack pattern for a multi-component distribution network. Following this, the defender–attacker–defender planning methodology is applied for scale modeling, incorporating rapidly evolving mobile energy storage into the pre-layout, aiming to mitigate the detrimental impact of network attacks on the power grid. Ultimately, the column and constraint generation (C&CG) algorithm is utilized to simulate and validate the proposed planning strategy in a 33-node system with multiple control groups established to demonstrate the viability and merits of the proposed strategy.

Making platform firms’ competitive advantage sustainable: The roles of network orchestration capabilities and collaborative innovation

Currently, platform firms lack a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). Most studies on platform firms’ SCA have adopted a market, rather than a resource, perspective. However, compared with traditional firms, platform firms are highly dependent on external resources, establish close ties with network members. Thus, this research introduces Network Orchestration Theory, defines platform firms as sponsor–orchestrators, rather than player–orchestrators as in existing studies, and develops a theoretical model in which network orchestration capabilities enhance SCA via collaborative innovation, and environmental complexity moderates the main effect. The regression results from Chinese platform firms show that network orchestration capabilities (knowledge mobility, innovation appropriability and network stability) enhanced platform firms’ SCA, collaborative innovation mediated, and environmental complexity weakened the positive effect of innovation appropriability on SCA. This research provides suggestions for platform firms’ SCA, supports research on the classification of network orchestrators, and advances platform research and Network Orchestration Theory.

Local value creation for developing business relationships: An SME case study in the pasta industry

Drawing on the market-as-network approach from the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group, this paper explores how small and medium-sized companies can leverage their network to become network orchestrators, co-creating value locally and developing business relationships. Specifically, the paper addresses the following research questions: RQ1) How can SMEs act as network orchestrators for local value co-creation? RQ2) How can SMEs leverage local value to develop business relationships? Methodologically, the industrial network theory is applied to an exploratory and single case study of an Italian food company in the pasta sector, Fabianelli. This enterprise boasts a historical tradition firmly linked to its origins and a solid attachment to the Tuscany region where it is located. The paper identifies specific actors, resources, and activities defining a company’s network orchestrator role. Further, it analyzes the value co-created locally to discuss four strategies used by Fabianelli to develop relationships with national and international actors.

CORECONF, NETCONF, and RESTCONF: Benchmarking Network Orchestration in Constrained IIoT Devices

CORECONF, NETCONF, and RESTCONF: Benchmarking Network Orchestration in Constrained IIoT Devices

Resource allocation in healthcare entrepreneurial ecosystems: the strategic role of entrepreneurial support organizations

PurposeInnovation management in the healthcare sector has undergone significant evolutions over the last decades. These evolutions have been investigated from a variety of perspectives: clusters, ecosystems of innovation, digital ecosystems and regional ecosystems, but the dynamics of networks have seldom been analyzed under the lenses of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). As identified by Cao and Shi (2020), the literature is silent about the organization of resource allocation systems for network orchestration in EEs. This article investigates these elements in the healthcare sector. It discusses the strategic role played by entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) in resource allocation and elaborates on the distinction between sponsored and nonsponsored ESOs in EEs. ESOs are active in network orchestration. The literature explains that ESOs lift organizational, institutional and cultural barriers, and support entrepreneurs' access to cognitive and technological resources. However, allocation models are not yet discussed. Therefore, our research questions are as follows: What is the resource allocation model in healthcare-related EEs? What is the role played by sponsored and nonsponsored ESOs as regards resource allocation to support the emergence and development of EEs in the healthcare sector?Design/methodology/approachThe article offers an explanatory, exploratory, and theory-building investigation. The research design offers an abductive research protocol and multi-level analysis of seven (sponsored and nonsponsored) ESOs active in French healthcare ecosystems. Field research elaborates on semi-structured interviews collected between 2016 and 2022.FindingsThis article shows explicit complementarities between top-down and bottom-up resource allocation approaches supported by ESOs in the healthcare sector. Despite explicit originalities in each approach, no network orchestration model prevails. Multi-polar coordination is the rule. Entrepreneurs' access to critical technological and cognitive resources is based on resource allocation modalities that differ for sponsored versus nonsponsored ESOs. Emerging from field research, this research also shows that sponsored and nonsponsored ESOs manage their roles in different ways because they confront original issues about organizational legitimacy.Originality/valueBeyond the results listed above, the main originalities of the paper relate to the instantiation of multi-level analysis operated during field research and to the confrontation between sponsored versus nonsponsored ESOs in the domain of healthcare-related innovation management. This research shows that ESOs have practical relevance because they build original routes for resource allocation and network orchestration in EEs. Each ESO category (sponsored versus nonsponsored) provides original support for resource allocation. The ESO's legitimacy is inferred either from the sponsor or the services delivered to end-users. This research leads to propositions for future research and recommendations for practitioners: ESO managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.

Exploring the processes and mechanisms by which nonprofit organizations orchestrate global innovation networks: A case study of the COVAX program

In cocreating value with other organizations, nonprofit organizations may face multiple management challenges, posed by multistakeholder global innovation networks. Since these have not yet been systematically studied by academics, this study explores how nonprofit organizations can promote the cocreation of value in multistakeholder global innovation networks. Adopting a longitudinal single-case study approach from the perspective of network orchestration theory, this work deeply analyzes how nonprofit organizations can promote the evolution of the global innovation network of the COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX program. The results show that nonprofits need to successively address the dilemmas of legitimacy, direction, and heterogeneity in constructing global innovation networks and that to solve these stage dilemmas, orchestrators must successively function as network architects, liaisons, and leaders to direct the implementation of network actions using trusted, leveraged, and adapted orchestration logics. This paper further proposes a model of the orchestration process and mechanisms by which nonprofit organizations facilitate multistakeholder global innovation networks. Theoretically, this study therefore extends network orchestration theory by summarizing the mechanisms and orchestration logics by which NPOs construct and develop networks when they act as orchestrators. From a practical perspective, this study also provides guidance for future unexpected global public health crises, improving the global community's ability to combat them.

Context-Based e2e Autonomous Operation in B5G Networks.

The research and innovation related to fifth-generation (5G) networks that has been carried out in recent years has decided on the fundamentals of the smart slice in radio access networks (RANs), as well as the autonomous fixed network operation. One of the most challenging objectives of beyond 5G (B5G) and sixth-generation (6G) networks is the deployment of mechanisms that enable smart end-to-end (e2e) network operation, which is required for the achievement of the stringent service requirements of the envisioned use cases to be supported in the short term. Therefore, smart actions, such as dynamic capacity allocation, flexible functional split, and dynamic slice management need to be performed in tight coordination with the autonomous capacity management of the fixed transport network infrastructure. Otherwise, the benefits of smart slice operation (i.e., cost and energy savings while ensuring per-slice service requirements) might be cancelled due to uncoordinated autonomous fixed network operation. Notably, the transport network in charge of supporting slices from the user equipment (UE) to the core expands across access and metro fixed networks. The required coordination needs to be performed while keeping the privacy of the radio and fixed network domains, which is important in multi-tenant scenarios where both network segments are managed by different operators. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that explores the concept of context-aware network operation, where the slice control anticipates the aggregated and anonymized information of the expected slice operation that is sent to the fixed network orchestrator in an asynchronous way. The context is then used as the input for the artificial intelligence (AI)-based models used by the fixed network control for the predictive capacity management of optical connections in support of RAN slices. This context-aware network operation aims at enabling accurate and reliable autonomous fixed network operation under extremely dynamic traffic originated by smart RAN operation. The exhaustive numerical results show that slice context availability improves the benchmarking fixed network predictive methods (90% reduction in prediction maximum error) remarkably in the foreseen B5G scenarios, for both access and metro segments and in heterogeneous service demand scenarios. Moreover, context-aware network operation enables robust and efficient operation of optical networks in support of dense RAN cells (>32 base stations per cell), while the benchmarking methods fail to guarantee different operational objectives.

IBN@Cloud: An intent-based cloud and overlay network orchestration system

IBN@Cloud: An intent-based cloud and overlay network orchestration system

Smart Resource Allocation in Mobile Cloud Next-Generation Network (NGN) Orchestration with Context-Aware Data and Machine Learning for the Cost Optimization of Microservice Applications

Mobile cloud computing (MCC) provides resources to users to handle smart mobile applications. In MCC, task scheduling is the solution for mobile users’ context-aware computation resource-rich applications. Most existing approaches have achieved a moderate service reliability rate due to a lack of instance-centric resource estimations and task offloading, a statistical NP-hard problem. The current intelligent scheduling process cannot address NP-hard problems due to traditional task offloading approaches. To address this problem, the authors design an efficient context-aware service offloading approach based on instance-centric measurements. The revised machine learning model/algorithm employs task adaptation to make decisions regarding task offloading. The proposed MCVS scheduling algorithm predicts the usage rates of individual microservices for a practical task scheduling scheme, considering mobile device time, cost, network, location, and central processing unit (CPU) power to train data. One notable feature of the microservice software architecture is its capacity to facilitate the scalability, flexibility, and independent deployment of individual components. A series of simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed technique based on offloading, CPU usage, and execution time metrics. The experimental results efficiently show the learning rate in training and testing in comparison with existing approaches, showing efficient training and task offloading phases. The proposed system has lower costs and uses less energy to offload microservices in MCC. Graphical results are presented to define the effectiveness of the proposed model. For a service arrival rate of 80%, the proposed model achieves an average 4.5% service offloading rate and 0.18% CPU usage rate compared with state-of-the-art approaches. The proposed method demonstrates efficiency in terms of cost and energy savings for microservice offloading in mobile cloud computing (MCC).

Vinia: Voice-enabled intent-based networking for industrial automation

Intent Based Networking (IBN) is a promising approach for automating and managing large and complex networks. Integrating Voice-enabled Virtual Assistants (VVAs) with IBN and Software Defined Networking (SDN) has improved network management efficiency and flexibility. However, there is still room for optimization improvement in installing intents in industrial scenarios. Network Orchestration Automation plays an important role within the Beyond 5G and 6G Networks, considering existing practices for orchestrating 5G Network Functions. This work presents an extended preliminary architecture for a voice-enabled IBN system called VINIA for industrial network automation. The new approach allows the configuration of more network assets (e.g., 5G networks), leveraging Network Orchestrators and Network Slice Managers, thus improving the system?s capabilities. The results provide insights into this solution?s potential benefits and limitations to enhance the automation of industrial networks? management and orchestration procedures.

The Network Orchestration Role of Accelerators for Value Creation

The Network Orchestration Role of Accelerators for Value Creation

Strategies and mechanisms for building digital resilience of container shipping platform in crisis situations: A network orchestration perspective

The massive disruptions caused by COVID-19 over the past three years have fully accelerated the digital transformation of the traditional shipping industry. An increasing number of studies have focused on how companies utilize digital technologies to reshape traditional business processes and build digital resilience, viewing it as an important means to enable quick rebound from crises. However, current research mostly measures the characteristics of digital resilience from a static perspective, with fewer studies revealing how digital resilience is built from a dynamic process perspective, which is an important issue for ports and shipping enterprises to consider how to prepare for the “next” potential shock in the VUCA era. Therefore, we conducted an in-depth longitudinal case study on a leading container shipping platform in China. By introducing the theoretical perspective of network orchestration, we propose a process model for the construction of digital resilience: “opportunity perception – orchestration role – resilience strategy”. The results demonstrate specific strategies and evolution mechanisms for enterprises to build digital resilience at different stages under crisis situations. This provides practical references for the container shipping industry to cope with potential crises through digital transformation.

Increasing entrepreneurial ecosystem-level outcomes through orchestration: A proposed framework

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (EE) denotes the interaction of venture capitalists, corporations, universities, research entities, government, R&D centres, and specialised service providers within a region, collectively fostering high-potential entrepreneurial firms. This paper provides a theoretical framework to decode the orchestration of EEs, merging insights from innovation network orchestration literature and the burgeoning field of EE governance. We suggest that the orchestration of EEs should be analysed in terms of form and content. For form, we explore cases with single or multiple orchestrators and discuss the notion of shared orchestration. Regarding content, we underscore the roles and activities orchestrators should undertake to drive EEs and enhance ecosystem-level results. Orchestrators should manage the ecosystem's institutions, dynamicity, and strategic direction, encompassing eight specific activities. This work advances EE governance understanding by refining the orchestration concept and emphasising inter-network coordination's importance for value creation. This can guide policymakers in crafting EE incentives and actors seeking best practices for ecosystem development.

VNF-Enabled 5G Network Orchestration Framework for Slice Creation, Isolation and Management

Network slicing is widely regarded as the most critical technique for allocating network resources to varied user needs in 5G networks. A Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are two extensively used strategies for slicing the physical infrastructure according to use cases. The most efficient use of virtual networks is realized by the application of optimal resource allocation algorithms. Numerous research papers on 5G network resource allocation focus on network slicing or on the best resource allocation for the sliced network. This study uses network slicing and optimal resource allocation to achieve performance optimization using requirement-based network slicing. The proposed approach includes three phases: (1) Slice Creation by Machine Learning methods (SCML), (2) Slice Isolation through Resource Allocation (SIRA) of requests via a multi-criteria decision-making approach, and (3) Slice Management through Resource Transfer (SMART). We receive a set of Network Service Requests (NSRs) from users. After receiving the NSRs, the SCML is used to form slices, and SIRA and SMART are used to allocate resources to these slices. Accurately measuring the acceptance ratio and resource efficiency helps to enhance overall performance. The simulation results show that the SMART scheme can dynamically change the resource allocation according to the test conditions. For a range of network situations and Network Service Requests (NSRs), the performance benefit is studied. The findings of the simulation are compared to those of the literature in order to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed work.

Progress in network orchestration research and future prospects: a bibliometric analysis

PurposeNetwork orchestration has received widespread attention from scholars engaged in network-relationship governance research. This study aims to explore progress in network orchestration research and future prospects.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 105 articles related to network orchestration from the Web of Science Core Collection Database for the period 2006–2022 are collected as sample data, and bibliometric relationship maps of network orchestration research are visually presented using the CiteSpace software.FindingsFirst, this study presents distributions of articles, methods, journals, authors, institutions and countries/regions in network orchestration research. Second, based on a reference co-citation analysis, three articles are identified as the key literature in network orchestration research. Based on a keyword co-occurrence analysis, the hotspots are found to include studies related to overall network and individual levels. A cluster analysis reveals six themes: innovation ecosystem, sustainable development, product development, sourcing, hub firm and innovation network. From a burst detection analysis, three frontiers emerge: organisation, collaboration and governance. Finally, some future research directions are proposed and important issues are raised.Originality/valueThis study is the first to reveal the progress of network orchestration research using quantitative bibliometric methods, and it provides insights to scholars and offers practitioners with a better understanding of network orchestration.

Using not-for-profit innovation networks to transition new technologies across the valley of death

PurposeThis paper aims to seek answers to the question: What are the relevant factors that allow not-for-profit innovation networks to successfully transition new technologies from proof-of-concept to commercialisation?Design/methodology/approachThis question is examined using the knowledge-based view and network orchestration theory. Data are collected from 35 interviews with managers and engineers working within seven centres that comprise the High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC). These centres constitute a not-for-profit innovation network where suppliers, customers and competitors collaborate to help transition new technologies across the “Valley of Death” (the gap between establishing a proof of concept and commercialisation).FindingsNetwork orchestration theory suggests that a hub firm facilitates the exchange of knowledge amongst network members (knowledge mobility), to enable these members to profit from innovation (innovation appropriability). The hub firm ensures positive network growth, and also allows for the entry and exit of network members (network stability). This study of not-for-profit innovation networks suggests the role of a network orchestrator is to help ensure that intellectual property becomes a public resource that enhances the productivity of the domestic economy. The authors observed how network stability was achieved by the HVMC's seven centres employing a loosely-coupled hybrid network configuration. This configuration however ensured that new technology development teams, comprised of suppliers, customers and competitors, remained tightly-coupled to enable co-development of innovative technologies. Matching internal technical and sectoral expertise with complementary experience from network members allowed knowledge to flow across organisational boundaries and throughout the network. Matrix organisational structures and distributed decision-making authority created opportunities for knowledge integration to occur. Actively moving individuals and teams between centres also helped to diffuse knowledge to network members, while regular meetings between senior management ensured network coordination and removed resource redundancies.Originality/valueThe study contributes to knowledge-based theory by moving beyond existing understanding of knowledge integration in firms, and identified how knowledge is exchanged and aggregated within not-for-profit innovation networks. The findings contribute to network orchestration theory by challenging the notion that network orchestrators should enact and enforce appropriability regimes (patents, licences, copyrights) to allow members to profit from innovations. Instead, the authors find that not-for-profit innovation networks can overcome the frictions that appropriability regimes often create when exchanging knowledge during new technology development. This is achieved by pre-defining the terms of network membership/partnership and setting out clear pathways for innovation scaling, which embodies newly generated intellectual property as a public resource. The findings inform a framework that is useful for policy makers, academics and managers interested in using not-for-profit networks to transition new technologies across the Valley of Death.

Hippocampal orchestration of associative and sequential memory networks for episodic retrieval

Episodic memory involves the recollection of contextual details replayed mentally across time. Here, we propose the association-sequence network (ASN) model, characterizing complementary cortico-hippocampal networks underlying the retrieval of simultaneously associated and sequentially ordered events. Participants viewed objects, presented singly or in pairs, and later reported whether two objects were shown simultaneously, consecutively, or farther apart in time. Behavioral results and hippocampal activation reveal a correlation between the two sequential conditions but not the simultaneous condition, despite the temporal proximity of consecutive pairs. We also find that anterior hippocampal activity is modulated by temporal distance. Distinct cortical networks are engaged during simultaneous and sequential memory (prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus for association; supplementary motor cortex and precuneus for sequence); notably, these regions show differential connectivity with the hippocampus. The ASN model provides a comprehensive framework for how we reconstruct memories that are both rich in associative detail and temporally dynamic in nature.