Evangelos K. Markakis

Virtual Network Functions exploitation through a prototype resource management framework

This paper elaborates on the design of a prototype framework for the exploitation of virtual Network Functions (NFs) and virtual Network Resources (NRs) in a cloud-based network architecture. The proposed framework is based on a Marketplace approach, utilizing a centralized network architecture, where the exploitation of the available NFs/NRs is managed by a Brokerage Module. This Brokerage Module applies trading policies based on a resource predictive entity that monitors the resources, towards matching the end-user demands and providing the acceptable bandwidth required.

TeNOR: Steps towards an orchestration platform for multi-PoP NFV deployment

Network Functions Visualization is focused on migrating traditional hardware-based network functions to software-based appliances running on standard high volume severs. There are a variety of challenges facing early adopters of Network Function Virtualizations; key among them are resource and service mapping, to support virtual network function orchestration. Service providers need efficient and effective mapping capabilities to optimally deploy network services. This paper describes TeNOR, a micro-service based network function virtualisation orchestrator capable of effectively addressing resource and network service mapping. The functional architecture and data models of TeNOR are described, as well as two proposed approaches to address the resource mapping problem. Key evaluation results are discussed and an assessment of the mapping approaches is performed in terms of the service acceptance ratio and scalability of the proposed approaches.

A Fog-Based Emergency System for Smart Enhanced Living Environments

Ubiquitous computing paradigms, empowered by the fifth-generation networking and emerging smart ambient intelligence environments, could play a crucial role in creating better living environments for activity-challenged individuals, such as disabled or elderly people requiring constant care. Cloud computing has been an empowering force for this endeavor, although it raises several ethical, security, and user experience issues. This article presents a virtualized fog-based infrastructure for harvesting and managing distributed IT resources, shifting the entire cloud functionality to the network edge, and utilizing the cloud in an assistive manner to ensure system robustness. The infrastructure facilitates an ambient assisted-living emergency system that alerts nearby authorities when the target user leaves the identified home boundaries. It uses an outdoor positioning mechanism and emergency and Internet of Things communication protocols.

Experimental Infrastructures for IP/DVB Convergence: an Actual Substantiation for Triple Play Services Provision at Remote Areas

This paper introduces and validates an experimental infrastructure of a fusion IP/DVB networking environment for the provision of triple play services at remote areas exploiting the synergy of Broadcasting, Internet and Telecommunication sectors technologies. This synergy constitutes a challenge for creating a networking platform which exploits the particularities and complementarities of these sectors for the support of ubiquitous services and always-on connectivity enabling passive rural citizens to become active Information Society participants. This paper describes important directions for exploiting the proposed unified platform alleviating the digital divide that currently exists not only among countries but also within most regions of the same country.

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.

EXEGESIS: Extreme Edge Resource Harvesting for a Virtualized Fog Environment

Currently there is an active debate about how the existing cloud paradigm can cope with the volume, variety, and velocity of the data generated by end devices (e.g., Internet of Things sensors). It is expected that there will be over 50 billion of these devices by 2020, which will create more than two Exabytes worth of data each day. Additionally, the vast number of edge devices create a huge ocean of digital resources close to the data source, which, however, remain so far unexploited to their full extent. EXEGESIS proposes to harness these unutilized resources via a three-layer architecture that encompasses the mist, fog, and cloud. The mist network is located at the very bottom, where interconnected objects (Internet of Things devices, small servers, etc.) create neighborhoods of objects. This arrangement is enhanced by a virtual fog layer, which allows for dynamic, ad hoc interconnections among the various neighborhoods. At the top layer resides the cloud with its abundant resources that can also be included in one or more virtual fog neighborhoods. Thus, this article complements and leverages existing cloud architectures, enabling them to interact with this new edge-centric ecosystem of devices/resources, and benefit from the fact that critical data are available where they can add the most value.

EMYNOS: Next Generation Emergency Communication

Current emergency systems and 112 services are based on legacy telecommunication technologies, which cannot cope with IP-based services that European citizens use every day. Some of the related limitations are partial media support, the lack of integration of social media, and the use of an analog modem for providing eCall services with limited data amounts. As most operators have started migrating toward broadband IP-based infrastructures, current emergency systems also need to be upgraded and adapted in order to fulfill regulatory requirements in terms of next generation emergency services. This article presents the EMYNOS project, the goal of which is the design and implementation of a next generation platform capable of accommodating rich-media emergency calls that combine voice, text, and video, thus constituting a powerful tool for coordinating communication among citizens, call centers, and first responders. Additionally, issues such as call routing/redirection to the closest available call center, retrieval of caller location, support for people with disabilities, and integration of social media are detailed.

Peer-to-Peer Constellations in an IMS-Enabled Network Architecture Based on Interactive Broadcasting

This chapter elaborates on emerging advances and solutions to introduce the convergence of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mechanisms into interactive broadcasting systems, enhanced with IP Multimedia Subsystem capabilities. The proposed solutions enable for the proper users’ access on P2P-based services from dispersed locations, as well as the deployment of a novel users’ ecosystem to gear-up new businesses and increase revenue prospects. The P2P-based network architecture is validated through several experimental tests, performed on an actual prototype providing real transmission and reception of data. The experimental results justify the effectiveness of the solution and indentify open issues for further investigation and experimentation.

Optimised network resource exploitation in interactive broadcasting environments via P2P constellations

This paper proposes the utilisation of peer-to-peer (P2P) concept in interactive broadcasting environments, as an enabling technology for optimised network resource exploitation. Building upon a regenerative DVB-T platform, it presents a decentralised architecture that exploits the broadcasting stream as part of the core/backbone network, providing interactive IP services to rural/urban citizens. Towards enhancing the scalability as well as the performance of the entire network, the paper studies the realisation of IP overlays by exploiting P2P technology, and proposes a prototype configuration for optimum resource exploitation and increased Service/Bandwidth gain both at the core and access segments. Performance evaluation experiments carried-out under real transmission/reception conditions with a number of real users verified the validity of the proposed architecture, besides outlining fields for future research.

Computing, Caching, and Communication at the Edge: The Cornerstone for Building a Versatile 5G Ecosystem

This article presents a unified computing, caching, and communication (3C) solution for the upcoming 5G environment that will allow service, content, and function providers to deploy their services/ content/functions near the end users (EUs); to allow network providers to virtually deploy their connectivity services over commodity hardware; and to enable end users to renounce their role as passive 5G stakeholders and become active ones by offering their 3C resources to the 5G ecosystem. In this direction, we foresee the exploitation of a peer-topeer- like middleware/app solution that upon installation will enhance the end user devices with the ability to form virtual fogs capable of providing their 3C resources to the 5G ecosystem. Additionally, we propose the introduction of heterogeneous nodes (e.g., FPGAs and GPUs) at the networks edge, which will boost the processing capabilities without paying a premium in power consumption. This will enable efficient and thorough filtering of the information that makes it all the way up to the cloud. In summary, this article proposes an architecture that exploits and advances the edge and extreme edge 3C paradigms toward enabling the 5G ecosystem to meet its own criterion for low end-to-end latencies and, as such, enable it to provide and sustain high QoS/QoE levels.