Nicolas Le Sauze

Software-Defined LANs for Interconnected Smart Environment

In this paper, we propose a solution to delegate the control and the management of the network connecting the many devices of a smart environment to a software entity, while keeping end-users in control of what is happening in their networks. For this, we rely on the logical manipulation of all connected devices through device abstraction and network programmability. Applying Software Defined Networking (SDN) principles, we propose a software-based solution that we call Software-Defined LANs in order to interconnect devices of smart environments according to the services the users are requesting or expecting.We define the adequate virtualization framework based on Virtual Objects and Communities of Virtual Objects. Using these virtual entities, we apply the SDN architectural principles to define a generic architecture that can be applied to any smart environment. Then we describe a prototype implementing these concepts in the home networking context, through a scenario in which users of two different homes can easily interconnect two private but shareable DLNA devices in a dedicated video-delivery SD-LAN. Finally we provide a discussion of the benefits and challenges of our approach regarding the generalization of SDN principles, autonomic features, Internet of Things scalability, security and privacy aspects enabled by SD-LANs intrinsic properties.

Distributed E2E QoS-Based Path Computation Algorithm over Multiple Inter-domain Routes

Internet usages have changed with the emergence of value added services relying on a higher interactivity and needs for a better quality of experience (QoE). Telecommunication operators have to face a continuing growth of new types of Internet traffic (video, games, telepresence, etc.) imposing not only a more efficient utilization of their network infrastructure resources, but also the generation of new revenues to pursue investments and sustain the increasing demand. Such services generally cross multiple domains, but inter-domain routing protocols still have some limitations in terms of service assurance. For example, BGPs single route announce for a destination limits potential traffic engineering features (e.g. no quality of service price/efficiency optimisation, inter-domain shared route protection, inter-domain load balancing, etc.). In order to provision end-to-end inter-domain connections that obey to constraints such as bandwidth, delay, jitter, and packet loss for these services, an interesting approach is to compute end-to-end (e2e) paths over multiple inter-domain routes. This will allow establishing more efficiently the inter-domain connections with respect to requested QoS constraints and sharing these constraints (and associated revenues) among multiple operators to globally accept more demands in the system, while keep satisfying the customer QoE. To address these challenges, we propose an efficient distributed inter-domain algorithm that computes such constrained paths among a set of domains, exploring multiple inter-domain routes. We demonstrate that our algorithm not only increases success rate in delivering feasible paths, but also admits more connections and keeps a reasonable runtime.

Routing protocol enhancements for power state engineering of green network elements

A routing protocol is enhanced to advertise the power state of node interfaces for wavelength switched optical networks to allow tuning the power consumption according to the data traffic demands. By engineering the different power states, GMPLS controlled nodes are configured to preserve the QoS of incoming traffic volumes such as reliability as well as the constraints of carrier grade networks, such as stability and operation costs. For variable incoming traffic reference models, more than half of the total power consumption required for an European optical networks without any power saving capabilities can be saved from powering the optoelectronic interfaces column.

The Majord'Home: a SDN approach to let isps manage and extend their customers'home networks

As the number and variety of connected devices increase, most end-users find themselves unable to manage their home networks properly, not having enough time and/or knowledge to do so. In this paper, we propose a new approach to remove this burden from them, by fully virtualizing the home network and delegating its management and operations to the ISP, while keeping end-users in control. We furthermore define the architecture of our software-based MajordHome solution. Acting as a majordomo of the home, it handles a representation of the home objects and network constraints, automates the connectivity between heterogeneous elements and thus meets the needs of end-users. We finally describe the first version of our on-going implementation as a proof of concept.

Protocol agnostic On-Path Supports

Targeting the distribution of accurate frequency and time references across Packet Switched Networks (PSNs), the IEEE Std 1588TM-2008 (a.k.a. 1588V2 or PTPV2) standard specifies network infrastructure components intended to reduce the impact of network elements located between the Grandmaster clock and Slave clocks. Also referred to as On-Path Supports (OPS), these PTPV2 build-in network components are the Boundary Clock (BC) and the Transparent Clock (TC). After briefly discussing on both components relatively to their strengths and weaknesses, this paper focuses on the challenging environment imposed by the next generation mobile standard, namely the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE). Addressing security concerns, this standard particularly recommends the use of IPSec tunneling which forbids any use of TCs and BCs. Facing such a challenge, this document proposes innovative protocol-agnostic On-Path Supports which can be seen as complementary to the OPSs of PTPV2.

Static Multipoint to Multipoint Buses Placement in Transparent Optical Networks

We propose a node architecture supporting the packet-oriented multipoint to multipoint (MP2MP) transparent optical passive buses. The main goal of the bus concept is to minimize costs by maximizing resources utilization in transparent optical mesh networks. We first formulate the problem of MP2MP passive optical bus placement (OBP) as an ILP problem with linear constraints in case of static traffic demands. We propose next a heuristic named Maximizing Resources Utilization (MRU). We use further the MRU dimensioning with two traffic models. We compare the concept of MP2MP bus to the multipoint-to-point (MP2P) passive optical bus and an active MP2MP bus (MP2MP with online optical packet erasing) called also Optical Packet Switching (OPS). We finally derive conclusions from the numerical results on the performance of both the passive and active MP2MP optical and the MP2P bus as well as on the MP2MP passive bus and the OPS active one.

Future Spaces: Reinventing the Home Network for Better Security and Automation in the IoT Era

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are complex systems comprising computation, physical, and networking assets. Used in various domains such as manufacturing, agriculture, vehicles, etc., they blend the control of the virtual and physical worlds. Smart homes are a peculiar type of CPS where the local networking fundamentals have seen little evolution in the past decades, while the context in which home networks operate has drastically evolved. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), the number and diversity of devices connected to our home networks are exploding. Some of those devices are poorly secured and put users’ data privacy and security at risk. At the same time, administrating a home network has remained a tedious chore, requiring skills from un-savvy users. We present Future Spaces, an end-to-end hardware-software prototype providing fine-grained control over IoT connectivity to enable easy and secure management of smart homes. Relying on Software-Defined Networking-enabled home gateways and the virtualization of network functions in the cloud, we achieve advanced networking security and automation through the definition of isolated, usage-oriented slices. This disrupts how users discover, control and share their connected assets across multiple domains, smoothly adapting to various usage contexts.