Next Generation Networks

Next Generation Networks

BoD | QoS | MAN | IPv6

 

LDST’s research in this area deals with the latest developments in wired networks, including the design, implementation, simulation and testing of existing and proposed technologies. This page presents the main fields of research by the LDST in this area.

 

The pan-European research and academic network GEANT has developed a Bandwidth on Demand (BoD) service, supported by the AutoBAHN tool. The aim of the service is to provide dedicated channels for data transport, which are necessary for demanding applications and research fields such as radio astronomy, high-energy physics and general Grid applications with strict demands for the provisioning of guaranteed and dedicated capacity. The provisioning of such circuits is done dynamically, so that both the performance limitations of IP networks and the inflexibility of fixed circuits are addressed. As soon as a circuit’s resources are no longer necessary, they are released for another potential transfer between different end-points utilizing the same resources.
Members of the LDST have been actively involved in the design, development and operation of this service that is able to provision circuits across heterogeneous optical networks, including SDH, Ethernet and MPLS-based backbones. 

Quality of Service (QoS)

During the last years 2 Quality of Service architectures (IntServ and DiffServ) have been proposed and evaluated. Their goal is to provide specific quality (packet loss, delay and jitter) on network traffic.
The work of the LDST on this field focuses on the analytical and experimental evaluation and integration of mechanisms for service differentiation and quality in contemporary high-speed IP-based (v4 and v6) or MPLS based networks. The individual mechanisms available for these purposes are evaluated and extended in the networking level, accompanied by admission control and routing algorithms. Also, analytical design and evaluation of dimensioning algorithm is in our interest.
Additionally, our team works on management systems for QoS services and network. In particular, Bandwidth brokers and semi automated provisioning systems are studied and developed.
The LDST also works on design and implementation of Managed Bandwidth Service in high speed backbone networks. This takes advantage of features provided by the MPLS technology and also using the DiffServ architecture. It uses Layer 2 MPLS Virtual Private Networks (L2 MPLS VPNs) to provide point to point connections and it also marks the traffic in order to traverse certain priority queues (to provide guaranteed bandwidth). Additionally, it enables traffic engineering characteristics in order to provide load balancing on the network as well as fast rerouting in case of link failure. Our team is also working on the implementation of end-to-end automated provisioning of inter-domain Bandwidth on Demand services using SONET/SDH, Gigabit Ethernet and L2 MPLS VPNs technologies. Finally, the Lab of Distributed Systems and Telematics works on automatic provisioning tools that incorporate all these services. 

Related Information 

 

Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)

The last years, many countries and municipalities design and implement Metropolitan broadband infrastructure based on optic fibers. Their major characteristics are the open access that means the construction of the networks, should be limited in the construction of infrastructure and equipment that will be open to any telecommunication carrier and service provider. Also, the neutrality of the infrastructure is a key point as the network should be an open access installation to all the organizations that provide electronic networks and services with absolutely no discriminations against them.
The LDST work focuses on the design on Metropolitan Area Networks based on open standards and also on the design of the business plan that will be applied and will ensure the network's viability, administration, growth and exploitation of infrastructure.

IPv6

IPv6 is the new Internet Protocol that constitutes an effort to overcome the inborn limitations of IPv4. Along with increasing the address size from 32 to 128 bits, it offers better support for security, authentication, autoconfiguration, extensibility and flexibility in order to cover the new needs as they shape today in the Internet. Additionally, IPv6 uses a new field (Flow label) that can be used for QoS services, providing per flow differentiation.
The LDST of CTI work in this area focuses on transition mechanisms from IPv4 to IPv6 and on testing QoS mechanisms on IPv6 domains. Also works on application porting (for example OpenH323).