Virtualization on top of high-performance servers has enabled the virtualization of network functions like caching, deep packet inspection, etc. Such Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is used to dynamically adapt to changes in network traffic and application popularity. We demonstrate how the combination of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and NFV can support the parallel operation of different Internet architectures on top of the same physical hardware. We introduce our architecture for this approach in an actual test setup, using CloudLab resources. We start of our evaluation in a small setup where we evaluate the feasibility of the SDN and NFV architecture and incrementally increase the complexity of the setup to run a live video streaming application. We use two vastly different protocol stacks, namely TCP/IP and NDN to demonstrate the capability of our approach. The evaluation of our approach shows that it introduces a new level of flexibility when it comes to operation of different Internet architectures on top of the same physical network and with this flexibility provides the ability to switch between the two protocol stacks depending on the application.

Master’s thesis discusses the design and implementation of network infrastructure for computer laboratory in Department of Communications. Thesis focuses on VLAN definitions and deployment of server virtualization, including network monitoring station.

The Internet of the 21th century is a different version from the original Internet. The Internet is becoming more and more a huge distribution network for large quantities of data (Photos, Music, and Video) with different types of connections and needs. TCP/IP the work horse for the Internet was intended as a vehicle to transport best effort Connection oriented data where the main focus is about transporting data from point A to point B regardless of the type of data or the nature of path.  Information Centric Networking (ICN) is a new paradigm shift in a networking where the focus in networking is shifted from the host address to the content name. The current TCP/IP model for transporting data depends on establishing an end to end connection between client and server. However, in ICN, the client requests the data by name and the request is handled by the network without the need to go each time to a fixed server address as each node in the network can serve data. ICN works on a hop by hop basis where each node have visibility over the content requested enabling it to take more sophisticated decisions in comparison to TCP/IP where the forwarding node take decisions based on the source and destination IP addresses. ICN have different implementations projects with different visions and one of those projects is Named Data Networking (NDN) and that’s what we use for our work. NDN/ICN architecture consists of different layers and one of those layers is the Forwarding Strategy (FS) layer which is responsible for deciding how to forward the coming request/response. In this thesis we implement and simulate three Forwarding Strategies (Best Face Selection, Round Robin, and Weighted Round Robin) and investigate how they can adapt to changes in link bandwidth with variable traffic rate. We performed a number of simulations using the ndnSIMv2.1 simulator. We concluded that Weighted Round Robin offers high throughput and reliability in comparison to the other two strategies. Also, the three strategies offer better reliability than using a single static face and offer lower cost than using the broadcast strategy. We also concluded that there is a need for a dynamic congestion control algorithm that takes into consideration the dynamic nature of ICN. / 2000-talets Internet är en annan version av det ursprungliga Internet. Internet blir mer och mer ett stort distributionsnät för stora mängder data (foton, musik och video) med olika typer av anslutningar och behov. TCP / IP är arbetshäst för Internet var tänkt som ett fordon för att transportera best effort Anslutning orienterade uppgifter där huvudfokus handlar om att transportera data från punkt A till punkt B, oavsett vilken typ av data eller vilken typ av väg. Information Centric Nätverk (ICN) är ett nytt paradigmskifte inom nätverk där fokus i nätverket flyttas från värdadressen till innehållets namn. Den aktuella TCP / IP-modellen för transport av data beror på att etablera en anslutning mellan klient och server (s.k. end-to-end). I ICN begär klienten data med namn och begäran hanteras av nätverket utan att behöva gå till en fix serveradress eftersom varje nod i nätverket kan besvara en begäran med data. ICN arbetar på en ”hop by hop” basis där varje nod har överblick över det begärda innehållet, vilket gör det möjligt att ta mer avancerade beslut i jämförelse med TCP / IP, där den vidarebefordrande nodens beslut fattas baserat på källans och destinationens IP-adresser. Det finns olika implementeringar av ICN med olika visioner och en av dessa implementeringar heter Named Data Networking (NDN) och det är vad vi använder för vårt arbete. NDNs / ICNs arkitektur består av olika lager och ett av dessa lager är Forwarding Strategies (FS) där vi definierar de åtgärder vi vidtar på varje begäran / svar. I detta projekt implementeras och simuleras tre Forwarding strategier (Best Face Selection, Round Robin, och Weighted Round Robin) och undersöks hur de kan anpassa sig till förändringar i länkbandbredd med konstant och variabel trafikhastigheten. Vi utfört ett antal simuleringar med hjälp av ndnSIMv2.1 simulatorn. Vi drog slutsatsen att Weighted Round Robin erbjuder hög genomströmning och tillförlitlighet i jämförelse med de två andra strategierna.  De tre strategierna erbjuder även högre tillförlitlighet än att använda ett enda statiskt  interface och erbjuder lägre kostnad än att använda broadcast strategin. Vi konstaterade också att det finns ett behov av en dynamisk ”congestion control”-algoritm som tar hänsyn till ICNs dynamiska karaktär.

L'interférence entre stations de base est considérée comme le principal facteur limitant les performances des réseaux cellulaires. Nous nous intéressons aux différents schémas de coordination multi-point (CoMP) proposés dans la norme LTE-A pour y faire face, en tenant compte de l'aspect dynamique du trafic et de la mobilité des utilisateurs. Les résultats sont obtenus par l'analyse mathématique de modèles markoviens et par des simulations du système. Nous montrons l'importance de l'algorithme d'ordonnancement sur les performances en présence d'utilisateurs mobiles, pour des services de téléchargement de fichier et de streaming vidéo. Nous proposons un nouvel algorithme d'ordonnancement basé sur la dé-priorisation des utilisateurs mobiles se trouvant en bord de cellule, afin d'améliorer l'efficacité globale du système. Nous montrons ensuite qu'il est intéressant d'activer la technique dite Joint Processing uniquement dans un réseau à forte interférence, son activation dans un réseau à faible interférence pouvant conduire à une dégradation des performances. Nous proposons un nouveau mécanisme de coordination où une cellule ne coopère que lorsque sa coopération apporte un gain moyen de débit suffisant pour compenser les pertes de ressources engendrées. Nous considérons enfin la technique de formation de faisceaux coordonnée. Nous montrons notamment que la coordination n'est pas nécessaire lorsque l'on dispose d'un grand nombre d'antennes par station de base, un simple mécanisme d'ordonnancement opportuniste permettant d'obtenir des performances optimales. Pour un nombre limité d’antennes parstation de base, la coordination est nécessaire afin d’éviter l’interférence entre les faisceaux activés, et permet des gains de performance substantiels. / Interference is still the main limiting factor in cellular networks. We focus on the different coordinated multi-point schemes (CoMP) proposed in the LTE-A standard to cope with interference, taking into account the dynamic aspect of traffic and users’ mobility. The results are obtained by the analysis of Markov models and system-level simulations. We show the important impact of the scheduling strategy on the network performance in the presence of mobile users considering elastic traffic and video streaming. We propose a new scheduler that deprioritizes mobile users at the cell edge, in order to improve the overall system efficiency. We show that it is interesting to activate Joint Processing technique only in a high-interference network, its activation in a low-interference network may lead to performance degradation. We propose a new coordination mechanism, where a cell cooperates only when its cooperation brings a sufficient mean throughput gain, which compensates the extra resource consumption. Finally, we show that the coordination of beams is not necessary when a large number of antennas is deployed at each base station; a simple opportunistic scheduling strategy provides optimal performance. For a limited number of antennas per base station,coordination is necessary to avoid interference between the activated beams, allowing substantial performance gains.