One recent innovation in the networking industry, is the concept of Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV). NFV is based on a networking paradigm in which network functions,which have typically been implemented in the form of dedicated hardware appliances in thepast, are implemented in software and deployed on commodity hardware using modernvirtualization techniques. While the most common approach is to place each virtual networkfunction in a virtual machine - using hardware-level virtualization – the growing influenceand popularity of Docker and other container-based solutions has naturally led to the idea ofcontainerized deployments. This is a promising concept, as containers (or operating systemlevel virtualization) can offer a flexible and lightweight alternative to hardware-levelvirtualization, with the ability to use the resources of the host directly. The main problem withthis concept, is the fact that the default behavior of Docker and similar technologies is to relyon the networking stack of the host, which typically isn’t performant enough to handle theperformance requirements associated with NFV. In this dissertation, an attempt is made toevaluate the feasibility of using userspace networking to accelerate the network performanceof Docker containers, bypassing the standard Linux networking stack by moving the packetprocessing into userspace.

The performance of the virtual switch Open vSwitch (OVS) is insufficient to satisfy the current requirements for link bandwidth of the server connections. There is an effort to accelerate the OVS both in the software and in the hardware by offloading the datapath to the smart network interface cards. In this work the COMBO card for 100G Ethernet developed by CESNET is used to accelerate the OVS. The suggested solution utilizes the firmware for FPGA generated from the definition in the P4 language to classify the packets in the card and DPDK for the data transfers and offloading the classification rules into the card. Forwarding of one flow with the shortest frames from physical to physical interface using one CPU core reaches forwarding rate of 11.2 Mp/s (10 times more than the standard OVS) with classification in the card and 5.9 Mp/s without classification in the card.

The specialized hardware remains a key component of the mobile networks, but at the same time, the telecom industry is adapting a vision of a fully programable distributed end-to-end network with cloud style management and Software-Defined Networking. In the specialized hardware programmable network, it will be possible to place workloads across abstracted compute and networking infrastructure. But, whereas virtualization standard compute resources is a mature technology and well supported in cloud management systems such as OpenStack and Kubernetes, this is not the case for specialized hardware with more complex constraints. There is a significant gap in terms of advanced constraints and service level aware schedulers. The main objective of this thesis is that the specialised hardware needs to adapt to the features of edge computing. Edge computing provides the opportunity to explore how technologies can advance industrial processes. To achieve flexibility by choosing where the workload should be processed on the board based on available resources. Utilising this technology, highly intensive applications can be handled at the network’s edge. There is a necessity to virtualize the proprietary hardware and run workloads in VMs and containers. In this thesis, we discuss kernel bypass, PCI passthrough and MPI communication technologies in a virtual environment by considering the hardware constraints and software requirements so that these technologies can be integrated into OpenStack and Kubernetes in future.

For over 20 years, the phenomenon of parental alienation and its related characteristics has been described in literature. Various clinicians independently researched and described the pathological alignment of a child within the context of divorce. In the 1980’s Richard Gardner coined this “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS). According to Gardner PAS is characterised by a child’s profound preoccupation with criticism against a parent. This criticism is overstated and ungrounded, and it is caused by both conscious and unconscious behaviour by the alienating parent, which influences the child negatively against the alienated parent. In essence, PAS is the subjective contamination of the child’s understanding and beliefs about his/her environment. The alienating parent gives the impression that the targeted parent is unworthy, dangerous, unloving and deserving of the child’s rejection. This is done by a series of alienation strategies like bad-mouthing, blaming, limiting contact and belittling. The alienated child, as a result responds with unjustified expressions of hate and discontent towards the targeted parent. The experience of divorce can be very challenging to children. Research about the relationship between divorce and child adjustment holds that a child’s exposure to inter parental conflict and the quality of the parent-child relationship are the two major predictors of children’s adjustment during divorce. Research suggests that the negative effects of PAS may include guilt, self-hatred, distortion of reality testing, and general emotional and psychological problems. The aim of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration and description of how PAS is experienced, and the possible effect it has on children from the perspective of young adults who was possible exposed to PAS as children. This was done by exploring their memories and their recalled experiences of their parents’ divorce and the possible effect on their current lives. In this study a collective exploratory/descriptive case study design was used. Nine voluntary participants, between 18 and 28 years of age, were chosen for this study by means of purposeful sampling strategies. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews that were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data were analysed by means of thematic analysis from which themes and sub-themes were derived. Two main themes with sub-themes were identified. It was found that some of the parental behaviour evident in PAS cases may fall under specific subtypes of psychological maltreatment and leave children feeling angry, worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, incompetent and sceptical about trusting other individuals. It was found that parents who engage in alienation strategies are likely to discourage autonomous behaviour and lack nurturance and emotional responsiveness towards their children’s needs. As result children exposed to PAS learn parental love and acceptance is conditional and is based needs fulfilment of the alienating parent. These expectations are brought forward from the early relationship into adulthood and influences individual’s expectations, behaviour, and beliefs about relationships across the lifespan. The results indicate that the lack parental support, encouragement, and responsiveness may negatively influence the self-esteem, autonomy, competence, and relatedness of individuals exposed to PAS. They reported difficulties with trust, intimacy and social skills and depression as adults. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

For over 20 years, the phenomenon of parental alienation and its related characteristics has been described in literature. Various clinicians independently researched and described the pathological alignment of a child within the context of divorce. In the 1980’s Richard Gardner coined this “Parental alienation syndrome” (PAS). According to Gardner PAS is characterised by a child’s profound preoccupation with criticism against a parent. This criticism is overstated and ungrounded, and it is caused by both conscious and unconscious behaviour by the alienating parent, which influences the child negatively against the alienated parent. In essence, PAS is the subjective contamination of the child’s understanding and beliefs about his/her environment. The alienating parent gives the impression that the targeted parent is unworthy, dangerous, unloving and deserving of the child’s rejection. This is done by a series of alienation strategies like bad-mouthing, blaming, limiting contact and belittling. The alienated child, as a result responds with unjustified expressions of hate and discontent towards the targeted parent. The experience of divorce can be very challenging to children. Research about the relationship between divorce and child adjustment holds that a child’s exposure to inter parental conflict and the quality of the parent-child relationship are the two major predictors of children’s adjustment during divorce. Research suggests that the negative effects of PAS may include guilt, self-hatred, distortion of reality testing, and general emotional and psychological problems. The aim of this study was to provide an in-depth exploration and description of how PAS is experienced, and the possible effect it has on children from the perspective of young adults who was possible exposed to PAS as children. This was done by exploring their memories and their recalled experiences of their parents’ divorce and the possible effect on their current lives. In this study a collective exploratory/descriptive case study design was used. Nine voluntary participants, between 18 and 28 years of age, were chosen for this study by means of purposeful sampling strategies. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews that were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data were analysed by means of thematic analysis from which themes and sub-themes were derived. Two main themes with sub-themes were identified. It was found that some of the parental behaviour evident in PAS cases may fall under specific subtypes of psychological maltreatment and leave children feeling angry, worthless, flawed, unloved, unwanted, incompetent and sceptical about trusting other individuals. It was found that parents who engage in alienation strategies are likely to discourage autonomous behaviour and lack nurturance and emotional responsiveness towards their children’s needs. As result children exposed to PAS learn parental love and acceptance is conditional and is based needs fulfilment of the alienating parent. These expectations are brought forward from the early relationship into adulthood and influences individual’s expectations, behaviour, and beliefs about relationships across the lifespan. The results indicate that the lack parental support, encouragement, and responsiveness may negatively influence the self-esteem, autonomy, competence, and relatedness of individuals exposed to PAS. They reported difficulties with trust, intimacy and social skills and depression as adults. / MA (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014