The advent of 5th generation of mobile networks (5G) will introduce some new challenges for the transport network. Different strategies can be employed by the network providers to address these challenges with the aim to achieve an efficient utilization of network resources. The most feasible option to achieve this goal is to introduce intelligence in the transport infrastructure by designing a flexible and programmable transport network. Network function virtualization (NFV) and dynamic resource sharing (DRS) are two possible techniques for realizing a flexible transport network. NFV allows to dynamically push network functions to different locations in the network, while DRS allows for sharing transport resources in a flexible manner. Both of these strategies can be realized by employing a programmable control framework based on software defined networking (SDN), which has implications on both the network data and control planes. However, this thesis specifically focuses on the data plane aspects of NFV and the control plane aspects of DRS. Considering the network caching as a specific example of network function, the data plane aspects of NFV are studied in terms of different architectural options for cache placement in order to see which options are the most efficient in terms of network power consumption and cost. The results presented in this thesis show that placing large-sized caches farther in the network for a large group of users is the most efficient approach. The control plane aspects of DRS are analyzed in terms of which provisioning strategy should be used for sharing a limited amount of transport resources. The analysis is presented for both a single-tenant case (i.e., where the role of service and network provider is played by the same entity), and a multi-tenant case (i.e., where a network provider manages the resources assigned to different service providers in an intelligent way). The results show that DRS performs much better than the conventional static approach (i.e., without sharing of resources), which translates into significant cost savings for the network providers. / <p>QC 20161115</p>

In this thesis, two FPGA testbeds to demonstrate low-latency deterministic Guaranteed- Rate (GR) connections in packet switched networks such as the Internet of Things are developed. Each FPGA testbed consists of multiple simple Input Queued (IQ) switches or routers, interconnected in a given topology to form a forwarding-plane. Each switch has an associated switch controller with several programmable Lookup- Tables (LUTs). A Software Defined Networking (SDN) control plane can configure the switch controllers to establish the GR connections in the forwarding-plane of IP routers or layer- 2 packet switches. According to a recent paper in the IEEE Transactions on Networking; (1) The use of very low jitter GR connections can reduce queuing delays to negligible values, so that the end-to-end delays can be reduced to the buffer latency. (2) The routers, switches and links can operate at 100% loads, while simultaneously guaranteeing very low end- to-end latencies. The goal of the thesis is to evaluate these properties in real hardware clocked at MegaHertz clock rates. In the first testbed, a network of 8 simple IQ switches organized in a linear array is synthesized on an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA. 128 GR traffic flows were routed through the testbed to effectively saturate the switches and links. In the second testbed, a USA backbone topology with 26 simple IQ switches and 88 links is synthesized on the FPGA. Over 300 GR traffic flows were routed through the USA network to achieve utilizations exceeding 90%. In both testbeds, packets move through the forwarding plane at a clock rate of 65 MHz, transferring millions of packets per second, and statistics are recorded. Both testbeds con rm that traffic flows achieve deterministic GR service with minimum buffering, where end-to-end delays are effectively reduced to the fiber latency. These hardware testbeds demonstrate the technical feasibility of achieving deterministic GR services in a packet-switched network such as Internet of Things using simple FPGA switch controllers working with an SDN control plane. The technology also applies to networks of simple optical packet switches with minimal buffering. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Don Gruenbacher / Caterina Scoglio / Cyber physical systems emerge when physical systems are integrated with communication networks. In particular, communication networks facilitate dissemination of data among components of physical systems to meet key requirements, such as efficiency and reliability, in achieving an objective. In this dissertation, we consider one of the most important cyber physical systems: the smart grid. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) envisions a smart grid that aggressively explores advance communication network solutions to facilitate real-time monitoring and dynamic control of the bulk electric power system. At the distribution level, the smart grid integrates renewable generation and energy storage mechanisms to improve reliability of the grid. Furthermore, dynamic pricing and demand management provide customers an avenue to interact with the power system to determine electricity usage that satisfies their lifestyle. At the transmission level, efficient communication and a highly automated architecture provide visibility in the power system; hence, faults are mitigated faster than they can propagate. However, higher levels of reliability and efficiency rely on the supporting physical communication infrastructure and the network technologies employed. Conventionally, the topology of the communication network tends to be identical to that of the power network. In this dissertation, however, we employ a Demand Response (DR) application to illustrate that a topology that may be ideal for the power network may not necessarily be ideal for the communication network. To develop this illustration, we realize that communication network issues, such as congestion, are addressed by protocols, middle-ware, and software mechanisms. Additionally, a network whose physical topology is designed to avoid congestion realizes an even higher level of performance. For this reason, characterizing the communication infrastructure of smart grids provides mechanisms to improve performance while minimizing cost. Most recently, algebraic connectivity has been used in the ongoing research effort characterizing the robustness of networks to failures and attacks. Therefore, we first derive analytical methods for increasing algebraic connectivity and validate these methods numerically. Secondly, we investigate impact on the topology and traffic characteristics as algebraic connectivity is increased. Finally, we construct a DR application to demonstrate how concepts from graph theory can dramatically improve the performance of a communication network. With a hybrid simulation of both power and communication network, we illustrate that a topology which may be ideal for the power network may not necessarily be ideal for the communication network. To date, utility companies are embracing network technologies such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) because of the available support for legacy devices, traffic engineering, and virtual private networks (VPNs) which are essential to the functioning of the smart grid. Furthermore, this particular network technology meets the requirement of non-routability as stipulated by NERC, but these benefits are costly for the infrastructure that supports the full MPLS specification. More importantly, with MPLS routing and other switching technologies, innovation is restricted to the features provided by the equipment. In particular, no practical method exists for utility consultants or researchers to test new ideas, such as alternatives to IP or MPLS, on a realistic scale in order to obtain the experience and confidence necessary for real-world deployments. As a result, novel ideas remain untested. On the contrary, OpenFlow, which has gained support from network providers such as Microsoft and Google and equipment vendors such as NEC and Cisco, provides the programmability and flexibility necessary to enable innovation in next-generation communication architectures for the smart grid. This level of flexibility allows OpenFlow to provide all features of MPLS and allows OpenFlow devices to co-exist with existing MPLS devices. Therefore, in this dissertation we explore a low-cost OpenFlow Software Defined Networking solution and compare its performance to that of MPLS. In summary, we develop methods for designing robust networks and evaluate software defined networking for communication and control in cyber physical systems where the smart grid is the system under consideration.

A Internet foi projetada em contexto distante da realidade atual. Novas aplicações, novas tecnologias e dispositivos definem um novo conjunto de requisitos, que, entre outros, consiste de suporte a mobilidade, segurança, QoS e multicast. Pesquisadores de todo o mundo estão engajados no projeto da Internet do Futuro. Enquanto muitos procuram evoluir a Internet atual, outros partem do princípio de que arquitetura atual deve ser ignorada afim de se conceber uma nova arquitetura. Partindo de uma visão disruptiva, este trabalho tem por objetivo definir, projetar e avaliar experimentalmente uma forma de encaminhamento onde o multicast seja um requisito central para as aplicações. Essa forma de encaminhamento é baseada em novas relações entre entidades que se comunicam e na utilização de uma identificação/endereçamento única, não ambígua e independente da topologia: seu Título. A arquitetura Entity Title Architecture (ETArch), construída sobre uma infraestrutura baseada em redes definidas por software, estabelece novas relações entre as entidades de sistemas distribuídos. A definição do Workspace, implementado neste trabalho, permite estabelecer um canal por onde múltiplas entidades se comunicam naturalmente de uma forma multicast, permitindo ainda a mobilidade dessas entidades ao longo da rede. Identificado por seu Título, o Workspace é o destino das primitivas durante a comunicação. À medida que novas entidades se ligam ou desligam, há reconfiguração do Workspace. A abordagem definida, implementada e verificada neste trabalho representa uma forma mais eficiente de comunicação se comparada aos endereços no âmbito da camada de rede (IP Multicast) ou de aplicação (Application Layer Multicast). A arquitetura ETArch leva em conta não somente os aspectos de multicast e mobilidade das entidades, como também foi construída com a visão de incorporar em um momento futuro requisitos de QoS e segurança, sendo, portanto, um ponto de convergência para o diálogo com outros grupos de pesquisa, afim de colaborar na construção da próxima geração das redes de computadores. / Internet was designed in a totally different context, far from what we have today. New applications, new technologies and devices define a new set of requirements, which among others, is to support mobility, security, QoS and multicast. Researchers around the world are engaged in the design of the Future Internet. While many seek to evolve the current Internet, others assume that current architecture should be ignored in order to design a new architecture. From a disruptive vision, this work aims to define, design and experimentally validate a form of referral where multicast be a central requirement for applications. This form of routing is based on new relationships between entities that communicate and use of an identification/addressing based on a topology independent name that unambiguously identifies an entity: its Title. The Entity Title Architecture (ETArch), built on an infrastructure based on software defined networking, establishes new relationships between entities in distributed systems. The definition of the Workspace, implemented in this work, allows establishing a channel through which multiple entities communicate naturally by using a multicast approach, while still allowing mobility of these entities over network. Identified by its title, the Workspace is the destination of the primitives during communication. As new entities attach or detach the Workspace is reconfigured. The approach defined, implemented and varied in this work is a more efficient way of communication compared to the addressing within the network layer (IP Multicast) or application (Application Layer Multicast). ETArch takes into account not only the aspects of multicast and mobility of the entities , but also was built with the vision to incorporate into a future time QoS and security , so it is a focal point for dialogue with other research groups to collaborate in building the next generation of computer networks.

A significant number of protocols and capabilities have been proposed in recent years in response to the demand for reducing the amount of energy consumed by the network infrastructure. Besides rising economic issues, there is a widespread sensitivity to ecological impacts since both energy costs and electrical demands are in a upward trend. In this scenario, the development and validation of energy saving strategies are a key point of making networks more efficient. However, there is a lack of experimental environments designed specifically to emulate and to validate such energy efficiency solutions. This work proposes an environment not only supporting the development and discussion of energy-saving solutions but also management applications considering energy-saving primitives. For this purpose, the environment is built considering the implementation of energy efficiency capabilities that are representative of each network scope (interface, device, and network) in the Mininet environment taking as a basis the Software-defined Networking (SDN) paradigm. The environment proposed was evaluated with different experiments by comparing the energy savings obtained by activating these energy-efficiency capabilities. / Um significativo número de protocolos e funcionalidades foram propostos em resposta à crescente demanda de energia por infraestruturas de rede. Além de gerar problemas econômicos, existe uma preocupação quanto aos impactos ambientais uma vez que maior a demanda por eletricidade, maior o impacto ambiental para suprir esta demanda. Neste cenário, o desenvolvimento e validação de estratégias para economizar energia são um ponto chave para tornar infraestruturas de rede mais eficiente. No entanto, há uma falta de ambientes desenvolvidos especificamente para emular e validar soluções para eficiência energética. Com este propósito este trabalho propõe um ambiente capaz de suportar não apenas o desenvolvimento de soluções para tornar redes mais eficientes energeticamente, como também o desenvolvimento de aplicações de gerenciamento que baseiam-se em primitivas de economia de energia. Para este propósito, o ambiente é construído considerando a implementação de funcionalidades orientadas à eficiência energética que são representativas para cada escopo de rede (interface, dispositivo e rede) no ambiente de emulação Mininet tomando como base o paradigma de redes definidas por software. O ambiente proposto foi validade por meio de diferentes experimentos comparando a economia de energia obtida pela ativação destas funcionalidades.

The Internet of Things (IoT) concept has been realised with the advent of Machineto-Machine (M2M) communication through which the vision of future Internet has been revolutionised. IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN) provides feasible IPv6 connectivity to previously isolated environments, e.g. wireless M2M sensors and actuator networks. This thesis's contributions include a novel mathematical model, energy-efficient algorithms, and a centralised software controller for dynamic consolidation of programmability features in cloud-based M2M networks. A new generalised joint mathematical model has been proposed for performance analysis of the 6LoWPAN MAC and PHY layers. The proposed model differs from existing analytical models as it precisely adopts the 6LoWPAN specifications introduced by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group. The proposed approach is based on Markov chain modelling and validated through Monte-Carlo simulation. In addition, an intelligent mechanism has been proposed for optimal 6LoWPAN MAC layer parameters set selection. The proposed mechanism depends on Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Particles Swarm Optimisation (PSO). Simulation results show that utilising the optimal MAC parameters improve the 6LoWPAN network throughput by 52-63% and reduce end-to-end delay by 54-65%. This thesis focuses on energy-efficient data extraction and dissemination in a wireless M2M sensor network based on 6LoWPAN. A new scalable and self-organised clustering technique with a smart sleep scheduler has been proposed for prolonging M2M network's lifetime and enhancing network connectivity. These solutions succeed in overcoming performance degradation and unbalanced energy consumption problems in homogeneous and heterogeneous sensor networks. Simulation results show that by adopting the proposed schemes in multiple mobile sink sensory field will improve the total aggregated packets by 38-167% and extend network lifetime by 30-78%. Proof-of-concept real-time hardware testbed experiments are used to verify the effectiveness of Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) and cloud computing on a 6LoWPAN network. The implemented testbed is based on open standards development boards (i.e. Arduino), with one sink, which is the M2M 6LoWPAN gateway, where the network coordinator and the customised SDN controller operated. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach reduces network discovery time by 60% and extends the node lifetime by 65% in comparison with the traditional 6LoWPAN network. Finally, the thesis is concluded with an overall picture of the research conducted and some suggestions for future work.

A significant number of protocols and capabilities have been proposed in recent years in response to the demand for reducing the amount of energy consumed by the network infrastructure. Besides rising economic issues, there is a widespread sensitivity to ecological impacts since both energy costs and electrical demands are in a upward trend. In this scenario, the development and validation of energy saving strategies are a key point of making networks more efficient. However, there is a lack of experimental environments designed specifically to emulate and to validate such energy efficiency solutions. This work proposes an environment not only supporting the development and discussion of energy-saving solutions but also management applications considering energy-saving primitives. For this purpose, the environment is built considering the implementation of energy efficiency capabilities that are representative of each network scope (interface, device, and network) in the Mininet environment taking as a basis the Software-defined Networking (SDN) paradigm. The environment proposed was evaluated with different experiments by comparing the energy savings obtained by activating these energy-efficiency capabilities. / Um significativo número de protocolos e funcionalidades foram propostos em resposta à crescente demanda de energia por infraestruturas de rede. Além de gerar problemas econômicos, existe uma preocupação quanto aos impactos ambientais uma vez que maior a demanda por eletricidade, maior o impacto ambiental para suprir esta demanda. Neste cenário, o desenvolvimento e validação de estratégias para economizar energia são um ponto chave para tornar infraestruturas de rede mais eficiente. No entanto, há uma falta de ambientes desenvolvidos especificamente para emular e validar soluções para eficiência energética. Com este propósito este trabalho propõe um ambiente capaz de suportar não apenas o desenvolvimento de soluções para tornar redes mais eficientes energeticamente, como também o desenvolvimento de aplicações de gerenciamento que baseiam-se em primitivas de economia de energia. Para este propósito, o ambiente é construído considerando a implementação de funcionalidades orientadas à eficiência energética que são representativas para cada escopo de rede (interface, dispositivo e rede) no ambiente de emulação Mininet tomando como base o paradigma de redes definidas por software. O ambiente proposto foi validade por meio de diferentes experimentos comparando a economia de energia obtida pela ativação destas funcionalidades.

A Internet foi projetada em contexto distante da realidade atual. Novas aplicações, novas tecnologias e dispositivos definem um novo conjunto de requisitos, que, entre outros, consiste de suporte a mobilidade, segurança, QoS e multicast. Pesquisadores de todo o mundo estão engajados no projeto da Internet do Futuro. Enquanto muitos procuram evoluir a Internet atual, outros partem do princípio de que arquitetura atual deve ser ignorada afim de se conceber uma nova arquitetura. Partindo de uma visão disruptiva, este trabalho tem por objetivo definir, projetar e avaliar experimentalmente uma forma de encaminhamento onde o multicast seja um requisito central para as aplicações. Essa forma de encaminhamento é baseada em novas relações entre entidades que se comunicam e na utilização de uma identificação/endereçamento única, não ambígua e independente da topologia: seu Título. A arquitetura Entity Title Architecture (ETArch), construída sobre uma infraestrutura baseada em redes definidas por software, estabelece novas relações entre as entidades de sistemas distribuídos. A definição do Workspace, implementado neste trabalho, permite estabelecer um canal por onde múltiplas entidades se comunicam naturalmente de uma forma multicast, permitindo ainda a mobilidade dessas entidades ao longo da rede. Identificado por seu Título, o Workspace é o destino das primitivas durante a comunicação. À medida que novas entidades se ligam ou desligam, há reconfiguração do Workspace. A abordagem definida, implementada e verificada neste trabalho representa uma forma mais eficiente de comunicação se comparada aos endereços no âmbito da camada de rede (IP Multicast) ou de aplicação (Application Layer Multicast). A arquitetura ETArch leva em conta não somente os aspectos de multicast e mobilidade das entidades, como também foi construída com a visão de incorporar em um momento futuro requisitos de QoS e segurança, sendo, portanto, um ponto de convergência para o diálogo com outros grupos de pesquisa, afim de colaborar na construção da próxima geração das redes de computadores. / Internet was designed in a totally different context, far from what we have today. New applications, new technologies and devices define a new set of requirements, which among others, is to support mobility, security, QoS and multicast. Researchers around the world are engaged in the design of the Future Internet. While many seek to evolve the current Internet, others assume that current architecture should be ignored in order to design a new architecture. From a disruptive vision, this work aims to define, design and experimentally validate a form of referral where multicast be a central requirement for applications. This form of routing is based on new relationships between entities that communicate and use of an identification/addressing based on a topology independent name that unambiguously identifies an entity: its Title. The Entity Title Architecture (ETArch), built on an infrastructure based on software defined networking, establishes new relationships between entities in distributed systems. The definition of the Workspace, implemented in this work, allows establishing a channel through which multiple entities communicate naturally by using a multicast approach, while still allowing mobility of these entities over network. Identified by its title, the Workspace is the destination of the primitives during communication. As new entities attach or detach the Workspace is reconfigured. The approach defined, implemented and varied in this work is a more efficient way of communication compared to the addressing within the network layer (IP Multicast) or application (Application Layer Multicast). ETArch takes into account not only the aspects of multicast and mobility of the entities , but also was built with the vision to incorporate into a future time QoS and security , so it is a focal point for dialogue with other research groups to collaborate in building the next generation of computer networks.

Sistemas elétricos possuem grande influência no desenvolvimento econômico mundial. Dada a importância da energia elétrica para nossa sociedade, os sistemas elétricos frequentemente são alvos de intrusões pela rede causadas pelas mais diversas motivações. Para minimizar ou até mesmo mitigar os efeitos de intrusões pela rede, estão sendo propostos mecanismos que aumentam o nível de segurança dos sistemas elétricos, como novos protocolos de comunicação e normas de padronização. Além disso, os sistemas elétricos estão passando por um intenso processo de modernização, tornando-os altamente dependentes de sistemas de rede responsáveis por monitorar e gerenciar componentes elétricos. Estes, então denominados Smart Grids, compreendem subsistemas de geração, transmissão, e distribuição elétrica, que são monitorados e gerenciados por sistemas de controle e aquisição de dados (SCADA). Nesta dissertação de mestrado, investigamos e discutimos a aplicabilidade e os benefícios da adoção de Redes Definidas por Software (SDN) para auxiliar o desenvolvimento da próxima geração de sistemas SCADA. Propomos também um sistema de detecção de intrusões (IDS) que utiliza técnicas específicas de classificação de tráfego e se beneficia de características das redes SCADA e do paradigma SDN/OpenFlow. Nossa proposta utiliza SDN para coletar periodicamente estatísticas de rede dos equipamentos SCADA, que são posteriormente processados por algoritmos de classificação baseados em exemplares de uma única classe (OCC). Dado que informações sobre ataques direcionados à sistemas SCADA são escassos e pouco divulgados publicamente por seus mantenedores, a principal vantagem ao utilizar algoritmos OCC é de que estes não dependem de assinaturas de ataques para detectar possíveis tráfegos maliciosos. Como prova de conceito, desenvolvemos um protótipo de nossa proposta. Por fim, em nossa avaliação experimental, observamos a performance e a acurácia de nosso protótipo utilizando dois tipos de algoritmos OCC, e considerando eventos anômalos na rede SCADA, como um ataque de negação de serviço (DoS), e a falha de diversos dispositivos de campo. / Power grids have great influence on the development of the world economy. Given the importance of the electrical energy to our society, power grids are often target of network intrusion motivated by several causes. To minimize or even to mitigate the aftereffects of network intrusions, more secure protocols and standardization norms to enhance the security of power grids have been proposed. In addition, power grids are undergoing an intense process of modernization, and becoming highly dependent on networked systems used to monitor and manage power components. These so-called Smart Grids comprise energy generation, transmission, and distribution subsystems, which are monitored and managed by Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. In this Masters dissertation, we investigate and discuss the applicability and benefits of using Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to assist in the deployment of next generation SCADA systems. We also propose an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that relies on specific techniques of traffic classification and takes advantage of the characteristics of SCADA networks and of the adoption of SDN/OpenFlow. Our proposal relies on SDN to periodically gather statistics from network devices, which are then processed by One- Class Classification (OCC) algorithms. Given that attack traces in SCADA networks are scarce and not publicly disclosed by utility companies, the main advantage of using OCC algorithms is that they do not depend on known attack signatures to detect possible malicious traffic. As a proof-of-concept, we developed a prototype of our proposal. Finally, in our experimental evaluation, we observed the performance and accuracy of our prototype using two OCC-based Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, and considering anomalous events in the SCADA network, such as a Denial-of-Service (DoS), and the failure of several SCADA field devices.

Les applications en temps réel, telles que les systèmes de conférence multi-utilisateurs, ont des exigences de qualité de service élevées pour garantir une qualité d'expérience décente. De nos jours, la plupart de ces conférences sont effectuées sur des appareils sans fil. Ainsi, les appareils mobiles hétérogènes et la dynamique du réseau doivent être correctement gérés pour fournir une bonne qualité d’expérience. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons deux algorithmes pour construire et gérer des sessions de conférence basées sur un réseau défini par logiciel qui utilise à la fois la distribution multicast et l’adaptation de flux. Le premier algorithme configure la conférence téléphonique en créant des arborescences de multidiffusion pour chaque participant. Ensuite, il place de manière optimale les emplacements et les règles d’adaptation des flux sur le réseau afin de minimiser la consommation de bande passante. Nous avons créé deux versions de cet algorithme: le premier, basé sur les arborescences les plus courtes, minimise la latence, tandis que le second, basé sur les arborescences, minimise la consommation de bande passante. Le deuxième algorithme adapte les arborescences de multidiffusion en fonction des modifications du réseau qui se produisent pendant un appel. Il ne recalcule pas les arbres, mais ne déplace que les emplacements et les règles d’adaptation des flux. Cela nécessite un calcul très faible au niveau du contrôleur, ce qui rend notre proposition rapide et hautement réactive. Des résultats de simulation étendus confirment l'efficacité de notre solution en termes de temps de traitement et d'économies de bande passante par rapport aux systèmes de conférence existants basés sur une unité de contrôle multipoint et une multidiffusion de couche d'application. / Real-time applications, such as Multi-party conferencing systems, have strong Quality of Service requirements for ensuring a decent Quality of Experience. Nowadays, most of these conferences are performed on wireless devices. Thus, heterogeneous mobile devices and network dynamics must be properly managed to provide a good quality of experience. In this thesis, we propose two algorithms for building and maintaining conference sessions based on Software-Defined Network that uses both multicast distribution and streams adaptation. The first algorithm set up the conference call by building multicast trees for each participant. Then, it optimally places the stream adaptation locations and rules inside the network in order to minimize the bandwidth consumption. We have created two versions of this algorithm: the first one, based on the shortest path trees is minimizing the latency, while the second one, based on spanning trees is minimizing the bandwidth consumption. The second algorithm adapts the multicast trees according to the network changes occurring during a call. It does not recompute the trees, but only relocates the locations and rules of stream adaptation. It requires very low computation at the controller, thus making our proposal fast and highly reactive. Extensive simulation results confirm the efficiency of our solution in terms of processing time and bandwidth savings compared to existing conferencing systems based on a Multipoint Control Unit and Application Layer Multicast.