A new network architecture for the Internet needs ingredients from three approaches: information-centric networking, cloud computing integrated with networking, and open connectivity. Information-centric networking considers pieces of information as first-class entities of a networking architecture, rather than only indirectly identifying and manipulating them via a node hosting that information; this way, information becomes independent from the devices they are stored in, enabling efficient and application-independent information caching in the network. Cloud networking offers a combination and integration of cloud computing and virtual networking. It is a solution that distributes the benefits of cloud computing more deeply into the network, and provides a tighter integration of virtualisation features at computing and networking levels. To support these concepts, open connectivity services need to provide advanced transport and networking mechanisms, making use of network and path diversity (even leveraging direct optical paths) and encoding techniques, and dealing with ubiquitous mobility of user, content and information objects in a unified way.

The information-centric networking (ICN) concept is a significant common approach of several Future Internet research activities. The approach leverages in-network caching, multi-party communication through replication, and interaction models decoupling senders and receivers. The goal is to provide a network infrastructure service that is better suited to today's use, in particular content distribution and mobility, and that is more resilient to disruptions and failures. The ICN approach is being explored by a number of research projects. We compare and discuss design choices and features of proposed ICN architectures, focussing on the following main components: named data objects, naming and security, API, routing and transport, and caching. We also discuss the advantages of the ICN approach in general.

The complexity of wireless and mobile networks is growing at an unprecedented pace. This trend is proving current network control and management techniques based on analytical models and simulations to be impractical, especially if combined with the data deluge expected from future applications such as augmented reality. This is particularly true for software-defined wireless local area networks (SO-WLANs). It is our belief that to battle this growing complexity, future SO-WLANs must follow an artificial intelligence (AI) -native approach. In this article, we introduce aiOS, which is an AI-based platform that builds toward the autonomous management of SD-WLANs. Our proposal is aligned with the most recent trends in in-network AI promoted by the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and with the architecture for disaggregated radio access networks promoted by the Open Radio Access Network Alliance. We validate aiOS in a practical use case, namely frame size optimization in SD-WLANs, and we consider the long-term evolution, challenges, and scenarios for AI-assisted network automation in the wireless and mobile networking domain

While video-on-demand still takes up the lion's share of Internet traffic, we are witnessing a significant increase in the adoption of mobile applications defined by tight bit rate and latency requirements (e.g., augmented/virtual reality). Supporting such applications over a mobile network is very challenging due to the unsteady nature of the network and the long distance between the users and the application back-end, which usually sits in the cloud. To address these and other challenges, like security, reliability, and scalability, a new paradigm termed multi-access edge computing (MEC) has emerged. MEC places computational resources closer to the end users, thus reducing the overall end-to-end latency and the utilization of the network backhaul. However, to adapt to the volatile nature of a mobile network, MEC applications need real-time information about the status of the radio channel. The ETSI-defined radio network information service (RNIS) is in charge of providing MEC applications with up-to-date information about the radio network. In this article, we first discuss three use cases that can benefit from the RNIS (collision avoidance, media streaming, and Industrial Internet of Things). Then we analyze the requirements and challenges underpinning the design of a scalable RNIS platform, and report on a prototype implementation and its evaluation. Finally, we provide a roadmap of future research challenges.

In 2010, the standard for 100GbE was approved, which specifies the transmission of 100 Gb/s via 4 wavelength channels of 25 Gb/s each. A solution based on a 100 Gb/s single wavelength channel is capable of significant cost reductions should the required components be available. Within the HECTO project, we developed components suitable for single-wavelength 100 Gb/s transmission. In this article, the project is described-its organization, objectives, possible impacts, and results-including the successful demonstration in a final field trial. A complete ETDM system utilizing the monolithically integrated transmitter and receiver modules developed in the project was built to transmit 112 Gb/s over 42 km standard single-mode fiber. Finally, we attempt an outlook on the prospective development of Ethernet standardization beyond 100GbE.

An ad hoc network must operate independently of a pre-established or centralised network management infrastructure, while still providing administrative services needed to support applications. Address allocation, name resolution, service location, authentication, and access control policies represent just some of the functionality that must be supported - without pre-configuration n or centralised services. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to leverage some aspect of the environment in which the network operates. We introduce the notion of a spontaneous network, created when a group of people come together for some collaborative activity. In this case, we can use the human interactions associated with the activity in order to establish a basic service and security infrastructure. We structure our discussion around a practical real-world scenario illustrating the use of such a network, identifying the key challenges involved and some of the techniques that can be used to address them.

The fifth generation (5G) of mobile communications introduces improvements on many fronts when compared to its previous generations. Besides the performance enhancements and new advances in radio technologies, it also integrates other technological domains, such as cloud-to-things continuum and artificial intelligence. In this work, the 5G-DIVE Elastic Edge Platform (DEEP) is proposed as the linking piece for the integration of these technological domains, making available an intelligent edge and fog 5G end-to-end solution. This solution brings numerous benefits to vertical industries by enabling streamlined, abstracted, and automated management of their vertical services, thus contributing to the introduction of novel services, cost savings, and improved time to market. Preliminary validation of the proposed platform is performed through a proof of concept, along with a qualitative analysis of its benefits for Industry 4.0 and autonomous drone scouting vertical industries.

Although there is consensus that software defined networking and network functions virtualization overhaul service provisioning and deployment, the community still lacks a definite answer on how carrier-grade operations praxis needs to evolve. This article presents what lies beyond the first evolutionary steps in network management, identifies the challenges in service verification, observability, and troubleshooting, and explains how to address them using our Service Provider DevOps (SP-DevOps) framework. We compendiously cover the entire process from design goals to tool realization and employ an elastic version of an industry-standard use case to show how on-the-fly verification, software-defined monitoring, and automated troubleshooting of services reduce the cost of fault management actions. We assess SP-DevOps with respect to key attributes of software-defined telecommunication infrastructures both qualitatively and quantitatively, and demonstrate that SP-DevOps paves the way toward carrier-grade operations and management in the network virtualization era.

The rollout of fifth generation (5G) cellular network technology has generated a new surge of interest in the potential of blockchain to automate various use cases involving cellular networks. 5G is indeed expected to offer new market opportunities for small and large enterprises alike. In this article, we introduce a new roaming network architecture for 5G based on a permissioned blockchain platform with smart contracts. The proposed solution improves the visibility for mobile network operators of their subscribers' activities in the visited network, as well as enabling quick payment reconciliation and reducing fraudulent transactions. The article further reports on the methodology and architecture of the proposed blockchain-based roaming solution using the Hyperledger platform. 

The fifth generation of mobile networks is planned to be commercially available in a few years. The scope of 5G goes beyond introducing new radio interfaces, and will include new services like low-latency industrial applications, as well as new deployment models such as cooperative cells and densification through small cells. An efficient realization of these new features greatly benefit from tight coordination among radio and transport network resources, something that is missing in current networks. In this article, we first present an overview of the benefits and technical requirements of resource coordination across radio and transport networks in the context of 5G. Then, we discuss how SDN principles can bring programmability to both the transport and radio domains, which in turn enables the design of a hierarchical, modular, and programmable control and orchestration plane across the domains. Finally, we introduce two use cases of SDN-based transport and RAN orchestration, and present an experimental implementation of them in a testbed in our lab, which confirms the feasibility and benefits of the proposed orchestration.

People's interaction with IoT devices such as proximity beacons, body-worn sensors, and controllable light bulbs is often mediated through personal mobile devices. Current approaches usually make applications operate in separate silos, as the functionality of IoT devices is fixed by vendors and typically accessed only through low-level proprietary APIs. This limits the flexibility in designing applications and requires intense wireless interactions, which may impact energy consumption. COIN is a system architecture that breaks this separation by allowing developers to flexibly run a slice of a mobile app's logic onto IoT devices. Mobile apps can dynamically deploy arbitrary tasks implemented as loosely coupled components. The underlying runtime support takes care of the coordination across tasks and of their real-time scheduling. Our prototype indicates that COIN both enables increased flexibility and improves energy efficiency at the IoT device, compared to traditional architectures.

Over the last years, the number of indoor localization solutions has grown exponentially and a wide variety of different technologies and approaches is being explored. Unfortunately, there is currently no established standardized evaluation method for comparing their performance. As a result, each solution is evaluated in a different environment using proprietary evaluation metrics. Consequently, it is currently extremely hard to objectively compare the performance of multiple localization solutions with each other. To address the problem, we present the EVARILOS Benchmarking Platform, which enables an automated evaluation and comparison of multiple solutions in different environments and using multiple evaluation metrics. We propose a testbed independent benchmarking platform, combined with multiple testbed dependent plug-ins for executing experiments and storing performance results. The platform implements the standardized evaluation method described in the EVARILOS Benchmarking Handbook, which is aligned with the upcoming ISO/IEC 18305 standard “Test and Evaluation of Localization and Tracking Systems”. The platform and the plugins can be used in real-time on existing wireless testbed facilities, while also supporting a remote offline evaluation method using precollected data traces. Using these facilities, and by analyzing and comparing the performance of three different localization solutions, we demonstrate the need for objective evaluation methods that consider multiple evaluation criteria in different environments.

Integrating appliances in the home through a wired network often proves to he impractical: routing cables is usually difficult, changing the network structure afterward even more so, and portable devices can only be connected at fixed connection points. Wireless networks aren't the answer either: batteries have to be regularly replaced or changed, and what they add to the device's size and weight might be disproportionate for smaller appliances. In Pin&Play, we explore a design space in between typical wired and wireless networks, investigating the use of surfaces to network objects that are attached to it. This article gives an overview of the network model, and describes functioning prototypes that were built as a proof of concept.

AON, one of the most deployed fiber access solutions in Europe, needs to be upgraded in order to satisfy the ever growing bandwidth demand driven by new applications and services. Meanwhile, network providers want to reduce both capital expenditures and operational expenditures to ensure that there is profit coming from their investments. This article proposes several migration strategies for AON from the data plane, topology, and control plane perspectives, and investigates their impact on the total cost of ownership 

The terahertz band (0.1 THz-10 THz) with massive spectrum resources is recognized as a promising candidate for future rate-greedy applications, such as 6G communications. Optoelectronic terahertz communications are beneficial for realizing 100 Gb/s data rate and beyond, which have greatly promoted the progress of the 6G research. In this article, we give technical insight into the key technologies of optoelectronic terahertz communications with high data rates in the physical layer, including approaches of broadband devices, baseband signal processing technologies, and design of advanced transmission system architectures. A multicarrier signal processing routine with high noise tolerance is proposed and experimentally verified in a 500 Gb/s net rate terahertz communication system. Finally, we discuss the future directions of optoelectronic terahertz technologies toward the target of terabit- scale communications.

To support massive deployment of broadband radio applications, such as 5G and high-definition videos for terrestrial televisions, large system capacity and high spectrum efficiency are highly demanded in radio over fiber (RoF) systems. In this article, we propose a terabit digital RoF system capable of providing high-speed transmission, where multicore fiber (MCF) is introduced for the access segment between the central unit and remote unit. Two key technologies that greatly enhance system capacity and spectrum efficiency, namely MCF enabled self-homodyne detection and compressed quantization, are demonstrated.