1,720,968 research outputs found
Cloud Continuum Digital Twins: Architectures of Solution, Open Technical Challenges, and Lessons Learned
No full textPoster: INSANE – A Uniform Middleware API for Differentiated Quality using Heterogeneous Acceleration Techniques at the Network Edge
No full textA TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
No full textThe platooning of mobile robots, facilitated by Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, has become central in Industry 4.0, enhancing material transport, reducing energy consumption, and improving safety in smart factories. However, as the number of participating robots increases, maintaining effective communication and coordination becomes increasingly challenging. Shared spectrum usage in D2D networks can lead to communication collisions, particularly in highly dynamic scenarios, posing significant challenges in industrial environments. This paper introduces a novel slot-based solution inspired by Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) to address these challenges, ensuring reliable, low-latency communication while optimizing resource allocation and communication efficiency in platooning systems. To achieve this, we propose a controller named TSNCtl, operating at the application layer of the network stack. TSNCtl leverages a finite state machine (FSM) to manage platoon formation and employs slot-based scheduling for efficient message dissemination. Using the OMNeT++ simulation framework and INET library, we demonstrate the effectiveness of TSNCtl in reducing packet collisions across a variety of scenarios. Our experimental results highlight a significant improvement over the traditional CSMA/CA baseline employed in Wi-Fi-based protocols such as IEEE 802.11p. For instance, TSNCtl achieves near-zero packet collisions with appropriate configurations, even in highly dynamic environments
Advanced and Future Network Access Technologies for the Metaverse
No full textThe Metaverse, a fully immersive, shared, and persistent 3D virtual space integrating virtual and real-world environments, is gaining significant attention. This chapter focuses on the crucial role of the access infrastructure and of the employed network protocols in supporting the Metaverse, with a specific emphasis on Edge Computing and multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) paradigms, as well as network acceleration technologies. The Edge Computing and MEC paradigms, bringing computational capabilities closer to the network edge, further enhance processing capabilities and enable ultra-low latency. Next-generation networks, such as beyond 5G and 6G, are required to provide distributed orchestration and management capabilities, integrating physical and virtual computing resources. Network protocols, such as 5G/6G, Wi-Fi 6, and TSN, play a crucial role in efficient and reliable communication within the Metaverse while networking acceleration technologies, both software-based (DPDK, XDP) and hardware-based (RDMA), enhance performance and enable ultra-reliable low-latency communication. The chapter also introduces SELENE, a solution designed to provide a technology-agnostic middleware application programming interface (API). SELENE allows developers to specify their quality of service (QoS) communication requirements, while dynamically selecting the most suitable acceleration technology based on the hosting edge node. Additionally, the chapter demonstrates the development of SELENE-based applications, such as an image streaming framework, with minimal code complexity. Extensive performance evaluations reveal that SELENE introduces negligible ns-scale overhead to the underlying network acceleration technologies, further highlighting its effectiveness in supporting the Metaverse demanding requirements and facilitating seamless and immersive experiences within this virtual realm
Serverless Computing for QoS-Effective NFV in the Cloud Edge
Full text linkNetwork Softwarization, particularly Network Function Virtualization (NFV), is revolutionizing networking by separating the hardware from the supported network functions, demonstrating unprecedented flexibility and cost-efficiency. With the rise of edge computing, NFV has found a strategic application at the network edge, where network functions are deployed closer to end-users and devices with improved performance and reduced latency. In this context, the serverless paradigm is gaining attention due to its fine-grained scalability, reduced management efforts, and resource efficiency. Despite the advantages, challenges arise from the ephemeral nature of serverless functions, leading to latency issues and hampering the creation of efficient coordination and orchestration mechanisms. Adopting this paradigm in resource-constrained scenarios, such as cloud edges, is even more challenging due to the insufficient presence of proper quality-of-service (QoS) mechanisms in these platforms. This article introduces our novel time effective middleware for priority oriented serverless network function virtualization (TEMPOS4NFV), a QoS-aware platform specialized in hosting serverless network functions in resource-constrained environments. TEMPOS4NFV addresses resource contention and coordination challenges, offering effective end-to-end QoS differentiation for network workloads executed over multiple federated sites. In addition, this article examines TEMPOS4NFV hosting a real virtual private network (VPN) case, demonstrating its ability to execute concurrent multi-site QoS differentiated workloads
A QoS-Aware Data Distribution Platform for Edge-Based Vehicular Digital Twins in Smart Cities
No full textDigital Twins (DTs) are emerging as key enablers for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), offering virtual representations that support various applications ranging from offline, large-scale traffic analysis to real-time driver assistance. These use cases pose significantly diverse Quality of Service (QoS) requirements on DTs, including ultra-low latency for real-time synchronization with the physical counterparts. Deploying DTs at the network edge offers a promising solution, considering the increasingly advanced compute and network resources potentially available in a city-wide infrastructure. However, edge deployments introduce additional complexity: DT developers must deal with heterogeneous resources, optimize their usage for different QoS levels, and handle vehicle mobility. That process requires a high level of specialization and makes development time-consuming and error-prone. In this paper, we first introduce a DT communication model based on three key interfaces: to physical devices, to peer DTs, and to centralized applications. We then analyze the distinct QoS requirements of these interfaces and propose the adoption of a data distribution platform that maps them directly to edge network capabilities, hiding complexity and easing the DT development process. Early evaluations on a real testbed demonstrate the platform's potential to meet CAV DTs' QoS demands efficiently
Integrating quantum synchronization in future generation networks
No full textThe advent of Beyond 5G (emerging 6G) technologies represents a significant step forward in telecommunications, offering unprecedented data speeds and connectivity. These advances enable a wide range of applications, from enhanced mobile broadband and the Internet of Things to ultra-reliable low-latency communication and the tactical Internet. Thus, having accurate and dependable time synchronization is of utmost importance and plays a critical role in ensuring that all processes function smoothly and effectively. However, existing standards, such as the precision time protocol, are unreliable due to jitters, datagram losses, and complexity. Increasing the synchronization error from the ideal tens of nanoseconds to hundreds of microseconds is unacceptable in future-generation networks. This work provides a novel way to establish ultraprecise synchronization, which is critical for the growth of converged optical communication networks and the 6G era. We investigate quantum non-linear synchronization (QNS), which explores the interaction between the non-linear dynamics of atomic systems and dissipation to establish a stable limit-cycle state. In this process, atoms confined within optical resonators are subjected to potential fields, and their spatial motion is synchronized by achieving a stable, phase-locked configuration. By introducing photons into the optical resonators and precisely managing the dissipation effects, it is possible to synchronize multiple optical resonators (referred to as nodes), even in systems with more than three interconnected resonators containing non-linear atoms. To transcend the synchronization signal from the optical setup to communication networks, we propose a distinct mechanism that utilizes the exceptional precision of QNS in the optical lattice setup and frequency down-conversion using frequency combs. In addition, it is combined with electronic components such as analog-to-digital converters and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to create synchronized digital signals that are understandable to communication networks. Our method transforms optical pulses into precisely timed electrical signals that can be analyzed and used in sophisticated network systems. We demonstrated that QNS and dissipation can synchronize a tri-node clock network to the highest precision of thulium atom-based optical lattice clocks. Our work also highlights the practicality of these applications through MATLAB simulations, bridging theoretical principles and real-world solutions with current technology. In our simulations, we utilized an optical signal with a frequency of 263 THz, downconverted to a lower microwave frequency of 100 GHz to achieve subnanosecond-level synchronized signals. The down-converted signal was subjected to white noise and subsequently digitized. The digital signal was then simulated by sampling rate of fs = 100 GHz or GSa/s (gigasample per second) and limiting the resolution to b = 8 bits. Finally, high-frequency noise was removed by implementing low-pass filtration using FPGAs. This study takes an essential step toward meeting the rising demands for rapid and efficient data transfer in the ever-evolving digital communications landscape, enabling faster and more reliable connectivity for future communication networks and the quantum Internet
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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