Network management

About: Network management is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17859 publications have been published within this topic receiving 234520 citations. The topic is also known as: computer network management & NM.

Enforcing network-wide policies in the presence of dynamic middlebox actions using flowtags

Abstract: Middleboxes provide key security and performance guarantees in networks. Unfortunately, the dynamic traffic modifications they induce make it difficult to reason about network management tasks such as access control, accounting, and diagnostics. This also makes it difficult to integrate middleboxes into SDN-capable networks and leverage the benefits that SDN can offer.In response, we develop the FlowTags architecture. FlowTags-enhanced middleboxes export tags to provide the necessary causal context (e.g., source hosts or internal cache/miss state). SDN controllers can configure the tag generation and tag consumption operations using new FlowTags APIs. These operations help restore two key SDN tenets: (i) bindings between packets and their "origins," and (ii) ensuring that packets follow policy-mandated paths.We develop new controller mechanisms that leverage FlowTags. We show the feasibility of minimally extending middleboxes to support FlowTags. We also show that FlowTags imposes low overhead over traditional SDN mechanisms. Finally, we demonstrate the early promise of FlowTags in enabling new verification and diagnosis capabilities.

Method and apparatus for inter-domain alarm correlation

Abstract: A multi-domain network manager provides alarm correlation among a plurality of domains included in a communications network. Individual network management systems each monitor a single respective domain of the communications network, and provide intra-domain alarms indicative of status specific to the single respective domain. The multi-domain network manager receives the intra-domain alarms, and correlates them to provide inter-domain alarms as well as responses in the form of corrective actions. The multi-domain network manager thus provides a high level of correlation and response for the entire network while each network management system provides a lower level of correlation and response for an individual domain of the network.

LTE Self-Organising Networks (SON): Network Management Automation for Operational Efficiency

Abstract: Covering the key functional areas of LTE Self-Organising Networks (SON), this book introduces the topic at an advanced level before examining the state-of-the-art concepts. The required background on LTE network scenarios, technologies and general SON concepts is first given to allow readers with basic knowledge of mobile networks to understand the detailed discussion of key SON functional areas (self-configuration, -optimisation, -healing). Later, the book provides details and references for advanced readers familiar with LTE and SON, including the latest status of 3GPP standardisation.Based on the defined next generation mobile networks (NGMN) and 3GPP SON use cases, the book elaborates to give the full picture of a SON-enabled system including its enabling technologies, architecture and operation. Heterogeneous networks including different cell hierarchy levels and multiple radio access technologies as a new driver for SON are also discussed.Introduces the functional areas of LTE SON (self-optimisation, -configuration and healing) and its standardisation, also giving NGMN and 3GPP use casesExplains the drivers, requirements, challenges, enabling technologies and architectures for a SON-enabled systemCovers multi-technology (2G/3G) aspects as well as core network and end-to-end operational aspectsWritten by experts who have been contributing to the development and standardisation of the LTE self-organising networks concept since its inceptionExamines the impact of new network architectures (Heterogeneous Networks) to network operation, for example multiple cell layers and radio access technologies

Ultra-Low Latency (ULL) Networks: The IEEE TSN and IETF DetNet Standards and Related 5G ULL Research

Abstract: Many network applications, eg, industrial control, demand ultra-low latency (ULL) However, traditional packet networks can only reduce the end-to-end latencies to the order of tens of milliseconds The IEEE 8021 time sensitive networking (TSN) standard and related research studies have sought to provide link layer support for ULL networking, while the emerging IETF deterministic networking (DetNet) standards seek to provide the complementary network layer ULL support This paper provides an up-to-date comprehensive survey of the IEEE TSN and IETF DetNet standards and the related research studies The survey of these standards and research studies is organized according to the main categories of flow concept, flow synchronization, flow management, flow control, and flow integrity ULL networking mechanisms play a critical role in the emerging fifth generation (5G) network access chain from wireless devices via access, backhaul, and core networks We survey the studies that specifically target the support of ULL in 5G networks, with the main categories of fronthaul, backhaul, and network management Throughout, we identify the pitfalls and limitations of the existing standards and research studies This survey can thus serve as a basis for the development of standards enhancements and future ULL research studies that address the identified pitfalls and limitations

Automatically inferring patterns of resource consumption in network traffic

Abstract: The Internet service model emphasizes flexibility -- any node can send any type of traffic at any time. While this design has allowed new applications and usage models to flourish, it also makes the job of network management significantly more challenging. This paper describes a new method of traffic characterization that automatically groups traffic into minimal clusters of conspicuous consumption. Rather than providing a static analysis specialized to capture flows, applications, or network-to-network traffic matrices, our approach dynamically produces hybrid traffic definitions that match the underlying usage. For example, rather than report five hundred small flows, or the amount of TCP traffic to port 80, or the "top ten hosts", our method might reveal that a certain percent of traffic was used by TCP connections between AOL clients and a particular group of Web servers. Similarly, our technique can be used to automatically classify new traffic patterns, such as network worms or peer-to-peer applications, without knowing the structure of such traffic a priori. We describe a series of algorithms for constructing these traffic clusters and minimizing their representation. In addition, we describe the design of our prototype system, AutoFocus and our experiences using it to discover the dominant and unusual modes of usage on several different production networks.