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.

AI-Driven Zero Touch Network and Service Management in 5G and Beyond: Challenges and Research Directions

Abstract: The foreseen complexity in operating and managing 5G and beyond networks has propelled the trend toward closed-loop automation of network and service management operations. To this end, the ETSI Zero-touch network and Service Management (ZSM) framework is envisaged as a next-generation management system that aims to have all operational processes and tasks executed automatically, ideally with 100 percent automation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is envisioned as a key enabler of self-managing capabilities, resulting in lower operational costs, accelerated time-tovalue and reduced risk of human error. Nevertheless, the growing enthusiasm for leveraging AI in a ZSM system should not overlook the potential limitations and risks of using AI techniques. The current paper aims to introduce the ZSM concept and point out the AI-based limitations and risks that need to be addressed in order to make ZSM a reality.

Topology discovery in heterogeneous IP networks: the NetInventory system

Abstract: Knowledge of the up-to-date physical topology of an IP network is crucial to a number of critical network management tasks, including reactive and proactive resource management, event correlation, and root-cause analysis. Given the dynamic nature of today's IP networks, keeping track of topology information manually is a daunting (if not impossible) task. Thus, effective algorithms for automatically discovering physical network topology are necessary. Earlier work has typically concentrated on either 1) discovering logical (i.e., layer-3) topology, which implies that the connectivity of all layer-2 elements (e.g., switches and bridges) is ignored, or 2) proprietary solutions targeting specific product families. In this paper, we present novel algorithms for discovering physical topology in heterogeneous (i.e., multi-vendor) IP networks. Our algorithms rely on standard SNMP MIB information that is widely supported by modern IP network elements and require no modifications to the operating system software running on elements or hosts. We have implemented the algorithms presented in this paper in the context of the NetInventory topology-discovery tool that has been tested on Lucent's own research network. The experimental results clearly validate our approach, demonstrating that our tool can consistently discover the accurate physical network topology with reasonably small running-time requirements even for fairly large network configurations.

On handling QoS traffic in wireless sensor networks

Abstract: Many new routing and MAC layer protocols have been proposed for wireless sensor networks tackling the issues raised by the resource constrained unattended sensor nodes in large-scale deployments. The majority of these protocols considered energy efficiency as the main objective and assumed data traffic with unconstrained delivery requirements. However, the growing interest in applications that demand certain end-to-end performance guarantees and the introduction of imaging and video sensors have posed additional challenges. Transmission of data in such cases requires both energy and QoS aware network management in order to ensure efficient usage of the sensor resources and effective access to the gathered measurements. In this paper, we highlight the architectural and operational challenges of handling of QoS traffic in sensor networks. We report on progress make to-date and outline open research problems.

Methods and apparatus for monitoring local network traffic on local network segments and resolving detected security and network management problems occurring on those segments

Abstract: A system for providing network security through manipulating data connections and connection attempts over a data-packet-network between at least two network nodes is provided. The system includes a system host machine, a first software application residing on the host machine for detecting and monitoring connection activity, a data store for storing connection related data, and a second software application for emulating one or more end nodes of the connections or connection attempts. In a preferred embodiment the system uses the detection software to detect one or more pre-defined states associated with a particular connection or connection attempt including states associated with data content transferred there over and performs at least one packet generation and insertion action triggered by the detected state or states, the packet or packets emulating one or more end nodes of the connection or connection attempt to cause preemption or resolution of the detected state or states.