Networks
The research focus of Networks is broadly described by the elements of Telematics system and discipline dimensions. The research focus of the various faculty members that constitutes Networks is described as follows:
Performance management Poul Heegaard
Performance management is the process of simultaneous optimisation of the quality of delivered service and resource utilisation. In order to do so you need to observe and measure the service and resource usage and availability, and to have functions that enables (re-)configuration and control of services (e.g. access control) and resource utilisation (e.g. routing, scheduling, priority queuing). The research is particularly focused on performance management in adaptable, dynamic networks. Research topics cover monitoring and measurement techniques (both wired, and wireless), network evaluation (rare event simulation techniques, source modeling and the GenSyn traffic generator), and path monitoring and management in dynamic networks in IST BISON project.
QoS in Internet architecture Řivind Kure
Quality of service has been a well studied area in the core and access network. However with a slightly broader scope, it is still a wide open field in the yet widely deployed network technologies, like wireless networks, wireless multihop networks, thin link access networks, sensor networks, and multicast networks. The commonality of the research in the area is to extend connectivity with a wider scope of functionality. The work includes defining architecture, buffer management, network feedback mechanisms, resource monitoring, resource allocation, and routing and path selection.
Traffic performance modeling and analysis Peder J. Emstad
Networks and their servers need to be properly engineered to offer adequate Quality of Service. The networks are heterogeneous, multilayered fixed, wireless and mobile networks employing packet switched technology. In some cases overprovisioning solves the problem, but it may be very costly and in some cases not applicable. Generally there is a need also to study how new solutions perform based on models and analytical studies. The traffic offered to the networks is constantly changing inasmuch as the mechanisms inside the networks to admit, carry, separate, and differentiate the traffic are evolving. The area is therefore dynamic and calls for new models and studies. Important problems are traffic measurements, traffic characterization and modeling, models of sources, servers, networks and nodes, ways to control the traffic, studies of methods to achieve service guarantees, and dimensioning. Technology for traffic measurements is equally important. The ongoing research is part of several projects at Q2S http://www.q2s.ntnu.no/. Several problems addressed are related to audio, video, and multimedia traffic.
Optical networking Norvald Stol
The future fixed networking infrastructure (transport and metro networks) must handle increasing capacity and quality demands from users with access to high speed connections both for business and residential use. Optical networks applying wavelength division multiplexing is today the most promising candidate technology to realize this. Many challenges still exist with regard to how new available optical components, with different properties from electronic components, can be best utilized in a network to establish a flexible and future proof platform for realization of services with very different performance, dependability and security demands.
Robust autonomic systems Bjarne E. Helvik
Continuously operational networks and services is mandatory in the modern society. In an heterogeneous and changing networking environment, achieving this is costly, and technologically as well operationally very demanding. The research is directed towards enabling robust (fault-tolerant, survivable), cost-efficient networks and service providing systems. The aim is to make these autonomic with respect to fault handling and in their dealings with heterogeneity and dynamism. An important element in this is provision of differentiated dependability, i.e. systems where the dependability is tailored to user and service requirements. A key issue is validation of the quantitative properties of these solutions by modeling, analysis, simulation and experiments. (See http://www.item.ntnu.no/~bjarne and Q2S - the Centre for Quantifiable Quality of Service in Communication Systems, a Norwegian Centre of Excellence.)
Emergency and Preparedness Steinar H. Andresen
New technology, new market and operation conditions, makes it necessary to establish a "master plan" to ensure the needs of emergency and preparedness services. Andresen deals with this comprehensive set of requirements, with his main focus on location based routing and location reporting. Location based routing is needed when calling an emergency number (e.g. E112, where you, in principle, always should be routed to the nearest emergency centre irrespective of your service provider or the access technology. This is also called Emergency Context Resolution (ref.: IETF's working group "ecrit"). Another example is that the emergency centre that should be able to acquire the geographical position of the calling terminal. This may in future be accomplished by a common "location info" broker service in the network (ref: http://gefinder.item.ntnu.no/). The work will be carried out in close cooperation with ETSI's Special Committee (SC) on Emergency Communications?(EMTEL).
Multimedia Networks Yuming Jiang
The future role of Internet as a multimedia network depends on the ability to provide service guarantees to the multimedia applications. Challenges have to be addressed in both network design and application design. Network design issues comprise architectures and mechanisms for the provision of service guarantees as well as a theoretical basis for the analysis of service guarantees. Application design issues comprise efficient and flexible mechanisms dealing with the fluctuation in service guarantees provided by the network.
The research has accordingly two focuses. One is on the provision, analysis and management of service guarantees. Specific interest is in the development of a network calculus to be applied for design and analysis. The second focus is on designing mechanisms coordinating multimedia applications and the network to achieve scalable, efficient and quality multimedia delivery.
