Research Review
Rudra Dutta, CSC, NCSU
April, 2014
Networking Frontiers
l 
Ubiquity
– 
– 
– 
l 
Software
– 
– 
– 
– 
l 
“Up the stack” phenomenon
Down the stack, also – virtualization
And sideways – policy, measurement, economics, analytics
Democratization of networking functionality (chaotic?)
Architecture
– 
– 
l 
Mobility, Addressing, Binding
Dependability, Confidentiality, Availability
Cyber-physical computing, sensing/actuating
All of the above
Design tweaks won’t do it all
Some work in above areas
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Software Defined Networking
SDN Agent Flow Table l 
SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table Embodiment of policy box
– 
– 
– 
Forwarding policy (routing), security policy, energy
policy, economic policy, …
Realized in hardware or software
Or platform running software “policy programs”
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Controller Federation
SDN Agent Flow Table l 
SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table Different datapaths belong to different entities
– 
l 
SDN Agent Flow Table Controlled by different controllers
Flows route through multiple domains
– 
– 
Controllers must coordinate among themselves
Possibly exchange limited privileges on datapaths
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Programming the Controller
SDN Agent Flow Table l 
l 
l 
SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table SDN Agent Flow Table Controller application must be written in some language
– northbound API of controller
Not well standardized in OpenFlow
OpenDaylight – a proposal by an industry consortium
– 
– 
Multiple southbound API support
Standardized single northbound API
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Network Virtualization (Many Faces of)
l 
No “added functionality”, but “moving around”
– 
– 
l 
An attempt to define complex network functions
as abstractions: NF à VNF
– 
– 
– 
l 
Makes functionality available where it was not
An architectural distinction
That can then be implemented to produce similar
behavior on diverse platforms
Orchestrated without knowing underlying platform
Possibly as software, on VMs à NFaaS
“Software Networking” ?
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
SDN Lab
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Experiment – Traffic Flow: Best-Effort Model
Control Plane
Controller
RTSP traffic faces delay
as it goes through
Traffic Controller 1
Traffic Controller 2
does NOT introduce
any delay
OpenFlow
Datapath
Traffic Controller
1
PC 1
EPB
Checks
EPB
intercepts
whetherClient
this packet
ports to
allow access
belongs
to anfor
expedited
future traffic
patterns ifand
stream,
so tells
savesthe
theDatapath
URL
associated
to
expediteto
otherwise
this flow.tells it
use best-effort
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Traffic Controller
2
Best-effort Route
Expedited Route
Data Plane
Sending PC 1 video
after replying to this
message
Legend
Multimedia
Server
Network Management Evolution
l 
Networking management processes need study
– 
Especially in light of the coming SDN revolutio
Processes are human processes - not crisp and
clear
l  Data-driven = human-centered, here
l  Goal: use analytics to spot vulnerable process
points, opportunities
l 
– 
– 
Automation of SDN management
Vulnerability elimination
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
What is CentMesh ?
CentMesh : a project to build a versatile, open
source shared resource on campus
l  Provide an active testbed to support research
and instruction on wireless networks
l  Part of NCSU’s “Living Laboratory” vision
l 
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Who Built CentMesh ?
l 
Homemade !
– 
– 
– 
– 
Built by NCSU student researchers
Guided by NCSU faculty
Funded by Army Research Office and NCSU
Operationalized by Institute of Technology of Next
Generation (ITng), NCSU
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Impact of Power Control in Mesh
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Geodiffuse Routing
A form of limited flooding
l  Nodes over an area form a
diffuse path
l  Ready to forward transmission
if most direct path seems to
have difficulties
l  Can coordinate with heuristic
mechanisms, and fine tune
l 
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
CentMesh
R Kasyap Marmavula,
Vaidy Ananthanarayan,
Dr. Mihail Sichitiu,
Dr. Rudra Dutta
The NCSU
Centennial
Wireless Mesh
Project
Drones Challenge 2014
Hmm..what can you
do? Can you traverse
a path?
Certainly – I can even
avoid obstacles !
Take sensor readings
or video, stream it
back ?
Yes – I tie into the
NCSU CentMesh
sesnornet !
Where did they get
you from ?!
NCSU faculty and
students fabricated
me – and put in a
computer to make me
autonomous !
(Thanks)
WiFI
BBBK
CentMesh
Mobile Node
MAVLink over
USB
Abort
Signal
Autopilot
So can I use you for
teaching course XYZ or
research ?
I don’t know what that is but
I can if you program me to
do it !
CentMesh
Drone
PWM
Commands
Airframe
CentMesh Mobile Node
MAVLink over
USB
MCP over
UDP/IP
Autopilot
CentMesh Drone
Come fly with me !
Join the programming challenge
go.ncsu.edu/drones_challenge_2014
Qualifying challenges: March 31st, online
Final challenge: April 12th, Centennial
Oval
Drones Challenge 2014 Grand Sponsor: Aruba Networks
CentMesh funded by: Army Research Office
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Network Innovation through Choice
Stupid
computer.
network.
l 
l 
Informed exercise of choice (backed by money) can
reward providers with good performance
Select for helpful providers, beneficial ecosystem
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Architectural Need
Encourage
Alternatives
Vote with
Your Wallet
l 
l 
Know What
Happened
Informed exercise of choice (backed by money) can
reward providers with good performance
Select for helpful providers, beneficial ecosystem
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
ChoiceNet Entities / Interactions
l 
Consumer – willing to exchange consideration
for services deemed of value
😊
Provider – provides services in exchange of
– 
l 
User who exercises choice à “chuser”
consideration
– 
– 
– 
– 
😃
HW/SW infrastructure provider (path service)
Marketplace provider
Composition provider
Verification provider
Copyright Rudra Dutta,
NCSU, Spring 2014
Entities and Interactions
-------------Marketplace
Search
😊
Customer
Planner
Help Plan
-------
--
-------
-------
--
-------
-------
--
-------
-------
Advertise
Measurements
Verify
Use
l 
-------
Purchase
Analyzer
l 
Search
--
Provision
Monitor
👀
😃
Provider
Service
Informed exercise of choice (backed by money) can
reward providers with good performance
Encourage
Alternatives
Select for helpful providers, beneficial ecosystem
Vote with
Your Wallet
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Know What
Happened
Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
Raw MD Figures
Time (s)
30 Time (s)
2.4 25 2.2 20 SP 2.0 MP1 MP2 1.8 Chooser 15 10 1.6 5 1.4 0 0 20 40 60 Marker Sequence
Number
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
80 100 0 120 Close-up
1 2 Marker Sequence
Number
3 Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
Delay (ms) 700 600 mp1 owd 500 mp2 owd 400 Chooser owd Ji?er at Chooser 300 200 100 0 0 2 4 Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 Time (s) Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
A freeze
A glitch
Delay (ms) 700 600 mp1 owd 500 mp2 owd Chooser owd 400 Glitch Freeze 300 Ji?er at Chooser 200 100 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 Time (s) Glitches denote the losses and Freezes denote video playback freezes
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
Delay (ms) Contributing One-Way-Delay per Provider
600 MP1 OWD No contributing
delay at NSP2
500 400 MP2 OWD -­‐ MP1 OWD 300 200 Chooser OWD -­‐ MP2 OWD 100 0 4 8 10 12 15 17 20 22 25 28 Basic Analysis Results
Provider NSP1 NSP2 NSP3 Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Mean JiAer % 44.6 % 0.2 % 55.2 % Std. Dev. JiAer % 32.8 % 0.3 % 66.9 % Max JiAer % 25.3 % 0.2 % 74.5 % Time (s) Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
Analysis for freeze 1 [t=6 and t=10]
Mean % Std dev % NSP1 96.7 % Max J % 93.8 % 94.7 % NSP2 0.2 % 0.6 % 0.2 % NSP3 3.1 % 5.6 % 5.1 % Freeze 1 is at
t=8s
Delay (ms) 250 Freeze 2
is
at t=10s
200 mp1 owd 150 Analysis for freeze 2 [t=8 and t=12]
Mean % Std dev % NSP1 98.5 % mp2 owd Chooser owd 100 Glitch Max J % 97.2 % 97.2 % NSP2 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % NSP3 1.5 % 2.8 % 2.8 % Freeze 50 Ji?er at Chooser 0 5 Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
7 9 11 Time (s) Jitter Apportionment for Video UX
Freeze 3 is at
t=19s
Delay (ms) Analysis for freeze 3 [t=17 and
t=21] Mean % Std dev % Max J % NSP1 27.7 % NSP2 0.2 % 42.2 % 50.2 % 0.4 % 0.3 % NSP3 72.1 % 57.4 % 49.5 % 700 600 Freeze 4
is
at t=26s
500 mp1 owd mp2 owd 400 Chooser owd Analysis for freeze 4 [t=24 and t=28]
Mean % Std dev % Max J % NSP1 NSP2 14.0 % 13.8 % 13.6 % 0.2 % 0.2 % 0.2 % 86.0 % 86.2 % NSP3 85.8 % Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
300 Glitch 200 Freeze 100 Ji?er at Chooser 0 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Time (s) Security in the Cloud – Cost Points
Customer
Premise
Customer
Property
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014
Industry Research Relationships
l 
Challenges
– 
Industry needs applicable research partnerships
l  Good
deal of specificity
l  Time and effort to acclimatize
– 
Faculty and students need to do research
l  Discovery
of new knowledge, all that
l  Publish papers, pass PhD milestones – three years or so
l 
Opportunities
– 
– 
– 
– 
Computing is roaming free in the world
Real-world problems, like it or not
New problems, like it or not
Synergy
Copyright Rudra Dutta, NCSU, Spring 2014