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We describe low end-to-end latencies of 6.69 ms in the 5G CHARISMA network, that has been optimised for both device and system technologies speed, as well as with its virtualised, hierarchical and distributed, edge- centric architecture, that processes data as near as possible to their source and destination. Such an ultra-high speed 5G network can be utilised in intelligent transport system (ITS) applications, and we describe a public transport bus-based use case that takes advantage of the CHARISMA capabilities.

5G networks aim to tackle the complex demands of emerging business paradigms, such as Smart Cities, eHealth and Industry 4.0. In this paper, a hierarchical, distributed - intelligence 5G architecture is described, offering low latency, security, and open access as features intrinsic to its design. SDN and NFV principles are employed to create a networking solution applicable to a large number of high - specification 5G use case scenarios .

PurposeThis article seeks to introduce the concept of the Grid‐GMPLS control plane architecture with focus on new services, models, and interoperability issues of Grid‐GMPLS (G2MPLS) and GMPLS control planes. The purpose of this activity is to design, implement and test extensions of the GMPLS Control Plane that can enable the paradigm of a G2MPLS network.Design/methodology/approachThe approach deploys extended GMPLS implementations aiming to facilitate bandwidth provisioning to Grid users.FindingsG2MPLS is a Network Control Plane architecture that implements the concept of Grid Network Services. GNS is a service that allows the provisioning of network and Grid resources in a single‐step through a set of integrated procedures. By providing a unified network/Grid infrastructure the control plane can adapt to the demands of applications having intensive requirements on both computational and network resources.Research limitations/implicationsThe project delivers the prototype implementation of G2MPLS. Consideration should be given to involving the vendors of the optical equipment in the development process to incorporate the project findings into their operating systems.Practical implicationsThe G2MPLS protocol stack has been designed to be compatible with the ASON/GMPLS architecture. This could lead to possible integration of Grids in the existing operational networks, by overcoming the current limitations of Grids running over dedicated networks with their own administrative procedures.Originality/valueThe paper provides the description of Grid Network Infrastructures with a common and transversal Control Plane approach based on G2MPLS, in which Grid resources and optical network resources are both controlled by the same Control Plane, seamlessly spanning the different Control and Management domains of the network.

G2MPLS is a network control plane architecture that implements the concept of grid network services. In the framework of the 1ST Phosphorus project, GNS allows the provisioning of network and grid resources in a single step through a set of seamlessly integrated procedures. The implementation of GNS imposes a number of requirements in the control planes of the underlying network infrastructure. This article describes services such as GNS set up and restoration, GNS resource and service discovery, and advance reservation services, which are the main trigger factors of the G2MPLS control plane architectures. The article provides an overview of overlay architecture prior to turning to the main focus of the article, which is the integrated architecture through service procedures and the grid-enabled network interfaces provided by the Phosphorus project.

Automatic resource discovery plays a significant role in next-generation optical networks, where nodes can maintain a large number of input/output ports (fibers, wavelengths, time slots, etc.). This automation avoids long and tedious manual node configurations and minimizes resource misconfiguration probability, which can result in high cost savings for network operators. The generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS) Link Management Protocol (LMP) has been defined to provide such functionalities. However, it requires optical nodes to transmit in-band information, thus requesting link termination on each incoming port. This issue, in transparent optical networks, implies additional hardware, high complexities, or even signal losses. This article proposes and evaluates novel extensions to standard LMP that cope with the discovery of all-optical transport planes. In addition, playing a crucial role in ASON/GMPLS networks, this article also generically covers the automatic discovery of the control plane.

Software-Defined Networking and Network Functions Virtualization have initiated a new landscape within the telecom market landscape. Initial proof-of-concept prototypes for NFV-enabled solutions are being developed at the same time SDN models are identified as the futures solutions within the telecom realm. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the application and state-of-the-art of SDN and NFV technologies over optical networks. At the same time, we provide the first formalisation model for the VNF complex scheduling problem, using the complex job formalisation. The article aims at being used as starting point in order to optimally solve the scheduling problem of virtual network functions that compose network services to be provisioned within the SDN paradigm. Finally, we also provide an example of the virtualization of the routing function over an SDN-enabled domain.

The recent evolution of cloud services is leading to a new service transformation paradigm to accommodate network infrastructures in a cost-scalable way. In this transformation, the network constitutes the key to efficiently connect users to services and applications. In this paper we describe the deployment, validation and demonstration of the optical integrated testbed for the ''GEneralized architecture for dYnamic infrastructure SERviceS'' (GEYSERS) project to accommodate such cloud based Infrastructure Services. The GEYSERS testbed is composed of a set of local physical testbeds allocated in the facilities of the GEYSERS partners. It is built up based on the requirements specification, architecture definition and per-layer development that constitutes the whole GEYSERS ecosystem, and validates the procedures on the GEYSERS prototypes. The testbed includes optical devices (layer 1), switches (layer 2), and IT resources deployed in different local testbeds provided by the project partners and interconnected among them to compose the whole testbed layout. The main goal of the GEYSERS testbed is twofold. On one hand, it aims at providing a validation ground for the architecture, concepts and business models proposed by GEYSERS, sustained by two main paradigms: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and the coupled provisioning of optical network and IT resources. On the other hand, it is used as a demonstration platform for testing the software prototypes within the project and to demonstrate to the research and business community the project approach and solutions. In this work, we discuss our experience in the deployment of the testbed and share the results and insights learned from our trials in the process. Additionally, the paper highlights the most relevant experiments carried out in the testbed, aimed at the validation of the overall GEYSERS architecture.

This paper presents the concept of Open Cloud eXchange (OCX) that has been proposed to bridge the gap between two major components of the cloud services provisioning infrastructure: Cloud Service Provider (CSP) infrastructure, and cloud services delivery infrastructure which in many cases requires dedicated local infrastructure and quality of services that cannot be delivered by the public Internet infrastructure. In both cases there is a need for interconnecting the CSP infrastructure and local access network infrastructure, in particular, to solve the "last mile" problem in delivering cloud services to customer locations and individual (end-)users. The OCX remains neutral to actual cloud services provisioning and limit its services to Layer 0 through Layer 2 to remain transparent to current cloud services model. The proposed document identifies the initial set of requirements to OCX, that can be run by NRENs, as a part of the GEANT network, or jointly, and provides suggestions about OCX implementation. The proposed OCX concept will leverage the existing Internet eXchange (IX) and GLIF Open Light path Exchange (GOLE) solutions and practices, adding specific functionality that will simplify inter-CSP and customer infrastructure integration when supporting basic cloud services provisioning models, in particular Trusted Third Party (TTP) services to allow federated infrastructure and access control, commonly used by NRENs. The paper also describes trusted/secured topology exchange protocol and dynamic trust establishment protocol as a part of the OCX services.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has emerged as an operator proposal for offering network services with network functions implemented in software, which may be located in Data Centers, network nodes or even in a virtual machine. NFV is theoretically applicable to any network function and aims at simplifying the management of heterogeneous hardware platforms. Using as a basis one of the network functions offered by network routers, this article presents the analysis, design, and the first implementation, in a virtualized manner, of the routing function. Considering the current co-existence of IPv4 and IPv6 and the possibilities brought into the arena by OpenFlow-enabled infrastructures, the article describes the design of the virtualized routing protocol, enabling a simple management and avoiding signaling messages overhead in the control plane level, and the different scenarios considered to validate the virtualized function. In essence, the manuscript describes one of the first implementations of the functional NFV concept, through the virtualization of the routing function over an OpenFlow network. The different scenarios validated in the article are used to demonstrate the applicability of the NFV-powered implementation proposed into actual production environments.