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Due to the fact that the current variability of services is brought by the current networks and the new possibilities that will appear thanks to the near-future networks, Network Slicing has become one of the key elements to allow the co-existence of multiple computing and transportservices with different requirements (i.e., performance, security, isolation) over the same infrastructure in multi-tenant and multi-domain (i.e., edge, transport, core) scenarios. The use of this and other technologies allow to have only one generic infrastructure (e.g., an optical transport domain) despite the services differences, instead of needing specific resources (e.g., on single optical fiber) for each type of service. Multiple works have been published about Network Slicing, Network Function Virtualization and Software Defined Networks using multiple computing and transport domains but, based on our literature research, there is one important aspect with a low amount of attention: the security management around network slices and their enforcement. It is essential to ensure that the expected Quality of Security (QoSec) is accomplished based on the correct deployment and posterior monitoring of the security metrics defined in the agreed Security Service Level Agreement (SSLA) between the service requester and the provider. This article aims to present an architecture designed to manage and control the life-cycle of secured End-to-End (E2E) network slices involving multiple domains based on the SSLA requirements. The security management architecture is described with its components together with the deployment and monitoring processes and the data objects used. Finally, an experimental validation is described using the use case of a DoS attack scenario and its resolution. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

We demonstrate zero-touch device bootstrapping, monitoring, and L3-VPN service management using the novel TeraFlow OS SDN controller prototype. TeraFlow aims at producing a cloud-native carrier-grade SDN controller offering scalability, extensibility, high-performance, and high-availability features.

According to the ever-increasing bandwidth pressure and hyperconnectivity, as particularly experienced during recent times, the metro area network (MAN) is a crucial segment to address the related challenges and requirements efficiently in terms of cost, power consumption and footprint. Recently proposed modular programmable photonic system architectures for enabling Tb/s connectivity in dynamic and agile MANs are presented. Special focus is devoted to S-BVT using vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) characterized by high modulation bandwidth and able to operate at long wavelengths and particularly within the C-band. Spectrum and space dimensions are considered to enable multi- Tb/s capacity. This approach combined with photonic integration, modularity and software defined networking (SDN) allows to obtain scalable architectures for future disaggregated optical metro networks. Programmability aspects and recent results achieved in a real network testbed are reported., Grant numbers : AURORAS - Autonomic and disaggregated optical networks leveraging edge computing and photonic technologies (RTI2018-099178-B-I00) project.

This paper presents a beyond 5G fronthaul network with dynamic beamforming and -steering. The proposed fronthaul solution deploys optical beamforming (OBF) by combining space division multiplexing (SDM), analogue radio-over-fiber (ARoF), and the novel optical beam forming network (OBFN) technologies. From the service management and orchestration (MANO) point of view, the proposed fronthaul solution also deploys an advanced software defined networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) control and orchestration architecture developed with the goal to optimally manage and reconfigure the physical layer resources (i.e., optical and radio) at the central office and cell sites (i.e., pool of baseband units (BBUs), remote radio heads (RRHs), ARoF transceivers and OBFNs). The proposed beyond 5G fronthaul architecture is primarily oriented to deploy massive machine-type communication (mMTC) services with high-bandwidth requirements, such as for industry 4.0. In this paper we experimentally validate the novel OBFN system, and the dynamic SDN/NFV MANO of the transport connectivity and network services for optical beamforming. The obtained experimental results show that the overall delay for the provisioning and removal of an OBF service, considering the contribution of the involved optical and radio systems and the SDN/NFV MANO layer, is 134s and 18s respectively. The reconfiguration of the OBF service to add or remove a beam can be performed in the range of 65-87s. © 1995-2012 IEEE.

The need of telecommunications operators to reduce Capital and Operational Expenditures in networks which traffic is continuously growing has made them search for new alternatives to simplify and automate their procedures. Because of the different transport network segments and multiple layers, the deployment of end-to-end services is a complex task. Also, because of the multiple vendor existence, the control plane has not been fully homogenized, making end-to-end connectivity services a manual and slow process, and the allocation of computing resources across the entire network a difficult task. The new massive capacity requested by Data Centers and the new 5G connectivity services will urge for a better solution to orchestrate the transport network and the distributed computing resources. This article presents and demonstrates a Network Slicing solution together with an end-to-end service orchestration for transport networks. The Network Slicing solution permits the co-existence of virtual networks (one per service) over the same physical network to ensure the specific service requirements. The network orchestrator allows automated end-to-end services across multi-layer multi-domain network segments making use of the standard Transport API (TAPI) data model for both l0 and l2 layers. Both solutions will allow to keep up with beyond 5G services and the higher and faster demand of network and computing resources. Copyright © 2021 The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers

Network operators cannot change their foot-print to upgrade the entire network to support SDN from scratch. Hence, network operators adapted the original SDN concept into a hybrid SDN approach to have a pragmatic, evolutionary, and economically viable solution. This article tests an SDN architecture based on a hierarchical structure of a Software-Defined Transport Networking (SDTN) controller, which deals with the end-to-end service provision and topology collection on top of a set of SDN controllers for each technological domain. The authors demonstrate L3/L2 VPN service deployment using an underlay multi-domain IP/Optical network in a field trial. The approach allows a service provider to migrate brownfield scenarios into SDN domains using programmatic interfaces. © 2021 IEEE.

To meet the requirements of 5G high capacity optical metro networks, a programmable disaggregated multi-dimensional sliceable bandwidth/bitrate variable transceiver (S-BVT) is proposed. Specifically, transceiver multi-dimensionality is presented exploiting spatial, polarization, and spectral information as a solution to support network capacity and bandwidth scaling 5G requirements. Space division multiplexing is implemented by considering a 19-core multicore fiber enabling capacity scaling with the number of cores, whereas polarization division multiplexing is assessed enabling 50% spectral saving by considering two orthogonal polarization components. Finally, by the implementation of multi-band transmission systems, the optical bandwidth can be increased by a factor of 10, compared to a conventional C-band system. In these last two cases, the existing spectrum and network infrastructure can be reused, bringing new capabilities. In particular, in this work, multi-band transmission is assessed by exploiting the C-band and L-band. Additionally, disaggregation is also addressed at the transceiver level to enhance network flexibility, avoiding vendor lock-in while achieving efficiency and cost reduction. Disaggregation enables assembling open components, devices, and sub-systems into optical infrastructures and networks. On the other hand, the adoption of the software defined networking paradigm enables system/network programmability and reconfigurability, promoting an efficient use of the multi-dimensional network resources. Therefore, in this work, we analyze and experimentally demonstrate different S-BVT advanced functionalities suitable to support the stringent network requirements of 5G. These capabilities include rate/distance adaptability, programmability/configurability, disaggregation, and multi-dimensionality. Different network scenarios have been considered to assess the S-BVT functionalities, enabling Tb/s optical transmission. © 2009-2012 OSA.

Vehicles will be wirelessly connected in the future, and they will be able to exchange information with other vehicles and their surroundings for safer and more efficient driving. 5G communication systems have introduced advanced functionalities and radio solutions to support connected, cooperative, and automated mobility (CCAM) services with demanding quality of service requirements. However, interoperability among involved stakeholders, seamless connectivity, and the uninterrupted delivery of real-time services across borders are issues that should be carefully analyzed for the realization of cross-border CCAM services. This article provides an overview of key standardization bodies by analyzing recent work on key technologies to provide cross-border connectivity services for CCAM. Standardization gaps and regulatory barriers that may affect fast and efficient adoption of 5G-enabled CCAM services are also discussed. © 2017 IEEE.

Network operators are facing a critical issue on their optical transport networks to deploy 5G$+$+ and Internet of Things services. They need to address the capacity increase by a factor of 10, while keeping a similar cost per user. Over the past years, network operators have been working on the optical disaggregated approach with great interest for achieving the required efficiency and cost reduction. In particular, partially disaggregated optical networks make it possible to decouple the transponders from the transport system (known as an open line system) that are provided by different vendors. On the other hand, space division multiplexing (SDM) has been proposed as the key technology to overcome the capacity crunch that the optical standard single-mode fibers are facing to support the forecasted $10 \times$10× growth. Spatial core switching is gaining interest because it makes it possible to deploy SDM networks to bypass the overloaded wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks, by provisioning spatial media channels between WDM nodes. This paper presents, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental demonstration of transport-application-programming-interface-enabled software defined networking control architecture for partially disaggregated multi-domain and multi-layer (WDM over SDM) optical networks. © 2009-2012 OSA.

Network slicing will permit offering to vertical customers tailored end-to-end logical networks in an on-demand fashion, on top of a common telecom infrastructure, achieving a Slices-as-a-Service (SlaaS) business model. This is possible due to the progressive introduction of network softwarization techniques, such as programmability and virtualization, into existing operational networks, enabling dynamic and flexible provision of slices. Those vertical customers could require the control not only of the network functions composing the end-to-end service, but also of the connectivity among them, e.g., for influencing the paths for steering traffic among function instances. However, this can be problematic since decisions from one vertical customer can collide with decisions from others. One aspect not yet sufficiently investigated is how to permit vertical customers to jointly control the service functions and the underlay connectivity, in such a way that could operate the allocated slice as if it was actually a dedicated network entirely for them. This paper explores some architectural proposition in this respect illustrated with some potential use cases and it provides an example of the provision of SlaaS for a vertical customer. © 2021, The Author(s).

Network operators have been dealing with the necessity of a dynamic network resources allocation to provide a new generation of customer-tailored applications. In that sense, Telecom providers have to migrate their BSS/OSS systems and network infrastructure to more modern solutions to introduce end-to-end automation and support the new use cases derived from the 5G adoption and transport network slices. In general, there is a joint agreement on making this transition to an architecture defined by programmable interfaces and standard protocols. Hence, this paper uses the iFusion architecture to control and program the network infrastructure. The work presents an experimental validation of the network slicing instantiation in an IP/Optical environment using a set of standard protocols and interfaces. The work provides results of the creation, modification and deletion of the network slices. Furthermore, it demonstrates the usage of standard communication protocols (Netconf and Restconf) in combination with standard YANG data models. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.