Research

Autonomic Networking

The term Autonomic Networking is used to describe communication networks consisting of self-managing elements capable to support self-configuration, self-healing and self-optimization. These desired properties require components for observation, for assessing the observed data, for representing and applying knowledge about constraints and goals. Due to the complexity of the network, and due to the multitude of administrative borders, decentralized self-organizing algorithms are required, with autonomous capabilities of individual nodes. The ultimate aim is to derive design paradigms for communication networks and distributed computing environments that are capable of providing rapidly adapting services and applications in scenarios where networked devices and users interact in a highly dynamic manner. The research in this area focuses on intelligent network control and security, including anomaly detection and self-healing.

Internet Instrumentation and Charging

The research in this area focuses on the development of a scalable measurement infrastructure for the Internet. Flexible and efficient metering components need to be developed. High-speed requirements can be fulfilled by sampling algorithms and sharing of measuring functionalities between several network components. Increased flexibility - required for capturing application specific data - can be ensured by a modular architecture with dynamically loadable components. Architectural extensions allow metering in interdomain scenarios. Issues of current work consist of specific solutions for rating and accounting applications, quality-of-service validation as well as traffic management and intrusion detection.

The expected results are relevant for Internet service providers and manufacturers of Internet components.

Access Node Architecture and Active Networks

Work in this area deals with innovative solutions for the realization of new functionalities in access nodes. Active access nodes will be used to achieve an application-specific or user-specific functionality. These components enable network administrators and individual users to load program code into suitable network nodes, thereby allowing dynamical functional extensions. The achieved flexibility can be used for the fast provisioning of services as well as for realization of new services with application specific features.

The following applications of active network technologies shall be examined and further developed: management of quality-of-service functionality, active buffer management, application specific adaptation of data, multicast support, caching, network management, active error control for audio and video communication as well as service creation.