The deliverable D2.2 Draft Architectural Framework is available for review and comment.
This particular document presents a first stage and intermediate summary of WP2 work with respect to an Architecture Framework, and attempts to model new Network Architectures, highlighting 4WARD defined concepts, terms and the basic constructs in this arena.
In the context of the Future Internet it is envisioned that different network architectures can coexist and share a common infrastructure. These network architectures can be specifically tailored to particular user or application requirements and, furthermore, can take into account the characteristics of the available networking resources.
The 4WARD Architecture Framework provides two views on network architectures and its resources:
(i) the macroscopic view mainly focuses on structuring the network at a higher level of abstraction and introduces the concept of Strata as a flexible way to layer the services of the network; and
(ii) the microscopic view concentrates more on the functions needed in the network, their
selection and composition to Netlets that are instantiated in the physical nodes of the
network.
The Design Process represents the workflow ranging from a business idea as a starting point to the design of network architecture models (NAM) and software architecture models (SAM). This is followed by the instantiation and operation of a network architecture fulfilling the detailed technical requirements derived from the business idea. At this point in time, the Component Based Architecture (CBA) comes into play. It represents the link between the modelling of the network architecture to its deployment in a platform specific implementation.
Even though the main phase’s goals of the Design Process have been specified, it however needs more work on specific details including, for example, the transition steps between the three major phases of detailed technical requirements analyses, NAM design and SAM design. Moreover, aspects related to the interoperability and composition of functions will be more detailed in the second year of the project. This also holds for the specification of the Design Repository. Although the described Design Process is seen as an off-line process (it is not applied during the run-time), the network architecture that are designed during this Design Process may be highly adaptable during run-time allowing the easier introduction of networks services during networks run-time.
The composition of functionalities has focused on the way functions needed to fulfil a detailed technical requirement derived from the initial business idea can be composed. This forms the basis for the definition of protocols to be applied in order to meet the specific requirements. Some first examples on how to efficiently combine very basic functionalities to build new protocols and Netlets have been also described.
In order to evaluate the applicability of the Architecture Framework, three use cases were defined and utilized as application examples. The use cases were selected in a way that they reflect challenging requirements that are foreseen in the Future Internet, mainly with focus on the integrated support of QoS, security and mobility. They were applied to the macroscopic view as well as to the microscopic view. They will be used for further re-fined evaluations. In this context more precise evaluation criteria will be formulated based on what has been reported in D2.1
The task of WP2 is to derive an Architecture Framework that allows for an efficient and effective design of tailored network architectures. In order to evaluate this, the Framework has to be applied to different challenges. In this respect, the developments of other WPs of 4WARD were explored in some detail. Note, however, that the developments within WP2 and those of the other WPs reflect work in progress. As a first conclusion, most of the solutions being developed in other WPs of 4WARD are well represented within the Architecture Framework being defined in WP2. More details need to be derived in the following period of the 4WARD project.

This D4.1 Definition of Scenarios and Use Cases for In-Network Management is the first deliverable coming out of the In-Network Management work package of 4WARD. It describes a core set of scenarios and use case that will guide the further work performed in the work package.
The goal of In-Network Management is to overcome limitations of traditional network management: it is developing engineering principles for automated configuration management, but also real-time monitoring functions that trigger adaptation of configuration. In-Network Management will support future large-scale networks that self-configure, dynamically adapt to external events and allow for low-cost operation. Its key idea is that management stations outside the network delegate management tasks to a self-organizing management plane inside the network.
In order to kick-off the work on In-Network Management a problem-driven approach has been adopted. As starting point for the research concrete scenarios and use cases have been selected that allow for a fundamental analysis of management problems encountered in the future Internet.
The four scenarios that have been selected highlight the wide range of challenges. They address self-management in wireless multi-hop networks, network management for a large operator network, management needs of home network environments, and management strategies availability under extreme conditions like catastrophes and natural disasters. For each scenario major use cases have been identified that analyse in more detail and on a concrete level the specific problems of that particular environment.
Based on the scenarios, evaluation criteria are derived that provide guidance for the follow-up activities in the work package and also offer the opportunity of a common ground for the cooperation between the other project work packages to help in the integration into a coherent overall framework of the various tracks of research performed by 4WARD.

This D2.1 is one of the 1st public deliverables of 4WARD [pdf] and it describes the technical requirements for a family of future global communication networks (referred to as “4WARD Framework” throughout the document), with the potential to supersede current telecommunication networks as well as the current “internet” in the long run, as identified in the first phase of the FP7 project “4WARD”.
First, the document describes briefly the mission and objectives of the project and the future network technology research areas in the work packages; as well as the followed methodology to collect the views from the different work packages. Then the aspects and the guidelines from the main non-technical perspectives (usage and services; socio-economics; regulation, governance and policy) are discussed. Based on those considerations, the overall technical requirements are derived and related to the views of the different technology areas as well as of the vertical technical themes (mobility, security, quality of service, inter-provider issues, and physical layer awareness). The detailed requirements are listed in the annex of the document.
The overall technical requirements for the 4WARD Framework listed in this document shall serve as a mandatory benchmark for the research directions and results expected by the project 4WARD, i.e. for the further design of specific 4WARD Networks, and may give useful guidelines for any activities towards a “Future Internet”.
The non-technical concerns are focusing on the expected demand created by new innovative services and applications, not only for a growing world population but also in a world of “connected things”. Special considerations have been given to the aspects of sustainability, awareness of environmental aspects, usability for everybody, and overcoming the shortages of the current internet concerning security, privacy vs. governance and control.
The technical requirements derived thereof are grouped around the following topics:
• services and application support for an information-centric network, covering also quality of services issues and usability
• mobility and wireless awareness,
• availability, scalability and extensibility
• interoperability, self-management, virtualisation
• security and privacy.
With this set of requirements as a starting point, further iterations during the design of specific 4WARD Networks will have to deal with an appropriate selection of these requirements still guaranteeing interoperability of dependent 4WARD Networks under the overall mission.

Summary of 4WARD
Today’s network architectures are stifling innovation, restricting it mostly to the application level while the need for structural change is increasingly evident. The absence of adequate facilities to design, optimize and interoperate new networks currently forces a convergence to an architecture that is suboptimal for many applications and that cannot support innovations within itself, the Internet. 4WARD overcomes this impasse through a set of radical architectural approaches built on our strong mobile and wireless background. 4WARD will improve the ability to design inter-operable and complementary families of network architectures. 4WARD enables the co-existence of multiple networks on common platforms through carrier-grade virtualization for networking resources. 4WARD will enhance the utility of networks by making them self-managing. 4WARD will increase their robustness and efficiency by leveraging diversity. Finally 4WARD will improve application support by a new information-centric paradigm in place of the old host-centric approach. These solutions will embrace the full range of technologies, from fibre backbones to wireless and sensor networks.
In this project the TSSG is working on two specific research themes. One is towards the architecture where the TSSG is developing an integrated framework to represent, design, implement and operate network architectures that all belong to a common family of interoperable network instances.
The second is towards in-network management were we are devising an embedded “default-on” management capability which is an inseparable part of the network itself. This capability will generate extra value in terms of guaranteed performance in a cost effective way, and will enable the networks to adjust themselves to different sizes, configurations and external conditions.
4WARD is currently Running and is funded by the European Union FP7 ICT work programme, under Call 1 to a total of €14.5 million euro. The project started in January of 2008 and will end in February 2010.
TSSG contact details
For more information contact miguelpdl@tssg.org or visit the TSSG website at http://4ward.tssg.org or the 4WARD website at http://www.4ward-project.eu/.
Tel: +353 51 302952
Tel: +353 51 302900
Fax: + 353 51 302901