Techno-economic feasibility analysis of Internet protocols: Framework and tools

A multitude of Internet protocols are developed in the Internet Engineering Task Force to solve the challenges with the existing protocols and to fulfill the requirements of emerging application areas. However, most of them fail to achieve their goals due to limited adoption. A significant reason for non-adoption seems to be that the potential adopters' incentives for adoption are not understood and taken into account during the protocol development. This paper addresses this problem by developing a conceptual framework for analyzing the techno-economic feasibility of Internet protocols already during their development. The framework is based on the experiences collected during several protocol case studies and an extensive literature review. It focuses on analyzing the economic incentives of the relevant stakeholders and also takes into account the deployment environment including the competing solutions. The framework is accompanied by a research method toolbox that introduces practical tools for applying the framework. Finally, the application of the framework is demonstrated with Multipath TCP case study. The usage of the suggested framework can help protocol developers to identify the potential deployment challenges and opportunities of emerging protocols and thus increase the likelihood of adoption. Moreover, potential adopters can use the framework as a supporting tool for making adoption decisions.     

支持Internet实时多媒体应用的Overlay技术研究

目前出现的大规模（large-scale）的多媒体应用对Internet提出了新的挑战。传统的IP组播（IP multicast,IPM）由于实现技术的复杂性,很难在Internet上推广。相反,基于叠加网络（overlay network,ON）的解决方案则受到各方面的关注。本文针对大规模实时多媒体应用需求,通过建立评价参数模型对ON协议进行研究。尤其时overlay组播（overlay multicast,OM）的QoS控制、可靠性以及可伸缩性机制进行了分析。与IPM相比,OM虽然有性能代价（performance penalty）问题,但是OM能方便、灵活地利用多种高层的功能实现,基于hop-by-hop方式有效地提供E2E（end—to-end）的可靠性和QoS保障,并且较好地支持TCP-friendliness,具有良好的可伸缩性。此外,0M的基础网络（infrastructure／underlay network）无关性,也使其容易在Internet中进行配置。以上特性使得OM成为支持Internet上大规模实时多媒体应用的最具前景的技术．     

Perses: A framework for the continuous evaluation of the QoS of distributed mobile applications

The increasing capabilities of mobile devices have led to the emergence of new paradigms exploiting them. These paradigms foster the onload and distribution of functionalities on mobile devices, allowing the development of distributed mobile applications. This distribution reduces the latency and the data traffic overhead and improves privacy. As in any other mobile application, their success largely depends on the quality of service (QoS) they offer. Nevertheless, the evaluation of distributed mobile applications is particularly complex due to the number, heterogeneity, and interactions between the devices involved. Current techniques allow developers to assess the quality of a single device, but they are not designed for highly heterogeneous, distributed, and collaborative environments. This paper presents a framework called Perses, which allows the creation of virtual scenarios with multiple heterogeneous mobile devices to launch end-to-end tests to evaluate not only each device but also the interactions among them. The framework was evaluated against a real deployment, showing that the behavior and the quality attributes measured are similar to those of the real deployment, allowing developers to evaluate these applications before launching them. Finally, Perses was integrated into a DevOps methodology to automate its execution and further facilitate its adoption by software companies.     

HIP组播路由机制研究与实现

通过对HIP(Host Identity Protocol)协议和HIP组播模型的深入研究,提出一种新的HIP组播路由机制。新机制不改变HIP组播模型中对组播树的创建和维护方式,引入组地址变量进行路由转发,降低了原模型中路由处理的复杂度。使用Linux平台模拟HIP组播路由器并实现相关协议。理论分析和实验表明,新机制提高了HIP组播数据的传输和转发效率,降低了HIP安全组播模型中组播路由器的部署难度。     

Knowledge-Aware and Service-Oriented Middleware for deploying pervasive services

Many applications and services have emerged in the frame of new Internet of Things paradigm. This novel view has opened the Web services to a variety of devices especially to tiny and resource-constrained devices. Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks belong to that kind of devices. Those networks have become one of the more promising technologies to take part in the Future Internet. However, the integration of Sensor and Actuator Networks into the Service Cloud is a hard challenge requiring specific new architectures and protocols. This paper presents a middleware approach addressing this important issue. A Knowledge-Aware and Service-Oriented Middleware (KASOM) for pervasive embedded networks is proposed. The major aim of KASOM is to offer advanced and enriched pervasive services to everyone connected to Internet. In this sense, KASOM implements mechanisms and protocols which allow managing the knowledge generated in pervasive embedded networks in order to expose it to Internet users in a readable way. General functional requirements of embedded sensor and actuator platforms have been taken into account when designing KASOM, with special attention in energy consumption, memory and bandwidth. The KASOM evaluation and validation will be demonstrated through a real Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network deployment based on integral healthcare services in a sanatorium.     

应用层组播协议的研究

由于IP组播至今没能在Internet上大规模的应用,许多研究者提出了应用层组播的新方法来实现广域的组播服务。此方法中组播功能的实现是通过终端主机而不再依靠网络中的路由器。和IP组播不一样的是,应用层组播不需要底层架构的支持并且能够在Internet上很容易的实现。该文讨论了目前四种有代表性的应用层组播协议并且给出了这些协议的性能和应用的比较。     

Platform as a service gateway for the Fog of Things

Internet of Things (IoT), one of the key research topics in recent years, together with concepts from Fog Computing, brings rapid advancements in Smart City, Monitoring Systems, industrial control, transportation and other fields. These applications require a reconfigurable sensor architecture that can span multiple scenarios, devices and use cases that allow storage, networking and computational resources to be efficiently used on the edge of the network. There are a number of platforms and gateway architectures that have been proposed to manage these components and enable application deployment. These approaches lack horizontal integration between multiple providers as well as higher order functionalities like load balancing and clustering. This is partly due to the strongly coupled nature of the deployed applications, a lack of abstraction of device communication layers as well as a lock-in for communication protocols. This limitation is a major obstacle for the development of a protocol agnostic application environment that allows for single application to be migrated and to work with multiple peripheral devices with varying protocols from different local gateways. This research looks at existing platforms and their shortcomings as well as proposes a messaging based modular gateway platform that enables clustering of gateways and the abstraction of peripheral communication protocol details. These novelties allow applications to send and receive messages regardless of their deployment location and destination device protocol, creating a more uniform development environment. Furthermore, it results in a more streamlined application development and testing while providing more efficient use of the gateway’s resources. Our evaluation of a prototype for the system shows the need for the migration of resources and the QoS advantages of such a system. The examined use case scenarios show that clustering proves to be an advantage in certain use cases as well as presenting the deployment of a larger testing and control environment through the platform.     

Requirements-driven deployment

Deployment is a main development phase which configures a software to be ready for use in a certain environment. The ultimate goal of deployment is to enable users to achieve their requirements while using the deployed software. However, requirements are not uniform and differ between deployment environments. In one environment, certain requirements could be useless or redundant, thereby making some software functionalities superfluous. In another environment, instead, some requirements could be impossible to achieve and, thus, additional functionalities would be required. We advocate that ensuring fitness between requirements and the system environment is a basic and critical step to achieve a comprehensive deployment process. We propose a tool-supported modelling and analysis approach to tailor a requirements model to each environment in which the system is to be deployed. We study the case of a contextual goal model, which is a requirements model that captures the relationship between the variability of requirements (goal variability space) and the varying states of a deployment environment (context variability space). Our analysis relies on sampling a deployment environment to discover its context variability space and use it to identify loci in the contextual goal model where a modification has to take place. Finally, we apply our approach in practice and report on the obtained results.     

一种基于路由器矢量边采样的IP追踪技术

提出了一种新型的边采样方法"路由器矢量边采样"(RVES),使得概率包标记(probability packet marking,简称PPM)设备容易实现和部署.在图论模型上,RVES以网络接口替代路由器作为顶点,以路由器"矢量边"替代传统采样边.该方法实施简单,标记概率的策略配置灵活,可以有效解决分布式拒绝服务(router's vector-edge-sampling,简称DDoS)攻击的重构问题.基于传统边采样的PPM相关技术依然适用于RVES方法.原理样机已经研制出并部署在Internet上.实验结果验证了该方法的有效性和可行性.     

A model of Internet standards adoption: the case of IPv6

Abstract. The Internet presents a unique environment in which to study adoption. This is because of its composition of autonomous entities that are otherwise strongly interrelated. Our model of Internet standards adoption (ISA) combines diffusion of innovation and economics of adoption literature to present an integrative model. This model proposes that the adoption of Internet‐based standards is dependent upon two dimensions: the usefulness of the features to the potential adopter, and the conduciveness of the environment to adoption of the standard. This model accounts for not only the traditional dichotomous view of adoption, but also includes the notion of ‘partial adoption’, where both old and new standards can coexist for extended periods of time. As a demonstration, we apply the ISA model to the next generation Internet protocol Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Despite its ostensible superiority, IPv6 has not been widely adopted. In this paper we discuss the reasons why this might be the case. Our analysis also draws wider conclusions about the adoption of Internet standards: in particular, the importance of transitional technologies between the old and new standards and the need for co‐ordinated government polices which encourage adoption. Our analysis also indicates that geopolitical boundaries may have a considerable impact on the adoption of Internet standards.     

Explaining software developer acceptance of methodologies: a comparison of five theoretical models

Many organizations attempt to deploy methodologies intended to improve software development processes. However, resistance by individual software developers against using such methodologies often obstructs their successful deployment. To better explain why individual developers accept or resist methodologies, five theoretical models of individual intentions to accept information technology tools were examined. In a field study of 128 developers in a large organization that implemented a methodology, each model explained significant variance in developers' intentions to use the methodology. Similar to findings from the tool adoption context, we found that, if a methodology is not regarded as useful by developers, its prospects for successful deployment may be severely undermined. In contrast to the typical pattern of findings in a tool context, however, we found that methodology adoption intentions are driven by: 1) the presence of an organizational mandate to use the methodology, 2) the compatibility of the methodology with how developers perform their work, and 3) the opinions of developers' coworkers and supervisors toward using the methodology. Collectively, these results provide surprising new insights into why software developers accept or resist methodologies and suggest what software engineering managers might do to overcome developer resistance.     

Smart vending machines in the era of internet of things

The aim of this paper is to propose a real-world deployment in building an Internet of Things (IoT) system for vending machines. We also introduce a new approach for mobile proximity payment for unattended point of sales. The basic idea is to have a digital representation of a vending machine on Internet and be able to order products from a smartphone in a fully contactless way, i.e. without interacting with the vending machine. Our approach guarantees that when the transaction occurs and the products are dispensed the consumer is physically close to the vending machine. Open innovation, ubiquitous connectivity and pervasive technologies are key aspects taken into consideration to build up a cost affordable solution. The ultimate goal is to minimize the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for vending operators while enhancing the consumer purchasing experience, driving up the demand for mass adoption of the “Internet of vending machines”.     

电子邮件安全扩展协议应用分析

电子邮件是黑客发起网络攻击的主要入口,其中身份仿冒是电子邮件欺诈重要手段。基于邮件身份验证机制,构建属性图以测量政府机构电子邮件安全扩展协议全球采用率。从邮件内容仿冒、域仿冒、信头仿冒 3 个维度研究安全扩展协议部署效果。结果表明,各国政府机构邮件系统中部署 SPF 协议的约占70%,部署DMARC协议的不足30%,电子邮件身份检测采用率较低。当欺诈邮件进入收件人邮箱后,邮件服务提供商针对仿冒邮件警告机制有待完善。     

Design challenges in motivating change for sustainable urban mobility

In recent years, the design and deployment of persuasive interventions for inducing sustainable urban mobility behaviors has become a very active research field, leveraging on the pervasive usage of social media and mobile apps by citizens in their daily life. Several challenges in designing and assessing motivational features for effective and long-lasting behavior change in this area have also been identified, such as the focus of most solutions on targeting and prescribing individual (versus collective) mobility choices, as well as a general lack of large-scale evaluations on the impact of these solutions on citizens’ life. This paper reports lessons learnt from three parallel and complementary user studies, where motivational features for sustainable urban mobility, including social influence strategies delivered through social media, were prototyped, tested and refined. By reflecting on our results and design experiences so far, we aim to provide better guidance for future development of more effective solutions supporting citizens’ adoption of sustainable mobility behaviors in urban settings.     

When design just isn’t enough: the unanticipated challenges of the real world for large collaborative displays

Large interactive displays for supporting workgroup collaboration comprise a growing area of ubiquitous computing research and many such systems have been designed and deployed in laboratory studies and research settings. Such displays face difficulties in real-world deployments, as they are often supplemental technologies as opposed to primary tools for work activities. In this work, we investigate the integration and uptake of the NASA MERBoards, shared interactive displays that were deployed to support science tasks in the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) missions. We examine the hurdles to adoption imposed specifically by the real-world circumstances of the deployment that were external to the design of the system, and explain how these concerns apply to the general deployment of shared ubicomp technologies in the real world.     

The evolution of transport protocols: An evolutionary game perspective

Today’s Internet is well adapted to the evolution of protocols at various network layers. Much of the intelligence of congestion control is delegated to the end users and they have a large amount of freedom in the choice of the protocols they use. In the absence of a centralized policy for a global deployment of a unique protocol to perform a given task, the Internet experiences a competitive evolution between various versions of protocols. The evolution manifests itself through the upgrading of existing protocols, abandonment of some protocols and appearance of new ones. We highlight in this paper the modeling capabilities of the evolutionary game paradigm for explaining past evolution and predicting the future one. In particular, using this paradigm we derive conditions under which (i) a successful protocol would dominate and wipe away other protocols, or (ii) various competing protocols could coexist. In the latter case we also predict the share of users that would use each of the protocols. We further use evolutionary games to propose guidelines for upgrading protocols in order to achieve desirable stability behavior of the system.     

A new framework for understanding educational digital library use: re-examining digital divides in U.S. schools

Despite their decade of deployment, educational digital libraries have not achieved sustained use in elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Barriers to accessing the Internet and computers have been widely targeted by myriad initiatives, but efforts aimed at bridging this first-level “digital divide” have not led to increased use of the Internet and digital library resources in U.S. classrooms. In fact, such programs have revealed additional divides that affect educators’ use. This paper examines the additional digital divide levels and proposes a new framework for understanding technology innovation in schools that can improve development and outreach approaches by digital library developers.     

Evaluating COTS component dependability in context

The software industry has increasingly expanded its adoption of COTS components for complex, mission-critical applications. Using COTS products can shorten development and deployment time because they let system developers focus on creating domain-specific services. Selecting the right COTS component, however, is no easy task. We present a practical process that developers can use to empirically evaluate component dependability in their context. Our approach uses the unified model of dependability, a requirements engineering approach specially devised to capture dependability in context. This model clearly specifies the measurable characteristics the component must have to be dependable in a specific context. The model then serves as a reference, providing guidance on effectively designing experiments to compare similar components and interpret collected data. The process can be applied to any specific context and COTS component. Here, we describe our comparison of the dependability of real-time Java virtual machines (RT JVM) in the spacecraft software context.     

Is IPv6 finally gaining ground?

When the Internet Engineering Task Force approved Internet protocol version 6, proponents acclaimed it as a major development. Since then, IPv6 has received support only in some areas. In Asia, for example, the profusion of smart cellular phones and PDAs has caused the demand for IP addresses to outstrip the limited supply provided by IPv4, the previous Internet protocol version. Meanwhile, equipment and OS vendors have just begun supporting IPv6, as have manufacturers of devices using wireless and embedded technologies. However, there is relatively little support for IPv6, particularly in North America, from the Internet service providers (ISPs) and network administrators who would use the protocol and thus are key to its success. The paper considers how IPv6's current adoption status is a study in contrast between initial vendor support and a lack of deployment by ISPs and network administrators     

电信级业务平台云化研究和部署

本文通过阐述中国电信横向业务网络目标构架演进,进一步实现管理集中、统一开放、资源共享,持续打造聚合、高效、开放的横向业务网络目标架构。通过云计算资源规模部署,提升业务平台集约部署的能力,也提高了业务部署的效率,可以满足移动互联网、行业应用等各类应用的快速部署需求,实现对用户市场需求的快速支撑。