Dynamic and Automatic Interconnection of Ambient Networks supporting Mobility and Multihoming (original) (raw)

The past and, almost, the current scenario in (mobile) communication networks is characterized by multiple networking technologies deployed independently and targetting different services, data rates, and users. Cooperation between these networks is still (almost) impossible, and when possible it does not happen in a plug and play way. On the way to next generation networks, solutions providing support for roaming between cellular and Wi-Fi networks are already available. Nevertheless, the success of future communication networks mostly depends on the full integration of these multiple networks, and new solutions need to be specified. Furthermore, in future networks new communication paradigms will come up: technology embedded in the user surrounding environment and users owning small moving networks (e.g., Personal Area Networks), instead of multiple terminals working independently, as it happens today. In this context, autoconfiguration and self-management become crucial requirements. In the past, multiple autoconfiguration mechanisms, namely for IP networks, were deployed targeting specific applications. However, in order to deal with future very dynamic scenarios the integration of these mechanism and deployement of new solutions are needed, so that dynamic autoconfiguration and self-management of devices and networks becomes possible. The main topic of this PhD is autoconfiguration in 4G networks. We are searching for a generic autoconfiguration solution addressing the new communication environments described above; the new solution should enable dynamic and automatic interconnection of networks, and integrate existing and upcoming autoconfiguration frameworks. In spite of concentrating on the autoconfiguration issues, this PhD considers mobility, multihoming, and security as well, since they are also important features in 4G networking. During the first year of a PhD, four major goals are expected to be met by the PhD student: a deep study of the state of the art concerning the selected research topic(s), the formulation of the problem statement, the proposal of a preliminary solution to solve the identified problem, and the work plan for the next years. In this sense, this document provides a detailed analysis of the state of the art concerning the research topics of this PhD, defines the problem statement and describes the preliminary solution, and presents the detailed work plan for the next year.