User-Centric Quality of Service in Next Generation SD-WAN

基于意图的网络技术(IBN)在软件定义网络中的出现，为网络管理员通过抽象命令(如命令)部署新的服务和网络功能提供了可能。配置协议xx)或高级脚本语言，并且网络协调层将把这些意图转换成设备级动作。然而，到目前为止，这种新的灵活性仅限于基本的网络协议和管理配置。下一代软件定义广域网(SD-WAN)有望将这种灵活性带到一种全新的范式，其中特定的网络服务以特定的最终用户质量期望(性能、可靠性、安全性等)来定义，例如《以卓越的品质为澳大利亚N家客户部署视频流》，其中通过关键绩效指标以及用户满意度来定义卓越。基于意向的SD-广域网不仅配置和部署这些服务，还监控质量要求，并动态和主动地调整网络资源，以维持质量水平。该研究计划的目标是特别关注有关定义和维护SDWAN服务的体验质量(QOE)的挑战，并设计解决方案来应对这些挑战。支持QOE的SDWAN服务的设计将包括三个维度：网络、管理员和用户体验。需要解决的挑战包括：动态资源分配、跨异类(可能是虚拟的或基于云的)网络基础设施的数据传输、服务可靠性、将服务级别意图转换为可能影响服务质量的一组网络服务参数，以及新的和更复杂的服务级别协议等。为了便于引入服务或更改现有服务，必须设计基于意图的协调层并将其映射到网络参数。此抽象层必须集成路由和安全策略，并自动创建和安装网络服务。同样从用户的角度来看，用户反馈机制必须集成到这一层中，以允许在体验质量恶化的情况下调整网络服务路径的实时质量测量。这项研究计划将试图调查和解决与下一代网络服务、架构和协议设计相关的上述问题。它还将有助于培训加拿大通信和网络领域的下一代研究人员，这一领域几十年来一直是特别需要的；并为他们提供在学术和工业研究中与该领域最相关的技能集。

The emergence of Intent-based Networking (IBN) in Software-Defined Networks has promised the realization of  "programmable" networks in which the network administrators are able to deploy new services and network functions through abstract commands (e.g. "Configure protocol xx") or high-level scripting languages, and a network orchestration layer would translate such intents into device-level actions. However so far this new degree of flexibility has been limited to basic network protocol and management configuration. The next generation Software-Defined  Wide-Area networks (SD-WAN) is expected to take this flexibility to a whole new paradigm, where specific network services are defined with specific end-user quality expectation (performance, reliability, security etc), e.g. "Deploy a video stream for N customers in Australia with Excellent quality", in which the excellence is defined through key performance indicators as well as user satisfaction ratios. The Intent-based SD-WAN not only configures and deploys these services, but also monitors the quality requirements, and dynamically and proactively adjusts network resources to maintain the quality level. The objective of this research program is to focus particularly on challenges regarding the definition and maintenance of Quality of Experience (QoE) for SDWAN services, and to design solutions to address these challenges. The design of QoE-aware SDWAN service will include three dimensions: The network, the administrator, and the user Experience. Challenges to address include: dynamic resource allocation,  transport across heterogeneous (and possibly virtualized or cloud-based) network infrastructures, service reliability, translation of service-level intents into the set of network parameters that could potentially affect quality of service, and new and more complex service-level agreements, among others. In order to facilitate service introduction or change to existing services, an intent-based orchestration layer must be designed and mapped to network parameters. This abstraction layer must integrate routing and security policies and automate the creation and installation of network services. Also from a user perspective, user feedback mechanisms must be integrated into this layer to allow real-time quality measurements for adjustment of network service paths in case the quality of experience deteriorate. This research program will attempt to investigate and address the above issues as related to the design of next generation network services, architectures and protocols. It will also  contribute to the training of the next generation of researchers in the field of communication and networking in Canada, which remains particularly in demand for decades; and providing them with the skill set that is most relevant to this field in both academic and industrial research.