ITU Workshop on
“Service Delivery Platforms (SDP) for Telecommunication
Ecosystems: from today’s realities to requirements and
challenges of the future”
(Geneva, Switzerland, 17 October 2011 )
Future platform technologies and
architectures
Roberto Minerva,
Manager of IC Scenarios
Telecom Italia – Future Centre
Agenda
•
A New Context for Telecomms
•
•
The Rising Importance of Data
•
•
•
Many paradoxes …
IoT and Data
Personal Data = Data + Identity
Deriving some requirements for Operators’ Platforms
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
A New Context for Telecomms
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Towards 2020: the future of
networks
•
•
•
Fiber reaches a large part of homes and enterprises, it
guarantees:
•
Services strongly related to users and their social relationships
•
Identity Management and their association to Biometric techniques
–
Unlimited bandwidth
•
Different roles and identities per user
–
Low cost per bit
•
Diminishing role of SIMs
–
Everywhere connectivity
–
flat rate also for mobile
•
Fundamental Role of Terminals
•
Abundance of Storage (1TB in the terminal, toward infinite in the
network?)
User is ABC (Always Best Connected)
–
Transparent Connectivity (user always connected at the lower prices
and best bandwidth)
•
High processing Capabilities in the terminals (context controlled locally
by the terminal)
–
Strong Integration (at the terminal level) between mobile and fixed
networks
•
Capability to interoperate will be embedded in terminals and will be
downloadable OTA
–
Cognitive Radio (terminals adapt to the available networks)
•
–
Rapid change of Providers
–
Dynamic Business Models
Software embedded in the terminal makes the device more a personal
service platform than a product. They will be personalized according to the
specific user needs
–
Users connected to smaller, more efficient and cheaper cell
Importance of Data
–
Seamless access to personal data
–
Capability to dynamically create, aggregate and update personal
data
–
New data type and data sets
–
Integration between real and virtual related data
–
User controlled access to data
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
•
Pervasive Communication
•
Ubiquitous connectivity
•
Broad classes of communicating objects (smart object, beacons, smart
materials, sensors, micromachinery, ...)
•
Explosion of Augmented Reality and Internet of Things applications
Connectivity is a commodity
Terminals are flexible and personal service platforms
Data center larger and larger
Difference on Services
WebCos work on DATA
Telecoms work on BITS
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Two Operators Problems
Revenue
€
Cut Costs
Optimize
LEAN OPERATOR
New
Services
New
Revenue
Streams
SMART
OPERATOR
Bit Pipe
t
2015
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Two approaches
Lean Operator
• Networks will become highly
dynamic Complex Systems made
out of many heterogeneous
networks, systems and
intelligent endpoints
• Complexity will result in:
•
•
•
Costly infrastructure difficult to install, manage and
integrate
Lack of optimization of usage of resources
Lack of knowledge of the “network" as a whole and
how it is globally and locally behaving in supporting
customers requests
0-Touch Networks
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Smart Operator
• Decoupling Services
from the Network
•
•
Global reach independent of the
access network;
mashup of local and global resources
(Net of Nets)
• Provide Global Services
•
•
the long tail is much bigger
because the marginal costs of a global
solution are smaller (Skype: the costs
for building a global software are
marginal)
De-perimeterization of
Services 
a Network Operating System
New Classes of Services
Internet of Things
Smart
Operator
Extended Reality
Social Media
e-Government
Data … (what’ s this?)
Lean
Operator
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Always Best
Connected (ABC)
Evolution of VPNs
Building a Data Path for Operators
•
•
Exploit data related opportunities
Move from Bits to Management of
Information
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
The network itself is a
source of Information
Mining the Operators Gold Mines
•
•
•
Personal Data allow for Profiling the User
•
CDR data
•
Location Related info
•
Usage of Internet Connectivity
•
IPTV usage
•
...
Statistical Data (related to more than one user)
•
Usage of Network Resources
•
Location Information and mobs movement
•
...
Technologies
•
Data Mining
•
Reasoning
•
Derive Data from Uncertainty
•
Neutralization
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http://www.seshat.ch/home/geom06.htm
Internet of Things
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Objects, Terminals, Networks as
Personal Info Producers
Intelligent Terminals
Smart Objects
NFC,
Wifi,
UWB,
BT,
…
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
3G, 4G,
other
public
nets,
…
How Many Nodes, How Many
Messages, How Much Bandwidth ?
Issue: low average traffic, but highly
impulsive traffic
(e.g., SPIKES: all objects wake up at 3
a.m. and send high priority messages)
Likely the communications
between nodes will be
framed into B2B2C
relationships
Many objects/nodes will
come with communications
already paid for (I.e.,
embedded
communications)
10 M Aggregators
Message size: 10 kB
52,56
50
Millions GB/Year
Operators should try to be
Aggregators by providing
real-time messaging
engines (e.g., based on
PubSub), by creating
communities, and by
supporting the deployment
of the infrastructure (at
home and in the public
domain)
60
36,50
Equivalent Volume
as the one
generated by 20 M
users (3 min phone
call per day)
40
30
20
10
0
0,11
13
0,37
210
21,90
3,65
100
3
600
4
Message / Day
1000
5
1440
6
Where is the Value then ?
Knowledge
Information
Data
• Relationships
• Inference
• Aggregation
• Personalization
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
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Some Issues with networked data
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A “user-centric personal data eco-system” (WEForum)
Volunteered data: created and explicitly shared by individuals
Observed data: captured by recording the actions of individuals
Inferred data: based on analysis of volunteered or observed information;
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Personal Data
should be properly
managed
Excerpt form: “Personal Data - The Emergence of a New Asset Class” (WEF)
Source: Bain & Company
A First Issue: proper Management of Personal Data
•
But what is the Value of Personal
Data?
The value of the single datum depends on the usage context:
•
•
•
Time reference: V(CreditCard, today)>> V(CreditCard, 4years ago)
The value of the Person in the usage context:
•
•
The kind of collected datum: V(CreditCard) >
V(SocialSecurityNumber)
Importance of the person V(CreditCard, SB) >> V(CreditCard, RM)
The linkage of the datum
•
The connection of the datum and the person:
•
•
•
How many data can be connected to the datum (es.: FoaF)
Is the datum owner well connected (a Hub kind of person)
V(a) > V(b)
How much data
(derived from http://www.thoughtfarmer.com/blog/2009/04/27/intranet-roi/)
•
Metcalfe’s Law: n(n-1)/2
•
Reed’s Law: 2n – n-1
•
Briscoe, Odlyzko, and Tilly Law: n log (n)
•
Beckstrom Law: V = ΣB – ΣC
Identity of Things
• Things can collect user related actions and data
• Each Thing can be used for tracking Users
• Owners of Things can collect a lot of data
•
Each Resource is
addressable
•
Each resource is
CONNECTED
– Connectivity must
be guaranteed in a
variety of
environments
– Secure Links have
to be guaranteed
•
Each Resource can be
associated to a User
(Identity)
• Who owns these
relations :UserId Location ResourceId - data
used/generated ?
Dealing with Data: Data Anonimization,
Contracts and Contextualization
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Nodes will connect each other in
unpredictable ways
•
Aggregation 2
Aggregation 3
2
1
Aggregation 1
•
Increasing richness and
complexity at the edge of
(Operators’) networks
3
Node Aggregation at time t1
3
•
Many Objects scattered in the
env (with local communication)
Some Aggregators gathering
and dispatching information
Networks to cross
Network
1
Aggregation 2
Aggregation 1
Node Aggregation at time t2
2
http://muxware.net/sol_mesh.php
A Second Issue: Complexity is moving
to the edge
•
Functionalities and data generation/consumption and storage in the edge
•
•
•
Networks will comprise smart objects and processing, storage, communication
resources
Data and Info will be the user target and not mere connectivity
Complexity coalesces at the edges (more nodes and more capabilities)
•
While big networks are flattening and becoming simpler (less nodes)
•
Local aggregation vs. average coverage
•
Aggregation of intelligent points will be mainly unpredictable and even if high average
connectivity capabilities will be provided, such a dynamic concentration will challenge
the networks capabilities
•
•
•
Competition for scarce resources for a limited period of time
Terminals will have a key role
•
Terminals as an integral part of the communication environment
•
Mobility will be assumed for the majority of terminals
Need to control new complex systems without human intervention
•
The Operator's network needs to support and help in this new context
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Dealing with Complexity at the edge:
Self-Organization of Networks
Management of complex and
dynamic “Network s of
Networks” will be critical
• No human intervention
possible
• Competition on resources
Require
• Self-organization
• Game theory techniques
for highly distributed
systems
http://innovation.gsa.gov/blogs/OCIO.nsf/dx/ManagementInnovators-Bookshelf-Small-Pieces-Loosely-Joined-A-UnifiedTheory-of-the-Web-by-David-Weinberger-2002
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
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A Tussle: Future Internet and Identity
•
There is a need for an Identity Layer in the Future Internet
•
•
•
•
For freeing people from Identity Providers
•
•
•
•
People have the right to exist independently from a provider
People are the owners of their identity (and names),
homonymies should be managed in a far way (way just one
Mario Rossi when there are plenty …)
Open framework
•
•
For identify people
For identify things
To relate things, people and places
Many options, and, in certain circumstances, support for
Certification by a provider (a bank), the government, others
Need for a lot of standardization and discussion
Need to safeguard and protect the ownership of data
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
A Bit of Technology
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Current Paradigms are not future
proof
Control Layer
Network Intelligence (e.g.,
IMS) is a hierarchical
model based on the
assumption that control
has to be exerted by a few
specialized control nodes
Resources
Physical Layer
Client – Server model totally
disregards the network aspects
and can easily lead to a
tragedy of commons (misuse
of common networking
resources)
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Client
network
Server
Ossification of Internet and
Perspective for the Future Internet
•
•
•
•
•
•
Security. Currently it is tackled as an issue at the edge, while the
network(s) could contribute to relieve some issues (e.g., DDOS)
Mobility, the current Internet has not been designed for an optimal
management of mobility, the Future Internet has to deal with a multitude
of highly mobile objects (mobility built in)
Network Identity, Users are not recognized and managed in the
network, they are managed only at the edges (specific servers or
applications)
Integration of Applications and Transport/Control Layers. Currently
there are not consolidated interfaces that allow for a better cooperation
between the Network and the Apps. Many applications do not use
resources properly (e.g., p2p applications do retrieve data from far away
hosts)
Edges are becoming themselves Networks. There is the need to
understand and manage the dynamics around Networks of Networks: i.e.,
complex systems that impulsively request resources and use them while
these resources have been designed to support statistically determined
needs
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Focus on data and info and not on transport of bits
Enabling technologies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
autonomic capabilities and bio-inspired algorithms (e.g., gossiping,
self-organization algorithms), to deal with complexity;
(self-organized) P2P overlays for clustering components, to
guarantee scalability, reliability, and abstraction from underlying network;
resources virtualization, based on abstraction for coping with
heterogeneity and on the definition of dynamic slices for multiple
allocations;
programmable “intelligent” mechanisms, e.g., based on auctions,
game theory, etc., for optimized resource allocation and use;
cognitive cross layering, to allow the network to perceive conditions,
decide and act autonomically to reach local/global/end-to-end goals in an
optimal way, in cooperation with autonomic and self-organizing behavior
of resources;
grid Computing to better integrate different resources (computing
storage and network and to integrate new ones (sensors., actuators,
micromachinery, ...)
Information centric networking to better collect and use the needed
wanted data information
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
New Control Patterns: Publish –
Subscribe Model
Google code: PubSUb Hubbub
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
New Control Patterns that
exceed the client-server
and the “network
intelligence” models
• Transaction oriented
processing
• PubSub
Information Centric Networking
http://www.xerox.com/innovation/news-stories/networking/enus.html
http://www.4ward-project.eu/index.php?id=29
4ward project: in this paradigm, the
communication abstraction presented
to applications is based on transfer of
application data objects instead of
the end-to-end reliable byte-stream
used by the majority of applications
today.
Content Centric Networking
A Self-Organizing Network That Meets Information
Needs
What Is It?
A new approach to networking that enables networks to
self-organize and push relevant content where needed.
Content-centric networking enables communication to
happen anywhere, anytime, and with any device - using
any available means.
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
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What Role and Architecture for
Operators ?
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
TELECOM ITALIA
A New Layering
Intelligence:
Customer & Context Awareness
Service Platforms
Overlay Networks
Autonomic Behavior
Resources Virtualization
Infrastructure:
Fibre everywhere
Wireless Drop termination
MultiTera in the Core
Gbps in wired access, 10Mbps
wireless
Flat Architecture, IPv6 on the
core optical layer
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Resources Pooling from several
Ownership Domains
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TELECOM ITALIA
Operator’s Strategies
★ Service Provider
★ Service Enabler
★ BIT Carrier
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The Network Architecture is influenced by the Operator’s Strategy
Choose Your Role and
Your Network
• Transport the data
Bit Carrier
Be good to transport lots of bits
•in the better way for the customer
• Helping Customer in
retrieving INFORMATION
• Ease the work of finding
data and information,
linking them into
something meaningful and
manage them
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Platform Provider
Build a Data oriented Platform
(new networking + data
handling) for others to use
Service Provider
Transform Data into
Information and create plenty
of services by means of
meaningful interfaces
TELECOM ITALIA
A Bit Carrier
Network
Monitorin
g
Mobility
Addressin
g
Identity
QoS / Policy
Functions
Focus on
TRANSPORT
Few basic
SERVICES
AAA
Subscriber
Mngmt
Billing
Generalized Control Plane
Residential
Layer 3 / IP
Business
Control Platf.
BASIC
eNB
Content
Provider
Switch
Layer 2 Carrier Transport
Fiber
Metro DWDM
IX
Core DWDM
IP Carrier
Subscriber
Access
Aggregation
Edge
Core
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R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
TELECOM ITALIA
Service Enabler’s
Network (a Network Operating System)
High Value Funct.
by the NETWORK
•
Information Centric
NETWORK
Abstraction
•
Platform APIs
System APIs
Virtualized Resource Control Plane (Network OS)
• Beyond the
CLIENT-SERVER
model
• Customised levels
of API
MOBILIT
Y
Addressi
Storage
ng processin
AAA
...
g
Existing functions
New functions
Layer 3 / IP
Legacy
...
Meta dati
Negotiation/Bid
Allocation/ Integration
Data Center
IT/BSS/OSS
Fast
Switching
Core
• Control functions
in the NETWORK
Information-centric Edge
• New Communic. Models
PUB-SUBSCRIBE
eNB
Switch
Layer 2 Carrier Transport
Fiber
• Integration with other
NETWORKS and
TERMINALS
Subscriber
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Access
External
Clouds
Metro DWDM
Aggregation
Core DWDM
Edge
Core
New Networking
Models beyond IP
towards
Information
Centric
Networking
Content
Provider
IX
IP Carrier
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How The Network Could Look Like
Telecom Services
Third Party Servics
Virtual
Env.ss
Retail
Evolution
Service
Provider
Future of
Energy
Future
Learning
Enterprise
Processes
Other
Service
EcoSystems
Ecosystem of Services
Service
Enabler
Overlays of autonomic virtualized components and
Data
Other
Plarforms
Virtualization Layer
Customer
Owned and
Shared:
Terminals/
PCs/gateways/
sensors/
Wifi /
…
General Control and Management (Zero Touch)
IP Platform
ACCESS
Wireless
Optical Platform
Fixed (Fiber)
Aggregation
Bit Carrier
Edge
Customer
owned:
Networks/
NASes /
Routers /
…
Customer
owned:
Data Centers/
Servers /
IT Resources /
…
Core
Shared and virtualized device/reource
Simple Devices/Networks
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
Other resources
Complex Devices/Networks
Other
Resources
(not shared)
My 2 ¢ suggestions
What T.I. is doing
•
•
•
•
•
Working on alternative
models for dealing with
personal data
Working on a Network OS
with open APIs
Working on zero-touch
networks (e.g., AFI)
Working on ICN (European
projects)
Working on a new view of
Identity
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
What should be done
•
•
•
•
Future Internet will be dominated by
Tussles: looking at networks and
architecture with more user flavor
(involving more user associations ?)
Propose an open framework for
Identity and related issues (profiling,
data ownership,…)
Push for a shift from bits to data and
ICN
A Great Initiative for User
Controlled Network of Networks
and Data ?
Thank you!
Roberto Minerva
TORINO - Italy
Phone: +39 011 228 7027
Email: roberto.minerva@telecomitalia.com
R. Minerva, Telecom Italia / Future Centre
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