The group currently addresses link layer protocols, services and security and data collection and traffic analysis. This multidisciplinary environment allows us addressing cross-layer and advanced architectural research issues. We are committed to theoretical as well as practical research and hence we embrace collaboration with industry.
Our research aims is to contribute in making broadband a universal service and to increase the use of information services in the society reducing the digital divide. This translates to targeting very low cost network technology for broadband deployments and technologies very simple to manage, and use.
The networking research is currently focusing on broadband access technologies and services with the aim of increasing functionality and capabilities at the access level (and levels below) so that service providers can deploy broadband access and enable triple-play services with layer 2 equipment at very low cost with simple management. We are also concerned on the user and access device perspective, and hence our framework also includes home networking, personal area networks and other access applications in addition to the connectivity of all types of devices such as digital TVs, sensor networks, RFID tags to mention some examples. Having this as a major research framework, we also address additional related goals.
Our major interdisciplinary and architecture goals are:
- Enabling network operators to deploy low-cost simple to manage broadband and triple-play services to the home. The current direction is towards the design of the network capabilities to reduce the equipment operation at layer 2 and avoid as much as possible higher layer interaction and expertise.
- Integrated link layer service architecture for access technologies including quality of service, security and management.
- Enabling seemless and integrated communication in heterogeneous networks, including but not limited to the convergence and integration of wireline-wireless-cellular technologies. The integration is not only a service integration towards offering a single interface to the user but also a technology integration with reduced cost and complexity and simplified management and operations.
- Understanding user, protocols and technology behavior to characterize current needs and infer the trends of the future ones so that to improve network and systems design.
- Improving the limits of media communications increasing reach, capacity and control of synchronization, and lowering the power consumption.
Our current research activities include:
- Analysis (and collection) of residential traffic in real access networks
- Media access control protocols for emerging access technologies.
- Quality of service at link layer and generalization to end-to-end QoS.
- Secure network access architectures and authentication mechanisms.
- Link layer switching and internetworking protocols with a degree of QoS and security guarantees in heterogeneous networks.
- Low cost synchronization at physical and link layer.
As part of industry collaboration and leadership we have largely contributed in standardization efforts in the past and we are interested in continuing contributing as it seems appropriate.
If you would like to know more about our activities please contact us. We are a growing research group welcoming outstanding and motivated researchers and students at all levels to join us.