Management in Active Networks

1
Management in Active Networks

• Mike Fisher
• Research
• BTexaCT

ANDROID BT Compaq Thomson-Detexis NTUA secunet UCL
UPM MediaSec
2
Introduction

• Problems in existing networks
• Active networks and services
• Active node architecture
• Requirements for management
• Active Management

3
Evolution of the Internet

• Demand for new services/ customisation
• Infrastructure cant keep pace with service
  explosion
• Multimedia
• need for QoS, correlated flows, multipoint
• Control of end-to-end service performance
• Flexible infrastructure and adaptable management

4
Multi-owner Network
Public Network
Administrator 3
Administrator 2
Administrator 1
5
Active vs. conventional

• Computation in the network, not just routing
• Users can introduce programs
• delegate control and responsibility
• Improved utility
• Improved resilience to change
• Greatly improved flexibility
• . but increased risks from sharing control

6
IEEE P1520 reference model
7
Where to put the activity?

• Router kernel (active network)
• potentially high performance
• hard to manage and make secure
• contaminates fast path
• Application layer (active service)
• lower performance
• high flexibility
• evolution straightforward

8
Active Node Architecture
9
Outstanding issues

• Active network topology
• Protocols between active nodes and programs
• Management of a dynamic platform with shared
  control
• Dynamic resource discovery
• Interworking
• Impact of active networking on normal traffic

10
Management requirements

• Minimise operator intervention
• Enable flexible addition of features
• Support diverse information models
• Use high-level policy-based interfaces
• Distribute and delegate

11
Active Management System

• Dynamically introduce
• new policy sets and events
• new mechanisms for policy/event storage and
  retrieval
• new algorithms for policy decisions and
  enforcement
• Information distribution using XML
• extensible
• ubiquitous
• basis for interworking
• events, policies, metadata

12
Extensible Management by Policy
13
Conclusions

• Flexibility in services demands an active
  approach
• Active services ? active networking
• balance between performance and safety
• Policy-based active management required
• Interworking
• XML for management information syntax