Rémi Badonnel

Summary
Student:	Rémi Badonnel
Title:	Management of Ad-Hoc Networks and Services
e-mail:	badonnel@loria.fr
Affiliation:	INRIA
Supervisor:	Radu State and André Schaff
Committee:
Start:	2003
End:	2007
Funding:	LORIA – INRIA Lorraine

Biography

PhD project description

This thesis addresses the issue of managing ad-hoc networks and their services. The management of these emerging networks cannot be efficiently achieved with existing management approaches for two major reasons. The ad-hoc network is spontaneously deployed from a set of mobile devices without requiring any fixed network infrastructure, so that the network topology may have an extremely high rate of change. Moreover, the network is self-maintained by devices that usually operate under many constraints such as limited battery power, restricted bandwidth and low system capacity.

We therefore propose a new management approach for ad-hoc networks capable to satisfy the multiple requirements in terms of integration, flexibility and low cost. This approach is organized into three main axes: (1) designing a management information model for ad-hoc networks, (2) reorganizing the management plane in a flexible manner based on a probabilistic scheme and (3) adapting the management operations to ad-hoc specifics based on analytical methods such as eigenvector centrality and k-means classification techniques. These management methods are evaluated through an extensive set of simulations and through the implementation prototype of a monitoring platform.

The first research issue I solved addressed the identification of the management information required for ad-hoc networks. The information model proposed by current management approaches is very insufficiently specified to support these dynamic networks. We therefore designed a complete information model capable to represent management data for the spatial, temporal and traffic aspects of ad-hoc networks. Thus, the accurate and comprehensive representation of parameters which drive the evolution of these networks, is made possible. We completely defined this information model in an homogeneous manner by extending the DMTF common information model (CIM). We also included an extension for managing the OLSR standardized ad-hoc routing protocol , similar to the existing extensions for routing protocols such as OSPF in traditional networks.

The second challenging issue consisted in designing the supporting management architecture. A pure management approach where all the nodes are managed at any time is too strict for ad-hoc networks. Instead of addressing the management of the whole network, we proposed at IEEE NOMS'06 a probabilistic scheme, with which the management task is limited to a specific subset of nodes in a light-weight and flexible way. With respect to such a selective management scheme, we detailed an algorithmic method to automatically assign manager roles to well-connected and network participating nodes. Probabilistic guarantees on the percentage of nodes to be managed were derived based on extensive set of simulations. We brought the benefits of our probabilistic scheme to the ANMP management architecture by designing a clustering extension at the application layer and by exploiting already available information provided by the underlying routing protocol.

The third research issue focused on adapting the management operations to ad-hoc network specifics. Our research work aimed at making them more robust to network mobility and less costly in resources. We defined at IEEE IM'05 a performance management method based on contrast filtering and graph dependency analysis. We also proposed at IFIP Networking'06 a fault management technique using information theory concepts. We experimented these management methods by simulation and implementation of a proof-of-concept prototype. These methods succeeded in evaluating the operational state of the ad-hoc network and to efficiently identify nodes that are particular with respect to presence, position and traffic in the network. This particularity can be positive (for instance, nodes that do important routing and constitute the equivalent of traffic highways in ad-hoc networks) or negative (for instance nodes that flood the network, without providing a minimum of service to it).

My long-term plans are to further investigate new methodologies and techniques to develop flexible, self-configurable and robust management systems capable to adapt to ever-changing environments.

Keywords: Network and Service Management, Ad-Hoc Networks, Information Model, Management Architecture, Performance Monitoring, Fault Detection

References

1. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Schaff A., A Framework for Optimizing End-to-End Connectivity Degree in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, Journal of Network and Systems Management (JNSM), Volume 13, Number 4, Springer Verlag / Plenum Publishing Corporation, December 2005
2. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Management of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks: Information Model and Probe-based Architecture, ACM International Journal of Network Management (ACM IJNM), Volume 15, Number 5, September 2005
3. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Self-Organized Monitoring in Ad-Hoc Networks, Telecommunication Systems, Volume 30, Number 1, Springer Verlag, November 2005
4. Badonnel R., State R., and Festor O. A Probabilistic Approach for Managing Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, July 2007
5. Badonnel, State R., Festor O. A Self-Configuring Fault Monitoring Ad-Hoc Networks, Elsevier Ad Hoc Networks, 2007
6. Badonnel R. and R. State, Festor O. Handbook on Network and System Administration, Chapter Management of Ad-Hoc Networks, Elsevier, to be published in November 2007
7. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Probabilistic Management of Ad-Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the 10th IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS'06), Vancouver, Canada, April 2006, Best Student Paper Award
8. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Fault Monitoring in Ad-Hoc Networks Based on Information Theory, Proceedings of the 5th International IFIP-TC6 Networking Conference (NETWORKING'06), Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3976, Coimbra, Portugal, May 2006, Acceptance Rate: 20.4%
9. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Management of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks: Evaluating the Network Behavior, Proceedings of the 9th IEEE/IFIP International Symposium on Integrated Network Management (IM'05), Nice, France, May 2005, Acceptance Rate: 23.5%
10. Badonnel R., State R., Festor O., Monitoring End-to-End Connectivity in Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Networking (ICN'05), Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3421, Springer Verlag, France, April 2005

Additional information

This thesis was defended by December 2006.The manuscript can be found in [1]

External links

• [_URL_ Homepage] of Rémi Badonnel
• Publications of Rémi Badonnel, as indexed by DBLP