CAREER: Improving Network Operations with a View from the Edge

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

CAREER: Improving Network Operations with a View From the Edge -------------------------------------------------------------- The Kaleidoscope project is developing techniques, tools, and systems to facilitate network operations---a class of tasks that includes monitoring network conditions, detecting actionable problems, and taking steps to remediate them. We focus on two areas of network operations: (1) network security (specifically, unwanted traffic) and (2) network monitoring, diagnosis, and troubleshooting. The results from this project will both streamline today's network operations tasks and provide design insights for network operations in the next-generation Internet. Kaleidoscope specifically focuses on improvements to network operations that rely on cooperation between users (or edge networks) and operators. Users and operators have common goals but, more importantly, they have complementary perspectives. Operators typically have broad views of network traffic but have little fine-grained information about compromised hosts or end-to-end performance. End users possess fine-grained security and performance information, but they have neither visibility the into network internals (e.g., configuration) nor a comprehensive perspective of network conditions. The first part of the project involves performing measurements and analysis on the current Internet to better understand both the extent of network operations problems today and the degree to which cooperation between users and operators can mitigate them. Based on these findings, the project will propose new approaches to network operations both for the current Internet and for future networks. This research leverages recent advances in streaming data management, machine learning, economics, and privacy and may inspire new work in these areas, as well.