Our researches aim at designing protocols and architectures for next generation networks. This means considering current constraints related to such networks: quality of service (QoS) and security in heterogeneous networks, especially including wireless and mobile networks. In such context, the goal of our researches deals with designing new adaptability mechanisms to dynamic environments, and which completely hides the different network technologies encountered on the communication paths. The network would be ubiquitous and seamless. The ultimate goal is to make the network autonomic.

Methods for reaching this goal rely on the development of new architectures, model oriented design, validation and performance evaluation techniques. For this purpose, talents rely on the use of simulation, emulation as well as network monitoring and measurement techniques and tools. In addition, a big effort is provided for creating experimentation platforms for testing our proposals.

A large effort is made for the development of platforms of experimentation (in particular Laasnetexp and GdX ). These platforms enable us to implement, and, thanks to experimentations, to validate and evaluate the suggested solutions.

Main research topics deal with:

• Access networks architectures which are more en more numerous and different, more and more often wireless and mobile: Wireless local area networks (WLAN), satellite networks, sensor networks.
• Networks and services integration architectures, based on the use of the network virtualization concept, and signaling in virtual networks.
• End to end dynamic and self-adaptative communication architectures, i.e. able to adapt to the current dynamic environment.
• To security, and more specifically traffic anomalies detection. The goal is to avoid QoS to be degraded when denial of service (DoS) attacks arise.
• To experimental evaluation techniques and tools relying on emulating realistic networks and traffic, and on the monitoring and measurement of networks, their traffic and their services.

This work is supported by contractual projects. For more information on these research topics, projects or publications, refer to:

• Projects
• Achievements
• LaasNetExp experimental platform