Networks and Performance Engineering

Performance is one of the most important aspects that must be taken into consideration during the evolutionary design and development of new networking architectures and associated protocols. The PERFORM research group conducts advanced research towards the creation of novel analytical techniques and related algorithms for the performance modelling, evaluation and engineering of convergent multi-service networks of diverse technology, such as IP, ATM, MPLS, WLAN, all-optical networks, GSM, GPRS, UMTS & 4G mobile systems and the next generation Internet (NGI).

The PERFORM research group pioneers novel cost-effective methodologies for the quantitative analysis and optimisation of general queueing network models (QNMs) of heterogeneous networks with finite capacity and thus, blocking. The work is based on the information theoretic principles of maximum entropy and minimum relative entropy, queueing and graph theoretic concepts, discrete-event simulation, advanced numerical methods and batch-renewal processes for modelling and characterising bursty and self-similar / correlated traffic flows. The group is a member of the European (EU) Networks of Excellence (NoE) "Euro-NGI" and “Euro-FGI” focusing, respectively, on the design and dimensioning of the next and future generation Internets. It is also a research partner of the EU IST consortium VITAL concerning with the design and development of the next generation networks technology enabling convergence of IP multimedia services. Research students of the group are supported via a research budget of mobility grants for their participation to NoE events such as workshops, short PhD courses and summer schools.

Joint research activities of the PERFORM research group, in collaboration and research integration with academic and industrial NoE partners, focus on queueing networks, analytical techniques and performance modelling applications for heterogeneous networks. These include:

Theoretical investigations into

• Traffic modelling, characterisation and engineering of Internet traffic.
• Mechanisms for controlled network bandwidth sharing.
• Modelling, queueing theory and analysis of arbitrary QNMs with blocking.
• Information theoretic schemes for mobility management
• Network security, flow and congestion control mechanisms.
• End-to-end network quality-of-service (QoS).
• Network routing algorithms and graph theoretic concepts.
• Broadcasting and multicasting schemes.
• Software performance engineering.

Applications into the performance modelling and optimisation of

• Sensor networks.
• Ad-hoc wireless networks.
• 3G, 4G and beyond wireless cell architectures.
• All optical networks.
• Overlay networks.
• Parallel & distributed systems.

Moreover, in the context of the spreading of research excellence, the PERFORM research group stages every year, under the auspices of the NoE,

• HET-NETs, an International Working Conference focusing on the ‘Performance Modelling and Evaluation of Heterogeneous Networks’ (Craiglands Hotel, Ilkley, UK).
• PERFORM-QNMs, a short PhD Course, available to research students in EU and worldwide, dealing with ‘Performance Engineering and Queueing Network Models’ (University of Bradford, UK).