Presentation

Team presentation

The main objectives of the team-project are the identification, the design and the selection of the most appropriate network architectures of a communication service, as well as the development of computing and mathematical tools for the fulfillment of these tasks. These objectives lead to two types of complementary research fields: the systems’ qualitative aspects (e.g. protocols’ test) and the quantitative aspects which are essential to the correct dimensioning of these architectures and the associated services (performance, dependability, Quality of Service, Quality of Experience).

Research themes

  • We are interested in problems related to the evaluation of complex communication systems using analytical, numerical and Monte Carlo techniques, for dependability and performance evaluation. On the simulation side, our activities focus on developing new Monte Carlo techniques, and on the analysis of the main properties of these methods. We are also active in the Quasi-Monte Carlo area. Concerning the analytical and numerical evaluation of Markovian systems, we work on the analysis of (very) large models, on transient analysis of these stochastic processes, and on the analysis of some continuous (e.g. fluid) or hybrid (continuous and discrete) models. We also perform research work on pricing problems, that is, on the analysis and design of efficient pricing schemes.
  • We have a specific activity on the “direct” (as opposite to “through models”) assessment of qualitative and quantitative properties of communication systems. In the former case, the area is interoperability testing of IPv6 components (hardware or software). In the latter case, the target is the automatic assessment of the perceived quality of multimedia communications (one way or two ways, audio or video, batch or in real time) over the Internet (the main component of Quality of Experience, QoE).
  • From the networking point of view, we develop activities on the design of optical-based architectures (both for access and backbone networks), and on wireless systems, mainly in the mobility area (dependability-oriented work) and in sensor networks (typically, problems related to the costs in energy of these technologies). Our activities on the evaluation of the perceived quality focus nowadays mainly on Content Delivery Networks over P2P architectures.

International and industrial relations

We are always involved in several national and international projects wiith industrial participation. Some examples :

  • FP6 IST Anemone (international, heterogeneous IPv6-based mobility),
  • COT ECON@TEL (international, economy aspects in telecommunications),
  • P2Pim@ges (national, QoE-based design of P2P networks for video streaming applications),
  • QoSmobile (national, QoE analysis of streaming services for mobile television),
  • ANR WINEM (RNRT, WiMax tenchology),
  • ARC TIFFANY (INRIA, information theory),
  • ARC RARE (INRIA, rare events),
  • ARC FRACAS (INRIA, sensor networks).
    We have regular international collaborations, in particular with

  • Canada, on simulation and on sensor networks,
  • South-America, on the design and analysis of communication networks,
  • Europe, in the European Network of Excellence (NoE) “EuroNF” (in networking).

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