Firing up 5G
EIT Digital’s director of research, Fabio Pianesi, introduces SoftFIRE, a programme designed to push the boundaries of software-defined networks and network function virtualisation toward the next generation of 5G networks
SoftFIRE, a programme designed to push the boundaries of software-defined networks (SDNs) and network function virtualisation (NFV) toward the next generation of 5G networks, has been established by a partnership of European telecoms providers and leading research organisations. Led by EIT Digital (a leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation driving Europe’s digital transformation), SoftFIRE is establishing a federation of four experimental SDN/NFV test beds, which will allow for testing and demonstrating how to deliver and operate a reliable, secure and programmable SDN/NFV network.
Portal asked EIT Digital’s director of research, Fabio Pianesi, about the importance of both the test bed and of creating a large ecosystem of companies operating in the field in order to nurture and sustain a European path to future network evolution.
Could you begin by telling me a little about the background to SoftFIRE and the current context in which it will fit?
SoftFIRE is a Horizon 2020-funded project, and the technical areas we are tackling relate to the integration of different types of test beds, in particular SDN and NFV test beds, which are then used by industry. We are not developing new test beds but setting up a federation of four experimental SDN/NFV test beds.
From a technical point of view, one of the main issues concerns their interoperability; we want to ensure that they can be utilised by anyone who wishes to use them. Alongside this, of course, there are also security concerns, and we are working to guarantee that the test beds are secure. Furthermore, programmability is also an area we are exploring in order to make sure that the functions that are available through the test beds are programmable not only by developers but by any other entity or organisation that wants to use them.
These efforts are instrumental to the construction of an extended ecosystem of users around the federated testbeds. We are pursuing this objective by actively reaching out to developers who can continue to extend and improve the test beds themselves as well as for SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and so on, which might be interested in developing new services and products on top of the platforms.
To this end, we exploit two different types of dissemination. The first are ‘hackathon’-like events, which targets developers and are open to anybody who wants to contribute to the development and testing of the test beds, thereby improving the platform itself. The second is open calls, through which we target industry, be they small or large companies, and invite them to use our federated test beds to develop, test and validate new products and services.
SoftFIRE’s activities and objectives, as well as the work we are doing at EIT Digital, have been devised specifically to contribute to the advancement of 5G in a general sense by constructing the proposed ecosystems and connecting them to others that we are building with our own funds. Indeed, we are building federated test beds involving US organisations based in our San Francisco hub with the goal of integrating it with SoftFIRE’s. We have created an access point to federated test beds in San Francisco and we are trying to attract various constituencies to enlarge it and use it on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Finally, we are working to place EIT Digital into a position from which it is able to offer testing and validation services in a sustainable mode while fostering the continuous improvement of the test beds for SDNs and NFV even after the end of the project.
When working on either side of the Atlantic, have you found that the challenges differ?
The main differences that we have observed are mainly based on whether or not they are working towards an open source type of platform, and on the US side, there seems to be an increasing trend towards this.
At present, in the SoftFIRE project we are essentially using test beds that are developed by specific types of organisations, and we are now developing them so as to make them accessible in the long term. We are achieving this by devising specific agreements with the organisations involved at the European level.
How is EIT Digital contributing to the future of 5G in Europe?
At EIT Digital, we are contributing to 5G by providing some of the enabling elements. 5G will not be disruptive in the sense of the technical parts of the lower layers of the networks. Rather, it will be disruptive in the way companies and developers approach it. As such, a more bottom-up approach that is experimentation-driven is preferable, as opposed to the more top-down approach currently being taken.
What do you feel are the most significant benefits of SDNs and NFV in the way in which internet use is evolving, and what challenges will the internet of things (IoT) pose?
Challenges exist in terms of network and Wi-Fi capability, and one of our test beds is a Wi-Fi test bed.
We are now working with them towards integrating their test bed within our overall platform. That will be an important cornerstone for addressing the needs of the IoT, i.e. myriad sensors and actuators interacting and imposing important constraints and requirements in terms of network capability and Wi-Fi. As this is localised, it will be possible for developers to also access the environment to test and validate their IoT-based solutions.
SoftFIRE has a core of industrial partners. How important is this, and how do you see the interaction between academia and industry developing?
It is developing very smoothly. Moving forwards, we have two main objectives: one is to construct the ecosystem – mainly involving SMEs for whom the support by our industries will be essential. The other will see us continue to actively pursue the improvement of the existing test beds, in particular those provided by academia through specifically targeted events such as the hackathon.
We want to create a mutually reinforcing environment between these two components, and, once achieved, this will take the form of a new third party centre that will address the industry to provide it with advanced testing and validation services, as well as academia and research institutes, to secure the advancement and the continued uptake of new developments into the test beds.
SoftFIRE, and indeed EIT Digital, is part of a larger whole, and we will continue to strive to make Europe one of the best places in the world for the digital economy.
Fabio Pianesi
Director of Research
EIT Digital
This article first appeared in issue 12 of Horizon 2020 Projects: Portal, available
