SoftCOM 2000

Wednesday, October 11, Rijeka (HVAR: 09.15 - 12.30)

Extranets: Concepts, Standards and Cost Issues

Algirdas Pakstas, University of Sunderland, UK

Abstract: This tutorial is devoted to the new emerging area of the Internet use, namely, "extranets". This is often referred as a "third wave" of the universal Internet. Definitions and examples of extranet are given. Extranets are compared with better known intergroupware and the concepts of Communications, Collaboration, and Coordination are illustrated. Notion of multi-extranet is introduced as a special case typically found in the Science Park (SP) environments. Three types of the organizations using facilities of the SP and having different relationships with its multi-extranet are distinguished: (a) "normal" firms which will have their own Intranets and access to the Internet either on their own or via SP facilities; (b) "small" firms, which will obtain access to the Internet via SP facilities and with the only Intranet, which will be actually extranet; (c) "large" firms which, perhaps, will not bother to connect to the SP facilities at all. Open application standards are discussed and example of suite of standards supported by consortium established by the Netscape Communications is briefly presented. Roles of network management and security issues are outlined as crucial for the success of the electronic commerce. Existing experience of running Intranets is discussed and accepted as applicable for extranets and criteria for choosing planning strategy for building of extranets are suggested. Based on the existing experience the "top 5" problems have been identified such as Internal Information Exchange, Discussions, Line-of-business Applications, Collaborations and Link to Partners. Typical cost items are identified and cost models are discussed for the cases such cost of running Web-sites of various complexity, access expenses for mobile users/workers (via mobile telephones and ISDN connections) as well as losses caused by the downtime. Typical two phases for building of extranet are suggested: (I) is focusing on the applications and standards which will help to solve mentioned "top 5" problems, and (II) is devoted to future development of the extranet and "flourishing" of the links with the customers as well as electronic commerce facilities.

He is active in the IEEE Communications Society Technical Committees on Enterprise Networking, Communications Software and Multimedia. He has authored 2 research monographs and more than 140 other publications. He is a senior member of IEEE and member of ACM and the New York Academy of Sciences. His recent and future involvement into IEEE and related conferences in various capacities includes: ENM'97 (TPC), Globecom'97 (TPC), DB&IS'98 (TPC), ICC'98 (SAS Session organiser), ENCOM'98 (TPC), 1999 World Manufacturing Congress (International Steering Committee and Programme Committee), SoftComm'99 (TPC), Globecom'99 (TPC), DB&IS'00 (TPC), ICC'00 (TPC and Vice Chair for Workshops), IN'00 (TPC), Globecom'00 (TPC), ICC'01 (TPC), WMC'01 (International Steering Committee and Programme Committee). He is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the IEEE Communications Magazine, Communications Interactive and Associate Editor for the Global Communications Newsletter. Listed in the Marque's Who's Who in the world.

Thursday, October 12, Trieste (HVAR: 09.15 - 12.30)

Turbo Codes: A tutorial survey from theoretical understanding to applications

Sergio Benedetto, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy

Abstract: The tutorial will present turbo codes and other form of concatenated codes with interleavers starting from their first presentation (ICC '93), passing through the first successful attempts to explain their exceptionally good performance, and arriving to a few guidelines for the code design. The last part of the talk will deal with applications, and, in particular, the new CCSDS telemetry channel coding standard, and the UMTS standard.

Thursday, October 12, Trieste (BRAC: 15.15 - 18.30)

New Generation Optical IP Networks

Andrzej Jajszczyk, University of Mining and Metallurgy , Poland

Abstract: The tutorial addresses the IP over WDM networking technology supporting multiple services. The tutorial will provide a comprehensive overview of various alternatives for carrying IP traffic over WDM or DWDM networks, including IP over SONET/SDH over WDM and IP over WDM. Several encapsulation and framing approaches using PPP, HDLC, SDL, and Gigabit Ethernet will be discussed. Methods enabling IP to serve as a multiprotocol platform will be presented including such protocols as IntServ, DiffServ, and MPLS. Role of the ATM layer will be discussed, evaluated and compared with that of multiprotocol IP. Selected practical experiences with optical IP networks will be presented.

Research emphasis is on advanced software technologies for development of telecommunication networks, as used in switches, for signaling and in network management, with a focus on object and component technology and formal definition techniques. Besides the academic involvement at the university, Dr. Luderer has been teaching short courses since 1992 on high-speed networks and telecommunication software architecture in various countries. From 1965 to 1989, Dr. Luderer was with AT&T Bell Labs, at last directing research on next generation switch architectures, based on fast packet switching technology on the hardware side and object-oriented design technology on the software side, resulting in some of the earliest demonstration networks for multimedia communication. Dr. Luderer holds Diplomingenieur (M.S) and Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. He holds two patents. While at Bell Labs, he taught at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, and at Princeton University. He is member of ACM, IEEE, IEEE Computer and Communication Societies.

Biography: Andrzej Jajszczyk is a Professor at the Department of Telecommunications, AGH University in Krakow, Poland. He received M.S., Ph.D., and Dr Hab. degrees from Poznan University of Technology in 1974, 1979 and 1986, respectively. He spent a year at the University of Adelaide in Australia and two years at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada as a visiting scientist. He is the author or co-author of six books and over 150 scientific papers, as well as 19 patents in the areas of telecommunications switching, high

Tuesday, October 10, Split (HVAR: 09.00 - 12.00)

Software as Intellectual Property - a Technologist's View

Gottfried W. R. Luderer, Arizona State University, USA

Abstract: In this half-day seminar, we will look at the history of software evolution from an intellectual property perspective. How are people who generate software being rewarded? We are not taking a legalistic viewpoint but are rather more interested in the economic aspects, as seen from the point of view of a technologist with interest in marketing. This will eventually lead us from history to some speculations about the future. Milestones to be discussed are the initial bundling of software with hardware, the struggle for the viability of software patents, the role of the Unix T operating system, initial free software like Gnu, leading to Linux as the currently most prominent exponent. Other aspects are the open source movement, the role of standards and the struggle to control them, and the recent illicit music copying using the Napster program. How could the network evolve to help or hinder some of the recent occurrences, and what are the likely and desirable characteristics of network features to foster a healthy evolution of the software field?

Wednesday, October 11, Rijeka (KRK: 09.15 - 10.45)

WTFC Applications in Integrated Networks

Julije Ozegovic, University of Split, Croatia

Abstract: To integrate voice and data traffic in packet switching networks, the problems of admission control, resource reservation, scheduling, flow control and flow conformance control are to be solved. WTFC (Window-Time space Flow Control) is recently proposed technology for efficient end-to-end packet rate and window regulation. WTFC uses deterministic model of network response with finite number of packets, which defines the Window-Time plane. Current window and round trip time measurements are used to calculate optimal packet rate and window. WTFC keeps the network at the working point of on average empty packet queues, thus being prospective in the area of voice and data integration. WTFC can be used to solve several common problems: data flow regulation in presence of data and persistent (voice) traffic, flow conformance control, voice coding mode and rate selection, and customer admission control. In this tutorial, the overview of the WTFC theory is continued with WTFC applications in voice-data integration field. Simulation experiment traces are shown and analyzed.

Biography: Julije Ozegovic graduated electrical engineering at FESB Split, University of Split in 1977. He spent two years in the industry working as a research and development engineer for ETAS Split. From 1979 Julije Ozegovic is working with FESB Split. He received his Mr.sc. degree in 1981 from FER Zagreb, University of Zagreb, in the field of data communications. He received Ph.D. from FESB Split, University of Split, in 1998. with thesis "Optimal Flow Control Algorithms in Heterogeneous Packet Networks".

Currently at the position of docent with Electronics department of FESB Split, he is teaching Digital electronics, Computer networking, and Digital signal processing classes. He is also leading Computer engineering department at High School of Practical Sciences in Split. In his scientific activities, Julije Ozegovic is doing research in the field of traffic management in integrated packet switching networks. His work is conducted under several past and present projects with Croatian ministry of science and technology, as well as numerous projects for industry. He is the author of numerous scientific and engineering papers.

In 1980, he was made a Professor in Radio Communications at the University of Bari. In 1981 he rejoined to Polytechnic of Turin as a Professor of Data Transmission Theory in the Department of Electronics. He spent nine months in years 1980-1981 at the Systems Science Department of University of California, Los Angeles as a Visiting Professor and three months at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, as an Erskine Fellow. He has co-authored two books in signal theory and probability and random variables (in Italian), and the books "Digital Transmission Theory" (Prentice-Hall, 1987), "Optical Fiber Communications Systems" (Artech House, 1996), and "Principles of Digital Communications with Wireless Applications" (Plenum 1999, to appear), as well as over 200 papers for leading engineering journals and conferences. He is Area Editor for Signal Design, Modulation and Detection for the IEEE Transactions on Communications. Active in the field of digital transmission systems since 1970, his current interests are in the field of optical fiber communications systems, performance evaluation and simulation of digital communication systems, trellis coded modulation and concatenated coding schemes. Dr. Sergio Benedetto is a Fellow of the IEEE.