The computing continuum aims to break the isolation of edge and cloud computing, creating a smooth and heterogeneous infrastructure surface for deploying applications. However, the continuum is practically fragmented, with infrastructure managed in isolation by various parties in a vertical dimension, i.e., edge, fog, and cloud layers, and horizontally, i.e., computing, network, and storage domains. This scenario negatively impacts the fulfillment of the application objectives. We propose inCoord, an intent-aware solution that enables the creation of a unified computing continuum by coordinating its instances to fulfill application objectives. Each instance represents a cluster of (compute, storage, or network) nodes with their own manager component. Traditionally, systems take low-level actions on these instances. In contrast, inCoord learns their emerging behaviors and adapts their managers’ objectives to fulfill the application’s intents. Here, through a Reinforcement-Learning-based Proof of Concept, we show the potential of this system to understand emerging behavior and manage multi-domain, independently managed instances.

Data Confidence Fabrics (DCFs) are emerging as a mechanism to obtain measurable trust in decentralized smart computing environments, while remote attestation (RA) is being established as a key mechanism for verifying security in distributed systems. However, both of these approaches remain underutilized in container orchestration platforms, resulting in inadequate trust guarantees, increased attack surface areas, and insufficient mechanisms for verifying the integrity of devices and applications. In this paper, we propose leveraging DCFs to integrate RA with software security practices, and utilizing this integration to securely onboard devices and containerized applications by tracing their provenance and analyzing vulner-abilities. This dual-level protection bridges device attestation measurements with measurements of application security to provide measurable and transparent confidence scores for both. The proposed approach brings trustworthiness into a distributed environment where devices are continuously monitored for malicious tampering, and applications are assessed before being run. We verified this approach on a setup representing real environments. Additionally, a machine learning model was put under test and trained on data weighted with confidence scores produced by our proposed approach. The model saw improved performance and accuracy, showing that this approach can increase the reliability of systems.

Knowledge graphs have proven vital for efficient data management, enhanced search capabilities, and improved decision-making in various information technology domains. However, constructing reliable knowledge graphs in decentralized ecosystems, with distributed autonomous actors, poses significant challenges related to asynchronous transmission, out-of-order knowledge-sharing, device heterogeneity, and trust issues. These challenges are also present in resource orchestration within multi-cloud edge ecosystems where multiple stakeholders must collaborate and share information to enable next-gen smart applications. In this paper, we propose a novel system design that utilizes Distributed Ledger Technology to build knowledge graphs. This approach ensures consistent and trustworthy knowledge sharing among orchestrators in a cloud-edge continuum. Our solution accommodates diverse requirements of both cloud and edge servers, allowing clients to construct complete historic graphs or build filtered sub-graphs. We deploy our solution in a multi-cloud edge environment and construct knowledge graphs representing the system state, including clusters, servers, microservices, and various resources. We validate the feasibility and performance of our solution through a real-world deployment and experiments in a smart shopping use case. Results demonstrate that the proposed solution achieves the claimed benefits with minimal or acceptable delays in comparison to traditional event streaming services.

Public blockchains and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) provide reliable distributed, decentralized datasharing, with consensus mechanisms and cryptographic security, data integrity, transparency and trust. Though this transparency and open access allows malicious actors to record arbitrary information to the DLT by exploiting free-form editable text fields in request headers or transaction bodies. The authors propose an architecture that runs external agents interfaced with blockchains, capable of filtering unwanted content to mitigate this threat. Implementation of a resource description framework (RDF) based verification mechanism for blockchain input fields, and an alternate approach using natural language processing (NLP) are then described. Finally, the efficiency and effectiveness of the solution is demonstrated on a blockchain deployment.

Edge computing is evolving to include heterogeneous compute nodes with distinct characteristics. Graphic processing units (GPU) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) can execute demanding deep learning (DL) tasks while meeting the deadlines of time-sensitive applications. However, FPGAs require reconfiguration to execute different tasks. In this paper, we first demonstrate that FPGAs can be reconfigured in real-time. Additionally, we propose ELEVATE as a novel scheduling algorithm for reconfigurable heterogeneous edge computing platforms targeting Industry 4.0 post-production quality control. ELEVATE design focusses on optimising the reconfiguration of the FPGA unit for heterogeneous quality inspection tasks. Our simulations indicate that ELEVATE reduces task waiting time by up to two orders of magnitude and achieves energy savings of up to 25 % compared to a statically configured FPGA unit.

The growing heterogeneity and decentralization in the modern computing paradigm of edge-cloud continuum introduces new constraints on storage systems, such as storage type, associated processors, privacy, scarce resources, compliance, GDPR and geographical restrictions. While existing distributed data and object stores can ensure data availability and fault-tolerance, they are not flexible or dynamic enough to address these diverse set of constraints. In this paper, we introduce a modular policy-driven data placement framework, CATER, designed to seamlessly integrate with existing storage systems and overcome the aforementioned limitations. CATER formulates the data placement problem as an optimization model, incorporating data collocation and hardware constraints. We integrated a pro-totype of CATER with Apache Ozone and conducted experiments and simulations. Results show a 23% improvement in data placement while respecting 100 % of the constraints.

The proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), the adoption of 5G, and progress towards 6G technology have led to the accumulation of massive amounts of real-world data; however, a significant portion of the data generated by smart cities and smart buildings remains unused. A notable problem is the shift of statistical properties in real-world streaming over time caused by unexpected factors, referred to as concept drift, which results in less efficient predictive models. To address this problem, the latest research leverages the cloud–edge continuum paradigm for the deployment of AI and general smart city applications while utilising the available resources optimally. In this article, we propose a computing architecture for different smart city applications in edge micro data centre (EMDC) settings over a hybrid cloud–edge continuum to support the deployment of AI workloads. We implement a feedback-driven automated concept drift detection and adaptation methodology, combining base learner long short-term memory (LSTM) with Page–Hinkley test (PHT), adaptive windowing (ADWIN) and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov windowing (KSWIN). Real-world data streams are utilised to forecast from various environmental sensors installed at the University of Oulu Smart Campus. The feedback-based concept drift detection and adaption process is first evaluated using synthetic datasets with known concept drift points and then employed in the real-world data. Subsequently, the implementation is evaluated using the state-of-the-art MAE, RMSE, and MAPE methods. The results showed a reduction in MAPE from 8.5% to 3.88% when concept drift detection was applied. Additionally, the challenges faced and the effectiveness of the suggested solutions are explored.

Cities serve as vital hubs of economic activity and knowledge generation and dissemination. As such, cities bear a significant responsibility to uphold environmental protection measures while promoting the welfare and living comfort of their residents. There are diverse views on the development of smart cities, from integrating Information and Communication Technologies into urban environments for better operational decisions to supporting sustainability, wealth, and comfort of people. However, for all these cases, data are the key ingredient and enabler for the vision and realization of smart cities. This article explores the challenges associated with smart city data. We start with gaining an understanding of the concept of a smart city, how to measure that the city is a smart one, and what architectures and platforms exist to develop one. Afterwards, we research the challenges associated with the data of the cities, including availability, heterogeneity, management, analysis, privacy, and security. Finally, we discuss ethical issues. This article aims to serve as a “one-stop shop” covering data-related issues of smart cities with references for diving deeper into particular topics of interest.

The exponential proliferation of big data and computation-intensive tasks, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in factories, poses a significant challenge for the current datacenter-focused technological architecture. The “Big data pRocessing and Artificial Intelligence at the Network Edge” (BRAINE) project addresses this problem by introducing an innovative system architecture designed explicitly for compute-intensive edge deployments. BRAINE focuses on decentralizing the computation tasks, enabling a significant reduction in latency, and optimizing the placement of applications within a cloud-edge continuum to ensure optimal operational efficiency. This paper presents the design, implementation, and testing of our novel system architecture in the context of an AI digital twin for factory robotics. Our empirical results indicate substantial improvements in performance metrics such as processing speed and latency compared to traditional architectures and approaches.

In distributed environments, data for Machine Learning (ML) applications may be generated from numerous sources and devices, and traverse a cloud-edge continuum via a variety of protocols, using multiple security schemes and equipment types. While ML models typically benefit from using large training sets, not all data can be equally trusted. In this work, we examine data trust as a factor in creating ML models, and explore an approach using annotated trust metadata to contribute to data weighting in generating ML models. We assess the feasibility of this approach using well-known datasets for both linear regression and classification problems, demonstrating the benefit of including trust as a factor when using heterogeneous datasets. We discuss the potential benefits of this approach, and the opportunity it presents for improved data utilisation and processing.

Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) is used in cellular networks to improve the utilization of scarce wireless resources in high user density service areas. However, eMBMS configuration involves interwoven decisions including which base stations (eNB) to synchronize to form Single Frequency Networks (SFN), which video qualities to be serviced, and how to distribute resources among different videos. These decisions should accommodate disparate channel conditions for eMBMS users, and the impact of eNB's unicast-load in the service area. In this paper, we formulate eMBMS configuration as an optimization problem that maximizes the video QoE for users. Additionally, we present NIMBLE as an eMBMS configuration heuristic, guided by our optimization framework, to solve the problem in realtime. Furthermore, NIMBLE's design integrates elements to accommodate the dynamic nature of cellular networks resulting from changes in both user, and network state over time. We developed a simulation testbed, and performed extensive experiments to show that, in comparison to state-of-the-art schemes, NIMBLE can increase the average user throughput by 150%, and reduce the bitrate switches by 75%.

Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) is a 3GPP standard that improves the utilization of scarce wireless resources and the quality of the received content. eMBMS uses a Single Frequency Network (SFN) to transmit real-time videos over synchronized resources across neighboring base stations (eNBs) and allows users to share wireless spectrum across multiple cell sites. However the user with the worst channel condition and the eNB with the least available resources limit the throughput of a session. To overcome such limitations, the SFN can be divided into non-overlapping clusters of eNBs and in each cluster users can be split into groups. We formulate an optimization problem that maximizes an operator-defined utility for multiple eMBMS sessions served at multiple bitrates by choosing the optimal set of SFN clusters and user groups for each session. We propose an algorithm, RTOP, that finds the optimal or a near-optimal solution in real-time regardless of the number of eMBMS users. Our extensive simulations indicate that, in comparison to state-of-the-art schemes, RTOP improves the system utility and average user bitrate by up to 14% and 90% respectively. Additionally, we show that the utility of RTOP always stays within a 1% gap from the optimal solution.

The emerging popularity of live streaming services poses a great challenge for the rigid and static traditional Internet architecture. The rise in adaptation of Software Defined Networking (SDN) by Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Content Delivery Networks (CDN) presents an opportunity to dynamically adapt and respond in real-time to high definition (HD) mega events or dynamic short-lived broadcast events. In this paper, we present an SDN-based system design that utilizes a communication framework between ISPs and CDNs to interact and thus enable a reliable and resource efficient live streaming service. We build and deploy an optimization model that can maximize the video quality for users while minimizing the resource utilization for both ISPs and CDNs. The model considers device capabilities, network constraints and the subscription level of users with the ISP/CDN. Our system is a network-assisted, cross-layer, approach that implements multicast at the network layer and can dynamically adapt the video bitrates that are served to each client at the application layer. We build a prototype of our proposed design and evaluate real-world scenarios with up to 500 users streaming multiple videos at different bitrates. Results show that our approach can increase average user goodput by up to 70% while almost eliminating frame drops by handling network congestion.

The rise of Software Defined Networking (SDN) presents an opportunity to overcome the limitations of rigid and static traditional Internet architecture and provide services like network layer multicast for live video streaming. In this paper we propose mCast, an SDN-based architecture for live streaming, to reduce the utilization of network and system resources for both Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Content Delivery Networks (CDN) by using multicast over the Internet. We propose a communication framework between ISPs and CDNs to enable mCast while retaining user and data privacy. mCast is transparent to the clients and maintains the control of CDNs on user sessions. We developed a testbed and performed large scale evaluation and comparison. Results showed that mCast can improve the video quality received by clients and, for CDNs and ISPs in comparison to IP unicast, mCast can decrease link utilization by more than 50% and network losses to 0%.

In this demonstration we present a platform that encompasses all of the components required to realistically evaluate the performance of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) over a real-time NS-3 simulated network. Our platform consists of a network-attached storage server with DASH video clips and a simulated LTE network which utilises the NS-3 LTE module provided by the LENA project. We stream to clients running an open-source player with a choice of adaptation algorithms. By providing a user interface that offers user parametrisation to modify both client and LTE settings, we can view the evaluated results of real-time interactions between the network and the clients. Of special interest is that our platform streams actual video clips to real video clients in real-time over a simulated LTE network, allowing reproducible experiments and easy modification of LTE and client parameters. The demonstration showcases how changes in LTE network settings (fading model, scheduler, client distance from eNB, etc.), as well as video-related decisions at the clients (streaming algorithm, quality selection, clip selection, etc.), can impact on the delivery and achievable quality.