Program

Keynote 1: Nashid Shahriar (University of Regina, Canada)

Title: Network Slicing at the Edge: Technologies and Challenges

Abstract: Network slicing has been envisaged as a key enabler to satisfy diverse requirements, by creating multiple isolated virtual networks dedicated to different services, on top of a common physical infrastructure. Network slicing has mostly been realized at the core such as cloud data centers thanks to network function virtualization and software-defined networking principles. Recent advances in disaggregation of network elements and data-plane programmability along with deployment of cloud native multi-access edge (MEC) computing have paved the way to slice the edge network, thus achieving end-to-end network slicing. In this talk, I will present key technologies to enable slicing at edge networks such as Radio Access Network (RAN) and Optical Access Networks and discuss some of the research challenges of incorporating slicing at the edge

Short bio: Nashid Shahriar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Regina. He received his PhD from the School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo in 2020. He is the recipient of 2023 Young Professional Award from IEEE Communications Society Technical Committee on Network Operation and Management and 2020 PhD Alumni Gold Medal and 2021 Mathematics Doctoral prize from the University of Waterloo. His research received several recognitions, including the IEEE/IFIP NOMS 2022 Best Student Paper Award, IFIP/IEEE IM 2021 Best PhD Dissertation Award, the IEEE/ACM/IFIP CNSM 2019 Best Paper Award, IEEE NetSoft 2019 Best Student Paper Award, and the IEEE/ACM/IFIP CNSM 2017 Best Paper Award. His research interests include resource optimization and monitoring in network function virtualization and software-defined networking and enhancing security and reliability of network slices in emerging networks. More details of his research and publications can be found in his website: http://uregina.ca/~nss373/

Keynote 2: Francesco Foresta (JMA Wireless, Italy)

Title: Smooth Sailing Ahead? Navigating the Edge Challenges, and Preparing to Correct the Course

Abstract: The last decade in telecommunications saw Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) hailed as revolutionary solutions to the escalating costs of network infrastructure. Despite their initial promise, both technologies encountered significant integration challenges. Traditional network vendors continued to dominate, and the anticipated cost reductions from SDN and NFV have not been fully realized, impacting the Telcos edge computing services realization. This keynote will go through these issues, and evaluate the state of the art. The final scope is to look for possible solutions to get the edge, and more generally the Telco industry, back on track through a paradigm realignment that includes standardization, frameworks, network operations automation, vendor lock-in reduction and sustainability.

Short bio: Francesco Foresta is Principal Architect at JMA Wireless, navigating everyday through next-gen vRAN architectures, cloud and networking.He is responsible for pushing the JMA strategy, by contributing to the technical design and product requirements definition. Along the way, he actively follows the standardization bodies to shape the Telco path forward with innovative approaches. His current focus includes AI, sustainability, virtualized distributed systems performance and advanced networking solutions. Previous achievements included him leading the team that achieved the first porting of an O-RAN 5G BBU as a cloud native solution in Kubernetes, making JMA "XRAN" the first Cloud RAN solution in the market.