Thesis work - Traffic shaping in a partly managed network environment i Lund

Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars

Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. All thesis projects are arranged in business critical areas and therefore you will be able to contribute to our company purpose – providing freedom to move in a safe, sustainable and personal way – from day one! 

Background
In a typical automotive scenario, a multitude of connected UE:s (Cars) and services compete of the available communication bandwidth to provide the desired functionality to the end users. The available radio capacity is shared through a fairness approach, by using the typical congestions control mechanisms in TCP/QUIC to share the capacity fairly between the flows. However, this might not always be the best from an end user point of view. Available network layer mechanism such as DSCP (Differentiated services) are typically not possible to use as the flows travel through 3rd party networks that will modify these attributes. In the typical network architecture, the automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) has control of parts of the network, but not other parts. Typical parts that may be controlled/shaped by the automotive OEM are:
 
1.    The UE where the OEM controls the functionality and software solution.
2.    Some network elements such as APN:s, NAT:s, Internet delivery  platforms and so on.
3.    Some of the servers, e.g. an OTA download server may be controlled by the OEM, but a streaming service might not.
 
The typical congestion happening in automotive systems can be split into four categories:
 
1.    Device unique congestion would typically happen on the radio downlink close to the UE. This will happen when the UE wants to consume more bandwidth than what is available, e.g., if an OTA download is happening at the same time as the user is listening to Internet radio live streaming.
2.    Service unique congestion would typically happen close to the server when too many UE’s wants to consume a service at the same time. 
3.    Fleet level congestion would typically happen for a fleet of UEs when the total amount of needed capacity exceeds the available amount on a fleet specific network element. E.g., when a VPN connected to an OEM specific APN reaches it maximum capacity.
4.    Global congestion would typically happen on “global” network element, e.g. the total capacity of an MNO in a region. Here all services and UEs, both the ones connected to the OEM and all other UEs using the MNO is competing of the available capacity.
 
Scope
In this master project, the student will study mechanisms that can be deployed in a typical automotive OEM network environment to help improve the end user experience by shaping the traffic flows even though the network is not fully controlled. The student is expected to implement some mechanisms on available software platforms and make comparisons. Some mechanisms to study might be:
 
•    Mechanisms for sacrificing fairness of transport protocols for some flows (e.g. OTA) to improve the user experience of other flows (e.g. live Internet radio). Compare these mechanisms with e.g. TCP Nice (https://people.cs.umass.edu/~arun/papers/tcp-nice-osdi.pdf)
•    Mechanisms for shaping of flows on OEM controlled middle boxes 
o    What shaping mechanisms can be used, e.g. RED, ECN, WRED?
o    What attributes can be used to do shaping (DCSP is not possible to use)
•    Others

Your contribution is our future
This master thesis can be performed by 1-2 students. The students should have a strong background in Internet protocols and programming. The academic supervisors will be from LTH, which means that the students must be connected to Lund University. The work can be performed at Volvo Cars in Lund or Gothenburg.

Duration
· The work to start in 2023
· The duration for this thesis work is 20-24 weeks.
· The thesis amounts to 30 ECTS (academic credits) per student, in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University

Be part of the change – apply today!

Selection will be ongoing during the application period, so do not hesitate to send in your application. Attach your resume and cover letter and copies of grades. You may provide a reference if you would like. Please note that due to GDPR, applications via email will not be accepted.

Apply no later than December 11th, 2022.

For questions about the thesis work, please contact Paul Asterland at paul.asterland@volvocars.com.

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