Network Composition: A Framework for Dynamic Interworking between Networks

Scenarios for communication networks of the future envisage a multitude of networks in the core, access as well as user segments, connected via a number of heterogeneous wireline and wireless technologies. Furthermore, the traditional divide between service providers and consumers will disappear with the emergence of new business models where networks can assume multiple roles simultaneously. The Ambient Networks project is developing solutions and frameworks to support such scenarios by applying network composition which is a fundamental aspect of Ambient Network (AN) architecture. Composition can be defined as a framework for dynamic and automatic cooperation between networks. The term cooperation is used here in a broad sense to refer to all sorts of interactions between networks to achieve specific goals. Examples include interworking between a user AN and an access AN to provide network connectivity to the former, sharing of radio resources between two access ANs for load balancing, delegation of AAA functions by a "small" WLAN provider to a "large" operator etc. In this paper, we discuss different aspects of composition framework.