Research Focus
The research focus of disco labs is on the investigation of performance and security aspects of networked and distributed systems. Performance and security have traditionally been dealt with separately. Yet, we believe that an integrated treatment is crucial for the development of what we call robust systems. With robust systems we mean systems that can withstand any stress from in- or outside factors, be they intentional or unintentional. Therefore, it is our goal to eventually lead performance and security considerations together and treat them in a united fashion in order to enable robust system designs. As example systems we often look at wireless networks, since for those performance control and security provision constitute tough challenges let alone an integrated solution to both aspects.
Research Areas
- performance of distributed systems
- performance guarantees and control
- worst-case and bad-case analysis: (stochastic) network calculus
- performance evaluation techniques: analysis, simulation, measurement
- Internet QoS
- resource management in wireless networks
- distributed real-time systems
- security in distributed systems
- protection against DoS
- lightweight authentication
- performance-oriented security analysis
- security by wireless
- wireless sensor networks
- robust designs
- performance modeling, control, optimization
- performance/security tradeoffs
Projects
Current
- Member of the "Landesforschungsschwerpunkt" Ambient Systems (amsys).
- DFG project: Developing a calculus for performance analysis of wireless sensor networks. 3-year project, started April 2008. (Project site)
- DISCO Network Calculator
- Planetlab - An open platform for developing, deploying, and accessing planetary-scale services.
- DiscoSec - The IEEE 802.11 device driver for management frame authentication
Past
- DASMOD - Dependable Adaptive Systems and Mathematical Modeling, Cluster of Excellence in Rhineland-Palatinate. DISCO is taking part in the MacZ project. (Terminated May 2008)
- SNACS - Self-Organizing Networks and Adaptive Communication Services.
- LETSQoS - Labor-Experiment zum Testen von Systemischer QoS (lab experiment to test systemic quality of service).
Partners
DISCO Lab is cooperating with a number of partners from both industry and academia.
Conferences/Workshops Organised
- 1. GI/ITG-Fachgespräch (MMB/KuVS) zu "Performance Modeling of Self-Organizing Systems", Passau, September 2006. [Call for Contributions.pdf]
- 14. Fachtagung Kommunikation in Verteilten Systemen (KiVS) 2005, Kaiserslautern, Germany, February - March 2005.
- 30th EUROMICRO 2004 - Multimedia and Telecommunications Track, Rennes, France, September 2004.
- Workshop on "Internet Traffic Management", 10th International Conference on Telecommunication Systems, Modeling and Analysis (ICTSM10), Monterey, USA, October 2002.
PC Memberships
Disco Lab members are regularly involved in divers program committees.