Section: Overall Objectives

Overall Objectives

The research team Rap (Networks, Algorithms and Communication Networks) was created in 2004 on the basis of a long standing collaboration between engineers at Orange Labs in Lannion and researchers from Inria Paris — Rocquencourt. The initial objective was to formalize and expand this fruitful collaboration.

At France-Telecom R&D in Lannion, the members of the team are experts in the analytical modeling of communication networks as well as on some of the operational aspects of network management concerning traffic measurements on ADSL networks, for example.

At Inria Paris — Rocquencourt, the members of RAP have a recognized expertise in modeling methodologies applied to stochastic models of communication networks.

Rap also has the objective of developing new fundamental tools to investigate probabilistic models of complex communication networks. We believe that mathematical models of complex communication networks require a deep understanding of general results on stochastic processes. The two fundamental domains targeted are:

1. Design and analysis of algorithms for communication networks.

2. Analysis of scaling methods for Markov processes: fluid limits and functional limit theorems.

From the very beginning, it has been decided that RAP would focus on a number of particular issues over a period of three or four years. The general goal of the collaboration with Orange Labs is to develop, analyze and optimize algorithms for communication networks. Two domains are currently investigated in the framework of this collaboration:

1. Design of algorithms to allocate bandwidth in optical networks.

2. Content Centric Networks.