The research group Internet-Technology and Softwarization started in July 2021. We research Internet technology in general and for various specific forms of networks, e.g., mobile access networks, wireless networks for shorter ranges and more specific application areas, or data-centre networks. A common theme across these technological domains is so-called network softwarization. 

We are specifically interested in possible improvements by "softwarizing" a network: replacing built-in, hard-wired functionality by software, possibly even running on general-purpose hardware. This trend is partially driven by cost pressue and desire for flexibilty inside the network as such, which took form in concepts such as software-defined networking (SDN) or network function virtualization (NFV). These ideas were geared to network-internal functions like firewalls, load balancers, etc. 

But when actually thinking of the network as a programmable infrastrcuture and allowing general-purpose programs to be executed inside the network, new scenarios can be supported. A key advantage could be to reduce latency between users and services. To realize that, a software architecture like microservices is particularly attractive, dividing a complex service into smaller components that can be individually managed. A typical example would be a three-tier web application. 

This perspective allows us to think of many different kinds of applications and scenarios in a consistent manner. A typical example for a research question is then how to map a given application onto an available infrastructure. The applicatoin could be something very simple - like recording audio in a wireless network - or highly complex like video streaming with ad insertion; the infrastructure could be small and compact - just a few wireless nodes - or range up to an entire, nation-wide mobile access network. The basic ideas apply in all these cases; the details of the research questions certainly differ.