Early Stage Research Positions at the CTTC Optical Networks and Systems Department for MSCA-ITN-EID

The ONFIRE (Future Optical Networks for Innovation, Research and Experimentation) project (http://www.h2020-onfire.eu/ - Available from October 1st 2017) is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action as an Innovative Training Network (ITN) European Industrial Doctorates (EID) offering two Early Stage Research (ESR) positions to be conducted in both Spain and Germany. ONFIRE participating organizations are CTTC Research Center located in Castelldefels (Spain), NOKIA Bell Labs company located at Stuttgart (Germany) and UPC University located at Barcelona (Spain).
For additional information about the CTTC Optical Networks and Systems Department, please refer to http://networks.cttc.es/ons/.

The ONFIRE project will focus on exploiting, from both a hardware and software solutions perspective, the flexibility and modularity provided by two key topics: disaggregated optical networks and cognitive optical networks. Thereby, the ultimate goal is to leverage open source software solutions running on inexpensive commodity hardware to reduce both CapEx and OpEx when automatizing network operations. Specifically, ONFIRE will target:

• Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) concepts to deploy a unified control scheme across heterogeneous transport network segments and distributed cloud infrastructures.
• Elastic interfaces and programmable white boxes.
• Cost-effective subsystems for non-intrusive in-band monitoring of advanced modulation formats.
• Data mining techniques to leverage massive physical layer monitoring data in coherent interfaces, white boxes and monitoring subsystems, to adjust and re-optimize network settings.

 

ESR1 Project Title: Data Plane Technologies for Disaggregated Optical Networks

In this research topic, novel transmission technologies will be studied in order to support the disaggregated networks concept. Transceiver architectures and interfaces capable to be sliced in different functional blocks will be investigated, as well as optical (sub)systems and novel techniques for optical performance monitoring. Specific activities are focused on the study and architectural design of generic (and neutral) optical network elements, i.e. optical white boxes, identifying suitable design rules and interfaces to integrate specific optical/electronic subsystems in a consistent SDN-controllable network with cognitive capabilities. The transmission technologies to be investigated will also target at suitably combining statistical multiplexing with flexible optical circuit switching technologies, with special focus on optical Ethernet transport. Also, the research will deal with cost-effective subsystems for non-intrusive in-band optical performance monitoring, including techniques agnostic to the optical transmission waveforms. Finally, data plane interoperability between proprietary network elements (black boxes) and the white boxes concept will be also assessed within the secondment period at Nokia Bell Labs premises to exploit the available (proprietary) network elements. A strong interaction with ESR 2 will be the key to address the appropriate configuration of data plane elements performed by the cognitive infrastructure and in view of the final integration and experimental demonstrations.

ESR2 Project Title: Cognitive SDN-Controlled Optical Networks

This research topic will the identification of the requirements for designing and developing a feasible cognitive architecture operating on top of a SDN controlled / orchestrated infrastructure. The targeted infrastructure will cover a metro / core segment encompassing heterogeneous resources (IT and networking) as well as technologies (packet and optical). Next, the adopted cognitive SDN solution will be deployed constituting the framework for devising and implementing advanced algorithms and mechanisms enabling end-to-end services and ensuring quality of service and quality of transmission along with attaining an efficient resource utilization. The deployed cognitive SDN controlled solution will be finally integrated and validated jointly with the data plane infrastructure and systems developed by ESR1. This final objective will allow identifying hints on actual implementation and the effective commercialization of the results.

The ESRs will be offered a 3-year position under a very appealing employment conditions and salary offered by the Marie Curie ITN program. ESRs will join the programme with a period of intensive training at CTTC to acquire the tools required to conduct research on each of the two topics, and will be enrolled in the PhD programme of the UPC. Half of the duration of the ESR involvement will be spent at the Nokia Bell Labs site giving the core industrial aspect of the ONFIRE project

According to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (available here), the candidates for the ITN must fulfill the following criteria: i) candidates may be of any nationality but not having resided or carried out their main activity in the country of the host institution of the position they are applying to for more than 1 year in the past 3 years. They must move from one country to another to broaden or deepen their competences; ii) be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers; iii) have not yet been awarded a PhD degree.

The applications must be received no later than 31/12/2017 by using the online-system: http://www.cttc.es/career/call-12-2017-1/

Please fill the application form and attach the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae
• Master and Bachelor Diplomas
• Master and Bachelor Grade Transcript