SLICES Summer School 2024

Open and programmable 6G networks in the cloud/edge continuum: research challenges and experimentation tools in SLICES Research Infrastructures

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Aims and scope

The purpose of this Summer School is twofold. The first objective is to provide students with an up-to-date overview of the enabling technologies and fundamental research challenges of upcoming 6G systems and networks also considering the increasing synergies with the cloud-to-edge continuum. Tutorials will present the main technologies and tools for network and distributed systems programming, orchestration and virtualization. Lectures and keynotes will focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of network sensing, distributed intelligence at the edge, the intersection between AI and networking, and the design of disaggregated programmable networks, providing a spotlight on key emerging research topics in the overall framework of 6G networks. The second objective is to introduce the students to the tools and methodologies offered by SLICES-RI, the only ESFRI research infrastructure for computer and networking research, for conducting experiment-based research in such cutting-edge research areas. The school will provide dedicated hands-on training and sessions to permit the students to gain concrete experience through practical projects with SLICES tools.

Keynote

• Larry Peterson (Princeton University, USA): Democratizing 5G: Open Source and More

Tutorials

• Roberto Bruschi (University of Genoa/CNIT, Italy): Fundamentals of virtualization technologies
• Paolo Bellavista & Armir Bujari (University of Bologna, Italy): Fundamentals of orchestration for the cloud continuum

Lectures

• Raymond Knopp (Eurecom, France): 3GPP evolutions towards disaggregated architectures
• Tommaso Melodia (Northeastern University, USA): O-RAN: Towards openness and programmability in the RAN
• Jorg Widmer (IMDEA, Spain): Integrated Sensing & Communication (IAC) in 6G
• Giovanni Neglia (INRIA, France): Networking challenges with Federated Learning

Hands-on Training

• Nikos Makris (UTH, Greece) & Damien Saucez (INRIA, France): How to run reproducible post-5G experiments with blueprints
• Armir Bujari (University of Bologna, Italy): An introduction to the cloud-continuum component of the SLICES blueprint
• Salvatore D’Oro & Michele Polese (Northeastern University, USA): O-RAN:  An introduction to OpenRAN Gym and AI-based applications in O-RAN

School Directors

• Serge Fdida (Sorbonne Université, France)
• Raffaele Bruno (CNR, Italy)
• Andrea Passarella (CNR, Italy)
• Sergio Palazzo (University of Catania, Italy)

Travel and accommodation

The conference room (located at Hotel Giardino sul Mare, Via Maddalena, Lipari) is air-conditioned and equipped with all conference materials. In addition, special areas are reserved for students for the afternoon coursework and study. The island of Lipari can be easily reached from Milazzo, Palermo, Naples, Messina, and Reggio Calabria by ferry or hydrofoil (50 minutes from Milazzo).

Registration

Two kinds of participants are welcome.

Students: Participants who are expected to do afternoon coursework and take a final exam (The grades will be given following the ECTS grading scale). The course will involve a total of 24 hours of teaching. Passing the final exam gives the right to an equivalent of 6 ECTS credits in any Ph.D. program.

Auditors: participants who are not interested in taking the final exam.

The registration fee is 600 €. It covers the course material, bus + hydrofoil Catania airport-Lipari-Catania airport, social events, and coffee breaks. Late registration is 700 €.
Early registration applications can be submitted up to May 31st, 2024. Late registrations will be accepted up to June 21st, 2024.

Applicants must include an updated link to an official website. In case of cancellation after fee payments, a 30% penalty will be applied. Processing fees cannot be reimbursed for credit card payments. Payment must be received as soon as possible, no later than June 21st, 2024. Only wire transfers or credit card payments can be accepted.

The Summer School

The Lipari School on Advanced Networking Systems is organized in cooperation with the pan-European Scientific Large-Scale Infrastructure for Computing/Communication Experimental Studies Research Infrastructure (SLICES-RI), with the primary goal to provide its participants with an overview of the possible enabling technologies and fundamental research challenges of upcoming 6G systems and networks, as well as an introduction to the tools and methodologies offered by SLICES-RI for conducting experiment-based research in such cutting-edge research areas. The school is organized into three tracks. The first track will introduce state-of-the-art technologies and tools for network and distributed systems programming and virtualization, including NFV, microservice architectures and deployment approaches, and orchestration frameworks. The second track will provide the scientific background on the upcoming technologies, novel applications, and emerging research directions that are targeted by SLICES-RI, and it includes technical lectures focusing on the theoretical and practical aspects of network sensing, distributed intelligence at the edge, the intersection between AI and networking, and the design of disaggregated programmable networks. Finally, the third track will provide the participants with a hands-on experience on these emerging research topics, first by introducing the principles of the SLICES-RI blueprints, namely the comprehensive software and hardware architectures of the critical components of SLICES-RI, with a focus on post-5G systems and the cloud/edge continuum. Then, the trainers will propose group projects to the participants to explore the tools and resources available in SLICES-RI.

The Ph.D. students participating in the summer school are strongly encouraged to submit an extended abstract that describes their current research (ideas, interests, or simply motivation) in relation to the topic of the summer school. Participants will be given opportunities to present their work through pitch presentations in a dedicated summer school session.

Tutorials

Lectures

Keynotes

Hands-on Training: