Abstract: Presented herein are methods for dynamic management of names and of named-based requests for media flows in an Information-Centric Network (ICN)-based real-time communication system. The use of different naming schemes on contribution segments and on distribution segments in such architectures results in an effective low latency and scalable communication model based on the notion of active speakers regardless of the underlying mapping between active speakers and participants controlled by the media bridge. Operations are performed both at client side and at media bridge side to dynamically manage binding of names to speakers, while minimizing overhead and complexity of operations involved by a change of active speaker/quality/layout.

Abstract: A networked electronic device produces a data object comprising content and assigns a location-independent application-level name to the data object. The location-independent application-level name is independent of any network location at which the content is available. The networked electronic device maps the location-independent application-level name to an IP address, generates a DNS resource record specifying the mapping of the location-independent application-level name to the IP address, and provides the DNS resource record to a DNS network node.

Abstract: Presented herein is a solution in which a Producer that provides Transport Layer Security (TLS) over a hybrid Information Centric Network (hICN) announces two different hICN prefixes or namespaces. One hICN prefix is for performing a TLS handshake (also called a handshake prefix or handshake namespace) and another hICN prefix (also called a secure prefix or secure namespace) is to publish content in a secure, and confidential manner with a Consumer that correctly performs a TLS handshake. While the handshake prefix is public and shared by multiple Consumers, a secure prefix is uniquely assigned to a Consumer after the TLS handshake successfully terminates. Content published under the secure prefix is encrypted with the encryption key established during the TLS handshake. Names used in the secure namespace are private, meaning only the Consumer and Producer that perform the handshake can infer any information about a content by looking on the name.

Abstract: Techniques for providing Hybrid information-centric networking (hICN) via a proxy application is described. A hICN proxy application provides hICN to legacy applications by diverting network traffic of a plurality of network traffic types to the hICN proxy application and storing network traffic information for the network traffic in a connection table. The hICN proxy application also translates the diverted network traffic to a hICN network traffic protocol and selects a forwarding strategy for the translated network traffic in order to send the hICN traffic over various non-hICN network protocol types. The hICN proxy application also transmits the translated traffic to a server proxy application using the selected forwarding strategy.

Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for implementing centralized path computation for routing in hybrid information-centric networking protocols implemented as a virtual network overlay. A method includes receiving an interest packet header from a forwarding router node of a network overlay. The method further includes determining an interest path of the interest packet and one or more destination router nodes of the network overlay. The method further includes computing one or more paths over the network overlay. The method further includes determining an addressing method for the one or more computed paths over the network overlay. The method further includes performing at least one of encoding each computed path in a data packet header, and encoding each computed path as state entries of each router node of the network overlay on each respective path. The method further includes returning the computed path information to the forwarding router node.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a device in a network receives an interest request for one or more pieces of content data available in the network. The interest request specifies the one or more pieces of content data via one or more bits sets in a content request bitmap of the interest request, each bit of the content request bitmap being associated with a different piece of content data. The device compares the content request bitmap to a content availability bitmap in a forwarding information base (FIB) of the device that is associated with a particular interface of the device and each bit of the content availability bitmap indicates whether a particular piece of content data is available via the particular interface. The device forwards the interest request via the particular interface, based on the comparison between the content request bitmap and the content availability bitmap in the FIB of the device.

Abstract: This disclosure describes techniques for employing a reusable acknowledgment in communications among network devices. The techniques include generating a reusable negative acknowledgment (NACK) in response to a request for data that are unavailable. The reusable NACK may be sent as a response for at least some additional requests for unavailable data, rather than generating a new NACK for each request. As such, the reusable NACK may help decrease the computational load for a network device. In some cases, the use of a reusable NACK may help lessen the impacts of denial-of-service type attacks across a network.

Abstract: Presented herein are methods for dynamic management of names and of named-based requests for media flows in an Information-Centric Network (ICN)-based real-time communication system. The use of different naming schemes on contribution segments and on distribution segments in such architectures results in an effective low latency and scalable communication model based on the notion of active speakers regardless of the underlying mapping between active speakers and participants controlled by the media bridge. Operations are performed both at client side and at media bridge side to dynamically manage binding of names to speakers, while minimizing overhead and complexity of operations involved by a change of active speaker/quality/layout.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include receiving an interest message at a gateway, wherein the gateway provides connectivity to a plurality of radio accesses that interface with an Information-Centric Networking-based (ICN-based) network; identifying a service class associated with the interest message; selecting a particular radio access of the plurality of radio accesses to handle traffic for the interest message based on at least one of: one or more policies associated with the service class, one or more policies associated with the plurality of radio accesses, and network conditions associated with the plurality of radio accesses; and forwarding the interest message to the particular radio access.

Abstract: Content can be delivered by a producer service to one or more consumer services over an information centric network (“ICN”) by storing application frames in a forwarding cache of an ICN node. The consumer services may retrieve applications frames from the ICN node rather than from the producer service directly.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include determining each station of a plurality of stations connected to a WiFi access point that are to receive downlink video transmissions from the WiFi access point, wherein the WiFi access point is connected to an Information-Centric Networking-based (ICN-based) network; associating each station of the plurality of stations to each of a corresponding ICN face of a plurality of ICN faces maintained by the WiFi access point; and managing a downlink transmission buffer for each station of the plurality of stations based, at least in part, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) associated with downlink video transmissions for each station of the plurality of stations, wherein each downlink transmission buffer is associated with the corresponding ICN face associated with each station.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include receiving an interest message at a gateway, wherein the gateway provides connectivity to a plurality of radio accesses that interface with an Information-Centric Networking-based (ICN-based) network; identifying a service class associated with the interest message; selecting a particular radio access of the plurality of radio accesses to handle traffic for the interest message based on at least one of: one or more policies associated with the service class, one or more policies associated with the plurality of radio accesses, and network conditions associated with the plurality of radio accesses; and forwarding the interest message to the particular radio access.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include generating an interest message to be transmitted using each face of a plurality of faces associated with a node, wherein the interest message is to be discarded by each of a neighboring node of a plurality of neighboring nodes that receive the interest message; determining, for each face of the plurality of faces associated with the node, a one-hop propagation delay associated with each face of the plurality of faces; and selecting a particular face through which to transmit another interest message based, at least in part, on the one-hop propagation delay of the particular face and a number of pending interests associated with the particular face.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and may include receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) packet at a node; identifying a content semantic for the IP packet; determining whether the IP packet is an IP interest packet or an IP data packet; determining whether content identified in the IP packet is stored at the node based on a determination that the IP packet is an IP interest packet; forwarding the IP packet toward at least one other node based on a determination that the content is not stored at the node; and transmitting an IP data packet containing the content based on a determination that the content is stored at the node.

Abstract: A network device is configured to distribute audio streams and video streams among participant devices connected to the network device over a communication network. The network device collects respective audio streams from the participant devices, and ranks the participant devices based on the respective audio streams collected from the participant devices. Based on the ranking, the network device elects top-N participant devices among the participant devices as being associated with respective users who are active speakers, where N is one or more, and retrieves respective video streams only from the top-N participant devices. The network device receives from the participant devices respective requests for video streams from the top-N participant devices, and sends to the participant devices the video streams retrieved only from the top-N participant devices.

Abstract: A consumer sends to a producer Interests to request data packets of a data stream that are generated at a production rate. Each data packet includes a name of the data stream, a segment of data, and a current segment number that identifies the data packet in the data stream and that increments as the data packets are generated. The Interests include the name and segment numbers of segments requested by the Interests. The consumer synchronizes the segment numbers with the current segment numbers and a rate for sending the Interests to the production rate. The consumer sends to the producer the Interests at the rate and with the segment numbers as synchronized, in order to minimize a delay time between when the data packets are generated and when the data packets are received at the consumer. The consumer receives from the producer data packets satisfying the Interests.

Abstract: An electronic device of a content producer generates a chunk of data, associates a location-independent name with the chunk of data, generates a signature for the chunk of data, attaches the signature to the chunk of data, and transmits the chunk of data, with the signature attached, to one or more user devices in response to respective requests. The signature is generated based on the data in the chunk, using a private key of the electronic device. The electronic device also stores information, including a specification of a public key associated with the private key, in a first ledger entry of a blockchain, to provide the one or more user devices with access to the public key. A user device may obtain the public key and use it to verify the chunk of data.

Abstract: A network device in a network edge receives content directed to a mobile device attached to the network edge from an upstream network device and forwards the content toward the mobile device. The network device makes a decision whether to cache the content based at least in part on a popularity of the content in a region covered by the network device and a prediction error for an estimated probability that the mobile device will transition from the region to another region. The popularity is directly correlated with a first bias toward caching the content. The prediction error is inversely correlated with a second bias toward caching the content. The decision is implemented: the network device either caches the content or foregoes caching the content, in accordance with the decision.

Abstract: In various implementations, a network device receives a packet from a content producer. The packet includes data and further includes a signature generated by the content producer, based on the data, using a private key of the content producer. The network device modifies the packet without affecting the signature and forwards the modified packet toward a user device. The network device also sends the user device a manifest specifying how the packet was modified. The user device receives the packet and manifest, restores the packet's original data based on the manifest, and verifies the original data using the signature and a public key corresponding to the private key of the content producer. In response to verification of the original data, an application on the user device is allowed to use the data.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a device in a network receives an interest request for one or more pieces of content data available in the network. The interest request specifies the one or more pieces of content data via one or more bits sets in a content request bitmap of the interest request, each bit of the content request bitmap being associated with a different piece of content data. The device compares the content request bitmap to a content availability bitmap in a forwarding information base (FIB) of the device that is associated with a particular interface of the device and each bit of the content availability bitmap indicates whether a particular piece of content data is available via the particular interface. The device forwards the interest request via the particular interface, based on the comparison between the content request bitmap and the content availability bitmap in the FIB of the device.