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Cybertwin: An Origin of Next Generation Network Architecture

Quan Yu, Jing Ren, Yinjin Fu, Ying Li, Wei Zhang

arXiv:1904.11313v1cs.NI

TL;DR

IoE’s increasing traffic and services challenge network scalability, mobility, security, and availability. The paper proposes a cybertwin-based architecture with a real-time multi-agent resource-trading platform. It presents the architecture’s concepts and four features, while identifying authentication and other open topics.

Abstract

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With fast development of Internet of Everything (IoE) and its applications, the ever increasing mobile internet traffic and services bring unprecedented challenges including scalability, mobility, availability, and security which cannot be addressed by the current clean-slate network architecture. In this paper, a cybertwin based next generation network architecture is proposed to accomodate the evolution from end-to-end connection to cloud-to-end connection in the future network. As a digital representation of human or things in the virtual cyberspace, cybertwin serves in multiple capacities, such as communications assistant, network data logger, and digital asset owner. The new and unique characteristics of the cybertwin make the proposed network to be flexible, scalable, reliable, and secure. Further, we advocate a new cloud network operating system which can work in a distributed way through a real-time multi-agent trading platform to allocate 3C (computing, caching, communications) resources. We also propose cloud operator, a new operator that can provide and manage the resources to the end users and offer location and authentication services for human and things in the cyberspace. Some promising and open research topics are discussed to envision the challenges and opportunities of the cybertwin in the future network architecture.

INTRODUCTION

IoE’s growing traffic and services call for networks that support ubiquitous data functions beyond traditional end-to-end connections, while addressing scalability, mobility, security, and availability. The paper proposes a cybertwin-based architecture to address these challenges.

  • IoE shifts network architecture beyond end-to-end connections toward ubiquitous data collection, aggregation, fusion, processing, distribution, and service, creating new design challenges.Source: INTRODUCTION · p. 2
  • In the current Internet, using IP addresses as both device identity and locator contributes to scalability problems, while anonymous access raises security concerns and provider coordination complicates QoS and availability.Source: INTRODUCTION · p. 2
  • Prior approaches address only parts of the problem: ICN designs,, retain end-to-end constraints, while MobilityFirst, XIA, and ChoiceNet leave other mobility, availability, scalability, or trading gaps.Source: INTRODUCTION · pp. 2–3
  • Cloud architectures including NEBULA, CloNe, and CIN share resources or simplify management, but their described designs retain mobility, availability, scalability, or security gaps.Source: INTRODUCTION · p. 3
  • The proposed cybertwin-based architecture uses cybertwins as communications assistants, network data loggers, and digital asset owners to address scalability, security, mobility, and availability.Source: INTRODUCTION · p. 3

CYBERTWIN BASED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

The section describes a cloud-centric, cybertwin-mediated network architecture that coordinates computing, caching, and communications across clouds. It covers mechanisms for resource trading, mobility, security, and service availability, including approaches to scalability that shorten access paths, move capabilities closer to users, and separate object identification from network addressing.

CYBERTWIN BASED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

  • Core clouds provide computing, caching, and communications as network infrastructure, while smaller, nearer edge clouds respond faster and cloud operators offer authentication and real-time location services.The architecture also assigns access, core, and service networks to connect ends and clouds, interconnect clouds, and carry application services.Source: CYBERTWIN BASED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE · pp. 4–5
  • Cybertwins represent humans or things and mediate their services, replacing direct end-to-end connections with ends connecting to a cybertwin that obtains services from the cloud network.They also serve as communication assistants, network data loggers, and digital asset owners.Source: CYBERTWIN BASED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE · pp. 4–5
  • Cybertwins can log end behaviors in real time and publish processed behavior data as digital-asset services, potentially enabling owner value and a C2X business model.The paper frames this data ownership as an alternative to valuable behavior data being gathered by a few companies.Source: Cybertwin · p. 7

Cloud Network Operating System

  • A distributed cloud network OS replaces transport with cloud-service and cross-cloud protocols, coordinating 3C resources through real-time multi-agent contracts and scarcity-based dynamic pricing.The paper proposes resource virtualization such as SDN and NFV as a limited-scope basis for this broader distributed system.Source: CYBERTWIN BASED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE · p. 6, Cloud Network Operating System · p. 8

Mobility

  • Object IDs identify humans, things, and services while network addresses indicate location; dynamic mappings and cybertwin migration support mobility, backup, and uninterrupted service, though retaining an original cybertwin can increase delay.An end can reconnect through a new access point, and a cybertwin may migrate to an edge cloud closer to it.Source: Mobility · pp. 9–11

Security

  • Cybertwins support security through authentication, opaque internal network addresses, and auditable behavior tracking, while real-time logging is described as providing extra personal-privacy protection.The architecture proposes biological authentication for humans and digital signatures for things or services.Source: Cybertwin · p. 7, Security · p. 11

Availability (QoS guarantee)

  • Always-online cybertwin service and collaboration among edge and core clouds aim to provide high availability, low latency, and personalized QoS; cross-cloud operators can trade using smart contracts.The paper calls for an open interconnection protocol balancing decentralized autonomy with centralized cooperation.Source: Availability (QoS guarantee) · pp. 11–12

Scalability

  • The section identifies scalability pressures from traffic growth, IPv4 address exhaustion, and expanding route tables, noting that CDN caching only partially helps while NAT and IPv6 add complexity.Source: Scalability · p. 12
  • The cloud-centric architecture improves scalability by shortening access paths and placing intelligence, processing, and communication near users to reduce latency and route-table expansion.It avoids long-distance cloud access by responding as near the end user as possible.Source: Scalability · pp. 12–13
  • Locator/identifier separation uses independent naming and addressing namespaces, identifying cyberspace humans, devices, services, data, and apps with 128-bit IPv6-format or 48-bit EUI-48 object IDs.Network addresses such as IPv4/IPv6 are internal and opaque externally; mapping object IDs to network addresses links endpoints with access points and can alleviate address exhaustion.Source: Scalability · p. 13

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

The paper concludes by presenting cybertwin and cloud operators as core concepts in its next-generation network architecture, while identifying open work needed to make the design safer and more scalable.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

  • The proposed architecture introduces cybertwin and cloud-operator concepts, and the authors identify further research as necessary for a safer, more scalable design.Source: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK · p. 13

Identity authentication

  • Authentication research must cover humans, things, and services, with biological-characteristic identification offered as one example for humans.Source: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK · p. 13

Digital asset management

Cross-cloud operator resource scheduling

AI power based cybertwin

Smart contract based cloud resource coordination

  • Smart-contract-based coordination is proposed as an attractive resource-management mechanism for single- or cross-cloud systems without a trusted physical third party.Source: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK · p. 14

Data privacy protection and security

  • Data privacy and security remain critical challenges because cybertwins can turn end-behaviour data into digital assets and services.The authors call for laws and techniques to guide and protect this data.Source: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK · p. 14

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