SUPERFLUIDITY | Superfluidity: a super-fluid, cloud-native, converged edge system

Summary
Superfluidity is “a state in which matter behaves like a fluid with zero viscosity”. Our project aims at achieving superfluidity in the network: the ability to instantiate services on-the-fly, run them anywhere in the network (core, aggregation, edge) and shift them transparently to different locations.
The SUPERFLUIDITY project tackles crucial shortcomings in today’s networks: long provisioning times, with wasteful over-provisioning used to meet variable demand; reliance on rigid and cost-ineffective hardware devices; daunting complexity emerging from three forms of heterogeneity: heterogeneous traffic and sources; heterogeneous services and needs; and heterogeneous access technologies, with multi-vendor network components.
The SUPERFLUIDITY solution is based on: a decomposition of network components and services into elementary and reusable primitives; a native, converged cloud-based architecture; the virtualization of radio and network processing tasks; platform-independent abstractions, permitting reuse of network functions across heterogeneous hardware platforms, while catering to the vendors’ need for closed platforms/implementations; and high performance software optimizations along with leveraging of hardware accelerators.
As a result, the 5G network will benefit from: i) location-independence: network services deployable in heterogeneous networks; ii) time-independence: near instantaneous deployment and migration of services; iii) scale-independence: transparent service scalability; and iv) hardware-independence: development and deployment of services with high performance irrespective of the underlying hardware.
Through these properties, SUPERFLUIDITY will provide a converged cloud-based 5G concept that will enable innovative use cases in the mobile edge, empower new business models, and reduce investment and operational costs.
The SUPERFLUIDITY consortium gathers an impressive and uncommon blend of Telco and IT players that can make its vision a reality.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/671566
Start date: 01-07-2015
End date: 31-03-2018
Total budget - Public funding: 7 894 615,00 Euro - 7 894 614,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Superfluidity is “a state in which matter behaves like a fluid with zero viscosity”. Our project aims at achieving superfluidity in the network: the ability to instantiate services on-the-fly, run them anywhere in the network (core, aggregation, edge) and shift them transparently to different locations.
The SUPERFLUIDITY project tackles crucial shortcomings in today’s networks: long provisioning times, with wasteful over-provisioning used to meet variable demand; reliance on rigid and cost-ineffective hardware devices; daunting complexity emerging from three forms of heterogeneity: heterogeneous traffic and sources; heterogeneous services and needs; and heterogeneous access technologies, with multi-vendor network components.
The SUPERFLUIDITY solution is based on: a decomposition of network components and services into elementary and reusable primitives; a native, converged cloud-based architecture; the virtualization of radio and network processing tasks; platform-independent abstractions, permitting reuse of network functions across heterogeneous hardware platforms, while catering to the vendors’ need for closed platforms/implementations; and high performance software optimizations along with leveraging of hardware accelerators.
As a result, the 5G network will benefit from: i) location-independence: network services deployable in heterogeneous networks; ii) time-independence: near instantaneous deployment and migration of services; iii) scale-independence: transparent service scalability; and iv) hardware-independence: development and deployment of services with high performance irrespective of the underlying hardware.
Through these properties, SUPERFLUIDITY will provide a converged cloud-based 5G concept that will enable innovative use cases in the mobile edge, empower new business models, and reduce investment and operational costs.
The SUPERFLUIDITY consortium gathers an impressive and uncommon blend of Telco and IT players that can make its vision a reality.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

ICT-14-2014

Update Date

27-10-2022
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.2. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP
H2020-EU.2.1. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
H2020-EU.2.1.1. INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
H2020-EU.2.1.1.3. Future Internet: Software, hardware, Infrastructures, technologies and services
H2020-ICT-2014-2
ICT-14-2014 Advanced 5G Network Infrastructure for the Future Internet