Smart middleware for mutual service-network awareness in evolving 3GPP networks: network aware applications & application aware networks

We have designed a smart middleware and are working on implementing and deploying it as a landmark architectural piece run by nodes of the Future Internet. The middleware we propose aims as a main goal at making applications and services fully network-aware in the sense that they utilize network resources and tune their own demands based on what the underlying networks can offer. On the other hand, the smart middleware makes networks service aware in the sense that networks also adapt their configuration to service demands. Challenges of the Future Internet such as scalability, increased interoperability, and smart collaboration between engines are addressed by our middleware. Focusing on 3GPP networks including IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks, this paper presents the architectural design of our middleware and shows in two showcases how and why it is capable of addressing future challenges. Scenarios such as service and network-aware coordinated load balancing and "always-best-connected" as a service verify the merits of our smart middleware design.