=== Quando ===
Giovedì, 21 aprile ore 14:30
=== Dove ===
Dipartimento di ingegneria
Sezione di informatica e automazione
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Sala riunioni (1.10) Primo piano
________________________________________________________

SEMINARIO #1

=== Titolo ===
On the Practical Applicability of SDN Research

=== Speaker ===
Roberto di Lallo
PhD Student in Computer Science and Automation
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=roberto

=== Abstract ===
Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is a de-facto established approach that separates
the packet switching functions of a device from its operational logic, which is
controlled by a piece of software. Due to its potential for realizing new network
architectures and services, a whole thread of scientific literature is devoted to
SDN and its most adopted incarnation, OpenFlow. However, limited attention has been
put in verifying the viability of the proposed approaches on currently available
hardware.
We address this deficiency through the following contributions: i) a critical review
of the literature about SDN in terms of applicability issues stemming from publicly
documented limitations of OpenFlow implementations; ii) a methodology for verifying
the support of SDN-related functions in a network device, comprising an OpenFlow
compliance test as well as custom targeted tests; iii) an application of the
methodology to devices from 7 different vendors, unveiling extensive anomalous
behaviors affecting even the most basic features; iv) a discussion of this outcome
in terms of relevance of the discovered anomalies and of their implications on the
applicability of state-of-the-art contributions on SDN. Besides taking a snapshot of
the viability of research results, with this paper we intend to highlight aspects
that operators should consider when picking SDN devices.

Joint work with M. Gradillo, G. Lospoto, C. Pisa, and M. Rimondini.

________________________________________________________

SEMINARIO #2

=== Titolo ===
RoutingWatch: Visual Exploration and Analysis of Routing Events

=== Speaker ===
Massimo Rimondini
Researcher
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=max

=== Abstract ===
Network operators invest significant resources in monitoring and troubleshooting the
infrastructure they run. Currently, the availability of large networks of probing
devices, like, for example, RIPE Atlas, dramatically increases the amount of data an
operator can rely on. In particular, the large amount of traceroutes they can
produce are both an opportunity and a challenge. In this paper we provide a detailed
description of RoutingWatch, a visual tool for interactively performing searches and
analysis of routing events inferred from a large set of traceroutes. The key design
choices of RoutingWatch are based on discussions with network operators. We evaluate
the effectiveness of our approach by conducting a preliminary user study.

Joint work with D. Ceneda, M. Di Bartolomeo, V. Di Donato, M. Patrignani, and M.
Pizzonia.

=== Quando ===
Mercoledì 20 gennaio alle ore 17:00

=== Dove ===
Dipartimento di ingegneria
Sezione di informatica e automazione
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Sala riunioni, primo piano

=== Titolo ===
L-Drawings of Directed Graphs

=== Speaker ===
Vincenzo Roselli
Postdoctoral Researcher at Department of Engineering
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=cionzo

=== Abstract ===
We introduce L-drawings, a novel paradigm for representing directed
graphs aiming at combining the readability features of orthogonal drawings with the expressive power of matrix representations. In an L-drawing, vertices have exclusive x- and y-coordinates and edges consist of two segments, one exiting the source vertically and one entering the destination horizontally. We study the problem of computing L-drawings using minimum ink. We prove its NP-completeness and provide a heuristic based on a polynomial-time algorithm that adds a vertex to a drawing using the minimum additional ink. We performed an experimental analysis of the heuristic which confirms its effectiveness.

Joint work with Patrizio Angelini, Giordano Da Lozzo, Marco Di Bartolomeo, Valentino Di Donato, Maurizio Patrignani and Ioannis Tollis.

The paper will be presented at the forthcoming Sofsem 2016 – 42nd International Conference on Current Trends in Theory and Practice of Computer Science – January 23–28, 2016 – Harrachov, Czech Republic

Martedì 15 dicembre – Ore 16:00-18:00

Aula N13,  piano terra, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Roma Tre

Via della Vasca Navale, 79, Roma

Provision of personalized recommendations to users requires accurate modeling of their interests and needs. This work proposes a general framework and specific methodologies for enhancing the accuracy of user modeling in recommender systems by importing and integrating data collected by other recommender systems. Such a process is defined as user models mediation. The work discusses the details of such a generic user modeling mediation framework. It provides a generic user modeling data representation model, demonstrates its compatibility with existing recommendation techniques, and discusses the general steps of the mediation. Specifically, four major types of mediation are presented: cross-user, cross-item, cross-context, and cross-representation. Finally, the work reports the application of the mediation framework and illustrates it with practical mediation scenarios. Evaluations of these scenarios demonstrate the potential benefits of user modeling data mediation, as in certain conditions it allows improving the quality of the recommendations provided to the users.

Giovedì 22 Ottobre 2015 Ore 11:00-12:30

Sala Riunioni, 1° piano, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Roma Tre

Via della Vasca Navale, 79, Roma

—————————————————————————–

=== When ===
Wednesday, Oct 21st at 4:00 PM

=== Where ===
Department of Engineering
Section of Computer Science and Automation
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Meeting room (1.10) on 1st floor

=== Title ===
BitConeView: Visualization of Flows in the Bitcoin Transaction Graph

=== Speaker ===
Valentino Di Donato
Ph.D. student at the Department of Engineering
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=didonato

=== Abstract ===
Bitcoin is a digital currency whose transactions are stored into a
public ledger, called blockchain, that can be viewed as a
directed graph with more than 70 million nodes, where each node
represents a transaction and each edge represents Bitcoins flowing
from one transaction to another one. We describe a system for the visual
analysis of how and when a flow of Bitcoins mixes with
other flows in the transaction graph. Such a system relies on high-level
metaphors for the representation of the graph and the size
and characteristics of transactions, allowing for high level analysis of
big portions of it.

Joint work with Giuseppe Di Battista, Maurizio Patrignani,
Maurizio Pizzonia, Vincenzo Roselli, and Roberto Tamassia.

The paper will be presented at the forthcoming IEEE VizSec 2015 – “IEEE
Symposium on Visualization for Cyber Security” October 26, 2015 –
Chicago, Illinois, USA (http://vizsec.org/)

=== When ===
Friday, Sept 11th at 6:00 PM

=== Where ===
Department of Engineering
Section of Computer Science and Automation
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Meeting room (1.10) on 1st floor

=== Title ===
Intersection-Link Representations of Graphs

=== Speaker ===
Giordano Da Lozzo
Postdoc fellow at the Department of Engineering
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=giordano

=== Abstract ===
We consider drawings of graphs that contain dense subgraphs. We
introduce intersection-link representations for such graphs, in which each vertex
u is represented by a geometric object R(u) and in which each edge (u, v) is
represented by the intersection between R(u) and R(v) if it belongs to a dense
subgraph or by a curve connecting the boundaries of R(u) and R(v) otherwise.
We study a notion of planarity, called CLIQUE PLANARITY , for intersection-link
representations of graphs in which the dense subgraphs are cliques.

Joint work with Patrizio Angelini, Giuseppe Di Battista, Fabrizio Frati, Maurizio Patrignani, and Ignaz Rutter.

The paper will be presented at the forthcoming 23rd International Symposium on Graph Drawing & Network Visualization September 24-26, 2015, Los Angeles, CA, USA (http://www.csun.edu/gd2015/)

=== When === 
    Friday, June 26th at 2:30 PM 
 
=== Where === 
    Department of Engineering 
    Section of Computer Science and Automation 
    Via della Vasca Navale, 79 
    Meeting room (1.10) on 1st floor 
 
=== Title === 
    Is It Really Worth to Peer At IXPs? A Comparative Study 
 
=== Speaker === 
    Roberto di Lallo 
    PhD Student in Computer Science and Automation 
    Roma Tre University 
    http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=roberto 
 
=== Abstract === 
Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) play a crucial role in the Internet ecosystem. 
However, existing literature fails in quantitatively assessing the advantage for 
an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to peer at an IXP. We give a contribution to bridge
such a gap by collaborating with three medium-sized ISPs in Italy to compare key performance
indicators (round-trip delay, hop count, packet loss, and jitter) as measured from several
vantage points in presence and absence of IXP peerings. Our findings are that IXP-based paths
exhibit better and more stable performance, whereas avoiding IXPs introduces performance
deterioration and higher variability. Moreover, our measurements confirm that IXP-based paths 
tend to preserve the locality of traffic. 
 
Joint work with M. Di Bartolomeo, G. Di Battista, and C. Squarcella. 
 
The paper will be presented at the forthcoming IEEE ISCC 2015 (http://www.ieee-iscc.org/)

=== When ===

Friday, July 3rd at 2:30 PM

=== Where ===

Department of Engineering
Section of Computer Science and Automation
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Meeting room (1.10) on 1st floor

=== Title ===

Discovering High-Impact Routing Events Using Traceroutes

=== Speaker ===

Valentino Di Donato
PhD Student in Computer Science and Automation
Roma Tre University
http://www.dia.uniroma3.it/~compunet/www/view/person.php?id=didonato

=== Abstract ===

With the increasing diffusion of Internet probing technologies, a large amount of regularly collected traceroutes are available for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) at low cost.
We introduce a practically applicable methodology and algorithm that, given solely an arbitrary set of traceroutes, spot routing paths that change similarly over time, aggregate them into inferred events, and report each event along with the impacted observation points and a small set of IP addresses that can help identify its cause. The formal model at the basis of our methodology revolves around the notion of /empathy/, a relation that binds similarly behaving traceroutes. The correctness and completeness of our approach are based on structural properties that are easily expressed in terms of empathic measurements.
We perform experiments with data from public measurement infrastructures like RIPE Atlas, showing the effectiveness of our algorithm in distilling events from a large amount of traceroute data. We also validate the accuracy of the inferred events against ground-truth knowledge of routing changes originating
from induced and spontaneous routing events. Given these promising results, we believe our methodology can be an effective aid for ISPs to detect and track routing changes affecting many users (with potentially adverse effects on their connection quality).

Joint work with M. Di Bartolomeo, M. Pizzonia, C. Squarcella, and M. Rimondini.

The paper will be presented at the forthcoming IEEE ISCC 2015 (http://www.ieee-iscc.org/)

When:

Wednesday June 10th at 10:00

Where

Department of Engineering
Section of Computer Science and Automation
Via della Vasca Navale, 79
Meeting room (1.10) on 1st floor

Title:

On the Knapsack Problem with a Conflict Graph

Abstract:

We consider the classical 0-1 Knapsack Problem with additional conflict restrictions on pairs of items, which state that for certain pairs of items at most one item can be contained in any feasible solution. This can also be seen as a Maximum Weight Independent Set Problem with an additional budget constraint. The conflicts between items can be represented by a conflict graph. We will give an overview on the status of approximability for different graph classes. In particular, we will describe an FPTAS for graphs of bounded treewidth and for (weakly) chordal graphs and a PTAS for planar graphs. Also modular and clique decompositions will be discussed leading to an FPTAS for certain graph classes characterized by forbidden subgraphs. (joint work with Joachim Schauer)