Automated Deployment of an Internet Protocol Telephony Service on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Network Functions Virtualization
November 26th, 2019
The objective of the described protocol is twofold: to configure a network functions virtualization environment using unmanned aerial vehicles as computational entities providing the underlying structure to execute virtualized network functions and to use this environment to support the automated deployment of a functional internet protocol telephony service over the aerial vehicles.
This protocol can aid in the automated deployment of telecommunication services over constrained devices, such as with telephony service provided through an aerial network of unmanned aerial vehicles. The advantage of this solution is that it facilitates in the rapid deployment of services over the limited geographic areas, for which communication infrastructures may be unavailable or insufficient. This protocol has been defined within the research area on the third generation of mobile networks and it is based on state of the art normal function utilization technologies.
This method has been demonstrated using the advanced prototypes available here at 5TONIC, the European leading laboratory in 5G, but it can be demonstrated also without our 5G virtual systems. To verify the correct setup of a UAV cloud platform, access the Administrator, System, System Information tab using the appropriate login information and click in the Computing Service and Network Agent sections to check that the status of the displayed items is up. To configure an experiment, download the VNF images that implement the different components of the IP telephony service from the experiment repository.
To upload the VNF images to their correspondent VIM, click Create Image and create an image using the displayed form. After uploading the images for each corresponding VIM, download the VNF descriptors of the experiment from the experiment repository and sign in to the OSM graphical user interface with the administrator credentials. Drag and drop the descriptors into the VNF Packages tab.
Then, download the NSD from the experiment repository and drag and drop the NSD into the NS Packages tab of the OSM graphical user interface. To add a VIM account for UAV cloud platform VIM and for the core cloud platform VIM, in the VIM Accounts tab, click plus New VIM and complete the displayed form with the requested information for both VIMs. To initiate an experiment, access the OSM command line interface and deploy the network service.
Type the command to execute the network service in the command line interface specifying the VIM that will be used to host each VNF. When the OSM graphical user interface indicates a successful network service deployment, switch on the UAVs and login to the UAV flight control application. Then, control the flight of each UAV to stably maintain the vehicle at an intermediate height and to avoid any turbulence caused by the rotation of the motors close to a surface.
To prepare an IP phone to carry out a call, connect a wireless voice over IP phone to one of the access points offered by the network service. Then, click Advanced and TCP/IP and check that the IP and router addresses are correctly configured. To enable the appropriate exchange of signaling messages with the IP telephony server, open the app and click Assistant, and use a SIP account to create a user account.
Then specify the host name of the IP telephony server, VNF. If using a handheld voice over IP phone, take similar steps to what was just shown. To create an entry in an IP phone book, click Options and enter the address or phone number in the window.
Once the experiment presents the call participants in their respective locations, one of the users can initiate an IP telephony call. To initiate the call to the other party, press the Call button. When the other IP phone starts ringing, use the Call button to accept the incoming call.
To collect the experimental results, connect a commodity laptop to one of the wireless access points and run the ping command line tool to the IP address that the phone connected to the other access point over 180 seconds. Once the connection has established with the access point, verify the IP connectivity with the IP phone, and save the round trip time measurements. To capture the traffic exchanged during the IP call, execute the TCP dump command line tool in one of the running access point VNFs and save this traffic into a file, enabling the writing flag of the command line tool at the execution time and specifying the name of the file.
Then perform a new IP telephony call and maintain the call for a specific period of time before terminating the call. Here, data from a real voice over IP call demonstrates the cumulative distribution function of the end-to-end delay measured between two end user equipment items. More than 80%of the end-to-end delay measurements were below 60 milliseconds in this analysis and none of the measurements were higher than 140 milliseconds, guaranteeing the appropriate delay metrics for the execution of a voice call.
Here, an exchange of the DNS and SIP signaling messages is illustrated with the messages corresponding to the registration of one of the users in the IP telephony server and to the establishment of the voice call. In this representative graph of data traffic captured during a call, a constant stream of voice packets transmitted and received by one of the wireless phones during the call is shown. In this graph, the jitter in the forward direction of the data traffic, with an average value lower than 1 millisecond, can be observed.
When reproducing this protocol, it is important to consider the utilization of single-port computers to execute the virtualization containers. This protocol could potentially be used in other environments in which resource constrained devices might be available, for instance, in the northeast environments. If the protocol includes a flight procedure experimenter, so be sure to follow the appropriate security measures and the corresponding regulatory statement.
Overview
This protocol outlines the configuration of a network functions virtualization environment utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support the automated deployment of an IP telephony service. It demonstrates how UAVs can provide telecommunication services in areas lacking sufficient infrastructure.
Key Study Components
Area of Science
- Telecommunications
- Network Functions Virtualization
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Background
- The protocol addresses the need for rapid service deployment in constrained environments.
- It is relevant to the third generation of mobile networks.
- Utilizes state-of-the-art virtualization technologies.
- Demonstrated at 5TONIC, a leading 5G laboratory.
Purpose of Study
- To configure a UAV-based network functions virtualization environment.
- To automate the deployment of IP telephony services.
- To validate the performance of telecommunication services in limited geographic areas.
Methods Used
- Setup of a UAV cloud platform and verification of its status.
- Downloading and uploading of VNF images and descriptors.
- Deployment of network services via the OSM command line interface.
- Monitoring and capturing traffic during IP telephony calls.
Main Results
- Successful deployment of IP telephony services over UAVs.
- Measured end-to-end delays below 60 milliseconds for over 80% of calls.
- Traffic analysis showed low jitter values during calls.
- Demonstrated feasibility of using UAVs for telecommunication in constrained environments.
Conclusions
- The protocol effectively supports telecommunication service deployment using UAVs.
- It can be adapted for use in various resource-constrained environments.
- Future applications may extend beyond current experimental setups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Executive Industry Relevance
This protocol demonstrates how unmanned aerial vehicles can serve as deployable computational platforms for network function virtualization, enabling rapid telecommunications service setup in infrastructure-limited scenarios. The approach supports predictive validation of communication reliability in constrained environments, relevant to disaster response and remote operations. It provides a mechanistic de-risking framework for evaluating real-time voice service performance under variable network conditions.
Strategic Applications in Biopharma R&D
Early Discovery & Target Validation
- Scientific Value: Enables hypothesis testing of communication reliability as a functional variable in distributed biological monitoring systems.
- Operational Value: Provides a reproducible method to isolate network-dependent variables affecting real-time data transmission fidelity.
Screening & Assay Development
- Scientific Value: Supports preparation of standardized, quantifiable communication endpoints for validating telemetry-dependent assay systems.
- Operational Value: Delivers measurable outputs such as end-to-end delay and jitter to assess platform readiness for continuous biomarker data streaming.
Translational & Preclinical Research
- Scientific Value: Facilitates translational continuity by ensuring reliable command-and-control links between ground stations and aerial sampling platforms in preclinical field studies.
- Operational Value: Enables risk-adjusted advancement decisions by quantifying communication latency thresholds critical for time-sensitive intervention studies.
Pipeline & Workflow Integration
The method integrates into discovery workflows where reliable low-latency communication is essential for coordinating distributed experimental systems, particularly in mobile or remote preclinical settings.
- Discovery Biology: Supports hypothesis testing regarding environmental influences on signal transmission integrity in airborne sensor networks.
- Screening: Ensures assay readiness by verifying network stability and quantitative performance metrics before deploying telemetry-dependent screening platforms.
- Analytics: Provides end-to-end delay and jitter measurements that enable objective comparison of communication link quality under varying flight conditions.
- Translational Research: Connects discovery-phase communication validation to preclinical continuity by validating real-time control link reliability for aerial data collection systems.
- Enterprise Reuse: Establishes a reusable capability for rapidly deploying ad-hoc communication networks across diverse field research sites.
Operational & Enterprise Impact
- Scientific Value: Predictive confidence in real-time data link performance, reduction of communication-induced experimental variability.
- Operational Value: Standardization of deployment procedures, reproducibility of network performance validation, scalability across multiple UAV nodes.
- Strategic Value: Better go/no-go decisions for field deployment based on validated communication thresholds, reduced risk of data loss in remote studies.
- Portfolio Impact: Risk-adjusted prioritization of field-deployable technologies based on proven communication reliability in constrained environments.
Implementation Considerations
- Required expertise in network functions virtualization, UAV flight operations, and IP telephony configuration.
- Need for lightweight single-board computers, wireless access points, and open-source orchestration software (OSM).
- Cross-team standardization required between flight operations, network engineering, and data acquisition teams.
- Adaptation considerations include varying UAV payload capacities, flight endurance, and environmental interference effects on signal propagation.
- Practical limitations include dependency on line-of-sight for optimal wireless performance and regulatory constraints on UAV flight altitude and frequency usage.
