{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:51:36Z","timestamp":1760241096325,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,28]],"date-time":"2019-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1574899200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000780","name":"European Commission","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["777137"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["777137"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000780","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness","award":["TEC2016-76795-C6-3-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TEC2016-76795-C6-3-R"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this paper, we identify the main challenges and problems related with the management and orchestration of Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) over aerial networks built with Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs). Our analysis starts from a reference scenario, where several SUAVs are deployed over a delimited geographic area, and provide a mobile cloud environment that supports the deployment of functions and services using Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) technologies. After analyzing the main challenges to NFV orchestration in this reference scenario from a theoretical perspective, we undertake the study of one specific but relevant aspect following a practical perspective, i.e., the limitations of existing transport-layer solutions to support the dissemination of NFV management and orchestration information in the considered scenario. While in traditional cloud computing environments this traffic is delivered using TCP, our simulation results suggest that using this protocol over an aerial network of SUAVs presents certain limitations. Finally, based on the lessons learned from our practical analysis, the paper outlines different alternatives that could be followed to address these challenges.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s19235220","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,28]],"date-time":"2019-11-28T08:14:04Z","timestamp":1574928844000},"page":"5220","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Transport-Layer Limitations for NFV Orchestration in Resource-Constrained Aerial Networks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0465-854X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis F.","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Telematic Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s (Madrid), Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7381-971X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivan","family":"Vidal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Telematic Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s (Madrid), Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5056-0573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"Valera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Telematic Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s (Madrid), Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5508-5414","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Borja","family":"Nogales","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Telematic Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s (Madrid), Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3079-736X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Victor","family":"Sanchez-Aguero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Telematic Engineering Department, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s (Madrid), Spain"},{"name":"IMDEA Networks Institute. Avda. del Mar Mediterr\u00e1neo, 22, 28918 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8326-2000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego R.","family":"Lopez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Telef\u00f3nica I+D. C\/Zurbar\u00e1n, 12, 28010 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1065","DOI":"10.1109\/JSAC.2014.2328098","article-title":"What will 5G be?","volume":"32","author":"Andrews","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bujary, A., and Palazzi, C.E. (2017, January 19\u201323). FANET Application Scenarios and Mobility Models. Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Micro Aerial Vehicle Networks, Systems, and Application (DroNet\u201917), Niagara Falls, NY, USA.","DOI":"10.1145\/3086439.3086440"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Jin, Y., Minai, A.A., and Polycarpou, M.M. (2003, January 9\u201312). Cooperative real-time search and task allocation in UAV teams. Proceedings of the IEEE 2nd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Maui, HI, USA."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Quaritsch, M., Stojanovski, E., Bettstetter, C., Friedrich, G., Hellwagner, H., Rinner, B., Hofbaur, M., and Shah, M. (2008, January 23\u201325). Collaborative microdrones: Applications and research challenges. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Autonomic Computing and Communication Systems, Turin, Italy.","DOI":"10.4108\/ICST.AUTONOMICS2008.4642"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nogales, B., Sanchez-Aguero, V., Vidal, I., and Valera, F. (2018). Adaptable and Automated Small UAV Deployments via Virtualization. Sensors, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/s18124116"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gonzalez, L.F., Vidal, I., Valera, F., Sanchez-Ag\u00fcero, V., Nogales, B., and Lopez, D.R. (2019, January 29). NFV orchestration on intermittently available SUAV platforms: challenges and hurdles. Proceedings of the Workshop in Mission-Oriented Wireless Sensor, UAV and Robot Networking (MiSARN), Paris, France.","DOI":"10.1109\/INFCOMW.2019.8845040"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"European Telecommunications Standards Institute (2014). Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Architectural Framework; Research Report ETSI GS NFV 002 V1.2.1."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Branco, K.R., Pelizzoni, J.M., Neris, L.O., Trindade, O., Os\u00f3rio, F.S., and Wolf, D.F. (2011, January 9\u201313). Tiriba\u2014A new approach of uav based on model driven development and multiprocessors. Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Shanghai, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICRA.2011.5980581"},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"(2019, May 31). Amazon Prime Air. Available online: http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/b?node=8037720011."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Sivakumar, A., and Tan, C.K.Y. (2010, January 10\u201314). UAV swarm coordination using cooperative control for establishing a wireless communications backbone. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems: Volume 3-Volume 3, Toronto, ON, Canada."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Grodi, R., and Rawat, D.B. (2015, January 14\u201316). UAV-assisted broadband network for emergency and public safety communications. Proceedings of the IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing (GlobalSIP), Orlando, FL, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/GlobalSIP.2015.7416926"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnca.2017.02.008","article-title":"Communication and networking of UAV-based systems: Classification and associated architectures","volume":"84","author":"Jawhar","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Netw. Comput. Appl."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1109\/MVT.2015.2481560","article-title":"Multi-UAV-Aided Networks: Aerial-Ground Cooperative Vehicular Networking Architecture","volume":"10","author":"Zhou","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vidal, I., Bellavista, P., Sanchez-Aguero, V., Garcia-Reinoso, J., Valera, F., Nogales, B., and Azcorra, A. (2018). Enabling Multi-Mission Interoperable UAS using Data-Centric Communications. Sensors, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/s18103421"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"68","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adhoc.2018.08.023","article-title":"Software-defined unmanned aerial vehicles networking for video dissemination services","volume":"83","author":"Zhao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ad Hoc Netw."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1109\/MNET.2017.1700003","article-title":"Efficient Management and Fast Handovers in Software Defined Wireless Networks Using UAVs","volume":"31","author":"Sharma","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Net."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.2017.1700456","article-title":"SDNs in the Sky: Robust End-to-End Connectivity for Aerial Vehicular Networks","volume":"56","author":"Secinti","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Suarez, J., Vidal, I., Garcia-Reinoso, J., Valera, F., and Azcorra, A. (2016, January 27\u201330). Exploring the use of RPAs as 5G points of presence. Proceedings of the 2016 European Conference on Networks and Communications (EuCNC), Athens, Greece.","DOI":"10.1109\/EuCNC.2016.7560998"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nogales, B., Sanchez-Aguero, V., Vidal, I., Valera, F., and Garcia-Reinoso, J. (2018, January 10\u201315). A NFV system to support configurable and automated multi-UAV service deployments. Proceedings of the 4th ACM Workshop on Micro Aerial Vehicle Networks, Systems, and Applications (DroNet\u201918), Munich, Germany.","DOI":"10.1145\/3213526.3213534"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rametta, C., and Schembra, G. (2017). Designing a Softwarized Network Deployed on a Fleet of Drones for Rural Zone Monitoring. Future Internet, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/fi9010008"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"White, K.J.S., Denney, E., Knudson, M.D., Mamerides, A.K., and Pezaros, D.P. (2017, January 8\u201311). A programmable SDN+NFV-based architecture for UAV telemetry monitoring. Proceedings of the 14th IEEE Annual Consumer Communications & Networking Conference (CCNC), Las Vegas, NV, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/CCNC.2017.7983162"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sara, M., Jawhar, I., and Nader, M. (2016, January 4\u20138). A Softwarization Architecture for UAVs and WSNs as Part of the Cloud Environment. Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE International Conference on Cloud Engineering Workshop (IC2EW), Berlin, Germany.","DOI":"10.1109\/IC2EW.2016.17"},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"4734821","article-title":"An NFV-Based Energy Scheduling Algorithm for a 5G Enabled Fleet of Programmable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles","volume":"2019","author":"Hesselbach","year":"2019","journal-title":"Wirel. Commun. Mob. Comput."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101612","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adhoc.2017.11.012","article-title":"UAVs that fly forever: Uninterrupted structural inspection through automatic UAV replacement","volume":"94","author":"Erdelj","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ad Hoc Netw."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"OpenStack (2019, September 30). Open Source Software for Creating Private and Public Clouds. Available online: https:\/\/docs.openstack.org\/ocata."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shelby, Z., Hartke, K., and Bormann, C. (2014). The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 7252.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc7252"},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"OASIS (2016). Information technology\u2014Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) v3.1.1, International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO\/IEC 20922:2016."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1300","DOI":"10.1109\/49.932698","article-title":"ATCP: TCP for mobile ad hoc networks","volume":"19","author":"Liu","year":"2001","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Larsen, E. (2012). TCP in MANETs\u2014Challenges and Solutions, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"275","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1013798127590","article-title":"Analysis of TCP Performance over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks","volume":"8","author":"Holland","year":"2002","journal-title":"Wirel. Netw."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"Devaraj, S.A., Anita, R.H.V., and Christa, J.J. (2014, January 18\u201319). Comparative analysis of random based mobility models using TCP variant in MANETs. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Communication and Network Technologies, Sivakasi, India."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Fu, Z., Meng, X., and Lu, S. (2002, January 1\u20134). How bad TCP can perform in mobile ad hoc networks. Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC\u201902), Taormia-Giardini Naxos, Italy."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Johnson, D., Hu, Y., and Maltz, D. (2007). The Dynamic Source Routing Protocol (DSR) for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks for IPv4, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 4728.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc4728"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Perkins, C., Belding-Royer, E., and Das, S. (2003). Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) Routing, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 3561.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc3561"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clausen, T., and Jacquet, P. (2003). Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (OLSR), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 3626.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc3626"},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Iyengar, J., and Thomson, M. (2019). QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed and Secure Transport, Internet Engineering Task Force. draft-ietf-quic-transport-24."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belshe, M., Peon, R., and Thomson, R. (2015). Hypertext Transfer Protocol Version 2 (HTTP\/2), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 7540.","DOI":"10.17487\/RFC7540"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dierks, T., and Rescorla, E. (2008). The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 5246.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc5246"},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"(2019, September 10). NS-3 Network Simulator. Available online: https:\/\/www.nsnam.org."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1016\/j.icte.2017.08.002","article-title":"An overview of device-to-device communication in cellular networks","volume":"4","author":"Kar","year":"2018","journal-title":"ICT Express"},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"(2019, September 27). PARROT BEBOP 2. Available online: https:\/\/www.parrot.com\/es\/drones\/parrot-bebop-2."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3747","DOI":"10.1109\/TWC.2017.2688328","article-title":"Energy-Efficient UAV Communication with Trajectory Optimization","volume":"16","author":"Zeng","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Henderson, T., Floyd, S., Gurtov, A., and Nishida, Y. (2012). The New Reno Modification to TCP\u2019s Fast Recovery Algorithm, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 6582.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc6582"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fall, K. (2003, January 25\u201329). A Delay-Tolerant Network Architecture for Challenged Internets. Proceedings of the ACM 2003 Conference on Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols for Computer Communication (SIGCOMM), Karlshure, Germany.","DOI":"10.1145\/863955.863960"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Templin, F. (2012). Asymmetric Extended Route Optimization (AERO), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). RFC 6706.","DOI":"10.17487\/rfc6706"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154659","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2019.2949119","article-title":"VENUE: Virtualized Environment for Multi-UAV Network Emulation","volume":"7","author":"Valera","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Access"}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/19\/23\/5220\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T13:38:12Z","timestamp":1760189892000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/19\/23\/5220"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,28]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"23","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,12]]}},"alternative-id":["s19235220"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s19235220","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"1424-8220"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,28]]}}}