+--------------------------------------------------------+
| IEEE NetSoft 2018 |
| The 4th IEEE International Conference on |
| Network Softwarization |
| “Achieving smart network softwarization” |
| 25-29 June 2018, Montreal, Canada |
| http://ieee-netsoft.org |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

The 4th IEEE International Conference on Network
Softwarization (NetSoft 2018) will be held on June 25-29,
2018 at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. IEEE
NetSoft has been created as a flagship conference aiming
at addressing “Softwarization" of networks and systemic
trends concerning the convergence of Cloud Computing,
Software-Defined Networking (SDN), and Network Function
Virtualization (NFV).


Scope
-----
The telecommunications landscape is expected to change
radically in the next few years. Pervasive ultra-
broadband, programmable networks, and cost reduction of IT
systems are paving the way to new services and
commoditization of telecommunications infrastructure while
lowering entrance barriers for new players and giving rise
to new value chains. While this results in considerable
challenges for service providers, this transformation also
brings unprecedented opportunities for the Digital Society
and the Digital Economy related to emerging new services
and applications. Examples include Tactile Internet of
Things, Industry 4.0, Cloud Robotics, and Artificial
Intelligence. 5G will both accelerate and exploit this
huge transformation, and as such, smart networking with
embedded AI techniques leveraging NFV and SDN becomes
essential. This will be made possible through the
exploitation of massive network data with analytic tools
and machine learning, allowing for proactive management of
softwarized infrastructures.

This trend will be reflected in NetSoft 2018 in the
various topics of interest under the theme "Achieving
smart network softwarization" and the conference will
serve as a forum to discuss the latest advances in this
area.


Topics of interest
------------------
Authors are invited to submit papers that fall into the
area of software-defined and virtualized infrastructures.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the
following:

- Programmable SDN and NFV
- Softwarized cloud, fog, and edge infrastructures
- Cognitive and autonomic networking
- Network slicing and slice management
- Policy-Based Networking (PBN) and Intent-Based
Networking (IBN) in Software-Defined Infrastructures
(SDI)
- Centralized vs Distributed control, management &
orchestration(/choreography)
- Abstractions and virtualization of resources, services,
and functions
- Service function chaining
- Container/microservice-based network functions
- Real-time operations and efficient network/service
monitoring in SDN/NFV
- Analytics and big data approaches for managing
softwarized networks
- QoS and QoE in softwarized infrastructures
- Resilience, reliability, and robustness of softwarized
networks
- Mobility/Security/Safety/Trust support in virtualized
environments
- SDN switch/router architecture and design
- APIs, protocols, and languages for programmable networks
- Lifecycle management of network software
- Debugging and introspection of software-defined
virtualized systems
- Transition strategies from existing networks to SDN/NFV
- Softwarized platforms for Internet of Things (IoT)
- New service models and paradigms enabled by
softwarization
- New value chains and business models
- Socio-economic impact and regulatory implications for
softwarization
- Energy efficient and green SDI
- Experience reports from experimental testbeds and
deployments


Call for Submissions
--------------------
NetSoft 2018 will feature technical paper presentations,
keynotes, tutorials, demos and exhibitions from world-
leading experts representing service providers, vendors,
research institutes, open source projects, and academia.
Additionally, topical workshops will be co-located so
various call for proposals are issued. Deadlines are:

- December 18, 2017 (extended): Technical Papers
- December 15, 2017: Workshop Proposals
- January 15, 2018: Tutorial Proposals
- May 4, 2018: Demo Proposals


Paper Submission
----------------
Authors are invited to submit original contributions
(written in English) in PDF format. Only original papers
not published or submitted for publication elsewhere can
be submitted. Papers can be of two types: full (up to 9
pages) or short (up to 5 pages) papers. Full Papers
accepted as short Papers will be required to be reduced to
5-pages length. Papers should be in IEEE 2-column
US-Letter style using IEEE Conference template (see
http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/
publishing/templates.html) and submitted in PDF format via
JEMS at: https://jems.sbc.org.br/netsoft2018.

Papers exceeding these limits, multiple submissions, and
self-plagiarized papers will be rejected without further
review. All submitted papers will be subject to a peer-
review process.

Accepted and presented papers will be published in the
conference proceedings and submitted for publications to
IEEE Xplore.


Important dates for Main Track
------------------------------
- Paper submission deadline: January 11, 2018(firm)
- Acceptance notification: March 9, 2018
- Full Conference Paper: April 6, 2018


TPC Co-Chairs
-------------
- Chadi Assi, Concordia University, Canada
- Lisandro Zambenedetti Granville, UFRGS, Brazil
- Imen Grida Ben Yahia, Orange Labs, France


General Co-Chairs
-----------------
- Prosper Chemouil, Orange Labs, France
- Noura Limam, University of Waterloo, Canada