HotMiddlebox 2016: ACM SIGCOMM Workshop on Hot Topics in Middleboxes
and Network Function Virtualization

Co-located with ACM SIGCOMM'16 August 22-26, 2016, Salvador, Brazil.

http://conferences.sigcomm.org/sigcomm/2016/hotmiddlebox.php

Call for Papers

Modern networks heavily rely on advanced in network processing for a wide
spectrum of crucial functions ranging from security through traffic
management, all the way to Voice over IP (just to name few). Until recently,
these network functions were implemented in dedicated hardware "middleboxes"
spread within the network. However, the strive to reduce cost and increase
agility is motivating a major shift to a paradigm where software-based
processing is done over virtualized, shared platforms built on commodity
hardware servers, switches, and storage.

This trend towards virtualized middleboxes, called Network Function
Virtualization, NFV, with the use of Software Defined Networks, SDN to
control the network flows is gaining popularity in the telecommunication
industry as well as in academia. Yet, this paradigm shift is at a very early
stage and many interesting questions remain open in this regard. The
HotMiddlebox workshop will serve as an avenue to showcase and discuss
ongoing work in this space from both academia and industry and to identify
key challenges and potential solutions, with the ultimate goal of providing
a roadmap for practical deployment in operational networks.

Topics of Interest

We encourage the submission of work-in-progress papers in the area of
(virtualized) middlebox design, implementation, measurement, management,
deployment, as well as Internet architecture implications of middleboxes. We
look for submissions of previously unpublished work on topics including, but
not limited to, the following:

- Performance optimizations of network stacks on virtualized systems
- Verification of unknown code running on shared middlebox platforms
- Security issues regarding middleboxes
- Extensible software stacks for rapid implementation of new middlebox functions
- Mechanisms for migration of stateful middleboxes
- Resource allocation mechanisms for shared/virtualized middlebox platforms
- Integrating new software middleboxes into legacy networks
- Backend storage/memory architectures for middleboxes
- Management abstractions and policy language frameworks for middleboxes
- Experiences and best-practices in deploying software-based middleboxes in operational networks
- Deployment and use of middleboxes in the cloud
- Measurements of middleboxes in enterprise, ISP, and data center networks
- Novel security, performance, and monitoring applications atop middleboxes
- Challenges for policy verification in the context of middlebox services
- Internet architecture implications of middleboxes

Submission Instructions

Submissions must be original, unpublished work, not under consideration at
another venue. Each submission must be a single PDF file no longer than six
(6) pages in length (in two-column, 10-point format) including references,
following the provided LaTeX style file. Papers should be submitted
electronically via the submission site (ttps://hotmiddlebox16.hotcrp.com/).
Papers must include the author name and affiliation for single-blind peer
reviewing by the program committee. Please upload your submissions to the
workshop submission page. Accepted papers will be published in the ACM
Digital Library. Publication at HotMiddlebox is not intended to preclude
later publication. Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their
papers at the workshop.

Important Dates

Abstract registration: March 18, 2016
Submission: March 25, 2016
Notification: April 30, 2016
Camera ready: May 15, 2016