Scientific Publications

Lavian T.; Wang P.; Travostino F.; Subramanian S.; Hoang D.B.; Sethaput V.; Intelligent Network Workshop, 2001 IEEE 6-9 May 2001, pp. 73 - 82.

A significant challenge in today's Internet is the ability to efficiently introduce intelligent network services into commercial high-performance network devices. This paper tackles the challenge by introducing the active flow manipulation (AFM) mechanism, a key enabling technology of the programmable networking platform Openet. AFM enhances the control functionality of network devices through programmability. With AFM, customer network services can exercise intelligent network control by identifying specific flows and applying particular actions thereby altering their behavior in real time. These services are dynamically deployed in the CPU-based control plane and are closely coupled with the silicon-based forwarding plane of the network node, without negatively impacting forwarding performance. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by several experimental applications on a commercial network node.

Lavian, T.; Wang, P.; Travostino, F.; Subramanian S.; Hoang D.B.; Sethaput V.; Culler D.; Journal of Communications and Networks, March 2001, pp. 78 - 87.

A significant challenge arising from today's increasing Internet traffic is the ability to flexibly incorporate intelligent control in high performance commercial network devices. The paper tackles this challenge by introducing the active flow manipulation (AFM) mechanism to enhance traffic control intelligence of network devices through programmability. With AFM, customer network services can exercise active network control by identifying distinctive flows and applying specified actions to alter network behavior in real-time. These services are dynamically loaded through Openet by the CPU-based control unit of a network node and are closely coupled with its silicon-based forwarding engines, without negatively impacting forwarding performance. AFM is exposed as a key enabling technology of the programmable networking platform Openet. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by four active network services on commercial network nodes.

Mike Chen, Barbara Hohlt, Tal Lavian, December 2000.

We are facing a trend towards ubiquitous connectivity where users demand access at anytime, anywhere. This has lead to the deployment of public network ports and wireless networks. Current solutions to network access control are inflexible and only provide all-or-nothing access.

It is also increasing important to protect Intranet hosts from other mobile and static hosts on the same Intranet, in order to contain damages in the case that a host gets compromised.

We present an architecture that addresses these issues by using a programmable router to provide dynamic fine-grained network access control. The Javaenabled router dynamically generates and enforces access control rules using policies and user profiles as input, reducing administrative overhead. Our modular design integrates well with existing authentication and directory servers, further reducing admininstrative costs. Our prototype is implemented using Nortel's Accelar router and moves users to VLANs with the appropriate access privilege.

Nortel Seminar, Tal Lavian, August 2000.

Wang P.; Jaeger R.; Duncan R.; Lavian T.; Travostino F.; 2nd Workshop on Active Middleware Services, 2000.

Current Active Networks (AN) research projects are mainly realized in software-based network systems since available hardware lacks networking programmability. This paper studies the deployment of AN services on the Accelar Gigabit Routing Switch. The Accelar is one of the Nortel Networks programmable networking products, and uses the ASIC technology to reach the high-speed forwarding capability. The Oplet Running Environment (ORE) and the Java Forwarding (JFWD) API provide the programmable interface to the Accelar. The ORE is a pure Java environment that enables the Accelar to download and initiate network services dynamically. Using the oplet encapsulation, AN execution environments (EEs) can be deployed on the Accelar as ORE services. The JFWD API provides access to underlying hardware resources to perform network operations such as diverting packets and altering packet processing.

We demonstrate the deployment of Active Networks EEs as network services managed by the ORE, specifically, the MIT ANTS EE. We have wrapped the MIT ANTS implementation with the ORE-mandated structure and successfully run ANTS applications over a network comprised pure and ORE encapsulated ANTS EEs. In conclusion, we present observations about the AN service deployment on the Accelar.

Jaeger R.; Duncan R.; Travostino F.; Lavian T.; Hollingsworth J.; Selected Papers. 10th IEEE Workshop on Metropolitan Area and Local Networks, 1999. 21-24 Nov. 1999, pp. 103 - 109.

Current network devices enable connectivity between end systems with support for routing with a defined set of protocol software bundled with the hardware. These devices do not support user customization or introducing new software applications. Programmable network devices allow for the dynamic downloading of customized programs into network devices, allowing for the introduction of new protocols and network services. The Oplet Runtime Environment (ORE) is a programmable network architecture built on a Gigabit Ethernet L3 Routing Switch to support downloadable services. Complementing the ORE, we introduce the JFWD API, a uniform, platform-independent portal through which application programmers control the forwarding engines of heterogeneous network nodes (e.g., switches and routers). Using the JFWD API, an ORE service has been implemented to classify and dynamically adjust packet handling on silicon-based network devices.

Lavian, T.; Jaeger, R. F.; Hollingsworth, J. K.; IEEE Hot Interconnects Stanford University, August 1999, pp. 265-277.

Current network devices enable connectivity between end systems given a set of protocol software bundled with vendor hardware. It is impossible for customers to add software functionality running locally on top of network devices to augment vendor software. Our vision is to open network devices so that customized software can be downloaded, allowing for more flexibility and with a focus on industry and customer specific solutions. This brings considerable value to the customer.

We have chosen to use Java because we can reuse its security mechanism and dynamically download software. We can isolate the Java VM and downloaded Java programs from the core router functionality.

We implemented Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) on a family of network devices, implemented an Open Services framework, and developed an SNMP MIB API and a Network API upon which we can demonstate the value of openness and programmability of network devices.

Open Java SNMP MIB API

Lavian T.; Lau S.; BAL TR98-010 Bay Architecture Lab Technical Report, March 1998.

Lavian T.; Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, November 1995.

Determann L.; Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Volume 21, Issue 4, Fall 2006.

(Lavian T. contributor to the technical section).

Companies have been fighting about software interoperability and substitutability for decades. The battles have usually involved wholesale copying and significant modifications of code to achieve compatibility, and the law seems fairly settled in this respect. More recently, however, software developers and users alike have started to wake up to potential problems regarding combinations of separate programs, particularly in connection with open source software. Fear, uncertainty and doubt ("FUD") prevail in all quarters and have become a prominent topic in the computer lawyer community.

This Article begins with a brief introduction to the issue and its context (I), examines the relevant copyright law principles in general (II) and the application of copyright law to software in particular (III), goes on to illustrate the classification of software combinations under copyright law in a few common technical and commercial scenarios (IV), and addresses the practical implications in the context of commercial (V) and open source licensing (VI), which is especially timely in light of the current debate surrounding the update of the General Public License (GPL). The article concludes that most forms of software combinations are less dangerous than commonly assumed, because they do not constitute derivative works (but instead either compilations or sui generis aggregations outside the scope of the copyright owner's exclusive rights), and a number of statutes and legal doctrines significantly limit a copyright owner's ability to contractually prohibit software combinations that do not also constitute derivative works under copyright law.