About the speakers
Christian Grasso (Member, IEEE) received the master’s degree (cum laude) in telecommunications engineering from the Department of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, University of Catania, Italy, in 2017. In February 2021 he got his PhD. in Systems, Energy, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering at the same university under the guidance of Prof. Giovanni Schembra with a thesis entitled "Network softwarization and smart services in 5G ecosystems". His research activity includes the study and application of resource orchestration in a 5G environment for creating and managing network slices, applying artificial intelligence, and paradigms of SDN, NFV, and MEC. He also works on tactile Internet and blockchain technologies. He was involved in the H2020 European Projects INPUT, Triangle, 5GINFIRE, and Flame as a Research Consultant and a Software Developer with CNIT or other companies.
Sebastian Troia is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and a Fulbright Fellow at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas (USA). In 2020, he earned his Ph.D. degree in Information Technology (Telecommunication area) cum laude from Politecnico di Milano. His current research interests are in the field of edge network softwarization and Machine Learning for communication networks. His work encompasses the development of intelligent control and orchestration plane architectures for SDN and SD-WAN in multi-layer (optical and IP) network scenarios. He has participated in various European Projects such as H2020 Metro-Haul, NGI Atlantic, and FP7 Marie Curie MobileCloud. Additionally, he served as an editor for the ITU Focus Group on Machine Learning for Future Networks including 5G (FG-ML5G). He has co-authored more than 50 publications in international journals, conferences and book chapters, with a focus on Machine-Learning for SDN, SD-WAN and NFV. He is a reviewer for several international journals, and a member of the Technical Program Committee for international conferences and workshops including IEEE ICC and IEEE GLOBECOM. He has been also a member of the Organizing Committee for IEEE HPSR 2019, DRCN 2020 and 2021, IEEE NetSoft 2022 and NoF 2024. He is the the co-organizer the Edge Network Softwarization (ENS) workshop, now in its third edition in conjunction with IEEE NetSoft 2024 in St. Louis, USA.
Guido Maier, received his Laurea degree in Electronic Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in 1995 and his Ph.D. degree in Telecommunication Engineering at the same university in 2000. Until February 2006 he has been researcher at CoreCom (research consortium supported by Pirelli in Milan, Italy), where he achieved the position of Head of the Optical Networking Laboratory. On March 2006 he joined the Politecnico di Milano as Assistant Professor. In 2015 he became Associate Professor. His main areas of interest are: optical network modeling, design and optimization; SDN orchestration and control-plane architectures; SD-WAN and NFV. He is author of more than 200 papers in the area of Networking published in international journals and conference proceedings (h-index 29) and 6 patents. He is PI of the project WatchEDGE (RESTART program, NextGenerationEU funded) and was involved in several industrial and European research projects. In 2016 he co-founded the start-up SWAN networks, spin-off of Politecnico di Milano. He is editor of the journal Optical Switching and Routing, General Chair of DRCN 2020, DRCN 2021, IEEE NetSoft 2022 and IEEE HPSR 2025, guest editor of a special issue of the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society and TPC member in many international conferences. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Communications Society.
Abstracts
The Power of Synergy: how Edge Computing and FANET revolutionize Telecommunications
Christian Grasso, Università di Catania
Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) are a specialized form of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks composed by UAVs. They have found increasing applications in military, commercial, and civil sectors, especially in large-area scenarios due to their high mobility and extended communication range. They are particularly useful where traditional communication infrastructure is absent, such as in post-disaster rescue operations or remote areas, offering the flexibility to adapt network topologies based on resource demand by adding or reducing UAVs. Despite these advantages, FANETs face challenges like the need for advanced onboard hardware and limited battery life, which introduces network dynamism. This tutorial explores the role of FANETs in enhancing connectivity and computing capabilities in 5G/6G network, allowing the possibility to extend cloud computing to edge, providing networking and computing resources near the final users, in both smart cities or extreme environments. The tutorial discusses benefits and challenges regarding the use of FANETs, highlighting strategies for service provision and energy-efficient function placement on UAVs.
Network Softwarization at the Edge with SD-WAN
Sebastian Troia, Guido Maier, Politecnico di Milano
With the increasing need for flexible and high-performing network solutions, Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) has become a cornerstone of modern, efficient network operations. This tutorial delves into the transformative potential of SD-WAN as a key enabler of network softwarization, focusing on its application at the network edge. We will explore the fundamental architecture of SD-WAN, emphasizing its decoupling of control and data planes to enhance flexibility and control. The session will cover advanced traffic engineering techniques, including application-aware routing, and dynamic path selection, which empower organizations to deliver high quality user experiences. In addition, we will highlight the robust monitoring capabilities of SD-WAN, showcasing real-time analytics, and predictive insights, to ensure high network performance and reliability. The tutorial will also present compelling use cases across industries, demonstrating how SD-WAN is driving innovation in cloud connectivity, IoT deployment, and facilitating seamless collaboration in hybrid work environments.