Call for Papers

Topic Summary

Next generation networks (NGNs) are expected to utilize internal and external sources of data through information and wireless communication techniques. Particularly, the demand for autonomic network management, orchestrations and optimization is as intense as ever, even though significant research has been needed.

Software Defined Networks (SDN) have been proposed to address QoS requirements for NGNs including high throughput, high mobility, low latency, heterogeneity and scalability. SDN has improved the user experience by providing high-performance communications between the network nodes, reconstructing the network structure, and optimizing the networking coverage, system security, communication latency, etc. The control intelligence is moved out of devices in a logically centralized controller, which interacts with data plane devices through standard interfaces.

However, the existing applications in the SDN attract more attention to develop new learning algorithms, enhanced protocols and even in sensor power line communication for data transmission. The Cognitive Learning algorithms are the best solution to some particular applications. The cognitive software defined network (CSDN) presents to combine the efficiencies of SDN with new cognitive learning algorithms and enhanced protocols to automatize SDN. Its research and implementation are based on autonomic network management and control concepts. Such a combination of SDNs with autonomic frameworks and cognitive algorithms is better to solve the issues of traditional SDNs. This architecture of CSDN enables up-to-date control schemes to be developed and deployed to enable new smart networking services. This special issue will bring together academic and industrial researchers to identify and discuss technical challenges and recent results related to cognitive software defined networks.

The topics of interest for this special issue include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative architecture, infrastructure, techniques and testbeds for CSDN (include body area network, vehicular networks, sensor networks)
• Cognitive computing, affective computing, machine learning and other novel tools, services, technologies, algorithms and methods for data analysis in CSDN
• Individual and social behavior analysis for CSDN
• Contextual data management and mining platforms for CSDN
• Intelligent edge technologies in CSDN
• Multi-modal information fusion in CSDN
• Intelligent and interactive interface for CSDN
• Privacy protected discovery and adaptation in CSDN
• CSDN standardization and implementation challenges
• Augmented reality and mediated reality for CSDN
• Responsible artificial intelligence for CSDN
• CSDN in 5G mobile networks
• Network or service diagnosis via CSDN
• Network architecture and optimization for CSDN applications
• CSDN  Algorithms for network security
• Big data analytics for CSDN

The papers for rigorous and well-coordinated peer-review process will be collected through the Manuscript Central System for IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering.

Submission Guidelines

Prospective authors are invited to submit their manuscripts electronically, adhering to the IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering guidelines.

Note that the page limit is the same as that of regular papers. Please submit your papers through the online system and be sure to select the special issue or special section name. Manuscripts should not be published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. Please submit only full papers intended for review, not abstracts, to the ScholarOne portal. If requested, abstracts should be sent by e-mail to the Guest Editors directly.

Important Dates

Manuscripts due: 1 February 2020
Peer reviews to authors: 1 May 2020
Revised manuscripts due: 15 June 2020
Second-round reviews to authors: 1 August 2020
Final accepted manuscript due: 31 August2020

Guest Editors