ABSTRACT

The Internet has started almost 40 years back in 1970s. Since then it has gone through
a series of continuous enhancements and changes. TCP/IP was the original Internet
protocol. Then, research scholars were sharing files & data among each other at
national laboratories & universities of United States of America. At that time, there
was no consideration of security issues & QoS. During those times, there were fixed
terminals everywhere and links among communicating devices were fixed. There was
no imagination of real-time audio & video-streaming services & applications. Also
mobility of terminals was not considered.

A number of modifications & extensions were done in the past fifteen years
when the Internet was opened and used for commercial applications. These extensions
and modifications included Network Address Translation (NAT) features, provision
of QoS and security for data packets, access control to edge nodes (Firewalls),
provision of voice services over the Internet (VoIP), support for video streaming and
introduction of mobile IP for moving devices/users while the core protocol was the
original TCP/IP. In network research community, there was worry & description as to
how long these patchwork through incremental changes may be continued for
meeting an alternate path over needs of the future.

In spite of different types of incremental changes added to Internet, it is

extremely cumbersome working with such a complex & enormously growing
Internet. Due to the increasing huge burden of modern Internet applications, it has
reached to the point of crumbling where people shall find difficulty in the recovery of
errors & its maintenance.

As a result, challenges mentioned above played a leading part in Next

Generation & Future Networks/Internets' development. The research community is
divided in to two groups. Research by one community is based on the argument that
the Internet has grown so complex that a fresh look for the development of
architecture of a new network for future requirements seems justifiable. Advocacy of
this community is that instead of relying on the existing network architecture which is
based on IP, a new network architecture from the scratch should be investigated. This
is called clean-slate approach. There should not be insistence for the network to be
backward compatible. Only after the design of new network is over, migration from
other networks or backward compatibility should be looked into.

On the base of "clean-slate" approach, Japan's MIC is making a goal for a

New Generation network (NWGN) through its AKARI project. which shall replace
the existing Internet. The society's needs such as security, capacity & communication
speed shall be taken care by this network by 2020. Japan's NICT calls NWGN as
abbreviation of New Generation network to distinguish it from Next Generation
Network (NXGN, or NGN). The thesis comprehensively studies and analyzes the
NWGN.

Over the coming 5 to 10 years of range, both access & core NWs shall use IP
for the evolutionary development of architecture of new network. This is the idea of
second community. Group leader of this second community is International
Telecommunications union-Telecommunications (ITU-T) who is developing Next
Generation network (NGN). NW designers generally use this new concept of NGN
for the description of telecommunication networks' vision of future and appeared at
the end of 1990s to face the emerging situations in telecommunication world. Its
characteristics depend upon large number of factors such as global competition
among operators due to increased demands by customers for generalized mobility,
due to huge multimedia services demands, because of the generalized application of
Internet & because of complete data traffic explosion's market deregulation. Because
of general wish of the operators, manufacturers, and service providers to compromise
on a common understanding of next generation network, International
Telecommunications Union has come to a conclusion for standardizing the next
generation network. ITU-T-Study-Group-13 (SG-13) has taken this project in its
hand. A detailed and comprehensive study and analysis of Next Generation network
(NGN) is covered in the thesis.

In recent years, researches on Future Networks have started. In this research

area, International Telecommunication Union-Telecom published four
recommendations. which are, Y.3031 (2012), Y.3021 (2012), Y.3011 (2012), &
Y.3001 (2011). These recommendations introduce research recommendations, for
example, software defined networks, virtualization of network, cloud networking,
information centric networking, open connectivity, and automatic management. The
thesis presents a complete study and analysis of future networks.

The thesis also elaborates and describes the study and analysis of next generation
access technologies, for example, PONs & next generation PONs (NG- PONs) to connect
customers to the NGN network with faster access data rates.

Current generation cellular networks are limited in terms of maximum data rates
and advanced services and applications. Thesis studies and analyses, in detail, regarding the
next generations of cellular and wireless networks.

Network security is designed and deployed to protect our networks from any
unauthorized network activity, such as usability, integrity, reliability, and safety of our
networks and data. Thesis gives answers to all these questions related to NGN security.