Network, Volume 5, Issue 3 (September 2025) – 6 articles

The widespread adoption of cloud computing has amplified the demand for electric power. It is strategically important to address the limitations of reliable sources and sustainability of power. Research and investment in data centres and power infrastructure are therefore critically important for our digital economy. A novel heuristic for the minimisation of energy consumption in cloud computing is presented. It draws similarities to the concept of “network slices”, in which an orchestrator enables multiplexing to reduce the network “churn” often associated with significant losses of energy consumption. The novel network slicing–ring fencing ratio is a heuristic calculated through an iterative procedure for the reduction in cloud energy consumption. Simulation results show how the non-convex equation optimises power by reducing energy from 10,680 kJ to 912 kJ, which is a 91.46% efficiency gain. In comparison, the Heuristic AUGMENT Non-Convex algorithm (HA-NC, by Hossain and Ansari) reported a 312.74% increase in energy consumption from 2464 kJ to 10,168 kJ, while the Priority Selection Offloading algorithm (PSO, by Anajemba et al.) also reported a 150% increase in energy consumption, from 10,738 kJ to 26,845 kJ. The proposed network slicing–ring fencing ratio is seen to successfully balance energy consumption and computing performance. We therefore think the novel approach could be of interest to network architects and cloud operators. Full article

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are specialised ad hoc networks composed of small, low-power, and often battery-operated sensor nodes with various sensors and wireless communication capabilities. These nodes collaborate to monitor and collect data from the physical environment, transmitting it to a central location or sink node for further processing and analysis. This study proposes two machine learning-based enhancements to the DEEC protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) by integrating the K-Nearest Neighbours (K-NN) and K-Means (K-M) machine learning (ML) algorithms. The Distributed Energy-Efficient Clustering with K-NN (DEEC-KNN) and with K-Means (DEEC-KM) approaches dynamically optimize cluster head selection to improve energy efficiency and network lifetime. These methods are validated through extensive simulations, demonstrating up to 110% improvement in packet delivery and significant gains in network stability compared with the original DEEC protocol. The adaptive clustering enabled by K-NN and K-Means is particularly effective for large-scale and dynamic WSN deployments where node failures and topology changes are frequent. These findings suggest that integrating ML with clustering protocols is a promising direction for future WSN design. Full article

The evolution of 3GPP non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) is enabling new avenues for broadband connectivity via satellite, especially within the scope of 5G. The parallel rise in satellite mega-constellations has further fueled efforts toward ubiquitous global Internet access. This convergence has fostered collaboration between mobile network operators and satellite providers, allowing the former to leverage mature space infrastructure and the latter to integrate with terrestrial mobile standards. However, integrating these technologies presents significant architectural challenges. This study investigates 5G NTN architectures using satellite mega-constellations, focusing on transparent architectures where Starlink is employed to relay the backhaul, midhaul, and new radio (NR) links. The performance of these architectures is assessed through a testbed utilizing OpenAirInterface (OAI) and Open5GS, which collects key user-experience metrics such as round-trip time (RTT) and jitter when pinging the User Plane Function (UPF) in the 5G core (5GC). Results show that backhaul and midhaul relays maintain delays of 50–60 ms, while NR relays incur delays exceeding one second due to traffic overload introduced by the RFSimulator tool, which is indispensable to transmit the NR signal over Starlink. These findings suggest that while transparent architectures provide valuable insights and utility, regenerative architectures are essential for addressing current time issues and fully realizing the capabilities of space-based broadband services. Full article

Digital Twin Networks are advanced digital replicas of physical network infrastructures, offering real-time monitoring, analysis, and optimization capabilities. Despite their potential, the absence of a standardized definition and implementation guidelines complicates practical deployment. The existing literature often lacks clarity on tool selection and implementation specifics. In response, this paper aims to address these challenges by providing a complete guide and reference list of essential tools to implement Digital Twin Networks. Following the current research and work-in-progress from the definition initiative, including our own contributions, we propose a structured approach to Digital Twin Network implementation. Our methodology integrates insights from diverse sources to establish a coherent framework for developers and researchers. By synthesizing insights from the literature and practical experience, we define key components and functionalities critical to Digital Twin Network architecture. Additionally, we highlight challenges inherent to Digital Twin Network implementation and offer strategic approaches and mindsets for addressing them. This includes considerations for scalability, interoperability, real-time communication, data modeling, and security, ensuring a holistic approach to building effective Digital Twin Network systems. Full article

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an upcoming technology that is increasingly being used for monitoring and analysing environmental parameters and supports the progress of farm machinery. Agriculture is the main source of living for many people, including, for instance, farmers, agronomists and transporters. It can raise incomes, improve food security and benefit the environment. However, food systems are responsible for many environmental problems. While the use of IoT in agriculture and environment is widely deployed in many developed countries, it is underdeveloped in Africa, particularly in West Africa. This paper aims to provide a systematic review on this technology adoption for agriculture and environment in West African countries. To achieve this goal, the analysis of scientific contributions is performed by performing first a bibliometric study, focusing on the selected articles obtained using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method, and second a qualitative study. The PRISMA analysis was performed based on 226 publications recorded from one database: Web Of Science (WoS). It has been demonstrated that the annual scientific production significantly increased during this last decade. Our conclusions highlight promising directions where IoT could significantly progress sustainability. Full article

In this study, to address the problems of high feedback latency and redundant codebook traversal in traditional Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) beam tracking systems, two novel experimental schemes are proposed: the Edge-Integrated RIS Control Mechanism (EIR-CM) and the Visually Steered RIS Control Mechanism (VSR-CM). The EIR-CM eliminates the feedback latency of the remote server and optimizes the local computation by integrating the RIS control system and the User Equipment (UE) into the same edge server to reduce the beam tuning time by 50%. The VSR-CM realizes beam tracking based on visual perception, and directly maps the UE position to the optimal RIS codebook with a response speed as low as milliseconds. Experimental results show that the EIR-CM reduces the RIS feedback latency to 1–2 s, and the VSR-CM can be further optimized to less than 0.5 s. The two mechanisms are applicable to 6G communications, smart transport, and drone networks, providing feasibility verification for low-latency and efficient RIS deployment. Full article