Aims & Scope

Aims

Network (ISSN 2673-8732) is an international, open access journal in science and technology for all original research on networks and related fields. It publishes reviews, original research articles, communications, letters, and perspectives. Our aim is to provide an advanced forum for scientists to share their novel ideas and solid research, in order to promote the crucial field of network technology.

The journal publishes all topics of interest involved in the networks area, including, but not limited to, the control and analysis of networks, the design of protocols and architectures of networks, network security and service management, the design of network components, and interdisciplinary aspects of networks.

There is no restriction on the maximum length of the papers. Full experimental details should be provided so that the results can be reproduced. Electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculation and experimental procedure—if unable to be published in a normal way—can be deposited as supplementary material.

Scope

Network Architectures and Protocols

• Network architecture design (e.g., distributed systems, virtualization, new network architectures, SDN/NFV, edge/fog/cloud computing);
• Network protocols and stacks (e.g., routing protocols, TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, media access control (MAC) protocols, and cross-layer protocol design);
• Network layers and protocol stacks (OSI model, transport layer, security layer, multi-layer, WAN/LAN protocols);
• Network modeling and analysis (topology models, traffic prediction, queuing theory, performance metrics: throughput, latency, reliability). 

Wireline and Fiber Networks

• Wired technologies (Ethernet, DSL, Power Line Communication);
• Fiber optic systems (FTTH, DWDM, OTN);
• High-speed transmission (100GbE, Terabit-scale networks). 

Wireless and Mobile Networks

• Wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRa);
• Mobile communications (4G, 5G, 6G and beyond; millimeter-wave/terahertz communication);
• Mobile internet and devices (smartphones, IoT terminals, V2X; 6G-connected robotics for cooperative communication/sensing/control). 

Intelligent Networks and AI-Driven Networking

• Intelligent management (SDN-based dynamic configuration, adaptive optimization);
• AI/ML applications (traffic routing, anomaly detection, forecasting, performance tuning);
• Edge-cloud synergy (real-time inference, industrial automation);
• Open RAN and AI Integration;
• Integrated services (design and deployment of integrated network services across multiple scenarios). 

Cloud and Data Center Networks

• Cloud and Edge Computing Networks: Cloud-edge collaborative network architecture, computation offloading strategies, cloud data center networks (DCN) for traffic scheduling and load balancing, etc.;
• Cloud-edge integration, hybrid/multi-cloud networking;
• Data center design (architecture, topology, microservice placement);
• Virtualization and softwarization (multi-tenant isolation, network softwarization);
• Storage networks (SAN, NAS) and in-network computing (energy efficiency, resource management). 

Network Security and Privacy

• Attacks defense and technologies (firewalls, IDS/IPS, DDoS protection; advanced cybersecurity solutions);
• Encryption and authentication (SSL/TLS, VPN, quantum encryption);
• Privacy protection (regulatory compliance, blockchain-based solutions);
• AI-driven security (intrusion detection, threat prevention);
• Security in Specific Scenarios: IoT device security, vehicular network privacy protection, industrial control network security, edge network security, etc. 

Network Services and Applications

• Core internet services (DNS, email protocols (SMTP/IMAP));
• File sharing and storage (NFS, cloud storage APIs);
• Web services (RESTful APIs, microservice-based exchange);
• Remote access and communication (RDP, VoIP, video conferencing);
• Smart manufacturing network applications (networking technologies for manufacturing scenarios linked with 5G/6G and robotic collaboration). 

Network Operation and Management

• Monitoring and fault management (performance tracking, real-time alerts);
• Configuration automation (Ansible, consistent device setup);
• QoS and traffic optimization (application-based prioritization);
• AI/ML-driven orchestration and scalable design. 

Emerging Technologies and Interdisciplinary Networks

• 5G/6G advanced applications (smart manufacturing, metaverse, remote surgery, tactile internet);
• Convergence of IoT, blockchain, and AI in future networks;
• Energy efficiency and green networks;
• Molecular communications;
• Space networks (satellite networks, space-air-ground integrated networks, quantum space communications; near-Earth/deep space networks; aerial-space integrated networks);
• Quantum communication networks (programming models, repeater technologies, algorithm design);
• Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) and Joint Communication, Sensing, and Actuation (JCAS) (integrated applications of communication, sensing, and actuation);
• Communications in robotics (networking for collaborative robotic systems, robotic swarm communication, 5G/6G-enabled robotic networking technologies);
• UAV-enabled networks, robot-aided radio mapping technologies;
• Near-field Communication.

MDPI Publication Ethics Statement

MDPI is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). MDPI takes the responsibility to enforce a rigorous peer-review together with strict ethical policies and standards to ensure to add high quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publication. Unfortunately, cases of plagiarism, data falsification, inappropriate authorship credit, and the like, do arise. MDPI takes such publishing ethics issues very seriously and our editors are trained to proceed in such cases with a zero tolerance policy. To verify the originality of content submitted to our journals, we use iThenticate to check submissions against previous publications.

Book Reviews

Authors and publishers are encouraged to send review copies of their recent related books to the following address. Received books will be listed as Books Received within the journal's News & Announcements section.

MDPI
Grosspeteranlage 5
CH-4052 Basel
Switzerland

Copyright / Open Access

Articles published in Network will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The copyright is retained by the author(s). MDPI will insert the following note at the end of the published text:

Reprints

Reprints may be ordered. Please contact publisher@mdpi.com for more information on how to order reprints.

Announcement and Advertisement

Announcements regarding academic activities such as conferences are published for free in the News & Announcements section of the journal. Advertisement can be either published or placed on the pertinent website. Contact e-mail address is network@mdpi.com.