RÉCITAL: Routing and Configuration of Time-Sensitive Networks under Latency Constraints
RÉCITAL is a research project funded by ANR under 
contract number ANR-25-CE25-1445
Starts: March 2026. Ends: February 2030.
Participants: Ludovic Thomas (CNRS, LORIA, PI), Ye-Qiong Song (UL, LORIA), Bernardetta Addis (UL, LORIA) + doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to be recruited.
Abstract:
Time-sensitive networks support critical applications such as control loops in cyber-physical systems (airplanes, cars, factories). They rely on specific technologies (IEEE TSN, IETF DetNet) that amend the forwarding process in switches and routers and must be configured according to the requirements of the flows. For a given configuration, it is essential to formally verify the worst-case latency bounds to ensure compliance with flows’ timing constraints. Network calculus is a commonly used theory for this validation, and open-source tools are available to compute the latency bounds of a given network configuration.
However, time-sensitive networks control increasingly large and dynamic systems. To choose a routing and configuration for these new networks, enumerating all possible configurations, analyzing them all using network calculus to retain only those that meet the flow requirements becomes impractical. The RÉCITAL project proposes to start from the flow latency constraints to generate a routing of flows and a network configuration that respect these constraints and minimize the network usage and/or maximize the monetary value of the service.
The project is based on modeling network-calculus elementary operations by constraints and linearizing these constraints to obtain an integer linear programming (ILP) program. By leveraging the performance of ILP solvers, RÉCITAL will develop dedicated resolution methods for large-scale problems in order to obtain a routing and configuration solution in the form of an open-source algorithm that will then be tested on the SLICES-FR platform. Thus, RÉCITAL will enable more performant and more flexible configurations of networks compared to current solutions that are based on gradient descent.
Open Positions:
- I am looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in operational research to join the RÉCITAL research project. More details in this document . Please apply by sending me an email with your CV and cover letter.
- I am also recruiting a PhD student to join the RÉCITAL research project. More details & application procedure here. Please apply on the linked website directly (button « Candidater » at the bottom of the page).
