Dr. rer. nat. Daniel Merling
Oct 2017 - Mai 2023
Dissertation: "Resilient and Scalable Forwarding for Software-Defined Networks with P4-Programmable Switches"
Contact: merling @dmerling.de
Personal website: https://dmerling.de
I'm a former researcher and PhD student (Oct. 2017 - Mai 2023) at the Chair of Communication Networks at the University of Tübingen. Prior, I studied Cognitive Science (B.Sc.) from 2012 to 2015 and graduated in November 2017 with a Master's degree in Informatics.
My research areas included:
- Software-Defined Networks (SDNs)
- P4
- Multicast
- Network Resilience
- Scalability
Teaching
Courses
- Sommer term 2022: Network Softwarization (NetSoft)
- Winter term 2020/2021: Modellierung und Simulation I/II, Pentesting, Network Softwarization (NetSoft)
- Winter term 2019/2020: Pentesting
- Winter term 2018/2019: Modellierung und Simulation I/II
- Winter term 2017/2018: Modellierung und Simulation I/II
Supervised Theses
- Master thesis: P4-Based Implementation of Loop-Free Alternates with Loop Detection and Termination for Resilient Software-Defined Networking
- Bachelor thesis: Entwicklung und Implementierung eines Frameworks zur Optimierung von Netzwerk-Segmentierung für BIER und BIER-TE mit Hilfe von Evolutionären Algorithmen
- Bachelor thesis: Design und Vergleich von Clustering-Algorithmen zur Verbesserung der Skalierbarkeit von BIER-basiertem Multicast in Kommunikationsnetzen
- Bachelor thesis: Strategien zur preis- und kostenabhängigen Gestaltung von Lastplänen in einem virtuellen Kraftwerk mit Leistungsgrenzen
- Master thesis: Design and P4-Based Implementation of Scalable and Resilient BIER and BIER-TE for Large IP Multicast Networks
- Bachelor thesis: Topologiepartitionierung durch maschinellem Lernen für skalierbares IP-Multicast basierend auf Bit Index Explicit Replication
Publications
Journal Paper
- Daniel Merling, Thomas Stüber, and Michael Menth: Efficiency of BIER Multicast in Large Networks (preprint), IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Managment, 2023
- Steffen Lindner, Daniel Merling, and Michael Menth: Learning Multicast Patterns for Efficient BIER Forwarding with P4 (preprint), IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Managment, 2023
- Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, and Michael Menth: Robust LFA Protection for Software-Defined Networks (RoLPS) (preprint), IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Managment, vol. 18, no. 3, Sept. 2021
- Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, and Michael Menth: Hardware-Based Evaluation of Scalable and Resilient Multicast with BIER in P4, (open access), in IEEE Access, vol. 9, Feb. 2021
- Frederik Hauser, Marco Häberle, Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, Vladimir Gurevich, Florian Zeiger, Reinhard Frank, and Michael Menth: A Survey on Data Plane Programming with P4: Fundamentals, Advances, and Applied Research, (preprint), Journal of Network and Computer Applications (JNCA), vol. 212, Mar. 2023
- Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, and Michael Menth: P4-Based Implementation of BIER and BIER-FRR for Scalable and Resilient Multicast, (preprint), in Journal of Network and Computer Applications (JNCA), vol. 196, Nov. 2020
- Daniel Merling, Michael Menth, Nils Warnke and Toerless Eckert: An Overview of Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER), IETF Journal, Mar. 2018
- Michael Menth, Habib Mostafaei, Daniel Merling, and Marco Haeberle: Implementation and Evaluation of Activity-Based Congestion Management Using P4 (P4-ABC), (open access) in Future Internet, vol. 11, no. 7, Jul. 2019
Conference Paper
- Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, and Michael Menth: Comparison of Fast-Reroute Mechanisms for BIER-Based IP Multicast, (preprint), 7th Conference on Software Defined Systems (SDS) 2020, Paris, France
- Florian Heimgaertner, Sascha Heider, Thomas Stueber, Daniel Merling, and Michael Menth: Load Profile Negotiation in Day-Ahead Planning for Compliance with Power Limits, (preprint), ETG Congress 2019, Esslingen, Germany
- Daniel Merling, Wolfgang Braun, and Michael Menth: Efficient Data Plane Protection for SDN, (preprint), in Proceedings of the 4th IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization (NetSoft), June 2018, Montreal, Canada
Workshop Paper
- Steffen Lindner, Daniel Merling, Marco Häberle, and Michael Menth: P4-Protect: 1+1 Path Protection for P4, (preprint), in Proceedings of the 3rd P4 Workshop in Europe in conjunction with ACM CoNEXT 2020, Dec. 2020, Barcelona, Spain
Posters, Talks, etc.
Posters
- Daniel Merling, Wolfgang Braun, and Michael Menth: eLFA-LA: a Protection Method for Software-Defined Networking, PhD Day of the Department of Computer Science, Tuebingen, Germany, November 2017
Talks
- Daniel Merling, Steffen Lindner, and Michael Menth: Hardware-Based Evaluation of Scalableand Resilient Multicast with BIER in P4, IETF 108, BIER Working Group (Slides, Video)
- Daniel Merling: Tutorial on Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER), (slides), 2. KuVS Fachgespräch "Network Softwarization", Tuebingen, Germany, March 2020.
Review Activities
Reviewer for the following international journals, magazines, conferences, and workshops:
- Computer Networks
- IEEE Access
- IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (IEEE INFOCOM)
- IEEE Conference on Network Softwarization (IEEE NetSoft)
- Conference on Networked Systems (NetSys)
- IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (IEEE/IFIP NOMS)
- IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management (IEEE TNSM)
- IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking (IEEE ToN)
Internet Drafts
D. Merling and M. Menth: BIER Fast Reroute, March 2019
Theses
- Scalable Resilience for Software-Defined Networking using Remote Loop-Free Alternates with Loop Detection, Master-thesis, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Chair of Communication Networks, September 2017
- Precise navigation of flying robots with GPS, Bachelor-thesis, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Cognitive Systems, August 2015