Last updated: 2026-02-21 05:01 UTC
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Number of pages: 157
| Author(s) | Title | Year | Publication | Keywords | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiyu Yang, Qunyong Wu, Zhanchao Huang, Zihao Zhuo | SGA-Seq: Station-aware Graph Attention Sequence Network for Cellular Traffic Prediction | 2026 | Early Access | Adaptation models Predictive models Spatiotemporal phenomena Cellular networks Traffic control Computational modeling Time series analysis Accuracy Feature extraction Technological innovation Traffic prediction Graph Convolutional Network Spatiotemporal dependencies | Cellular traffic prediction is crucial for optimizing network resources and enhancing service quality. Despite progress in existing traffic prediction methods, challenges remain in capturing periodic features, spatial heterogeneity, and abnormal signals. To address these challenges, we propose a Station-aware Graph Attention Sequence Network (SGA-Seq). The core idea is to achieve accurate cellular traffic prediction by adaptively modeling station-specific spatiotemporal patterns and effectively handling complex traffic dynamics. First, we introduce a learnable temporal embedding mechanism to capture temporal features across multiple scales. Second, we design a station-aware graph attention network to model complex spatial relationships across stations. Additionally, by progressively separating regular and abnormal signals layer by layer, we enhance the model’s robustness. Experimental results demonstrate that SGA-Seq outperforms existing methods on five diverse mobile network datasets spanning different scales, including cellular traffic, mobility flow, and communication datasets. Notably, on the V-GCT dataset, our method achieves an 8.04% improvement in Root Mean Squared Error compared to the Spatiotemporal-aware Trend-Seasonality Decomposition Network. The code of SGA-Seq is available at https://github.com/OvOYu/SGA-Seq. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664401 |
| Pengcheng Guo, Zhi Lin, Haotong Cao, Yifu Sun, Kuljeet Kaur, Sherif Moussa | GAN-Empowered Parasitic Covert Communication: Data Privacy in Next-Generation Networks | 2026 | Early Access | The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in next-generation communication networks poses a serious threat to data privacy while achieving advanced signal processing. Eavesdroppers can use AI-based analysis to detect and reconstruct transmitted signals, leading to serious leakage of confidential information. In order to protect data privacy at the physical layer, we redefine covert communication as an active data protection mechanism. We propose a new parasitic covert communication framework in which communication signals are embedded into dynamically generated interference by generative adversarial networks (GANs). This method is implemented by our CDGUBSS (complex double generator unsupervised blind source separation) system. The system is explicitly designed to prevent unauthorized AI-based strategies from analyzing and compromising signals. For the intended recipient, the pretrained generator acts as a trusted key and can perfectly recover the original data. Extensive experiments have shown that our framework achieves powerful covert communication, and more importantly, it provides strong defense against data reconstruction attacks, ensuring excellent data privacy in next-generation wireless systems. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3666669 | |
| Liang Kou, Xiaochen Pan, Guozhong Dong, Meiyu Wang, Chunyu Miao, Jilin Zhang, Pingxia Duan | Dynamic Adaptive Aggregation and Feature Pyramid Network Enhanced GraphSAGE for Advanced Persistent Threat Detection in Next-Generation Communication Networks | 2026 | Early Access | Feature extraction Adaptation models Computational modeling Artificial intelligence Semantics Topology Next generation networking Adaptive systems Dynamic scheduling Data models GraphSAGE Dynamic Graph Attention Mechanism Multi-Scale Feature Pyramid Advanced Persistent Threat Next-Generation Communication Networks | Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) pose severe challenges to Next-Generation Communication Networks (NGCNs) due to their stealthiness and NGCNs’ dynamic topology, while conventional GNN-based intrusion detection systems suffer from static aggregation and poor adaptability to unseen nodes. To address these issues, this paper proposes DAA-FPN-SAGE, a lightweight graph-based detection framework integrating Dynamic Adaptive Aggregation (DAA) and Multi-Scale Feature Pyramid Network (MSFPM). Leveraging GraphSAGE’s inductive learning capability, the framework effectively models unseen nodes or subgraphs and adapts to NGCN’s dynamic changes (e.g., elastic network slicing, online AI model updates)—a key advantage for handling NGCN’s real-time topological variations. The DAA module employs multi-hop attention to dynamically assign weights to neighbors at different hop distances, enhancing capture of hierarchical dependencies in multi-stage APT attack chains. The MSFPM module fuses local-global structural information via a gated feature selection mechanism, resolving dimensional inconsistency and enriching attack behavior representation. Extensive experiments on StreamSpot, Unicorn, and DARPA TC#3 datasets demonstrate superior performance, meeting detection requirements of large-scale NGCNs. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3660650 |
| Deemah H. Tashman, Soumaya Cherkaoui | Trustworthy AI-Driven Dynamic Hybrid RIS: Joint Optimization and Reward Poisoning-Resilient Control in Cognitive MISO Networks | 2026 | Early Access | Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces Reliability Optimization Security MISO Array signal processing Vectors Satellites Reflection Interference Beamforming cascaded channels cognitive radio networks deep reinforcement learning dynamic hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surfaces energy harvesting poisoning attacks | Cognitive radio networks (CRNs) are a key mechanism for alleviating spectrum scarcity by enabling secondary users (SUs) to opportunistically access licensed frequency bands without harmful interference to primary users (PUs). To address unreliable direct SU links and energy constraints common in next-generation wireless networks, this work introduces an adaptive, energy-aware hybrid reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) for underlay multiple-input single-output (MISO) CRNs. Distinct from prior approaches relying on static RIS architectures, our proposed RIS dynamically alternates between passive and active operation modes in real time according to harvested energy availability. We also model our scenario under practical hardware impairments and cascaded fading channels. We formulate and solve a joint transmit beamforming and RIS phase optimization problem via the soft actor-critic (SAC) deep reinforcement learning (DRL) method, leveraging its robustness in continuous and highly dynamic environments. Notably, we conduct the first systematic study of reward poisoning attacks on DRL agents in RIS-enhanced CRNs, and propose a lightweight, real-time defense based on reward clipping and statistical anomaly filtering. Numerical results demonstrate that the SAC-based approach consistently outperforms established DRL base-lines, and that the dynamic hybrid RIS strikes a superior trade-off between throughput and energy consumption compared to fully passive and fully active alternatives. We further show the effectiveness of our defense in maintaining SU performance even under adversarial conditions. Our results advance the practical and secure deployment of RIS-assisted CRNs, and highlight crucial design insights for energy-constrained wireless systems. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3660728 |
| Jing Zhang, Chao Luo, Rui Shao | MTG-GAN: A Masked Temporal Graph Generative Adversarial Network for Cross-Domain System Log Anomaly Detection | 2026 | Early Access | Anomaly detection Adaptation models Generative adversarial networks Feature extraction Data models Load modeling Accuracy Robustness Contrastive learning Chaos Log Anomaly Detection Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) Temporal Data Analysis | Anomaly detection of system logs is crucial for the service management of large-scale information systems. Nowadays, log anomaly detection faces two main challenges: 1) capturing evolving temporal dependencies between log events to adaptively tackle with emerging anomaly patterns, 2) and maintaining high detection capabilities across varies data distributions. Existing methods rely heavily on domain-specific data features, making it challenging to handle the heterogeneity and temporal dynamics of log data. This limitation restricts the deployment of anomaly detection systems in practical environments. In this article, a novel framework, Masked Temporal Graph Generative Adversarial Network (MTG-GAN), is proposed for both conventional and cross-domain log anomaly detection. The model enhances the detection capability for emerging abnormal patterns in system log data by introducing an adaptive masking mechanism that combines generative adversarial networks with graph contrastive learning. Additionally, MTG-GAN reduces dependency on specific data distribution and improves model generalization by using diffused graph adjacency information deriving from temporal relevance of event sequence, which can be conducive to improve cross-domain detection performance. Experimental results demonstrate that MTG-GAN outperforms existing methods on multiple real-world datasets in both conventional and cross-domain log anomaly detection. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3654642 |
| Muhammad Fahimullah, Michel Kieffer, Sylvaine Kerboeuf, Shohreh Ahvar, Maria Trocan | Decentralized Coalition Formation of Infrastructure Providers for Resource Provisioning in Coverage Constrained Virtualized Mobile Networks | 2026 | Early Access | Indium phosphide III-V semiconductor materials Resource management Games Costs Wireless communication Quality of service Collaboration Protocols Performance evaluation Resource provisioning wireless virtualized networks coverage integer linear programming coalition formation hedonic approach | The concept of wireless virtualized networks enables Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) to utilize resources made available by multiple Infrastructure Providers (InPs) to set up a service. Nevertheless, existing centralized resource provisioning approaches fail to address such a scenario due to conflicting objectives among InPs and their reluctance to share private information. This paper addresses the problem of resource provisioning from several InPs for services with geographic coverage constraints. When complete information is available, an Integer Linear Program (ILP) formulation is provided, along with a greedy solution. An alternative coalition formation approach is then proposed to build coalitions of InPs that satisfy the constraints imposed by an MVNO, while requiring only limited information sharing. The proposed solution adopts a hedonic game-theoretic approach to coalition formation. For each InP, the decision to join or leave a coalition is made in a decentralized manner, relying on the satisfaction of service requirements and on individual profit. Simulation results demonstrate the applicability and performance of the proposed solution. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3663437 |
| Domenico Scotece, Giuseppe Santaromita, Claudio Fiandrino, Luca Foschini, Domenico Giustiniano | On the Scalability of Access and Mobility Management Function: the Localization Management Function Use Case | 2026 | Early Access | 5G mobile communication Scalability Location awareness 3GPP Quality of service Position measurement Routing Radio access networks Protocols Global navigation satellite system 5G localization 5G core SBA AMF Localization Management Function (LMF) | The adoption of Service-Based Architecture (SBA) in 5G Core Networks (5GC) has significantly transformed the design and operation of the control plane, enabling greater flexibility and agility for cloud-native deployments. While the infrastructure has initially evolved by implementing key functions, there remains significant potential for additional services, such as localization, paving the way for the integration of the Location Management Function (LMF). However, the extensive functional decomposition within SBA leads to consequences, such as the increase of control plane operations. Specifically, we observe that the additional signaling traffic introduced by the presence of the LMF overwhelms the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) which is responsible for authentication and mobility. In fact, in mobile positioning, each connected mobile device requires a significant amount of control traffic to support location algorithms in the 5GC. To address this scalability challenge, we analyze the impact of three well-known optimization techniques on location procedures to reduce control message traffic in the specific context of the 5GC, namely a caching system, a request aggregation system, and a service scalability system. Our solutions are evaluated in an OpenAirInterface (OAI) emulated environment with real hardware. After the analysis in the emulated environment, we select the caching system – due to its feasibility – for being analyzed in a real 5G testbed. Our results demonstrate a significant reduction in the additional overhead introduced by the LMF, improving scalability by minimizing the impact on AMF processing time up to a 50% reduction. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664546 |
| Qichen Luo, Zhiyun Zhou, Ruisheng Shi, Lina Lan, Qingling Feng, Qifeng Luo, Di Ao | Revisit Fast Event Matching-Routing for High Volume Subscriptions | 2026 | Early Access | Real-time systems Vectors Search problems Indexing Filters Data structures Classification algorithms Scalability Routing Partitioning algorithms Content-based Publish/subscribe Event Matching Existence Problem Matching Time Subscription Aggregation | Although many scalable event matching algorithms have been proposed to achieve scalability for publish/subscribe services, the content-based pub/sub system still suffer from performance deterioration when the system has large numbers of subscriptions, and cannot support the requirements of real-time pub/sub data services. In this paper, we model the event matching problem as an existence problem which only care about whether there is at least one matching subscription in the given subscription set, differing from existing works that try to speed up the time-consuming search operation to find all matching subscriptions. To solve this existence problem efficiently, we propose DLS (Discrete Label Set), a novel subscription and event representation model. Based on the DLS model, we propose an event matching algorithm with O(Nd) time complexity to support real-time event matching for a large volume of subscriptions and high event arrival speed, where Nd is the node degree in overlay network. Experimental results show that the event matching performance can be improved by several orders of magnitude compared with traditional algorithms. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664517 |
| Jing Huang, Yabo Wang, Honggui Han | SCFusionLocator: A Statement-Level Smart Contract Vulnerability Localization Framework Based on Code Slicing and Multi-Modal Feature Fusion | 2026 | Early Access | Smart contracts Feature extraction Location awareness Codes Blockchains Source coding Fuzzing Security Noise Formal verification Smart Contract Vulnerability Detection Statement-level Localization Code Slicing Feature Fusion | Smart contract vulnerabilities have led to over $20 billion in losses, but existing methods suffer from coarse-grained detection, two-stage “detection-then-localization” pipelines, and insufficient feature extraction. This paper proposes SCFusionLocator, a statement-level vulnerability localization framework for smart contracts. It adopts a novel code-slicing mechanism (via function call graphs and data-flow graphs) to decompose contracts into single-function subcontracts and filter low-saliency statements, paired with source code normalization to reduce noise. A dual-branch architecture captures complementary features: the code-sequence branch uses GraphCodeBERT (with data-flow-aware masking) for semantic extraction, while the graph branch fuses call/control-flow/data-flow graphs into a heterogeneous graph and applies HGAT for structural modeling. SCFusionLocator enables end-to-end statement-level localization by framing tasks as statement classification.We release BJUT_SC02, a large dataset of over 240,000 contracts with line-level labels for 58 vulnerability types. Experiments on BJUT_SC02, SCD, and MANDO datasets show SCFusionLocator outperforms 8 conventional tools and nearly 20 ML baselines, achieving over 90% average F1 at the statement level, with better generalization to similar unknown vulnerabilities, and remains competitive in contract-level detection. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664599 |
| Yuhao Chen, Jinyao Yan, Yuan Zhang, Lingjun Pu | WiLD: Learning-based Wireless Loss Diagnosis for Congestion Control with Ultra-low Kernel Overhead | 2026 | Early Access | Packet loss Kernel Linux Wireless networks Quantization (signal) Artificial neural networks Throughput Accuracy Real-time systems Computational modeling wireless loss diagnosis kernel implementation congestion control quantization | Current congestion control algorithms (CCAs) are inefficient in wireless networks due to the lack of distinction of congestion and wireless packet losses. In this work, we propose a simple yet effective learning-based wireless loss diagnosis (WiLD) solution for enhancing wireless congestion control. WiLD uses a neural network (NN) to accurately distinguish between wireless packet loss and congestion packet loss. To seamlessly cooperate with rule-based CCAs and make real-time decisions, we further implement WiLD in Linux kernel to avoid the frequent kernel-space communication. Specifically, we use a lightweight NN for inference and propose an integer quantization for WiLD deployment in various Linux versions. Real-world experiments and simulations demonstrate that WiLD can accurately differentiate the wireless and congestion packet loss with negligible CPU overhead (around 1% of WiLD vs. around 100% of learning-based algorithms such as Vivace and Aurora) and fast inference time (45% less compared to TensorFlow Lite). When combined with Cubic, WiLD-Cubic can achieve around 792%, 536%, 412%, 231%, 218%, 108%, 85% and 291% throughput improvement compared with BBRv2, Cubic, Westwood, Copa, Copa+, Vivace, Aurora and Indigo in the real network environment. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664422 |
| Minxi Feng, Haotian Wu, Shahid Mumtaz, Jiaming Pei | Intent-based Network in Online Resource Allocation with Machine-learned Prediction | 2026 | Early Access | Resource management Internet of Things Uncertainty Semantics Prediction algorithms Real-time systems Predictive models Decision making Safety Robustness Intent-based network online resource allocation online algorithm | The development of Internet-of-Things (IoT) services demands intelligent and adaptive mechanisms for online resource allocation under dynamic and uncertain environments. Intent-Based Networking (IBN) has emerged as a promising paradigm to align system behavior with high-level user intents. However, realizing intent-aware allocation in real time remains challenging due to uncertain resource availability and incomplete future information. This paper presents a modular framework that integrates semantic intent parsing, machine-learned resource prediction, and robust online decision-making. We propose IBN-ONMP, an IBN-based online resource allocation algorithm that leverages machine-learned predictions and adapts safety margins based on feedback to ensure feasibility and performance under uncertainty. We formally define the problem, establish theoretical guarantees including regret and competitive ratio bounds, and validate the approach on real-world and simulated datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that IBN-ONMP achieves high utility and robust performance across varying prediction error levels, which is consistent with theoretical analysis. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665018 |
| Jiazhong Lu, Jimin Peng, Jian Shu, Jiali Yin, Xiaolei Liu | Adversarial Sample Based on Structured Fusion Noise for Botnet Detection in Industrial Control Systems | 2026 | Early Access | Botnet Industrial control Feature extraction Intrusion detection Integrated circuit modeling Time-domain analysis Internet of Things Frequency-domain analysis Biological system modeling Training Adversarial sample botnet industrial control system fusion noise | The industrial control system’s artificial intelligence-based botnet intrusion detection system has a high detection performance and efficiency in an environment without interference. However, these systems are not immune to evasion through adversarial samples. In this study, we introduce a feature extraction technique tailored for ICS botnet detection. This approach classifies traffic packets based on network traffic attributes and ICS-specific identification codes, encompassing the statuses of ICS devices, enhancing detection precision. Meanwhile, this strategy addresses challenges in ICS data collection and bolsters experimental efficacy. To build a comprehensive botnet intrusion dataset within an ICS, we concurrently utilized existing ICS devices to collect both standard ICS and botnet traffic. Additionally, we present an innovative adversarial sample generation method for botnet detection models, integrating both time-domain and frequency-domain noise. Testing under three real-world ICS attack scenarios revealed our technique can markedly degrade the classification performance of eight leading AI-based detection models, emphasizing its potential for evading AI-based ICS intrusion detectors. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665504 |
| Fernando Martinez-Lopez, Lesther Santana, Mohamed Rahouti, Abdellah Chehri, Shawqi Al-Maliki, Gwanggil Jeon | Learning in Multiple Spaces: Prototypical Few-Shot Learning with Metric Fusion for Next-Generation Network Security | 2026 | Early Access | Measurement Prototypes Extraterrestrial measurements Training Chebyshev approximation Metalearning Scalability Next generation networking Learning (artificial intelligence) Data models Few-Shot Learning Network Intrusion Detection Metric-Based Learning Multi-Space Prototypical Learning | As next-generation communication networks increasingly rely on AI-driven automation, ensuring robust and secure intrusion detection becomes critical, especially under limited labeled data. In this context, we introduce Multi-Space Prototypical Learning (MSPL), a few-shot intrusion detection framework that improves prototype-based classification by fusing complementary metric-induced spaces (Euclidean, Cosine, Chebyshev, and Wasserstein) via a constrained weighting mechanism. MSPL further enhances stability through Polyak-averaged prototype generation and balanced episodic training to mitigate class imbalance across diverse attack categories. In a few-shot setting with as few as 200 training samples, MSPL consistently outperforms single-metric baselines across three benchmarks: on CICEVSE Network2024, AUPRC improves from 0.3719 to 0.7324 and F1 increases from 0.4194 to 0.8502; on CICIDS2017, AUPRC improves from 0.4319 to 0.4799; and on CICIoV2024, AUPRC improves from 0.5881 to 0.6144. These results demonstrate that multi-space metric fusion yields more discriminative and robust representations for detecting rare and emerging attacks in intelligent network environments. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665647 |
| Adel Chehade, Edoardo Ragusa, Paolo Gastaldo, Rodolfo Zunino | Hardware-Aware Neural Architecture Search for Encrypted Traffic Classification on Resource-Constrained Devices | 2026 | Early Access | Accuracy Computational modeling Cryptography Feature extraction Hardware Convolutional neural networks Artificial neural networks Real-time systems Long short term memory Internet of Things Deep neural networks encrypted traffic classification hardware-aware neural architecture search Internet of Things resource-constrained devices | This paper presents a hardware-efficient deep neural network (DNN), optimized through hardware-aware neural architecture search (HW-NAS); the DNN supports the classification of session-level encrypted traffic on resource-constrained Internet of Things (IoT) and edge devices. Thanks to HW-NAS, a 1D convolutional neural network (CNN) is tailored on the ISCX VPN-nonVPN dataset to meet strict memory and computational limits while achieving robust performance. The optimized model attains an accuracy of 96.60% with just 88.26K parameters, 10.08M floating-point operations (FLOPs), and a maximum tensor size of 20.12K. Compared to state-of-the-art (SOTA) models, it achieves reductions of up to 444-fold, 312-fold, and 15-fold in these metrics, respectively, significantly minimizing memory footprint and runtime requirements. The model also demonstrates versatility, achieving up to 99.86% across multiple VPN and traffic classification (TC) tasks; it further generalizes to external benchmarks with up to 99.98% accuracy on USTC-TFC and QUIC NetFlow. In addition, an in-depth approach to header-level preprocessing strategies confirms that the optimized model can provide notable performance across a wide range of configurations, even in scenarios with stricter privacy considerations. Likewise, a reduction in the length of sessions of up to 75% yields significant improvements in efficiency, while maintaining high accuracy with only a negligible drop of 1-2%. However, the importance of careful preprocessing and session length selection in the classification of raw traffic data is still present, as improper settings or aggressive reductions can bring about a 7% reduction in overall accuracy. The quantized architecture was deployed on STM32 microcontrollers and evaluated across input sizes; results confirm that the efficiency gains from shorter sessions translate to practical, low-latency embedded inference. These findings demonstrate the method’s practicality for encrypted traffic analysis in constrained IoT networks. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3666676 |
| Shigen Shen, Jun Wu, Yizhou Shen, Xiaoping Wu, Jingnan Dong, Tian Wang, Ruidong Li | Privacy-Aware DRL for Differential Games-assisted Malware Defense in Edge Intelligence-enabled Social IoT | 2026 | Early Access | Malware Adaptation models Differential games Social Internet of Things Heuristic algorithms Real-time systems Mathematical models Epidemics Stochastic processes Protection Malware edge intelligence social Internet of Things privacy differential games deep reinforcement learning | The edge intelligence-enabled Social Internet of Things (SIoT) faces severe security threats from stealthy malware propagation, while existing defenses struggle to model complex behaviors or provide real-time and privacy-aware responses. Herein, we propose a comprehensive malware defense framework integrating a five-state propagation model, continuous-time differential games, and a privacy-aware reinforcement learning algorithm named PP-D3QN (Privacy-Preserving Dueling Double Deep Q Network). The malware propagation model includes susceptible, infectious, patched, quarantined, and removed states, accurately representing centralized and cooperative patching as well as quarantine detection mechanisms. Leveraging differential games, optimal defense strategies are theoretically derived by solving the Hamilton–Jacobi– Bellman equation, dynamically balancing infection risk, patching benefits, and quarantine costs. The PP-D3QN algorithm employs prioritized experience replay with strict control over private data sampling and Gaussian noise perturbation to ensure differential privacy, while learning effective defense strategies through practical interaction with dynamic edge intelligence-enabled SIoT systems. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves malware suppression speed and SIoT nodes recovery rates, showcasing strong theoretical and practical value. This work offers a rigorous and applicable solution for dynamic malware defense under privacypreserving constraints in edge intelligence-enabled SIoT systems. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3666173 |
| Tuan-Vu Truong, Van-Dinh Nguyen, Quang-Trung Luu, Phi-Son Vo, Xuan-Phu Nguyen, Fatemeh Kavehmadavani, Symeon Chatzinotas | Accelerating Resource Allocation in Open RAN Slicing via Deep Reinforcement Learning | 2026 | Early Access | Resource management Open RAN Ultra reliable low latency communication Real-time systems Computational modeling Optimization Deep reinforcement learning Costs Complexity theory Bandwidth Open radio access network network slicing virtual network function resource allocation deep reinforcement learning successive convex approximation | The transition to beyond-fifth-generation (B5G) wireless systems has revolutionized cellular networks, driving unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth, ultra low-latency, and massive connectivity services. The open radio access network (Open RAN) and network slicing provide B5G with greater flexibility and efficiency by enabling tailored virtual networks on shared infrastructure. However, managing resource allocation in these frameworks has become increasingly complex. This paper addresses the challenge of optimizing resource allocation across virtual network functions (VNFs) and network slices, aiming to maximize the total reward for admitted slices while minimizing associated costs. By adhering to the Open RAN architecture, we decompose the formulated problem into two subproblems solved at different timescales. Initially, the successive convex approximation (SCA) method is employed to achieve at least a locally optimal solution. To handle the high complexity of binary variables and adapt to time-varying network conditions, traffic patterns, and service demands, we propose a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for real-time and autonomous optimization of resource allocation. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the DRL framework quickly adapts to evolving network environments, significantly improving slicing performance. The results highlight DRL’s potential to enhance resource allocation in future wireless networks, paving the way for smarter, self-optimizing systems capable of meeting the diverse requirements of modern communication services. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665553 |
| Siyang Xu, Ze Fan, Zijian Zhou, Qiuyu Lu, Biao Zhang, Yu Wang, Xin Song | Minimizing the Cost of UAV-Assisted Marine Mobile Edge Computing System Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning | 2026 | Early Access | Autonomous aerial vehicles Energy consumption Optimization Delays Costs Heuristic algorithms Signal to noise ratio Multi-access edge computing Quality of service Processor scheduling Deep Reinforcement Learning Mobile Edge Computing Computation Offloading Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Unmanned Surface Vehicles | To enable compute-intensive and delay-sensitive maritime services, unmanned surface vessels (USVs) can offload tasks to mobile edge computing (MEC) servers mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, jointly minimizing energy consumption and latency is challenging due to the strong coupling between communication, computation, and mobility under stringent quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. To capture this trade-off, we formulate a weighted energy–delay minimization problem that jointly optimizes one-to-one UAV–USV scheduling, task partitioning, and UAV trajectory. The resulting problem is particularly difficult due to a hybrid discrete–continuous decision space and strong temporal coupling under stringent feasibility constraints. To address this mixed-integer nonconvex optimization problem, we reformulate it as a Markov decision process (MDP) and develop a constraint-aware OU–TD3 algorithm that integrates differentiable scheduling relaxation, feasibility-aware action mapping, and adaptive OU–Gaussian mixed exploration for stable learning in high-dimensional continuous control. We further extend the formulation and solution to a cooperative multi-UAV MEC setting with signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)-coupled interference and coordination constraints. Extensive simulations with statistical evaluation demonstrate stable convergence and up to 54.2% cost reduction over baseline schemes, while maintaining robustness under realistic maritime disturbances. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3664895 |
| Ahmad Y. Alhusenat, Lei Lei, Jinjin Tian, Lihong Zhu, Tong-Xing Zheng, Symeon Chatzinotas | Dynamic Parallel Task Offloading and Sustainable On-Board Computing for Delay-Energy Optimization LEO Networks | 2026 | Early Access | Satellites Low earth orbit satellites Delays Optimization Satellite broadcasting Energy harvesting Space vehicles Resource management Real-time systems Orbits On-board computing parallel offloading energy management Lyapunov optimization LEO satellites | Task offloading among low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites with on-board computing (OBC) is important for real-time applications. However, OBC is constrained by the battery capacity of LEO, which fluctuates with orbital dynamics and available solar power. This paper addresses the problem of energy sustainability and timeliness in LEO-OBC systems by proposing a sustainable OBC-LEO framework that combines parallel offloading strategies with dynamic energy management. This problem is formulated as a Markov decision process aiming to minimize the overall delay while satisfying the LEO satellite energy constraints and achieving a high task success rate. To balance immediate computational demands and long-term energy stability, a Lyapunov optimization-based dynamic parallel offloading (LODPO) algorithm is designed to make decisions dynamically within each time slot, integrated with subtask allocation based on a low-cost (SABLC) algorithm that dynamically adjusts task allocations. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the LODPO framework achieves a significant reduction in execution delay, incurring only 34.0% of the delay cost of binary offloading. Most critically, it ensures exceptional reliability, with a task drop rate that is only 8.5% of that seen in binary offloading and 12.0% of that in the DQN-based approach. This ensures high responsiveness and dependability for mission-critical, delay-sensitive applications. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665512 |
| Ziyi Teng, Juan Fang, Neal N. Xiong | DOJS: A Distributed Online Joint Scheme to Optimize Cost in Mobile Edge Networks | 2026 | Early Access | Optimization Costs Resource management Heuristic algorithms Base stations Long short term memory Switches Reinforcement learning Quality of service Handover Edge computing resource allocation cache placement game theory reinforcement learning | Edge computing deploys computing and storage resources at the network edge, thereby providing services closer to terminal users. However, in edge networks, the mobility of terminals, the diversity of requests, and the dynamic nature of wireless channels pose significant challenges for efficiently allocating limited wireless and caching resources among multiple terminal devices. To address the issues of unbalanced network load and high caching costs caused by resource allocation in edge networks, we propose a Distributed Online Joint Optimization Scheme (DOJS). Specifically, we design a joint optimization scheme, referred to as DOJS, which combines centralized user association at the cloud with distributed cache placement at the base stations. This scheme analyzes the impact of terminal device association policies on caching costs and develops a caching cost model that integrates the activity level and content request probability of terminal devices. Based on this model, the relationship between user association selection and caching costs is analyzed, and a Game Theory-based User Association (GTUA) selection algorithm is proposed. In order to adapt to the dynamic characteristics of terminal-user requests in mobile edge networks, we develop a dynamic cache update method LS-TD3, which combines Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic policy gradient (TD3). Specifically, we integrate the LSTM layer into the policy model framework of reinforcement learning to better predict the content popularity from dynamic time data, thus improving the accuracy of cache decision making. To further reduce computational complexity and enhance overall system performance, we employ a distributed optimization strategy to improve the dynamic caching decision process. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm in achieving inter-node load balancing and minimizing caching costs. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665360 |
| Zhenliang Liu, Xing Fan, Baoning Niu | Node-based Blockchain Decentralization Measurement Model | 2026 | Early Access | Blockchains Peer-to-peer computing Economics Bitcoin Information entropy Robustness Memory Market research Consensus protocol Complexity theory Blockchain Decentralization measurement Node distribution Transaction-network centralization Node reliability | Blockchain decentralization refers to the characteristics of blockchain systems in which data storage, transaction verification, and ledger state updates are performed and maintained by distributed nodes, rather than relying on the servers of centralized institutions or organizational entities. It is one of the core features of blockchain systems to ensure security, anti-censorship, and system robustness. Quantifying the degree of blockchain decentralization helps identify potential centralization risks and evaluate the fairness of system architectures and governance mechanisms, and provides an important basis for the optimization design for improving consensus efficiency and resource allocation, as well as for evaluating the credibility and understanding the future development trends of blockchain systems in terms of scalability, application domains, and regulatory adaptability. Existing blockchain decentralization measurement methods rely on one or two dimensions, ignore trend analysis of the degree of decentralization, and lack standardized quantitative approaches, such as the consistent application of methods like the coefficient of variation or the information entropy, to enable objective and comparable assessments across different systems. Given that blockchain systems are composed of participating nodes, we adopt a node-centric perspective, and propose a Node-based Blockchain Decentralization Measurement Model (NBDMM). NBDMM uses ten key indicators extracted from three dimensions, node distribution, transaction-network centralization, and node reliability, to measure the degree of decentralization. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed NBDMM effectively quantifies the level of decentralization across blockchain systems with varying consensus mechanisms. Moreover, findings indicate a trend toward increasing centralization in both Bitcoin and Ethereum, suggesting a gradual erosion of their originally decentralized nature. | 10.1109/TNSM.2026.3665402 |