NoF 2026 Workshop Rome, Italy 29 Sep 2026
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ERN
ERN 2026
Experimental Research on Networking · 1st Edition
NoF 2026 · Workshop Track Half-day · Sept 29, 2026 Call for Papers Open

Workshop on
Experimental Research on
Networking.

A half-day NoF 2026 workshop for testbed-driven, reproducible, hardware-in-the-loop research across 5G/6G, O-RAN, optical, quantum and programmable networks.

Workshop 29 Sep 2026Rome, Italy
Paper deadline 11 Jul 2026AoE · via EDAS
Format 2-column6 pp · 10 pt
Program 8 papers+ 2 invited talks
Proceedings IEEE Xplorevia NoF 2026
Paper submission closes in
Days
Hours
Min
Sec
TARGET: 11 Jul 2026 · 23:59 AoE
§ 01/Call for Papers

Closing the experimental validation gap.

Most networking papers today rely on analytical models and simulation. ERN is the forum for results grounded in real hardware, real protocol stacks, and realistic testbed environments.

The networking research community has made tremendous strides in developing novel architectures, protocols, and management paradigms for next-generation communication networks. However, a large share of results presented at major venues are grounded in analytical modeling and simulation-based evaluations.

While these methodologies are essential, the field faces a critical and growing reproducibility and experimental validation gap: research outcomes that have not been tested on real hardware, real protocol stacks, or realistic testbed environments risk remaining disconnected from practical deployment realities.

ERN fills that gap. The Workshop on Experimental Research on Networking provides a dedicated forum for presenting experimental results, reproducible methodologies, prototyping efforts, and testbed-driven research at the networking layer and above. ERN specifically targets work that involves real-world experimentation, hardware-in-the-loop validation, and end-to-end system prototyping.

The program accommodates up to 8 peer-reviewed papers and 2 invited talks across two technical sessions — a focused half-day designed for deep, technical exchange.

Accepted and presented papers will be published in the NoF 2026 Conference Proceedings and submitted to IEEE Xplore®, subject to quality review and the standard presentation / registration requirements of the host conference.

Note for authors — Authors interested in demonstrating a working system related to their workshop paper are encouraged to also submit to the NoF Demo track.
§ 02/Topics of Interest

Research areas in scope.

Original contributions involving real-world experimentation, testbeds, and prototyping. The list below is indicative, not exclusive — networking-layer experimental components required.

T-01

5G / 6G architectures

Experimental evaluation of 5G / 6G network architectures and end-to-end protocol-stack validation.

T-02

O-RAN testbeds

xApp / rApp development, RIC deployment, and performance benchmarking of Open RAN systems.

T-03

Optical networking

SDM, multi-core fiber testbeds, and flex-grid experimental systems at the networking layer.

T-04

Quantum networks

QKD testbeds, entanglement distribution, and quantum-network control-plane prototypes.

T-05

Satellite & NTN

Integration experiments and measurement campaigns for non-terrestrial network testbeds.

T-06

Orchestration & slicing

End-to-end experimental validation of network slicing across heterogeneous domains.

T-07

AI / ML for networking

Reproducible experimental deployment of ML-driven network management and control.

T-08

Programmable networks

P4-based, eBPF-based, and intent-based programmable platforms evaluated experimentally.

T-09

Edge & fog computing

Experimental evaluation of latency, reliability, and resource management at the edge.

T-10

Network security

Intrusion and anomaly detection evaluated on real traffic and deployed systems.

T-11

Reproducibility

Reproducible methodologies, open datasets, and benchmarking suites for networking research.

T-12

Adjacent areas

Related topics with a networking-layer experimental component — get in touch if unsure.

§ 03/Important Dates

Timeline & deadlines.

All deadlines are anywhere-on-Earth (AoE) unless otherwise noted. Follow the workshop channels for any updates.

Date
Milestone
Status
Zone
2026-07-11
Paper submission — via EDAS
Open — submit now
AoE
2026-08-15
Acceptance notification
Upcoming
2026-08-25
Camera-ready submission
Upcoming
AoE
2026-09-29
Workshop day — Rome, Italy
Upcoming
CEST
§ 04/Tentative Program

Tentative half-day program.

~3.25 hours · 2 technical sessions · 2 invited talks. Paper slots populate after the acceptance notification on Aug 15, 2026. Times are CEST (local, Rome). Tentative — subject to change.

Time (CEST)
Session / Item
Duration
09:00 — 09:10
Opening remarks
Organizing committee · Welcome & workshop overview
10 min
09:10 — 09:30
Invited talk 1 — TBA Invited
Speaker announcement forthcoming
20 min
09:30 — 10:30
Technical Session 1 4 papers · 15 min each
Accepted papers · speakers TBA after Aug 15, 2026
60 min
10:30 — 10:50
Coffee break
20 min
10:50 — 11:10
Invited talk 2 — TBA Invited
Speaker announcement forthcoming
20 min
11:10 — 12:10
Technical Session 2 4 papers · 15 min each
Accepted papers · speakers TBA after Aug 15, 2026
60 min
12:10 — 12:15
Closing remarks
Organizing committee
5 min
§ 05/Invited Speakers

Invited talks.

ERN features two 20-minute invited talks from leading voices in experimental networking. Speakers will be announced here upon confirmation.

Photo
TBA
Invited Speaker · 01

To be announced

A 20-minute invited talk from a leading researcher in experimental networking. Formal invitations are being extended; the announcement will be published here.

● Awaiting confirmation
Photo
TBA
Invited Speaker · 02

To be announced

A second 20-minute invited talk complementing the first. Topics will cover testbed-driven research at the networking layer and above.

● Awaiting confirmation
§ 06/Organizing Committee

Workshop chairs.

Three chairs with a joint track record in testbed-based and prototyping research across optical, mobile, and quantum networks.

Andrea Marotta
Chair
Andrea Marotta
University of L'Aquila · Italy

Tenure-track researcher at DISIM; leads the Networks & Services Laboratory (NSLAB). Works on optical networks, 5G/6G RAN design, O-RAN, SDN/NFV, cybersecurity, and QKD. Active in international networking research and conference organization.

Koteswararao Kondepu
Chair
Koteswararao Kondepu
IIT Dharwad · India

Associate Professor & Dean of R&D at IIT Dharwad. Research spans 5G/6G, O-RAN, softwarization and virtualization of mobile networks, and optical access design. Co-author of the Charles Kao Award, 2018.

Riccardo Bassoli
Chair
Riccardo Bassoli
TU Dresden · Germany

Junior Professor at the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks; heads the Quantum Communication Networks (QCNets) group. PI in the 6G-life hub; member of CeTI, QIA, and the Hexa-X / Hexa-X II flagships.

§ 06.B/Technical Program Committee

TPC members (tentative).

Additional members will be confirmed ahead of the review cycle.

Sebastian Troia
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Mëmëdhe Ibrahimi
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Omran Ayoub
SUPSI, Switzerland
Alessio Sacco
Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Alex Piccioni
University of L'Aquila, Italy
Carlo Centofanti
University of L'Aquila, Italy
Xhulio Limani
University of Antwerp, Belgium
Mauro Tropea
University of Calabria, Italy
Mattia Giovanni Spina
University of Calabria, Italy
Luca Borgianni
University of Pisa, Italy
Venkateswarlu Gudepu
University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Bheemarjuna Reddy Tamma
IIT Hyderabad, India
Pol González Pacheco
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain
Gianluca Davoli
University of Bologna, Italy
Rana Abu Bakar
CNIT, Italy
Margita Radovic
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy

→ TPC list as confirmed.

§ 07/Author Guidelines

Author guidelines.

Standard 2-column conference format, submitted through EDAS. All submissions are single-blind peer-reviewed by TPC members.

Format & preparation

Papers must follow the standard 2-column conference template. Submissions should present original experimental results, reproducible methodologies, testbed designs, or prototyping efforts.

  • Format2-column
  • Max length6 pages
  • Font size10 pt
  • Review typeSingle-blind
  • Submission systemEDAS
  • ProceedingsIEEE Xplore via NoF

What makes a strong submission

ERN welcomes contributions that validate ideas through real-world experimentation rather than simulation alone. Strong submissions typically include:

  1. A testbed description with clearly defined hardware & software layers.
  2. Reproducibility artifacts — open datasets, code, measurement traces.
  3. End-to-end results at L2/L3 or above, not isolated link-level numbers.
  4. A discussion of threats to validity and deployment implications.
Submit via
EDAS — submission system
Open EDAS →
§ 08/Venue & Travel

Rome, Italy — at Universitas Mercatorum.

ERN is co-located with NoF 2026 at the Spazio Mercatorum Educational Hub on Via Casilina. Travel and registration are coordinated through the main conference.

41.9028° N · 12.4964° E COLOSSEUM VATICAN
41°53′N · 12°31′E · Rome

Spazio Mercatorum
Educational Hub

Universitas Mercatorum — Spazio Mercatorum, Educational Hub
Via Casilina 110b, 00182 Roma, Italy

ERN is held on the workshop day of the 17th International Conference on Network of the Future (NoF 2026), 29 Sep – 2 Oct 2026. The main conference is organized by DNAC.

Getting there: Metro C — Lodi (5 min walk) or San Giovanni (15 min walk); bus line 105.

§ 09/Contact

Get in touch.

For questions on submission, program, or the workshop itself — reach the chairs directly.

Chair
Andrea Marotta
University of L'Aquila · Italy
[email protected]
Chair
Koteswararao Kondepu
IIT Dharwad · India
[email protected]
Chair
Riccardo Bassoli
TU Dresden · Germany
[email protected]