Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Empirical Evaluation of Open Source in Telecommunications Software Development: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology & Systems (ICITS 2018) (ICITS 2018)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 721))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Software development for the communication networks ‘monitoring is usually based on Open Source software components, as an effective and low cost technological option. However, when we evaluated a product developed with Open Source components, we found that its efficiency is less than other similar Open Source software developed with proprietary tools; which is unusual or at least it isn’t expected. To the best of our knowledge this phenomenon has not been reported in the literature. Hence, our aim was to identify the circumstances that explain why the efficiency of Open Source software applications tends to be less than Open Source applications developed with proprietary software tools. A controlled experiment was performed at Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE of Ecuador to compare the performance of two software tools for communication networks’ monitoring. A post hoc analysis reveled that some causal relationships that could explain the unexpected behavior of compared applications’ efficiency. From the statistical perspective, there is no significant difference in effectiveness between Open Source and proprieta- ry applications for communication networks’ monitoring. Efficiency of the Open Source tools depends on a large extent of software components used for their integration, which apparently is not considered in the development of this kind of applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

  2. 2.

    Internet Engineering Task Force.

  3. 3.

    Request for Comments.

  4. 4.

    Internet Engineering Task Force.

  5. 5.

    This RFC is defined in the second version of the MIB- II for use with network management protocols in TCP/IP-Internet-based.

References

  1. Adams, B., Kavanagh, R., Hassan, A.E., German, D.M.: An empirical study of integration activities in distributions of open source software. Empirical Softw. Eng. 21(3), 960–1001 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Antichi, G., Shahbaz, M., Geng, Y., Zilberman, N., Covington, A., Bruyere, M., McKeown, N., Feamster, N., Felderman, B., Blott, M., et al.: OSNT: open source network tester. IEEE Netw. 28(5), 6–12 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bastian, M., Heymann, S., Jacomy, M., et al.: Gephi: an open source software for exploring and manipulating networks. In: ICWSM, vol. 8, pp. 361–362 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Chiarani, M.C., Pianucci, I.G., Lucero, M.M.: Criterios de evaluación de plataformas virtuales de código abierto para ambientes de aprendizajes colaborativos. In: VI Workshop de Investigadores en Ciencias de la Computación (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Chowdhury, S.R., Bari, M.F., Ahmed, R., Boutaba, R.: Payless: a low cost network monitoring framework for software defined networks. In: 2014 IEEE Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS), pp. 1–9. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  6. DiBona, C., Ockman, S.: Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution. O’Reilly Media Inc., Sebastobol (1999)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Frakes, W.B., Kang, K.: Software reuse research: status and future. IEEE Trans. Software Eng. 31(7), 529–536 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gaffney, J.E., Durek, T.A.: Software reuse key to enhanced productivity: some quantitative models. Inf. Softw. Technol. 31(5), 258–267 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hahn, J., Moon, J.Y., Zhang, C.: Emergence of new project teams from open source software developer networks: impact of prior collaboration ties. Inf. Syst. Res. 19(3), 369–391 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hauge, Ø., Cruzes, D., Conradi, R., Velle, K., Skarpenes, T.: Risks and risk mitigation in open source software adoption: bridging the gap between literature and practice. Open Source Software: New Horizons, pp. 105–118 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Jaaksi, A.: Experiences on product development with open source software. International Federation for Information Processing. IFIP, vol. 234, pp. 85–96 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Li, H., Tesfatsion, L.: Development of open source software for power market research: the ames test bed. J. Energy Markets 2(2), 111 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Meneely, A., Williams, L.: Secure open source collaboration: an empirical study of Linus’ law. In: Proceedings of the 16th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 453–462. ACM (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Mockus, A., Fielding, R.T., Herbsleb, J.D.: Two case studies of open source software development: apache and mozilla. ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol. (TOSEM) 11(3), 309–346 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Oetiker, T.: Monitoring your it gear: the mrtg story. IT Prof. 3(6), 44–48 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Paulson, J.W., Succi, G., Eberlein, A.: An empirical study of open-source and closed-source software products. IEEE Trans. Software Eng. 30(4), 246–256 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Stol, K.J., Babar, M.A., Avgeriou, P., Fitzgerald, B.: A comparative study of challenges in integrating open source software and inner source software. Inf. Softw. Technol. 53(12), 1319–1336 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Szyperski, C.: Emerging component software technologies: a strategic comparison. Softw.-Concepts Tools 19(1), 2–10 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Van Adrichem, N.L., Doerr, C., Kuipers, F.A.: Opennetmon: network monitoring in openflow software-defined networks. In: 2014 IEEE Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS), pp. 1–8. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Ven, K., Mannaert, H.: Challenges and strategies in the use of open source software by independent software vendors. Inf. Softw. Technol. 50(9), 991–1002 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Ven, K., Verelst, J., Mannaert, H.: Should you adopt open source software? IEEE Softw. 25(3), 54–59 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M.C., Regnell, B., Wesslén, A.: Experimentation in Software Engineering. Springer, Heidelberg (2012)

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the “Laboratorio Industrial en Ingeniería del Software Empírica (LI2SE)”research project of the Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE of Ecuador.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Seguridad y Defensa, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí, Ecuador

    Rolando P. Reyes Ch. & Hugo Pérez Vaca

  2. Departamento de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí, Ecuador

    Efraín R. Fonseca C.

  3. Departamento de Ingeniería Informática y Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile

    John W. Castro

  4. Centro de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica del Ejército, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí, Ecuador

    Rolando P. Reyes Ch. & Manolo Paredes Calderón

Authors
  1. Rolando P. Reyes Ch.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Efraín R. Fonseca C.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John W. Castro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hugo Pérez Vaca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Manolo Paredes Calderón
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rolando P. Reyes Ch. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DEI/FCT, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Álvaro Rocha

  2. Systems Department, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena, La Libertad, Ecuador

    Teresa Guarda

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Reyes Ch., R.P., Fonseca C., E.R., Castro, J.W., Vaca, H.P., Calderón, M.P. (2018). An Empirical Evaluation of Open Source in Telecommunications Software Development: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In: Rocha, Á., Guarda, T. (eds) Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology & Systems (ICITS 2018). ICITS 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 721. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73450-7_48

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73450-7_48

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73449-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73450-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation