Preface of the 6th IEEE International Workshop on Management of Emerging Networks and Services (IEEE Globecom MENS 2014).

This short paper serves as the preface of the 6th IEEE International Workshop on Management of Emerging Networks and Services (IEEE Globecom MENS 2014). The 6th IEEE MENS 2014 attracted a significant number of papers this year, as in the previous years. This workshop aimed to provide a forum to researchers to propose theories and technologies on the management of various types of emerging networks and services, share their experience of IT and telecommunications industries and discuss future management solutions for emerging networks and services. The workshop also sought to provide an opportunity for the various communities to show results of adopting the ETSI NTECH/AFI GANA Reference Model for Autonomic Networking, Cognitive Networking and Self-Management in research work and prototyping. At the same time researchers required any opportunity to present and discuss the ways in which various research results can be contributed to the evolution of the Reference Model and its instantiations use cases on various network architectures (as it becomes a commonly-shared framework for autonomics, cognitive networking and self-management). Relationships between the emerging complementary networking paradigms of Autonomic Management & Control (AMC) of Networks and Services, SDN (Software-Driven/Defined Networking) and NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) are being established, and efforts to unify associated Reference Models have started, i.e. unification of the GANA Model with SDN-enabling frameworks and ETSI NFV MANO architecture. The workshop also sought to discuss AMC, SDN and NFV relationships and the upcoming proposals on 5G architectural frameworks that glue together SDN/Programmability, Virtualization, Autonomic Management & Control (AMC) functions, network heterogeneity, and service orchestration. In order to bring about a very effective link between research and industry an invited paper that addresses the various points highlighted has been included to this year's program, and also in the proceedings, namely the paper: "Industry Harmonization for Unified Standards on Autonomic Management & Control (AMC) of Networks and Services, SDN and NFV". Further, the workshop also investigates some emerging issues related to wireless sensor networks management such as the impact of random power assignment, opportunistic wireless charging, and information sharing with compressed sensing.