V-lab: a cloud-based virtual laboratory platform for hands-on networking courses

For computer-network education, hands-on laboratories are essential in addition to lectures. Existing laboratory solutions are usually expensive to build, configure and maintain, while still lacking reusability, flexibility and scalability. This paper presents a cloud-based virtual laboratory education solution, called V-Lab, where instructors can use an interactive web GUI to configure computer network testbeds based on a set of dedicated virtual computers interconnected through VLAN-based virtual networks. The established virtual network system can be accessed by students via remote access using standard Secure Shell (SSH), Virtual Network Computing (VNC), or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). By using a flexible and re-configurable design, V-Lab greatly reduces the effort needed to establish and maintain a physical laboratory, while providing a secure and reliable environment that encourages students to use the resources based on their own schedule. V-Lab also helps re-design laboratory curriculum to focus on six educational factors, and the survey results show that V-Lab system is easy to use and setup and has satisfactory performance and reliability. It is also indicated that V-Lab helps students understand and solve real-world problems with sufficient laboratory resources and improved efficiency.

对于计算机网络教育而言，除了课堂讲授之外，实践实验室也是必不可少的。现有的实验室解决方案通常在构建、配置和维护方面成本高昂，并且仍然缺乏可重用性、灵活性和可扩展性。本文提出了一种基于云的虚拟实验室教育解决方案，称为V - Lab，教师可以使用交互式网络图形用户界面（web GUI）基于一组通过基于虚拟局域网（VLAN）的虚拟网络相互连接的专用虚拟计算机来配置计算机网络测试平台。学生可以通过使用标准的安全外壳协议（SSH）、虚拟网络计算（VNC）或远程桌面协议（RDP）进行远程访问来使用所建立的虚拟网络系统。通过采用灵活且可重新配置的设计，V - Lab大大减少了建立和维护物理实验室所需的工作量，同时提供了一个安全可靠的环境，鼓励学生根据自己的时间安排使用资源。V - Lab还有助于重新设计实验室课程，使其聚焦于六个教育因素，并且调查结果显示，V - Lab系统易于使用和设置，并且具有令人满意的性能和可靠性。还表明V - Lab借助充足的实验室资源和提高的效率帮助学生理解和解决现实世界中的问题。