A Large-Scale, Highly Configurable Network Emulation Facility

大规模、高度可配置的网络仿真工具

• 批准号: 0082493
• 负责人: Jay Lepreau
• 金额: $ 199.81万
• 依托单位: University of Utah
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-10-01 至 2004-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0082493&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Large; Scale; Highly; Configurable; Network

Today there exist three environments in which to perform network research: live networks, networksimulators, and static small-scale testbeds. Although each environment has benefits, each also has manylimitations. This project proposes to build a new type of experimental environment, an "Internet in a room," which will not only complement the strengths and weaknesses of existing experimental environments, but work synergistically with some of them, such as simulation. The proposed instrument, a large-scale network emulation facility, will be a unique resource for networkexperimenters. The researchers are currently building a prototype, based on donated equipment and University of Utah funds. Under this proposalthe researchers will continue this early work, make the testbed "real" through developing significant software and deploying additional hardware, work closely with others to integrate it with network simulators, and provide professional staffing so that the facility is of maximum use to external researchers. A crucial goal is to make the facility universally available to any external researcher, without administrative or technical obstacles to simple and straightforward use. Single-node systems research and development has flourished as the barriers to entry have plummeted.Inexpensive, commodity, open, hardware (x86 PC) and software (Linux, *BSD), have made such R&Dpossible for all researchers, without large budgets. We propose to develop the software for an instrumentthat will bring similar benefits to network researchers, and apply it to a first instance of hardware. A significant aspect of this proposal is joint work with other researchers domain experts, especially net-work simulation experts at Georgia Tech to exploit the facility's unique capabilities for network emulation, to learn how best to use it, and to guide its evolution. The emulation facility's unique characteristics include: (1) significant scale: 250 nodes, each of degree at least four. (2) user-configurable lowest-level control over the testbed's "physical" characteristics, such as error models, latency, bandwidth, packet ordering, processing power, and buffer space. (3) accurate emulation of wide-area networks via internal traffic-shaping nodes; (4) capture of low-level device/OS costs such as interrupt load and memory bandwidth; (5) experimentation on the router software itself, as well as ease of maintainence and robust security, isprovided by fully user-replaceable router OS/software; (6) "ns" compatible specification language and integration with the Georgia Tech "software backplanefor emulation," allowing experiments easily to move between simulation and emulation; (7) remote configurability and availability to researchers world-wide, both time and space-shared; (8) isolated control, monitoring, and data acquisition network; remote power control and serial line console /debugging for all nodes; (9) incorporation as an integral part of the national Active Network Backbone (ABONE).

如今，存在三种进行网络研究的环境：实时网络、网络模拟器和静态小规模测试平台。尽管每种环境都有其优点，但也有许多限制。该项目提出建立一种新型的实验环境，即“房间里的互联网”，它不仅可以弥补现有实验环境的优点和缺点，而且可以与其中的一些实验环境（例如模拟）协同工作。 拟议的仪器是一个大型网络仿真设施，将成为网络实验人员的独特资源。研究人员目前正在利用捐赠的设备和犹他大学的资金建造一个原型。根据这项提议，研究人员将继续这项早期工作，通过开发重要的软件和部署额外的硬件使测试平台“真实”，与其他人密切合作将其与网络模拟器集成，并提供专业人员，以便该设施最大限度地为外部使用研究人员。 一个关键目标是使该设施可供任何外部研究人员普遍使用，而不会出现简单直接使用的行政或技术障碍。 随着进入壁垒的大幅下降，单节点系统的研究和开发蓬勃发展。廉价、商品化、开放的硬件（x86 PC）和软件（Linux、*BSD）使所有研究人员无需大量预算即可进行此类研发。我们建议开发一种仪器软件，为网络研究人员带来类似的好处，并将其应用于第一个硬件实例。 该提案的一个重要方面是与其他研究领域专家，特别是佐治亚理工学院的网络仿真专家合作，利用该设施独特的网络仿真功能，学习如何最好地使用它，并指导其发展。 该仿真设施的独特之处包括： (1)规模大：250个节点，每个节点至少为4个。 (2) 用户可配置的对测试台“物理”特性的最低级别控制，例如错误模型、延迟、带宽、数据包排序、处理能力和缓冲区空间。 (3) 通过内部流量整形节点准确模拟广域网； (4) 捕获低级设备/操作系统成本，例如中断负载和内存带宽； (5) 完全用户可更换的路由器操作系统/软件提供了对路由器软件本身的实验，以及易于维护和强大的安全性； (6)“ns”兼容规范语言并与佐治亚理工学院“仿真软件背板”集成，使实验能够轻松地在仿真和仿真之间移动； (7) 远程可配置性和全球研究人员的可用性，时间和空间共享； (8)隔离控制、监测、数据采集网络；所有节点的远程电源控制和串行线路控制台/调试； (9) 纳入国家有源网络骨干网 (ABONE) 的组成部分。