Showing papers presented at "Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the DEvelopment of NeTworks and COMmunities in 2005"

VDE: virtual distributed Ethernet

Abstract: The idea of VDE is very effective but straightforward simple and can be applied in very many configuration to provide several services. It is a sort of Swiss knife of emulated networks. It can be used as a general virtual private network as well as a support technology for mobility, a tool for network testing, a general reconfigurable overlay network, a layer for implementing privacy preserving technologies and many others. A prototype VDE has been implemented and released as free software under the GPL licence.

The IMS playground @ FOKUS-an open testbed for generation network multimedia services

Abstract: The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) defined by the 3/sup rd/ Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP and 3GPP2) represents today the global Service Delivery Platform (SDP) standard for providing multimedia applications in Next Generation Networks (NGN). It defines an overlay service architecture that merges the paradigms and technologies of the Internet with the cellular and fixed telecommunication worlds. The architecture enables the efficient provision of an open set of potentially highly integrated multimedia services, combining Web browsing, email, instant messaging, presence, VoIP, video conferencing, application sharing, telephony, unified messaging, multimedia content delivery, etc., on top of possibly different network technologies. Also interworking with the Internet and legacy networks is supported. As such the IMS enables various business models for providing seamless business and consumer multimedia applications. Knowing that the full potential of the IMS can only be revealed by the early nondiscriminant provision of IMS know how and related technologies to the different market players the Fraunhofer Institute FOKUS has launched the "Open IMS Playground" in July 2004 as part of the German 3G beyond national testbed. This paper introduces the IMS standard and provides an overview of the "Open IMS playground @ FOKUS".

ORBIT testbed software architecture: supporting experiments as a service

Abstract: This paper presents the software architecture of the ORBIT radio grid testbed. We describe the requirements for supporting the lifecycle of an experiment and how they influenced the overall design of the architecture. We specifically highlight those components and services which will be visible to a user of the ORBIT testbed.

A testbed for evaluating human interaction with ubiquitous computing environments

Abstract: Core to ubiquitous computing environments are adaptive software systems that adapt their behavior to the context in which the user is attempting the task the system aims to support. This context is strongly linked with the physical environment in which the task is being performed. The efficacy of such adaptive systems is thus highly dependent on the human perception of the provided system behavior within the context represented by that particular physical environment and social situation. However, effective evaluation of human interaction with adaptive ubiquitous computing technologies has been hindered by the cost and logistics of accurately controlling such environmental context. This paper describes TATUS, a ubiquitous computing simulator aimed at overcoming these cost and logistical issues. Based on a 3D games engine, the simulator has been designed to maximize usability and flexibility in the experimentation of adaptive ubiquitous computing systems. We also describe how this simulator is interfaced with a testbed for wireless communication domain simulation.

Ubiquitous home: real-life testbed for home context-aware service

Abstract: The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology of Japan completed a real-life testbed, called the "ubiquitous home", for home context-aware service experiments in 2004. From the viewpoint of sensor ubiquity, the Ubiquitous Home is superior to other similar testbeds. At the Ubiquitous Home, experimenters can collect real-life data as if living in their own house, not in a laboratory. This paper introduces an overview and detailed sensor arrangement of the Ubiquitous Home. Two cases from several progressing experiments are also presented. The first case is on connecting networked appliances; the second concerns the combination of wearable devices and the Ubiquitous Home sensors to record user behavior.

A testbed and methodology for experimental evaluation of wireless mobile ad hoc networks

Abstract: Wireless mobile ad hoc network experimentation is subjected to stochastic factors from the radio environment and node mobility. To achieve test repeatability and result re-producibility such stochastic factors need to be controlled or assessed in order to obtain conclusive results. This has implications on the design of testbeds. We present a methodology that addresses repeatability and describe how it has guided us in the design of our Ad hoc Protocol Evaluation (APE) testbed. Finally, by using APE, we present side-by-side routing protocol comparison results and show a radio phenomena that is not visible in simulations.

ORBIT radio grid testbed for evaluation of next-generation wireless network protocols

Abstract: The ORBIT (Open Access Research Testbed for Next- Generation Wireless Networks) testbed project which aims to provide a flexible, open-access multiuser experimental facility to support research on next-generation wireless networks is presented in this paper. ORBIT measurement overlay framework is used for experiment statistics in a type-safe manner. Software tools such as traffic generator, database plug-in tools are used to extract results in to MATLAB or Excel.

ORBIT Measurements framework and library (OML): motivations, implementation and features

Abstract: In this paper we present ORBIT measurement framework and library (OML), which is a distributed software framework enabling real-time collection of data in a large distributed environment. The success of a multiuser distributed testbed facility depends largely on the ease of use, remote access as well as on the ease of collecting useful measurements from experimental runs. OML provides a flexible and dynamic way in which data is collected and made available for realtime access to the experimenters. Application programmers can use simple interfaces provided to transfer measurements and other performance data to a central repository. This paper focuses on the motivation, requirements, design, implementation and real world usage of OML that is designed to provide a scalable, controllable and easy to use mechanism for experimenters to collect useful results from the experiments conducted on the ORBIT testbed.

Integrated network experimentation using simulation and emulation

Abstract: Discrete-event packet-level network simulation is well-known and widely used. Network emulation is a hybrid approach that combines real elements of a deployed networked application-such as end hosts and protocol implementations-with synthetic, simulated, or abstracted elements-such as the network links, intermediate nodes and background traffic. A key difference between the two approaches is that in the former, the notion of time is virtual and is independent of real time, whereas the latter must execute in real time. Emulation gains realism while naturally foregoing complete repeatability; historically, emulation was also tedious to control and manage. We define integrated network experimentation as spatially combining real elements with simulated elements in the same experimental run, each modeling different portions of a network topology. Integrated experiments enable new validation techniques and larger experiments than obtainable by using real elements alone. This paper highlights the key issues in integrated network experimentation and presents some of the design techniques we use in designing, building, and putting into public production use such an integrated environment, running on a space-shared cluster.

Wireless link SNR mapping onto an indoor testbed

Abstract: To facilitate a broad range of experimental research on novel protocols and application concepts, we consider an indoor wireless testbed to emulate the performance of real-world networks. A fundamental issue for emulation is the replication of communication links of specified quality. In particular, we need to replicate on the testbed, for every link in the real world, a communication link whose received signal-to-interference-and-noise-ratio (SINR) matches the corresponding link signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). In this paper, we focus on the downlink SNR mapping associated with a network with a single access point (AP). Four indoor wireless propagation models (commercial buildings with/without line-of-sight path and residential buildings with/without line-of-sight path) and two types of spatial distributions (uniform distribution inside a circular cell and uniform distribution along a line) have been investigated. Based on the characteristics of the indoor testbed, we propose a mapping method with one AP and one interferer, which separates the task into two phases: in the first phase, the best location and transmission power for the interferer node are determined; in the second phase, the topology of receiver nodes is configured by a minimum weight matching algorithm. Through analysis and simulations, we find that when the interferer node is located on the corner across from the AP, we can achieve a mapping range on the order of 57 dB and an average root-mean-square (RMS) mapping error less than 1 dB.

The European Traffic Observatory Measurement Infrastructure (ETOMIC): a testbed for universal active and passive measurements

Abstract: The European Traffic Observatory is a European Union VI Framework Program sponsored effort, within the Integrated Project EVERGROW, that aims at providing a paneuropean traffic measurement infrastructure with high-precision, GPS-synchronized monitoring nodes. This paper describes the system and node architectures, together with the management system. On the other hand, we also present the testing platform that is currently being used for testing ETOMIC nodes before actual deployment.

A global X-bone for network experiments

Abstract: A global Internet overlay testbed is being deployed to support the distributed, shared use of resources for network research. The Global X-Bone (GX-Bone) augments the X-Bone software system, enhancing its coordination mechanisms to support deployment of local overlays to world-wide, shared infrastructure. The GX-Bone is based on the X-Bone's Virtual Internet Architecture which extends the Internet for both concurrent, parallel and recursive overlays and provides decentralized, automated deployment and management. GX-Bone supports host visualization through the NetFS file system, granting individual users compartmentalized access and control of host and router configuration and the DataRouter extension to IP loose source routing that supports application control of network-layer forwarding. GX-Bone can be installed on user-modified kernels, uniquely supporting both conventional kernel-level protocol development and coordinated global infrastructure sharing.

Addressing repeatability in wireless experiments using ORBIT testbed

Abstract: With the rapid growth in research activity on future wireless networking applications and protocols, experimental study and validation is becoming an increasingly important tool to obtain realistic results that may not be possible under the constrained environment of network simulators. However, experimental results must be reproducible and repeatable for them to be used to compare proposed systems and to build prototypes. In this paper, we address the issue of repeatability in wireless experiments in the Open Access Research Testbed for Next-Generation Wireless Networks (ORBIT) testbed and propose a mechanism to promote reproducible experiments using periodic calibration of the equipment. Several experimental results that capture repeatability in time and space using our initial testbed setup are also provided.

A low-cost and simple-to-deploy peer-to-peer wireless network based on open source Linux routers

Abstract: In this paper we present our work towards deploying a community wireless network with ad hoc communication and routing between its elements. We describe our network model and implementation of wireless routers, while motivating decisions and pointing out open issues. The main advantage of our approach is the low deployment cost and inherent flexibility in terms of adapting the network configuration with little or no human intervention, which in turn can be exploited to support the dynamic addition, removal and mobility of network elements.

Analysis and experimentation over heterogeneous wireless networks

Abstract: Wireless and mobile networks represent an enabling technology for ubiquitous access to information systems However, there are critical issues that still prevent the widespread use of these technologies In this paper we analyze and discuss our experience over a real ubiquitous network testbed capable to provide a seamless hand-off among heterogeneous networks We describe Mobile IPv6/IPv4 interoperability and an efficient mechanism, based on link-layer information, for a seamless handoff among wired and wireless networks We present the solutions adopted in setting up a real testbed and provide an evaluation of the observed performance, including a characterization of interoperability among three wireless access network technologies: 80211 WLAN, GPRS, and UMTS

An open access wideband multiantenna wireless testbed with remote control capability

Abstract: This paper introduces an open access wideband multiantenna wireless testbed. The testbed is configured as a four transmit antenna by four receive antenna system based on software defined radio technology. It operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and supports an RF bandwidth compatible to IEEE 802.11a/g standard. A robotic positioning system has been developed to automatically control the position and orientation of the antenna array, which makes automated testing possible and greatly reduces engineering time. The testbed is configured such that it can be controlled by any computer on the Internet. This makes remote debugging and testing possible. This characteristic of test automation and remote access through Internet was designed into the testbed to make it a valuable resource to the other researchers. A set of software has been developed to support research using the testbed, with the current focus on MIMO channel characterization and MIMO-OFDM packet communications. A data acquisition system and an offline processing system have been developed for the testbed and have been used for over the air testing to produce results for the ongoing IEEE 802.11n standardization activity.

A practical approach for 4G systems: deployment of overlay networks

Abstract: Experimental activities play a vital role in the deployment and development of novel radio access networks. In particular the movement from 3G to 4G poses new challenges, which need to be solved using practical approaches such as testbeds. This paper presents a testbed that can be regarded as an early attempt to build a 4G system. It fully integrates heterogeneous wireless technologies using a loosely-coupled architecture. Also, experimental results are included to show the possibilities of this setup.

Automatic configuration and execution of Internet experiments on an actual node-based testbed

Abstract: Software simulators are widely used for validation and evaluation of new network technologies and services. Using software simulators is a good way to validate algorithms or observing microbehavior of communication protocols. There are, however, problems with software simulators. Most software simulators require target systems to be described under their own modelling scheme, often using their own modelling language. These descriptions are usually different from what will actually be running as products. It is clear that these products should be validated someway. Time required to run software simulation become problematic also, as we try to simulate realistic target system under realistic environment where nontrivial aggregation of complex network services come into play. We adopt an approach to prepare a configurable testbed using actual nodes. Experiment topologies are created on this testbed virtually without changing physical connections, because the cost of building such experiment environments is very large. Since users of such testbed have to perform many steps to execute the desired experiments on such environment, we design the system that supports the users to execute their experiments. Using our system, all the user have to perform is preparing a experiment configuration file. Our system will execute experiments according to the configuration file. This paper shows the design of our supporting system models, steps of experiment with our system and an example of user's scenario.

A testbed and research network for next generation services over next generation networks

Abstract: The complexity of today's data communication networks necessitates complete, realistic and sophisticated testing grounds for verifying and validating their functionality. Network testing grounds are restricted to laboratories and environments isolated from real life scenarios. Testing in production and commercial networks is typically forbidden since they present a high degree of risk factors for service availability. Additionally, the majority of today's communication network testbeds lack the scale and flexibility needed to properly represent a true networking environment. Before deploying live networks there is a need to have a network testing environment scalable and flexible enough where issues such as: network design, vendor interoperability, endurance, multiprotocol layer interconnectivity, a vendor's specific implementations of standards and network design viability have been verified to meet the requirements. In this paper a design and implementation of a next generation network is described, where both testing and production traffic coexist. NCIT*net 2 is an optical transmission network supporting end-to-end services over technologies such as Ethernet, SONET, MPLS and DWDM. The paper also discusses key technology aspects related to the functionality of equipment and network from a service point of view. These include the physical layer and network operation, as well as architecture and control. The testbed network is used for the deployment of networking services over the above technologies in order to verify service implementation, provisioning and assurance of quality of service requirements. This network also allows testing and evaluating systems, subsystems and components from different vendors in various interconnections. The paper goes further to describe, as an example, the tests designed and implemented for the analysis of MPLS based services over next generation networks.

Scalable testbed for next-generation wireless networking technologies

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of a new wireless network research testbed being developed by several wireless communications and networking research groups at UCLA. Its primary objective is to provide researchers at every layer of the protocol stack, from physical devices to transport protocols, a testbed to evaluate the impact of their technology on application level performance, using scalable and realistic operational scenarios. To achieve this objective, the testbed will use a collection of physical testbeds integrated with a scalable, multitool simulation framework.

GILDA: the grid INFN virtual laboratory for dissemination activities

Abstract: The elements of the GILDA dissemination grid developed within the context of Italian INFN Grid Project and the European EGEE Project are presented and described.

Divide and conquer: PC-based packet trace replay at OC-48 speeds

Abstract: Today's Internet backbone networking devices need to be tested under realistic traffic conditions at transmission rates of OC-48 and above. While commercially available synthetic traffic generators are capable of keeping up with high transmission rates, they fail to produce realistic mixes of flow, packet and address arrival patterns. We explore the alternative of replaying real packet traces from high-speed links using multiple commodity PCs equipped with lower-speed network interfaces. Such an approach is inherently cost-effective because of the use of commodity hardware and can scale up to any desired transmission rate. We first examine how to split a trace among multiple PCs for the purpose of replaying and validate our technique using simulations. We use a wavelet 'spectrum' or energy plot for this purpose which enables traffic processes to be viewed simultaneously on many time-scales. Then we present an implementation using Linux PCs with gigabit Ethernet interfaces to replay OC-48 packet traces from the Sprint backbone. Our results show that the replayed trace is very similar to the original trace at most time scales. We are also able to pinpoint the specific system components that contributed to the replay inaccuracy, as well as identify several important challenges that remain to be explored in-depth.

Running variance metric for evaluating performance of wireless IP networks in the MobileCty testbed

Abstract: This paper proposes and analyzes a Running Variance Metric performance measurement of wireless local area networks and its formal aspects Our approach evaluates the performance of wireless local area networks in infrastructure mode as well as in ad hoc mode The Running Variance Metric is used to discover relative traffic loads of available access-points/gateways at the network layer in order to provide connectivity to the wired network The paper discusses a simulation study The simulation results demonstrate the usefulness and efficiency of the Running Variance Metric to evaluate the utilization of available access-points/gateways It is also shown that this metric can be used for hop-analysis in multihop ad hoc wireless networks

TBI: end-to-end network performance measurement testbed for empirical bottleneck detection

Abstract: Recent advances in networking include new bandwidth-intensive applications, sophisticated protocols that enable real-time data and multimedia delivery and aspects of network security that were not conceived in the beginnings of the Internet. Given these advances and the rapid increase in the number of users accessing the Internet, today's networks need to deliver high levels of end-to-end performance in a reliable fashion. In this paper, we present our novel network measurement methodology which employs an application-specific measurement toolkit including a scaleable test scheduler and analysis module to empirically identify end-to-end bottleneck paths in monitored network routes. To show the utility of our proposed methodology, we present case-studies from a network measurement testbed between 3 University campus labs traversing regional and national academic network backbones. Our case-studies address identifying network measurement anomalies in routine ISP operations due to route changes, device misconfigurations and erroneous data from measurement tools. We also present a performance comparison of campus, regional, national-academic and national-commercial network paths based on the measurement data obtained from our testbed. Finally, we illustrate the requirements and potential of federated measurement testbeds to better characterize end-to-end network performance bottlenecks across multiple ISP domains.

Project GIGA-high-speed experimental IP/WDM network

Abstract: This paper describes Project GIGA-high-speed Experimental Network, a multiinstitutional, multidisciplinary, national project funded by the Brazilian government. The main goal of Project GIGA is to promote research, development and experimentation of technology at all layers, aiming at generating knowledge, products and services that will make it possible for Brazilian individuals and companies to play a role in the converged telecom sector. The project centres on the high-speed Network Testbed, a platform for experimentation and validation of technology, equipment, protocols, services and applications, whether they be developed in the project or not. The paper explains the objectives, the expected impact and the organisation of the project. It also describes the architecture of the network testbed, the ongoing research and development activities and some of the results obtained.

InterVLAN VPNs over a high performance optical testbed

Abstract: In this paper, we present the Optical Networks Research Laboratory (ONRL) Gigabit Ethernet fiberoptic network test-bed. Using this testbed, we consider two cases of provisioning secure and reliable connections for geographically disperse customer-based VLANs over a publicly shared network: 1) using Stacked VLANs (SVLAN) and 2) using L2-VPNs over IP/MPLS core network. We demonstrate the steps taken to install and configure an operational survivable virtual private network (VPN) service built over the ONRL metro-testbed. Finally, we present results of experiments conducted to study the protection and restoration schemes implemented using the previously mentioned scenarios.

Performance evaluation of recovery techniques in a grid oriented Metrocore/VESPER field trial

Abstract: The introduction of advanced features, provided by the emerging next generation networks based on the Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) protocol framework in grid computing systems, promises to significantly improve the performance of distributed applications and services. An accurate experimental analysis of the main GMPLS features, such as the different reliability solutions, is then required. In this paper, we present the experimental implementation of different reliability solutions in the Metrocore/VESPER field trial, the high-performance network infrastructure located in Pisa, Italy. Protection and restoration schemes are investigated both at the IP/MPLS and physical layer.

GEMnet2: NTT's new network testbed for global R&D

Abstract: For over six years NTT Laboratories has been successfully operating two experimental networks, GALAXY and GEMnet to explore the effectiveness of ultra-high-speed communications technologies when applied to advanced scientific research and for research and development of global information-sharing services respectively. In 2003, to adapt to the new technological and application's requirements, we have formulated a new testbed concept, GEMnet2, combining the two separated experimental networks which were conceived for two different purposes and completed the first phase construction of the new testbed this year. Its three key aims are to let us test technologies for every aspect of communications, provide very wide bandwidth that can accommodate very fast applications without any restraints, and promote collaboration with other research networks. We are using DWDM/CWDM technologies to build multiple OC48 and GbE circuits between NTT's R&D centres in Musashino, Yokosuka and Atsugi and collaborative national research institutes including NII, NICT and NAOJ. GEMnet2 is also connected to SINET and Abilene with OC48 circuits to facilitate international experiments requiring very wide bandwidth.

Design considerations on the CREATE-NET testbed

Abstract: The CREATE-NET testbed is a long term project aiming at implementing a best state-of-the-art infrastructure able to link together research centers, both from academia and industrial bodies, in order to create a fruitful collaborative environment to help generating new ideas for advanced applications and services, developing new protocols, testing and integrating different vendor equipments. This testbed is aimed to be unique as it covers novel topics such as optical and wireless integration and WiMAX experimentation for offering broadband access to rural communities. In this paper we present both the technical design issues and a general outline of the implementation process.

A geography-aware scalable community wireless network test bed

Abstract: Wireless mesh networks have increasingly become an object of interest in recent years as a strong alternative to purely wired infrastructure networks and purely mobile wireless networks. Given the challenges that have arisen in construction, deployment and maintenance of wireless mesh networks, we outline a broad experimental research program in the area of medium-to-large scale community wireless networks. Our research is conducted in the context of an operational community network built in our test bed laboratory with continual plans to expand to the town of Troy, NY (up to hundreds of nodes in a 1-2 mile radius around RPl campus). Leveraging Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and Geographic Distributed Addressing (GDA), a novel and intuitive addressing assignment, geographic-based forwarding algorithms such as GPSR and TBF can be easily tested and traffic engineering theories implemented in a real-world environment. Our paper documents several design considerations and contributions in implementing community wireless networks including autoconfiguration, addressing structure and antenna characteristics among other items, in addition to describing our novel test bed lab where RF effects of distances of thousands of meters can be simulated with server, antenna and variable attenuator clusters.