Showing papers presented at "Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the DEvelopment of NeTworks and COMmunities in 2015"

Docking autonomous robots in passive docks with Infrared sensors and QR codes

Abstract: In this paper, we describe an inexpensive and easy to deploy docking solution in passive charging docks for autonomous mobile robots. The objective is to achieve long-term autonomous robots within an experiment test-bed. We propose to combine the use of QR codes as landmarks and Infrared distance sensors. The relative size of the lateral edges of the visual pattern is used to position the robot in relation with the dock. Infrared distance sensors are then used to perform different approaching strategies depending on the distance. Experiments show that the proposed solution is fully operational and robust. Not to rely exclusively on visual pattern recognition avoids potential errors induced by camera calibration. Additionally, as a positive side effect, the use of Infrared sensors allows the robot to avoid obstacles while docking. The finality of such an approach is to integrate these robots into the FIT IoT Lab experimental testbed which allows any experimenter to book wireless resources such as wireless sensors remotely and to test their own code. Wifibots holding wireless sensors will be integrated as additional reservable resources of the platform to enlarge the set of possible experimentations with mobile entities.

Trust as the foundation of resource exchange in GENI

Abstract: Researchers and educators in computer science and other domains are increasingly turning to distributed test beds that offer access to a variety of resources, including networking, computation, storage, sensing, and actuation. The provisioning of resources from their owners to interested experimenters requires establishing sufficient mutual trust between these parties. Building such trust directly between researchers and resource owners will not scale as the number of experimenters and resource owners grows. The NSF GENI (Global Environment for Network Innovation) project has focused on establishing scalable mechanisms for maintaining such trust based on common approaches for authentication, authorization and accountability. Such trust reflects the actual trust relationships and agreements among humans or real-world organizations. We describe here GENI’s approaches for federated trust based on mutually trusted authorities, and implemented via cryptographically signed credentials and shared policies.

Empirical analysis of IPv6 transition technologies using the IPv6 Network Evaluation Testbed

Abstract: IPv6 is yet to become more than a worthy successor of IPv4, which remains, for now, the dominant Internet Protocol. Behind this fact is the complicated transition period through which the Internet will have to go, until IPv6 will completely replace IPv4. This transition has presented the Internet Community with numerous challenges. One of these challenges is to decide which transition technology is more feasible for a particular network scenario. As an answer, this article is proposing the IPv6 Network Evaluation Testbed (IPv6NET), a research project whose ultimate goal is to obtain feasibility data in order to formulate a coherent, scenario-based IPv6 transition strategy. The paper presents the overview of IPv6NET, the testing methodology and empirical results for a specific network scenario. The scenario was introduced by the IETF and it was dedicated to an Enterprise Network which is using IPv6 as backbone technology. The Enterprise needs to convey communication tjo IPv4 capable nodes through the IPv6-only infrastructure. A suitable IPv6 transition implementation, covering multiple transition technologies, was tested in relation with this scenario. The presented empirical feasibility data includes network performance data such as: latency, throughput, packet loss, CPU load, and operational capability data, such as: configuration, troubleshooting and applications capability.

A Unified Monitoring Framework for Energy Consumption and Network Traffic

Abstract: Providing experimenters with deep insight about the effects of their experiments is a central feature of testbeds. In this paper, we describe Kwapi, a framework designed in the context of the Grid'5000 testbed, that unifies measurements for both energy consumption and network traffic. Because all measurements are taken at the infrastructure level (using sensors in power and network equipment), using this framework has no dependencies on the experiments themselves. Initially designed for OpenStack infrastructures, the Kwapi framework allows monitoring and reporting of energy consumption of distributed platforms. In this article, we present the extension of Kwapi to network monitoring, and outline how we overcame several challenges: scaling to a testbed the size of Grid'5000 while still providing high-frequency measurements; providing long-term loss-less storage of measurements; handling operational issues when deploying such a tool on a real infrastructure.

Cloud-based IoT Analytics for the Smart Grid: Experiences from a 3-year Pilot

Abstract: The transformation of electrical grids into smart-grid is seen as one of the major technological challenges of our times and at the same time as one of the key domains for Internet of Things (IoT). Smart-home technologies and corresponding analytics are an integral part of many use cases in this field. In this paper we present a cloud-based test bed for capturing and analyzing smart-home data and report on experiences from a 3 year pilot with a cloud-based system. We discuss on real-world challenges that we encountered throughout the pilot - e.g. related to big data volumes and data quality - and describe corresponding technical solutions.

The GENI Experiment Engine

Abstract: We describe the GENI Experiment Engine, a Distributed-Platform-as-a-Service facility designed to be implemented on a distributed testbed or infrastructure. The GEE is intended to provide rapid and convenient access to a distributed infrastructure for simple, easy-to-configure experiments and applications. Specifically, the design goal of the GEE is to permit experimenters and application writers to: (a) allocate a GEE slicelet; (b) deploy a simple experiment or application; (c) run the experiment; (d) collect the results; and (e) tear down the experiment, starting from scratch, within five minutes. The GEE consists of four cooperating services over the GENI infrastructure, which together with pre-allocated slicelets and a pre-allocated network offers a complete, ready to use, sliceable platform over the GENI Infrastructure.

OneLab Tutorial: A Single Portal to Heterogeneous Testbeds

Abstract: Large-scale experimentation in varying types of environments is difficult to achieve, and until recently, experimenters have had to either construct their own platforms or rely on simulation, emulation, or analysis to gain results. However, these methods largely do not provide adequate or verified results. There lacked a viable model for the federation of large-scale testbeds that reconciled the challenges posed by how to provide a single entry point to access heterogeneous and distributed resources, and how to federate these resources that are under the control of multiple authorities. Efforts such as the FIRE initiative in Europe and GENI in the United States have worked to develop such a model, and the OneLab experimental facility, which came online in 2014, realizes this model, making a set of world-class testbeds freely available to researchers through a unique credential for each user and a common set of tools. OneLab provides a large-scale facility for rapid and remote testing that produces exhaustive results, at no charge to the experimenter. We allow users to deploy innovative experiments across our federated platforms that include the embedded object testbeds of FIT IoT-Lab, the cognitive radio testbed of FIT CorteXlab, the wireless testbeds of NITOS-Lab, and the internet overlay testbeds of PlanetLab Europe (PLE), which together provide thousands of nodes for experimentation. The OneLab portal allows single-entry point access to these platforms, and provides users with unique credentials. This is made possible through the adoption of Slice-based Federation Architecture (SFA), an API for authentication and authorization that was conceptualized by the GENI initiative in the US, where each authority authenticates users and authorizes access to the resources; and MySlice, the portal technology that we have developed to federate heterogeneous resources.

Accessible Wayfinding Testbed: Infrastructure and Components

Abstract: Despite considerable recent interest in research related to wayfinding and navigation of pedestrians, the needs and preferences of people with disabilities (PWDs) are not yet fully addressed. Some of still unaddressed issues are related to understanding the different mobility challenges of PWDs, while others are related to the accessibility of routes and navigation systems/services. Emergence of advanced systems and services that can assist PWDs in wayfinding and navigation calls for the development of an accessible wayfinding platform facilitating the evaluation of accessibility of indoor and outdoor routes. In this paper, we propose and present an accessible wayfinding testbed which has three components: database, accessibility index, and visualization. The database component includes networks of sidewalks outdoors and building elements indoors with accessibility elements for PWDs. The accessibility index determines the level of accessibility of each element in a network as is perceived by PWDs. The visualization component visualizes the routes, accessible and others, in a simple form allowing PWDs, urban planners, and software developers, among others, to evaluate the accessibility of the travelling environment. The paper discusses the details of the testbed and a prototype accessible wayfinding testbed.

Experiences Virtualizing a Large-Scale Test Platform for Multimedia Applications

Abstract: Testing is an essential part of software development and many test platforms exist to facilitate the process. Test systems are scarce, because especially scalability tests require many computational resources. In this paper we show that these limitations can be overcome by migrating the test infrastructure into Cloud environments. Concrete virtualization concepts for large-scale testbeds are discussed using the example of NESSEE an emulation environment for testing distributed Audio/Video conferencing applications. Furthermore, we describe how the Cloud migration allows us to better integrate the test runs of the platform into the work flow of software development.

A Networkless Data Exchange and Control Mechanism for Virtual Testbed Devices

Abstract: Virtualization has become a key component of network testbeds. However, transmitting data or commands to the test nodes is still either a complicated task or makes use of the nodes’ network interfaces, which may interfere with the experiment itself. This paper creates a model for the typical lifecycle of experiment nodes, and proposes a mechanism for networkless node control for virtual nodes in such a typical experiment lifecycle which has been implemented in an existing testbed environment.

DynamiQ: A Tool for Dynamic Emulation of Networks

Abstract: Interactive network experiments, in which experiment conditions change dynamically based on input from users or other external sources, are the most appropriate approach when evaluating solutions to practical network problems, for teaching and/or training purposes, etc. Support for dynamic experiment conditions is also required whenever an experiment cannot be fully defined from start, for instance when node behavior (application execution, mobility pattern, etc.) depends on factors such as communication conditions in the experiment, traffic content, and so on. In this paper we present the network emulation module named dynamiQ that makes possible the dynamic emulation of networks. We also outline an interactive experiment framework that uses dynamiQ to meet the above requirements. The evaluation of dynamiQ in this context shows that no significant performance penalties occur because of its dynamic nature. Our interactive experiment framework has already been used in practice, including for a demonstration at Interop Tokyo 2014.