MRI: Development of Next-Generation Network Research Testbeds

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This project, establishing the framework for a federated set of local and highly configurable "internet emulators," known as Emulabs, (each heterogeneous, under local control, offering a unique set of hardware) with expanded software and innovative algorithms, extends previous research, building a new type of experimental environment for research in distributed systems and networks. Many institutions presently use this time- and space-shared facility for research. Individual site users will now have priority for local hardware, as well as control over local administrative, security, and resource allocation policies. This autonomy is expected to encourage "organic growth," while intelligent allocation, scheduling, and swapping systems will provide abstraction. Researchers and students can be unconcerned with local complexities, instead of seeing one large collection of a wide variety of hardware, including standard PCs, network processors, wireless nodes, and more. The links between Emulabs should be a useful resource for experiments wishing to operate on the "real" Internet, while controlled-bandwidth links should shield experiments that do not. Support for wireless, mobile nodes should open new avenues for experimentation. Many challenges are involved in achieving this mission: Creating software to manage the extension Application of novel algorithms and techniques Augmenting existing database with failure resistant peer-to-peer sharing of network information between Emulabs Scheduling on a non-static, wide-area system (NP-complete problem) Developing automated systems to control experiment scheduling and allocation while maintaining simple user interfaces Extending Emulab algorithms and software to handle a wider variety of hardware, including wireless nodes Developing methods for sharing, saving and restoring state between machines Maintaining performance isolation while multiplexing multiple virtual nodes on a single computerThus, the work generalizes existing capabilities for configurable experimentation in distributed systems testbeds to include wireless as well as wired linked, mobile as well as fixed nodes, and high-end nodes with gigabit links. Emulabs exhibit great individual power in experimentation and teaching; hence, connecting these into one large "Research and Education Grid' offers more power and flexibility. Gaining access to an immensely diverse and powerful resource, small institutions can contribute, because adding sites to the Grid will be easy and cheap. Since Emulab is already in use as a tool for education in several institutions, its education and research impacts remain very broad.