TinkerNet: A Low-Cost Networking Laboratory System

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Computer Science (31)This project is providing the community with an inexpensive and easy-to-use laboratory environment for teaching computer networking. The TinkerNet environment consists of an array of nodes and a controller. Using a modified OSKit, students implement OS kernels containing pieces of the network protocol stack. Students boot their kernel on an available node and then execute and test their network implementations. TinkerNet differs from other projects because it uses inexpensive commodity hardware (200MHz PCs suffice) and readily-available software (OSKit, Linux, and GNU). Its intellectual merit lies in filling a need that was articulated in the SIGCOMM Workshop on Teaching Computer Networking for an inexpensive, easy-to-use, and easy-to-maintain laboratory environment for teaching computer networking.The broader impact of this project lies in the effectiveness of this project in the classroom, as demonstrated by the experience of the University of California Riverside (UCR), a MSI. Student course evaluations at UCR were very positive about the additional understanding obtained through the TinkerNet laboratory experiments. There is considerable interest from other institutions in using this environment. In addition, this project includes a more detailed assessment of student learning.