Scalable Network Emulation - The NET Approach

Abstract

Network emulation is an efficient method for evaluating distributed applications and communication protocols bycombining the benefits of real world experiments and networksimulation. The process of network emulation involves the executionof connected virtual nodes running the software under test ina controlled environment. Our <em>Network Emulation Testbed</em> (NET) achieves high scalability by combining efficient node virtualization and adaptive virtual time.<br />In this paper, we provide an overview of our system. First, we introduce our efficient emulation architecture. Second, we present our approaches (<em>NETplace</em> and <em>NETbalance</em>) to minimize the runtime of the network experiments. The idea of <em>NETplace</em> is to minimize the load of the testbed by calculating an initial placement of virtual nodes onto the testbed nodes. During the runtime of the experiment <em>NETbalance</em> adapts this placement to changed resource requirements of the software under test. Finally, we introduce <em>NETcaptain</em>, a graphical user interface to setup, control and visualize network experiments

Automatic Connection of Components for Dynamic Distributed Applications

“…There are two protocols needed [15] [16] for ACUs to exchange their messages: the TCP protocol and the UDP protocol.…”