An eXtensible Open Router Platform (XORP)

International Computer Science Institute, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Much good Internet research is being frustrated by an inability to deploy experimental router software at points in the network where it makes most sense. This problem affects a wide range of research, including routing protocols themselves, active queue management schemes, and so-called "middlebox" functionality such as intrusion detection systems. Research becomes unrealistic because of the difficulty of experimenting under real network conditions; often ideas never make it out of the network simulator. To address these problems, the XORP project will develop a complete open-source router software platform, from forwarding path to routing protocols, using an architecture that permits extensibility whilst at the same time providing stable well-performing basic router functionality. The vision is of an integrated router software platform running on off-the-shelf hardware, that is sufficiently well performing and reliable to see production service in a wide range of network conditions. The software architecture will be designed with extensibility in mind from the start. The goal is for Internet researchers needing access to router software to have a common platform for experimentation; this will provide all the basic router functionality that the researcher can then use to perform measurements or augment with new protocol functionality.