CI-EN: Revitalizing Emulab for Modern Networking and Systems Research

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This project upgrades the Emulab facility at the University of Utah, which is used by thousands of computer science researchers, educators, and students across the country. Emulab is a scientific instrument for conducting controlled, medium-scale experiments with emulated networks. It is especially appropriate for experiments that require a controlled environment, where network links can be emulated, and where human (or other external) involvement in the experiment is not required. In operation since 2000, it is a central resource in the networking and systems research communities. Hundreds of research papers and dozens of classes have been based on experiments conducted within the Emulab facilities and demand has remained high. While the fundamentals of Emulab are strong, and it is widely used, some of its aspects are showing their age and need to be updated to support cutting edge research going forward. For example, on the hardware side, approximately one-third of the PCs in the testbed are more than 14 years old: these out-of-date PCs are no longer useful for scientific experiments, while user demand for Emulab's more modern PCs exceeds their availability. This project supports the revitalization and ongoing operation of the Emulab testbed. Hardware-related activities include replacing 168 of the oldest nodes with 160 modern multi-core, large memory nodes, and replacing Emulab's obsolete firewall with one capable of supporting current high-performance networks. Software improvements include expanded support for virtualization technologies and modernizing Emulab's web and scripting interfaces to improve ease of use. Operations activities include ensuring 24/7 Internet-based availability of the testbed and assisting users and other sites that run Emulab software. The revitalized Emulab testbed will support cutting-edge research and educational activities, and it will enable thousands of researchers, educators, and students to perform realistic and relevant experiments that would otherwise be impossible. This effect will be magnified by the dozens of other testbed sites that run Emulab software.