Designing Open Wireless Testbed
for New Generation Network Research
Kiyohide NAKAUCHI
Nozomu NISHINAGA
NICT, Japan
{nakauchi, nisinaga}@nict.go.jp
Future Internet Testbed Workshop
APAN 29th, Sydney, Australia
Feb. 11, 2010
Background and Motivation
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Recent global trends of clean-slate future network research
Corresponding testbed projects such as GENI, FIRE, …
Motivated by their impressive testbed designs
 Integrated control framework over optical, wireless, virtualization,…
 Tight coupling with prototyping and experimentally-driven research
Also motivated by the necessity of open wireless testbed in Japan
 Work as a wireless part of JGN-X
Goal #1: Identify the fundamental requirements for wireless testbed
Goal #2: Basic design of highly programmable open wireless testbed
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Fundamental Requirements
Diverse and novel network architecture and
its prototype should be easily introduced,
deployed, and evaluated on the testbed
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(1) Programmability: providing each layer’s
functions w/ native and custom forms
 Plug-in/add-on of cutting-edge technology
 Sustainability of testbed itself
(2) Virtualization: isolation among concurrent
and competing experiments/services
 Accommodate w/ diverse protocols
 Efficient use of physical facility resources
(3) User opt-in: real traffic and open
innovations
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Questions ?
• Enough for
wireless testbeds?
• Can be satisfied in
wireless context?
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Outline
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Identifying requirements for open wireless testbeds
Basic design
Conclusion and future plan
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Our approach
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Top-down requirements
 Exhaustive survey on use
cases
 Application specific
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Fundamental requirements
 Programmability
 Virtualization
 User opt-in
Comprehensive design with highest-common factor
Discussed by the joint team (networking, wireless, testbed operation)
• What form of wireless testbed is essential?
• Dilemma: No one-fit-all design for diverse wireless experiments
• How should wireless specific features be handled?
• Locality, interferences, diversity of wireless standards,…
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Use Cases
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1. High-speed data transmission
for remote sensing
2. WiFi grid
3. Wireless virtualization
4. ITS probing
5. MMAC
6. Cognitive wireless
7. Eco wireless mesh
8. Physical facility
9. Directed antenna
10. Wireless simulator
11. Wireless emulator
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12. MVNO
13. Regional WiMAX
14. IMS signaling
15. urgent call signaling
16. Distributed DB for sensors
17. WPAN
18. WBAN
19. Under-water communications
20. High-speed mobility
21. Frequency monitoring
22. DTN
…
How can we handle such diverse experimental scenarios?
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We Reached a Conclusion…
“Open” Internet Concept
for Cellular devices
Open IMS
Platform (L7)
Our design scope
Programmability
Embedded wireless,
Real-world applications
Open Sensor
Network
Platform (L7)
Virtualization
Classifications
typical use cases
Userof
opt-in
Internet
Primitive
Experimental
Facility
Advanced Technology
Demonstrator (spectrum)
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Reconfigurable
WiFi Grid (L1-L3)
Emulation & Simulation
Protocol & Scaling Studies
Top-down
requirements
Fundamental
requirements
Cognitive
Wireless (L1-L2)
Broadband Services,
Mobile Computing
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Programmability in Wireless
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Programmable devel environment
 VM can provide kernel/user
mode programmability for each
 Plug-in through open API
Apps
Apps
Apps
GuestOS
GuestOS
VM
VM
HostOS
Hardware
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Sensor
Mobility
IMS
Open API
Middleware
Hardware
Software-defined radio
 Reconfigurable Hardware
 PHY-level programmability
Programmability/Re-configurability
Application
• Sensor platform
• IMS platform
Transport
• Congestion control
Network
• Mobility
• Mesh routing
• FMC / multi-homing
Link
• MAC
• SDR (S/W)
PHY
• SDR（H/W）
• Radio on fiber
PHY-level programmability is not supported in GENI
Programmability in GENI WiMAX = L2 parameter customization
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Virtualization in Wireless
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Wireless core virtualization
 MVNO
 Open IMS/EPC
VM
VM
Definition:
A technique for isolating physical
computational and network resources
through virtualization … and for
accommodating multiple independent
and programmable virtual networks
Akihiro Nakao, “Network Virtualization as Foundation for
Enabling New Network Architectures and Applications”,
IEICE Trans. Commun. March 2010 (to appear).
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Wireless BS/AP virtualization
 Multi-SSID, multi-NIC
 Frequency division
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Wireless terminal virtualization
 Virtual NICs
 Light-weight VM
L5-7 L5-7 L5-7
L4
L4
L4
L3
L3
L3
L2
L2
L1
3G/IMS core and terminal virtualization are not supported in GENI
Virtualization in GENI WiMAX = mapping w/ 802.16e service class
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Outline
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

Identifying requirements for open wireless testbeds
Basic design
Conclusion and future plan
2010/02/11
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Design Philosophy (1/2)
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Primitive or plug-in functions support most of the use cases
 X86 and Linux
 Special-purpose hardware is not incorporated
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Satisfy fundamental requirements
 Programmability in all layers
 Network virtualization capability
 User opt-in: open for research community
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Design Philosophy (2/2)
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Make effective use and integration of recently developed prototypes
and software tools
 Network virtualization, Cognitive wireless, Sensor/mesh networks,
Cloud, Network operation,…
City Hall
DB&APP
Server
Personal
Service
TAG
CSG
Apps
Apps
Apps
GuestOS
GuestOS
VM
VM
HostOS
Programmable Wireless BS
（X86/Linux, IEEE802.11, SDR）
CSG
ISP
Personal
Authentication BS
TAG
BS
ISP
BS
ISP
Fire
Station
BS
DB&APP
Server
CSG
BS
BS
NM
Base
BS Statio
n
Monitoring
Tool
Public
ISP
Community
Service
ITS Gateway
BS
CSG
School
DB&APP
Server
Personal
Mobile
Terminal
？
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Hospital
Sensor group
CSG
CSG
CSG
DB&APP
Server
Hardware
ISP
Home
Communit
CSG
y
Service
BS Gateway
ISP
Intranet
？
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Hardware and OS: X86 and Linux
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Usability / Reusability
 X86 architecture
 Linux (not embedded Linux)
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Programmability / re-configurability
 Madwifi driver for Atheros
 FPGA for PHY/MAC
 FPGA’s writing operation and
configuration by the host PC
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Sample IP for FPGA NIC
 IEEE802.11b/g
 QPSK/FEC
Data
Atheros
WiFi NIC
Atheros
WiFi NIC
Atheros
WiFi NIC
Mng
GbE
Host PC (X86, Linux)
VM
VM
VM
VM
GbE
GbE
GbE
GbE
Data
GbE
FPGA-based
wireless NIC
GbE
Mng
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Data
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Software: CoreLab Extension
sshd
Case of KVM
sshd
user
kernel
sshd
eth0
ath0
ath1
eth0
10.0.1.2
10.0.2.2
50010
50021
PCI Passthrough
user
kernel
tap0
tap1
10.0.1.1
iptable DNAT
eth0
0
22
50010
50021
10.0.2.1
NAT
ath0
ath1
65535
A. Nakao, R. Ozaki, and Y. Nishida, “CoreLab: An Emerging Network Testbed
Employing Hosted Virtual Machine Monitor”, ACM CoNEXT ROADS'08.
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Deployment
150m
250m
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・ Deployed in the NICT HQ
・ Outdoor: 20 nodes
・ Indoor: 10 nodes
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Conclusion and Future Plan
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We identified fundamental and top-down requirements for future
wireless network research
We showed basic design of the open programmable wireless testbed
Future plan
Hardware development
Deployment
Software development
Basic design
Integration
Now
2010/4
2010/10
2011/4
If you are interested in trial or development, please contact us.
Let’s enjoy together!
{nakauchi, nisinaga}@nict.go.jp
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