Floating Cloud-Tiered Internet Architecture: Innovative Design and Experiments

1. Floating Cloud Tiered Internet Architecture Current: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Nevada, Reno Level 3 Merit Networks

2. The Floating-Cloud Tiered Architecture • Cloud is an autonomous entity of definable granularity • An ISP • A PoP in an ISP • An AS • Tiered structure as used in ISPs • Clouds can float and attach to any other cloud at any tier – policies and agreements permitting

3. Floating-Cloud Tiered Internet 1.1 1.2 Tier 1 2.1:1 2.1:2 2.2:1 Tier 2 3.2:1:1 Tier 3 Based on addressing scheme, each cloud has a (multiple) cloud IDs. Internal address/ structure is not affected. Routing within the cloud Clouds can move up, down, sideways and attach to multiple clouds at different tiers

4. Architecture implementation • Tiered addresses at Layer 2 • MPLS • Modified MPLS • Bypass routing • Tiered /cloud based DNS, AAA • ISP preferences, contracts, BGP policies • Economic studies

5. TEST BED AT RIT 12 Linux Systems Kernel code

6. Experiment: Using MPLS (no label stacking) (manual setting) 12 -124 Router 1.1 Router 1.2 Tier 1 124 11-12-124 212 -2123 1.2:4 11-212-2123 Router 2.1:1 Router 2.1:2 IN / OUT Tier 2 2123 211 -11-12-124 2.1:2:3 211-11-212-2123 Router 3.1:1:1 Tier 3 To 124 - MPLS header 211-11-12-124 3.1:1:1:4 To 2123 - MPLS header 211-11-212-2123

7. Label stacking? Tiered Label Switching Protocol?

8. Experiment set up • Implement ‘floating cloud tiered’ architecture on a large scale network without being encumbered by layer 3 or routing protocols. • Three options • Implement using MPLS. • Requires manually setting up MPLS, (current router implementations) • To use our in-lab developed software, which is a hack into Linux Kernel – ‘user space’. • Require running Linux OS in several systems to run our software. • Still require ‘layer 2’ Ethernet interfaces and encapsulating ‘out’ packets in Ethernet header, as receiving systems are not able to receive our raw data packets • Linux implementations of MPLS

9. Experiment studies • Run experiments in parallel with a similar network running IPv6 or IPv4 • Study • Routing traffic • Routing table sizes • Convergence times to changes • Speed in end–to-end data transfer • Some optimizations studies in manipulating the number of links between clouds and study load balancing • Understand the performance improvements due to tiers. • OOO switching?

10. Experiment studies • Modification to MPLS to make it perform the functions that we require. • doable on the test bed? • Can we do away with MAC addresses? • Long term • we would also like to study the impact of BGP policies (Level 3) • Tiered addresses within a cloud?

11. Use of GENI • Emulab test systems • Start with 20 nodes • Increase size • Integrate RIT test network • Involve Merit Networks test bed? • ProtoGENI • Traffic shaping – latency studies • Geographically distributed experiments

12. Thanks

13. Flexibile Addressing Scheme Length field Address field Length field Address field Tier field 6 bits 2 bits 4- 12 bits “01” “10” “11” “00”  Special handling 4 bits  16 systems 8 bits  256 systems 12 bits  4096 systems 6 bits – 64 tiers Based on the tier value, number of addresses change

14. Flexibility in Addressing Scheme • Faster forwarding between tiers – • Switch on tier field – UP, DOWN, • Same level –Mesh as required and route • Distribute routing load to within tiers • Address length depends on tier level – (no fixed size) • Addresses will never run out • 00 - Special addressing – wireless networks, roaming user • Flexibility – nested addressing

15. Options for testing • Use systems available with Emulab • Install Linux OS • Run the current software on the systems • Set up topology?? • Connections between systems?? (Ethernet interfaces)