Changes between Version 16 and Version 17 of GENIArchitectureOverview


Ignore:
Timestamp:
03/22/16 13:40:48 (8 years ago)
Author:
nriga@bbn.com
Comment:

--

Legend:

Unmodified
Added
Removed
Modified
  • GENIArchitectureOverview

    v16 v17  
    66== Network Architecture ==
    77
    8 The GENI Network Architecture was designed around three fundamentals principles of GENI:
     8The GENI Network Architecture was designed around three fundamental principles of GENI:
    99  1. GENI is a '''sliceable testbed''' that can support multiple concurrent experiments running in isolation.
    1010  2. GENI is '''deeply programmable''', and allows experiments to control packet forwarding within the network.
     
    1414[[Image(geni-network-architecture.png, 30%, nolink)]]
    1515
    16 As also in the above picture GENI has two clearly separated network planes:
    17   1. '''Control / Management Plane''' : These are the networking connections that are used in GENI in order to control and manage the resources (login, install software, etc). GENI uses the regular Internet as its Control Plane. This plane is represented by the blue lines in the above diagram.
     16As shown in the above picture GENI has two clearly separated network planes:
     17  1. '''Control / Management Plane''' : These are the networking connections that are used in GENI in order to control and manage the resources (login to hosts, download and install software, etc). GENI uses the regular Internet as its Control Plane. This plane is represented by the blue lines in the above diagram.
    1818  2. '''Data Plane''': These are the networking connections to the private GENI backbone that are used for experimental data exchange, either within one site or between sites. This is the plane that needs to be ''sliceable'', ''deeply programmable'' and ''federated'' (i.e. no one organization owns the whole of the GENI dataplane network, but different organizations provide different parts of the connectivity. The dataplane is represented by the thick orange lines in the above diagram.
    1919
     
    2424
    2525=== Network Deep Programmability in GENI ===
    26 In order to allow users to control the forwarding of their traffic in the middle of the network, GENI has deployed computation and storage not only at the edges but also within different network providers that are participating in the formation of the GENI backbone. This way as packets traverse through the network the users have the capability to do arbitrary packet processing within the network and instantiate software switches and routers. Some network providers that are hosting GENI racks include SOX, CENIC, MOXI, MAX and others.
     26In order to allow users to control the forwarding of their traffic in the middle of the network, GENI has deployed computation and storage not only at the edges but also within different network providers that are participating in the formation of the GENI backbone. This way as packets traverse through the network the users have the ability to do arbitrary packet processing within the network and instantiate software switches and routers. Some network providers that are hosting GENI racks include SOX, CENIC, MOXI, MAX and others.
    2727
    2828Another way that GENI is providing deep programmability is by deploying programmable network devices in the network. Currently this programmability is provided by OpenFlow capable switches as an experimental feature.
    2929
    3030=== Network Federation ===
    31 GENI is a federation of resources that are provided from different organizations. This makes network provisioning between sites challenging since there is no one organization that is responsible for provisioning the networking for a single slice. In the Internet we know very well how to achieve this and we have different federation protocols so that different network providers can peer and provide end-to-end connectivity to users. However, the GENI backbone provides Layer 2 connectivity between different organizations and Layer 2 peering is not as well explored in the Internet. To achieve this and to enable dynamic provisioning of networking connection per experiment, GENI has developed a mechanism called '''stitching''' that allows different organizations to provision parts of a Layer 2 link between two compute resources in a way that it guarantees end-to-end connectivity. An example diagram is presented on Figure 2 below. [[BR]]
     31GENI is a federation of resources that are provided from different organizations. This makes network provisioning between sites challenging since there is no one organization that is responsible for provisioning the networking for a single slice. In the Internet we know very well how to achieve this and we have different federation protocols so that different network providers can peer and provide end-to-end connectivity to users. However, the GENI backbone provides Layer 2 connectivity between different organizations and Layer 2 peering is not as well explored. To achieve this and to enable dynamic provisioning of networking connection per experiment, GENI has developed a mechanism called '''stitching''' that allows different organizations to provision parts of a Layer 2 link between two compute resources in a way that it guarantees end-to-end connectivity. An example diagram is presented on Figure 2 below. [[BR]]
    3232[[Image(network-stitching.png, 20%, nolink)]]
    3333[[BR]] In the example above, in order to connect a host on Rack A to a host on Rack B, different portions of the network need to be provisioned by different organizations (organizations hosting Rack A and Rack B, the regional networks that connect Rack A and Rack and the provider of the GENI core network which is Internet2) and at the peering points the organizations need to coordinate to ensure that they establish a working end-to-end Layer 2 path. [wiki:GeniNetworkStitching Click here] for more information on GENI stitching.
     
    3636
    3737=== Wireless Networking in GENI ===
    38 The main wireless resources in GENI are through 3G and 4G base stations that are offering a GENI networking at the selected sites. The first generation of base stations were using the WiMAX technology, while the second generation that is being deployed as of 2015 are using LTE technology. The GENI base stations have a backhaul connection to a local GENI rack and through the rack connecting back to the GENI backbone network. In this way a user can put together a multi-site wireless experiment using the GENI dataplane.
     38The main wireless resources in GENI are through 3G and 4G base stations that are offering a GENI network at selected sites. The first generation of base stations are using the WiMAX technology, while the second generation that is being deployed as of 2015 are using LTE technology. The GENI base stations have a backhaul connection to a local GENI rack and through the rack connecting back to the GENI backbone network. In this way a user can put together a multi-site wireless experiment using the GENI dataplane.
    3939
    4040=== Connecting resources to GENI ===