= Internet Scale Overlay Hosting Progress Report (1/1/2009-3/31/2009) = == Upgrading of Software for System Initialization == The PlanetLab project made significant changes to the software that manages the booting and initialization of PlanetLab nodes. Since the SPP relies on these mechanisms as well, we have had to make some changes to our own software to accommodate the changes made by PlanetLab. As context, when a PlanetLab node comes up, it contacts PlanetLab Central (PLC) to obtain a boot image and a variety of configuration data. Since the GPEs in an SPP run the PlanetLab OS, they also attempt to contact PLC when they boot. However, the SPP is designed to look to the external world, like a single PlanetLab node, so it would be inappropriate to let the GPEs contact PLC directly. To avoid making unnecessary changes to the GPE (which would make it difficult for us to track future changes to the PlanetLab code), we have implemented a software module running on the SPP's control processor that intercepts the connections between the GPEs and PLC, hiding the internal structure of the SPP from PLC, while still getting the GPEs the information they need to complete their initialization. We have implemented and tested the changes needed to this module to allow us to stay consistent with PlanetLab. == Integration of Slice Login Manager (SLM) == The SLM is a software module running on the SPP's Control Processor that enables remote users to login to their slices without having to be aware of the specific GPE on which their slice's vServer is running. Incoming SSH connections are directed by the SPP Line Card to the SLM, which deals with authentication, determines which GPE is hosting the user's slice and forwards the connection to that slice. Once the login procedure is complete, packets flowing between the user and its vServer are forwarded transparently by the CP (at the OS level), without further involvement by the CP. == Software for Remote Display of Real-Time Performance Data == The NPE in the SPP provides an extensive collection of performance monitoring counters. These are maintained by the datapath software and are accessible to the xScale management processor. We have developed software to allow a remote user to monitor these counters and have the values displayed on remote real-time charts, allowing researchers to observe what is happening "under the covers'' as traffic flows through their fastpath running on the NPE. The software consists of three components. First, there is a user interface implemented as a java application that the user runs on a remote machine. This interface communicates with a monitoring daemon that is run within the user's vServer. This daemon communicates with a software module running on the xScale processor in the NPE to retrieve the current values of the appropriate counters. == Preparation for First Public Demonstration at GEC 4 == == Development of SPP Reservation System (work in progress) == == Facilitate Communication and Interaction Among Cluster B Participants == == Deployment Planning == == System Integration/Bug Fixes ==