IREEL: Remote Experimentation with Real Protocols and Applications over Emulated Network

摘要

In the context of education, experimenting with networking protocols is a very important step in the learning process. These experiments are usually achieved using either simulation or real testbed. Progresses in high speed processing and networking enable the development of network emulators. These emulators use both real protocol implementations and network models that allow a controlled communication environment to be created. IREEL stands for Internet Remote Emulation Experiment Laboratory. It provides a way to achieve experiments with real Internet applications and end-to-end protocols in the context of networking courses. This platform consists of a remote controlled network emulator system and end-stations that offers a set of pre-defined applications and protocol mechanisms for testing. Control on the emulation system and on the end-systems is given to the students in order to perform tests, measurements and observations of the protocol in specific networking conditions. In addition, a set of end-to-end mechanisms examples are provided. These mechanisms mainly focus on transport and application protocols that might be useful for networking online courses.