NetServ Dynamic in-network service deployment Henning Schulzrinne (Columbia University) Srinivasan Seetharaman (Georgia Tech) Volker Hilt (Bell Labs)

NetServ overview Modularization –Building Blocks –Service Modules Virtual services framework –Security –Portability Extensible architecture for core network services No more ossification in NGI

How is NetServ different from Active Networks? Active Networks –Packet contains executable code Can modify router states and behavior –Not successful Per-packet processing too expensive Security concerns No compelling killer app to warrant such a big shift –Notable work: ANTS, Janos, Switchware NetServ –Virtualized services on current, passive networks Service invocation is signaling driven, not packet driven –Service modules are stand-alone, addressable entities Separate from packet forwarding plane Extensible plug-in architecture

Building Blocks Key components of network services –Access to network-level resource –Implementation of common functionality For example: –Link monitoring and measurement –Routing table –Packet capture –Data storage and lookup

Service Modules Full-fledged service implementations –Use Building Blocks and other Service Modules –Can be implemented across multiple nodes –Invoked by applications Examples: –Routing-related services Multicast, anycast, QoS-based routing –Monitoring services Link & system status, network topology –Identity services Naming, security –Traffic engineering services CDN, redundancy elimination, p2p network support

Virtual Services Framework Container for Service Modules –Security by module isolation (sandboxes) –Portability by virtualization and common API to Building Blocks Features –Dynamic distribution of modules –Network service discovery –AAA mechanisms –Wide-range of nodes: routers, servers, PCs, set-top boxes

Research objectives 1.Define requirements for service-oriented Internet architecture 2.Design architectural framework for virtualized services 3.Identify key building blocks 4.Develop service discovery and distribution mechanisms 5.Develop a content distribution service as a showcase application

Content Distribution Service: our showcase application CDN, the current kludge –IP address conflates identity and location –DNS abuse to get around it Content Distribution Service on NetServ Framework –Based on generalized naming service module Ideas borrowed from other NGI proposals –Also relies on network monitoring service module Together with policy info, underlies naming resolution Evaluation on GENI

Our initial approach Series of rapid prototyping cycles –Identify technical challenges early on –Start project with code rather than documents and slides

NetServ prototype technology overview Virtual Services Framework in Java using OSGi Click Modular Router (user or kernel mode) Java Native Interface (JNI) wrapper Service Modules Building Blocks written in Java Building Blocks written in Java Building Blocks written in C/C++ (library functions and/or system calls)

Prototype technology: Click router Runs as a Linux kernel module or user-level program Modules written in C++ (called Elements) are configured in a text file Elements are arranged in a directed graph, through which packets traverse Example: –Click router command: sudo click example.click –Configuration file jae.click: FromDevice(en0)->CheckIPHeader(14)->IPPrint->Discard;

Prototype technology: OSGi Dynamic module system for Java –Modules loaded and unloaded at runtime –Bundle: self-contained JAR file with specific structure –Open-source implementations: Apache Felix, Eclipse Equinox Security and accounting –Security built on Java 2 Security model Permission-based access control No fine-grained control or accounting for CPU, storage, bandwidth Can load native code with appropriate permission –Strict separation of bundles Classpath set up by Bundle class loader Inter-bundle communication only through published interfaces

1st prototype implementation NetServ Click element in C++ - starts up a JVM Equinox open-source OSGi framework Privileged System Bundle (Java) App Bundle (Java) Java Virtual Machine User-level Click router Published interface Java Native Interface (JNI) Packet queue Single process packet

Summary NetServ –Architecture for dynamic in-network service deployment –Modular and extensible Building Blocks and Service Modules –Secure and portable Virtualized Services Framework –And it is NOT Active Networks Content Distribution Service –Our planned showcase application Our initial approach –Rapid prototyping cycles –Implementation using Click and OSGi