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arXiv · 2208.05862

Network Emulation in Large-Scale Virtual Edge Testbeds: A Note of Caution and the Way Forward

Soeren Becker·Tobias Pfandzelter·Nils Japke·David Bermbach·Odej Kao
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Abstract

The growing research and industry interest in the Internet of Things and the edge computing paradigm has increased the need for cost-efficient virtual testbeds for large-scale distributed applications. Researchers, students, and practitioners need to test and evaluate the interplay of hundreds or thousands of real software components and services connected with a realistic edge network without access to physical infrastructure. While advances in virtualization technologies have enabled parts of this, network emulation as a crucial part in the development of edge testbeds is lagging behind: As we show in this paper, NetEm, the current state-of-the-art network emulation tooling included in the Linux kernel, imposes prohibitive scalability limits. We quantify these limits, investigate possible causes, and present a way forward for network emulation in large-scale virtual edge testbeds based on eBPFs.

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Soeren Becker, Tobias Pfandzelter, Nils Japke, David Bermbach, Odej Kao. 2022-08-11. Network Emulation in Large-Scale Virtual Edge Testbeds: A Note of Caution and the Way Forward. https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.05862

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