Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The InstaGENI Project

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover The GENI Book

Abstract

In this chapter we describe InstaGENI, built in response to the GENI Mesoscale initiative (Berman et al., Comput Netw 61:5–23, 2014). InstaGENI was designed both as a distributed cloud, to permit experimenters to run distributed systems and networking experiments, across the wide area, and as a meta-cloud, to permit systems researchers to build experimental clouds within the underlying InstaGENI cloud. InstaGENI consists of more than 36 sites spread across the GENI infrastructure, interconnected by a nationwide, deeply-programmable layer-2 network. Each site is capable of functioning as an autonomous, standalone cloud, with builtin HaaS, IaaS, and OpenFlow (The Openflow Switch Specification. http://OpenFlowSwitch.org; McKeown et al., ACM SIGCOMM CCR 38(2):69–74, 2008) native support. Sites are also and by default linked, to offer slices across the entire GENI Mesoscale infrastructure. InstaGENI targeted and has realized its key design goals of expandability, reliability, resistance to partition, ease of maintenance upgrade, high distribution, and affordability. InstaGENI offers a highly-scalable infrastructure with OpenFlow native both between and across sites. It has demonstrated a high degree of autonomy and remote management, and has demonstrated its meta-cloud properties by hosting an IaaS and PaaS service within it, GENI PlanetLab and the GENI Experiment Engine (Bavier et al., The GENI experiment engine. In: Proceedings of Tridentcom, 2015).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    HP’s proprietary embedded server management technology, similar to Dell Remote Access Controller, Oracle/Sun iLOM, Cisco Integrated Management Controller and IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter.

  2. 2.

    Diagram thanks to Joe Mambretti and Jim Chen at iCAIR, primary designers of the InstaGENI network.

References

  1. Anderson, T., Peterson, L., Shenker, S., Turner, J.: Overcoming the Internet impasse through virtualization. Computer 38 (4), 34–41 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Baldine, I., Xin, Y., Mandal, A., Renci, C., Chase, J., Marupadi, V., Yumerefendi, A., Irwin, D.: Networked cloud orchestration: a GENI perspective. In: 2010 IEEE GLOBECOM Workshops (GC Wkshps), pp. 573–578 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Baldine, I., Xin, Y., Mandal, A., Ruth, P., Heerman, C., Chase, J.: ExoGENI: a multi-domain infrastructure-as-a-service testbed. In: Testbeds and Research Infrastructure. Development of Networks and Communities, pp. 97–113. Springer, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Baldin, I., Castillo, C., Chase, J., Orlikowski, V., Xin, Y., Heermann, C., Mandal, A., Ruth, P., Mills, J.: ExoGENI: a multi-domain infrastructure-as-a-service testbed. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bannazadeh, H., Leon-Garcia, A., Redmond, K., Tam, G., Khan, A., Ma, M., Dani, S., Chow, P.: Virtualized application networking infrastructure. In: Testbeds and Research Infrastructures. Development of Networks and Communities - 6th International ICST Conference, TridentCom 2010, Berlin, 18–20 May 2010, Revised Selected Papers, pp. 363–382 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Barham, P., Dragovic, B., Fraser, K., Hand, S., Harris, T., Ho, A., Neugebauer, R., Pratt, I., Warfield, A.: Xen and the art of virtualization. ACM SIGOPS Oper. Syst. Rev. 37 (5), 164–177 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bastin, N.: Foam: an openflow aggregate manager. http://groups.geni.net/geni/wiki/OpenFlow/FOAM (2013)

  8. Bastin, N., Bavier, A., Blaine, J., Chen, J., Krishnan, N., Mambretti, J., Mcgeer, R., Ricci, R., Watts, N.: The instaGENI initiative: an architecture for distributed systems and advanced programmable networks. Comput. Netw. 61, 24–38 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bavier, A., McGeer, R.: The GENI experiment engine. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bavier, A.C., Bowman, M., Chun, B.N., Culler, D.E., Karlin, S., Muir, S., Peterson, L.L., Roscoe, T., Spalink, T., Wawrzoniak, M.: Operating systems support for planetary-scale network services. In: NSDI, vol. 4, pp. 19–19 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bavier, A., Chen, J., Mambretti, J., McGeer, R., McGeer, S., Nelson, J., O’Connell, P., Tredger, S., Coady, Y.: The GENI experiment engine. In: Proceedings of Tridentcom (2015)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Berman, M., Brinn, M.: Progress and challenges in worldwide federation of future internet and distributed cloud testbeds. In: 2014 International Science and Technology Conference (Modern Networking Technologies) (MoNeTeC), pp. 1–6 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Berman, M., Chase, J.S., Landweber, L., Nakao, A., Ott, M., Raychaudhuri, D., Ricci, R., Seskar, I.: GENI: a federated testbed for innovative network experiments. Comput. Netw. 61, 5–23 (2014). Special issue on Future Internet Testbeds - Part I

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bhanage, G., Seskar, I., Raychaudhuri, D.: A virtualization architecture for mobile WiMAX networks. SIGMOBILE Mob. Comput. Commun. Rev. 15 (4), 26–37 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bhojwani, S., Hemmings, M., Ingalls, D., Krahn, R., Lary, D., Lincke, J., McGeer, R., Ricart, G., Roder, M., Coady, Y., Stege, U.: The ignite distributed collaborative scientific visualization system. In: Distributed Cloud Computing Workshop (2015)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  16. Bhojwani, S., Hemmings, M., Ingalls, D., Krahn, R., Lary, D., Lincke, J., McGeer, R., Ricart, G., Roder, M., Coady, Y., Stege, U.: The ignite distributed collaborative scientific visualization system. In: Proceedings of IEEE CloudCom (2015)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Brinn, M.: GENI architecture foundation. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Brinn, M., Bastin, N., Bavier, A., Berman, M., Chase, J., Ricci, R.: Trust as the foundation of resource exchange in GENI. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks and Communities (TRIDENTCOM) (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Brown, D., Ascigil, O., Nasir, H., Carpenter, C., Griffioen, J., Calvert, K.: Designing a GENI experimenter tool to support the choice net internet architecture. In: 2014 IEEE 22nd International Conference on Network Protocols (ICNP), pp. 548–554 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Brown, D., Nasir, H., Carpenter, C., Ascigil, O., Griffioen, J., Calvert, K.: Choicenet gaming: changing the gaming experience with economics. In: Computer Games: AI, Animation, Mobile, Multimedia, Educational and Serious Games (CGAMES), 2014, pp. 1–5 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Chakrabortty, A., Xin, Y.: Hardware-in-the-loop simulations and verifications of smart power systems over an exo-GENI testbed. In: 2013 Second GENI Research and Educational Experiment Workshop (GREE), pp. 16–19 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Chu, Y.-h., Rao, S.G., Zhang, H.: A case for end system multicast (keynote address). In: ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review, vol. 28, pp. 1–12. ACM, New York (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Chun, B., Culler, D., Roscoe, T., Bavier, A., Peterson, L., Wawrzoniak, M., Bowman, M.: PlanetLab: an overlay testbed for broad-coverage services. ACM SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev. 33 (3), 3–12 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Dempsey, H.: The GENI mesoscale network. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Docker. https://www.docker.com/ (2015)

  26. Duerig, J.: Jacks. https://www.emulab.net/protogeni/jacks-doc/ (2014)

  27. Elliott, C., Falk, A.: An update on the GENI project. SIGCOMM Comput. Commun. Rev. 39 (3), 28–34 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Faraji, M., Kang, J., Bannazadeh, H., Leon-Garcia, A.: Identity access management for multi-tier cloud infrastructures. In: 2014 IEEE Network Operations and Management Symposium, NOMS 2014, Krakow, 5–9 May 2014, pp. 1–9 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Farinacci, D., Li, T., Hanks, S., Meyer, D., Traina, P.: Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE). RFC 2784 (Proposed Standard) (2000). Updated by RFC 2890

    Google Scholar 

  30. FITS. Future internet testbed with security. http://www.gta.ufrj.br/fits/index.php/ (2015)

  31. Fragni, C., Moreira, M.D., Mattos, D.M., Costa, L.H.M., Duarte, O.C.M.: Evaluating Xen, VMware, and OpenVZ virtualization platforms for network virtualization. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro’GTA/PEE/COPPE - Rio de Janeiro (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Freedman, M.J., Freudenthal, E., Mazieres, D.: Democratizing content publication with coral. In: NSDI, vol. 4, pp. 18–18 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Fund, F., Dong, C., Korakis, T., Panwar, S.: A framework for multidimensional measurements on an experimental wimax testbed. In: Korakis, T., Zink, M., Ott, M. (eds.) Testbeds and Research Infrastructure. Development of Networks and Communities. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences. Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol. 44, pp. 369–371. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  34. GENI Planning Group. GENI design principles. Computer 39 (9), 102–105 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  35. GMOC. GENI - emergency stop procedure workflow (spiral 4). http://gmoc.grnoc.iu.edu/uploads/7e/39/7e39c5ec9577a5badab80ea15419ece8/GENI-Emergency-Stop-Procedure-and-Workflow.pdf (2013)

  36. GPO. The omni GENI client. http://trac.gpolab.bbn.com/gcf/wiki/OmniOverview/ (2011)

  37. Gran, E.G., Dreibholz, T., Kvalbein, A.: Nornet core-a multi-homed research testbed. Comput. Netw. 61, 75–87 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Griffioen, J., Fei, Z., Nasir, H., Carpenter, C., Reed, J., Wu, X., S.R.P.: The GENI desktop. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Hemmings, M., Lary, D., McGeer, R., Ricart, G.: The ignite distributed collaborative scientific visualization system. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Hermenier, F., Ricci, R.: How to build a better testbed: lessons from a decade of network experiments on Emulab. In: Proceedings of the 8th International ICST Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks and Communities (Tridentcom) (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Jacobson, V., Mosko, M., Smetters, D., Garcia-Luna-Aceves, J.: Content-centric networking. Whitepaper, Palo Alto Research Center, pp. 2–4 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Jofre, J., Velayos, C., Landi, G., Giertych, M., Hume, A.C., Francis, G., Oton, A.V.: Federation of the bonfire multi-cloud infrastructure with networking facilities. Comput. Netw. 61, 184–196 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Kang, J., Bannazadeh, H., Leon-Garcia, A.: SAVI testbed: control and management of converged virtual ICT resources. In: 2013 IFIP/IEEE International Symposium on Integrated Network Management (IM 2013), Ghent, 27–31 May 2013, pp. 664–667 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Kang, J., Lin, T., Bannazadeh, H., Leon-Garcia, A.: Software-defined infrastructure and the SAVI testbed. In: Testbeds and Research Infrastructure: Development of Networks and Communities - 9th International ICST Conference, TridentCom 2014, Guangzhou, 5–7 May 2014, Revised Selected Papers, pp. 3–13 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Koren Future Network Testbed. http://www.koren.kr/koren/eng/ (2015)

  46. Krishnappa, D., Lyons, E., Irwin, D., Zink, M.: Network capabilities of cloud services for a real time scientific application. In: 2012 IEEE 37th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN), pp. 487–495 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Leon-Garcia, A., Bannazadeh, H.: Savi testbed for applications on software-defined infrastructure. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Linux Containers. https://linuxcontainers.org/lxc/downloads/ (2015)

  49. McKeown, N., Anderson, T., Balakrishnan, H., Parulkar, G., Peterson, L., Rexford, J., Shenker, S., Turner, J.: Openflow: enabling innovation in campus networks. ACM SIGCOMM CCR 38 (2), 69–74 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Melazzi, N.B., Detti, A., Mazza, G., Morabito, G., Salsano, S., Veltri, L.: An openflow-based testbed for information centric networking. In: Future Network & Mobile Summit (FutureNetw), 2012, pp. 1–9. IEEE, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Moraes, I.M., Mattos, D.M., Ferraz, L.H.G., Campista, M.E.M., Rubinstein, M.G., Costa, L.H.M., de Amorim, M.D., Velloso, P.B., Duarte, O.C.M., Pujolle, G.: Fits: a flexible virtual network testbed architecture. Comput. Netw. 63, 221–237 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Mueller, P.: Europe’s mission in next-generation networking with special emphasis on the German-lab project. In: GENI: Prototype of the Next Internet. Springer, New York (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Nakao, A.: Vnode: a deeply programmable network testbed through network virtualization. http://www.ieice.org/~nv/05-nv20120302-nakao.pdf (2012)

  54. Nelson, J., Peterson, L.: Syndicate: democratizing cloud storage and caching through service composition. In: Proceedings of the 4th annual Symposium on Cloud Computing, p. 46. ACM, New York (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  55. NorNet. A real-world, large-scale multi-homing testbed. https://www.nntb.no/ (2015)

  56. Ofelia. Openflow in Europe linking infrastructure and applications. http://www.fp7-ofelia.eu/ (2015)

  57. Ozcelik, I., Brooks, R.R.: Security experimentation using operational systems. In: Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Workshop on Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research, CSIIRW ’11, pp. 79:1–79:1. ACM, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Perino, D., Varvello, M.: A reality check for content centric networking. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM Workshop on Information-Centric Networking, pp. 44–49. ACM, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  59. Peterson, L., Anderson, T., Culler, D., Roscoe, T.: A blueprint for introducing disruptive technology into the Internet. In: Proceedings of HotNets-I, Princeton, NJ (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  60. Peterson, L., Bavier, A., Fiuczynski, M.E., Muir, S.: Experiences building planetlab. In: Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation, pp. 351–366. USENIX Association (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  61. Peterson, L.L., Baker, S., Leenheer, M.D., Bavier, A.C., Bhatia, S., Wawrzoniak, M., Nelson, J.C., Hartman, J.H.: XOS: an extensible cloud operating system. In: Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Software-Defined Ecosystems, BigSystem 2015, Portland, OR, 16 June 2015, pp. 23–30 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  62. Ricci, R., Duerig, J., Stoller, L., Wong, G., Chikkulapelly, S., Seok, W.: Designing a federated testbed as a distributed system. In: Proceedings of the 8th International ICST Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks and Communities (Tridentcom) (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  63. Ricci, R., Eide, E., The CloudLab Team.: Introducing CloudLab: scientific infrastructure for advancing cloud architectures and applications. USENIX;login: 39 (6), 36–38 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Schwerdel, D., Reuther, B., Zinner, T., Müller, P., Tran-Gia, P.: Future Internet research and experimentation: the G-lab approach. Comput. Netw. 61, 102–117 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Sherwood, R., Gibb, G., Yap, K.-K., Appenzeller, G., Casado, M., McKeown, N., Parulkar, G.: Can the production network be the testbed? In: Operating Systems Design and Implementation (OSDI) (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  66. Soltesz, S., Pötzl, H., Fiuczynski, M.E., Bavier, A., Peterson, L.: Container-based operating system virtualization: a scalable, high-performance alternative to hypervisors. SIGOPS Oper. Syst. Rev. 41 (3), 275–287 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Soroush, H., Banerjee, N., Corner, M., Levine, B., Lynn, B.: A retrospective look at the UMass dome mobile testbed. ACM SIGMOBILE Mobile Comput. Commun. Rev. 15 (4), 2–15 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. The Openflow Switch Specification. http://OpenFlowSwitch.org (2009)

  69. Vercher, J., Hernandez-Munoz, J., Gomez, L., Sepulveda, A.: An experimental platform for large-scale research facing FI-IoT scenarios. In: Future Network Mobile Summit (FutureNetw), pp. 1–8 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  70. Virtual Worlds Framework. https://virtual.wf/ (2015)

  71. Wang, L., Park, K., Pang, R., Pai, V.S., Peterson, L.L.: Reliability and security in the codeen content distribution network. In: USENIX Annual Technical Conference, General Track, pp. 171–184 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  72. White, B., Lepreau, J., Stoller, L., Ricci, R., Guruprasad, S., Newbold, M., Hibler, M., Barb, C., Joglekar, A.: An integrated experimental environment for distributed systems and networks. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation, pp. 255–270. USENIX Association, Boston (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  73. Yuan, H., Song, T., Crowley, P.: Scalable NDN forwarding: Concepts, issues and principles. In: 2012 21st International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN), pp. 1–9. IEEE, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  74. Zurawski, J., Swany, M., Beck, M., Ding, Y.: Logistical multicast for data distribution. In: IEEE International Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid, 2005. CCGrid 2005, vol. 1, pp. 434–441. IEEE, New York (2005)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

InstaGENI is a large, complex project, and there are many people who contributed to its success. This paper is an extension of, and based heavily, on a journal paper signed by the entire InstaGENI team [8], and we would first like to express our heartfelt thanks to them. Of especial note are Joe Mambretti, Fei Yeh, and Jim Chen, who worked closely with us on network design; Narayan Krishnan, who did the original hardware design to match ProtoGENI’s software specifications. It is hard to adequately describe the logistical challenges in working 35 non-standard orders through a manufacturer, ensuring their delivery to 35 separate sites, and maintaining a complex, multi-year, multi-million dollar budget. InstaGENI was an enormous project management challenge, and we were fortunate that Nicki Watts was kind enough to devote a great deal of time to this project; it literally would not have happened without her. When one of us (McGeer) moved on from HP, Jack Brassil took over as Principal Investigator on the project and completed it brilliantly. We had tremendous support from the GENI Project Office, notably Niky Riga, Heidi Dempsey, Vic Thomas, Henry Yeh, and especially Mark Berman. Leigh Stoller of the Flux research group has been extremely generous in offering operational support to InstaGENI users and experimenters. Larry Singer, then of HP Americas, offered his support for commercialization and Michaela Mezo helped enormously in that area. Shannon Champion of Matrix Integration was instrumental in making InstaGENI an HP product. Moreover, the 36+ PIs and system administrators at the InstaGENI sites have been responsive to our requests and to keep InstaGENI going. We thank all of them.

A special note is given to Chip Elliott. InstaGENI and ExoGENI were Chip’s inspiration when he was GENI Project Director. It was Chip who mapped out the deployment strategy for the GENI Racks, and he worked closely with us on the initial strategic decisions that gave the project its focus. He also sharpened for us the role of these racks in the coming Internet. This project is very much his creation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Ignite, 1150, 18th St NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20036, USA

    Rick McGeer (Chief Scientist)

  2. Flux Research Group, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Robert Ricci

Authors
  1. Rick McGeer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Ricci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rick McGeer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. US Ignite, Washington, DC, USA

    Rick McGeer

  2. GENI Project Office, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Mark Berman

  3. GENI Project Office, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Chip Elliott

  4. School of Computing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Robert Ricci

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

McGeer, R., Ricci, R. (2016). The InstaGENI Project. In: McGeer, R., Berman, M., Elliott, C., Ricci, R. (eds) The GENI Book. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33769-2_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33769-2_14

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33767-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33769-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation