EEL5718 Summer 2021

5718 Course Project

The course project this term will be to explore various network topologies and protocols to determine their performance statistics under varying conditions. The tool for the project is Mininet. You have already gained some hands-on experience with Mininet during the labs. Note: If your group wants to focus on wireless and mobile devices, you must use Mininet-Wi-Fi for your project.

The project should be carried out in the same group of 3 people as the lab assignments.

Objective: To gain a deeper understanding of how the Mininet tool can be used for network analysis through a month-long collaborative work.

Questions? Seek help in this order:

1. Canvas page called “Instructor Q and A for 5718 Labs”

2. Send email to Student Mentor Dennis (use Canvas Inbox tool)

3. Use the Office hours:

    Dennis’ office hours: TBA via Canvas email

    Dr. McNair’s office hours: Tues/Thurs after lecture (use class zoom link)

    EDGE students can set up an Office Hours appointment

Deadlines

    Project Proposal – Due in Week 9 of term

    Progress Report – Due in Week 11 of term

    Final Report and Demo – Due in the last week of the term

Deliverables

1. (40 points) Final report

a. Upload a single pdf file of your group’s final report.

b. 11 or 12pt font, 1.5 line spacing, two-column.

c. Page limit: Minimum 3.5 pages (7 columns) to maximum 6 pages (12 columns)

d. You must use 2-column IEEE format provided in the IEEE report template in the Canvas Files/5718 Projects and Labs folder.

2. (20 points) Your project code

a. Upload a zip file containing your group’s python code. Include scripts to run your code (demonstrated in Lab 1) and any include any files that you had to modify.

b. Include a README.txt file to explain in a few steps how to run your code.

c. If you use “canned” code or another researcher’s/developer’s code: Do not upload these resources. For these you must provide a link/url to the code and a reference/citation to the source in your report.

3. (40 points) Live Demonstration (All group members present)

a. A single, 15-20 minute (add 10 minutes for questions) demo will be given by each group. A doodle poll will be announced in July to choose day/time.

b. On the day before your scheduled demo, upload your power point presentation to the Demo Assignment Link.

Project Instructions

The project has the following requirements:

1. The Mininet simulations should focus on any one of the problems in our networking class, such as routing, energy efficient networking, security attack analysis, software-defined networks, etc. The protocols must come from OSI layer 1 (PHY), 2 (MAC), 3 (NET), or 4 (TCP or UDP). Problems we did not cover in this class, such as mobility, require the approval of the instructor. For mobility experiments, you must use Mininet-Wi-Fi as only it provides an option to change mobility patterns of the nodes.

2. Every experiment must have a minimum of 7 nodes.

3. Two different performance statistics should be measured (e.g., throughput and packet loss, or throughput and delay, or jitter and delay, etc.)

4. For a static network project (Mininet), the simulations should examine the performance of...

a. At least 3 different topologies (linear, tree, mesh, or custom topology) with one protocol, where each group member is responsible for at least one topology

OR

b. At least 3 different protocols (routing, mac, etc.) for one topology, where each group member is responsible for at least one protocol.

5. For a mobile network project (Mininet Wi-Fi), simulations should examine the performance of...

a. At least 3 different mobility models for one protocol, where each group member is responsible for at least one mobility model.

OR

b. At least 3 different protocols for one mobility model, where each group member is responsible for at least one protocol.

6. The experiments must be coordinated. If one person tests throughput, all group members should test throughput. For the results, each statistic, e.g., throughput, should have one combined graph with the three sets of results, not three different throughput graphs.

Useful references:

http://mininet.org/walkthrough/#custom-topologies

https://github.com/jsommers/switchyard/tree/master/examples/exercises

https://github.com/mininet/mininet/wiki/Teaching-and-Learning-with-Mininet

https://github.com/mininet/mininet/wiki/Ideas

https://github.com/intrig-unicamp/mininet-wifi, https://mininet-wifi.github.io/

The Final Report has the following requirements:

(These requirements will be repeated in the assignment link.)

● Use the IEEE report template in the Canvas Files/5718 Projects and Labs folder.

● Title area

o Title

o Group members names

● Abstract (50-100 words) and keywords

● Introduction (1-1.5 columns)

o An overview of your project's goals and objectives, your approach, and any needed background information on related to your goals and objectives. (Use the information/text from your project proposal, presentations, or progress report.)

o A description of the selected protocol/topology configurations, including a diagram or illustration of the algorithm.

o If you based your project on a related paper, report or existing simulation, then describe the reference and provide a citation that includes a weblink to the existing paper and code.

● Simulation Description ( 3-5 columns)

o A description of the simulation that your group designed.

o Present your group’s results in graph/plot format. No tables. Add figures and/or plots to explain, demonstrate, support and/or show your work and results. All figures must be properly numbered, named and referenced (follow the IEEE template). Each figure should have a corresponding explanation related to network performance observations.

● Conclusion ( 1-1.5 columns)

o Opinions/discussion on the software/simulator used in the study.

o Description of any difficulties encountered during the project.

o Final division of labor, i.e., who did what for the project.

● References

o Add any references used (follow the reference format in the IEEE template).

The Demonstration has the following requirements:

(These requirements will be repeated in the assignment link.)

● The project demo will be three parts:

   1. (5-7 minutes, 5-7 slides) A brief power point presentation to explain your project choices.

   2. (10 minutes) Some live sample simulation runs that produce numerical results/output

   3. (5 minutes) A discussion of your numerical results and analysis.

● Demo Scheduling: A doodle poll will be announced to choose your group's day and time slot.

● All students in the group must talk during the presentation (try to divide it as evenly as possible)