Federation of private 5G test network into Emulab based testbed

Abstract

The focus of the thesis is on the successful federation of network testbed into the Slices-SC federation portal. Slices-SC is a platform offering large scale experimentation, and this consortium is comprised of partners from 15 different European countries. The primary objectives are achieving successful integration and addressing challenges faced during the implementation process, answering several research questions, and evaluating key performance measurement metrics such as delay, jitter, and packet loss. Advanced tools like Qosium and iPerf are used for performance measurement analysis. Emulab software is used for the implementation of the testbed. ProtoGeni AMAPI is used for successful federation of the network testbed to the Slices research infrastructure. Detailed framework is provided for implementation of the network testbed in a federated environment.

In the literature review part of the thesis, wireless technologies are briefly explained followed by detailed overview of different networking protocols which align with the scope of the thesis. Virtualization and its importance in the testbed implementation are explained in the theory part. Furthermore, an overview of the testbed, federated environment, and Emulab software is provided for better understanding of the scope of thesis.

Testing was performed by creating a setup comprised of several virtual machines and generating different traffic scenarios. Delay, jitter, and packet loss were measured to provide an insight into the stability of the testbed setup. Observation and analysis are made for each measurement metric and results were compared before and after the federation of the testbed. Average delay for TCP traffic was higher than UDP traffic, primarily due to mechanisms for reliable delivery, and its connection-oriented nature. Packet loss rates were low, and jitter remained stable across various traffic conditions. Performance metrics remained stable after the federation, which indicates effective resource management and integration.