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Over the last two decades, research funding bodies have supported “Future Internet”, “New-IP”, and “Next Generation” design initiatives intended to reduce network complexity by redesigning the network protocol architecture, questioning some of its key principles [...]

The lack of high-performance RINA (Recursive InterNetwork Architecture) implementations to date makes it hard to experiment with RINA as an underlay networking fabric solution for different types of networks, and to assess RINA&rsquo, s benefits in practice on scenarios with high traffic loads. High-performance router implementations typically require dedicated hardware support, such as FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) or specialized ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). With the advance of hardware programmability in recent years, new possibilities unfold to prototype novel networking technologies. In particular, the use of the P4 programming language for programmable ASICs holds great promise for developing a RINA router. This paper details the design and part of the implementation of the first P4-based RINA interior router, which reuses the layer management components of the IRATI Linux-based RINA implementation and implements the data-transfer components using a P4 program. We also describe the configuration and testing of our initial deployment scenarios, using ancillary open-source tools such as the P4 reference test software switch (BMv2) or the P4Runtime API.

The lack of high-performance RINA implementations to date makes it hard to experiment with RINA as an underlay networking fabric solution for different types of networks, and to assess RINA's benefits in practice on scenarios with high traffic loads. Typically high performance router implementations require dedicated hardware support, in the form of FPGAs or specialized ASICs. The advance of hardware programmability during the last years have opened new possibilities when it comes to prototyping new networking technologies. In particular, the use of P4 for programmable ASICs holds great promise for developing a RINA router. This paper has carried out the first Proof of Concept (PoC) implementation of a RINA interior router using the P4 language and its associated open-source tools; deploying and testing the development using the P4 reference test software switch (BMv2).

Looking at the ever-increasing amount of heterogeneous distributed applications supported on current data transport networks, it seems evident that best-effort packet delivery falls short to supply their actual needs. Multiple approaches to Quality of Service (QoS) differentiation have been proposed over the years, but their usage has always been hindered by the rigidness of the TCP/IP-based Internet model, which does not even allow for applications to express their QoS needs to the underlying network. In this context, the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) has appeared as a clean-slate network architecture aiming to replace the current Internet based on TCP/IP. RINA provides a well-defined QoS support across layers, with standard means for layers to inform of the different QoS guarantees that they can support. Besides, applications and other processes can express their flow requirements, including different QoS-related measures, like delay and jitter, drop probability or average traffic usage. Greedy end-users, however, tend to request the highest quality for their flows, forcing providers to apply intelligent data rate limitation procedures at the edge of their networks. In this work, we propose a new rate limiting policy that, instead of enforcing limits on a per QoS class basis, imposes limits on several independent QoS dimensions. This offers a flexible traffic control to RINA network providers, while enabling end-users freely managing their leased resources. The performance of the proposed policy is assessed in an experimental RINA network test-bed and its performance compared against other policies, either RINA-specific or adopted from TCP/IP. Results show that the proposed policy achieves an effective traffic control for high QoS traffic classes, while also letting lower QoS classes to take profit of the capacity initially reserved for the former ones when available.

This paper describes multi-operator IPC VPN slices consisting of (a) compute hosts with linux processes at user device, networks and data centers, (b) connectivity with overlay virtual private networks (VPNs) and underlay VPNs with Carrier Ethernet Services, and (c) multi-operator Orchestration. The slice’s overlay network used Recursive Internet Network Architecture (RINA) based Distributed Inter-Process Communication (IPC) Facilities (DIFs) for on-demand association of application End Points. The multi-operator IPC VPN slice has been initially demonstrated as a proof of concept (PoC) at the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Summit 2018, as part of the End-to-End Network Slicing (E2ENS) project group activities. This paper describes the elements and lessons learned in this first PoC demonstration, and discusses additional aspects such as application mobility and orchestrated slice creation that will be demonstrated at the ICIN RINA Workshop live demo.

The Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) is a back to basics computer network architecture that offers solutions for current and future networks. This paper presents the Error and Flow Control Protocol (EFCP), the data transfer protocol of RINA, and its first complete implementation. It will be shown that EFCP allows to fulfil both the RINA-required features and the general requirements of a transport protocol. Also, the paper explains how flexible and generic is EFCP to support different operational requirements when it is used in different layers of a RINA network, via the separation of EFCP mechanisms and policies. Finally, the paper discusses IRATI, the RINA implementation for the Linux/OS and presents a number of experiments that illustrate the main features of EFCP design.

Virtualization is an enabling technology that improves scalability, reliability, and flexibility. Virtualized networking is tackled by emulating or paravirtualizing network interface cards. This approach, however, leads to complexities (implementation and management) and has to conform to some limitations imposed by the Ethernet standard. RINA turns the current approach to virtualized networking on its head: instead of emulating networks to perform inter-process communication on a single processing system, it sees networking as an extension to local inter-process communication. In this article, we show how RINA can leverage a paravirtualization approach to achieve a more manageable solution for virtualized networking. We also present experimental results performed on IRATI, the reference open source implementation of RINA, which shows the potential performance that can be achieved by deploying our solution.

MEC or Multi-Access Edge Computing is a network service delivery architecture that enables cloud computing capabilities at the edge of the access network. Realisation of the MEC vision is challenging with current network technologies: service discovery and routing, secure network slicing and distributed mobility management require complex capabilities in the network. This demo features an OMEC use case realised via RINA, the Recursive Network Architecture. RINA provides interesting properties for OMEC, due to its support for multi-homing, mobility and slicing without special protocols, and security as a first class element of the architecture.

Network renumbering in the IP world is a complicated and expensive procedure that has to be carefully planned and executed to avoid routing, security (firewall, ACLs) and transport connection integrity problems. The source of most of these issues is in the lack of a complete naming and addressing architecture in the TCP/IP protocol suite. This paper analyses the issues related to IP networks renumbering, identifying its root causes. Then it looks into how these issues affect renumbering in networks based on RINA, a network architecture with a complete naming scheme. Theoretical analysis backed up by experimentation results indicate that renumbering in RINA networks not only is seamless (can be done without impacting existing flows) but also does not require any special mechanisms.

IRATI is a open source implementation of RINA for OS/Linux systems that allows researchers and innovators to experiment with RINA networks. RINA is a new Internetwork architecture that supports without the need of extra mechanisms mobility, multi-homing and Quality of Service, provides a secure and configurable environment and allows for a seamless adoption. IRATI implements the core RINA protocols and multiple policies to customize such protocols to different environments. Policies can be developed via a Software Development Kit (SDK). IRATI provides an API for applications to natively use RINA IPC services, as well as multiple monitoring utilities and example applications.

With the proliferation of cloud computing and the expected requirements of future Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G network scenarios, more efficient and scalable Data Centers (DCs) will be required, offering very large pools of computational resources and storage capacity cost-effectively. Looking at todays' commercial DCs, they tend to rely on well-defined leaf-spine Data Center Network (DCN) topologies that not only offer low latency and high bisectional bandwidth, but also enhanced reliability against multiple failures. However, routing and forwarding solutions in such DCNs are typically based on IP, thus suffering from its limited routing scalability. In this work, we quantitatively evaluate the benefits that the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) can bring into commercial DCNs. To this goal, we propose rule-based topological routing and forwarding policies tailored to the characteristics of publicly available Google's and Facebook's DCNs. These policies can be programmed in a RINA-enabled environment, enabling fast forwarding decisions in most scenarios with merely neighboring node information. Upon DCN failures, invalid forwarding rules are overwritten by exceptions. Numerical results show that the scalability of our proposal depends on the number of concurrent failures in the DCN rather than its size (e.g., number of nodes/links), dramatically reducing the total amount of routing and forwarding information to be stored at nodes. Furthermore, as routing information is only disseminated upon failures across the DCN, the associated communication cost of our proposals largely outperforms that of the traditional IP-based solutions.

With the increasing usage of cloud computing and dependence on a diverse set of distributed applications, users are reliant on consistent outcomes from a shared infrastructure. This drives the need for improved QoS guarantees for heterogeneous communication requirements over shared networks. The Recursive Inter-Network Architecture (RINA) is a fundamental programmable network architecture that provides a consistent model for supporting QoS across multiple layers. In this work we evaluate the performance outcomes provided by such polyservice RINA networks in conjunction with per-layer ΔQ-based resource allocation policies. ΔQ provides a resource allocation model able to enforce strict statistical limits on the maximum experienced losses and delays through the smart utilization of traffic policing and shaping strategies, together with an analytical pre-dimensioning of buffer thresholds. Our target scenario is a backbone network that prioritizes communications among geographically distributed datacentres using resources shared with best-effort background traffic. Results obtained with the RINASim simulation software show that a ΔQ-enabled RINA network can yield the desired absolute QoS guarantees to the assured traffic classes without negatively impacting the rest, unlike current MPLS-based VPN solutions.

International audience; RINA (Recursive InterNetwork Architecture) is a promising network architecture based on the concept of distributed Inter Process Communications (IPC). In RINA there is a single type of programmable layer (the DIF "Distributed IPC Facility"), that repeats as many times as needed by the network designer. Each layer is composed of only two programmable protocols: one performs data transfer and data transfer control functions, while the other carries out layer management functions. Multiple policies can be plugged to both protocols at each layer to adapt them to operational requirements. In this paper we explore the advantages of the RINA architecture on the access control area with respect to the IP protocol suite, specially regarding layer management functions. By designing and implementing a capability-based access control policy we show that RINA allows finer granularity in access control decisions than current approaches. Moreover, the policy can be applied to any layer in the network, maximizing the re-use of specifications and implementations

RINA, the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture, is a novel “back to basics” type approach to networking. The recursive nature of RINA calls for radically different approaches to how networking is performed. It shows great potential in many aspects, e.g. by simplifying management and providing better security. However, RINA has not been explored for congestion control yet. In this paper, we take first steps to investigate how congestion control can be performed in RINA, and demonstrate that it can be very efficient because it is applied close to where the problem happens, and through its recursive architecture, interesting effects can be achieved. We also show how easily congestion control can be combined with routing, enabling a straightforward implementation of in-network resource pooling.

Current Internet security is complex, expensive and ineffective. The usual argument is that the TCP/IP protocol suite was not designed having security in mind and security mechanisms have been added as add-ons or separate protocols. We argue that fundamental limitations in the Internet architecture are a major factor contributing to the insecurity of the Net. In this paper we explore the security properties of the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture, analyzing the principles that make RINA networks inherently more secure than TCP/IP-based ones. We perform the specification, implementation and experimental evaluation of the first authentication and SDU protection policies for RINA networks. RINA's approach to securing layers instead of protocols increases the security of networks, while reducing the complexity and cost of providing security.

The Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) is a general architecture for all forms of computer networking, based on a single type of programmable layer that recurs as many times as required by the network designer. The recursion and programmability aspects of RINA are key to design flexible, heterogeneous networks while still bounding their complexity. In this paper we show how the programmability enabled by the RINA architecture can be exploited in practice by means of a Software Development Kit (SDK) developed for IRATI, the open source RINA implementation. A proof of concept validation of the SDK is carried out by experimenting with multiple policies in a distributed cloud network scenario.

Data-intensive high performance, high quality digital media traffic cannot be accommodated on traditional Layer 3 networks. Alternative technologies to transmit this traffic through the network, such as optical multicast, are being investigated. A prototype of an optical multicast service was showcased during the 7th Annual LambdaGrid Workshop celebrated in Prague last September. The prototype used Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) technology as the data plane and Argia (the evolution of UCLP) as the control/service plane. This paper describes the extensions that were done to the Argia Software to provide the Dynamic Optical Multicast Service and shows the results achieved during the Prague demonstration.

User controlled LightPaths version 2 provides a network virtualization framework upon which communities of users can build their own services or applications without dealing with the complexities of the underlying network technologies and still can maintain the functionality that the network provides. The system has been designed as a service-oriented architecture where Web services and Web services workflows are the basic building blocks. Articulated private networks are presented as the first services built upon the UCLPv2 network virtualization middleware. APNs can be considered as a next generation VPN where a user can create a complex, multi-domain network topology by binding together network resources, computers, time slices, and virtual or real routing and/or switching nodes. A first implementation of the UCLPv2 software was deployed on CAnet 4, Canada's research and education network, and currently, it is being used by Environment Canada, a federal government department, to enable an APN that links its research facilities across the country.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the advantages of using the UCLP software for network operators, advanced and regular end users in the research networking community. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an example of the deployment of UCLP in the GÉANT2/National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) scenario, and compares how network operators, advanced users and regular end users would do their work, with and without UCLP. Findings – The paper provides high‐level technical information about UCLP as well as depicting the drivers for its use in the European research networking community. Research limitations/implications – This paper does not explain the details of the deployment of the software in the GÉANT2/National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) scenario, it just explains the benefits that the deployment of the software would provide. If the deployment was to be done today, some improvements to UCLP should be done, as well as support for more equipment vendors should be added. Practical implications – UCLP could provide more flexibility to the e‐science community if it was deployed over the European research networking infrastructure, because it would isolate network users from each other while providing them an unprecedented degree of control over the network. Originality/value – Nowadays, several control/management solutions for networks exist, but none that is capable of partitioning a physical network into slices and handoff its management to the users, like UCLP does. This is the first UCLP paper that studies a hypothetical deployment of UCLP in the European research networking scenario, and evaluates the drivers and implications of such a deployment.

In this paper, we describe the basics of the Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) and its advantages as a packet transport technology over programmable optical networks. In particular, its seamless integration over an SDN-controlled network infrastructure and its intrinsic capability of providing QoS is analysed and further discussed

GridON is an application that converts high-resolution broadcast video into MPEG-2 format, hereby reducing the file size and resolution. The application uses the user controlled lightpaths (UCLP) software to create on-demand, end-to-end, high-bandwidth dedicated connections to access remote computers. The converted MPEG-2 files can be distributed much faster and further than the source files to these dispersed computers, for reassembly into the higher resolution format. This paper describes the demonstration that took place last September at the iGrid 2005 conference held in San Diego. As a proof of concept, we successfully demonstrated that a video transfer in a Grid network environment can be integrated with a user-controlled lightpath provisioning system.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Leon Gaixas S, Perello J, Careglio D, Grasa E, Lopez DR, Aranda PA. Scalable topological forwarding and routing policies in RINA-enabled programmable data centers. Trans Emerging Tel Tech. 2017;28:e3256, DOI 10.1002/ett.3256, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/ett.3256. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving

Software-Defined Networking and Network Functions Virtualization have initiated a new landscape within the telecom market landscape. Initial proof-of-concept prototypes for NFV-enabled solutions are being developed at the same time SDN models are identified as the futures solutions within the telecom realm. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the application and state-of-the-art of SDN and NFV technologies over optical networks. At the same time, we provide the first formalisation model for the VNF complex scheduling problem, using the complex job formalisation. The article aims at being used as starting point in order to optimally solve the scheduling problem of virtual network functions that compose network services to be provisioned within the SDN paradigm. Finally, we also provide an example of the virtualization of the routing function over an SDN-enabled domain.

In recent years, many new Internet architectures are being proposed to solve shortcomings in the current Internet. A lot of these new architectures merely extend the current TCP/IP architecture and hence do not solve the fundamental cause of these problems. The Recursive Internet Architecture (RINA) is a true new network architecture, developed from scratch, building on lessons learned in the past. RINA prototyping efforts have been ongoing since 2010, but a prototype on which a commercial RINA implementation can be built has not been developed yet. The goal of the IRATI research project is to develop and evaluate such a prototype in Linux/OS. This article focuses on the software design required to implement a network stack in Linux/OS. We motivate the placement of, and communication between, the different software components in either the kernel or user space. The first open source prototype of the IRATI implementation of RINA will be available in June 2014 for researchers, developers, and early adopters.

There is often a requirement to interface a new model to a legacy implementation by creating a shim between them to make the legacy appear as close to the new model as possible. This is a common exercise, usually fraught with frustrations, but here we find the exercise reveals fundamental aspects about nature of layers that were previously not well understood. Here we will be primarily concerned with creating a shim between RINA and IEEE 802.1q (VLANs). The Recursive InterNet Architecture (RINA) proposes a network architecture derived from the fundamentals of InterProcess Communication (IPC). This yields a recursively layered architecture of Distributed IPC Facilities (DIFs).

In the course of generalizing the Inter-Process Communication (IPC) model from one system, two, to N systems directly connected, the necessity of a function to figure out via which “wire” or interface the requested application is available became apparent. In a Recursive Inter Network Architecture enabled system this is equivalent to asking on which of the Distributed IPC Facilities (layers) the requested application is available. We name this distributed application, the Inter-DIF Directory (IDD). In this paper we explain why the IDD is fundamental in networks, allowing the discovery of applications that belong to layers other than the one the requested application is on. Moreover, there are two phases of the IDD function: first, finding the requested application and then, creating a DIF that supports the communication. We describe the actions taken in each phase. Finally, we give a simple example of an IDD that makes use of hierarchical names.

Part 6: Quality through Routing, Naming and Control; International audience; The evolution of various wireless technologies has greatly increased the interest in heterogeneous networks, in which the mobile users can enjoy services while roaming between different networks. The current Internet architecture does not seem to cope with the modern networking trends and the growing application demands for performance, stability and efficiency, as the integration of different technologies faces many problems. In this paper, we focus on the issues raised when attempting to provide seamless mobility over a hybrid environment. We highlight the shortcomings of the current architecture, discuss some of the proposed solutions and try to identify the key choices that lead to failure. Finally, we introduce RINA (Recursive Inter-Network Architecture), a newly-proposed network architecture that achieves to integrate networks of different characteristics inherently and show a simple example that demonstrates this feature.

Date-intensive high performance, high quality digital media traffic cannot be accommodated on traditional layer 3 networks. Alternative technologies to transmit this traffic through the network, such as optical multicast, are being investigated. A prototype of an optical multicast service was showcased during the 7th annual LambdaGrid Workshop celebrated in Prague last September. The prototype used time division multiplexing (TDM) technology as the data plane and user controlled lightpaths (UCLP) as the control/service plane. This paper describes the extensions that were done to the UCLP software to provide the dynamic optical multicast service and shows the results achieved during the Prague demonstration.

Software-Defined Networking and Network Functions Virtualisation has brought a revolution within the telecom market landscape. Initial proof-of-concept prototypes for NFV-enabled solutions are being developed at the same time SDN models are identified as the futures solutions within the telecom realm. We provide in this article an overview of the SDN/NFV technologies over optical networks, as well as we provide the first formalisation model for the virtual network function complex scheduling problem. The article aims at being used as starting point in order to optimally solve the scheduling problem of virtual network functions that compose network services to be provisioned within the SDN paradigm.