This repository contains code for implementing NDN (Named Data Networking) on the University of Utah's POWDER testbed.
Setup
Create a POWDER profile - the provided profile (profile.py) is a good starting point. To run client scripts, PyNDN and JNDN must be installed. These libraries can be found on the named data networking GitHub page. (https://www.github.com/named-data) The Python Fabric library is also required to run the automatic setup script. Install using pip.
NFD (Named Data Networking Forwarding Daemon):
Install NFD on nodes if necessary (if the provided profile is used, the software will automatically be installed). If not, detailed installation instructions can be found here: http://named-data.net/doc/NFD/current/INSTALL.html (note that installing from the PPA repository with apt-get is quicker than building from source).
The NDN forwarding daemon should start automatically. This can be verified with nfd-status, which will output some useful NFD information. To manually start and stop the forwarder, use nfd-start and nfd-stop.
To send data between NDN nodes, some setup is necessary. To forward data, NFD relies on "faces", its own abstraction of interface. These faces can be TCP or UDP tunnels, Ethernet connections, local Unix sockets, etc. These faces are manipulated with the nfdc face command. For example, to see a list of existing faces, use nfdc face list.
NFD also requires that routes be created, so data can be forwarded to its correct location. Routes can be manipulated with the nfdc route command.
For example, to connect two NDN nodes over a UDP tunnel, first add a UDP face to each node.
On the first node, run nfdc face create udp4://<NODE_2_IPv4_ADDRESS_HERE>.
On the second node, run nfdc face create udp4://<NODE_1_IPv4_ADDRESS_HERE>.
Note that IP addresses and other useful network information can be found with the ifconfig command.
Next, create a route to tell the first node where to find data named under the prefix "/ndn/node2".
Run the command nfdc route add prefix /ndn/node2 nexthop udp4://<NODE_2_IPv4_ADDRESS_HERE>.
Now, any interest packets that reach the first node that have the prefix "/ndn/node2" will be forwarded to the second node.
Testing
Send test packets between nodes with ndnpoke and ndnpeek.
If the PPA repository previously mentioned has been set up, these tools can easily be installed with apt-get. If not, they can be built from source.
To test our previous example, enter echo "Hello World!" | ndnpoke /ndn/node2/hello on the second node.
This will host one data packet on the second node containing the string "Hello World!" with the name "/ndn/node2/hello".
To request this data from the first node, enter ndnpeek -p /ndn/node2/hello.
If everything has been set up correctly, the first node will print "Hello World!" to stdout, indicating success!
NLSR (Named-Data Link State Routing) Setup
Install NLSR from the PPA repository or build from source. Modify the provided configuration file to appropriately name routers and their neighbors (if a two-node network was used, the network should be automatically configured properly). The advertising section of the configuration files can also be modified to tell the network what data is available where.
Helpful Hints
- Routes are one-way, and they must exist in the RIB before interests can be satisfied
ndnpoketransmits a single data packet; however, multiple requests for that data can be satisfied if the data is cached in the Content Store.- A correct udp4 face must be created before nlsr will work properly. Use something like
nfdc face create udp4://10.10.x.x - NFD configuration file is located at
/etc/ndn/nfd.conf - Use the
nfdc cscommand to manipulate the content store
Resources: