A virtualized testbed with physical outlets for hands-on computer networking education

Abstract

Many computer science curricula include practical courses to undergraduate and graduate students to offer them handson networking experience by connecting PCs, switches, and routers in a testbed. Such testbeds are expensive, bulky, energy-intensive, and cause heat problems. Virtualization of PCs and routers on commodity hardware is a solution to those problems. A challenge is to provide physical interfaces for the virtualized components so that students still have the hands-on experience including cabling. In this work, we propose a solution based on inexpensive hardware that can be mounted in a standard 19-inch cabinet. As WiFi adapters, headsets, or additional serial interfaces are needed for advanced experiments, we provide means to connect them as USB devices to virtualized PCs and routers. The system is configured so that students have only access to the virtual machines and their physical interfaces.