Bob Lantz
c265deedef
We add a new experimental feature to allow Mininet to run across a cluster of machines. This is currently implemented via a set mix-in classes that provide remote nodes that are implemented via a connection to a remote shell, and remote links which are tunnels across servers. In this preliminary implementation, both control and data connections are made via ssh, but this could change in the future. A MininetCluster class is provided which allows existing code to be used with minimal modification - all that is required is to provide a list of servers to use. A customizable placement algorithm may also be specified. An experimental CLI subclass is also provided to make it easier to examine node placement; status and links commands can also check whether nodes and tunnels are still running. Although this is an experimental feature, it does include a --cluster option to make it convenient to start up a Mininet simulation over a cluster, and a script to assist with setting up the prerequisite authentication via ssh key pairs. The cluster feature is preliminary and missing some obvious important features, such as parallel startup and multiple tunnel types, which we hope to add in the future.
Mininet: Rapid Prototyping for Software Defined Networks
The best way to emulate almost any network on your laptop!
Version 2.1.0+
What is Mininet?
Mininet emulates a complete network of hosts, links, and switches on a single machine. To create a sample two-host, one-switch network, just run:
sudo mn
Mininet is useful for interactive development, testing, and demos, especially those using OpenFlow and SDN. OpenFlow-based network controllers prototyped in Mininet can usually be transferred to hardware with minimal changes for full line-rate execution.
How does it work?
Mininet creates virtual networks using process-based virtualization
and network namespaces - features that are available in recent Linux
kernels. In Mininet, hosts are emulated as bash processes running in
a network namespace, so any code that would normally run on a Linux
server (like a web server or client program) should run just fine
within a Mininet "Host". The Mininet "Host" will have its own private
network interface and can only see its own processes. Switches in
Mininet are software-based switches like Open vSwitch or the OpenFlow
reference switch. Links are virtual ethernet pairs, which live in the
Linux kernel and connect our emulated switches to emulated hosts
(processes).
Features
Mininet includes:
-
A command-line launcher (
mn) to instantiate networks. -
A handy Python API for creating networks of varying sizes and topologies.
-
Examples (in the
examples/directory) to help you get started. -
Full API documentation via Python
help()docstrings, as well as the ability to generate PDF/HTML documentation withmake doc. -
Parametrized topologies (
Toposubclasses) using the Mininet object. For example, a tree network may be created with the command:mn --topo tree,depth=2,fanout=3 -
A command-line interface (
CLIclass) which provides useful diagnostic commands (likeiperfandping), as well as the ability to run a command to a node. For example,mininet> h11 ifconfig -atells host h11 to run the command
ifconfig -a -
A "cleanup" command to get rid of junk (interfaces, processes, files in /tmp, etc.) which might be left around by Mininet or Linux. Try this if things stop working!
mn -c
New features in 2.1.0+
Mininet 2.1.0+ provides a number of bug fixes as well as several new features, including:
- Convenient access to
Mininet()as a dict of nodes - X11 tunneling (wireshark in Mininet hosts, finally!)
- Accurate reflection of the
Mininet()object in the CLI - Automatically detecting and adjusting resource limits
- Automatic cleanup on failure of the
mncommand - Preliminary support for running OVS in user space mode
- Preliminary support (
IVSSwitch()) for the Indigo Virtual Switch - support for installing the OpenFlow 1.3 versions of the reference user switch and NOX from CPqD
- The ability to import modules from
mininet.examples
We have provided several new examples (which can easily be imported to provide useful functionality) including:
- Modeling separate control and data networks:
mininet.examples.controlnet - Connecting Mininet hosts the internet (or a LAN) using NAT:
mininet.examples.nat - Creating per-host custom directories using bind mounts:
mininet.examples.bind
Note that examples contain experimental features which might "graduate" into mainline Mininet in the future, but they should not be considered a stable part of the Mininet API!
Installation
See INSTALL for installation instructions and details.
Documentation
In addition to the API documentation (make doc), much useful
information, including a Mininet walkthrough and an introduction
to the Python API, is available on the
Mininet Web Site.
There is also a wiki which you are encouraged to read and to
contribute to, particularly the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ.)
Support
Mininet is community-supported. We encourage you to join the
Mininet mailing list, mininet-discuss at:
https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/mininet-discuss
Contributing
Mininet is an open source project and is currently hosted at https://github.com/mininet. You are encouraged to download the code, examine it, modify it, and submit bug reports, bug fixes, feature requests, new features and other issues and pull requests. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the project (see CONTRIBUTORS for more info!)
Best wishes, and we look forward to seeing what you can do with Mininet to change the networking world!
Credits
The Mininet 2.1.0+ Team:
- Bob Lantz
- Brian O'Connor