Programming Network Architectures

In this thesis, the author addresses the problem of programming network architectures. The book describes a network architecture as a distributed communication system associated with network services, algorithms, time scales, and state. Programming network architectures is challenging. The difficulty stems from the fact that it is hard to define a programmable networking model that encompasses services as diverse as routing, signaling, and access control/forwarding. Another challenging issue is the performance of programmable network architectures. To address these problems the author desined and implemented a programming system that automates a life cycle process for the creation, deployment, management, and architecting of network architectures. In this book, he discusses his experiences in building a "spawning" network testbed that is capable of creating distinct network architectures on-demand. Several aspects of the testbed are described including the algorithms used, software developed and archtectures spawned. The goal of this research, is in the end, to make the network as easy to program as the PC.