|
| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/D05835X/1 |
| Title: |
Virtual Routers: A Technology for Enabling
Internet Innovation |
| Principal Investigator: |
Dr L
Mathy
|
| Other
Investigators: |
Professor
SH Pink
Dr A
Scott
Professor
G Coulson
|
| Recognised Researchers: |
|
| Project Partner: |
|
| Department: |
Computing |
| Organisation: |
Lancaster University |
| Abstract: |
In this project, we propose to design and
implement virtual routers. Routers are the fundamental building
blocks that enable and orchestrate the movement of data in the
Internet. For the most part the router vendors have been extremely
conservative, and as the router software market is a closed one (a
router from one vendor only runs that vendor's software), there is
little potential for innovation through the usual channel of
start-up companies. Our goal is to shake up this status quo. There
are essentially two definitions of a virtual router: 1 A single
hardware platform simultaneously performing the roles of multiple
independent routers. 2 Multiple hardware platforms acting in unison
to collectively fulfill the role of a single router. We plan to
examine both types of virtual routers. Virtual routers are poised to
offer a wide range of potential benefits. All users will benefit
from reduced cost through hardware platform sharing and a means to
easily and quickly adapt to ever evolving networking needs. The
possibility of cheap outsourced router management may also be a
significant benefit for many users. This will create new business
opportunities, as the decoupling of router logic and hardware
platform is ideal for the outsourcing of network services, while
minimizing investment and maintenance cost for the network access
service provider. The virtual routing platform will make access to
high-performance and resilient routing devices much more affordable
through the use of cheap, readily available, and often surplus to
requirement equipment. The great flexibility inherent in the
architecture will permit router applications that might previously
have been too expensive, or readily permit additional CPU resources
to be provided as load demands. Network providers will benefit from
the ease of deployment of new network services and protocols that
the virtual router platform facilitates, along with the possibility
to achieve enhanced network maintenance, resilience and upgrade at
reduced cost through hardware sharing, virtual router relocation and
routing clusters. The research and education community will also
benefit from the availability of a cheap and flexible platform
enabling large-scale networking experiments.
|
| Starts: |
01 October 2006 |
Ends: |
30 September 2009 |
Value (£): |
269,954 |
| Scheme: |
Standard
Research |
| EPSRC Research Topic
Classifications: |
| |
ICT Networks and Distributed
Systems
|
| EPSRC Industrial Sector
Classifications: |
| |
No relevance to
Underpinning Sectors
| |
|