2022/08/11 by Soeren Becker, Tobias Pfandzelter, Becker, Soeren +7 · 1 citation
Computer Science · #Cloud Computing and Resource Management #Distributed #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Parallel #Software System Performance and Reliability #Software-Defined Networks and 5G #and Cluster Computing (cs.DC)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2208.05862
openalex publication_date 2022/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The growing research and industry interest in the Internet of Things and the edge computing paradigm has increased the need for cost-efficient virtual testbeds for large-scale distributed applications. Researchers, students, and practitioners need to test and evaluate the interplay of hundreds or thousands of real software components and services connected with a realistic edge network without access to physical infrastructure. While advances in virtualization technologies have enabled parts of this, network emulation as a crucial part in the development of edge testbeds is lagging behind: As we show in this paper, NetEm, the current state-of-the-art network emulation tooling included in the Linux kernel, imposes prohibitive scalability limits. We quantify these limits, investigate possible causes, and present a way forward for network emulation in large-scale virtual edge testbeds based on eBPFs.