RLVNA: a Platform for Experimenting with Virtual Networks Adaptations over Public Testbeds

Network emulators and simulation environments traditionally support computer networking and distributed system research. The continued use of multiple approaches highlights both the value and inadequacy of each approach. To this end, several large-scale virtual networks testbeds, such as GENI and CloudLab, have emerged, allowing testing of a networked system in controlled yet realistic environments, focusing in particular on facilitating the test of network management schema in Software-Defined Network (SDN) scenarios. Nevertheless, setting up those experiments first and integrating machine learning models later in these deployments is challenging. In this paper, we propose designing and implementing a web-based platform that integrates Reinforcement Learning (RL)-based models with a virtual network experiment using resources acquired within a real-world testbed, e.g., GENI. Users are able to reserve the network resources (links, switches, and hosts) and configure them through our intuitive interface with little effort. The RL algorithm is then launched to learn how to steer traffic dynamically and according to diverse traffic network conditions. Such a model can be easily customized by the user, while our architecture enables fast reprogramming of the Open Virtual Switches via the SDN controller instantiated. We experimented with trace-based traffic to validate this user-friendly platform and evaluated how centralized and decentralized RL algorithms can effectively lead to self-driving networks. While in this paper, the system focuses on the deployment of experiments for virtual network adaptation, the platform can be easily extended to other network management mechanisms and machine learning algorithms.