SCIONLAB: A Next-Generation Internet Testbed

Abstract

Network testbeds have empowered networking research and facilitated scientific progress. However, current testbeds focus mainly on experiments involving the current Internet. In this paper, we propose SCIONLAB, a novel global network testbed that enables exciting research opportunities and experimentation with the SCION next-generation Internet architecture. New users can join SCIONLAB as a full-fledged autonomous system with minimal effort and administrative overhead, and directly gain unfettered access to its inter-domain routing system. Based on a well-connected network topology consisting of globally distributed nodes, SCIONLAB enables new experiments, such as inter-domain multipath communication, path-aware networking, exploration of novel routing policies, and new approaches for DDoS defense. SCIONLAB has been operational since 2016 and has supported diverse research projects. We describe the design and implementation of SCIONLAB, and present use cases that illustrate exciting research opportunities.