A Service Oriented Experimentation Framework for Virtualized WiMAX Systems

Testbeds for networking research allow experimenters to validate performance of algorithms and architectures under realistic conditions. Further, virtualizing such testbeds allows the deployer to improve utilization of the testbed while preserving reproducibility of the results and originality of the control environment. This paper describes an essential set of services for deploying a virtualized wireless testbed. It proposes (1) environment control, (2) virtual radio control, (3) slice feedback, and (4) a virtual radio isolation service as four fundamental services required for deploying these virtualized wireless testbeds. Using a virtualized WiMAX basestation as an example, this paper describes the design of the WiMAX-VM and the WiMAX-RF grid services which encompass the four fundamental services.