International Networks’ Addleman, Chevalier present at APAN40
August 14, 2015
‘Tech Rumble in the Jungle’ was the theme of the 40th Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. International Networks' Hans Addleman, principal network systems engineer, and Scott Chevalier, network systems analyst, met with IU’s Asia-Pacific partners. Together, they collaborated on growing network needs related to geoscience, climate science, and disease- and health-monitoring applications served by the IU-run TransPAC4 international network.
As lead engineer, Addleman works with peers and partners to strengthen relationships and build better networks that support the global research and education community. Two different working groups – the Future Internet Testbed working group and the Networking Engineering working group – invited him to present at APAN40.
Denial of Service attacks can be serious threats to campus networks. Basically, attackers flood networks with useless traffic in an attempt to impede service. However, engineers like Addleman can counter by using OpenFlow technologies to automatically configure network devices via applications.
“SciPass, an OpenFlow tool developed at IU, offers the ability to automatically block traffic," says Addleman. "By using it in conjunction with an intrusion detection system, I hope to detect denial of service attacks and then block bad traffic on the OpenFlow-enabled switch. Blocking these attacks in the wide area network environment, such as on TransPAC, would alleviate congestion at the campus level.”
Addleman also presented on NetFlow, a network protocol that monitors traffic flow and volume. He gave an overview of traffic across TransPAC for the last six months, then showed examples of how NetFlow can help with troubleshooting.
As a network systems analyst, Chevalier is tasked with developing measurement and monitoring strategies using perfSONAR, an open source toolkit for testing networks across multiple domains. “perfSONAR diagnoses network performance issues and allows administrators to set performance expectations for users and to help make informed decisions regarding future network expansions and investments,” explains Chevalier. “It also creates a standard way to visualize, publish, and archive network metrics (data) for future analysis aiding others in future debugging of issues.”
The Malaysia trip was a chance for Chevalier to meet and network with people from various groups. He also presented a one-day workshop as part of the perfSONAR outreach group. “During that workshop, co-presented by a representative from Internet2, IU supplied 14 low-cost, small nodes to various attendees for deployment throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” says Chevalier. “Those small servers are going to be deployed as perfSONAR endpoints to facilitate better network monitoring of soft failures and degradation.”
The APAN meetings are especially important for International Networks staff to get face-to-face time with their partners and peers, since they are so far away. “It helps so much,” adds Addleman, “to meet with peers and collaborate with the very researchers and scientists who are moving data between here and Asia. The most recent grant for TransPAC4 specifically provides funding to increase collaboration, and meeting with researchers is critical.”
