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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


HAAUKINS: Optimizing performance of virtualized networking

Author

Term

4. term

Publication year

2022

Abstract

Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor netværkspakker går tabt, når brugere foretager deres første scanning på HAAUKINS, en platform til praktiske øvelser i cybersikkerhed. Analysen viser, at brugen af Docker macvlan får værtsmaskinens ARP-tabel (systemets lokale “telefonbog” over netværksadresser) til at løbe fuld, når der oprettes mere end 1024 containere. Det fører til, at pakker ikke kan leveres korrekt. To løsninger bliver foreslået. For det første et script, som sikrer, at de nødvendige afhængigheder og indstillinger er på plads, så platformen kører stabilt. For det andet at anvende anden virtualiseringssoftware til platformens netværksmodul. Begge løsninger er implementeret og testet med succes. Specialet ser også på, hvordan platformen kan skaleres til flere samtidige brugere ved at indføre en klient-server-arkitektur og i praksis etablere en klynge til at køre HAAUKINS-labs.

This thesis investigates why network packets are lost when users run their initial scan on HAAUKINS, a platform for hands-on cybersecurity exercises. The analysis shows that using the Docker macvlan network mode causes the host’s ARP table (the system’s local index of network addresses) to overflow when more than 1024 containers are created, which leads to packet delivery failures. Two remedies are proposed. First, a script that ensures required dependencies and settings are in place so the platform runs reliably. Second, switching the platform’s network module to other virtualization software. Both solutions are implemented and successfully tested. Finally, the thesis explores how to support more users by introducing a client-server architecture and, in effect, creating a cluster for running HAAUKINS labs.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]