Mininet: Rapid Prototyping for Software Defined Networks
===
Mininet: Rapid Prototyping for Software Defined Networks
or
The best way to emulate almost any network on your laptop!
The best way to emulate almost any network on your laptop!
Mininet 2.0.0rc1
Version 2.0.0rc1
---
** Welcome to Mininet! **
### What is Mininet?
Mininet creates virtual SDN/OpenFlow test networks by using process-based
virtualization and network namespaces.
Mininet emulates a complete network of hosts, links, and switches on a single
machine. To create a sample two-host, one-switch network, just run:
Simulated hosts (as well as switches and controllers with the user
datapath) are created as processes in separate network namespaces. This
allows a complete OpenFlow network to be simulated on top of a single
Linux kernel.
sudo mn
Mininet's support for OpenFlow and Linux allows you to create a custom
network with customized routing, and to run almost any Linux-compatible
networking application on top of it without modification. OpenFlow-based
designs that work in Mininet can usually be transferred to hardware with
minimal change for full line-rate execution.
Mininet is useful for interactive development, testing, and demos, especially
those using OpenFlow and SDN. OpenFlow-based network controllers prototyped in
Mininet can usually be transferred to hardware with minimal changes for full
line-rate execution.
Mininet may be invoked directly from the command line, and also provides a
handy Python API for creating networks of varying sizes and topologies.
### How does it work?
** Mininet 2.0.0rc1 **
Mininet creates virtual networks using process-based virtualization and network
namespaces - features that are available in recent Linux kernels. In Mininet,
hosts are emulated as bash processes running in a network namespace, so any
code that would normally run on a Linux server (like a web server or client
program) should run just fine within a Mininet "Host". The Mininet "Host" will
have its own private network interface and can only see its own processes.
Switches in Mininet are software-based switches like Open vSwitch or the
OpenFlow reference switch. Links are virtual ethernet pairs, which live in the
Linux kernel and connect our emulated switches to emulated hosts (processes).
Mininet 2.0.0rc1 is a major upgrade to the Mininet system and provides
a number of enhancements and new features, including:
* First-class Interface (`Intf`) and Link (`Link`) classes
* An upgraded Topology (`Topo`) class which supports node and link
customization
### Features
* Link bandwidth limits using `tc` (`TCIntf` and `TCLink` classes)
* CPU isolation and bandwidth limits (`CPULimitedHost` class)
* Support for the Open vSwitch 1.4+ (including Ubuntu OVS packages)
Mininet includes:
*Man pages for the `mn` and `mnexec` utilities.
*A command-line launcher ('mn') to instantiate networks.
*Debian packaging (and apt-get install in Ubuntu 12.10)
*A handy Python API for creating networks of varying sizes and topologies.
[Since the API (most notably the topology) has changed, existing code that
runs in Mininet 1.0 will need to be changed to run with Mininet 2.0. This
is the primary reason for the major version number change.]
* Examples (in the examples/ directory) to help you get started.
Mininet also includes:
* Full API documentation via Python `help()` docstrings, as well as the ability
to generate PDF/HTML documentation with "make doc."
- A simple node infrastructure (`Host`, `Switch`, `Controller` classes) for
creating virtual OpenFlow networks
- A simple network infrastructure (`Mininet` class) supporting parametrized
topologies (`Topo` subclasses.) For example, a tree network may be created
with the command
* Parametrized topologies (`Topo` subclasses) using the Mininet object. For
example, a tree network may be created with the command:
`# mn --topo tree,depth=2,fanout=3`
- Basic tests, including connectivity (`ping`) and bandwidth (`iperf`)
mn --topo tree,depth=2,fanout=3`
- A command-line interface (CLI class) which provides useful
diagnostic commands, as well as the ability to send a command to a
* A command-line interface (CLI class) which provides useful diagnostic
commands (like iperf and ping), as well as the ability to run a command to a
node. For example,
`mininet> h11 ifconfig -a`
mininet> h11 ifconfig -a`
tells host h11 to run the command `ifconfig -a`
- A 'cleanup' command to get rid of junk (interfaces, processes, files in
* A 'cleanup' command to get rid of junk (interfaces, processes, files in
/tmp, etc.) which might be left around by Mininet or Linux. Try this if
things stop working!
`# mn -c`
- Examples (in the examples/ directory) to help you get started.
mn -c
### New features in 2.0.0:
Mininet 2.0.0 is a major upgrade and provides
a number of enhancements and new features, including:
* Link bandwidth limits using `tc` (`TCIntf` and `TCLink` classes)
* CPU isolation and bandwidth limits (`CPULimitedHost` class)
* Support for the Open vSwitch 1.4+ (including Ubuntu OVS packages)
* Debian packaging (and apt-get install in Ubuntu 12.10)
* First-class Interface (`Intf`) and Link (`Link`) classes for easier extensibility
* An upgraded Topology (`Topo`) class which supports node and link
customization
* Man pages for the `mn` and `mnexec` utilities.
[Since the API (most notably the topology) has changed, existing code that
runs in Mininet 1.0 will need to be changed to run with Mininet 2.0. This
is the primary reason for the major version number change.]
### Install
- Full API documentation via Python `help()` docstrings, as well as
the ability to generate PDF/HTML documentation with "make doc."
To install Mininet, the easiest approach is to start with an Ubuntu system like 12.04 and run util/vm/install.sh, which will install any needed dependencies.
In order to run Mininet, you must have:
In general, you must have:
* A Linux kernel compiled with network namespace support
enabled (see `INSTALL` for additional information.)
...
...
@@ -95,9 +103,9 @@ In order to run Mininet, you must have:
* Root privileges (required for network device access)
Installation instructions are available in INSTALL
Further installation instructions are available in INSTALL.
*** Mininet Documentation ***
### Documentation
In addition to the API documentation (`make doc`) much useful information,
including a Mininet walkthrough and an introduction to the Python API is
...
...
@@ -105,14 +113,14 @@ available on the [Mininet Web Site](http://openflow.org/mininet). There is
also a wiki which you are encouraged to read and to contribute to,
particularly the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ.)
*** Mininet Support ***
### Support
Mininet is supported by the friendly Mininet community. We encourage you to
Mininet community-supported. We encourage you to
join the Mininet mailing list, `mininet-discuss` at:
