Re: [nvrg-bof] Updated charter proposal

[Aaron Falk <falk at bbn.com>]

Joe Touch wrote:
>
>
> James Kempf wrote:
> > I've actually heard the term "slices" apply to network as well as
> > computation resources.
>
> >             jak
>
> I have too, focusing on things like BW, not on addresses, interfaces,
> paths, etc. We have a name for that - an overlay or a virtual network.
> I've also heard people assert (incorrectly) that slices of existing
> systems (e.g., PlanetLab) included network virtualization. Given the
> confusion, the term slice may have clear meaning in a distributed OS,
> but does not in networking.
>
> I'd rather not use an ill-defined term that doesn't have a direct
> relation to the WG's work, esp. in the charter.
>
> Joe
Joe, James, et al-

My apologies but I must have missed this thread when it was recent.  So,
just to restart the discussion going let me add a few things.  (Double
apologies if this was resolved at the meeting in Stockholm but, from the
minutes, it appears not.) 

In GENI, a slice may definitely include networking resources such as
addresses, interfaces, and paths.  See, e.g.,
http://groups.geni.net/geni/wiki/GeniGlossary (emphasis added):

    Slivers
    It must be possible to share component resources among multiple
    users. This can be done by a combination of virtualizing the
    component (where each user acquires a virtual copy of the
    component's resources), or by partitioning the component into
    distinct resource sets (where each user acquires a distinct
    partition of the component's resources). In both cases, we say the
    user is granted a sliver of the component. Each component must
    include hardware or software mechanisms that isolate slivers from
    each other, making it appropriate to view a sliver as a “resource
    container.”

    Slices
    From a researcher's perspective, a slice is a substrate-wide network
    of computing and ***communication*** resources capable of running an
    experiment or a wide-area network service. From an operator's
    perspective, slices are the primary abstraction for accounting and
    accountability—resources are acquired and consumed by slices, and
    external program behavior is traceable to a slice, respectively. A
    slice is the basis for resource revocation (i.e., shutdown). A slice
    is defined by a set of slivers spanning a set of network components,
    plus an associated set of users that are allowed to access those
    slivers for the purpose of running an experiment on the substrate.
    That is, a slice has a name, which is bound to a set of users
    associated with the slice and a (possibly empty) set of slivers.


The resources included in a GENI slice are described by Resource
Specifications, or RSpecs.  A description of a specific RSpec prototype
can be found at:
http://www.protogeni.net/trac/protogeni/wiki/RSpec#KeyfeaturesoftheProtoGENIRSpec. 
You'll notice

Regarding an RG charter, I'm not asserting that terms like 'slice' and
'RSpec' should be included in the charter but I think there is a growing
community around a conceptual model that includes establishing virtual
environments that include link, computation, measurement, storage, and
other resources.  This is clearly more general than Joe's scope of only
discussing the communications elements.  However, IMO, this broader
scope is a useful area for collaboration and is appropriate  for an RG. 
I'd be interested in hearing whether others agree.  If so, perhaps there
needs to be a name change for the RG ("Virtual Testbeds", maybe?)...

--aaron

ps.