Large-scale Reconfigurable Virtual Testbed for Information Security Experiments

The vulnerability of a modern computer network to information attacks stems from its high complexity, global interconnectivity and multiple entry points. While experimental security-related studies cannot be performed on “real” operating computer networks, and data collected during real information attacks is incomplete and sporadic, extensive network facilities have become a necessary component of security research. In order to assure the scalability of results, it is important that the experimental network properly emulates the “real” network. The development of such an experimental facility for network security research is presented. It will allow for a high level of software virtualization enabling the users to achieve a high level of network scalability and rapid deployment, ensuring proper analysis and development of new tools and techniques for threat detection and mitigation.