This document discusses interoperability between RINA and the Internet and approaches for porting existing network applications to RINA. It describes three solutions for deploying RINA together with the Internet: using RINA as an overlay network, as a substrate, or with RINA/TCP gateways. It also proposes a POSIX-like API for RINA to help port applications and demonstrates porting SSH and web servers to RINA with small code changes.

1. RINA interoperability with the Internet
Vincenzo Maffione, Gino Carrozzo (Nextworks)
SDN & OpenFlow World Congress
The Hague (NL) – 11-14 October 2016
1/6

2. RINA and the Internet: two practical issues
1. How do we deploy RINA together with the Internet?
● Three solutions:
o RINA as an overlay
o RINA as a substrate
o RINA/TCP gateways
2. How do we port existing network applications to RINA?
● A POSIX-like API for RINA
2/6

3. RINA as an overlay
● Shim DIFs wrap legacy technologies
○ Shim over Ethernet
○ Shim over UDP (or TCP)
● We can wrap the Internet in a shim DIF over UDP
● Pro: RINA applications benefit from QoS, mobility, security, …
● Con: Applications need to be ported to RINA
3/6
A
InternetEthernet Shim DIFs
B
Shim DIF over UDP
Ethernet Shim DIFs
RINA network RINA network
Banking DIF
Border
router
Border
router
Server
host
Client
host

4. RINA as a substrate
● Adapter applications to tunnel IP traffic through RINA flows
○ TUN/TAP software devices used to intercept IP traffic
● Pro: Unmodified TCP/IP (socket) applications can run over RINA
● Con: Tunneling introduces overhead (latency, CPU cycles)
● Applications indirectly benefit from RINA (QoS, security, …) → limitations
4/6
app1
DIF
Adapter
Lower DIFs
Host 1
TAP
app2
Adapter
Host 2
TAP
app3
Adapter
Host 3
TAP

5. RINA/TCP gateways
● Gateway applications to forward traffic between TCP sockets and RINA flows
● Pro: TCP clients can talk with RINA servers (and the other way around)
● Pro: Applications benefit from RINA
● Con: Forwarding introduces overhead
● Con: Client or server needs to be ported to RINA
5/6
RINA network
(Arbitrary composition of DIFs)
Gateway
host
Gateway
application
RINA
host
RINA
applic.
TCP
applic.
TCP/IP network
TCP
connection
TCP/IP
host

6. Porting applications to RINA
● We define an API that can be easily mapped to the socket API
○ Yet empowered with QoS capabilities
● RINA flows accessed through file descriptors
6/6
accept(fd1) -> (fd2, addr)
listen(fd)
bind(fd, addr)
connect(fd, addr)
socket() -> fd flow_alloc(name, qos) -> fd
open() -> fd
register(fd, name)
flow_accept(fd1) -> (fd2,name)

7. DEMO
● Dropbear SSH client/server and nginx web server ported to RINA using a POSIX-like
API
○ Small patches (100-400 lines of code)
● Connect to a Dropbear SSH server running over RINA
● Start nginx web server over RINA
● Use a normal browser to access web content served by RINA web server
7/6
VM B
Gateway
application
VM A
nginx web
server
Chromium
browserTCP
connections
Laptop
openssh
client
Dropbear
ssh server
n.1.DIF (normal DIF)
e.1.DIF (shim DIF over Ethernet)
RINA flows