Exposing Inter-Virtual Machine Networking Traffic to External Applications
Abstract
Virtualization has become a powerful and fast growing technology. The Department of Defense is focused on taking advantage of virtualized hardware, software, and networks. Virtual environments create administrative and security challenges in having visibility of inter-virtual machine (VM) traffic. This thesis attempts to gain visibility and evaluate performance of inter-VM traffic. Separate virtual networks using VMWare ESXi and Citrix XenServer that comprise of three virtual host containing a computing domain of eight VMs. Configuration of all components are identical on each network for a consistent comparison. Transport-layer traffixE;c is generated to test each network using batch xC;files, Powershell scripts, and Python scripts. The results show standard virtual networks require additional resources and more hands-on administration for real-time traxE;ffic visibility than a distributed switch. TraffixE;c visibility within a standard network is limited to using programs such as pktcap-uw, windump, or tcpdump. However, distributed networks offer advanced options, such as port mirroring, that deliver higher visibility but come at a higher latency cost.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 24, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1053782
Entities
People
- Charles E Byrd
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology