Searchlight
Papers, software, and other artifacts in support of the DARPA Searchlight program on MergeTB.
The Test and Evaluation (T&E) team, consisting of researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and USC/ISI, developed tools and methodology on Merge testbeds to evaluate performer technologies for the DARPA Searchlight program.
We have released a variety of datasets and software, and published research papers.
Questions, comments, and bugfixes should be sent to the corresponding author(s) of the artifact in question, or you can email calvin@isi.edu and get a pointer in the right direction.
Distribution Statement “A” (Approved for Public Release, Distribution
Unlimited).
This research was developed with funding from the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The views, opinions and/or
findings expressed are those of the author and should not be interpreted
as representing the official views or policies of the Department of
Defense or the U.S. Government.
Datasets
- The DARPA SEARCHLIGHT Dataset of Application Network Traffic: a dataset containing ~2000 systematically conducted experiments and resulting packet captures with contemporary video streaming, video teleconferencing, and cloud-based document editing applications.
Software
Experimentation on Network Emulation Testbeds
- Merge Testbed Platform
- minimega-based network experimentation (GitLab): experiment topologies and application traffic described in the 2021 CSET paper “Case Studies in Experiment Design on a minimega Based Network Emulation Testbed”.
Traffic Generators
- Video-on-Demand Streaming (GitLab)
- Video Teleconference (GitLab)
Research Papers
2022
Improving Fidelity in Video Streaming Experimentation on Testbeds with a CDN
Calvin Ardi, Alefiya Hussain, Michael Collins, and Stephen Schwab. 2022. Improving Fidelity in Video Streaming Experimentation on Testbeds with a CDN. In Workshop on Design, Deployment, and Evaluation of Network-assisted Video Streaming (ViSNext ‘22), December 9, 2022, Roma, Italy. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–7. DOI:
10.1145/3565476.3569097Video streaming is the leading network traffic on the Internet, yet there are few tools to run high fidelity experiments with video streaming traffic on network emulation-based testbeds. In this paper, we present a framework to enable higher fidelity and principled experimentation with 36 different video streaming traffic scenario combinations that can be configured and deployed on a notional CDN and data metrics infrastructure. This framework can be used to further study and experiment with adaptive bitrate algorithms and other AI/ML solutions for video delivery.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3565476.3569097, author = {Ardi, Calvin and Hussain, Alefiya and Collins, Michael and Schwab, Stephen}, title = {Improving Fidelity in Video Streaming Experimentation on Testbeds with a CDN}, year = {2022}, isbn = {9781450399364}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3565476.3569097}, doi = {10.1145/3565476.3569097}, abstract = {Video streaming is the leading network traffic on the Internet, yet there are few tools to run high fidelity experiments with video streaming traffic on network emulation-based testbeds. In this paper, we present a framework to enable higher fidelity and principled experimentation with 36 different video streaming traffic scenario combinations that can be configured and deployed on a notional CDN and data metrics infrastructure. This framework can be used to further study and experiment with adaptive bitrate algorithms and other AI/ML solutions for video delivery.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Design, Deployment, and Evaluation of Network-Assisted Video Streaming}, pages = {1–7}, numpages = {7}, keywords = {network experimentation, content distribution network, network traffic, video streaming applications}, location = {Rome, Italy}, series = {ViSNext '22} }The DARPA SEARCHLIGHT Dataset of Application Network Traffic
Calvin Ardi, Connor Aubry, Brian Kocoloski, Dave DeAngelis, Alefiya Hussain, Matt Troglia, and Stephen Schwab. 2022. The DARPA SEARCHLIGHT Dataset of Application Network Traffic. In Proceedings of the 15th Workshop on Cyber Security Experimentation and Test (CSET ‘22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 59–64. DOI:
10.1145/3546096.3546103.Researchers are in constant need of reliable data to develop and evaluate AI/ML methods for networks and cybersecurity. While Internet measurements can provide realistic data, such datasets lack ground truth about application flows. We present a ∼ 750GB dataset that includes ∼ 2000 systematically conducted experiments and the resulting packet captures with video streaming, video teleconferencing, and cloud-based document editing applications. This curated and labeled dataset has bidirectional and encrypted traffic with complete ground truth that can be widely used for assessments and evaluation of AI/ML algorithms.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3546096.3546103, author = {Ardi, Calvin and Aubry, Connor and Kocoloski, Brian and DeAngelis, Dave and Hussain, Alefiya and Troglia, Matt and Schwab, Stephen}, title = {The DARPA SEARCHLIGHT Dataset of Application Network Traffic}, year = 2022, month = aug, isbn = {9781450396844}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3546096.3546103}, doi = {10.1145/3546096.3546103}, abstract = {Researchers are in constant need of reliable data to develop and evaluate AI/ML methods for networks and cybersecurity. While Internet measurements can provide realistic data, such datasets lack ground truth about application flows. We present a ∼ 750GB dataset that includes ∼ 2000 systematically conducted experiments and the resulting packet captures with video streaming, video teleconferencing, and cloud-based document editing applications. This curated and labeled dataset has bidirectional and encrypted traffic with complete ground truth that can be widely used for assessments and evaluation of AI/ML algorithms.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 15th Workshop on Cyber Security Experimentation and Test}, pages = {59–64}, numpages = {6}, keywords = {datasets, network experimentation, network traffic}, location = {Virtual, CA, USA}, series = {CSET '22} }Generating Representative Video Teleconferencing Traffic
David DeAngelis, Alefiya Hussain, Brian Kocoloski, Calvin Ardi, and Stephen Schwab. 2022. Generating Representative Video Teleconferencing Traffic. In Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop (CSET ‘22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 91–95. DOI:
10.1145/3546096.3546107.Video teleconferencing (VTC) is a dominant network application, yet there is a dearth of tools to generate such traffic for systematic and reproducible experimentation. We present a framework to create representative video teleconferencing traffic and discuss our methodology for behavioral control of multiple bots to create human-like dialog coordination, including interactive talking and silence patterns. Our framework can be coupled with proprietary commercial VTC applications as well as deployed completely within a testbed environment to benchmark emerging networking technology and evaluate the next generation of traffic classification, quality of service (QoS) algorithms, and traffic engineering systems.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3546096.3546107, author = {DeAngelis, David and Hussain, Alefiya and Kocoloski, Brian and Ardi, Calvin and Schwab, Stephen}, title = {Generating Representative Video Teleconferencing Traffic}, year = {2022}, isbn = {9781450396844}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3546096.3546107}, doi = {10.1145/3546096.3546107}, abstract = {Video teleconferencing (VTC) is a dominant network application, yet there is a dearth of tools to generate such traffic for systematic and reproducible experimentation. We present a framework to create representative video teleconferencing traffic and discuss our methodology for behavioral control of multiple bots to create human-like dialog coordination, including interactive talking and silence patterns. Our framework can be coupled with proprietary commercial VTC applications as well as deployed completely within a testbed environment to benchmark emerging networking technology and evaluate the next generation of traffic classification, quality of service (QoS) algorithms, and traffic engineering systems.}, booktitle = {Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop}, pages = {100–104}, numpages = {5}, keywords = {video teleconference, VoIP, network traffic generation, cybersecurity testbeds}, location = {Virtual, CA, USA}, series = {CSET 2022} }Towards an Operations-Aware Experimentation Methodology
M. Collins, A. Hussain and S. Schwab. 2022. Towards an Operations-Aware Experimentation Methodology. In 2022 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW), 2022, pp. 384-393, DOI:
10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00046.Security Operations Centers (SOCs) serve a critical role in protecting enterprise networks and systems. Despite this critical role, only a limited number of researchers in the field have an awareness of the obstacles and challenges in applying cyber ranges and cybersecurity testbeds to the area of SOC training, exercises and evaluation. This paper introduces a systematic approach to incorporating SOCs into cybersecu-rity experiments, including both training and evaluation. We present a reference SOC model, an implementation of that model and downloadable software distributions suitable for deploying on cyber ranges, and guidance towards a methodol-ogy to promote rigorous experiments including those involving human cyber operators. Metrics focused on analyst event load are presented in the context of measuring the impact of new threats, technologies and procedures on SOC performance. Collectively, these contributions serve as a basis for future work to engage the research and operational communities to work together to advance the state-of-the-art of SOC technologies and SOC operators.
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00046, author = {M. Collins and A. Hussain and S. Schwab}, booktitle = {2022 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW)}, title = {Towards an Operations-Aware Experimentation Methodology}, year = {2022}, volume = {}, issn = {}, pages = {384-393}, abstract = {Security Operations Centers (SOCs) serve a critical role in protecting enterprise networks and systems. Despite this critical role, only a limited number of researchers in the field have an awareness of the obstacles and challenges in applying cyber ranges and cybersecurity testbeds to the area of SOC training, exercises and evaluation. This paper introduces a systematic approach to incorporating SOCs into cybersecu-rity experiments, including both training and evaluation. We present a reference SOC model, an implementation of that model and downloadable software distributions suitable for deploying on cyber ranges, and guidance towards a methodol-ogy to promote rigorous experiments including those involving human cyber operators. Metrics focused on analyst event load are presented in the context of measuring the impact of new threats, technologies and procedures on SOC performance. Collectively, these contributions serve as a basis for future work to engage the research and operational communities to work together to advance the state-of-the-art of SOC technologies and SOC operators.}, keywords = {training;measurement;systematics;software;computer security;load modeling}, doi = {10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00046}, url = {https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00046}, publisher = {IEEE Computer Society}, address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA}, month = jun }
2021
Case Studies in Experiment Design on a Minimega Based Network Emulation Testbed
Brian Kocoloski, Alefiya Hussain, Matthew Troglia, Calvin Ardi, Steven Cheng, Dave DeAngelis, Christopher Symonds, Michael Collins, Ryan Goodfellow, and Stephen Schwab. 2021. Case Studies in Experiment Design on a minimega Based Network Emulation Testbed. In Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop (CSET ‘21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 83–90. DOI:
10.1145/3474718.3474730.This paper describe our team’s experience using minimega, a network emulation system using node and network virtualization, to support evaluation of a set of networked and distributed systems for topology discovery, traffic classification and engineering in the DARPA Searchlight program. We present the methodology we developed to encode network and traffic definitions into an experiment description model, and how our tools compile this model onto the underlying minimega API. We then present three cases studies which demonstrate the ability of our EDM to support experiments with diverse network topologies, diverse traffic mixes, and networks with specialized layer-2 connectivity requirements. We conclude with the overall takeaways from using minimega to support our evaluation process.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3474718.3474730, author = {Kocoloski, Brian and Hussain, Alefiya and Troglia, Matthew and Ardi, Calvin and Cheng, Steven and DeAngelis, Dave and Symonds, Christopher and Collins, Michael and Goodfellow, Ryan and Schwab, Stephen}, title = {Case Studies in Experiment Design on a Minimega Based Network Emulation Testbed}, year = 2021, isbn = {9781450390651}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3474718.3474730}, doi = {10.1145/3474718.3474730}, abstract = {This paper describe our team’s experience using minimega, a network emulation system using node and network virtualization, to support evaluation of a set of networked and distributed systems for topology discovery, traffic classification and engineering in the DARPA Searchlight program. We present the methodology we developed to encode network and traffic definitions into an experiment description model, and how our tools compile this model onto the underlying minimega API. We then present three cases studies which demonstrate the ability of our EDM to support experiments with diverse network topologies, diverse traffic mixes, and networks with specialized layer-2 connectivity requirements. We conclude with the overall takeaways from using minimega to support our evaluation process.}, booktitle = {Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop}, pages = {83–90}, numpages = {8}, location = {Virtual, CA, USA}, series = {CSET '21} }Building Reproducible Video Streaming Traffic Generators
Calvin Ardi, Alefiya Hussain, and Stephen Schwab. 2021. Building Reproducible Video Streaming Traffic Generators. In Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop (CSET ‘21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 91–95. DOI:
10.1145/3474718.3474721.Video streaming traffic dominates Internet traffic. However, there is a dearth of tools to generate such traffic on emulation-based testbeds. In this paper we present tools to create representative and reproducible video streaming traffic to evaluate the next generation of traffic classification, Quality of Service (QoS) algorithms and traffic engineering systems. We discuss 27 different combinations of streaming video traffic types in this preliminary work, and illustrate the diversity of network-level dynamics in these protocols.
@inproceedings{10.1145/3474718.3474721, author = {Ardi, Calvin and Hussain, Alefiya and Schwab, Stephen}, title = {Building Reproducible Video Streaming Traffic Generators}, year = 2021, month = aug, isbn = {9781450390651}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3474718.3474721}, doi = {10.1145/3474718.3474721}, abstract = {Video streaming traffic dominates Internet traffic. However, there is a dearth of tools to generate such traffic on emulation-based testbeds. In this paper we present tools to create representative and reproducible video streaming traffic to evaluate the next generation of traffic classification, Quality of Service (QoS) algorithms and traffic engineering systems. We discuss 27 different combinations of streaming video traffic types in this preliminary work, and illustrate the diversity of network-level dynamics in these protocols.}, booktitle = {Cyber Security Experimentation and Test Workshop}, pages = {91–95}, numpages = {5}, location = {Virtual, CA, USA}, series = {CSET '21} }
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Last modified August 14, 2023: searchlight: rework page to include datasets and software (a9ed950)